CELEBRATING MY ANCESTOR AT THE END OF 2025: BAYAZID KHAN BARAKI AKA PIR ROSHAN (1525-1586)

PS: THIS SITE IS A JOKE IE NOT USER FRIENDLY. MOVING FORWARD CIRCA 2026 WILL WRITE ON SUBSTACK...

Always believed we are "the sum total of our ancestors/forebears." Thus the need to highlight one of my most illustrious ancestors whose ideas, and actions, have had lasting consequences. And whose enemies (and there were quite a few, past and present)murdered him and most of his sons; and who vilified/vilify his ideas, or reinvent him (and his ideas) to mitigate the "ideological damage" (in their eyes) to the faith (Islam). Pir Roshan "the enlightened Pir" was born Bayazid Khan Baraki (Anglicized in the early 20th century to "Burki") in Jullundar, India in 1525 AD to Baraki/Ormuri parents who'd migrated from Kaniguram (South Waziristan) along with other tribal members East to Jullundar in pursuit of economic (trading) opportunities. There has been a concerted effort to "Arabize" his lineage with claims that he was of Arab descent (from Yemen) notwithstanding DNA evidence from his descendants to the contrary. Rumor has it his given name "Bayazid" was in honor of the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid II (d:1512). Bayazid Khan (Baraki/Ormuri/Burki) –popularly known as Pir Roshan—became known for his thinking with its strong Sufi influences, radical for the times and unusual for the region. As to claims by some of an “Ansari” connection, refer to “An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan” by Henry Walter Bellew (1891). On page 8, Bellew in this seminal work refers to the Baraki’s origins as “mysterious” but not of Arab/Ansari descent. Bayazid’s people known as Barak or Baraki were found in large numbers during the Greek period in their present environs (p. 62). In Ormuri, "Barak" means "Lightning," while "Roshan" in Farsi/Persian means "light or illumination." Thus "Pir Roshan" was apropos a title adopted by Bayazid himself. BARAKI/ORMURI BACKGROUND Historically, the Ormuri/Baraki, who spoke/speak a distinct language, played a prominent role in what is now "Afghanistan," having arrived as a tribe with the Greeks as mercenaries. By the time Bayazid was born, the Baraki still were prominent as exclusive bodyguards to the Afghan royal family. No longer mercenaries in the strict sense of the word, they were active in a vast trading empire to far flung regions to include Central Asia, the Ottoman and Persian Empries and, of course, India, where they not only traded goods and horses, but also ideas. Kaniguram was, and is, their homeland. The land that included Kaniguram was acquired, or bequeathed, by Emperor Mahmud of Ghazni (d:1030 AD) after Baraki lashkars successully assisted Mahmud's armies in their attacks on Hindustan and especially in the retrival to Ghazni of the Hindu Temple Somnath's Golden Gates. Kaniguram as the tribe's focal point was perfect because of its remote location and difficult terrain making it, once fortified, defensible. While the Ormuri/Barakis' primarily homeland is, and remains, Kaniguram (elev 6,706 ft) in present day Pakistan, the other smaller habitation of tribesman is the village of Baraki Barak (elev 6,292 ft), in Afghanistan's Logar Province. The latter no longer speak Ormuri today, only Pashto. Unlike their kinsmen in Afghanistan (Baraki Barak), the tribesman located in Kaniguram have managed to retain both their language and cultural traditions through self segregation and intermarriage. Their small arms industry, although it doesn't rival the Afridi's Darra Adam Khel output, ensured the ability to be self sufficient in their own defense within their fortifications. The Baraki daggers were once famous and rivaled those of Damascus. Pir Roshan grew up in Kaniguram after his family fled back here in 1526 after the Turkic ruler Babur overthrew the Afghan Lodi dynasty in India. Besides his mother tongue, Ormuri, he was fluent in Pashto, Persian, Arabic, Urdu/Hindi. Born in a tribe that emphasized both languages,education and trading, Bayazid experienced all three. Well traveled as a horse trader, he was exposed to various cultures and ideas. PIR ROSHAN AND THE ROSHANIYYA MOVEMENT (Est around 1560) Rumor has it that during his travels, Bayazid came across the Ismailis (the Nizari Ismailis are known in the West as "the Assasins") who groomed him and influenced his thoughts. According to a Pakistani historian, Naveed Tajammal (D:2014) writing in December 2012: "Bayazid came under the extra ordinary charm of a Ismailia preacher/missionary, a Mullah Ismail.