In his column in the official Syrian daily Al-Thawra, Dr. Jihad Taher Bakfalouni mocks senior U.S. officials, claiming that they have realized their mistake in entering Afghanistan yet are unwilling to take responsibility for it. He added that the American public's criticism of the continued presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan would only increase.
The following are excerpts from his column:[1]
The "Afghan Restaurant" Has Disappointed the U.S. Politicians
"After all these years, the American politicians are discovering that the Afghan restaurant, of whose tempting dishes they dreamed, has disappointed them, dashing their hopes publicly. Today, their only way to express the bitterness that seized them after their dreams were shattered is to curse the moment in which their feeble spirit aroused their greed and they responded to it, thinking that [the food] served at this restaurant is delicious and would spark their appetite.
"Their ongoing lament over their bad fortune in Afghanistan emanates first and foremost from the steep increase in the price of the dishes at this restaurant – an increase that will get worse as the Afghan winter sets in and the fierce cold and snow accumulate around their strangled and shriveled souls, and as the dishes [served] become lower and lower in fat, down to nearly zero percent – not to mention the [restaurant's] terrible management."
The U.S. Leaders' Criticism Is Directed at the Plans They Themselves Drew Up
"In light of the embarrassing situation of the U.S. forces that invaded Afghanistan, the only way in which the American politicians and senior military personnel can express their abysmal despair is with relentless criticism. Their harsh lashes of criticism are directed at the plans that were drawn up and circulated as a 'philosopher's stone' that would make the Afghan rebels obey the American master of the [Aladdin-style] lamp, more than his own fingers obey him. But the [American leaders] were surprised to find that the situation was completely different – instead of the rebel obeying and being loyal to the bearer or owner of the lamp, he aimed to put the owner of the lamp into the lamp, to torture him with the harshest of torments...
"The strange thing is that the criticism of [the U.S.] plan [for Afghanistan] – criticism that will later become curses and invective – came from those who made this plan it in the first place. In order for the reader not to be confused, he must know that this [criticism] is not self-criticism, but rather an attempt to evade responsibility and avoid an accounting in the future, after the American citizens' resentment escalates because of the [war's] heavy financial price and because their husbands and sons are falling in Afghanistan with no clear purpose."
"[America's] Exit from the Afghan Stewpot Will Not Be Like its Entrance"
Bakfalouni then cites as an example the criticism by the U.S.'s chief intelligence officer in Afghanistan, Major General Michael Flynn, on U.S. intelligence operations there, and concludes by saying:
"[America's] exit from the Afghan stewpot will not be like its entrance. The U.S. forces involved in breaking into the Afghan restaurant will be forced to pay a heavy price – one that they will be able neither to hide nor to [pay]. The food will emerge from the intestines of the American soldiers, sent by his leaders to destroy Afghanistan, as a fire whose flames will roast these leaders. American public opinion will further fan this fire, making it even more deadly.
"The only way left for American politicians and military personnel to mitigate the impact of this fire is to return to their country, accompanied by the curse of history and the contempt of an [entire] Afghan generation that saw them sowing corruption and destruction in its land – for which loathsome crime they will never forgive them."
Endnote:
[1] Al-Thawra (Syria), January 8, 2010.
