Terrorism in Afghanistan Looms Once Again

MaryAnn T. Beverly is an historian  and the author of FROM THAT FLAME, a novel that focuses on the life of freedom fighter Ahmed Shah Massoud and his twenty year, relentless struggle to bring peace and democracy to the Afghan people. Known as the Lion of Panjshir, Massoud was assassinated under orders from Osama bin Laden just two days before 19 terrorists flew airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

As Beverly was researching for her book, she discovered a fascinating 30-year history between Afghanistan and the United States that began after the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and continued through the mistakes and blunders made by the CIA and five U.S. presidents. In a recent radio interview, Beverly had this to say: "As we approach 2008, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Afghanistan is once again falling off the radar of US interest. Distracted by the war in Iraq, Afghanistan has become 'the forgotten war' with little manpower and fewer resources than necessary being devoted to its security and stability. Once again, both Al Qaeda and the Taliban are finding a safe-haven, and the people of both Afghanistan and the US will pay the price for ongoing neglect of that country."

While Osama bin Laden hides in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan, insurgents are reorganizing and terrorizing Afghan leaders and parliamentarians. According to recent news reports, it is the insurgents' strategy to convince Afghans that their government and its Western backers are totally unable to bring security to their country, a country which has already suffered through nearly three decades of constant war.

Beverly went on to say, "It suited US foreign policy to finance and support the Afghan mujahidin in a proxy war when they were fighting the Soviet Union. It was easy to channel weapons through Pakistan to resistance leaders such as Ahmed Shah Massoud, and as long as the mujahidin were willing to fight, the US was willing to supply them. Once the Soviets withdrew in 1989, however, Afghanistan became little more than a blip on US radar, and the Afghan people were left to recover from their war without any real help. The lack of interest in the country and her people first destroyed the country and, second, provided a fertile breeding ground for Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

In 2001 after the 9-11 attack, the US once again fought a proxy war in Afghanistan. It relied heavily on the Northern Alliance to do the actual fighting. Sadly, this time around they had to fight without their leader because Massoud had been assassinated. Without his vision, wisdom, advice, and help, there was a vacuum no one yet has quite been able to fill. The US paid and armed various warlords and subcontracted much of the country's security to them, leaving US resources free be diverted to Iraq. Now these same warlords are reluctant to give up their weapons. They look with mistrust at their central government and doubt anyone's ability to bring the resurgent Taliban and Al Qaeda under control. The current turmoil is Pakistan is throwing fuel on the fire in both countries. Where a stable Afghanistan might have helped calm the situation, an unstable Afghanistan is contributing to the danger in the area."