ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF AFGHANISTAN: THE UNNECESSARY TALIBAN BAD HYSTERIA.

ICHEOKU says the Western world is needlessly hyperventilating over the return to power in Afghanistan of the Taliban and thus creating an otherwise avoidable panic and tension in the country and among other concerned peoples of the world. It is just a change of power and the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will not be any different to other Islamic enclaves which Western nations deal with and maintain cordial relationships with. 

The Chicken Little's "sky is falling" hysteria being generated just because another Islamic Emirate has emerged under the Taliban in Afghanistan is therefore a needless stir of emotions. It should stop and stop immediately in order to avoid creating more problems in that part of the world and by extension, for the entire world which is still reeling under the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, particularly version delta; and an economy largely in many places still comatose. 

Creating another refugee problem in Afghanistan when there are so many IDP camps in various parts of the world is not a smart move. Rohingya Muslims are largely still displaced in hundreds of thousands, so those countries seeking to now take in Afghanistan refugees should pay attention to the already existing refugees and not create more by their sponsored anti Taliban media blitz. 

The new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) should therefore be given a chance to bloom; and their new Taliban leadership given the benefit of the doubt to first prove themselves before any further condemnation. They have made promises and given assurances; and it is now imperative that they live up to their promised deliverables. Governance can never be a one cap fits all maximum decree because the Greeks who bequeathed the world democracy never intended it to be that way. 

This is the reason United Kingdom operates a pseudo monarchical parliamentary government and the United States have a republican system of government, and some other countries such as Nigeria have a direct democracy. Afghanistan should therefore be allowed to chose whatever form of governance that suits them and the rest of the world must butt out of their internal affairs domestic matter and let them paddle their canoe as they best see fit. 

If Western nations are looking for places to "nation-build", there are a lot of such places within their hemisphere needing urgent attention. For America, such a place as Haiti could use all the "nation-building" help they can get. For colonial Europe and Britain, there are so many of their colonized African countries which can use a lot of help in having their nations built back better. But a now failed mission to westernize Afghanistan under the color of "nation building" should not create such a hoopla as the world is now witnessing. They did not want it and have rejected it, so the matter should be left alone. 

But how exactly is Afghanistan any different from Saudi Arabia when compared with the rights which Taliban is accused of violating in the past and being terrorists and sponsoring terrorism. Recall that 19 of the 20 terrorists who hijacked planes and flew them into World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville Pennsylvania were all Saudi nationals. None of them was an Afghanistan national, admitted the then ruling Taliban in Afghanistan gave Osama bin Laden shelter and we were also told that the planning of 9/11 attack took place in Afghanistan. 

ICHEOKU is not holding brief for the Taliban but maintains that Western nations will be better served if they accept the reality that is Afghanistan now under the Taliban; and respect the wishes of majority of Afghanis who prefer Taliban to the corrupt and inept government of President Ashraf Ghani. We may not like what happened or the apparent humiliation of Western powers by the rag tag Taliban fighters, but it is their country and they reserve the right to do with it as they please. 

We went there to preach the gospel of democracy and help build back better their country, but they have overwhelmingly rejected the gifts. It does not matter that a few of them embrace it, but majority still rules. Joe Biden is in the White House today not because every American voted for him; so, it will be naive to expect every Afghani to be in support of the Taliban before we accept them as legitimate government in Kabul. 

Even the various mujahideen who were attacking and killing American soldiers did not stand up to the Taliban because they too are Taliban. Then add the 300,000 "well trained" and "well equipped" military who did not confront the Taliban and as Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed at his press conference, Taliban entered Kabul and took the presidential palace without suffering a single casualty. 

Throughout their incursion, Taliban did not meet any serious challenge or confrontation and it took them only 7 days to capture the entire Afghanistan, including the presidential palace. Which other army in the world has ever achieved such an incredible military feat at such a lightening speed, except that the Taliban were not challenged nor confronted because the so called national army of Afghanistan were all members of Taliban. They aided and abetted the outcome as it was a willful surrender of power by the President Ashraf Ghani led government. 

So, any one expecting something different than the outcome is naive, to say the least. Taliban rule is what Afghanistan people want because the 20 years of democracy experiment brought so much corruption, ineptitude and decay in the land and they craved the old ways. Taliban spokesman even made allusion to the homelessness which has become the new order in Kabul as Afghanis openly used drugs on the streets of Kabul. It is their country and they should be allowed to drive it in whichever direction they see fit. 

The fact that Afghanis did not want to fight the Taliban and indeed refused to fight them shows that they are all incohoot in the outcome; and therefore they should be left alone to their Taliban devices. The good news is that the Taliban have indicated interest to be an improved version of the old Taliban which the world used to know and we should be hopeful. The press conference is helpful and their effort to woo the world should be applauded, received with open hands and in turn, reciprocated. The world should accommodate them and gradually nudge them towards moderation like Turkey or Dubai styled Islamic enclave; but they must not be pushed away through retaliatory sanctions and diplomatic isolation. 

