For
Immediate Release
November 14, 2001
By
Congressman Joe Pitts
This week, Afghan men shaving
off their beards, women are going outdoors without their head-to-toe burqas, and
teenagers are listening to popular music. To
most of the world, these seem like simple things.
But to the people of Afghanistan, they are dramatic acts of liberation.
A week ago, any one of them would have been grounds for beatings,
imprisonment, or even execution by the Taliban regime.
The Taliban are on the run.
Mohammed Omar is on the run. Osama
bin Laden is on the run. We are
winning, and they are losing.
The war on terrorism, however,
is far from over. When Northern
Alliance troops entered Kabul this week, Taliban forces abandoned their posts
and fled south along the road to Kandahar.
Kandahar was the center of Taliban Power and the residence of Mohammed
Omar, the Taliban’s leader. But
then American planes attacked them from the air, followed by word that rebels
from the Taliban’s own Pashtun tribe were at the gates of Kandahar.
So the Taliban headed for the hills.
The last vestiges of Taliban
and al Quaida power are now in the mountains of central Afghanistan, reverting
to their old tactics as a guerilla force. They
are the last vestiges of a fallen regime, but they are also the most committed
and fanatical. Unlike those who
abandoned their posts in Kabul and Mazar e Sharif, the Taliban and al Quaida
fighters who are hiding in the mountains will not surrender or go down without a
fight.
Regardless, they will lose.
They will lose because the tide of freedom cannot be stopped.
Oppression isn’t new.
Think of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact and how immense,
frightening, and powerful they once seemed.
In 1989, a few rays of freedom’s light brought the entire Soviet empire
crashing down. Think of Hitler, and how active and determined the resistance
movements were in every nation he conquered and how instrumental they were in
paving the way for allied victory in 1945.
Afghanistan, years ago, looked
nothing like it does today. Its
young king, Zahir Shah, implemented a multiparty democracy and a free press.
Universities were open to women and men alike.
The Muslim faith was interpreted in many ways, and each way was tolerated
by the others.
That was in the 1960s, before
a Soviet-backed coup threw Afghanistan in a cycle of violence, which may only
now be approaching its end.
The brutal rule of the Taliban
is fewer than seven years old. The
people of Afghanistan have a long memory, and know full well what life is like
in a nation that knows freedom. They
know what it is like to have a free and civil political discourse.
They know what it is like for women to live in dignity.
That explains why the Taliban have fallen so quickly from power.
The Taliban were feared, but
not respected or trusted. The
moment it was clear they were weakening, virtually the whole nation united to
remove them.
The Taliban have been knocked
out of power. But many challenges
remain for Afghanistan, and for our war on terrorism.
Al Quaida has not been destroyed and Osama bin Laden remains at large.
A new inclusive government needs to be established for Afghanistan (a
priority for us as well as them). Millions
of Afghans remain on the verge of starvation and need to be fed.
These and other challenges
remain. Defeating the Taliban is a
great victory. But it will only be
remembered as a victory if their removal brings something better and harkens a
worldwide defeat of terrorism. The
Afghan people have tremendous challenges ahead, and so do we. Now, for the first time, we will be working together to meet
them.
#
# #
Welcome
·
About Joe Pitts ·
The 16th District ·
Key Initiatives ·
Legislation ·
Constituent Services
Press & Speeches · The
Federal Government ·
Links ·
Contact Information ·
Home