لراوبر ویب پاڼه لراوبر يو افغان – تازه خبرونه
Dr Mohammed Daud Miraki, MA, MA, PhD
mdmiraki@ameritech.net
Dr Ramat Rabi Zirakyar, MA & PhD in Political Science
The Moral Degradation of Western Alliance in Afghanistan
Since the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the Western alliance has shown its ugliness through horrendous forms of murders and despicable war crimes including use of illegal weapons. However, the true face of the Western alliance and their moral degradation emerged with the passage of every day especially when the insurmountable
and unreported losses of the US and her allies fail to make it to the official tallies in Afghanistan.
The following set of examples would suffice to establish the true picture of this Western alliance that has not only destroyed Afghanistan but also undermined the humanity of the people of Afghanistan.
Few days ago, someone has uploaded video footage of four US Marines urinating on dead Taliban fighters. This was no surprise for us since we have read a lot about the despicable behavior of US troops and her allies in Afghanistan and every where. However, one basic and irrefutable factor about the US forces could not be overlooked, their disregard for human dignity. In fact, the US forces behaved in a classic cowardly manner as usual relying on their supersonic bombers and other advanced weapons against poorly equipped adversaries. Taliban fighters are armed with very old Kalashnikovs and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers but carry with them the true weapon of their defense, their unbroken iron will. This combination has brought 49 countries including the US and NATO and the former members of the Warsaw Pact to their knees. In fact, the US tacitly acknowledged defeat when Hillary Clinton spoke in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in October 2011 and stated that peace would not be possible without Mullah Omar. Remember, this is the same Mullah Omar the US called a terrorist.
The other example is the US Stryker Tank Unit in Kandahar when they murdered Afghan civilians and posed with their disfigured corpses for fun and even cut their fingers and heads as souvenirs. The question is what type of beasts would do this? The answer is, the beasts are American soldiers. .
The third example is the molestation of Afghan children by British troops in Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan. The British and American troops have committed some of the most heinous crimes in Helmand Province since they have been defeated in almost every battle. Incidentally, in February 2010, a force of 15,000 American and British forces along with their Afghan Northern Alliance units under the clock of Afghan National Army attacked an agricultural village, Marjah, in Helmand Province. This massive force with air support and massive artillery and special operation units were brought to their knees, defeated. In fact, their defeat in Marjah was illustrated by former General of the US forces in Afghanistan, General McChrystal when he referred to Marjah as a bleeding ulcer. He referred to Marjah as bleeding Ulcer because the US and British troops sustained massive losses in that village even though the US and her allies by far outnumbered and out-equipped Taliban fighters. However, in return, since these foreign forces of invaders, NATO and US, could not defeat Pashtuns, they resort to indignity violating little children for sexual purposes as in the case of the British troops or desecrating their dead by American troops. What a collection of courageous “men”, armies representing nations?
In 2005, US troops burned corpses of two Taliban fighters in Uruzgan Province. While the soldiers were burning these corpses, they were using loudspeakers insulting local villagers by undermining their courage and manhood. Subsequently, US troops were targeted there and in every Pashtun dominated province. People realized that US troops lacked basic humanity and disrespected human dignity; hence, the resistance against the occupation expanded and received popular support.
In 2006, German soldiers in Afghanistan used the skulls from the local cemetery to play soccer with and perform other humiliating acts. The soldiers took photos with the bones and one soldiers positioned one of the skulls at his private area to disrespect it through sexual portrayal.
On many occasions, US troops have desecrated the Holy Koran in different provinces of Afghanistan. The soldiers violate peoples’ privacy by blowing up their front doors regularly while being asleep and target them with attack dogs. If all this were not enough, the soldiers took copies of the Holy Koran and threw them into filth on a number of occasions. It is this type of indecent behavior that has strengthened the resolve of the Pashtun (Afghan) people while other minorities watched with indifference or collaborated wholeheartedly for few dirty dollars.
The Pashtuns (Afghans) are winning the battle on the battlefield of warfare but are also winning the moral battle with their dignity and did not compromise their humanity. Since some segment of non-Pashtun population of Afghanistan are appeasing the invaders while others are apathetic spectators that is the difference between overwhelmingly resistant Pashtuns and the overwhelmingly submissive non-Pashtuns segments in Afghanistan. God will judge the righteous and the wicked. To Pashtuns, Afghanistan is not a commodity to be sold for few dirty dollars.
The Western Alliance’s war in Afghanistan shows that its high-tech military is suffering from the lack of professionalism, namely the commitment to moral or ethical standards in the heat and stress of battle. Western rulers have standing armies of strategists, political analysts and think tanks at their disposal. Nevertheless, these rulers have failed or refused to understand the Afghan realities:
(a) Pashtuns, the majority of Afghan population, are the founders and custodians of Afghanistan.
(b) They have structural/egalitarian democracy, instead of theoretical Western democracy. The following Pashto proverbs, for example, illustrate Pashtuns’ thinking about conflict resolution:
په خبرو سره دوزخ منم ، په زور سره جنت پریـږدم
“With talk and persuasion I would accept hell fire but with force I would abandon paradise”
[This means that Pashtuns are willing to accept sheer hell when introduced with kindness and decency; however, they would abandon even paradise when force is involved]
جرګه مې کړه خپل مې کړه، پـړ مې کړه مـړ مې کړه
“Make me Jerga, Make me yours, Find me guilty and Kill me”
[When Jerga (consultative assembly of elders) is used it conveys respect and honor and makes the invitee susceptible to persuasion, hence he abides by their dignified arrangement, whereby if judged and found guilty, he would submit to even the harshest punishment, namely the death sentence]
که غر ډیر لوړ دی په سر یې لار ده
“There is a walking path even on the top of the highest mountain”
[Even in the most contentious circumstances, there is potential for negotiations]
(c) Due to their egalitarian consciousness, Pashtuns cannot tolerate arrogance. Pashtuns learn their history from their graveyards that are symbols of their honour and dignity. Their egalitarian consciousness and deep-rooted self-respect could not allow Pashtuns to bow their heads to colonial and imperial arrogance.
The 17th century national poet-leader of Pashtuns (Khoshal Khattak: 1616-1696) wrote:
“The very name Pashtun spells honour and glory
Lacking that honour , what is the Afghan story?”
The history of colonialism and imperialism has been very callous to the fate of Pashtuns. The colonial, illegal, invalid and immoral “Durand Line” of 1893 is still dividing them. Despite the colonial designs of the past and the present, the atrocities committed against them, Pashtuns chose to uphold their dignity and defend their honor with their lives. Irrespective of how low the invaders stoop, the Pashtuns will not lower themselves to their level and fight an honorable battle.
All Rights Reserved, 2012
