Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Davron Abdullayev
[REGNUM] The Doha Agreement emphasized the fight against IS and Al-Qaeda. According to a number of experts, the agreement also included some secret clauses or verbal agreements.
The arrival of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan and the situation that is developing there are very ambiguous processes, and much is still hidden from the general public. Further, one of the aspects of these events will be considered - the actions of the United States in relation to terrorism in Afghanistan in comparison with the approach of Russia and a number of states in the region, developed at the Moscow Consultative Meeting on Afghanistan, held in November of this year. The meeting will be discussed below.
I decided not to mention the appeal of the US Congress, because the Doha Agreement (February 29, 2020) between the US and the Taliban was developed and signed during the Trump presidency.
The fact that the collective West and, above all, the United States has double standards on almost the entire agenda of international politics has long been no secret. The same is true with approaches to the fight against terrorism. A good example is Syria, where terrorists of all stripes were divided into "bloody radicals" and "fighters" against the no less "bloody" regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Now, it seems, the mentioned standards have begun to be applied to Afghanistan, however, in a slightly different version. In Afghanistan, the Americans did not divide terrorists into “good” and “bad”, but simply “forgotten” those who, in their opinion, do not pose a potential threat to the United States itself and, moreover, can be useful to them. Moreover, already in the Doha Agreement of February 29, 2020 between the United States and the Taliban, only the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda were mentioned among the terrorist groups."
The first statements about the “strengthening” of the positions and growth of the potential of the “Islamic State” and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan were made by the American military, and retired, the current summer. The skirmishers were former heads of US Central Command Kenneth Mackenzie and David Petraeus. The latter also managed to work for a short time as director of the CIA. Further, the baton was picked up by Republican parliamentarians, such as Senator Johnny Ernest and Rep. Mike Waltz. Although the congressmen focused not so much on the growth of terrorist threats as on its cause - the shameful flight from Afghanistan, their statements again featured only ISIS and Al-Qaeda (an organization
WHAT ARE ISIS, AL-QAEDA AND OTHER GROUPS TODAY?
"Al-Qaeda," created in 1988, after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, directed the spearhead of the fight against the United States, the countries of the so-called "Western world" and their supporters in Islamic countries. The goal of the organization is to overthrow the secular regimes in these countries and create a "Great Islamic Caliphate."
Experts distinguish five periods in the history of Al-Qaeda: emergence (late 1980s), "wild" period (1990-1996), heyday (1996-2001), periods of existence in the form of a network (2001-2005) and fragmentation (after 2005). A sign of the organization’s decline is the fact that its head, Ayman al-Zawahiri, took an “oath of allegiance” to the leaders of the Taliban - Mullah Akhtar Mansur (2013-2016) and Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada (since 2016) . It is no coincidence that Zawahiri, after the Taliban came to power, took refuge in Kabul.
The "Islamic State" aims to establish a caliphate , similar to the one that existed in the Middle Ages. ISIS seeks to extend its power first to Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon (the countries of the Levant) and, finally, to the entire Islamic world. IS took the creation of the caliphate literally, in contrast to the Muslim Brotherhood" of Egypt and Al-Qaeda, for which the caliphate is either a spiritual idea or a goal for the distant future.
Because of the ruthless violence, all major Muslim theologians condemned ISIS as heretics. The "Islamic State" does not recognize state borders and only allows peace agreements for up to ten years. Support for the "Islamic State" by the Taliban is impossible in principle - in the structure of the "Caliphate" of the IS there is no place for an independent "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."
The American media, citing former member of the Afghan parliament Nahid Farid, cited a fantastic figure of 4,500 IS fighters operating in Afghanistan. I wonder where the former parliamentarian, who fled the country more than a year ago and even during the republican period did not have access to any significant secrets, got such specific information? Nevertheless, American politicians and biased media, such as the Afghanistan International TV channel (which has offices in London and Washington), only mention these two terrorist organizations in all their statements and broadcasts, completely "forgetting" about other radical organizations that are no less dangerous, if not for the world as a whole, then for the region. These include the following.
