- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 430
Canadians seen as Americans in Afghanistan
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1136328631719
Toronto Star
Jan. 4, 2006. 05:20 AM
CHRIS SANDS
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
KANDAHAR—Abdul Mobin's voice sounded peaceful as he talked about the need for a holy war in Afghanistan.
"In each district of Kandahar, we have 200 religious people. They are very intelligent, they are true Muslims. I know they are true because they also told the Talibs when things were wrong. Now they are also telling us to start the jihad," he said.
Mobin is a polite, soft-spoken Pashtun with a closely cropped beard. Outsiders might describe the 25-year-old as a terrorist sympathizer or an Islamic extremist, but his views are not radical here.
But they are chilling in their implications for the Canadian troops charged with bringing order to the region.
"We can't see any difference between the Americans and the Canadians and the British," Mobin said, noting the Taliban view all members of the NATO military presence as occupiers controlled by the U.S. "If anyone does anything here, we think it's the Americans who did it."
The Taliban movement was born in Kandahar in 1994, when widespread lawlessness gripped Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal of Soviet forces. Its fighters quickly seized control of the city and within two years captured Kabul.
Mobin joined the group soon after its formation and he can still remember the euphoria he felt back then.
"At that time we were very happy. It was like we were very poor and had suddenly found a lot of money," he said.
Kandahar lies at the heart of the insurgency now sweeping across Afghanistan. Security in the province is dire and gets worse with each passing day. According to residents, troops rarely venture into the city because the situation is simply too volatile here.
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`Under the Talibs, if we had any problems, the government would sort things out very quickly'
Abdul Mobin, Kandahar resident
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some 685 Canadian soldiers are already in the Kandahar area and about 1,400 more are expected to arrive next month.
Often dressed entirely in black, Talibs can be seen throughout Kandahar. They are not all involved with the insurgency but support for their beliefs is strong among the local population. This is because corruption has increased since the 2001 invasion and security in the province has declined.
"Under the Talibs, if we had any problems, the government would sort things out very quickly. Now we have to pay a lot of bribes to the government," said Mobin, who worked as an administrative officer when the Taliban controlled Kabul.
The Pashtun also still admires the men from Al Qaeda who were allowed to live and train in Afghanistan during that period.
"They came here just for jihad. Some Arabs lost their lives and now if you go to their graves, however sick you are, God will recover you. Thousands of people visit their graves to be cured because the Qur'an says God gives thousands of types of medicine to martyrs to cure different types of disease," he said.
Mobin accused some Taliban members of lacking knowledge and working against Afghanistan's interests. But he praised Mullah Mohammed Omar, the group's one-eyed leader, who remains a fugitive.
"Mullah Omar is a good man," he said. "Whenever he wanted to do something he would ask the religious people what he should do.
"Mullah Omar has no faults and the Talibs who are fighting have to fight. If they come back to Kandahar to live normally they will be caught by the Americans and sent to Guantanamo. If they go to Pakistan they will be caught. It's not their fault — they have no choice but to fight.
"I can't tell you if (the insurgency) will get stronger or not. But I can tell you one thing: No one can defeat them, no one can finish them. All the world can come together and it will not finish them, because it is written in the Qur'an."
Chris Sands is a freelance journalist
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1136328631719
Toronto Star
Jan. 4, 2006. 05:20 AM
CHRIS SANDS
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
KANDAHAR—Abdul Mobin's voice sounded peaceful as he talked about the need for a holy war in Afghanistan.
"In each district of Kandahar, we have 200 religious people. They are very intelligent, they are true Muslims. I know they are true because they also told the Talibs when things were wrong. Now they are also telling us to start the jihad," he said.
Mobin is a polite, soft-spoken Pashtun with a closely cropped beard. Outsiders might describe the 25-year-old as a terrorist sympathizer or an Islamic extremist, but his views are not radical here.
But they are chilling in their implications for the Canadian troops charged with bringing order to the region.
"We can't see any difference between the Americans and the Canadians and the British," Mobin said, noting the Taliban view all members of the NATO military presence as occupiers controlled by the U.S. "If anyone does anything here, we think it's the Americans who did it."
The Taliban movement was born in Kandahar in 1994, when widespread lawlessness gripped Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal of Soviet forces. Its fighters quickly seized control of the city and within two years captured Kabul.
Mobin joined the group soon after its formation and he can still remember the euphoria he felt back then.
"At that time we were very happy. It was like we were very poor and had suddenly found a lot of money," he said.
Kandahar lies at the heart of the insurgency now sweeping across Afghanistan. Security in the province is dire and gets worse with each passing day. According to residents, troops rarely venture into the city because the situation is simply too volatile here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`Under the Talibs, if we had any problems, the government would sort things out very quickly'
Abdul Mobin, Kandahar resident
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some 685 Canadian soldiers are already in the Kandahar area and about 1,400 more are expected to arrive next month.
Often dressed entirely in black, Talibs can be seen throughout Kandahar. They are not all involved with the insurgency but support for their beliefs is strong among the local population. This is because corruption has increased since the 2001 invasion and security in the province has declined.
"Under the Talibs, if we had any problems, the government would sort things out very quickly. Now we have to pay a lot of bribes to the government," said Mobin, who worked as an administrative officer when the Taliban controlled Kabul.
The Pashtun also still admires the men from Al Qaeda who were allowed to live and train in Afghanistan during that period.
"They came here just for jihad. Some Arabs lost their lives and now if you go to their graves, however sick you are, God will recover you. Thousands of people visit their graves to be cured because the Qur'an says God gives thousands of types of medicine to martyrs to cure different types of disease," he said.
Mobin accused some Taliban members of lacking knowledge and working against Afghanistan's interests. But he praised Mullah Mohammed Omar, the group's one-eyed leader, who remains a fugitive.
"Mullah Omar is a good man," he said. "Whenever he wanted to do something he would ask the religious people what he should do.
"Mullah Omar has no faults and the Talibs who are fighting have to fight. If they come back to Kandahar to live normally they will be caught by the Americans and sent to Guantanamo. If they go to Pakistan they will be caught. It's not their fault — they have no choice but to fight.
"I can't tell you if (the insurgency) will get stronger or not. But I can tell you one thing: No one can defeat them, no one can finish them. All the world can come together and it will not finish them, because it is written in the Qur'an."
Chris Sands is a freelance journalist
