Arjun, Cliftonbridge - regarding your discussion about the Tally Ban ....

Arjun, Cliftonbridge - regarding your discussion about the Tally Ban ....

First of all, Arjun, let me point out an obvious error in one of your posts:

Post by _ar_jun34 on Feb 3, 2009 4:57:38 pm

{"...sure it did..

let me state it as clearly as can be..

The US of A funded jihad during the anti-soviet afghan war...

the US also funded bosnian jihadis during the war on kosovo..

Arjun,
The US did not fund "Bosnian" Jihadis during the war in Kosova - we funded the KLA but definitely not the Bosnians during that war. You are confusing two separate conflicts - the one in Bosnia (early to mid 90s) and the much later war in Kosova (very late 90s). Please acknowledge your mistake here.

As far as the Tally Ban issue is concerned, I would agree with Arjun in the narrow context of who created the Tally Ban? The US did not fund, organize, or support the Tally Ban.

Yes, Cliftonbridge is right, and even Arjun concedes, that the US financed, armed, and supported the Mujahedeen during the 80s to resist the Soviet occupation. By the very late 80s, the Soviets had withdrawn and the Afghans started to fight among themselves. The US financing and support were basically nonexistent before the advent of the Tally Ban - see the Charlie Wilson movie if you need any clarification of that withdrawal.

Sometime in the early to mid-90s (thanks, Stuka), the Pakis, with Soodi Arabian support, encouraged the development of the Tally Ban, once Pakistan became disillusioned with the ability of the victorious Mujahedeen to stop fighting among themselves. The core component of the Tally Ban was the Pakhtoon tribal element. Pakistan, having a sizable Pakhtoon presence in NWFP and Baluchistan, had no choice but to support the Pakhtoons against the Tajiks and Uzbeks led by Ahmed Shah Massoud, Rabbani, and that hideous Uzbek warlord - I think his name was Dostum.

The part that's confusing both Arjun and Cliftonbridge is that some of the Tally Ban were nothing more than Pakhtoon Mujahedeen, such as Moola Omar, who had participated in the Jihad against the Soviets, and were now engaged in the fratricidal civil war.

So, the answers are:

1. Arjun is wrong about the "Bosnian" jihadis in Kosova.
2. Arjun is right that the US DID NOT fund the Tally Ban.
3. Cliftonbridge is right that some of the Tally Ban were the Pakhtoon Mujahedeen who did fight the Soviets and were supported by the US when they were doing that.

Hope this helps.

Salim Ahmed "Charlie Wilson" Chauhan