The Online Reflector

Less than a month following the attacks on the World Trade Center in September of 2001, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom, consequently invading Afghanistan and causing many Americans to divert their attention to a country which was once the nexus of diverging civilizations, and is now the center of conflicting interests. Although the war may have introduced us to such terms as ‘Taliban’ and ‘al-Qaeda,’ what we know about the region, the country and the ongoing war is uncertain. Graduate student and Pakistan native Zain Irfan and junior Jamie Beko, girlfriend of an Army serviceman, share with The Reflector their views and experiences regarding the conflict.

THE INSIDER • ZAIN IRFAN, PAKISTAN NATIVE

Words by Zain Irfan. Compiled by editor Sarah Haefner

For graduate student Zain Irfan, the current war in Afghanistan is not taking place in some distant land filled with sand, camels and magical genies that grant three wishes. Afghanistan borders his home country of Pakistan, and when the U.S. military launched Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, he knew he had much more at stake than most. His family still lives in Pakistan.

I thought it was a just war.
The Afghanistan war was much more necessary than the Iraq war, but the way the Afghanistan war is now playing out, it seems as if the main decision makers for the war have not learned anything from history and they’re making the same mistakes that the Soviet Union made when they were in Afghanistan.

The Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan in the late 1970s to fight on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, a communist government which had been facing opposition from the anti-communist mujahideen resistance. The rebels gained support from the U.S., which funded and armed the mujahideen.

Pakistan would not be in its current state if the United States had not abandoned the region after the soviets left Afghanistan. They were spending billions of dollars on the war, arming the mujahideen [via] the Inter-Service Intelligence [of Pakistan]. Once the whole war finished, the United States did not give one dollar to Afghanistan.

People felt betrayed.

It was up to Pakistan to take care of refugees and Pakistan was not a wealthy country; it was already dealing with instability and corruption.

The Sunni Islamist Taliban government gained power in Afghanistan in 1996. Only recognized as a legitimate government by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, former U.S. President George W. Bush declared the regime barbaric in February of 2002.

[Pakistan] has supported the Taliban from the start because Afghanistan and Pakistan have always had unstable relationships. [Pakistan] wanted to have a pro-Pakistan regime in Afghanistan because they didn’t want to worry about Afghanistan. They already had India to worry about. They wanted a peaceful neighbor.

Pakistan’s position changed when Bush made his now-famous declaration, ‘Either you are with us, or you are with terrorists.’

Pakistan had no choice at that time and as soon as they took their support away from the group [the Taliban] that they were supporting from the start, there was a backlash against the government.

Ever since then, it’s been chaos.
Now it’s at its peak.
The Taliban is practicing guerrilla warfare.

Afghanistan is accusing Pakistan of not doing its part, but how much can Pakistan do? From what has transpired in the past few months in Pakistan with the suicide bombings, the people are starting to move away from the Taliban. They are realizing that in order for Pakistan to be stable, supporting the Taliban won’t be a long-term policy. I do feel like there is a strong sense among the Pakistani community that once the Taliban is gone or once the United States is done in Afghanistan, again they’re going to see

…the United States just abandon the region.

Irfan has strong views regarding U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

As long as the United States is in Afghanistan, Pakistan won’t be stable. Now 40,000 more troops are needed for Afghanistan and that’s not going to be done soon. I don’t think they [U.S. forces] should get out [of Afghanistan], but the drone attacks really make the people of Pakistan upset. They [U.S. forces] should be there, but they need a clearer strategy.

Recent conflict between the Pakistan army and the Taliban has culminated in a break-in at army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

This happened where I live. I could see my dad’s office in the background.  They were videotaping everything. Just imagine having army headquarters in the middle of New York City. That’s how it is over there. Security is not that high. There were a few people dressed as army officers (and you can buy army uniforms for, like, $4 in the market). As soon as the guards let them go, those people just started shooting.

With the rise of suicide bombings and drone attacks, Irfan dreads hearing news emanating from his home country, knowing how close the conflict is to his loved ones.

Last week a brigadier was killed in Islamabad while he was leaving his housing complex. I have a relative who lives in that area. He’s also a brigadier. I was like holy crap. My dad is a defense contractor. He works with the army, air force and navy. He’s using the same army and air force offices being attacked as his offices.

