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A Forwarded Letter

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Posted by Mario Dovalina on September 24, 2001 17:15:47 UTC

I don't know what exactly to say about this, so I'll just put it up without comment. Sorry for the spacing errors:

The following was originally forwarded from a friend of
> > > > Tamim Ansary, an Afghani-American writer. Here is his
> > > > take on Afghanistan and the whole mess we are in.
> > > > _______________________________________________________
> > > > Dear Gary and whoever else is on this email thread:
> > > >
> > > > I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back
to
the
> > > > Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that
this
> > > > would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to
do
with
> > > > this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral
damage.
> > > > What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit
discussing
> > > > whether we "have the belly to do what must be done."
> > > >
> > > > And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard
because
I
> > > > am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35
years
I've
> > > > never lost track of what's going on there. So I want to tell
anyone
> > > > who will listen how it all looks from where I'm standing.
> > > >
> > > > I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There
is
no
> > > > doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the
atrocity
> > > > in New York. I agree that something must be done about those
monsters.
> > > >
> > > > But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not
even
> > > > the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of
ignorant
> > > > psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a
> > > > political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think
Nazis.
> > > > When you
> > > > think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people
of
> > > > Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's
not
> > > > only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this
atrocity.
They
> > > > were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if
> > > > someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out
the
> rats
> > > > nest of international thugs holed up in their country.
> > > >
> > > > Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the
Taliban?
The
> > > > answer is, they're starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated,
suffering.
> > > > A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are
500,000
> > > > disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no
food.
> > > > There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying
these
> > > > widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land
mines,
> > > > the farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of
the
> > > > reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban.
> > > >
> > > > We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the
Stone
> > > > Age. Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it
> > > > already. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering.
Level
> their
> > > > houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done.
Eradicate
> > > > their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them
off
from
> > > > medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all
that.
> > > >
> > > > New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would
they at
> > > > least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only
the
> > > > Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd
slip
> > > > away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled
> orphans,
> > > > they don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But
flying
> > > > over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike
against
the
> > > > criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only
be
> > > > making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the
people
> > > > they've been raping all this time
> > > >
> > > > So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak
with
> > > > true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go
in
> > > > there with ground troops. When people speak of "having the
belly to
do
> > > > what needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having the
belly
> to
> > > > kill as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral
qualms
> > > > about killing innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the
sand.
> > > > What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just
because
> > > some
> > > > Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to
Bin
> > > > Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to
get
any
> > > > troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would
they
> > > > let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be
first.
> > > Will
> > > > other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going.
We're
> > > > flirting with a world war between Islam and the West.
> > > >
> > > > And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what
he
> > > > wants. That's why he did this. Read his speeches and
statements.
It's
> > > > all right there. He really believes Islam would beat the west.
It
> > > > might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the
world
> into
> > > > Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the west
wreaks
a
> > > > holocaust in those lands, that's a billion people with nothing
left
> > > > to lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of view.
He's
> > > > probably wrong, in the end the west would win, whatever that
would
> mean,
> > > > but the war would last for years and millions would die, not
just
> theirs
> > > > but
> > > > ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden does. Anyone else?
> > > >
> > > > Tamim Ansary

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