[who were called ‘Da’i, amongst themselves]. These Da’i, as the custom amongst them would commonly adopt a profession, such as that of a merchant, physician, oculist etc, and when they arrived in a new place, would first try and establish, in the minds of their neighbors, their piety, and benevolence and so consequently be very generous, with alms, and prayed in the common Mosque, here they picked the new, ‘proselytes’, as their reputation grew of a devout living and a crowd / circle of admirers increased, they picked the most apt, to whom they propounded cautiously, the doctrine, of their creed, in the first stage the curiosity of the hearer was aroused, and a spirit of inquiry as well, and so was impressed by the wisdom and knowledge of the Da’i, but it was a guarded affair, if any sign of restiveness were seen, or suspicion suspected on the face of the hearer the Da’i withdrew, but in the case it was seen that the hearer wanted more, the Da’i, proceeded into the hidden science of the religion, and the symbolic characters of its prescription, and if the hearer was seen hooked, the Da’i ,would go to the stage of hinting the outward, observation of prayer, the fast, the pilgrimage and the alms-giving, stating that they were of No consequence, unless, their spiritual significance was Not understood, now the new novice, was seen eager to learn more, The Da’i would start his preamble but, break it in between, hinting that such divine mysteries maybe only discussed or disclosed to one who had taken the oath of allegiance to the imam of the age, the chosen representative of Allah, on the ‘ruh e zamin’ .[the face of earth],and thus the sole repository ,of this hidden science, which can only be confided to those who prove themselves worthy to receive it. The primary aim of the Da’i was to secure from the ‘Proselyte’ his allegiance, ratified by a binding oath, and expressed by the periodical payment which then, was followed in the initiation in the nine degree’s. It was this Ismailia-Doctrine, which deeply impregnated the mind of Bayazid, the Ismailia emphasis on interiorization of religious rites and their secretive methods of work, fascinated Bayazid, and we find Bayazid a deeply introspective and seclusion loving later in life." Tajammal's research must be taken with a grain of salt since when it comes to "Pir Roshan" and the Roshaniyya (Enlightenment) Movement there has been an ongoing concerted effort to distort the historical record, aka truth, on him and his teachings for varied strategic reasons. Irrespective of who, and how, Bayazid came into contact with on his travels, the fact remains that he was inspired to reexamine his life and the world around him. Naturally introspective, Bayazid came to the self evident conclusions: "All humans are created equal (thus slavery was an abomination and "royalty" suspect); everyone has the right to liberty and justice, and, most importantly, females are equal to men and must have equal rights to include the right to property, and to learning, which Bayazid --now Pir Roshan-- believed was critical to a productive and spiritual life. Where it gets controversial, and for this he was declared a heretic by the Orthodox Muslims, Pir Roshan --like many Sufi masters-- preached that there was no need for the Qu'ran, that one only needed to have a direct relationship with God. He also believed in the transmigration of the soul. It was these two beliefs that incensed the "conventional/orthodox Muslims and would ultimately lead to his violent death and the burning of his body (presumably to ensure he would not go to paradise in his enemy's eyes) so that there wold be no gravesite for his followers. Now as a Sufi Pir --Pir Roshan-- he began to share his thoughts and views on the world, and on Islam via his writings. Before he was killed in battle two decades later, Bayazid wrote over ten books of which his most famous was/is his first "Khair al Bayan." Khair al-Bayan is believed to be the first book in Pashto language. He added 13 new characters to the Perso-Arabic alphabet, crucial for accurately writing Pashto's sounds. The book was written in Pashto, Persian, Arabic, and Urdu, and is considered the first book of Pashto prose. Bayazid's book was thought to be lost until an original handwritten Persian manuscript was found in the University of Tübingen, Germany. In either 1938 or 1939, Georg Morgenstierne, a Norwegian Linguistics Professor, who had spent much time in Afghanistan and later Pakistan, rescued Pir Roshan's Khair al Bayan manuscript from the University of Tubingen where it had mysteriously been for centuries, and brought it to London for safe keeping (from the Nazis?) to the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Maulana Abdul Qadir of Pashto Academy - University of Peshawar, obtained and translated it and published a Pashto edition in 1987. Pir Roshan was well received by the Mohmand and Shinwari tribesmen. He then went to the Peshawar valley and spread his message to the Khalil and Muhammadzai. He sent missionaries (khalifas) to various parts of South and Central Asia. He sent one of his disciples, Dawlat Khan, along with his book Sirat at-Tawhid to Mughal Emperor Akbar. Khalifa Yusuf was sent along with his book Fakhr at-Talibin to the ruler of Badakhshan, Mirza Sulayman. Mawdud Tareen was sent to propagate his message to Kandahar, Balochistan, and Sindh. Arzani Khweshki was sent to India to convey the message to common people there. Besides, he also sent his deputies to Kabul, Balkh, Bukhara, and Samarkand. However, when he and his followers started spreading their movement amongst the Yousafzais, Bayazid came into direct confrontation with the orthodox followers of Pir Baba in Buner. He established a base in the Tirah valley where he rallied other tribes. In Oxford History of India, Vincent Smith describes this as the first "Pashtun