Siamand Moeini – Joint Leadership Of PJAK
Equations and relations in the region change daily and there is no fixed and final process. The Taliban in Afghanistan, utilizing the anti-foreign interests and sentiments and possibly based on behind-the-scenes agendas, first took over the areas where the government was weak. Furthermore, it has made development progress in considering the helplessness of the government and the disintegration of governance in Afghanistan. Over the last 30-40 years, jihadist movements have been more active and mobilized than ethnic and nationalist movements. In the Middle East, the jihadist movements have replaced the national movements for more than 40 years. After World War I, and with the Sykes-Picot Pact, the first wave of nation-state building culminated in the Middle East, which was more construction on the colonialism of Britain, France, and, of course with the Russia awareness. After the World War II, the consolidation and continuation of the nation-state copied process of the European colonialism in the form of capitalist modernity developed on a non-democratic and centrist basis. The process of unbalanced and unnatural development of state-management from a sociological consideration of view has been appeared to deviations of self-sponsoring in the growth system of a society.
The arrival of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, the intervention of capitalist hegemony and the overthrow of the dictatorship of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, which created a system like the Islamic Republic of Iran. It provided the opportunity platform for the authoritarianism of the Islam-state. At the same time, it has turned the Middle East into an undisputed arena for the jihadist and Islamist movements. At the same time, it has turned the Middle East into an undisputed arena for the jihadist and Islamist movements. Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan, the Gulf States, and parts of Africa, with the support of the powers of capitalist modernity, have become the jihadist and the fundamentalist movements, or become the source them. The Jihadism, in turn, is the result of the helplessness of Sykes-Picot appointed governments at home and abroad. At the same time, the lack of a socialist and justice-seeking alternative, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War between the East and West blocs, has nostalgically provided the way for Islamic fundamentalism to be appeared.
Pakistan, which has acted as a factory for the production and training of the Taliban jihadists, is utilizing them for its strategic policies against Hindus and possibly in the future against China’s hegemonic policies in the region. Turkey as well after the AKP reached to power, with its mosque-building policy, considered itself the inheritor of the Ottoman Empire and became the absolutely supporter of jihadists by having direct contact with vampire jihadists. Why if it is aware of this affair that at this historical juncture, the jihad and jihadism are mobilized and can to mobilize thousands of people with a short time of the different part of the world can be mobilized related to their regional and strategic interests and needs? The groups such as ISIS, the Taliban, Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, etc., have always been used by Turkey and other governments for hegemonic interests. In this regard, Iran itself is also one of the poles of this bout region in a new way.
It is with this intellectual and competitive background that the jihadists have succeeded in forcing nationalism, Marxism and progressive forces in society to retreat in the absence of a proper cultural and democratic context in society, the main cause of which is colonial politics and appointed systems. The liberalism of Ashraf Ghani and Mohammad Reza Shah, the secular nationalism of Najibullah or Babrak Karmal, and even the moderate forces like Hamid Karzai failed because they were unable or unwilling to influence and transmit the background of society. The values such as freedom of expression or equality between men and women, which they represented, never materialized and were always viewed marginally and dramatically. This was not stood on the intellectual and ideological foundations of these systems.
The establishment of a national government in Afghanistan began in the late 19th century with repression and violence against various nationalities, and Abdul Rahman Khan carried out a key role in this repression with the cooperation and alliance of Britain. The massacre that occurred during this period and the massacre of thousands who revolted against the tyranny and injustice of Abdul Rahman Khan, the remembrances are still alive after more than a hundred years. The sinister British project to unify the societies in Afghanistan has not only failed to materialize, but has brought increasing destruction and backwardness to the people of Afghanistan. By observing at the path of these events, we can clearly witness and analyze today’s events. Therefore, the appearance of the Taliban cannot be described simply and accidentally. The coming up of the Taliban; can be considered from several perspectives and dimensions.
The historical background of the region, especially Afghanistan, and its current government structure, which, following the helplessness of Ashraf Ghani’s government, the fragility of the middle class, and the collapse of society into a poor and consuming society, were among the reasons of these events. In addition, imported democracy without the presence of the people, the absence of civil society, the hypocritical and business-colonialist vision of the world powers to solve the Middle East problems, but in fact they themselves are the cause. In addition, the destructive interventions of the regional countries for the remaining of their political hegemony are among the other factors that provided an opportunity platform for the growth of the reactionary forces so that they can carry out their mission in a historical period.
