Mani (Mainstream): I see that another patrol was ambushed again in Afghanistan. It seems to be almost as bad there as here.
Modi (Moderate): It would seem so. Remember, though, that the old rogue, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is back in the country. During the anti-soviet campaign, he considered it important that his forces owned the night, and eliminated patrols during the day. He always led a superior fighting force.
Radi (Radical): I have heard that he and the Taliban have merged and that the new insurgency is much more powerful than before. They should make short work of the occupation of Afghanistan.
Modi: I would agree that together they might be numerically superior to just the Taliban alone; however, his HIG (Hezb i-Islami Gulbuddin) still hates the Taliban from the old days. I do not see them merging or even fighting together if they can avoid it. Nonetheless, I agree that if the coalition forces do not know they are fighting two groups instead of one, they are in for a surprise.
Mani: How does the HIG stack up to the Taliban?
Modi: They will always be inferior in number. The Taliban are always able to recruit more people. I am surprised that the HIG still exists. It was a larger group once, but many of the secondary leaders opposed Hekmatyar and took advantage of the government’s renewed offer of amnesty.
Mani: Is that the Hezb i-Islami Kabul (HIK)?
Radi: I have heard of them. They are treasonous rabble.
Modi: As usual, Radi, you are far off the mark. The HIK leadership simply decided to work for a form of democracy within the government. Although they have the same root name, Hezb i-Islami (Islamic Party), the Kabul group is now a recognized and accepted political party, while the Gulbuddin group has been identified as a terrorist group.
Radi: I understand, though, that the cooperation of the Taliban and HIG make them very powerful. I know that the multinational forces there are taking a beating.
Modi: Not to worry, Radi. The HIG depends too much upon their leader. They love him and support him; however, if something should happen to him, they will disappear. It is he, not the Taliban, who understands what it takes to fight the Americans. He studied the Vietnam War very closely and actively fought the Soviet military machine. The Taliban is learning by watching how his group operates. He is probably smarter than anyone they know.
Mani: I do not understand how he can do all that; he hates the Taliban more than he hates the government. He has many of his friends in government.
Modi: Mani, he was defeated by the Taliban, thanks only to the post-soviet government that would not support him against those idiot students. Many of those people went to the Northern Alliance, which in turn defeated the Taliban after 9/11—with American help. He wanted an Islamic nation, similar to Iran, but without the mullahs. He was not fond of Wahhabis and his relations with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban naturally will be strained. He does not like Iran, although Iran hosted him when he was on the run. He certainly does not like Karzai.
Radi: Ha! So, the Americans are close to losing in Afghanistan!
Modi: I cannot agree with that assessment. HIG is losing important commanders almost every week. Those people cannot be replaced. Some are saying that Hekmatyar himself is doing some of the killings because of the appeal of new amnesty offers. Some of those people are simply tired of fighting. They want to spend time with their grandchildren.
Mani: You are saying that he is losing important people he cannot replace and that he only has his original followers and cannot recruit more. Moreover, if something happens to him, poof! They are all gone.
Modi: That is about it. Additionally, without Hekmatyar the Taliban has no alternative but to rely on Iran for brains and military support. The Saudis have become a little less reliable.
Radi: After what you said, even you must admit that it is much more important that ALL BELIEVERS STAND UP AND JOIN JIHAD or they will be hypocrites, hated and warned by Allah[1]. Modi, you are called by Allah to jihad and you know it.
Modi: My jihad, Radi, is making myself a stronger and better Believer. That, my friend, is what is known as “The Greater Jihad!”
Mani: I do believe he has you there, Radi. You and I know that fighting, even in the way of Allah, is the minor jihad.
Radi: You are both saying nothing. Know you that the lame, the blind, and the sick can be excused from jihad; those that join jihad, God will admit to Gardens through which rivers flow. He who turns his back on Allah and jihad will be punished with a grievous penalty.[2]
Mani: Note, Modi that he talked about Gardens and not Paradise and he said nothing about the virgins. Maybe he has been learning something.
Radi: Both of you will loose your heads today.
Modi: Radi, you must heed what I am saying. As Believers, we can choose the government we want, as long as it does not disregard the true laws of Islam. The government that we chose here in Iraq is one that will fairly and equally serve both Sunnis and Shi’ites. The insurgents, including Al-Qaeda, are fighting against that government. Although they try to sell us on the idea that they are trying to establish a strict, Islamic, government we do not really know this because deception is no longer just a tactic of war, it has become a political tradition of Arabs to get their way.
Mani: Be careful, Modi, Radi is getting mad.
Modi: Remember, Radi, if you insist on helping to wage war against Allah, or hindering His works, and continue to sow mischief throughout the land, your punishment is execution, crucifixion, or having a hand and foot cut off from opposite sides, or exile. And it may not be your choice. Besides that, your punishment in this life will be followed by a heavier punishment in the next[3].
Mani: Uh-oh! I have never seen his face so scarlet.
Radi: I will talk that one over with my imam. I have never heard such outrageous talk against fighting in the way of Allah.
Modi: Please, Radi, try somebody other than that nit you have been following. Two weeks ago, someone told him a joke about a Syrian naval vessel falling off the edge of the ocean, and he did not know it was a joke.
Radi: Well, what was so funny about that? (They both looked at Radi and he smiled)
Mani: Modi, Radi got you that time.
Modi: Okay, he got me. I am buying breakfast.
Modi (Moderate): It would seem so. Remember, though, that the old rogue, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is back in the country. During the anti-soviet campaign, he considered it important that his forces owned the night, and eliminated patrols during the day. He always led a superior fighting force.
