The Afghan Taliban, through spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, responded to President Donald Trump’s policy speech on Afghanistan and the greater South Asia region. Predictably, Mujahid denounced Trump’s decision to remain engaged in Afghanistan and said that Taliban fighters will “sustain our Jihad.”
Mujahid also repeated the canard that the Taliban “is not a threat to anyone and neither has anyone been harmed from our soil.” This lie has been debunked numerous times here at FDD’s Long War Journal; see Taliban propagandists release ‘open letter’ to President Trump for the latest summary of evidence that shows the Taliban does indeed remain allied with al Qaeda.
Full text of Mujahid’s statement, entitled “Remarks by spokesman of Islamic Emirate concerning Trump’s Strategy,” which was published on Voice of Jihad today:
Finally the American president Trump announced his strategy and has called for continued presence of occupying forces while labeling Afghanistan as a threat to America.
It seems America is not yet ready to end the longest war in its history. Instead of trying to understand ground realities, they still arrogantly believe in their force and might.
However the Afghans have been tested by the American forces over the past sixteen years. So long as a single American soldier remains in our homeland and American leaders continue treading the path of war, we shall also sustain our Jihad against them with lofty spirits, absolute determination and additional firmness.
Freeing the land of Afghanistan from the American occupation is our religious obligation and national duty. We shall remain true to this duty so long as souls remain in our bodies.
America should have thought about withdrawing their troops from Afghanistan instead of continuing the war.
As Trump stated ‘Americans are weary of the long war in Afghanistan’, we shall cast further worry into them and force American officials to accept realities. The Afghan Mujahid nation is neither tired nor will it ever get tired in pursuit of winning their freedom and establishing an Islamic system. If America does not withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, the day will not be far when Afghanistan shall transform into a graveyard for the American Empire and the American leaders can understand this concept.
Afghanistan is not a threat to anyone and neither has anyone been harmed from our soil. Baseless allegations and falling under the influence of propaganda by intelligence agencies is in itself the source of all misery and war.
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10 Comments
In their self-righteous drive to evict the US military from Afghanistan, the Taliban not only run the risk of severely damaging their nation’s prospects for development and prosperity, but also play into the hands of the massive US business interests for whom war is a necessary activity to sustain their raison d’etre, while at the same time alienating themselves from other key players in the Afghan political scene, who thereby become forced to seek and depend on US support to counter the Taliban insurgency….So even if the Taliban do succeed, it will be a very politically fractured Afghanistan that emerges from the ruins.
As in any business case the question of risks vs rewards needs consideration, Trump has made his choice, maybe he has been convinced by his “Deep State” advisors that the US can afford it with their military might which would otherwise sit idle, he’s already lost some 3000 men and doesn’t seem to care about losing 3000 more…but can the Taliban really afford to hold a course that puts the well-being of all Afghan people and their national development at risk? How many lives have they lost and how badly has their economic development been hindered? Putting pride aside and negotiating a settlement may have be a wiser option for the Taliban, in conjunction with other key players, to adopt. It would appear that this is all about arrogance, vanity and conceit from all sides
It would seem the Afghan war is unwinnable without Pakistan’s cooperation. Seems like we’ve had success with China and N. Korea, maybe it’s time to put the screws on Pakistan.
We need to go after their opium production. I’m at least a little bit surprised that Trump didn’t even mention it. To me, the ‘key’ to what happens in Afghanistan just may be their opium production. I’m not saying (at least for now) that we need to napalm it into oblivion. But, what I am saying, is that we need to possibly control it or at least to focus on it to see how it just may dramatically break the current stalemate or alter the current situation in Afghanistan.
Why don’t we just purchase their opium crop? We could then sell it to the major pharmaceutical companies. There are numerous legal and legitimate pharmaceutical products that are in fact opium-based (like methadone, Fentanyl, and morphine, to name but a few). This isn’t an “all or nothing” proposition. We could do it in increments.
In my analysis, the problem isn’t military. The solution isn’t military either. We’re missing a big piece of this puzzle. And that piece just may be the opium production. Just focus on the opium production, CIA.
“the Taliban not only run the risk of severely damaging their nation’s prospects for development and prosperity”
“alienating themselves from other key players in the Afghan political scene”
“So even if the Taliban do succeed, it will be a very politically fractured Afghanistan that emerges from the ruins.”
“Putting pride aside and negotiating a settlement may have be a wiser option for the Taliban”
Lol, I’m sure the Taliban care about all those things. God bless your idealistic little Western heart.
“Why don’t we just purchase their opium crop? We could then sell it to the major pharmaceutical companies.”
I’ve been saying this for years. We need to co-opt this industry instead of fight it, but our military establishment doesn’t think this way.
One big wrong assumption is that the Pakistani government has control of the tribal areas along the Afgh. border. They have never had control of these areas nor did the Brits who tried for some 100 years to bring those areas under control. Get real.
We had a chance at the time the Taliban government successfully banned opium poppy production and was asking for help with substitute crops like cotton which was the main cash crop in Helmand where most of the Afghan opium comes from these days. We missed our chance through incompetence and bungling and we are not likely to do anything right these days when no one seems to understand what is going on. see my website:www.scottshelmandvalleyarchives.org having to do with what happened with the Taliban government and after….and before.
Good point. How can the opium trade be ignored when it is the number ONE industry in Afghanistan.
Your website makes for interesting reading – thanks for sharing.
Afghan government will never be able to sustain itself without outside support. Present controversy will soon be over and US will have to leave,unless they kill 40 % of Afghan population – they are Pushtu Taliban .
India is a not reliable ally for U.S. It is too large to play second fiddle to US . This investment on India is a mistake on part of U.S.