KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban really hate democracy and use every opportunity to undermine it.
As I write this Today in Terrorism column ‘peace talks’ between the US and Afghan governments and the Taliban are ongoing. These on-again off-again negotiations tied to American hopes to withdraw the bulk of their forces from that country after nearly two decades have been taking place in Qatar.
The hope is that Afghan parties can come to some agreement on what the country will look like in a post-US time. Afghanistan has regular elections and is, therefore, a democracy.
Tell that to the Taliban.
I for one am getting tired of reading stories in which the Taliban are referred to as ‘militants’. They are not ‘militants’: they are terrorists. And, as Islamist terrorists, they really hate democracy.
Listing all the occasions on which these terrorists have attacked Afghan democracy would take me a very long time. Suffice to say that the Taliban attack at will over most of Afghanistan.
Some of these attacks are directed at democracy itself.
On this day in 2016
The Taliban attacked the Kabul home of a member of parliament, killing eight people. Six others were wounded, including the MP, Mir Wali, and his wife: two of their grandchildren were among the dead. Security forces killed the three gunmen and freed 18 hostages after a 10-hour siege.
It was a really terrifying situation here in the night. There were explosions and firing. It was really horrible and we couldn’t sleep whole the night.
Neighbour’s account of the ordeal
It is hard to see what will come from the talks in Doha. The Taliban appear to be vastly stronger than the Afghan state. Once the Taliban regain control of the country – they did rule in the 1990s – whatever Afghanistan will be it will certainly not be a democracy.
