Recent interviews with leaders of Al Qaeda reveal that the
militant group has mixed feelings about the demobilization of the American
military presence in Afghanistan. It turns out that American soldiers have
brought a number of creature comforts to the impoverished country which
Afghanis might otherwise have never been introduced to. One high ranking
Taliban official who desired to remain anonymous stated that, "Without the
American military presence, it might have taken the Afghani government close to
a decade to fully understand the secrets (and benefits) of the microwave oven.
Without the magic produced by this boxed technology, I am dubious the children
of Allah would have been introduced to the bean burrito in my lifetime."
This same official lauded the availability of such "space aged"
technology as the iPod nano and "cellular phones that fit in the palm of
your hand." While the technological influx has been a welcomed addition to
Afghani culture, another top official, Muhammed al Hamaas laments the possible
closing of McDonald's once the troops leave: "How are we supposed to go
back in time and forget that we have tasted a Big Mac?" he posits.
"This is not something one can simply forget; it is like having a
conversation with God about the mysteries of the Universe and then forgetting
what has been said." Perhaps the biggest blow however, will be to the
economy. "Plans were underway to open a Wal-Mart Superstore," says
Hamaas, "which would have created hundreds if not thousands of new jobs
for my people. Sure, Wal-Mart employees are forbidden to unionize, but this is
something my people are used to." Hamaas went on to postulate, "Where
are my people supposed to buy 50 lbs. of goat feed at 3 o'clock in the morning?
And in their pajamas?" However, he noted, "I think a lot of tension
would have come about from both Taliban and American military standing next to each
other in line to buy guns and ammunition."
Not
everyone is sad to see American influence wane in the area. Kalifah al Swazi
notes that the American presence, "severely hampers our ability to oppress
our women and children. Once they [Americans] leave we can get back to normalcy
in the region. How American men can stand to listen to their wife's feelings on
a daily basis, I'll never understand. It must be the reason their laws allow
them only one at a time." When questioned as to whether or not he would be
happy to see an end to the conflict between the two nations, Swazi stated, "It
will be nice not to get shot at by foreigners; it is time we got back to the time
honored tradition of shooting at each other unsupervised."
Perhaps
more astonishing than the mixed feelings generated by the impending American
military demobilization within the terrorist community is the uncertainty of
American troops themselves. While a great many soldiers are looking forward to
returning to "civilization," others are nervous about the transition
back into normal life. As PFC John Jones puts it, "I've been shooting at
people for five years, now I'm supposed to go back to what, shooting at
animals, or worse, nothing at all?" Others who had recently been informed
about new gun law restrictions said: "I might as well stay here. Who would
have thought the Afghani government would be better at protecting my civil liberties?"
And yet the most difficult part for American soldiers might be, as one sergeant
put it, "Explaining to my wife and kids back home about my wives and kids
in Afghanistan."
Whatever
the outcome of the demobilization of American troops in Afghanistan may be, one
thing is for certain, a lot of people, both American and Afghani are going to
get their feelings hurt as a direct result of the parting. As one anonymous
soldier put it, "We're all just people trying to get along in this crazy
world. Sure, we've all got guns and sometimes there are misunderstandings, but
for the most part, I really like it here. There's something beautiful about the
canopy of night sky illuminated by the bursting of thousands of ordinance--I'm
going to miss it."
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