Last night I was watching CNN and the reporter was saying (my paraphrase) that there is not a natural affinity between Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Al Qaeda is driven by an ideology of Islamic fundamentalism, but the Taliban is more concerned with Pashtun nationalism. Because they have different agendas, he said, if the Taliban were to control Afghanistan again they might not really provide a safe haven for Al Qaeda, since that would draw international opposition down on them.
Now, I spoke out to people I know about the evil of the Taliban a long time ago. In 2000 and 2001, before 9/11, I alienated some people by urging them to support RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. I still don't think the Taliban are a bunch of nice guys. However, the idea of U.S. troops being sent to quell an indigenous movement for national self-determination makes me uneasy, even if the nationalists would blow up ancient statues of the Buddha or take an allegedly adulterous woman out to the soccer stadium and shoot her in the head. It's a little too reminiscent, for me, of the rationale used to send troops to Vietnam.
Then, this morning, I was watching the 2005 documentary Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train on Link TV. Howard Zinn is a true American hero. The movie had a clip of Hubert Humphrey speaking in defense of the conduct of the war in Vietnam. He was (my paraphrase again) explaining the inevitability of collateral damage because the enemy would surround itself with innocent people. He said, "Your government does not bomb women and children." Once again I heard echoes of Vietnam. Isn't that exactly what our government says now when a drone takes out a few militants but also kills innocent people around them? How well did that turn out 40 years ago? How will it turn out now?
There may be substantive differences that I'm ignoring, and if so I would welcome anyone who wants to point them out to me and convince me of them. I really would. I am committed to supporting this president, and he was very clear throughout last year's campaign that he would step up the war in Afghanistan. Still, I'm getting uneasy about this war.