No, I don't actually want anyone executed. Let me make that clear. No actual violence is meant or implied by this diary.
We all know about "circular firing squads". Which, frankly, Democrats excel at forming, and the Afghanistan issue has been a prime example. How many diaries supporting Obama by criticizing those who don't have you seen recently? How many diaries disagreeing with Obama by criticizing those who support him? Not to mention the usual spate of meta diaries asking, in various ways, why we can't all get along.
The intent of this diary is to be none of the above. A linear firing squad is one where we shoot at the criminals, not at each other.
Follow me below the fold for some blue aardvark venom (quite lethal to lower forms of life, such as Republicans).
This diary intends to remind you, gentle reader, that there are some real horrible people involved in this story, and none of them (IMNHO) are Democrats. In this diary I want to provide everyone with an opportunity to yell at the people who really screwed up the poor suffering country of Afghanistan. I ask, but cannot enforce (obviously), that comments not attack:
- Any Kossack, whether by name or by inference
- Any Democratic Party elected official, whether by name or by inference. This includes Jimmy Carter. To quote Jimmy, "Life is not fair", and neither is this diary. You want cogent historical analysis, go read a diary by a smart person.
Let's line up, level our metaphorical rifles, and take aim at the people who really destroyed the nation of Afghanistan and put our nation, and our President, into a no-win situation.
I will start with one Mohammed Daoud Khan, who overthrew the last King of Afghanistan (his brother-in-law) in a coup in 1973, and began
- Broadcasting anti-Pakistani propaganda, and
- Trying to get both the United States and the Soviet Union more involved in the country - in retrospect, rather disastrous - and
- Trying to stomp out the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (a.k.a. the Communists, or PDPA).
By so doing, he ended legitimate political rule in Afghanistan, and incited a counter-coup. Which led to his death, and the rule of the Communists. Nice work, idiot. Up against the metaphorical wall with you, for betraying your own family to advance your ambition; for betraying your country to outside powers; and for removing legitimate political authority from your nation.
Next target: Leonid Brezhnev, whose brilliant idea it was to invade Afghanistan and change which faction of the PDPA ruled the country. It wasn't enough to have Communists in charge, it had to be the right Communists. Sending in 100,000 invaders, another 100,000 reinforcements, and killing a huge number (hundreds of thousands or millions) of civilians is not nice, Leo. Up against the metaphorical wall for being a bully, for slaughtering civilians wholesale, and for removing any illusion that the government of Afghanistan was even remotely supported by the people. And since your invasion also created 5 million refugees, you don't even get a last cigarette.
A group of warlords comes next. After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, each one of you put your own ambition and tribe ahead of the desperate needs of your countrymen. Tens of thousands of your fellow countrymen dead, all industry other than weapons destroyed, and your capital city reduced to rubble. So Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Abdul Ali Mazari, Karim Khalili, Hossein Anwari, and Abdul Rashid Dostrum: up against the wall. Some more guilty, some less, but I'm taking a "kill them all and let Allah sort them out" approach today.
Next comes a semi-literate fanatic by the name of Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban. You're different than the other warlords for a couple of reasons:
- You won.
- Your semi-literate interpretation of sharia law included banning employment and education for women, music, videos, dancing, clapping hands, flying kites, trimming beards - on and on and on. And then sending out thugs with clubs to beat anyone who disagreed.
Up against the wall, Omar. Your bullet is dipped in pig blood.
New guy on the wall is one Osama bin Laden. You don't have the excuse of being semi-literate; you're well educated. You don't have the excuse of being provincial; you're widely traveled. You are a creature of hate and intolerance; you have sent dozens of men to their deaths in suicide bombings, but none of your many sons have decided to gain martyrdom; I wonder why? For being a killer, an intolerant fanatic, a hater; for destroying an entire nation in your desire to spark a war between one of the world's great religions and everyone else; and for being a colossal prick: up against the wall. You probably expect Allah to greet you with favor; die with that last delusion in your mind.
(UPDATE)
I forget the obvious. The Terrible Trio of Total Stupidity:
George Bush, Richard Cheney, and Donald Rumsfield. For 8 years you got everything you asked for in Afghanistan, and the Taliban were gaining ground on Jan. 20th, 2009. Up against the metaphorical wall for leaving the job undone so you could go into Iraq; for being more concerned with proving that you could win a war with a 'light' force than with actually winning; and for making everything, even war, a political game first and foremost.
You guys get shot with metaphorical paintballs until you drown in 6 feet of paint. Enjoy.