Any group, organization or government that does its damnedest to prevent its residents from getting an education, have-by rolling out such policies-exposed themselves as the frauds they really are.
And that is most certainly the case in Afghanistan, the perennially war-torn country governed by a crooked leader nearing usurpation by ultra-fundamentalists who, in the most clear-cut case of hypocrisy, are financed by the harvesting of poppies.
It is in Afghanistan where women possess little to no liberty not only in how they dress-though some do choose to wear the burqa-but also in their access to an education.
Last November, 15 girls were walking the dirt road to the Mirwais School for Girls in Kandahar when a couple of men on a motorcycle came up and sprayed them in the face with acid, according to a report in The New York Times. The attacks left discolored scars on their faces, but their determination to get an education was left intact.
The attackers? Taliban fundamentalists. The Taliban has resurfaced in Kandahar and-to impose its archaic system of beliefs, which also includes destroying important historical artifacts-has sent its uneducated misfits out into the streets to attack women who want an equal shake in life. God forbid. Literally.
About two years earlier, a teacher at a girls' school in the rural town of Qalat was killed by Taliban extremists because he refused to meet with their commander, according to an Associated Press report. First, they stabbed him eight times, then brought his entire family-his wife, four sons and four daughters between the age of 2 and 22-to watch as he was beheaded.
At times like these, you desperately wish some trace of the humanity that is supposedly found in all of us would surface among those committing these atrocities. But sadly, it doesn't.
When liberty is suppressed in the name of upholding tradition, those practicing the tradition need to review their reasoning.
President Barack Obama is already making changes in Afghanistan. He's increasing the United States' military presence there. He's hinted that he's no fan of shady Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Knowing as much may cause Karzai to crack down on drug traffickers and really make a move against the encroachment of their benefactors, the Taliban. The Pentagon, likely pressured by Obama, has removed Gen. David McKiernan from the top U.S. command post in the war against Afghanistan and replaced him with Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, a former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command who recently ran all special operations in Iraq.
Over time and with luck, which is what happens when preparation and opportunity collide, the Taliban will stand down and innocent individuals just trying to learn about the world and to make a life for themselves will be afforded that chance. We need to support Obama in making that happen. It is good that he is leading this charge because if anybody knows that access to education is an essential part of liberty, it's him.
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