Understanding Afghanistan -- A Commentary

Taliban leaders

Taliban From Outer Space -- New York Post

A FUNDAMENTAL reason why our intelligence agencies, military leaders and (above all) Washington pols can't understand Afghanistan is that they don't recognize that we're dealing with alien life-forms.

Oh, the strange-minded aliens in question resemble us physically. We share a few common needs: We and the aliens are oxygen breathers who require food and water at frequent intervals. Our body casings feel heat or cold. We're divided into two sexes (more or less). And we're mortal.

But that's about where the similarities end, analytically speaking.

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My Comment: Ralph Peters commentary hits me at home, reminding me of the experiences that I had with my dad. My father fought for the Soviet Army in the Second World War. A Russian by birth, he had the unique experience of not only fighting for mother Russia .... but to also survive and escape to the West at the end of the conflict. Immigrating to Canada he met my mother .... another Russian refugee after the war .... and they produced me.

At home I was always in battles with my father when it came to issues of Defense and security. He towed the Russian line when it came to their security and safety .... was vehemently hostile to Germany, and was deeply suspicious of the United States. Hostilities especially broke out when the Russian hockey team came to Canada for international competitions. My brother and father got into historic shouting matches .... with both of them more exhausted than the players.

From my viewpoint he was an alien in my own home.

As I have grown older .... and been fortunate enough to have traveled all over the world .... I now understand my father. He was a product of his time, culture, the war, and the brutal political environment of Russia. The fact that he was able to establish himself in Canada and the U.S. is remarkable .... but I knew that deep inside of him his loyalty was always to Russia. He was a Canadian outside, but Russian inside.

Afghanistan reminds me of my father. The Taliban and the civilian population are a product of their times. Wars. Poverty. Opium addiction. Corruption. Islamic extremism. Hatred for foreign occupation. Their culture is centuries older than ours .... and it is with this realization that I recognize that the Afghan people are not going to change overnight .... hell .... they are not going to change this century. Just like my father .... it was impossible for him to change.

We are two alien cultures at war with each other. While we have the technical superiority to win any conflict, we are not going to use it to the full against the Afghan people. We cannot because our culture will not permit it. While this will probably prolong the conflict, it is who we are .... and it is who the Afghan people are.

In the end, our two alien cultures will come to some accommodation. We may be different, but the hunger to finally end a conflict is a part of the human condition .... that war cannot continue for all time.

Sigh .... at least we all share this value.