So it did happen, as every one expected it. America's war against Osama, the evil entity of the modern world that America found him to be, and the Taleban, this unknowing, unbelieving non-politicians who thought they could govern a country and who proclaimed, in their poor judgement, that Americans cannot dare fight them, actually did start on October 7, 2001, at about 9 A.M.. No one knows when it may end.

Almost every body, but the Taleban, knew Taleban could not withstand the greatest power on earth and did not have any chance to confront such an opposition. It turned out merely into a military exercise opportunity for America. It could be nothing else from the very start.

It is very sad that so far the main culprit, the son of Laden, has not been found and only God knows when and where and who will eventually find him and bring him to justice.

Where are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates now? For that matter, where is Pakistan, this self-serving neighbor who created, armed, used and then left Taleban to fend for themselves? Parwaiz Musharraf said, "Pakistan comes first." When it was convenient and beneficial to Pakistan, Taleban were Pakistan's friends. It is now to Pakistan's advantage to side with the only super-power in the world. The Congress of the United States dropped, only a couple of days ago, all sanctions against Pakistan. This is but one of many benefits that Pakistan looks for in its new relations with the United States.

What is going to happen to Afghanistan, when there are no Taleban claiming their special kind of rule? Who will rule Afghanistan?

The United States must have paid attention to this vitally important question. It concerns the Afghans and the United States both. This time the US cannot leave a vacuum in that downtrodden land, as it did in the wake of the Afghan war with the Soviet Union. That vacuum was never properly filled. The Mujahedeen began to cut the country down to pieces and started a war of annihilation among themselves for leadership. They were so preoccupied with their selfish aims, that they totally overlooked neighboring countries' politico-economic interests and goals in Afghanistan.

History is witness to all that and it is so recent that there does not seem to be any need for elaboration. This time, consideration needs to be given to the fate of the twenty odd millions of Afghans who, for a thousand reasons, have had to stay within the geographic confines of their homeland and have suffered so harshly during the last two decades and more. They did not even dream of the destruction of their country at the hands of foreigners first and their own mujahed leaders afterward. After all, it was mostly these very people who toiled day and night, and ate, clothed and sheltered themselves with the products of their hard work. They even paid others to govern them and protect them from outside ill-wishers like their fore fathers before them.

Yes, not too long ago Afghans, even though a poor nation in comparison to other countries, were self-sufficient and even exported some food commodities and other natural products. Look at them now. Millions of Russian mines have made the land useless for agriculture. There is no means of subsistence merchandising anywhere in Afghanistan with products brought clandestinely from abroad.

Practically nothing is left of millions of sheep, and hundreds of thousands of other domestic animals, which served peoples' needs in their daily commerce. There are no government jobs and no income from those jobs to help towards the survival of the poor nation. The warlords and Taleban are excluded from the rest in all this. The Mujahedeen leaders, their henchmen and their families are living luxuriously wherever they are. They do not care about the poor masses. What is to happen to them when the present calamity passes?

US cannot remain in Afghanistan after Taleban. US must not replace Taleban with Rabbani's jamiat Islami. Rabbani has already proved his worthlessness during the two years that he sat in the Royal Palace as a figurehead. He allowed his so-called Prime Minister, Hekmatyar, to level the beautiful city of Kabul to the ground with his masterwork for all Afghans and the entire world to see and for history to remember him by. The Afghans did not see any positive action that Rabbani took toward the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the prosperity of the nation during his stubborn hold of authority for two years-- and by name only ever since then.

There really is no Northern Alliance today. It is only Rabbani and some of his Tajik companions who are claiming that there is a northern alliance. General Dostum, the Uzbek high ranking military officer of the Royal Afghan Army once, and a later traitor to the cause of his own country's return to peace and prosperity (who became a fierce looter and killer and raper during a period of service for the Afghan communist government as the head of a mercenary group of several hundred), is nominally with Rabbani's Tajiks. He may soon want to leave Rabbani for a return to his center of influence in Mazare Sharif and await further developments. There may be a few Hazaras lurking around Rabbani who will also want to go back to their ancestral lands in the heart of Afghanistan.

They were always a peaceful hardworking people. The Royal Afghan government also had many senior army officers and very high government personalities from among them. In fact the various tribes in Afghanistan were never left out of what little that the governments could do for every one in the one nation that they all were members of.

Any attempt to bring Rabbani to power in Kabul is bound to fail miserably. He was not a unifying force when he ruled from Kabul. His attempt to maintain power in the Tajik minority will inevitably bring back the opposition of the majority Pushtoon sector of the country's population.

The classification of Pushtoon, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Baluchi and others was the creation of the Russian forces of occupation in the decades of the seventies and eighties. The Soviet Union wanted to fashion communist Afghanistan after their USSR. They were aiming at creating UASRs from the various provinces of Afghanistan. Luckily, they disappeared from the scene before being able to implement their plan. Unluckily, they left elements behind, some of whom still believe that they are not a single Afghan nation, but rather people of different "nationalities" living in their small indivisible country, Afghanistan, and have been known all over the world as brave, independence-loving Afghan nation that has always lived, loved and protected their homeland from all sorts of outside intruders.

Afghanistan direly needs the re-establishment of the nation's Loya Jirga at this time of its sad history. It can only find a way out of this chaotic situation by a joint decision of all elements of the Afghan society whether they have different tribal affiliation, linguistic differences, or religious preferences. This has been the tradition of Afghanistan ever since 1747 when the Afghans assembled to elect Ahmad Shah Baba to leadership as the King of Afghanistan. Since Kings have been elected to the Afghan throne, problems with foreign governments have been resolved, serious political dilemmas have been settled, National constitutions have been adapted, adopted and made the law of the land through the institution of Loya Jirga. Jirgas have also been responsible for the resolutions of differences between clans, groups and even neighbors over the years.

The ex-king of Afghanistan, Mohammed Zahir, has been working for years in exile toward a final peace in his ancestral country. He has authored a three-point plan for Afghanistan, which suggests the institution of an emergency Loya Jirga, preferably in Afghanistan, to bring about a return to a democratic government there.

He is not alone. There are many elder Afghans who are authoritative in different undertakings in a future government chosen from amongst thousands of Afghans who are willing to return with him from exile and together with some of those who may still be alive and well within the country attempt to rebuild Afghanistan. It is my understanding that King Zahir has no intention to return to Afghanistan as the King that he was. He does not expect to be made President of the Republic of Afghanistan. He is, at 86, a wise old man who has ideas. He is willing to share those ideas with the younger Afghan leaders who are able in body and mind to work together for the re-establishment of a government in Afghanistan similar to 1964 or better.

Could such a step, under the auspices of the United Nations, be a way out of the impasse for the United States after Taleban?

October 19, 2001