The Rise and Fall of America in Afghanistan
16 March 2015By Al-Ikhwah Al-Mujahidun
Fourteen years prior America - proud of its military prowess and speaking
only the language of the sword - invaded Afghanistan. Not in their wildest
dreams (or worst nightmare) did they imagine that just over a decade later
they will be fleeing this land with their tail between their legs. It was not
just Americans, many around the world refused to consider that this,
technologically, the most advanced war machine of our time will face defeat
at the hands of Afghans whom with their bare hands would break this war
machine beyond recognition, relegating the last super-power of the previous
century, to the status of a mere regional player.
To many this shouldn't sound strange. When the Warsaw Pact nations invaded
Afghanistan mere three decades earlier, many experts and observers believed
that Afghanistan will be subdued by the Red Army within 24 hours. A decade
later the Red Army was forced to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Warsaw Pact
shattered, and the Soviet Union soon started crumbling under the shame of its
defeat. The disintegration of the Soviet Union left United States as the sole
remaining super power of the world. Its remarkable victories in the first
Gulf War merely reinforcing its status as an invincible army and military
juggernaut. American military thinkers scoffed at the loss of Soviet Union in
Afghanistan. They argued that Soviet military equipment was obsolete, its
military thinking corrupt, and its economic system fundamentally flawed.
Hence its defeat to the ragtag army of Mujahideen was inevitable. Thus when a
decade latter American army invaded this same land they were confident of
victory. Military victory, in their mind was a foregone conclusion, rather
they touted grand plans of state-building on the scale of Marshall Plan. They
would bring democracy to Afghanistan, invade more nations, coercing and
caressing the entire Middle East towards democracy in the shape of the
American (Israeli) dream.
Yet military might is not always measured in materialistic terms. Had this
been true the Muslim armies of 14 hundred years ago would have had no chance
against the military might of the Persian and Byzantine Empires. So it was
that yet another military super power invaded Afghanistan, was routed by the
war weary nation of Afghanistan, and yet another not-yet- defeated military
alliance (NATO) was forced to its knees in this land. While Afghanistan might
be considered as 'backwards' in many other fields of world civilization, yet
Allah Almighty has distinguished this nation with the honor that many a great
Empire has invaded our land and its arrogance and haughtiness turned to ashes
by the proud and valiant nations of Afghanistan.
The Macedonian army of Alexander invaded Afghanistan to serve as a strategic
flank for his conquest of India. His armies suffered such heavy losses in the
mountains of Bactria that it dried up their appetite for further conquest.
Having barely entered the plains of India, his phalanxes rebelled against the
Macedonian king, forcing him on his fatal journey back to Persia. The
invincible armies of Genghis Khan, having defeated the entire old world,
invaded Afghanistan as a mere 'backdrop' wasteland. Their aim being little
more than to gather more laurels celebrating their glory. Yet his armies
faced such fierce resistance in the mountainous Afghanistan that fearing
unless his supply lines are constantly being looted by Afghan tribes, he gave
up his invasion of India – the remaining bastion of great riches not yet
plundered by the Golden Horde. Several centuries later, Britain, the largest
sea empire the world had ever known, tested fate by invading Afghanistan. One
massacred army later she too began to doubt her prowess and resorted to more
'British' style of handling Afghanistan. Then the Russian bear, learning
nothing from the British lion, decided to invade Afghanistan, and the rest,
as they say, is history.
Afghanistan might be 'backwards' in some measures but it has always being a
rock in an ocean of uncertainty. It has served as a bastion protecting the
shores of Persia, Central Asia and India from marauding armies. The great
Turkish tribes that trampled the Middle East never set foot in India. The
great Indian Empires never extended beyond Khyber Pass, the Persian Empire
never crossed the Indus. Why? Simply because when standing on the foothills
of Afghanistan and contemplating the task ahead, they could see nothing but
diminishing returns.
Yet admittedly there is a sea of difference between the times when men fought
on horseback with their swords and now when they fight with tanks,
helicopters and fighter planes. The mountains of Afghanistan hardly look so
formidable when you can simply fly over them with helicopters and carrier
planes. Alas the story of the two super powers of twentieth century, who both
invaded Afghanistan and then left with bitter taste in their mouths.
What they both failed to comprehend is that Afghanistan was not the
graveyards of empires because of the high mountains. Rather it was due to
those that dwelled in those mountains. The sky-rising mountains of
Afghanistan protect a mighty nation, accustomed to the harsh conditions of
the land, who value their freedom and beliefs more than life itself. They
will fight fiercely for their freedom, no matter the odds. To subdue them you
will either need to kill them to the last man, or coopt them in your
adventurous, and supposedly profitable, enterprise. The latest invader failed
to offer either of those. Instead it offered servitude in the garb of
freedom. It offered promiscuity in the garb of development. And it offered
massacres in the name of democracy. To some it might have seemed like an
irresistible proposition but when you have been invaded so often then the
tone of your enemy's voice speaks more than the words coming out of his mouth
will ever reveal.
America today is tired. It admits that the war in Afghanistan has been the
longest in its history. It admits that this war has economically crippled
her. Yet it must fight on. It must try and create a semblance of an orderly
withdrawal because what is at stake for her is far more than merely the
mountains of Afghanistan. It is her status, as a globally unchallenged power.
It is the fear she inspires on the world stage. If she loses her standing
then she will need to work twice as hard to reestablish herself as the
dominant force in international politics. So she must fight on. She must
change tact, change labels for her involvement, issue more resolutions, sign
more treaties, convene more international conferences, and fight to her last
breath. Ironically however, the more America lingers in Afghanistan, the
deeper her grave becomes and the more tarnished it will appear when her
armies finally leave Afghanistan. America thinks that by prolonging her
presence in Afghanistan it can save its stature as a global power and help
its military alliance from unfolding. Yet the more she stays in the quagmire
that is Afghanistan, the louder her death pangs become and the clearer her
new found weaknesses appear to the prying eyes of emerging powers.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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