The lack of an inherently popular defense force in Afghanistan and systematic corruption at the helm of the government, have made the country fragile, and provided the way for the Taliban to seize power without serious resistance. It is very natural that when political and economic corruption is rampant, no intelligent person is willing to risk their life for a corrupt authoritarian. Resisting the onslaught of groups such as the Taliban and ISIS is impossible without believing in an obvious political ideology and perspective. Also we witnessed during the occupation of Mosul in Iraq, there was no any resistance against ISIS. Some may suppose that the surrender of Mosul to ISIS was part of a global and regional plan, but it can be indicated that if, like Kobani, there was an inherent force that resisted and one alone, despite Turkey’s relentless assistance to ISIS, we could have witnessed more and more resistance and epics in Afghanistan.
The circumstances in other countries in the region, namely Iraq, Syria, Libya and Lebanon, are not better than in Afghanistan. ISIL and Taliban are determined forces that do not see any serious resistance against them, that because of the corruption and incompetence of the rulers, there are desperate people who have no interest in resisting this savage force. When political corruption is rampant in Kabul, Baghdad, Hewler (Erbil) and Beirut, which soldier and a wise man is willing to risk their life for a handful of corrupt and immoral rulers? The capitalist modernity projects in the region and the emergence of proxy wars have created opportunities and threats for nation-state hegemony. Simultaneously, these governments became involved in these projects without consideration for the construction of society and the sociological development of these societies or have been forced to participate in them.
The specific logic of war in the view of the founders of post-World War II projects has stood off itself from the ideological and prestigious meaning of the wars of the nineteenth century and they manage their programs only in one project arena. This means that the thought arena of the powers and the intellectual and economic apparatuses, according to their economic and strategic logic, appoint their governments. This is to launch a war or ends their pointed governments when it is economically harmful to these powers.
The Kurdish affair is one of the most complicated issues since the signing of the Lausanne Treaty. The main founder of the project of the Lausanne Treaty was European colonialism and the involved countries have become involuntary executors, which eventually the peoples of the region have been become victims of this colonialist policy. After a hundred years, it has promoted the mentality of chauvinism in the rule of these states and has caused the instability of the society. The process of natural growth of these societies has diverted them in another direction, which is contrary to the democratic process. Analyzes based on conspiracy theories are very simplistic and at the same time authoritarians. It is entirely irresponsible to assume that everything is packed and that the fate of things, especially in the world of politics, is predetermined.
However, we must know that the world powers are functioning very seriously to advance their policies based on various strategic projects. For instance, the various jihadist groups could not grow enough without the logistical, propaganda, and the economic support of world and regional powers. It is questionable that how the prisons’ gates in Iraq and Syria were opened before the growing of ISIS, and the dangerous prisoners escaped. Mosul, which had just bought new weapons by billions of dollars, while more than fifty thousand Iraqi troops and more than fifteen thousand gunmen of Barzani’s Party, the city easily surrendered to ISIS, and the Sinjar tragedy occurred. The same scenario now has been recurring in Afghanistan, with billions of dollars in cash and military weapons have been handed over to the Taliban. At the same time, Taliban utilizes advantage of the poverty and indigence of the Afghan people.
In addition to producing terror and frightening, it is a military business with a public acceptance of the Islamic ideology and familiarity with the oppressed people of Afghanistan, imagining a different spiritual, and a better world. This business, along with the belief that the previous structure of Ashraf Ghani and Karzai’s government did not have the capacity to produce it, which caused strengthened the Taliban movement. In addition to these factors, the Taliban has the support of some of the spy agencies of the International Security Assistance Force and the Pakistani ISI.
At the present, the query is being provided that to which directions and paths, will the future events go in the region? Will the Taliban have enough power to create an obstacle for India and China, or will it be a serious dilemma for the Shiite rulers of its neighbour, which is the Islamic Republic of Iran? According to the author, with the conditions that the Islamic Republic is facing, that is, unemployment, poverty, inadequacy at the level of small and large management, denial of solving the Iranian people’s problem, which are the fundamental issues, will provide an appropriate arena of serious challenges for the current unintelligent and incompetent rulers, it will fall downhill, which they have chosen by themselves.
24 September 2021
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