Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister held his first news conference on Tuesday and reiterated a pledge from the Taliban that the new government would not allow militants inside Afghanistan to attack other countries.
“We will not allow anyone or any groups to use our soil against any other countries,” said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, a member of the Taliban since the 1990s.
Since the US withdrawal, Western media has been full of stories conflating the Taliban with al-Qaeda and warning that al-Qaeda will gain a foothold in Afghanistan. But the Taliban have a clear interest in not giving the US another pretext to invade Afghanistan.
The narrative that the Taliban will provide a “safe haven” to al-Qaeda ignores the fact that the Taliban offered to hand over Osama bin Laden to the Bush administration multiple times in 2001. Even before the September 11th attacks, the Taliban offered the US to put bin Laden on trial.
Afghanistan just happens to be where bin Laden was at the time of the September 11th attacks. None of the hijackers were Afghans and much of the plot was planned in other countries, including the US and Germany.
Besides al-Qaeda, the US is also concerned with the Afghan ISIS affiliate, known as ISIS-K, the group that took credit for the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport. But the Taliban and ISIS-K are sworn enemies. The US has even provided air support to the Taliban in its fight against ISIS-K.
While the Taliban have said they don’t need any more help from the US to fight ISIS-K or other groups, they do want relations with the US, something Muttaqi reiterated on Tuesday.
Muttaqi also called on the US to release frozen Afghan funds since the Taliban cooperated on the evacuation. “We provided safe passage for US soldiers to leave Afghanistan, but instead of thanking us the US has frozen Afghanistan’s assets,” he said.
For the Taliban to make good on their promise they’d have to leave Afghanistan and surround Washington.
It is easy for US government and
corporate media to make up facts, demonize anyone. Reason?
There is no legitimate, credible political, social or religious institutional PUSHBACK.
No organized institutional actor will take on false narratives and practices that for decades damage our standing in the world and diminish our internal vitality.
Why? It may be that such pushback is not possible, as all institutions must go along — to get along, and not damage their financial positions.
Laughingly stupid narratives continue. ISS-K? Even former President Karzai said openly that US brought them from Syria. US had a surplus of those, after Mosul fell, and ISIS withdrew to Syrian Raqqa in November 2017.
It took US about a year to build up the illusion called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and let them “liberate” Raqqa. Of course, those being mostly Kurdish YPG.
And what happened to ISIS? The elite command. fighters and admin-religious establishment disappeared from Raqqa, and the low level followers and their families were left to their fate.
They were first gathered around Al-Tanf, eventually detailed to other assignments. Some continued raiding Syrian government controlled areas, the mysterious ISIS “from the desert”. Some went to Afghanistan.
New fashions were provided to the newly minted ISIS-Khorasan. Saffron-colored head-wraps and fatigues — someone gave some thought to villain fashion!
But the problem is — no funding. One of the reasons for withdrawing from Afghanistan is — no underwriters left for non-state actors, militants, rebels, religious cults, secular “freedom fighters”, or even vanilla NGOs,
Without an enemy to protect against, how to justify staying in Afghanistan or now in Iraq?
Thus, thunder and fury descends now on Saudi Arabia. And we — even presumably informed ones, will — cheer it along!
Once our most reliable financier of “non-state actors” as Kissinger called these shadow forces — Saudi Arabia, went out of business, we are done. Needed is plan B.
And the event PRECIPITATING this is rather famous.
Trump went to Saudi Arabia to tell them that he intends to finish off ISIS. That was a shock for Kingdom and its most powerful man at the time — Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef. He was the one that managed the “non-state actors, started war on Houthis led North Yemen, to help US in consolidating control over Bab Al-Mandeb. He funded a plethora of Islamists while still an Interior Minister.
Let’s just recall the depth and breadth of Saudi involvement. From Salafi communities in Egypt that toppled Morsi, to Al-Qaeda from the very beginning, Taliban in its founding stages in Pakistan, all forms of religious militancy in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and much earlier Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo.
Trump — instead of coming up with an Obama-like solution to “fighting ISIS by killing “leaders” — decided that he would destroy ISIS.
Suddenly, US is NOT PROTECTING joint investment in a caliphate encompassing Sunni portions of Iraq and Syria. ISIS caliphate was to be a shock-and-awe phase, to force populace to fear and obey new rulers that claimed to be the “pure” Islam. Once region was under control, a new management would have replaced crude ISIS.
But with Russia entering the fray, Syria pushing ISIS beyond Euphrates where US controlled the air, and Iraq with Russian intelligence help, pushed towards Mosul — Trump saw the handwriting on the wall.
Trump knew that US had two options: 1/ to fight against Russia, or 2/ to fight ISIS.
3/ continue Obama strategy — to pretend it is fighting ISIS, while saving it from destruction.
Trump probably blamed Saudis for failing to motivate Sunni regions to fight against Syrian and Iraqi “infidels”.
Seeing that Russia, Syria and Iraq are winning against ISIS, Trump chose option 1. He wants to come in as a victor-in-chief, and claim that US destroyed ISIS.
Saudis saw that as American fickleness, ditching projects Saudis funded on American behalf, and leaving KSA to be named and shamed for supporting all forms of militancy, including ISIS,
And worse — Saudi concluded that US could not fight off Russian influence in the region.
In June 2017 , Crown Prince was removed in a palace coup, and MBS became ruler.
This is the event to remember. As it affected everything.
From our position in Syria, Iraq, Libya and even Egypt, to our fight against Iran.
And ultimately, viability of our stay in Afghanistan. Along with Egypt, KSA joined China-Russia led SCO.
And now, sounds of fury everywhere.
Saudis will be hit into pocketbook for 9/11, and other problems are coming as KSA is left without air defenses.
The Taliban keeps calling their bluff on every US demand giving Blinken & Sullivan fits trying to come up with new reasons for their hostility.