You Who?

There, but for the grace of Allah, go we

I just finished The Kite Runner, a new novel which begins in Afghanistan 1973, around the time the King was overthrown. This is the third work of fiction I have read based around this period: The other two, Kabul and Kara Kush were both written before the Taliban. One thing I find striking in these books is that someone always says something like, "God help us if the crazy clerics ever get control of the country!" and it is always said as something that would be the worst possible scenario, but could never really happen. But indeed it did -- and a couple of these authors didn't even write that in hindsight. Reading these books makes you realize how much Afghanistan lost. Sure it had some tribal areas, but the cities were quite cosmopolitan, modern and moderate once upon a time. It was a tourist destination for hippies in the 70s!

Quick Afghan history: 1973 they bloodlessly oust the King and form a republic. 1978 some Afghan Communists take control. 1979 the Soviet Union invades, wreaks havoc. 1989 the Soviet Union retreats, Afghani warlord in-fighting ensues, which just about flattens the country. Around 1996, the Taliban gain pre-eminence, although fighting continues with the warlords. You know the rest.

It really is chilling to think how a country on the cusp of modernity lost it all. And could it happen here? Could some firebrand mullahs (Falwell and Robertson? they did blame the gays and the "abortionists" for 9/11 didn't they?) whip up some ignorant fundamentalist tribesmen -- racial supremacists, backwoods militias -- into a rough alliance to bring down a morally corrupt government... restore God's law, purify the race, punish the sodomites, enforce the right to life, jail the liberal professors corrupting the youth... and then start warring among themselves for supreme leadership? Scary. Maybe I've just been reading too many history books... In any case, if this country really is being run by a secret global corporate hegemony (headed by Halliburton) which rigs all the elections and controls the politicians -- I'll take it. You guys are doing a swell job. As long as I get my Starbucks, reality TV and Brittany Spears CDs, I'll keep quiet. Could you just maybe ratchet the economy up a few notches though?