The year was 2001, and it was an even bigger odyssey than Arthur C. Clarke or Stanley Kubrick could have ever imagined. We were still reeling from a contested election, and making all sorts of hanging chad jokes in the process. We were still learning about the evil that is Nickelback. And there was the War on Terror, which sent thousands of young men and women to the Middle East to fight with different factions, such as the Taliban.
Now, 20 years later, we’re leaving Afghanistan (at least in part) and leaving it to…the Taliban.
As much as I like reruns, there is a logical limit to everything, except Leftist rhetoric. While the Left is trying to put a positive spin on the debacle…I mean successful withdrawal from Afghanistan, we would be remiss if we didn’t take a look at the new boss, who is the same as the old boss.
the Taliban
What the Left thinks it means – bad guys who are better than the far right in America
What it really means – terrorists who should have been wiped from the face of the Earth when we had the chance
In the aftermath of 9/11, we were looking for the people responsible for the multiple attacks on America and landed on the Taliban, both figuratively and literally. After some fighting, the Taliban were removed like David Duke at the NAACP Image Awards. Then, we did something which, in retrospect, was kinda dumb. Like inviting David Duke to the NAACP Image Awards.
We let them go.
Instead of curb stomping them, we let them get away, including one Osama bin Laden. You know, the mastermind behind 9/11? Although we eventually found and killed bin Laden, that didn’t kill the Taliban. Quite the opposite, actually. That’s because of the nature of Middle Eastern terrorism.
Even though there are multiple terrorists groups operating in the Middle East, they aren’t exactly working out of different Q’orans. Their main purpose is to spread Islam worldwide through conversion, coercion, or, their personal favorite, killing the non-believers. So far, they haven’t been that successful with the first two methods, but with the third option, they’ve done a bang-up job. Literally.
And the Taliban are no different. They will be as bad as they were in 2001, if not worse. That means women and children will be endangered, rights will be restricted, and we will have to learn more hard-to-pronounce names to at least appear to be educated on the goings on. And it means our political leaders will have no clue of what’s going on in the first place.
Case in point, the Biden Administration. Instead of worrying about the destabilization of the reason and the geopolitical implications of the Taliban regaining power in Afghanistan, our fearless leader and his ever-on=the-ball Administration are concerned with…the Taliban being inclusive. And remember, kids, Joe Biden is supposed to be the foreign policy expert.
In other words, we’re boned.
Although the Biden Administration is willing to take the Taliban at their word, there are two big reasons we shouldn’t. One, they have no reason to follow through with any agreement they make with us. Granted, I’m no expert on the Muslim faith, but when their interpretation of their holy book makes it okay to lie to and kill non-believers, I’m pretty sure they’re less trustworthy than a car dealership working straight commission and with a lot full of lemons that would make Country Time want to file a lawsuit against them.
Oh, and the second reason? They’re freaking terrorists!
Of course, this hasn’t been a problem in the past because we used to have a good intelligence network in that part of the world. Then, some Leftists (such as the Commander in Briefs, Bill Clinton) got it in their heads that getting intelligence from terrorists might make us look bad. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news to the Left, but the best intelligence against the bad guys comes from the bad guys. The result of our insane pearl-clutching can be seen where the Twin Towers once stood.
Am I blaming Bill Clinton for 9/11? No, but it’s hard to argue his actions didn’t have at least some bearing on what lead up to it, including the infamous briefing that amounted to “Osama bin Laden may try to do something with airplanes at some point down the road” written by the same group of people that thought satellites could do a better job of getting secret information from terrorists than having actual people on the inside.
The point is the Left got us into this mess by inadvertently giving terrorists what they want and getting nothing in return. This is because the Left’s version of foreign policy is always having to say we’re sorry. That’s sure to get you a lot of friends, but very few will be allies, especially if there’s hard work to be done. You know, like trying to execute a mass exit from a country where the enemy is heavily entrenched and now has access to the toys we’re abandoning?
The Left isn’t the sole party to blame here, but they are the ones who keep setting the rules of engagement and making the blunders that lead us into having to deal with groups like the Taliban on a regular basis. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot we can do until our leaders change their minds on how to deal with the Taliban. And if I could humbly offer a suggestion, one that I’ve held since 9/11.
Go back to the original rules of engagement, namely 1) take out the enemy, 2) take or break their stuff, and 3) do steps 1 and 2 in such as way that it makes the enemy reconsider whether they want to continue hostilities. If so, repeat steps 1-3. If not, then they might be willing to knock off their shenanigans for fear of us repeating steps 1-3. In recent years, we haven’t had the courage to even attempt step 1 without feeling guilty. We need to stop feeling guilty when it comes to dealing with people who want us dead.
Until then, we will have to put up with history repeating itself. in other words, a geopolitical version summer TV.
