Originally posted by M4
The problem is this: Afghanistan harbors Bin Laden, basically letting him stay there without any worry. So, if they don\'t hand over Laden to us, we would then possibly attack them in response to their letting this terrorist leader get away with what he\'s done, and basically supporting him.
To anyone still concerned about the acceptability of attacking Afghanistan, and specifically the Taliban, please keep in mind that the Taliban is not a valid government to begin with. They siezed power in Afghanistan through a constant application of brutality and military force alone. Political opponents and groups labeled as "infidels" in Afghanistan have been murdered or disappeared on a regular basis for many years.
Women have virtually no civil rights in Afghanistan, and they are not even permitted basic medical treatment because according to the Taliban\'s interpretation of Islamic law, male doctors may not see female patients unclothed. Women are not permitted to seek education, so they cannot obtain medical training themselves. There is no equitable system of justice in Afghanistan at this time, and accused perpetrators of relatively minor crimes are punished by beheading or having hands or feet severed without the benefit of a fair trial.
Afghanistan has been a gathering point for "militant muslims" from around the world for a long time, and numerous terrorist groups, not just Bin Laden\'s, conduct training there regularly. The Taliban\'s bizarre and disturbing policies included the destruction of their nation\'s Buddist heritage, and banning the Internet. The Taliban also turns a blind eye to Afghanistan\'s huge heroin growing and export industry, claiming that there\'s nothing in the Koran that forbids it.
This stuff has been going on for a long time now, and the world has been ignoring it. There are many reasons to attack and overturn the Taliban that have nothing to do with the recent terrorist attacks. There is just tons of information on this out there. You can start with these links if you want to read more:
http://rawa.fancymarketing.net/index.htmlhttp://www.hrw.org/worldreport99/asia/afghanistan.htmlhttp://www.phrusa.org/research/health_effects/exec.html