By Laura King, Los Angeles Times –
KABUL, Afghanistan — On the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban issued a bellicose statement accusing the United States of using the “September incident” as a pretext for an unjust war.
After nearly 11 years of war, the movement declared that the “criminal warmongers” — the United States and its allies in the NATO force — were “fleeing the battleground, one after the other.”
“America … is facing utter defeat in Afghanistan militarily, politically, economically and in all other facets, and it has exhausted all other means through which to prolong its illegal war,” it added.
The statement comes at a time of discord within the Taliban movement over whether to move toward negotiations with the United States or to wait until after 2014, by which time most NATO troops are scheduled to have gone home. The Taliban leadership has publicly spurned the notion of talks with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
While taking a typically bombastic tone, the movement also appeared to be inching closer to acceding to one of the demands of the West and the Karzai administration: that the Taliban renounce ties to al-Qaida and other terror groups based outside Afghanistan. The Taliban sheltered Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants before and after the 9/11 attacks, until the U.S.-led invasion in October 2001 drove the movement from power.
Though the Taliban and al-Qaida remain nominal allies, their goals had diverged even before the death of bin Laden in a U.S. raid last year.
“We are neither a threat to anyone, nor will we let our soil be used to harm anyone,” said the statement, which was issued in the name of Zabiullah Mujahid, a name used by various Taliban spokesmen.
Its great that we’ve had Obama in office to rid of these scum of the earth. No one else could or will do it either.
why don’t we just leave the middle east and worry about our own country. then if someone wants us back, let them ask us, and we can negotiate how and what aid we will give them. we have no right to force our beliefs or our troops where they don’t belong. and let the detainees in gitmo go. if they haven’t been convicted of a crime, they shouldn’t be incarcerated.
I’m glad you’re not in charge of our foreign policy!
Blame your christain ancestors who tried to eliminate them during the crusades. America has been in the middle east for a century backing dictators that have been killing thier familys and stealing the natural resources of thier country. Most of you have hated them since 9/11 and you will continue to teach that hate to your future generations just as they have done. Some how you people think they should just forget about all that christains and America has done to them but you will never forget what they have done to you.
Most religions are chauvinistic and the cause of most of the geopolitical problems in this world. Unless all religions become nonviolent, nothing will change. I wish the extraterrestrials would hurry up and reveal themselves to everyone so the entire world will know that the gods flew flying saucers.
Those people live in the Dark Ages and behead people as a form of justice. They are uncivilized and live by a religious code that is monstrous. I wish we could evacuate all the women and young children from Afghanistan and leave all those demented men to kill each other with their warped sense of justice.
Just like in America they are to stupid to leave men that treat them like crap.
In Afghanistan, they get beheaded. There are no women’s shelters.
Most women don’t use them anyway so just open some women shelters there.
Regardless of what we believe, the important thing is that they believe it. This is not just the opinon of the Taliban but of all Muslim’s everywhere. Anyone who thinks we can negotiate with these people needs their heads examined. The hate us and in their minds they are completely justified. Wake up people, we are still at war.
I like how you can speak for every member of a particular religion. I have heard that stereotypes are a HUGE time saver.
It’s a GIFT and a belief.
How can one argue against logic like THAT?
Oh-it’s not a sterotype, it is a fact. People like you that try to apply your beliefs to these people are the reason we were attacked once and now they are trying to defeat us from within our own country. Didn’t you watch and listen to the Democratic Convention when they took the voice vote. How stupid can you get when you don’t believe your own ears and eyes. It is all around you if you will just look. I have traveled over a lot of this world and I can tell you that the U.S. is not repected and in most country’s we are disliked or hated. They hate our government and therefore they hate us. Wake up.
You may want to look at WHY we are globally hated and some resort to claiming to be canadian when traveling abroad.
Why would our government lie.
The article was about what the taliban said, not our government.
You asked why the taliban would lie, in the same token, I said why would our government lie. I don’t think you get it, because both are liers.
thats right, a vote for ron paul is a vote for obama. so if the taliban says it, it must be true; why would they lie?
During a Republican debate last year, Dr. Ron Paul said this same thing. We provoked the attack by our illegal, unconstitutuional, war mongering. Unlike the idiotic claim by Rick Santorum who claimed we were attacked by the Taliban because they were jealous of our freedoms.
Write in Dr. Ron Paul 2012