renaissance" against Mughal rule. When Mughal Emperor Akbar proclaimed Din-i Ilahi, Bayazid raised the flag of open rebellion. He led his army in several successful skirmishes and battles against Mughal forces, but they were routed in a major battle in Nangarhar by Mughal General Muhsin Khan. During the 1580s, Yusufzais rebelled against the Mughals and joined the Roshani movement of Pir Roshan. In late 1585, Mughal Emperor Akbar sent military forces under Zain Khan Koka and Birbal to crush the Roshani rebellion. In February 1586, about 8,000 Mughal soldiers, including Birbal, were killed near the Karakar Pass between Buner and Swat while fighting against the Yusufzai lashkar led by Kalu Khan. This was the greatest disaster faced by the Mughal army during Akbar's reign.However, during the attack, Pir Roshan was himself killed by the Mughal army near Topi. Major Henry George Raverty transpired the account from Akhund Darweza about Pir Roshan's coffin was seized in the midst of a battle between the Roshaniyya and Mughal forces. Some of his bones were burnt, and cast into the Indus river. All of his sons were killed except for the youngest, fourteen year old Jalala (rumor has it that Jalalabad in Afghanistan is named after him). Jalala was delivered to Emperor Akbar himself who pardoned him due to his young age. Soon after Jalala took up arms again against the Mughals. In 1587, Mughal general Man Singh I defeated 20,000 strong Roshani soldiers and 5,000 horsemen. Pir Roshan's descendants, however, continued fighting against the Mughals until about 1640. As part of a concerted campaign to destroy the Roshanis around 1619 or 1620, Mahabat Khan, under the Emperor Jahangir, massacred 300 Daulatzai Orakzai in the Tirah. Ghairat Khan was sent to the Tirah region to engage the Roshani forces with a large military force via Kohat. The Mughal forces were repulsed, but six years later Muzaffar Khan marched against Ahdad Khan. After several months of intense fighting, Ahdad Khan, Pir Roshan's grandson, was killed fighting sword in hand. The death of Jahangir in 1627 led to a general uprising of the Pashtuns against Mughal forces. Ahdad's son, Abdul Qadir, returned to Tirah to seek vengeance. Under his command, the Roshani defeated Muzaffar Khan's forces en route from Peshawar to Kabul, killing Muzaffar. Abdul Qadir plundered Peshawar and invested the citadel. It was not until the time of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628–1658) that a truce was brokered – between Akbar's grandson and Bayazid's great grandson. DESCENDANTS Bayazid's five sons were put to death with the exception of his youngest, Jalala, who was pardoned by Emperor Akbar as he was only 14 years old when he was captured. He later took up arms as Pir Jalala Khan and successfully engaged the Mughal armies. My father was a direct descendant of Jalala, whose descendants later moved to just outside Jullundar and settled inside fortresses known as "Bastis." Pir Roshan's descendants established Basti Baba Khel where my father was born in 1920. Other Urmuri/Baraki also settled adjacent in other Bastis and, over time, back and forth trqavel between Kaniguram and these Bastis ceased. LEGACY Bayazid Khan Baraki's legacy and influence has been targeted for good reason: the power and influence of IDEAS. His legacy lives on in his descendants who richly benefited from his --radical for his times-- teachings, to include better/equal treatment of the female members of the tribe unlike traditional Pushtun neighboring tribes like the Mahsuds, Waziris, Afridis, Orakzai etc. The religious view of Pir Roshan was considered heretical by his contemporaries of Pashtun tribes from Khattak and Yusufzai. Pir Roshan also originally wrote his Khair al-Bayan in Pashto, which meant that the text was more accessible to the Pashtuns than the Arabic Quran and that those followers took some measure of pride in its composition. During the 19th century, orientalist scholars translating texts from Pashto and other regional texts termed his movement a "sect" which believed in the transmigration of souls and in the representation of God through individuals. Ideologically, history assessors with left-wing view has regarded him as reformer who fight against conservative value among Pashtuns during his era. The Roshani movement had a two pronged approach to the spread of ideas: the sword and the pen. REFLECTION: Growing up I was distinctly aware of the "specialness" of my tribe (Baraki) and its history that predates Bayazid. However, the influence of Bayazid Khan lived/lives on amongst the tribal members in an emphasis on justice, equal treatment and a healthy distrust of clergy and orthodoxy. However, probably inevitable, with the continued effort to transform the historical record that is Pir Roshan's life and legacy (heretical in the eyes of many Muslims) to making him some sort of noble Arab of ansari descent (!) when DNA evidence doesn't lie, nor does his historical record, there has been a rise of orthodoxy and intolerance amongst tribal members especially those who moved away from Kaniguram and Pakistan. This gives room for pause and reflection on the ongoing battle for control of the historical narrative.

