CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Imperial Nostalgia: Afghanistan After Five Years of Taliban Rule 

Photograph Source: Tasnim News Agency – CC BY 4.0

The lesson scrawled and etched across the neglected covers of history books (few read them these days) suggests one mighty, consistent rule: Never invade Afghanistan.  The history of the country is one of admirably stout resistance to invasions and intrusions from foreign powers, and, significantly, a severe dislike to imposed social and political solutions.  Along the way, three empires – the British, the Soviet and the American – have suffered defeats.

The clerically stern Taliban, scourged by supposedly enlightened Western powers for being hopeless brigands in government and impossible as functionaries, have lasted for five years.  “We pray to Almighty God to forever protect our homeland from occupation, aggression, wars, and insecurity, and to enable our people to enjoy peace, tranquillity, and prosperity under the auspices of the Sharia-based government,” declared the Taliban government’s deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, during a ceremony marking the five-year liberation.

These seemingly ragged warriors prevailed with astonishing and assured resilience against the administrations lasting from George W. Bush to Joseph Biden.  They hit their stride with the encouragement by the first Trump administration that the “forever wars” so addictively pursued by the United States were to end.  (How quaint that sounds now.)  In August 2021, a withdrawal by US and coalition forces both chaotic and ignominious was completed.  The two-decade effort by coalition forces had cost the lives of 2,448 American service personnel and a staggering 363,000 Afghan civilians.

The Taliban, for their part, have shown that they can master the modern lingo of false advertising, claiming to observe modest change in such areas as women’s rights while still holding the fundamentalist line.  Being in power means having the means of dictating that choice.

The romantics, giddy on distorted memories, have been busy churning out the coated justifications for the war and the need for a continued US-led presence.  Paul Miller’s Choosing Defeat (2025)........

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