Eight years ago this week, the Taliban emptied the coffers of the Central Bank and ran away from Kabul. Yet a number of myths still haunt the debate on Afghanistan — and the Obama administration’s policy.
Myth No. 1: No foreign power ever managed to subjugate Afghanistan, “The graveyard of empires.”
Historic truth is different. What’s now known as Afghanistan was part of successive empires until 1702, when a Persian adventurer, Ahmad Dorrani, set it up as his fiefdom. With the European powers’ rise, it became a buffer state separating the domains of Russia, Britain and Persia.
The Afghans did win one 19th-century battle against a British-led Sikh army, but that was the exception that proves the rule. After that, the British emerged as the power behind the Kabul throne, maintaining their influence until the ’40s.
Starting in the ’50s, America and the Soviet Union treated Afghanistan as a buffer state — until the Soviets staged a coup in 1977 that ended the Afghan monarchy and, two years later, propelled the Communists into power.
Myth No. 2: There’s no Afghan nation — only a hodgepodge of tribes and ethnic communities with little or nothing in common.
Again, the truth is different.
Yes, Afghanistan is composed of 18 different communities marked by ethnic, linguistic and religious differences. But ask any Afghan who he is, and he won’t hesitate to reply: an Afghan!
The national identity has taken shape over 300 years — after all, as a state, Afghanistan is older than America, Germany and Italy. It is also one of the oldest Muslim nation-states.
Myth No. 3: Afghanistan never had a central government and was ruled by feudal chiefs.
Also false: From 1860 to 1977, a string of Afghan monarchs imposed effective rule throughout their realm. But the monarchy was never absolute, if only because the loya jigrah, a high assembly of tribal and religious leaders, would restrain a despotic king or help a weak one.
Myth No. 4: Afghans are by nature xenophobic, misogynist and fanatical.
Again, the truth is different.
Until the “time of troubles” starting in the late ’70s, Afghans were proverbial in their hospitality and readiness to welcome foreigners. Over two decades, an estimated 1.2 million young Westerners traveled there in search of the mythical east — without facing any hostility.
As for misogyny, Afghanistan was among the first Muslim countries to declare education compulsory for both boys and girls. From the ’60s, it had women doctors, professors, parliamentarians and even Cabinet ministers.
Myth No. 5: The Taliban and al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, defeated the Red Army and destroyed the Soviet empire.
Wrong again. The Pakistani military created the Taliban in 1995 — six years after the Red Army left Afghanistan. Al Qaeda funneled money to some mujahedeen, but never played a role in the fighting.
Even the mujahedeen couldn’t claim to have driven out the Red Army — which left as part of Mikhail Gorbachev’s strategic retreat. And the Communist regime remained for three years after the Soviets left, collapsing only when its Uzbek militia switched sides and, forging an alliance with Tajik fighters under Ahmad Shah Massoud, captured Kabul.
The massive aid for the mujahedeen from America and allies proved a crucial factor in forcing the Soviet withdrawal. The claim that a handful of Pushtun, on their own, defeated the Red Army is laughable.
Myth No. 6: Afghans aren’t ready for anything resembling democracy.
That, too, isn’t corroborated by facts.
Modern ideas have had a home in Afghanistan since the 19th century. Several Islamist reformist movements started in Afghanistan before spreading to Central Asia and beyond. Afghanistan’s social- democratic, liberal, nationalist, Marxist, Maoist and Islamist parties provided a rich tapestry of ideologies until the ’70s.
August’s elections proved a disappointment because of apparent fraud. Yet Afghans had already shown interest in pluralism in an earlier presidential election and constitutional referendum under international supervision.
Myth No. 7: Things today are worse, or at least as bad, as eight years ago.
Again, facts show a different picture. If things were as bad, 4.5 million refugees wouldn’t have returned, a process that continues, albeit more slowly.
Eight years ago, the Taliban controlled almost 90 percent of the country. Today, it controls 11 out of 362 districts.
Al Qaeda has lost all its bases, while the allies have also driven out terror groups operating against 20 countries. Of senior al Qaeda leaders in 2001, only three are still at large. The new generation of terrorist leaders, bred in the tribal areas of Pakistan, has also been decimated, often thanks to allied raids from Afghanistan.
Eight years ago, no Afghan girls could go to school. Now, a third attend school.
Although corruption is rife in the new ruling elite, hundreds of construction projects have finished, with hundreds more under way.
More important, perhaps, the vast majority of Afghans think that they’re better off under President Hamid Karzai’s administration — inefficient, arrogant and possibly corrupt as it may be — than under the murderous rule of Mullah Muhammad Omar.
In the debate over what to do next in Afghanistan, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.