(TheRedWire.com) – Then-President George W. Bush sent the US military into Afghanistan in 2001. The military’s goal was to find wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden along with his enablers and eradicate terrorism from the small, but powerless, Islamic country ruled by the Taliban. Twenty years later, President Joe Biden ordered the military to withdraw from Afghanistan by the anniversary date of the event that started it all — September 11.
Biden ordered the withdrawal as the Taliban began taking over territory. As it does so, the Islamic terrorist group is laying siege to the regional capital as they retake control of the country and work to topple the government the US put in place to stabilize the country. In just six weeks, the Taliban reportedly took 900 people from their homes and executed them.
Alleged War Crimes
Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a scathing statement of the Taliban. The organization alleges that the Islamic terror group detained soldiers, police, and civilians associated with the Afghan government. Then, it executed them. Targets also included tribal elders, civil activists, religious scholars, and even a comedian who once served in the Afghan police.
HRW Asian Director Patricia Gossman said that executing anyone in custody is a severe violation of the Geneva Convention and is a war crime. Shaharzad Akbar is the head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). He says civilians who worked with the Afgan government shouldn’t be put through the atrocities by the Taliban. Akbar agreed with Gossman’s assessment that the senseless killings violate human rights and war crimes.
The Taliban recaptured most of the Kandahar province after US troop withdrawals.
Taliban Return to Their Roots
During the US occupation of Afghanistan, the Taliban leaders tried to paint a picture of maturity. They presented the group as a moderate version of the one the US went to war with in 2001. The image from reality is two different things.
The Taliban never stopped embracing Sharia law, the religious law of Islam. Many say the organization never changed, it just executed a kinder appealing public image to the US military. Now that the US is gone, the strict interpretations of Sharia law are back. In addition to the executions, the terror group prohibits women from leaving their homes without a permit, and girls are no longer allowed to go to school in Taliban-controlled areas.
In the absence of a US presence, the Afghan government is struggling to hold on. The Taliban now controls 223 districts to the government’s 68, and the terrorist group contests 116 districts. Some estimates suggest 17 of 34 provincial capitals are in deep trouble from collapsing to the terrorist group.
The future looks bleak in Afghanistan as the gains made over 20 years are lost.
Copyright 2021, TheRedWire.com
