This Winter The Taliban: Part I

This Winter I have been thinking a lot about the Afghanistan people. I have, for years and years, been reading about them. 
 
I really have a disdain for the Taliban. 
 The Taliban has been responsible for the pillage and deaths (meaningless murders- massacres) of thousands of people.

     It is cold during the winters in Afghanistan and Pakistan and there are thousands of displaced people. So, the only option for them is living in make shift tents. They can only accomodate so many people and so the other people who have an over flow, are not "legally" supposed to be in the make shift tents. The Afghanistan and Pakistan Government have come out and told the "illegal" people (who are displaced) to "Go" but where are they to go, really? 
     They are given a small ration of food and hardly any shelter. Apparently the U.N.or N.A.T.O. Soldiers do not turn them away and in fact try to help them. The kids want to, and need to,go to school but they are "illegally" residing in the tents and they found the life expectancy of the infants born in the winter time in this area from the displaced peoples are about two and a half months. This is to say, that if 1,000 new borns are born in the winter, less than 160 of these infants will survive the harsh elements. UN and NATO soldiers give the people what they can, but the governments say that they are there illegally. However, they are in the camps
 because of the Taliban. They have been driven from their homes and farms. They flock to the cities seeking a safe haven from the Taliban.
Let me tell you what the Taliban have taught or teach these people, and tell me they are not the axsis of evil. 

Here are some of the things that had been effected by their reign. 
Systematic Massacres to Civilians
(more than 15 different times in their Reign of Terror) totalling of more than 5,000 people each time.

Mass Killings of Cilivians supported by Pakistani and Arab Troops (meaning they were involved)
Witnesses reported the skinning of civilians, in villages, as part of their genocide. and using long swords for slitting throats and doing such violent acts. 
The Taliban's "Ambassador" to Pakistan said that all these were "necessary"... Please note, he said this in 2011.
I put quotations around "Ambassador, because, to say that word would be recognizing that the Taliban is really a form of government and not terrorists that they really are

 Ethnic Cleansing
Please readers, I wish to not go into detail of what this entails. But, you can only imagine.
The starving of 160,000 people. The UN reported that in 1998, the UNESCO World Food Program had sent, The Taliban had denyed the civilians, which includes all women and children, food. They were starving and in need of emergency supplies. The UN said this is a way to defeat the people in their time of war, starving the people to death. 

Villages being forced into Labor Camps
One Village had 1,500 defenders. On August 8th 1998, The Taliban engaged battle with them, and indsicrmininately and syustematically killed all in the village but 100 people. Reports from the village said Members of the Taliban were raping and slaughtering women in the streets, thousands of people were locked into containers and suffocated. This caused the Iranina Troops to be deployed:: 250,000 of them. 15 Iranian jouranlists were tortured and killed in this attack. The City of Istalif, containing 45,000 people were given a notice of 24 hours to leave, then the city was razed, killing and slaughtereing everyone and any living thing in the city. 
The city of Bamian, Or Bamiyan, where hudreds of people were bombed out of their homes, and the UNESCO (one of the "World Wonder's" Site (Buddha's Statues) were blasted out of the Mountain Side, because it was "not Islamic" and  "anything not Islamic" needed to be erradicated from Afghanistan. 

Human Trafficking
 Thousands upon thousands of women and teenage girls have been kidnapped and sold into forced sex slavery in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The women were mostly (ethnically) Tajik, Uzbek and Harras areas of the Central Asia, and were not just Afghanistan or Pakistan, but they would go into other neighboring countries and encouraged this, telling the families that they were protecting these women. 
Reports of women who commited suicide because they would rather die than be a sex slave skyrocketed in this region. Reports were not just from the Taliban, responsible, but Al- Qeada,  and Pakistan Troops were all involved in the missing, sex slaving and selling of children,teens and women. 

Here is a quote I found from the internet: "Not all men approved of this behavior, some local Taliban commanders were opposed to the human trafficking ordered and conducted by their leaders. One Taliban commander, Nuruludah, is quoted as saying that he and his men freed some women which were being abducted by Pakistani members of Al-Qaeda. A few local Taliban in Jalalabad also freed women that were being held by other Taliban and members of Al-Qaeda in a camp."

I got that quote from wikipedia and the author of the article from Time Magazine. 