"Lashkar-e-Taiba" (lit. "Army of the Clean" or "Army of the Righteous") is one of the largest and the most active terrorist organizations in South Asia.
It was founded in 1989 with the financial support of Osama bin Laden. The goal is the liberation of Kashmir, based in Pakistan and Afghanistan, operates in Kashmir and India. Some of her attacks were carried out in Pakistan. The organization has been designated a terrorist organization and banned in India, Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, Russia and Australia.
"Jaish-e-Muhammad" ("Army of Mohammed ", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistani jihadist group operating in Kashmir. Established in 2000. The main goal is to separate Kashmir from India and unite it with Pakistan. After the liberation of Kashmir, she intends to carry "jihad" to other parts of India with the intention of expelling Hindus and other non-Muslims from the Indian subcontinent.
Maintains close relations with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Experts claim that JeM was created with the support of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence , which uses it to fight in Kashmir and elsewhere. Jaishe-Muhammad has been banned in Pakistan since 2002, but has reappeared under different names. Designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, Russia, Australia, Canada, India, UAE, UK, US and UN.
Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a radical Islamist militant organization. Established in 2007, based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas , has a number of strongholds in Afghanistan. Represents an association of most (not all) Pakistani groups based on common goals: resistance to the "pro-Western" Pakistani government, the establishment of direct (unconstitutional, undemocratic) Sharia in Pakistan , Muslim India , resistance to NATO troops in the territories of Pakistan and Afghanistan (until 2021). The TTP is not united with the Afghan Taliban, however, these groups cooperate closely, which was especially evident during the Afghan war of 2001-2021. They differ in their history, slightly in purpose. Pashtuns dominate the active part of both organizations .
"Islamic Movement of East Turkestan" (also - " Turkestan Islamic Party" , "Turkestan Islamic Movement") - Uighur an illegal armed group whose goal is to create an independent Islamic (Sharia) state in East Turkestan and convert the entire Chinese people to Islam. Sometimes erroneously called "Al-Qaeda in China," which is unlikely, since Al-Qaeda” is a Salafi group, and ETIM is a Sufi group .
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is an Islamist terrorist organization created in 1996 by former members of a number of political parties and movements banned in Uzbekistan . The goal is to overthrow secular power in Uzbekistan and establish a Sharia state. Considered as a terrorist organization by many countries of the world, including Russia and the United States .
Jamaat Ansarullah is a Tajik terrorist organization. It sets as its goal the creation of a Sharia state in Tajikistan. According to some reports, the Taliban transferred five districts bordering Tajikistan in the province of Badakhshan under the control of the group and provided assistance with weapons and ammunition.
In total, according to various estimates, from 20 to 50 different terrorist groups operate in Afghanistan. Above are the largest and most active.
THE SITUATION WITH ISIS AND AL-QAEDA AFTER THE US WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN
Against the "Islamic State," more precisely, its branches in Afghanistan and Pakistan - "Velayat Khorasan," the Taliban actually carried out several, albeit not very large, operations, but war was declared. The reaction of the former allies in the fight against US troops was not long in coming - in response, the Taliban received a number of bloody suicide attacks, mainly in Hazara areas, and widespread reaction on social networks due to the fact that the Taliban is not able to ensure the safety of the population.
Moreover, recently the ISIS switched to attacks on the Taliban army - for example, an attack on the transport of the 205th army corps in Herat, when 14 soldiers of the Islamic Emirate army were killed. At present, the conflict has taken on a protracted character with minor actions on both sides.
With Al-Qaeda, the situation was somewhat different. The Taliban simply "didn't raise their hand" against their longtime ally from the memorable times of cooperation and friendship between bin Laden and Mullah Omar. In addition, Ayman al-Zawahiri renewed the “oath of allegiance” to Mullah Haybatullah Akhundzad. The answer of the Americans was not long in coming: on July 31, an American drone eliminated Zawahiri in Kabul.