ON MILITARY INTERVENTIONISM: USMC GENERAL SMEDLEY BUTLER, 1933

 https://fas.org/man/smedley.htm

Smedley Butler on Interventionism

-- Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933, by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC.

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

 

AFGHANISTAN: RIDING THE ROLLER COASTER FROM HELL

It is very hard to write anything...the pain is very deep...for ALL sides.  

There are NO heroes, no victors in this roller coaster ride from hell. Over FORTY years. I still remember clear as day when we heard to the West of the Soviets landing in Kabul. A dark period began.

Despite the Great Bear's history vis-s-vis Central Asia (of conquest and control), not once did the Afghans I came to know ever consider the odds against them. Not once. They believed. They would never stop fighting until all foreigners left.

These are a hard people. Hardened by the terrain; hardened by an incredibly difficult life; hardened by the Hobbesian zero sum way of life. And, most importantly, hardened by their deep faith in God. Everything is ultimately about their faith and their --primarily tribal-- way of life. Loyalty is to God, family, clan, tribe and then the nation. In that order. 

So now the Taliban --whose founders Mullah Muhammad Omar Hotaki and Abdul Ghani Akhund aka Mullah Ghani Barader were mujahedin who fought the Soviets in the 80s-- are back. 

The Taliban have a small window of opportunity to rule differently this time. To move away from their draconian (even by Pushtunwali standards) record and to actually work towards a more inclusive tolerant society. 

But "tolerant" is a relative term in these specific circumstances. One knows for a fact that some behaviors and ways (acceptable in the West) will never be tolerated in this tribal culture. Nor should one expect these Pushtun tribal men to continue with existing "women's rights" courtesy of western meddlers.  That won't happen. Not a chance. But a twig that doesn't bend, breaks. For too long, "female rights" in Afghanistan have been authored by Western feminists and their Afghan counterparts. These ambitions have been too much, too soon. And thus they never gain widespread societal legitimacy to become embedded societal norms. Second, some of these aspirations have frankly been controversial and detrimental to social cohesion.

So, when we talk about "female rights" in Afghanistan moving forward, we have to situate this discourse within the culture at hand. So what can one hope for from the "Taliban"? 

That Afghan females will be allowed to get an education (albeit in segregated schools) in proper attire; that females will be allowed to seek "respectable" employment; that widows with no male family members are allowed to leave their homes to seek respectable employment in order to feed their families, without the Taliban or some other badmash whipping them for doing so. That females continue to have full access to proper medical care. That the Taliban middle managers/leadership keeps a tight control over their rank and file and forbid forced marriages (haram in Shariah) and other nefarious action(s). That they administer justice irrespective of ethnicity or affiliation as honest brokers. That they weed out endemic corruption, even if it requires draconian measures in the short term (to include elimination of widespread poppy cultivation), and rein in the inevitable temptation towards ill gain amongst their own senior ranks. A tall order.

What one can surmise will probably happen is best kept to oneself. 

The Taliban leadership, like all "conquerors" before them ultimately aspire to legitimacy in the eyes of fellow Afghans. Illegitimate regimes can only hold onto the reins of power through ongoing tyrannical measures.  In such a culture, perception is legitimacy. And without legitimacy (a hard coin to earn in such a society), the Taliban will be seen as just a continuation of the same old saga of corruption and misery.

If the Taliban want their second chance on the roller coaster ride, and want to actually legitimize their conquest, they will have to prove to their fellow countrymen, and to the world at large, that they will abide by their amnesty for all, and will stop the killing and bloodshed that has gone on for over forty years. 

Problem: one whole generation has grown up in cities like Kabul, with its swollen population of millions,  in almost surreal schizophrenic circumstances. On smartphones with access to the outside world, many of this generation will have an impossible time understanding, let alone abiding by, a "medievalist" worldview. This is where it will get tricky fast. And, the risk of bloodshed is real.

It will be interesting to see what role the Russians and the Chinese will play in these unfolding events involving civil society. 

The wild card is Pakistan.

