How did yesterday’s terrorist become today’s hero?
Author: Abdul Naser Noorzad, Security and Geopolitics Researcher, specially for Sangar
The New York Times has published an interview with Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations, which, thanks to its unusual capabilities and network-making, was responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent people during 20 years of foreign presence in Afghanistan. In this article, I will try to analyze some of the serious criticisms of the original New York Times interview and briefly touch on them.
The interview claims that more than 70 Afghan diplomats, analysts, politicians, and experts were interviewed to explore the hidden corners of Sirajuddin Haqqani’s personality. First of all, you don’t need to talk to others to get to know Haqqani, this ruthless terrorist, professional killer, and a famous spy who was in the service of the secret services thanks to family connections. But what aspects of his personality remain unexplored and require further study?
Haqqani is completely illiterate in terms of knowledge and education, cowardly, and lacks leadership qualities. His only important task was to organize suicide bombers to kill innocent people, whose main instructors were his brothers and uncles. Haqqani’s personality can be well studied psychologically by his behavior during public appearances. His face shows a lack of courage and self-confidence.
Like other Taliban leaders, he has married several times and has millions of dollars thanks to his terrorist network. Taking over the Interior Ministry, police departments in different provinces, customs, extortion, kidnapping, drug trafficking, timber smuggling in the eastern and southeastern regions, smuggling weapons and vehicles left over from the overthrown republic - these are all ways he could earn money. Because of this, his family became one of the richest among the Taliban.
The interview attempts to portray Sirajuddin Haqqani as a moderate reformist and an ambassador for reform within the Taliban regime. He is called the only voice of opposition to Haibatullah, the invisible leader of the Taliban. According to the New York Times, he also calls for opening schools for girls, civil liberties, and fundamental changes in the radical policies of the Taliban.
But Sirajuddin Haqqani, having created a terrible empire of terror, is one of the main military weapons and killing machines of the Taliban. The Haqqanis became such a force because of their long and ambiguous relationship with the CIA, and because of this support from the CIA, they were able to kill people for 20 years and earn glory, and today they are presented as heroes and saviors of post-American Afghanistan.
The interview published in the New York Times is an attempt to divide the Taliban into good and bad, as in the past, and to mislead the public about the past games. As can be seen from the interview, Sirajuddin Haqqani is described as a moderate leader who seeks positive interaction with the world. In contrast, Haibatullah, the invisible leader of the Taliban, is called a radical.
Furthermore, from this interview, it appears that the dark future of Afghanistan will be transformed into a bright paradise by the hands of the Haqqanis. The Haqqanis, whose million-dollar rewards, presence on the UN Security Council blacklist and the US wanted list, as well as their brutal behavior, have given them worldwide notoriety and put them at the top of the list of terrorist groups. But the New York Times's efforts to downplay the crimes of the Taliban, especially the Haqqani Network, cannot be seen as anything other than a whitewash of the Taliban.
The article, thanks to the half-awakened conscience of the journalist, also mentions the connections of the Haqqanis with the Americans, especially with their intelligence services, during the jihad and in the last 20 years. According to the newspaper, since 2011, the Haqqanis, led by Ibrahim Omari, the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, has been trying to establish contacts with the Americans and even mentions that at the beginning of the American presence in Afghanistan, the network called for tolerance and some kind of peace with the Americans to end the war. Ibrahim Omari's secret meetings to establish contact with the US suggest that it was the Americans who decided to exchange the Haqqanis for a pro-Western group of technocrats and replace the republic with an emirate.
As subsequent events showed, the Haqqanis were the safest option for the Americans to play a key role in the strategy of destabilizing this country in the region. Hosting terrorist groups, creating a chain of terrorist networks, smuggling drugs and weapons, creating the terrifying specter of ISIS-Khorasan, quickly rehabilitating ISIS and providing mines, water, and geography of Afghanistan, serving the region and trans-region are among the achievements of this network and it was able to play its role well.
In addition, the report tries to highlight the role of the Haqqanis, especially the leader of the network, among the Taliban so that the next stage of the game with this indispensable card can be successfully implemented. The complex security equations in the geography of Afghanistan, which affect the security dynamics in the entire region, are such that violent toys, professional terrorists, and those committed to the goals of the powers involved in the Afghan issue must play their role.
There is no doubt that the Haqqanis are one of those toys that have been tested many times over the past 20 years and have succeeded. There is no doubt that the main purpose of this interview is to present a more favorable picture of the Haqqanis for the Western-tested plan that needs to be implemented.
The interview has more targeted aspects, which, on the one hand, clarify the mystery of the Taliban's and the Haqqanis' rise to power. On the other hand, the Americans are trying to use the situation, the complex process of ensuring security and political events in the region and trans-region, the growing tension in the centers of power, and highlight the Haqqanis as the best option in the future events of Afghanistan. Of course, the political consciousness of the people of Afghanistan is very high and the publication of such lies will not have an impact on whitewashing the historical criminals on this land.
