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.
The Ukraine project is an obsession of the "collective west" but global south nations are resisting intimidation and making their own decisions in regard to the conflict.
This week we learn about an effort in Mississippi to undo Black political power, and we’ll hear some of my commentary on the U.S. role in the Ukraine conflict, and support for Mumia Abu Jamal among…
Maurice Carney is Executive Director of Friends of the Congo. He joins us to discuss cobalt, one of Congo’s mineral resources and one that plays a large role in green energy projects. But Congo’s…
Nsombi Lambright is Executive Director of One Voice, a statewide non-profit located in Jackson, Mississippi. She joins us to discuss a legislative proposal to create a new court system within the…
Margaret Kimberley participated in a February 21 webinar sponsored by the United National Anti-War Coalition, Ukraine One Year On. These are excerpts of her remarks.
