Afghanistan: Legitimacy of the US occupation: Part One
Keeping the facts straight about US occupation of Afghanistan should be the top most priority of researchers and analysts. The reason is simple: For the first time in modern history, occupation of a sovereign state has been globally accepted as fully legitimate. In addition, the tyrants have been given a free hand to terrorize, kill, capture, and abuse all those in the name of the Taliban who stand against the occupation. The global silence and assumed legitimacy of the US occupation of Afghanistan is tied and directly proportional to the Taliban’s presumed “illegitimacy.” Therefore, the focus of research and analysis should go behind the concocted stories and biased reports generated by the co-opted media and other vested interests during the Taliban era. The US policies and media campaigns during this period has turned the world against living by Islam, pitted Muslims against each other and divided Pakhtoon on both sides of the defunct Durand Line to an extent that history has never seen. This minds infected with years of media campaign now consider the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan as a benevolent exercise towards a prosperous future. Whereas those who are aware of the ground realities, consider it far worse than the Soviet occupation, which was, at least, discussed and reviewed at the UN on weekly basis and there were people who really considered it illegitimate. Therefore, the truth and facts must come to fore to help the world understand the reality and deconstruct the myths, including that of a legitimate occupation and legitimate terrorism to keep enemies of the occupation out. Ignoring the reality, or avoiding a discussion on it, could doom dreams of a better future for Afghans and others in the region forever to come. [more]