Sadly, the feared (and respected) America of yore is now just a hollow shell. The fact that the Taliban have promised Moscow that "not a hair on a Russian diplomat's head will be touched," and the Russian Foreign Ministry declared that its Kabul Embassy would remain open at "full capacity;" while the acting American Ambassador hightailed it out of town over a week ago encapsulates that we, Americans, are up shit creek. 

If history is any judge, Afghanistan may prove to be the graveyard of "Empires." Last time it was the Soviet Union, whose demise followed in the wake of their exit from Afghanistan. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself. 

However, with our shameful, perplexing, un-choreographed Afghan exit, whose long term repercussions may be wide ranging, all bets are off.

Below is a earlier post on this blog on Afghanistan:

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

ON AFGHANISTAN: A SINISTER WASHINGTON BOONDOGGLE

The Washington Post article ("At War With The Truth") made me cry. The truth is always the first casualty, but not the worst. It's the lives (generally young) and limbs lost, that evokes a deep and unrelenting sadness. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/

Excerpt:

A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.


This expose did not come as a surprise to most Americans. Certainly not to me --someone with an intimate connection to the place and its bloody past. 

Afghanistan.  Forty years. 40. So many dead. All sides. All ages. Afghan. Soviets. Pakistanis. Americans. So much blood shed. For what? TO WHAT END? 

DEATH, more death. Unrelenting violence.

Maimed children (the lucky ones) begging on the streets with huge smiles on their faces....grateful for life. Widows in their black burkas searching for their loved ones. Smiling Soviet troops waving from their vehicles on their way to their deaths. Mujahedin with their Lee Enfields and AK-47s smiling and nodding their goodbyes as they trudge towards their deaths. Some with roses in their hair and tawiz (amulets) around their necks. Young Marines in a culture brief eager to avenge 9/11.

Haunting smiles. Haunting faces. Everywhere. All sides. EVERYONE was/is impacted. There are no "innocents" here. Except the children. And the young gullible fighters following orders (lawful and unlawful).

Afghanistan. It's like a scab. That keeps getting picked at, never to heal. 

The PTSD. No one was/is immune. Not the Soviets, nor the Americans, nor especially the Afghan people who've borne the brunt of it. Forty years. 

Quote: "Since 2001, more than 775,000 U.S. troops have deployed to Afghanistan, many repeatedly. Of those, 2,300 died there and 20,589 were wounded in action, according to Defense Department figures." 

How do George Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Susan Rice et al live with themselves with so much blood on their hands? NONE of them with a sibling or child in these unending wars.

How do you confess/admit to the American people (to the grief stricken mothers) that these post 9/11 American casualties were not in vain? That, all along, it was a boondoggle, concocted in Washington, for such nefarious reasons that any rapid, and clear, revelations of what transpired, and continues to transpire, might just shock the American public at large to rise up from their long slumber to challenge the embedded tyranny of what has lately been labeled "the Deep State." 

The American Revolution was fought over stamp taxes. Today, we the American people are not under a foreign yoke. But we are under the boot of an insidious "class" of individuals (forget the party labels) whose self interest can be classified as "treasonous." Furthermore, these traitors have all sorts of convoluted foreign "connections" due to a fatal flaw in our political system, which allows foreign money to flow into the coffers of our political class.

Back to the Afghan quagmire. Afghanistan was NEVER "winnable." Whatever that means. Hell, a military logistician at the rank of corporal, taking a quick look at Afghanistan's topography and location alone, would've rendered a "no go" verdict on any long term military commitment. 

The reason for invading Afghanistan --albeit under the draconian medieval Taliban-- were flimsy at best. 9/11 wasn't an Afghan attack. The mullahs in Kabul had NOTHING to gain from such an act of war against the globe's Super Power. 

Their distrusted Arab guest, Osama bin Laden --who was hoisted upon them by their external paymasters, the Saudis and the Pakistanis-- approved the Pakistani Khalid Sheikh Muhammad's scheme to strike America. Bin Laden hightailed it out of Afghanistan by the end of 2001 to Pakistan. Along with Zawahiri, he ended up in the bosom of the Pakistan Army for "safekeeping" at the behest of the Saudis. 

So many what ifs of history... one in particular stands out: What if Bush junior instead of publicly shaming Mullah Omar had behind the scenes quietly reached out to him through intermediaries? To work out some sort of an exchange, wherein Mullah Omar handed over his guest for tangible benefits without any fingerprints or evidence of such a transaction that would threaten his position and have him lose public face/honor. Perhaps the Bush administration never really sought OBL after all given the Bush family's close Saudi ties.