They have indicated their interest to play and the world must indulge them. They want to be on the dinner table, the world should put them on the invite list and then educate them on the etiquette of the dinner table, that instead of shovel and rake, spoon and fork are the ideal cutleries. Yes, they can come to dinner but must drop their rakes and shovels and come with spoon and fork. It is called meeting them half way and that way, they will gradually be tamed and brought to the mainstream.  

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid gave assurances that Taliban 2.0 will be different from the acute Taliban 1.0 of the 90s, which memory of repression still haunts the world till this day. The spokesman said they are an improved Taliban and the world must now allow them necessary accommodation to show their cards. Therefore, it is in the interest of everyone, both the West and the Afghanis, that the created hysteria ends immediately so that Afghanis can continue to build back better their society. But causing severe brain drain in Afghanistan, through a needless panic induced evacuation, will only halt whatever progress that have been made this past twenty years and will eventually torpedo Afghanistan and drive it back into the once failed state which it was back in the 90s. 

The evacuation of Afghanistan citizens should be halted immediately and in its place exact pressure on Taliban to respect the rights of their citizens. It is their country and they owe it as a duty to help save it from total ruination. Instead of draining their much needed brain power and general manpower, the West should plug into its contacts in the Arab and Islamic world to help put a leech on the Taliban and encourage, supervise and stir them towards moderation. They are likely to become better over time with necessary prodding, understanding them and showing them a respectful behavior. 

Life is dynamic and the Taliban cannot survive, remaining adamant and impervious to world expectations. Nobody knew that Israel will ever mend fences with the Arab/Muslim world, so there is a possibility that the Taliban will eventually turn the corner and reform their ways in order to fit into a new world order. They have already given their word to respect the rights of women to work, media to freely operate, security and safety guarantee for everyone in Afghanistan, general amnesty for all and to ensure that Afghanistan is a terrorism and narcotics free country, among other things. 

These are sufficient assurances to earn them the benefit of the doubt; and like President Ronald Reagan once said to trust but first verify, the world must now step aside and wait for the Taliban to put their money where their mouth is. It is only if they fail to live up to their promised expectations that any condemnation or gang up against them will be justified. Afghanistan reserved the right to choose the type of government they want just like other countries of the world, the world must now respect the choice which they made. 

A new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will not be any worse than all the other Islamic enclaves of the world which the Western world deals with. The most important thing is their expressed intention to do better and the West should explore ways of encouraging them fulfill this pledge. The Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which the West deals with does not accord women rights including something as basic as the right to drive a car. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman even butchered a Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi yet the West looked the other way. 

So, why all the "pants on fire" outcry about Taliban's suppression of women's rights and freedom of the media in Afghanistan, when such freedoms does not exist in Saudi Arabia. If the West is trying to genie up hysteria to distract and refocus attention away from the humiliation of 20 years wasted effort, it is regrettable because Taliban has not done anything worst than Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Brunei, Libya and so many other Islamic enclaves whose "cultures" and "traditions" the West respects are not any different either; so why the effort to isolate Afghanistan? 

A "wait and see" approach on how Taliban proceeds in their second coming is the best way going forward. A more rational world should own up that the 20 years experiment on westernizing Afghanistan has failed and that Taliban is now the true legitimate government in Kabul. So, instead of the current trashing around in great trepidation that Taliban has taken over power in Afghanistan, they should focus their attention on how to manage the new situation and how to co-exist with the Taliban. 

Twenty years is a long time and a lot of changes have taken place including among the Taliban. The Taliban of today cannot be the same Taliban of of the 90s under the one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar. It is unlikely they will be as ruthless as they were before as present Afghanistan society might not tolerate such stringent Islamic condition without some form of resistance. 

The Taliban will not have an option but to accommodate some changes commensurate to a society that has been under "democracy" for the past twenty years, no matter how little. The West should use such opening to build more influence and use it as a leverage over the Taliban. Maintaining diplomatic and economic relations with the Taliban will be a better approach as it will help in drawing them closer and then the opportunity to cajole them to do more. 

But if they are isolated and excommunicated or pushed away by economic strangulation and/or diplomatic icing, it will infuriate them and possibly force them back into their old ways, aware that America have lost the appetite to continue the fight. The Taliban have also been traveling around the world through Qatar and other Islamic States friends of theirs, and have seen that modernity can co-exist with Islam and they will want the same for their Afghanistan as well. 

At worst, the West should treat them as a situation of keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer; but whatever happens, the hysteria should be allowed to die down. It must stop and the massive evacuation of Afghanis must also be put on hold as it is doing more harm to Afghanistan than it is helping. Those brain powers and manpower are needed for Afghanistan to help it continue to build back better. #EndThePanic.