I swear one day there’s going to be some Taliban member sitting in my dad’s office and my dad’s going to go into work and they’re going to realize they found the right place.

The last time Irfan saw his family was in August, and he will not see them again until next summer.

I talk to my family every day and day by day they get scared. Today I looked at a Pakistani newspaper Web site and it said a suicide blast had taken place in the city of Rawalpindi. That’s where they live. I have relatives who live on the same street where the blast took place. I just hope everything’s okay. I talked to my dad and he just told me to pray for the country because things are getting worse. Roadside bombing has picked up. I’m pretty distracted. I can’t even concentrate on my studies.

Despite Pakistan’s current economic, political and social problems, Irfan holds out hope for the future of his country.

The youth can make a difference. A small party is gaining a lot of support in Pakistan—the Tehreek-e-Insaf party. It was created in the late 1990s by a popular Pakistani criquet player, Imran Khan. People just love him. He’s the Obama of Pakistan right now. I think his party will do well in the elections and I hope he becomes our next prime minister.

THE GIRLFRIEND • JAMIE BEKO, U.S. ARMY GIRLFRIEND

Words by Jamie Beko. Compiled by staff writer Elizabeth Wheeler

Scary.

It was scary as hell to find out he was leaving, but we both knew it could happen and was most likely going to happen.

Jaime Beko’s boyfriend of two and a half years, Joe Moore, is now serving in the Army National Guard.

He’s an infantry sniper in Alpha Company 2-151. That’s a part of this quick reaction force that’s there for support for other troops in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The only way I have known him is in the military. We didn’t know each other when he signed up. He decided to join after Sept. 11 happened, but he couldn’t go into basic until late 2008 because he wasn’t 18.

Before he even left basic [training] he was told he was being deployed.

Moore has been gone for about three months and will return sometime in the spring for a 15 day leave, then will be sent back overseas for another six or seven months.

I can’t quite honestly tell you how I cope. I mean I am really busy so that’s a big factor. I am really involved in my major, I have two jobs and I am in the honor program, so I really don’t have a lot of free time just to sit and think

‘he hasn’t called me today.’

I knew from day one this was my choice; I had the choice to not get involved with him.

Being away from home and the one you love can put stress on anyone, but Beko believes it has only forced them to work harder at maintaining their relationship.

In ways we have grown stronger  because… it’s hard to explain. The only form of  communication we really have  is the Internet and he can call me on the Internet, which is great. Skype is the most amazing thing ever, so he can call and we have that direct connection, but it’s still not being with the person all the time. Certain things he can’t tell me  because he’s a sniper and the missions he has to do. They only have so much notice. So he tells me ‘something is  going to happen so I can’t talk to you for a couple of days.’We typically talk twice a day: when he gets off of work and before he goes to work. There have been a couple times when he hasn’t called me before work which wasn’t that big of a deal, but if he doesn’t call me when he gets off work, I do kind of get the freaking out moment like, ‘What happened?’

Moore’s presence in Afghanistan has affected Beko even when doing simple tasks during the day, like watching television or reading the newspaper.

I don’t watch the news. I refuse to watch the news. I don’t want to hear stuff because if
I ever see ‘U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan’ I automatically freak out,
so I try to avoid that at all costs.

I don’t want be left in the dark. I want to know as much as he can tell me, but its hard for him to tell me because he wants to protect me.

Despite their efforts, Beko admits it gets tough not seeing Moore, though she can’t help but admire him.

It’s hard to have the voice without having him here. It’s just hard because he is my best friend. Needless to say he is my one person I go to for everything. I believe he is making a difference by doing something he loves, so someone else doesn’t have to. He just continues to tell me that it’s all going to be okay. He doesn’t say much more then that. He’s not one to gush about his feelings and I am, so that’s one of the harder things, but
he tries to be brave for me.

Even when Moore returns from Afghanistan, Beko knows this may not be the last time he’ll be deployed.

We had the whole ‘is the military it’ conversation. He loves the military  no matter what he has seen or been through. This is his niche. I won’t stop him from doing that.
If we make it through his deployment, then we can make it through anything.