Meanwhile our troops spent almost TWO DECADES on a wild goose chase. On missions that had little tactical utility in the long run because of a nonexistent strategy. Sure there were efforts at "strategy" but, due to the inevitable mission creep, the effort to hunt down OBL continued to morph until the end result (today) is something absurd: nation building along the lines of a "western democracy."

The fanatically xenophobic Taliban (even by traditionally xenophobic Afghan standards) weren't our enemy. Not "Taliban Central." At that juncture --prior to our sending troops to overthrow the Taliban-- not even the CIA's former ally, Jallaluddin Haqqani, had any ill intent towards our homeland. While there was no love lost for the American 'infidel,' they didn't care for meddling foreigners, even the so-called Muslim brothers. Our boots on the ground (conventional vice surgical strike) was the game changer. It was akin to entering the worst hornet's nest imaginable. Setting aside our natural inclination to dislike such seemingly medieval entities, the reality was/is (to the best of my current knowledge) that the Taliban had no global aspirations. None. They just wanted to be left alone to oversee their "lovely" Emirate. 

George Bush had another agenda. Iraq was the actual prize. Afghanistan was supposed to be the entry point to Iraq and, more specifically, Saddam Hussein, who was in Bush's cross hairs for reasons one can speculate over. 

Which inevitably brings us to the events of 9/11. After all, to this very day, having our troops in harm's way in Afghanistan is in order to prevent another 9/11. So goes the stale mantra of our "policymakers."  

Who was behind 9/11? 
The profile of the 19 hijackers (Arabs) and the mastermind/leadership (Pakistani -KSM and Saudi, OBL) has zero Afghans. True OBL was plotting in Afghanistan under the very noses of his hosts, the Taliban. But Mullah Omar was betrayed by OBL and the Paks.

Yet, Washington gave the Saudis and the Paks a free pass. Worse, the Pakistan Army (PAIC or Pakistan Army Industrial Complex) were given billions in essence to host bin Laden and his merry band of terrorists. 

Reading the findings, the interviews, I weep for those heroic volunteers in our military who've died or been maimed in our endless wars "on terror." RIP.

President Donald Trump was elected precisely because he was an outsider who promised to bring our troops home. One can hope that the endless wars can be brought to an end and the proper focus can prevail on limiting/controlling ACCESS to our HOMELAND via visas and the border. 

ON AFGHANISTAN: US APPROACH CIRCA 2017 FOR NSI TEAM

 Given the dire current events in Afghanistan, decided to post my feedback circa 2017 on US's ongoing debacle in Afghanistan. 

Here is the original link to "expert" feedback:

https://nsiteam.com/social/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/R4-Q10-Approach-to-Afghanistan_final.pdf

Comments on the US Approach to Afghanistan by Shireen Khan Burki, Ph.D. 

First, with all due respect to the powers that be, what exactly is the strategic mission of the United States vis-a-vis Afghanistan? Judging from the current quagmire, there has never been a coherent policy based on a long term view or perspective. This is not an anomaly either as, I believe, our policy(ies) since the 1980s in Afghanistan (during the Soviet occupation) and Pakistan (under General Zia ul Haq et al) were poorly thought out, and rather short-sighted, which backfired on us. 

Now to address this two pronged question, let’s start with the “benefits” of our fifteen year “presence” in Afghanistan for the United States. There are none. Not for the people of the United States. The beneficiaries of American largesse have primarily been a certain segment of the Afghan populace (the elite and the warlords/drug mafia), and the Pakistani State (in the provision of massive U.S. “aid” to a “critical” ally in the so-called “War on Terror”). For the majority of Afghan people, the removal of a brutal and misogynistic regime (led by Mullah Mohammad Omar Hotaki) was a welcomed event. The influx of US monies has trickled down to the masses. Quality of life has improved in stark comparison to the Taliban years. 

However, circa 2017, there’s an almost déjà vu sense of foreboding amongst Afghans across ethnic lines (Afghanistan’s turbulent history seems cyclical which inevitably lends itself to hedging bets for the sake of survival) as they witness a NATO drawdown. The original U.S. mission had a clear goal: to kill or capture the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack. Fair enough. Osama bin Laden is dead. Mullah Omar is too. Both, I might add, died in the bosom of Pakistan. Ayman al Zawahiri is likely comfortably ensconced and cared for there as well, though probably no longer in one of their cantonments. Although, given the chutzpah of the Pakistanis (especially the military), one shouldn’t be surprised if he’s still lurking fairly close to a military cantonment. 

