And why did you allow CIA to create this mess in your territory? Pass the buck seems to be the flavor of the day here.
Gents, let us get few facts sorted out. CIA or USA did not create the Taliban but did help to incubate a monster which would eventually evolve into the Taliban. This all goes back to early 1980s when the bogeyman was the Soviet Union.
Zbigniew Brzezinski advocated the use of Afghanistan as the 'bear trap' to catch the Soviets in Afghanistan and bleed them to death or give them thier 'Vietnam'.
Operation Cyclone ( 1979-89 ) under Director Casey,CIA was launched. It became very obvious that the only people who could be depended on to go into Afghanistan and fight the Soviets was the hardline Islamic groups.
So a massive project was launched to help create pool of people brainwashed to fight the Soviets. Pakistan was a willing partner and Saudia Arabia pitched in with additional funding. That led to Saudi Wahabism being imported at a industrial scale. Madessah's sprouted like weed in the tribal areas.
Soon enough these Jihad factories were producing radicalized fighters on a industrial scale. This lead to the spread of a certain mindest. The problem was when the Soviets left the Jihad factories and all that infrastructure built up by Pakistan, USA and Saudi Arabia was still there in Tribal areas near the Afghan border pumping out Jihadi's and what about the mindset that had been unleashed?
You could not just switch this mindset off and the tidal wave of Jihadi's just spread all over Pakistan. The Taliban are a manifestation of this mindset that was unleashed in the 1980s. We still live with the consequences today. The USA is today fighting against a dark force that it along with Saudia Arabia and Pakistan nourished and gave birth to. It is a Frankemstien monster they all created.
It is no point in Pakistan blaming the Americans or Saudi's or vice versa. All are responsible for this. In my view Pakistan gained the least. We had a dictator, Gen. Zia who sold out Pakistan for short term benefit. We are still paying the price today. I think the Afghans and Pakistani's have been the biggest victims. Our entire societies have radicalized.
As far as Americans? Well I saw a documentary once and Director Casey ( CIA 1979 to 1990 ) was asked about US policy during the Afghan Jihad. He accepted that there had been unintended consequences or 'blowback' of CIA policy in the form of 9/11 and Afghan Taliban but he said even with the benefit of hindsight he had no regrets.
If he had to do it again he would still do what they did in 1980s. Why? He said we brought the Soviet Union down and freed all of Eastern Europe from Communism. So it was a small price to pay.
When I heard that I thought fair enough but what the hell did Pakistan get - We are being torn apart by Jihadi's and that mindset today has spread so deep within Pakistani society that even Pakistani's who are educated, some on these forums show symptoms of this cancer. Oh yes Pakistan got a few F-16s and thats about it. Today we carry the baggage of 'terror central' because obviously all that infrastructure of jihad built in 1980s is in Pakistan.
I guess we can thank Gen. Zia for it !!!
** Has anybody watched the Hollywood film 'Charlie Wilson's War' with Tom Hanks? It covers some the the subject in hand.
. If that doesn't tell you anything, I don't know what will. Pakistan's quest for relevance in Indian considerations are hilarious.
