A recent Op-Ed Article published at the New York Times is credited to Sirajuddin Haqqani, a deputy leader of the Taliban.

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I know what you’re thinking. Is this article clickbait? I only wish that it was. When I first saw similar article headlines about a terrorist leader writing an Op-Ed for NYT in my news feed, I thought this had to be an exaggeration. I thought it had to be right-wing propaganda stretching the truth. When I finally chose to read one of the articles, I expected the actual story to be like that scene from Spaceballs:

But no. No joke, the article in question, published by the New York Times, is actually written and published under the name of Sirajuddin Haqqani who they credit as the deputy leader of the Taliban. Sirajuddin. like his father Jalaluddin before him, is the leader of the Haqqani network, likely based in Pakistan and confirmed as an official part of the Taliban since 1995. Sirajuddin is the Taliban leader who directly oversees their combat efforts against American and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The US Government has designated the Haqqani network as a terrorist network since 2012. Throughout the Afghanistan War, the Haqqani Network has been credited with or taken responsibility for attacks on US and allied forces, hotel attacks, kidnappings, assassinations, bombings, and suicide truck attacks. It has been one of the more active terrorist and insurgent networks in Afghanistan. Specifically, the Haqqani-connected insurgents were central in the kidnapping of New York Times journalist David Rohde.

I can’t help but wonder what the New York Times is thinking. To not only allow a terrorist operative in active combat engagement with American forces such a powerful platform, but to do so while treating him as just another Op-Ed contributor, is mind-boggling. Frankly, it flirts with the edges of giving an enemy of the United States aid and comfort.

There’s no doubt that many Americans would like to see a draw-down from active engagement in Afghanistan after almost twenty years of combat operations. But whatever the exit strategy may ultimately end up being, we should all hope it is one that doesn’t throw away the efforts of the many brave men and women who served there throughout the struggle.

I can envision no greater betrayal of the sacrifices made by so many than to have the American government or American media seek a withdrawal from the country that legitimizes the Taliban, or worse, leaves the country ripe for use as a staging ground for future terrorist operations against the American people.

There’s no doubt the War on Terror has had its fair share of mistakes, missteps, and strategic miscalculation. But the lesson learned after 9/11 still holds true. The various Islamist terrorist organizations throughout the world are operating in a state of war against America and its people. Failure to recognize that fact, failure to treat the enemy as the enemy, and failure to plan and respond accordingly are what allowed 9/11 to happen, and doing so once more could invite similar tragic consequences.

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