In this blog, I am not going to dig deep into
Afghan history. You can Google it and see for yourself. Having said that, it is
quite boring. No, I want to go back to around April 1978, when the communist
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in a bloody coup
d'état against the then-President Mohammed Daoud Khan, in what is called the
Saur Revolution. The PDPA declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic
of Afghanistan, with its first leader named as the People's Democratic Party
general secretary, Nur Muhammad Taraki. This would trigger a series of events
that would dramatically turn Afghanistan from a poor and secluded (albeit
peaceful) country to a hotbed of international terrorism.
I mean, Afghanistan? What? Where? Looking back, in
1978, a gallon of petrol cost £0.79, Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David
Accords, the first women astronauts entered space, in the UK the first
test-tube baby was born, the US dollar fell to a record low against the British
pound, Pope Paul VI died . . . and Afghanistan? I didn't actually check out
where this country was on the map until around 1980.
Looking back, on 28 February 1921, Afghanistan and
the then Soviet Union signed a friendship treaty whereby the Soviet Union was
the first country to recognise Afghanistan's independence following the Third
Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. But things began to deteriorate in 1979, this after
Czarist Russia's prosperous and diplomatic trading relations with Afghanistan
dating back to the 1800s.
The Soviet Union, under Leonid Brezhnev, decided to
invade Afghanistan to combat the rising of what would turn out to be called the
Mujahedeen, a terrorist organisation which, believe it or not, was back in the
day financed and supported by the United States, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
China and, yes, Great Britain. What would be later called the Soviet-Afghan War
lasted for 10 years ending with the 'defeat' of the Soviets and the eventual
pull-out of all its troops. This would eventually lead to what is now known as the
Taliban, an extremist Islamic military movement, which has maintained that it
eventually wants to drive out all foreign interference in the country and to
eventually take control of the country and establish Islamic Law throughout.
Again, I shall leave you to Google the UK’s drastic 10 years involvement in
Afghanistan with the loss of 456 troops. Drastic!
And so we have the Taliban, as of 14th August, now
controlling about 75% of the country and according to some reports the
terrorist organisation could be in control of the capital, Kabul, within three
weeks. In reality, it will then control the whole country. I have also been
reading that surrounding countries: India, Pakistan, China, Iran, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have voiced concerns about their neighbour and
possible Taliban-controlled factions crossing their borders to spread the
Islamic-terrorist message.
Look, I'm gonna be upfront and honest; the Taliban
embraces Islam as if it was the only ethical and most spiritual religion on the
planet. Well, guerrilla bastards, it isn't! You are terrorists, animals who
have and are treating women like shit, capturing young girls - most under-aged
- raping and killing them. You are animals, not humans and the entire world
should treat you as such. Under Taliban rule, men are required to grow beards
and women are forced to wear burkas to refrain from showing any skin.
Television, cinema and music are also banned and if you are caught stealing a
loaf from a local store, your hand shall be amputated. They are also banning
the use of mobile phones and all and any sorts of online media.
As for the future of this once peaceful country and
surrounding countries, well, goodness knows . . .
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