Instant results in Afghanistan?

Afghanistan is an ancient land. Prehistory, in fact. Ruled by tribes and nomadic cultures. Stone age cultures, at that. Death, disease and poverty have been a constant feature of the region’s history. Marauding bands of gangs, killers and new tribes have roamed the nation forever. They war against themselves. They pose for kudos from outsiders. They show fierce faces to intimidate and control the meek.

This has been going on for eons. Because of poor living conditions, drug crops, and strategic positioning for military purposes, Afghanistan has been an international point of interest for centuries. Later history showed British, Russian, and American interest in the region. All lost their treasure and military personnel. No gains to anyone of those nations. Only a soft stop to history while they dithered on foreign soil.

Oh sure, minds were changed within the country, but those Afghans didn’t have the power or will to lead their nation out of the morass. So, each time a foreign power left the region, the native cultures returned to wreak havoc and death on fellow citizens.

The Taliban came about more recently. They were partly a creation of American foreign policy as a tool to offset other political powers within the country. Boy howdy did we get consequences unintended.

Today the Taliban runs rampant over the land. Have they learned lessons that will change how they will govern Afghanistan this time around? Probably so. But those lessons need practicing before the results are known or perfected.

Today’s media claims the Taliban is governing with a strict and fatal hand over its people. I say that is an easy statement to say but not one with historical value going forward. Give the Taliban a chance to work into its role. They are not my choice for the nation’s leadership, but it is what the Afghanis have allowed to happen. Only they can reverse the storyline.

Meanwhile, we have not yet seen what the Taliban can and will do. It is too early to determine the trajectory. Time will tell us if they have adopted a kinder, better way of governing than they did in the past. Their religious rule is one to watch. Their humanitarian values another. Which will be ascendant?

September 13, 2021