Which begs the question: Who and where is the enemy? Given the original mission circa 2001 (to kill or capture the mastermind/perpetrators of 9/11), we never gave Mullah Omar –who played no role in Al Qaeda’s operation—a behind-the-scenes, face-saving way to hand over his Arab “guest(s).” Publicly cornered, Mullah Omar’s nang/honor demanded he stand his ground and fulfill his obligation of nanawati (asylum) for OBL as much as he despised/distrusted OBL and his ilk. Had we handled this differently from the outset, the outcome would’ve been far more palatable than the one we face today. 

Once the Taliban regime was overthrown, the United States should’ve declared fait accompli and departed from the region in 2004 once elections were held, and our perceived (by the Afghans, and eerily reminiscent of Imperial Britain’s reviled Shah Shuja) puppet, Hamid Karzai, was installed. We failed to listen to Afghans from across the political and social spectrum at the Bonn Conference, when they clamored in one voice (a historic first) for the reinstatement of Muhammad Zahir Shah as Amir or King in a Constitutional Monarchy. A move which would’ve done so much on so many levels for a people recovering from decades of war and violence. 

It would have tamed the centrifugal forces, and been a nightmare for their nemesis across the Durand Line, which has worked hard to undermine Afghanistan’s sovereignty with a deceptive “Strategic Depth” argument that rings hollow. Yes, I’m talking about Pakistan. And this trajectory began in the 1980s. Current security conditions in Afghanistan continue to deteriorate. The Afghan National Army (ANA) is far from a cohesive force. There is resentment that the officer corps is dominated by non-Pashtuns. The Pashtuns have always prided themselves on being the “top dog” and don’t take kindly to playing second fiddle. Reliance on non-Pashtuns as foot soldiers, especially in the Kandaks deployed to Pashtun majority regions in the east and south has led to widespread resentment and distrust. 

Worse, it has contributed to the opposition “Taliban” recruitment efforts for the “insurgency.” The “Taliban” (a catch all phrase which includes warlords, drug mafia, adventurers, mercenaries etc.) have regained lost ground as the Afghan central “government” controls just over 50% of its so-called sovereign territory. That statistic alone should give room for pause vis-à-vis any critical cost-benefit analysis of a continued conventional U.S. military presence. 

Which addresses the second question, basically, moving forward what should U.S. policy look like? First, strategically speaking, we have to accept that due to what has, in our foreign policy approaches, become an unfortunate norm of “mission creep” (with disastrous consequences), we’ve lost any face-saving way to exit Afghanistan gracefully. If it’s any consolation, we weren’t the first. The British Empire during its zenith was humiliated in two back to back Anglo Afghan Wars of 1839-1842 and 1878-1880 due to hubris and an overconfidence camouflaging incompetence. Not to mention the Soviet Union’s debacle based on a misreading (premature?) of unfolding events in Afghanistan and their own “domino theory” vis-à-vis an “Islamist” threat to their interests in neighboring satellite states. A familiar pattern. 

Superpowers seem to gravitate towards conquering Afghanistan starting with Alexander the Great and exhibit a degree of optimism in their ability to accomplish the mission that fails to consider a myriad of factors starting with the two most basic elements: the terrain and a xenophobic warrior populace. The business of “nation building” is herculean in the best of circumstances. Afghanistan is essentially a fourth world state. Fourth. World. But with an overconfidence bordering on insanity, we --the United States-- thought in a few short years we could build a robust democratic Republic in a failed state run like it belonged in medieval times under the Taliban; with little or any infrastructure to speak of, let alone a cohesive populace. 

While one can admire such optimism it has, in my opinion, come at too high a cost, especially when we consider lives and limbs lost to what end? The argument that if we pull out as the Soviets did, Afghanistan will become a safe haven for those who plot the next 9/11 rings hollow as the metastasized global threat from Muslim terrorists (muharribun) has plenty of sanctuaries for those who plot the next strike. Known and unknown. Some right under our own very noses in the West i.e., on our own home turf. The Afghans have a right to be peeved at the US’s interventionist approach/response in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 given the facts. 

The problem has never been Afghanistan. The problem has been, and is, our “staunchest” ally Pakistan (and its benefactors). The country where Al Qaeda originated; where the Pakistani mastermind (Khalid Sheikh Muhammad) planned 9/11; where Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri sought, and found, sanctuary after 9/11; and where the current Al Qaeda Emir –Zawahiri— continues to find safe harbor. 

Bottom line: For certain Afghans our presence has been a Godsend. We are a cash cow which bolsters an expanding endemic culture of corruption within limited circles at the expense of the larger populace. We need to take a cold hard look at how our continued "nation building" and military presence is beneficial to American interests (short and long term). Afghans will need to fix their own country. And we need to hold Pakistan accountable for providing a safe haven for Al Qaeda and its ideologues; and for being the global ideological nexus of contemporary Islamic terrorism. 

