Re: RE: Taliban retreats

[Stephen E Philion <philion@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your kites!!

Steve



On Fri, 16 Nov 2001, Brownson, Jamil wrote:

> Karl, excellent analysis! Afghan loyalties have alwasy been close to home
> but mercenary in relation to outsiders, even when "outside" is at a tribal,
> ethnic, or regional level, much less any grand "national" or ideological
> scheme, such as propagated by Taliban.
>
> You are correct to point out that Taliban had few really significant
> military "victories" in the field, and those were largely due to support by
> Pakistani military /ISI "advisors". Whle their initial success was due to
> perception of them as a clean new actor in the chaos of civil war, their
> subsequent dogmatic and capricious rule endeared them to few if any
> Afghanis, including most of their allies and recruits. Marx's line "all
> that's solid melts into air" has many uses.
>
>
> As to the "hard core" Taliban and their "foreign" supporters going down in a
> hellish fire of bombs & munitions, I have deep compassion for them despite
> repudiation of their fanaticism. To be a mujahihadeen is an honorable
> identity, albeit perhaps mislpaced in this context. But if many of these men
> were veterans of wars for liberation of Muslim lands and peoples from true
> state terrorists such as Soviet & Russian successors, then they deserve
> compassion at the very least in their final end of unimaginable agony.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Karl Carlile [mailto:dagda@xxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 10:51 PM
> To: communism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [PEN-L:19654] Taliban retreats
>
>
> A study of the history of the Taliban with regard to its take over of most
> of
> Afghanistan will show that it had not demonstrated any particular skill on
> the
> battlefield. The Taliban had made many of its gains as a result of
> defections
> due to sizable payments to the appropriate commanders or due switching sides
> so
> as to be on the winning side. The Taliban when it did do battle suffered
> some
> serious blows.
>
> It is clear that this process has been reversed. The significant defections
> away
> from the Taliban helps explain much of the gains from those that now oppose
> them. Those among the Taliban that are putting up a fierce and tenactious
> resistance are more than likely the core of the Taliban and OBL's armed
> group.
>
> Indeed it was a demonstration of the bankruptcy of the Taliban that should
> have
> tried to hold on to so much territory under the circumstances. Some weeks
> ago I
> pointed out that if I were Taliban I would have retreated from the cities
> and
> kept my army in tact. This would have left me in a better position to resist
> and
> even mount an offensive againt Western forces.
>
> Karl Carlile
> Be free to visit the web site of the Communist Global Group at
> http://homepage.eircom.net/~beprepared/
>
>