Radi (Radical): I have heard that he and the Taliban have merged and that the new insurgency is much more powerful than before. They should make short work of the occupation of Afghanistan.
Modi: I would agree that together they might be numerically superior to just the Taliban alone; however, his HIG (Hezb i-Islami Gulbuddin) still hates the Taliban from the old days. I do not see them merging or even fighting together if they can avoid it. Nonetheless, I agree that if the coalition forces do not know they are fighting two groups instead of one, they are in for a surprise.
Mani: How does the HIG stack up to the Taliban?
Modi: They will always be inferior in number. The Taliban are always able to recruit more people. I am surprised that the HIG still exists. It was a larger group once, but many of the secondary leaders opposed Hekmatyar and took advantage of the government’s renewed offer of amnesty.
Mani: Is that the Hezb i-Islami Kabul (HIK)?
Radi: I have heard of them. They are treasonous rabble.
Modi: As usual, Radi, you are far off the mark. The HIK leadership simply decided to work for a form of democracy within the government. Although they have the same root name, Hezb i-Islami (Islamic Party), the Kabul group is now a recognized and accepted political party, while the Gulbuddin group has been identified as a terrorist group.
Radi: I understand, though, that the cooperation of the Taliban and HIG make them very powerful. I know that the multinational forces there are taking a beating.
Modi: Not to worry, Radi. The HIG depends too much upon their leader. They love him and support him; however, if something should happen to him, they will disappear. It is he, not the Taliban, who understands what it takes to fight the Americans. He studied the Vietnam War very closely and actively fought the Soviet military machine. The Taliban is learning by watching how his group operates. He is probably smarter than anyone they know.
Mani: I do not understand how he can do all that; he hates the Taliban more than he hates the government. He has many of his friends in government.
Modi: Mani, he was defeated by the Taliban, thanks only to the post-soviet government that would not support him against those idiot students. Many of those people went to the Northern Alliance, which in turn defeated the Taliban after 9/11—with American help. He wanted an Islamic nation, similar to Iran, but without the mullahs. He was not fond of Wahhabis and his relations with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban naturally will be strained. He does not like Iran, although Iran hosted him when he was on the run. He certainly does not like Karzai.
Radi: Ha! So, the Americans are close to losing in Afghanistan!
Modi: I cannot agree with that assessment. HIG is losing important commanders almost every week. Those people cannot be replaced. Some are saying that Hekmatyar himself is doing some of the killings because of the appeal of new amnesty offers. Some of those people are simply tired of fighting. They want to spend time with their grandchildren.
Mani: You are saying that he is losing important people he cannot replace and that he only has his original followers and cannot recruit more. Moreover, if something happens to him, poof! They are all gone.
Modi: That is about it. Additionally, without Hekmatyar the Taliban has no alternative but to rely on Iran for brains and military support. The Saudis have become a little less reliable.
Radi: After what you said, even you must admit that it is much more important that ALL BELIEVERS STAND UP AND JOIN JIHAD or they will be hypocrites, hated and warned by Allah[1]. Modi, you are called by Allah to jihad and you know it.
Modi: My jihad, Radi, is making myself a stronger and better Believer. That, my friend, is what is known as “The Greater Jihad!”
Mani: I do believe he has you there, Radi. You and I know that fighting, even in the way of Allah, is the minor jihad.
Radi: You are both saying nothing. Know you that the lame, the blind, and the sick can be excused from jihad; those that join jihad, God will admit to Gardens through which rivers flow. He who turns his back on Allah and jihad will be punished with a grievous penalty.[2]
Mani: Note, Modi that he talked about Gardens and not Paradise and he said nothing about the virgins. Maybe he has been learning something.
Radi: Both of you will loose your heads today.
Modi: Radi, you must heed what I am saying. As Believers, we can choose the government we want, as long as it does not disregard the true laws of Islam. The government that we chose here in Iraq is one that will fairly and equally serve both Sunnis and Shi’ites. The insurgents, including Al-Qaeda, are fighting against that government. Although they try to sell us on the idea that they are trying to establish a strict, Islamic, government we do not really know this because deception is no longer just a tactic of war, it has become a political tradition of Arabs to get their way.
Mani: Be careful, Modi, Radi is getting mad.
Modi: Remember, Radi, if you insist on helping to wage war against Allah, or hindering His works, and continue to sow mischief throughout the land, your punishment is execution, crucifixion, or having a hand and foot cut off from opposite sides, or exile. And it may not be your choice. Besides that, your punishment in this life will be followed by a heavier punishment in the next[3].
Mani: Uh-oh! I have never seen his face so scarlet.
Radi: I will talk that one over with my imam. I have never heard such outrageous talk against fighting in the way of Allah.
Modi: Please, Radi, try somebody other than that nit you have been following. Two weeks ago, someone told him a joke about a Syrian naval vessel falling off the edge of the ocean, and he did not know it was a joke.
Radi: Well, what was so funny about that? (They both looked at Radi and he smiled)
Mani: Modi, Radi got you that time.
Modi: Okay, he got me. I am buying breakfast.
HJS
[1] Qur’an 63:7 “They (the hypocrites) are the ones who say ‘Spend nothing on those who are with God’s Apostle, to the end that they may disperse.’ But to God belong the treasures of the heaven and the earth; but the Hypocrites understand not.”
[2] Qur’an 48:17 [Loose translation]
[3] Qur’an 5:36 [Loose translation]
No comments:
Post a Comment