Defeat the Taliban
There is a children's fable about a Kingdom where the King is so sad that he bans music. This story was featured in the marvellous dance sequence of Gene Kelley in "Anchor's aweigh" where he dances with the cartoon of Jerry Mouse. In fact, during their reign in Afghanistan in the 1990s the Taliban banned music completely, anyone caught in possession of a tape (they didn't yet have CDs and DVDs) was arrested and could be killed. No music was allowed at weddings and many traditional wedding musicians buried their instruments to avoid punishment. This is what the Afghanis have to look forward to if theTaliban ever came back.
Of course, the Taliban treated women abominably, women were not allowed to leave their homes unless accompanied by an adult male; women could not work, study or teach; women could be beaten on the street if their chador covering was judged insufficiently complete. Women who were considered immoral (for talking to a man not their husband or engaging in illicit sex) were flogged in public or were stoned to death or hung each weekend on the goalposts of the Kabul football club. I hope the Afghanis realize the tremendous need for the US-British allies to destroy the Taliban in the current operation in Helmand Province. Of course, the US and Britain are mainly concerned to prevent the return of al Qaeda to set up new enclaves inside Afghanistan like the ones they used under the Taliban to plan and execute the 9/11 attacks.
In carrying out their policy of fighting the Taliban both the Allied forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistan Army in northern Pakistan are using extreme methods, including assassinations and the use of drones for targeted killings. Noone seems to be shocked or upsest by these activities, on the contrary, most Americans and Brits would be happy if the leaders of the Taliban movement can be removed permanently. Only when Israel, in a state of war with its enemies, takes similar action as with Mahmud Mabhouh, the Hamas arch-terrorist despatched in Dubai, are there negative reactions.
On Tuesday the British FM David Miliband publicly blamed Israel for the "forged passports" affair and announced in Parliament the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat from the Embassy in London. As if the use of forged passports is not routine in all intelligence agencies. What hypocrisy! Anyway, the thought doesn't seem to have surfaced that the Mossad may have sent many ersatz tourists to Dubai at the same time to confuse the Dubai authorities, so that now they are chasing phantoms, while the real killers have got away. They may even have been the four who took a slow boat to Iran. Now if that isn't confusing, what is?
Of course, the Taliban treated women abominably, women were not allowed to leave their homes unless accompanied by an adult male; women could not work, study or teach; women could be beaten on the street if their chador covering was judged insufficiently complete. Women who were considered immoral (for talking to a man not their husband or engaging in illicit sex) were flogged in public or were stoned to death or hung each weekend on the goalposts of the Kabul football club. I hope the Afghanis realize the tremendous need for the US-British allies to destroy the Taliban in the current operation in Helmand Province. Of course, the US and Britain are mainly concerned to prevent the return of al Qaeda to set up new enclaves inside Afghanistan like the ones they used under the Taliban to plan and execute the 9/11 attacks.
In carrying out their policy of fighting the Taliban both the Allied forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistan Army in northern Pakistan are using extreme methods, including assassinations and the use of drones for targeted killings. Noone seems to be shocked or upsest by these activities, on the contrary, most Americans and Brits would be happy if the leaders of the Taliban movement can be removed permanently. Only when Israel, in a state of war with its enemies, takes similar action as with Mahmud Mabhouh, the Hamas arch-terrorist despatched in Dubai, are there negative reactions.
On Tuesday the British FM David Miliband publicly blamed Israel for the "forged passports" affair and announced in Parliament the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat from the Embassy in London. As if the use of forged passports is not routine in all intelligence agencies. What hypocrisy! Anyway, the thought doesn't seem to have surfaced that the Mossad may have sent many ersatz tourists to Dubai at the same time to confuse the Dubai authorities, so that now they are chasing phantoms, while the real killers have got away. They may even have been the four who took a slow boat to Iran. Now if that isn't confusing, what is?
posted by Jack Cohen at 1:15 PM
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