Reply #16: Not the way I remember it [View All]

[Jai4WKC08]

Would like to see your sources.

What I recall is that the resistance fighters of various factions were seen as liberators when the Soviets finally left, but in the political vacuum left behind, those who would become the Taliban rose to the top. In some places, they did so by making truce with the warlords, and in others, they left it to the local tribal leaders. They also murdered many of their former allies.

The Taliban did help clean out the gangs and restore order, as would have any new govt imo, but of course it's always easier for a totalitarians to establish order more efficiently. For that the Taliban looked attractive to many Afghanis, but that's to be expected. It made Hitler popular, and Mussolini make the trains run on time, right? I have spoken to older Russians who sometimes wish for Stalin back, because he controlled crime. For that matter, too many Americans are willing to let Bush do anything as long as he keeps them safe from suicide bombers -- it's really no different.

In any case, it's just plain wrong to suggest the Taliban are "an improvement" or even an acceptable alternative. These are people who beat women and girls to death for nothing, allow them ZERO education, and treat them as prisoners in their own homes. They are the people who harbored Osama and al Qaeda.