Post via Islamic Emirate

Two months ago the U.S. Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter, came to Afghanistan on a secret trip and met with American soldiers stationed there as well as meeting with Kabul regime’s Acting Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai.

During these meetings he apparently reiterated that America will keep its promise of supporting the Kabul regime in the long-term fight against terrorism.

He added that while the Taliban were active in some provinces of Afghanistan, however the U.S. would continue with its mission of training, supporting and assisting Kabul regime forces until they were ready to stand alone. The most surprising part of his statements were his remarks regarding the Taliban. During the visit he said that the Taliban’s existence in Afghanistan was only a temporary phenomenon.

The Defense Secretary would most assuredly have been amused by the hollowness and naivety of his remarks. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been around for over 20 years, it has survived and thrived despite the broadest military coalition in human history assembled against it. Daily they are gaining territory and international political recognition. Viewed in this context Ashton Carter’s remarks were nothing short of attempting to cover the sun with his two fingers.

Since we are amusing ourselves with hyperboles it might be apt to recall that once when the Austrians – during their negotiations with Napoleon – offered to recognize the French Republic, he snapped back that ‘the French Republic is like the sun, only the blind fail to see it’. And so today, we are forced to remind the hapless U.S. Defense Secretary that today, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan shines like the sun and only the blind will be fooled by his naïve statements.

Has Ashton Carter forgotten that the Americans made similar statements about the Vietcong during the Vietnam War and yet – some forty years later – the Vietcong (or its successors) are very much alive and in control of their country?

The American Defense Minister forgets that the Taliban are the sons of Afghanistan. Born and raised in Afghanistan they are very much part and parcel of Afghanistan’s fabric and no matter how much he plays around with his words, they are not going anywhere.

As Bismarck once aptly stated ‘it is not by speeches that the great questions of the time are decided, but by blood and iron’. Americans – who consider themselves the very embodiment of realpolitik – have discovered a new form of waging war. They have somehow come to believe that if you fail to vanquish your enemies with swords, you may still be able to magically vanquish them by making such laughable statements.

The Islamic Emirate has not readily embraced this death and destruction for the sake of some silly ministerial posts or a share of the power. On the contrary they epitomize the nation’s hopes and aspirations for a just and peaceful government that will strive to build our beloved nation on the basis of Islamic law, social justice and national interests.

The people of Afghanistan readily sacrifice their sons to achieve this objective. And the Emirate – as the true representative of our people – will not end its peaceful and armed endeavors until we have achieved this hope of Afghanistan.

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad. She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.