A kinder gentler Taliban

Those that have followed the history of Afghanistan know that it has had a tumultuous history. From Buddhism to Islam and mostly local tribal rule it seems like war is part of the culture of the country. They were at war with the Russians for ten years before the Russians left with their tail between their legs. Then in the mid 1990's the Taliban took control of the country and instituted the strictest version of Islamic Sharia law.

Women were not allowed to leave their homes without a male escort, and when out of their homes they were not allowed to be seen; having to wear a "chadri" which is a full covering including their face. Women that attempted to go out in public without a chadri risked having acid thrown in their face or being intentionally disfigured. Girls were not allowed to go to school. Thievery was punished by cutting off a hand; adultery was punishable by public execution.

After taking control of the country and installing strict Sharia law which prohibits idolatry, the Taliban leaders issued an edict that all statues with even the remotest religious significance were to be destroyed. This included priceless ancient Buddhist and Hindu Statues located in many Afghan museums. Museums around the world offered to take these priceless artifacts but the Taliban refused and destroyed them.

The Buddhas of Bamyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan. Built in the fifth century these statues were worldwide tourist attractions and being the largest ancient statues of their kind were priceless artifacts. They were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban on orders from their leader Mullah Mohammed Omar after the Taliban government declared that they were "idols".

After the 9/11 attack the US and its allies drove the Taliban out of Afghanistan into the northwest mountainous regions of Pakistan. The US and NATO established a fragile democracy which turned out to be not as violent as the Taliban but just as corrupt. So we have been mired there for 8 years as the Taliban try to re-establish their power in the country.

This is the enemy the US and NATO are now fighting. The Taliban insurgency although growing stronger, has been losing favor in Afghanistan because of their random violence which has killed many innocent civilians. But the Afghans are not enamored with being "occupied" either and are simply war weary. This is what our troops are facing and I wonder if the problems in Afghanistan will ever be solved - after centuries of war it seems to be in their blood.

But the height of hypocrisy, coupled with their 6th century mentality, is the recent directive from Taliban leader Omar. The Taliban's spiritual leader in hopes of creating a kinder gentler image to the local Afghans outlined a new code of conduct for the Taliban. The dictates includes: “Bans on suicide bombings against civilians, burning down schools, or cutting off ears, lips and tongues"

I'm pleased to see that these enemies of ours are finally becoming civilized.