The recent bombings in Pakistan simply flew by.

There is so much happening

in the world: An impending Egyptian military coup, Violent Brazilian protests,
Bigshots getting knocked out of Wimbledon by minnows; the bombings in
Pakistan were a certainly a poor investment for the media and the press. It is
unfortunate but true that it happens every few days and the media, I am
sure, will cover it then when the rest of the world is at peace.
The Taliban has succeeded. They have taught us to live in terror and feel
cozy. Bombings are commonplace now and some countries are already
destroyed to such an extent by the long wars that capital loss after a blast is
low. The world is forgetting that the Taliban is still at large, their allies and
agencies still making explosive plans. Slowly but surely, the magnitude of
destruction will be so enormous that we may lose the potential of these
countries.
The Talibani ideology is the nemesis. Due to systematic psychological brainwashing, they have a huge support base. These are poor, expectant people,
who hope that these leaders will put an end to their misery, poverty and
the fear that encapsulates their mind after they have witnessed
unimaginable destruction during the wars. Illiteracy fuels this false hope.
Many Islamic leaders have opposed the Talibani lessons drawn from the holy
Koran. Though the Taliban are now pronounced world villains, they were once
welcomed in their homeland, Afghanistan, as war heroes. Here is their
history:
Soviet Union, during the peak of the Cold War, had sent thousands of its elite
soldiers to Afghanistan to spread communism after the collapse of monarchy.
They faced a frail resistance, the Mujahedeen, fighting their hearts out
against a mighty foe. The US noticed their valor, and equipped them with
some of the deadliest weapons. For the US, it was perhaps the most
successfully carried out covert operation, with the help of the Pakistani InterServices Intelligence (ISI). The Mujahedeen fought furiously, and the Soviets
faced a rout, which accompanied worldwide ignominy and scrutiny.
Post-communism, the Afghans collapsed into a Civil War due to power-hungry
leaders of the Ethnic Groups which had fought against the Soviets. History
witnessed the emergence of Mullah Mohammed Omar, a tall and impulsive
leader, who with his students (The Talibs) gained support and started
expanding control in the southern provinces. His expansion was halted by
Ahmad Shah Massoud, located in Kabul with sound skills in war strategizing.

Massoud, gave Omar a run for his money, until finally he was assassinated in
a plot, said to be planned by Osama Bin Laden.
Taliban brought a reign of terror. Among severe restrictions on people
professing in other religions or scientific ideas, they imposed discordant
rules. A video on the internet shows a man being cruelly beaten by what are
supposed to be Talibani guards on his crime, which is an inappropriate
length of his beard. All womens rights were suspended, and almost 70,000
Afghani girls had to leave schools. The Sharia was imposed by a special
police and the punishments ranged from amputations to executions by
stoning or public shooting. Scars of the brutality expressed by the Taliban
remain in the minds of the citizens of Afghanistan, those who are lucky to be
alive.
The US had long known the connections between Omar and Osama, but had
never expected the trouble brewing. The coalition forces in Afghanistan, after
the 9/11 have occupied it ever since, hunting the Al-Qaeda down, with the
recent success of the encounter of Osama (heavily controversial). In all the
world politics, the people of Afghanistan suffered endlessly. The land has
seen unimaginable bloodshed and has virtually no economy, apart from
being the biggest producer of the Opium poppy.
The Taliban being the vice has taught us some very important lessons. The
cold war was a difficult time, and the Soviets (communists back then),
thought it was an ideal time to spread their ideology. Being the superpower,
it believed it could feast upon the feeble administration of Afghanistan. After
14 years of war with the Mujahedeen, it faced world-wide opposition and
long bills of keeping the economy of Afghanistan alive as well as fighting the
war. After the Soviets completed a full retreat, Mikhail Gorbachev soon lost
confidence of his subjects leading to the disintegration of the USSR. The
Afghanistan occupation fruited into one of the catastrophic investments for
the Soviets.
The US should learn one thing: you cannot solve a problem with the thinking
used in creating it. The Mujahedeen, which the US armed in the Soviet war,
are now the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda. Apart from the 9/11, these terrorist
groups and their allies constantly infiltrate in the neighboring nation of
Pakistan, and their mischief is regularly experienced by India. A recent news
report stated that the plans to construct a pipe-line supply of gaseous fuels
to Pakistan and India from Iran has been put on hold due to the fear of a
Talibani opposition. It is feared that Pakistani arsenal is under Talibani control.

If only the US had handled the matters differently rather than arming the
bold resistance force, things would have been much more in control. The
usage of war to clear out an ideology like communism (and getting even with
the Soviets) was a poor idea. The US is reaping what it sowed.
The Taliban was completely eroded from its bases by the US in 2001. Five
years later, they are back with a vengeance. With funds from unknown
sources and modern weapons in their armory, they are an armys nightmare.
Recently, a documentary showed the US platoons scanning the scorched
earth of Afghanistan looking for IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). These
IEDs were skillfully hidden beneath the roads and explode when they
experience pressure from a passing vehicle. The locals are least helpful in
the quest for finding these explosives, before they find the forces.
The Taliban is giving what the West fails to provide: hope. Their majesty in
their lands is incomparable. But in their rigid implementation of what they
call are principles of the Koran, they are keeping a country and its people
decades behind time. If the US really wants to change something in the grim
situation prevailing in those lands, it should change the attitude of the
residents. To introduce democracy in that nation, we need to equip the
student rather than the army. The policy of invade and give democracy
should be abandoned and hearts of the Afghanis should be won, after which
they themselves will go for democracy and equality. The Taliban has to be
erased from the minds of the people, not from the face of the earth. And that
will happen if an Afghani child smiles in peace.