The Taliban Connection

Over the past 20 years, 4 million Afghans have fled the country as refugees. Since taking power in 1996, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has presided over a humanitarian catastrophe. Millions have fled drought, war, and the repressive policies of the Taliban, including 80,000 to 100,000 who have fled since September 11.

The Taliban, operating one of the most repressive and abusive regimes in the world today, have systematically violated every basic norm of human rights. They have attacked and burned towns, summarily killed civilians, conscripted children into the military, and profited from heroin trafficking.

The regime's assault on women is unprecedented in modern times. Women are prevented from attending schools or conducting business, denied access to health care, and forbidden to leave their homes without male escorts. Widows or women without a male relative, with or without children, are essentially treated as non-persons by the state and often face starvation.

But these are not the reasons why the United States is now conducting military operations in Afghanistan. The United States is using military force because the Taliban, despite repeated warnings, have continued to provide support and shelter to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda terrorists.

More accurately, the evidence now indicates that the Taliban have been bought and paid for by bin Laden's money. Rather than describe the relationship as "state-supported terrorism," the Taliban can be characterized as a "terrorist-supported state." Al Qaeda has provided the Taliban with training, weapons, soldiers, and money - lots of it. The Taliban, in turn, provide safe haven and logistical facilities.

It is these malignant networks - the Taliban and al Qaeda - that the United States is targeting in its military campaign, not the Afghan people. The United States repeatedly warned the Taliban that they must either hand over bin Laden and his associates, or share their fate. They have chosen the latter, and forced the Afghan people to suffer as the al Qaeda network inside the country is methodically located and destroyed.

The civilian casualties suffered by the Afghan people during the air campaign are tragic, and they could be avoided but for the Taliban and al Qaeda, who bear the responsibility for the suffering of the innocent. Unlike terrorists, the United States doesn't target civilians; it strives to protect them. It is the Taliban that choose to protect an organization whose declared purpose is the killing of civilians. Both the Taliban and al Qaeda continue to use innocents as human shields, and both rob food and shelter from the Afghan people.

NEXT: Defeating Terror/Defending Freedom: Afghanistan's Future