“And that, ... is the story of our country, one invasion after another...Macedonians. Saddanians. Arabs. Mongols. Now the Soviets. But we're like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.”
― Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns
Yes, we are talking about Afghanistan. Tragically, these words have stood the test of time.
Once again Afghanistan has been invaded by the Taliban. Once again the future of the Afghans is staring into the abyss of darkness.
It’s surprising though. How in the 21st century can the Taliban, a terrorist group, become so powerful that it can take over an entire country?
Let’s go back in time to see how…
The 1900s was a crucial century for every country in the world. We were moving from monarchies to democracies. From wars to world peace.
Nation-building was tough. The countries that had strong leaders at the helm of their affairs, prospered. But the same cannot be said for countries trapped in the clutches of leaders, blinded with greed and power. Afghanistan became one of those unfortunate nations.
Many powerful forces wanted to run the government in Afghanistan. Some wanted to enforce the laws of Islam, while others simply cared about power. One such force signed a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union in 1978.
Little did they realise that this move would cost Afghanistan.
This treaty allowed the Soviet Union’s military to enter the country in case any Islamic extremism threatened the regime. And well, the Soviet Union did not have to wait for much longer.
Now, the US and Russia were in the middle of cold war at that time. And seeing the Soviets take over Afghanistan, the US couldn't keep quiet. So they did everything in their might to oust the Soviets from the land. Everything. Even if it meant shaking hands with the Islamic extremists.
And the US succeeded. Within a decade, they managed to push Russia out of Afghanistan.
But it was the Afghans who paid the real price. When Russia withdrew from the country, civil war broke out. A powerful force that emerged from the war was the Taliban. It promised peace. The battered souls of Afghanistan could only see hope, and they danced with joy when the Taliban came to power.
Little did they know that they were doomed forever.
Nothing good has ever come out of extremism. Taliban unleashed its atrocities on Afghanistan for 6 years. Suppression of women, public execution of those who refused to comply became the norm. The world simply observed what was going in.
But the bombing of the World Trade Centre in 2001 was the final hammer on the nail. The US wouldn’t take it anymore. They wanted blood. They sent troops to Afghanistan and managed to drive the Taliban out of power.
Yet, the war was far from over.
The forces kept sparring. The citizens kept suffering. The US gave up its fight. But the Taliban did not. And now, they are back in power.
Two decades have passed, but poor Afghans are still in 1994.
Over the period of 20 years, the US has poured trillions of dollars into this fight. What’s baffling is, how has the Taliban been able to amass so much wealth to be able to combat a super-power?
No surprises here: illegal activities such as drug trafficking and opium poppy production, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, mineral exploitation, and revenues from tax collection in areas under the Taliban control or influence.
And oh! They also get external financial support in the name of donations!
As per a UN Report, the annual income generated by the Taliban ranges from $300 million to $1.6 billion! Here’s a rough estimate:
Opium trading: $460 million
(No wonder, Afghanistan accounted for 84% of global opium production over the last 5 years!)
Profits from mining: $464 million
Donations:
Extortion and Taxes: $160 million
But do you know what’s more surprising? Annual expenditure by the US to keep this war going was around $45 billion.
Haah! The amount that the Taliban spent was a far cry from the money poured in by the US. Yet, the Afghan army (trained and funded by the US) surrendered even without fighting and gave access to all the munitions of war to the Taliban. How did this happen?
You see, wars are not won with money. They are won with willpower. The Afghan army did not lose the battle on the field. They lost the battle in their minds when they knew that the US was going to abandon them soon.
Now that the Taliban is in power, what’s in store for the future of Afghans?
Only time will tell…
The image of Afghans falling from the plane has been breaking our hearts. Their choice to risk death rather than facing the wrath of the Taliban says it all.
"Some things are simply too big to be taken in all at once. Raise your eyes one night to the sky, to the blackness sprayed with millions of stars, and try seeing all of it, the whole sky. It can’t be done. It is overwhelming. The best you can do is to fix on a star or two and imagine the sheer vastness of the heavens through them. Sometimes, what you can’t grasp as a whole, you can picture through its parts."
These lines are by Khaleed Hosseini who has described the plight of Afghans from the eyes of Afghan kids in his heart-shuddering books, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Our heart goes out to the citizens of Afghanistan. May they find peace and prosperity 🙌🏽
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