Oppression of Women:: 
According to the Physicians of Human Rights, in 1998, reported that there is no other group in the world that is more forceful and oppressive than the Taliban, no other regime in the world has methodically and violently forced half of its population into virtual house arrest prohibiting them on pain of physical punishment. 
Women were (have been) forbidden to be educated.
Girls were forbidden to atten school or University, girls and women were forbidden to go shopping with out a male relative and forced to wear the burqa. (A piece of clothing which completely coveres the head to the feet, with only a small screen to allow the woman to see through for her eyes.)
Women who were (are) walking not with their relative were charged with adultery, and beaten, at times to death, and publicallly. 
After 1998 the oppression of women became more severe and all homes were forced to have a black covering the windows to avoid seeing women in their homes. 
Women were forced off the streets. 
 Employment of women were banned. Because all most teachers in Afghanistan pre- 1996 were tyically women, all schools with women or female teachers and employees were shut down. 
 Hundreds of women were also forced into marriage with Soldiers of the Taliban.
Women were not allowed to go to Hospitals or see Doctors who were pregnant, meaning forced at home birthing with no Doctor (Because women can't work, and Doctors aren't allowed to help with women who are pregnant) 


Other Oppressive Laws, Violating Human Rights: 

The Taliban were forced to be recognized as "Religious Dictatorship"
People under Taliban Rule were not allowed to practice any other religion but what the Taliban said they could practice. 
This included criticizing the Taliban. 
Journalists were killed and anyone writing anything negative about the Taliban
News papers, News Radios and Television was shut down, only things that the Tablian wantedpeople to hear were reported as news.
Laughing, clapping or shouting outside was banned
Men forced to grow beards
Music of any form: banned
Birds as pets: banned
Flying Kites banned
All children must have Muslim names: any NON Muslim must wear a piece of cloth that is yellow to identify if they are Mulism or not. 
Photos of any Living thing (including text books): Banned
Photos of Family: banned
Suits and Ties: Forbidden
Questioning a  Punishing Sharia Police is prohibited. This is to mean that if a Sharia Police is punishing or rather beating a woman or individual, questioning or trying to intervene would be a punishable offense.
 There were many other laws and rules the Taliban had (or have)  
Punishments were:: flogging, amputations, stoning and hanging.

For this reasons, you can see why I prefer the US Troops there in Afghanistan. Civilians being reported dying because Pakistan said they are? I can guarantee that the Pakistan's government, as well as the Taliban that is doing the killing... Pakistan's Troops, Al Qeada and Taliban are using the civilians as human shields.
 And so, this year, I am really worried and thinking of the dear people of the world that are not as fortunate as we are. 

The Taliban and Today::: 
So, why must we think about Taliban and why are we concerned about them now? 

This is why. Because although the best way to rid of the Taliban, it is to rid of each Taliban Member. Starting from the bottom and working upward in ranks.We need to assure that they don't come back. 
We have to understand that as of 1996, when the Islamic State of Afghanistan was formed, the Taliban no longer was supported by the USA. Why did USA support them in the beginning? Well, because the USA was told they were Anti Sharia,(Anti Shi'a)  Pro-Western, and Anti Iranian. The U.S. Government were helping  Afghanistan against the Russians in the war that lasted approximately 20 years. 
The Taliban are different from Al Qadea. I want to make it clear to my readers, and I think I will have to talk more about the Taliban. 

As of Novermber 23rd the Taliban has retreated into Pakistan from Khandahar. This is a small victory but a victory none the less. 
  I have been upon my reaserach wanted to add that the many illegally tent residents were offered land and homes by the Afghanistan Government, however, with the lack of trust in whom to trust, they are too scared to be in a rural area. I also wanted to add that because of the wars, (before 1992, Afghanistan was in war for more othan 20 years with Soviet Union, trying to break free from Communist Rule)
the women are the ones that are suffering the most. This is because they are the ones that are left husband-less and are widowed because of the wars, and the Taliban killing the men who refuse to fight along side them. 

So, this war with the Taliban is really layered and complex. It is not about USA getting bad guys. It is about the UN, NATO along with USA, Great Birtian and Many other countries trying to give back to the people what they have for over 40 years now, have fought for. 
 For all my Central Asian readers. God Bless you at this time, and the best thing I can say to you in words of comfort is a quote I have memorized in my time of hardships. 
..."Peace I leaveth with you, Peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afriad." May peace go within your hearts. May those who can share with others, please share. go to UNCESCO and donate money to the people of Afghanistan. 
  May all your hearts be filled with joy and love and may the people of this world recieve peace. 

A Soldier taking pictures with the children in a Village in Afghanistan. Thier biggest hope is to gain the Civillians trust to help them and protect them from the Taliban.

The Taliban Soldiers. Of course they don't want their faces shown. They are wanting to hide their identity.

Women are forced to wear the burqa.

One of the things that the Taliban does is separate family, the basic nucleous of society

Public beatings is a norm there as chldren and people look on, unable to stop the beatings. The "crime" this woman commited? something simple as a laugh? maybe he didn't like her ankle peering from the burqa?