Afghanistan, Neo-Taliban, Indonesia
The process of the fall of Kabul a few days ago was like a repeat of what happened in 1996. Before capturing Kabul, this fundamentalist group controlled Kandahar. From Kandahar, they marched north to capture Kabul.
Taliban fighters display their flag on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan\'s Independence Day on Thursday by declaring they beat the United States, but challenges to their rule ranging from running a country severely short on cash and bureaucrats to potentially facing an armed opposition began to emerge.
History repeats itself in Afghanistan. The capital Kabul, for the second time, fell to the Taliban on Friday (13/8/2021).
On 26 September 1996, this armed opposition group captured Kabul. At that time, they removed President Burhanuddin Rabbani; previously they hanged President Mohammad Najibullah who was identified as a puppet of the Soviet Union.
The process of the fall of Kabul a few days ago was like a repeat of what happened in 1996. Before capturing Kabul, this fundamentalist group controlled Kandahar. From Kandahar, they marched north to capture Kabul. Likewise now. The fall of Kabul forced President Ashraf Ghani to leave Afghanistan for safety. In the past, after capturing Kabul, they gave Afghanistan a new name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Now is also the same.
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There are at least four things that "enabled" the Taliban to recapture Kabul. First, the government of Karzai and later also Ashraf Ghani was considered ineffective, unable to improve the quality of life, unable to guarantee security without the help of the United States and NATO. The Afghan government was plagued by acute corruption. In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2020, Afghanistan ranked 165th out of 180 countries (score 19).
Second, the decision of the US and NATO, the main pillar of security, to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. US troops will be fully withdrawn on 11 September 2021. Third, the holding of peace talks with the US, becomes a kind of reason for the Taliban to see themselves and the US as the real power holders in Afghanistan. Moreover, the Taliban have always questioned the legitimacy and credibility of the Kabul government, which was formed and controlled by foreign powers (Felix Kuehn, 2018). In other words, the Taliban do not acknowledge the existence of the Kabul government.
Fourth, the birth of a “new generation” of the Taliban, or what is often called “neo-Taliban”, in 2002, which is different from the “old Taliban” (1994-2001). They make tactical and strategic adaptations. Their ideology has also evolved. They strive to moderate their policies and establish themselves as a mainstream independence movement (Alia Brahimi, 2010).
The question is, after taking control of Kabul and establishing a new government, will they implement a policy based on religion in a very hard way, rigidly and strictly and be determined to spread their ideology throughout the Middle East and other regions?
In the past, when the Taliban was in power, they banned music, television, radio, games and other forms of entertainment. They banned women from working outside the home, prohibited girls from going to school and closed schools, prevented women from leaving the house unless accompanied by their husbands, fathers, brothers or sons. In public, women had to cover their entire bodies from head to toe. This is the influence of Wahhabism, not Afghan custom (Thomas Barfield, 2008).
The Taliban claimed to be able to restore peace and security in Afghanistan after the Soviet occupation and civil war, through the implementation of strict sharia law.
Men had to wear turbans, be long bearded, have short hair and wear the traditional shalwar kameez clothing. Anyone who did not obey would be punished. The Taliban claimed to be able to restore peace and security in Afghanistan after the Soviet occupation and civil war, through the implementation of strict sharia law.
Neo-Taliban
The Taliban emerged in the 1980s in the form of the Taliban guerrilla front. They joined the Mujahideen party, Harakat-i Enqelab-i Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement) against the occupying forces of the Soviet Union (1979-1989). In 1992 they were involved in a civil war (Antonio Giustozzi, 2011).
By using the name Taliban (plural of talib, which means “pupil” or “student” in Pashto language), they want to distance themselves from Mujahideen politics and signal they are a movement to purge society and not a party seeking only power. Thus, the goal of establishing the Taliban is to restore peace, enforce sharia law and maintain the character of Afghanistan\'s Islam (Andrew R. Smith, 2011).
Hundreds of people run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug.16. 2021. Thousands of Afghans have rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s international airport, some so desperate to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto an American military jet as it took off and plunged to death.