ON AFGHANISTAN: LEADERSHIP, STATE LEGITIMACY, AND THE TALIBAN CIRCA 2021

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

USMC General Smedley Butler,1933

Afghanistan is a mess. Many --who dismissed its tragic history-- are shocked. Shocked that Kandahar, Herat, and Lashkar Gah have fallen to the Taliban, and it seems Kabul will soon be in their hands too. 

The cottage industry of Western "Afghan experts," with their bizarre, and overly complex, power points and articles, which advocated for intricate Western economic, and social, interventions over the decades, were always about themselves and their own pockets. Not the Afghan people. And, not the American people i.e. our volunteer forces who lost their limbs and/or lives.

Had these "experts" in our government and Washington "think tanks" taken the time to read about past foreign interventions into the "Land of the Unconquerable", the lesson learned would've been crystal clear: without a legitimate leader in charge of a legitimate governmental system that was decentralized, the end result would be chaos and conflict among vying ethnic, social and tribal entities.

Treating the slick Afghans as naive fools, or children, who needed to be "taught" how to run their civil society, and be "inclusive" (aka gender equality), and "modern," and "democratic" reeked of mirror imaging and, frankly, Western hubris. Something the Soviets tried (to "communize" a deeply religious and traditional society) and failed miserably at.

The blame, however, is widespread. 

First, and ultimately, the Afghans themselves are responsible for the dismal state of affairs within their own border. That they greedily (like parasites) relied on foreign baksheesh (charity) and hand holding for two decades is a stain on their nang (honor) in a honor based society, especially amongst the tribal Pushtuns, wherein one would kill one's own mother if need be to restore the family or clan's nang. 

This is a deeply traditional tribal/ethnic zero sum culture in a nutshell. Zero sum. What the Taliban "offer" (perception wise), to the populace (well, the Pushtuns at least), is a return to national sovereignty, to justice, to one's traditional way of life at a time when the country as a whole is experiencing various degrees of schizophrenia. What do I mean?

Put yourselves in an Afghan shoes. In a very short time, since 2001, Afghan society went from a more or less 16th century way of life (with the sporadic exception of some "modern" conveniences in the cities) due to the complete destruction of civil society and infrastructure since the time of the Soviet occupation, to an overnight transformation. Now most Afghans have access to phones and thus access to the outside world like never before. Females and minorities A "transformation" thanks to the trillions of American tax payer dollars ($2.4 is the low figure bandied about IMO to avoid Americans heading to DC to exert their 2nd Amendment privileges over the enormous corruption of our governmental officials, not to mention that of their Afghan counterparts).

 Sure, in 20 years there is now a whole generation of Afghan males that know nothing else but foreign meddling masquerading as Western "nation building to address America's 'war on terror'." 

But there are enough Afghan males who remember the pre-2001 Taliban period with nostalgia, notwithstanding many of the Taliban's excesses, especially towards women. The twenty year presence of kuffar (infidel) military forces in their villages and towns was a serious affront to their carefully cultivated nang, and to their historical narrative of being "unconquerable." It was a source of tremendous sharm (shame) in a patriarchal male dominated society. Tremendous shame of an infidel military that included females! Frankly, for Afghans, any foreign military is an "infidel" one for this is a xenophobic warrior culture.

 Western aid workers et al were so fixated of bringing immediate "equality" to Afghanistan. A land where, circa 2001, women weren't even allowed to leave their homes without a relative male escort and then had to be fully enveloped in their burkas to do so or face severe public lashings. Enough of these "aid" workers were genuine in their endeavors to help Afghan's females. But what most failed to appreciate is Afghanistan was/is one of the most male oriented societies in the world. Seeking to 

 

2021: Year which will live in infamy

 2021: A Year which will live in infamy

What a fuckin year its been! 

Two week masks turned into "forever masks and lockdowns." 

I warned in March that this was a farce.

Refuse to pay a fuckin' dime for a mask. Not one dime. 

This was the start.

Look where we're at at the end of 2021.

I fear not for myself or my cohorts.

But for future generations.

Lock downs and election fraud.

Will we have Obama 2.0?

If so, the Republic is done.

Where will we run?

Evil is rampant.

Right is wrong.

Good is bad.

Bad is good.

Anything goes.

It will now take a fight.

To right 

The Republic.

Power corrupts.

Small comfort that evil

has none (comfort)

It will now take a fight.

To do what's right.

To save this REPUBLIC.

Leonard Cohen: EVERYBODY KNOWS

 Everybody Knows

Lyrics

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long-stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Oh, give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
When you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still picking cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
Everybody knows