Watching the ongoing fiasco in Afghanistan, it’s hard to escape the idea that at least some people in the Biden administration are just fine with what is happening. The alternative is to think that they’re the most abjectly incompetent assemblage of “experts” in the history of mankind. While that is entirely possible, the alternative, that the Taliban are regarded more sympathetically in the capitals of Europe and North America than is generally assumed, cannot be discounted. And at a Wednesday press conference, Maryam Monsef, Canada’s minister for women and gender equality, referred to the Taliban as “our brothers.” Slip of the tongue? Not likely.
Monsef said: “I want to take this opportunity to speak to our brothers the Taliban; we call on you to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country. We call on you to immediately stop the violence, the genocide, the femicide, the destruction of infrastructure, including heritage buildings. We call on you to return immediately to the peacekeeping table, to the peace deal that was negotiated, and to ensure women and minorities voices are a part of that discussion in a meaningful way.”
When a reporter challenged her about calling the Taliban “our brothers” and asked her if this represented an opening of the Canadian government toward the jihad terror group, Monsef partially, but not completely, walked back her statement: “Hardly, the Taliban are a terrorist group and yet they claim to be Muslims. The reference to brothers is a cultural reference of course but let me be very clear, we do not support the Taliban. We are horrified that the hard-won gains of the past 20 years are at stake.”
This just raised more questions than it answered. Why would Monsef refer to a group she considers to be terrorists as her “brothers”? But as for her words being a “cultural reference,” she certainly is familiar with the culture of the region. Although she was embroiled in controversy in 2016 when it was revealed that she was born in Iran rather than Afghanistan as she had claimed, Monsef was born to Afghan parents, members of the Shi’ite Hazara minority, who had fled to the Islamic Republic of Iran during the Soviet Union’s occupation of the country. The Taliban, who are Sunnis, are known for ruthlessly persecuting the Hazaras; just a few days ago, they tortured and brutally murdered nine of them.
In 2010, 2013, and 2014, Monsef used an Afghan passport to travel from Toronto to Iran to take part in Islamic pilgrimages. Her press secretary explained in 2016: “Her ultimate destination was Afghanistan, where she wanted to visit her father’s resting ground to pay her respects, and work to empower women and girls.” However, “she was unable to travel there due to terrorism and violence. She briefly remained in Iran volunteering with the Afghan refugee community before returning to Canada.”
All this indicates that Monsef must be intimately familiar with the Taliban’s activities, as they were almost certainly largely responsible for the “terrorism and violence” that prevented her from traveling to Afghanistan. Yet she referred to them as “our brothers” anyway. There are several clear conclusions that can be drawn from this. One is that whatever else she may be, Maryam Monsef is a Leftist politician and a member of the government of Justin Trudeau. Pandering to jihad terrorists, and, specifically, the Taliban, is the order of the day.
The legitimization of the Taliban was already underway before Maryam Monsef dubbed them her “brothers.” Afghanistan gained a seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2020, and a longtime member of the foreign policy establishment, John Bolton, said Tuesday that it was likely that the Taliban would be allowed to sit on that Commission: “You have a new crew that comes in, and the U.N. has to decide, ‘Do we accept the credentials of a new ambassador?’ It’s certainly possible to challenge that and deny them a seat. You can say they’re not legitimate.” However, he continued, this is “unusual and hasn’t often been successful. I think the most likely outcome is the Taliban gets seated.”
The howling absurdity of the Taliban taking part in the UN Commission on the Status of Women is mirrored in Canada’s minister for women and gender equality calling them “brothers” and only excoriating their “femicide” when asked for a clarification. Has someone powerful decided that the West is going to accept the Taliban and grant it legitimacy? Or is it just that both Canada and the United States (oh, and Britain and Western Europe) are ruled by shallow, unthinking hard-Left functionaries who are too used to protection from the establishment media to care about being coherent and consistent? Either way, we’re in for a bumpy ride.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member