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| Afghanistan |
| Rasool wants U.S. out |
| 2002-09-28 |
| The leader of Afghanistan's most radical Islamic group says Afghans are tired of a central government that has no control beyond Kabul and has permitted ''foreigners and outsiders'' to direct Afghan policy. Abdurrab Rasul Sayyaf suggested in an interview that Western forces, which he said have nearly completed their mission of driving out the former Taliban regime and Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda fighters, should leave soon. ''We have our own laws, our own habits, our own behaviors,'' said Sayyaf, who has no official role in the current government. Speaking in English, he added, ''My aim is that the purposes of our beliefs should be implemented. That is what I want, for the Afghans to be independent, a country independent of outsiders.'' "The purposes of our beliefs should be implemented"? That's Afghan for, "I want to take power and kill everybody who doesn't agree with me." He can't do that with the U.S. there and the rest of the world watching over our shoulder... Sayyaf's remarks were the first public indication that he is losing patience at being shut out of the new coalition ruling Afghanistan. He also appears to be accelerating efforts to influence events here through his speeches and other contacts, Western officials said. They said he was hailed as Afghanistan's future leader when he showed up at the Saudi Embassy earlier this week. That's because he's owned and operated by the Soddies. Of course they dote on him... His aspirations could cause problems for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is promoting a secular government. An Islamic, isolationist Afghanistan also would hamper the United States in continuing its war on terrorism and its efforts to promote regional economic and political stability. 'Nother words, it'd just be more of the same... Sayyaf, a guerrilla fighter in the 1979-89 war against Soviet forces, is the pre-eminent conservative Islamic leader in Afghanistan. His weekly messages from mosques in the Kabul area are carried on radio. According to Western officials, he is supported by hundreds of thousands of Afghans, many of whom believe he should lead the country. Not sure which "Western officials" they've been talking to... Sayyaf and his followers seek a strictly Islamic nation where foreigners, especially non-Muslims, have no influence. But his interpretation of Islam is not as harsh as the Taliban's. Tom Squitieri, the writer, can't bring himself to use the word "wahhabi." Spelling problem? "Salafist" is probably easier to spell, and means the same thing. After the 1979-89 war, Sayyaf founded the University of Sawal al-Jihad outside Peshawar, Pakistan. U.S., British and other Western intelligence officials have described the institution as a training school for terrorists. Among the graduates: members of the radical Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines. They took their name from the university's founder. Sayyaf refused to recognize Karzai's government after it was formed last December. But he has since participated in several political events, including the loya jirga (grand council) in June that established Afghanistan's two-year transitional government. He's miffed because they wouldn't let him be in charge... Interviewed at his heavily guarded hillside headquarters an hour's drive north of Kabul, Sayyaf would not say whether he believed the U.S.-led intervention that forced out the Taliban nearly a year ago had merit. But he said it was time for the U.S. and other international forces to leave. ''They (the Americans) said they came for two purposes. The first was to give punishment to the Taliban and its regime, which was keeping terrorists. The second was to eliminate the bankers of the terrorists,'' he said. ''They have punished the Taliban, and they are almost finished eliminating the bankers. They should go, because we want to have good relations and good friendship with the United States in the future.'' "When we're in charge." He dismissed charges that he and his supporters are responsible for any of the recent terrorist attacks against the United States, its allies or the Karzai government. And Tom forgot to mention his alliance with Hekmatyar, too. Wonder how he missed that? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #3 Afghanistan is a dog's breakfast of mutually hostile ethnic groups. Each appears to want to dominate the others, and Islam is hardly a unifying force. If they don't recognize their own territorial integrality, why should we? What if Russia, China and the U.S.A. created a security zone outside of the Pashtun areas, mutually propped secular republics, and protected them from jihadi primitives? It could be done if all parties recognized multilateral benefits from same. The status quo is not working, and cannot be made to work. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2002-09-28 20:40:21 |
| #2 Hmmm... I might be willing to share it with you. We'll talk... |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-09-28 15:14:23 |
| #1 Here's a suggestion: let the Afghanis partition their country. The ethnic Tadjiks and Uzbeks, along with all the other non-certifiable ethnics in the north, have one country (let's call it "Afghanistan") with Kabul as its captial. They get western aid and assistance so long as they play reasonably nice with each other and run a secular republic. In the south, let the ethnic Pashtuns have a state (let's call it "Insanestan") with Kandehar as its captial. They can do what they want as long as they stay inside the very thick, very high coils of razor wire we put around the place. The Soddis can visit whenever they want. Think I can get the Nobel peace prize for that one? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2002-09-28 14:47:39 |