However, in reality, in November 1994 they became a fundamentalist movement and emerged as a political and military force. They no longer used guerrilla tactics but became semi-regular troops to carry out conventional battles.
This movement consists of students, rural youth of ethnic Pashtun (in southern and western Afghanistan), less educated, poor, most of whom are recruited from refugee camps and religious schools, madrasas, in Pakistan (Maryam Jami, 2020). The birth of this group had the support of Pakistan, which was trying to secure trade routes to Central Asia.
After seizing Kabul (1996), they were in power until they were removed by the US in 2001. Even though the US overthrew their power, through Operation Enduring Freedom, they did not die, but just lost power. The Pashtuns can easily save themselves because they inhabit two regions at once: Afghanistan and the northwest region of Pakistan.
Therefore, when pushed out of Afghanistan, the hardline Taliban militant group entered the Hindu Kush Mountains and tribal areas of Pakistan\'s North Western Frontier Province (NWFP); while moderates joined society only by cutting their beards and no longer wearing long robes (Shehzad H Qazi, 2011). However, they were slowly regrouping and consolidating forces on the Pakistani border.
They really become “enemies in a blanket.” The Taliban movement which started in Pakistan in 2002 is what has transformed into "neo-Taliban". Many of them come from local Pakistani groups and tribes from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Thus, they accept anyone who has the same view of the occupation forces, the Kabul government, and adheres to the established rules, regardless of ethnicity and tribe, not necessarily Pashtuns.
With the exception of a few key leaders, most of the “old Taliban” did not initially join the movement. However, they later regrouped after their attempts to join the Karzai government were ignored. What distinguishes it from the "old Taliban" is that this new group comes from various elements, not only "the remnants of the Taliban army". They recruited allies nationwide. Thus, they accept anyone who has the same view of the occupation forces, the Kabul government, and adheres to the established rules, regardless of ethnicity and tribe, not necessarily Pashtuns.
Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint that was previously manned by American troops near the US embassy, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. The Taliban declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country.
Therefore, these “neo-Taliban” members come from local groups, political parties, jihadist groups and different ethnic components. Thus, Thomas Ruttig (2010) mentioned "organically, the Taliban is a network of networks". In another formulation it can be said, “neo-Taliban” is nothing but a monolithic and unified movement. They are not a unified group with one vision for Afghanistan, unlike the Taliban of the 1990s.
The "neo-Taliban" struggle strategy also abandoned the old strategy that only relied on the strength of weapons. They have developed what is known as the “fourth generation warfare.” The fourth-generation warfare uses all available networks — politics, economy, social issues, and military. That is why they were willing, among other things, to negotiate with the US.
They update the tactics and strategy of the struggle. For example, creating “a state-of-the-art media outlet, which produces thousands of DVDs and inspirational recordings. The Taliban also use websites, FM radio stations, and email, and their spokespeople also give interviews with journalists in Pakistan” (Andrew R. Smith, 2011). A thing that was taboo in the past.
Afghans celebrate the 102th Independence Day of Afghanistan with the national flag in Kabul on August 19, 2021.
What also distinguishes it from the "old Taliban" is the dualistic "neo-Taliban" ideological nature, showing a vertical organizational structure in the supratribal and supraethnic, Islamist, and nationalist form. However, its horizontal structure is still defined by networks rooted in Pashtun tribal society. These "neo-Taliban" were the ones who a few days ago captured Kabul and overthrew the old government and founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Necessary to watch out
Their flexibility — including updating tactics and strategy, and expanding organizational components — was a factor in their success in capturing Kabul. Therefore, changes in tactics and strategies in the struggle — using all means and facilities, including modern communication and information technology — must be watched out for, including by the government of Indonesia. Because, like ISIS, it uses modern communication and information technology to spread its teachings, ideology, propaganda and find recruits.
With the present modern communication and information technology, they can easily spread their fundamentalism, extremism and talibanism anywhere, including to Indonesia, where some people are still easily fascinated by things that smell of or are wrapped in religion.
Trias Kuncahyono, Senior Journalist
(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).
