FROM ANYWHERE BUT KABUL

DURING THE AMERICAN campaign in Afghanistan you might have believed that there was nothing more evil, more brutal than the Taliban. Well, that was then. In the schoolyard political environment of 21st Century Earth, the even more evil and brutal Islamic State has gone on the offensive against its old Taliban comrades in Afghanistan, making the Taliban, all of a sudden, seem acceptably moderate.

Originally allies against the West, with a general aim of an Islamic empire, the humiliating departure of Western troops has exposed the differences between the Taliban and Islamic State – Khorasan (ISIS-K), the local franchise of the Islamic State multi-national enterprise.

And while the Taliban has settled for Afghanistan, ISIS-K still has eyes on the prize. It continues to want the world. This emergence in an area of such significance has caused the rest of the planet to turn its weary eyes back to Afghanistan once again.

“There is no immediate threat that ISIS-K will take over in Kabul, it’s too small,” says Rudy Bauxite, former CIA Agent and once the agency’s station chief in the area. “But everyone around the neighborhood is concerned. Especially the Chinese, who have a large – and decidedly oppressed – Muslim population right next door. Pakistan and India are also watching and wouldn’t you know it, the good old US of A has been silently supporting Taliban efforts to deal with ISIS attacks. When these guys fought the Soviets, they were our allies. Then they were our enemies. Now they’re becoming our friends again. They haven’t changed. Our priorities have changed. And yes, I know, if you live long enough in this world …”