A small digression is needed here. In November last year, "humanitarian aid" in cash from the "international community" began to arrive in Afghanistan in the amount of 32 million US dollars a week (subsequently, the size of "aid" packages increased to 40 million). The Taliban cheerfully reported that the money that arrived was being transferred to one of the commercial banks. It is even ridiculous to assume that any of the Afghan banks tried to dispose of at least one dollar of these funds without the knowledge of the Taliban.
To date, the total cash flow has exceeded $1.4 billion. Neither the United States, nor the "international community", nor the Taliban themselves gave a clear explanation of the origin and methods of using these funds. The indistinct muttering of high-ranking UN officials once again informed the world that Afghanistan is in the gravest humanitarian crisis that needs to be fought, and this requires money, a lot of money. They probably forgot that the United States has a tidy sum of $7 billion of frozen assets in Afghanistan, half of which the Americans want to transfer to the families of the victims of September 11, and the other half to the fund they created in Switzerland, allegedly designed to "provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, bypassing the Taliban.
The first "result" is obvious - Afghan banknotes were printed in Poland and handed over to the Taliban.
So, after the assassination of Zawahiri, this flow slowed down somewhat, the American generals proudly announced that, despite the fact that the Americans do not have a physical presence in the country, they are able to destroy any target in Afghanistan, read - any of the Taliban leadership.
No wonder Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the Haqqani Network and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Taliban government, immediately left Kabul and took refuge in the region where he has the greatest influence - in the province Kunar in the east of the country.
But the “stick” was followed by a “carrot” – US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West visited Afghanistan; in Qatar with American officials, including the same West, met the Minister of Defense of the government of the Taliban Mullah Mohammad Yakub (the son of the founder of the movement of the one-eyed Mullah Omar), and as an apotheosis - a meeting in Doha of the head of intelligence of the Taliban with the deputy director of the CIA.
It is not known what they agreed on, but the amount of cash flowing into Afghanistan increased dramatically - in the first week of November alone, 4 packages of $40 million arrived. Shortly before this, a number of sources confirmed that the Taliban deployed over 400 militants and commanders of the ETIM, the IMU and "Jamaat Ansarullah."
With Pakistan, things were much more complicated. Firstly, the prime minister there was Imran Khan, who tried to pursue an independent foreign policy. Without hesitation, the Americans applied the old tried and tested method - they simply dumped the "obstinate" prime minister.
Three months later, Pakistan provided its territory and airspace for an attack on Zawahiri. Of course, the Pakistani authorities disowned this, but it is not necessary to be a great specialist to understand: the drone could only fly from the territory of Pakistan.
Iran, for well-known reasons, disappears immediately, UAVs simply could not fly from the territory of the states of Central Asia, from US bases and aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean - too. The Taliban were indignant for appearances, but things did not go further than this. And then, after a couple of weeks,
WHAT IS HIDDEN BEHIND THE "SELECTIVITY" OF AMERICANS?
The Moscow Consultative Meeting on Afghanistan was attended by representatives of Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The final statement states that the participating countries "want a peaceful, unified, independent Afghanistan free of terrorism and drug trafficking, and calls on the Taliban to take serious measures to fulfill their obligations to eradicate terrorism and drug trafficking and fight them resolutely to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven or a source for the spread of terrorism. The participants also declared their readiness to help Afghanistan in this area. Note that the statement does not indicate specific terrorist groups, but speaks of terrorism as a phenomenon.
As mentioned above, the Doha Agreement emphasized the fight against IS and Al-Qaeda. According to a number of experts, the agreement also included some secret clauses or verbal agreements. Based on the foregoing, it can be assumed that it was meant to counteract the growth of the presence and financing of ISIS and Al-Qaeda (only these two organizations) in Afghanistan, with full ignoring and even promoting other groups that can be used for the following purposes:
— directly against China in Xinjiang (“Islamic Movement of East Turkestan”);
— indirectly against Russia - in the Central Asian states ("Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan", "Jamaat Ansarullah");
— as an instrument of influence on Pakistan and India (“Lashkare-Taiba,” “Jaishe-Muhammad,” “Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan,” whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation));
— to destabilize the situation in the region as a whole - as a pretext for military intervention.
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