A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
The U.S. Secretary of Defense claims Russia is giving weapons to the Taliban, in Afghanistan. “Mad Dog” Mattis must also have mad cow disease of the brain. “If there is one major power in the world that has consistently fought against Islamic jihadists, in Afghanistan and everywhere else, it is Russia.”
The U.S., Not Russia, Arms Jihadists Worldwide
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
“For Russia, the war in Afghanistan is a domestic issue, with a direct impact on the drug trade and terrorist attacks on Russian cities.”
If the United States were not a superpower, it would be the joke of the planet, a nation whose government tells the most outrageous and ridiculous lies -- and may actually believe them -- and whose corporate media report those lies as gospel truth. The latest whopper comes from the mouth of James “Mad Dog” Mattis, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, who claims the Russians are providing weapons to the Taliban, in Afghanistan. The charge is insane. If there is one major power in the world that has consistently fought against Islamic jihadists, in Afghanistan and everywhere else, it is Russia. And, the major power most responsible for the rise of the Taliban and other jihadist outfits, is the United States, which teamed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to create the international jihadist network in order to force the Soviets out of Afghanistan, almost 40 years ago. Despite that history, beginning in 2009, the Russians allowed the U.S. to use Russian airspace to supply American troops in Afghanistan. It was a vital lifeline for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, which could not be adequately supplied through Pakistan.
The Russians were hoping that the new American president, Barack Obama, would make an honest effort to improve relations with Moscow – which, of course, never happened. But mainly, Russia was acting in its own interest. Afghan heroin devastated Russian society, and Islamic jihadists have killed thousands of people on Russian soil. Jihadists from Chechnya have done the most damage, but Russia has a vital interest in combating Islamist terror in the Muslim former Soviet Republics, especially Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, which all border on Afghanistan. For Russia, the war in Afghanistan is a domestic issue, with a direct impact on the drug trade and terrorist attacks on Russian cities. The suicide bomber that blew up a subway train in St. Petersburg, Russia, killing 14 people earlier this month, was from Kyrgyzstan.
Nobody has to tell the Russians about the threat of jihadist terror.
Washington is Jihadists’ Sugar Daddy
The Russians finally shut off U.S. military access to their airspace near Afghanistan, in 2015, after the Obama administration fomented the coup in Ukraine and decided to make Russia its main adversary in the world. But, it is the Russians, along with the Syrians and the Iranians, that continue to be the main obstacle to the spread of jihadist terror in the world, today – while the Americans, the Saudis and Pakistan remain the bulwarks of Islamic terror, providing billions in arms and training for Islamic fighters all around the region. The United States and its NATO allies provided the air force for jihadists in Libya, and then did the same thing in Syria for al Qaida, which became so powerful that it split, with one branch becoming ISIS. ISIS now vies for influence and territory in Afghanistan. The ISIS fighters that the U.S. targeted with the biggest conventional bomb in its inventory, a MOAB, in Afghanistan, this month, came from Pakistan, Washington’s longtime ally, which is also continues to be the home base for the Afghan Taliban. So, when the United States makes the outrageous charge that Russia is aiding the Taliban, it’s like the Mafia complaining about organized crime.
For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to Black Agenda Report.com.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
This week, we speak to a journalist about the recent fires in Los Angeles County that destroyed the lives and homes of many, including a Black community located in Altadena. First, we get an update…
Maurice Carney is Executive Director of Friends of the Congo . He joins us from Washington to provide an update on the crisis in Congo. Since he last appeared on Black Agenda Radio the capital city…
Thandisizwe Chimurenga is a Los Angeles-based journalist and host of RootWork, which can be seen on Black Liberation Media’s YouTube channel. She joins us from Los Angeles to discuss the impact…
Donald Trump began his presidency with unconstitutional and possibly illegal orders that put the minority Democratic Party on the sidelines. Democrats have not utilized their own bully pulpit to…
Cheikh Anta Diop’s anti-imperialist Pan-African socialism.
