But we cannot stay forever; what can be done with these women short of regime change, which has not worked out well for America in the past? What if we bring about a liberal government and some Democrat like Obama gives it all back to the Taliban? TD
Phyllis Chesler "President Trump’s call for a withdrawal from Afgahanistan raises a troubling question: Is the West morally obliged to persist in a struggle that can’t be won? How much blood and treasure must we spend to save the victims of barbarism?
"No one, after all, has ever been able to conquer or transform Afghanistan. It’s a losing game. But once the United States leaves, young girls and women will be at the mercy of ruthless religious fanatics.
"I should know: I was once a bride, trapped in Kabul in the early 1960s. I saw great natural beauty there and experienced uncommon graciousness. But I also saw gender and religious apartheid up close.
"Although I lived in fairly posh purdah (seclusion) in a home with servants, I’d entered a medieval world of women in burqas, polygamy, child marriage, honor-based violence, honor killing, epidemic but denied pederasty, heartbreaking poverty, infidel-hatred and religious fanaticism. Back then, despite some extraordinary books about Afghanistan, Westerners knew virtually nothing about the country’s warrior culture, continuous feuds, vigilantism and woman-hatred.
"With the rise of the Taliban, particularly after 9/11, Americans learned that Afghan women were publicly beaten if their burqas slipped and an ankle or a strand of hair showed and stoned to death for alleged adultery when raped." . . .
1960’s Afghanistan Was Very Different Before The Taliban
Includes the photos at the top.
No, America’s departure will be a monumental tragedy for Afghan girls and women. The moment the last boot-on-the-ground departs,the Taliban and assorted paramilitary groups will torch every existing shelter for battered women and school for girls. Unrelenting fear will become the order of the day.
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| Fun in the sun: Jan (left) and Peg (right) Podlich at Paghman Gardens, which was destroyed during the years of war before the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan |
"No one, after all, has ever been able to conquer or transform Afghanistan. It’s a losing game. But once the United States leaves, young girls and women will be at the mercy of ruthless religious fanatics.
"I should know: I was once a bride, trapped in Kabul in the early 1960s. I saw great natural beauty there and experienced uncommon graciousness. But I also saw gender and religious apartheid up close.
"Although I lived in fairly posh purdah (seclusion) in a home with servants, I’d entered a medieval world of women in burqas, polygamy, child marriage, honor-based violence, honor killing, epidemic but denied pederasty, heartbreaking poverty, infidel-hatred and religious fanaticism. Back then, despite some extraordinary books about Afghanistan, Westerners knew virtually nothing about the country’s warrior culture, continuous feuds, vigilantism and woman-hatred.
"With the rise of the Taliban, particularly after 9/11, Americans learned that Afghan women were publicly beaten if their burqas slipped and an ankle or a strand of hair showed and stoned to death for alleged adultery when raped." . . .
1960’s Afghanistan Was Very Different Before The Taliban
Includes the photos at the top.
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