First things first, the Taliban, ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, ISIS-k, are all factions of the same ‘authentic Islam’ ideology under the umbrella of the Muslim Brotherhood. The U.S. and Western media, as well as the State Department and Intelligence Branch of the U.S. government, like to create false distinctions when it fits their need. However, the groups are aligned – not adversarial, unless there is a geographic contest for power in a specific place. That’s essentially the only time they are in conflict.
The ‘extremist’ (by our standard) factions, under the political cover of the Muslim Brotherhood, are united in their dislike of The United States, most of Europe and ‘The West‘ writ large. They hate our filthy money and the politics that comes with it.
The two U.S. internal groups attempting to avoid accountability for the mess in Afghanistan break out to: (1) State Dept, CIA, Intelligence community; -vs- (2) WH, Pentagon and NatSec Council. Currently the State Department and Intelligence Community are winning the blame game. The White House and Pentagon are being identified by most Americans as responsible for the mess.
This duality of the State Dept (olive branch) -vs- Pentagon (arrows) is the internal dynamic depicted on the presidential seal. However, when the internal mechanisms are trying to save their institutional credibility; and those internal motives are based on trying to retain corrupt systems for affluence and influence; the modern battle is distinctly different.
U.S. money needs to flow somewhere in order for those who skim and direct the cash to have a cover for the business model created by the flow itself. The State Dept., CIA and Intelligence Community wants to send money to Afghanistan so they can position their friends and family to benefit from the business end of the process.
As a result of the State Department winning the blame game, they are now in a great position to flip the narrative and position the Taliban to need financial assistance. However, before they can pull off that shift, they need to change the public impression of the Taliban. After all, the U.S. has been calling the Taliban terrorists for decades….
… Insert ISIS-k!
The magical mythical ISIS-k becomes the new enemy allowing the “Good Taliban” shift. The Taliban go from being terrorists, to being U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS-k. See how that works?
By shifting this dynamic the U.S. State Department, CIA and Intelligence Community do not need to take apart their business model. Remember, the U.S. Senate is aligned in this group. The Senate supports the Dept of State and Intelligence Branch of government, writ large. This is also a mutually beneficial financial arrangement for the Senate members, their staff, their families, and the various NGOs that operate as beneficiaries of the support system.
You might think this is crazy conspiracy theory. Surely no-one is going to believe the same Taliban that was our mortal enemy a few weeks ago is going to become our ally in the same month as an outcome of U.S. policy? Well, yes, that’s exactly what is happening – and you don’t need to take my word for it.
How does the U.S. State Department pull this off? They do it by positioning the Taliban as poor misunderstood rebels who need “support” to run the country or else… wait for it… yep, a humanitarian crisis will unfold:
(Reuters) […] The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a conflict that killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans.
Humanitarian organisations have warned of impending catastrophe and the economy – reliant for years on many millions of dollars of foreign aid – is close to collapse.
Many Afghans were struggling to feed their families amid severe drought well before the Taliban militants seized power and millions may now face starvation with the country isolated and the economy unravelling, aid agencies say. (read more)
And there, right there, is where the United Nations will step in.
Which is exactly why I said a few weeks ago: “Team Barack H. Obama is curiously silent as this dynamic plays out. I would advise to watch for signs of Obama aligning with Team State Department. The ideological alignment between Team DoS and Team Obama is much stronger than the Pentagon; and Team Obama would like nothing more than to see the U.S. military weakened on the international stage, because that makes their forward efforts (think United Nations) easier to achieve.”
Barack Obama is smiling. The newly mechanized army of the Muslim Brotherhood (Taliban Regiment, Afghanistan Division ) will need to be supported; and the people of Afghanistan will need the magnanimous assistance of Western nations to avoid a humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan 2022 stops being a terrorist haven and shifts into the Haiti assistance model of 2010. There are hundreds of billions to be made by groups who will organize that support… and the United States Senate will distribute it.
But first, the United States will need to beat the Chinese:
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has told an Italian newspaper that the group will rely primarily on financing from China following the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and its takeover of the country. In his interview published by La Repubblica on Thursday, Mujahid said the Taliban will fight for an economic comeback with the help of China. (more)
If we don’t act quick, we will lose our ability to influence Afghanistan. That will be the pitch…. Obviously, those voices need us to forget how we spent 20 years and untold trillions there until, well, like a few days ago. But that’s the way it works.
And so it goes…. Watch for it.