69 million page views

Afghanistan is a defeat only if we make it be one

Reader comment on item: Reflections on the Debacle in Afghanistan: Interview
in response to reader comment: Afghanistan was the unwinnable war

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Sep 16, 2021 at 01:59

Dear Dr Pipes, If you read the rhetoric in the Islamic media, many people out there are celebrating the "victory" of the Taliban in the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan'. Of course, USA must have exited Afghanistan with a position of strength. But Mr Biden is an absentee President and he botched USA's exit..

But USA's leaving Afghanistan is not a defeat. No intelligent person or country should fight for or against an enemy for whom the wars never end. Peace, education, freedom and prosperity is irrelevant for Muslims and that is why they can look at their countries in 'dysfunctional ruins' (as the reader Kepha said above) and still say that they won the war. I guess destruction comes with Islamic Emirates as an included option! And, people of Afghanistan easily forget that ever since they left their Hindu/Buddist roots, they have never lived in peace. They have only lived in poverty, war and declination.

Coming back to the USA, our leaving Afghanistan is a defeat only if we let it become so. The war against Islam is never a war of arms. It is a war that needs to be fought intellectually using pens, thoughts, and minds. Muslims and Afghans should not be allowed to come on the TV of the free countries and go back after narrating their tearful stories until they also own responsibility of Islam's failures. They need to be asked if they have read Q5-33 lately. Those of us have growth, democracy, freedom, and joy in their societies do not get it for free. We pay a huge price for it. It could be so convenient for the USA to declare itself a Christian nation two centuries ago. It would have been equally convenient for India to somehow mandate itself to be 99% Hindu (just as Islamic Emirates are 99% Muslim. But non-Muslim societies choose the inconvenience of living with minorities so we can get freedom, prosperity, and joy in return. Islam never afforded this inconvenience. Let the truth be told, Islam divided perfectly good humans and made them dhimmies and non-dhimmies (I am not cooking it up. It is written in the Islamic doctrine). That is the cost that Islam will always have to pay until it mends its ways.

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Submit a comment on this item

Reader comments (39) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Rift in the GOP Over Import of Unvetted Afghans [121 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Leni ValentaSep 19, 2021 11:11274821
Immigration to US Out of Control Since Government has Lost Control [199 words]M ToveySep 20, 2021 10:09274821
Understanding Why Afghanistan was Lost from the Beginning [174 words]M ToveyAug 30, 2021 23:51273999
Afghanistan is Not Over - Recriminations Notwithstanding [150 words]M ToveyAug 31, 2021 11:54273999
From Afghanistan; Where America is to be Challenged Next - Why Israel Needs to Pay Attention [185 words]M ToveySep 1, 2021 20:35273999
1Partnering with the Taleban to fight against ISIS-K [448 words]PrashantSep 3, 2021 20:21273999
1Direct or indirect application of Q5-33 in New Zealand [172 words]PrashantSep 4, 2021 12:50273999
The World Leadership is Already Forgetting Afghanistan - Diversions and Distractions are the Order of the Day [138 words]M ToveyNov 2, 2021 11:10273999
1Suggestion [106 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Mustafa BotaniAug 26, 2021 12:16273578
2Who Are The 15,000 "Americans"? [363 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
RenoxAug 23, 2021 00:03273237
1A Good Many of Them [89 words]RenoxAug 25, 2021 00:20273237
Names of Those Betrayed - Is This What Pelosi and Schumer Had in Mind? [49 words]M ToveyAug 26, 2021 15:11273237
2International media is complicit [279 words]PrashantAug 21, 2021 11:23273099
No more trust for America [168 words]DamasAug 21, 2021 00:03273055
2Ending American "Imperialism" [236 words]David RyanAug 20, 2021 10:45272998
4Role of Pakistan [52 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Cary S HillebrandAug 20, 2021 09:06272992
3Re: Role of Pakistan [55 words]Jack SheridanSep 3, 2021 01:34272992
1Role of Pakistan [82 words]Cary S HillebrandSep 3, 2021 20:43272992
2Pence wants to exculpate Trump [261 words]MalcolmAug 20, 2021 03:30272966
A Trump Supporter Agrees in Part [216 words]David RyanAug 21, 2021 04:22272966
Still Not Understanding the President Trump Anomaly [99 words]M ToveyAug 21, 2021 13:23272966
1Afghanistan was the unwinnable war [125 words]KephaSep 6, 2021 07:45272966
Killing 10 million Afghanis? [65 words]KephaSep 6, 2021 07:51272966
1Never sell any arms to Muslims [154 words]PrashantSep 6, 2021 22:30272966
Afghanistan Merely Signaled Change of Circumstances - No Change of Objectives [501 words]M ToveySep 7, 2021 13:21272966
1A violent war is unwinnable against Muslims [201 words]PrashantSep 8, 2021 19:06272966
Violent Confrontations with Islamically Driven Contenders for Peace a Given [206 words]M ToveySep 9, 2021 18:30272966
1Afghanistan is a defeat only if we make it be one [376 words]PrashantSep 16, 2021 01:59272966
Victories or Defeat Measured in Perceptions of Survivors and How the Dead are Remembered [421 words]M ToveySep 16, 2021 18:00272966
3Some more comments on the discussion [425 words]Admiral Peter KikareasAug 19, 2021 23:42272950
Discussing the Great American Failure - The American Founder's Warning of There'd Be Days Like This [397 words]M ToveyAug 22, 2021 18:49272950
3Reflections on the Debacle in Afghanistan: Interview [80 words]AnneAug 19, 2021 23:17272947
1Treason by any means! [106 words]Michael PerksAug 19, 2021 22:41272944
1Representations of Islamic Durability and Intensity of Purpose [105 words]M ToveyAug 19, 2021 18:36272929
1Biblical Solutions [120 words]David RyanAug 21, 2021 04:48272929
Ancient Biblical Explanations of Modern Biblical Manifestations [63 words]M ToveyAug 21, 2021 13:46272929
What did Afghanistan Teach the West - The Biblical View Remains in Focus [99 words]M ToveySep 3, 2021 21:52272929
Who is Israel? [265 words]KephaSep 6, 2021 07:40272929
Identification of Abraham's Son Jacob by The LORD as Israel [228 words]M ToveySep 6, 2021 12:36272929

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)