The Taliban And The Taliban

If any country proves the adage, “familiarity breeds contempt, it’s Afghanistan.” Learning about political Islam, or in this case the Taliban, must be done in the “life-cycle” model: “a tight focus on how groups form, whom they recruit, how their objectives change (or not) over time, what they ‘really’ believe, with whom they cooperate, whether they participate in elections, and so on.” This allows us to create a unique identity for each political Islam group, instead of just grouping them all together. The Taliban is one of these groups that could use a “life-cycle” model diagnosis, because to many, it is an enigma. Born from the ashes of conflict, it's refuses to disappear or give up. The Taliban continues to be an ever-present player in Afghanistan politics and daily life because of the religious strength of the Taliban, the history of insurgence that characterizes the Middle East, and the mistakes from the Western world.

The first questions about who, what, when, and where must be answered before anything else. In the 1980s the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the legend of Mohammed Omar was created. In a street fight between the Soviets and the mujahedeen, or Afghan Rebels, a 6’5” mullah named Mohammad Omar was hit by a bit of shrapnel and his eye was ripped out, left hanging from the socket, as he continued fighting the invaders. Somehow, he survived the fight, the legend was born, and the soon-to-be-leader of the Taliban rose from the rubble to begin his reign.

Afghanistan used to be a peaceful country with very progressive beliefs. Described as “the father of the nation” in the current Constitution, and “beloved by many people…a mixture of Afghan and Western culture,” in his obituary, King Zahir Shah ruled for 40...

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...ernment. But even for this, the Taliban has promised to “ use all force … to disrupt these upcoming sham elections.”

The Taliban is still strong. Camping out in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal agency, the Taliban is comfortably waiting for its time. The U.S. has tried to break up these sanctuaries for years but to no avail. It still is successful in recruiting new members — reportedly, “militants are continuing to pour into Afghanistan.” And finally, the Taliban isn’t the only thing fighting against the democratized Afghanistan. Militia Commanders continues to terrorize local populations, many of who are competing in the election. The warlord state of Afghanistan is no where near dismantled, and inter-state arguments and dueling could easily lead to more instability for Afghanistan — meaning, another point at which the Taliban could swoop in for the take over.