Publius' Forum

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once again taking "tolerance" to the level of societal self-destruction, the BBC has decided that showing the human side of the Taleban is an important story to cover.

They have ridiculously embedded a reporter with the Taleban in Afghanistan. Reporter David Lyon has been reporting from the Taleban and has filed a report filled with laudatory terms and brimming with respect for his subject.

Travelling with the Taleban

There is no army on earth as mobile as the Taleban.


I remember it as their secret weapon when I travelled with them in the mid-1990s, as they swept aside rival mujahideen to take most of the country.

Along with his wonderment at their "secret weapon", Lyon calls them "hardy" and gives them the opportunity to pass on this little bit of Taleban propaganda...

The Taleban deny British claims that hundreds of their soldiers have been killed.

They say that since they wear only the loose long cotton shirts and trousers - shalwar kameez - of any local villager, then the British cannot easily tell them apart.

In a village damaged by a British attack on the night of 7 October, some people were too angry to talk to me because I was British.

One merely pointed to the torn and bloody women's clothing left in the ruins of the house and said bitterly, "Are these the kind of houses they have come to build - the kind where clothing is cut to pieces?".

Why does the BBC feel it such a great idea to give an enemy of civilization a forum to dispense their message?

It was once said of the U.S. Constitution that it isn't a suicide pact. Much can be said of a culture, western culture in particular. Our laws and principles, our ideals and systems are specifically set up to further liberty, freedom and equality. Our democracy is the most enlightened in history.

Unfortunately, when faced with systems that are specifically set up to be a direct opposite of freedom and liberty, like the Taleban, socialism, communism, or other oppressive and regressive systems, societies based on freedom of expression cannot seem to understand the simple concept of self-preservation.

The BBC, with this embedded reporter, is holding the razor to the throat of western society. Giving excuses to enemies of liberty and providing cover for their depredations by making them seem reasonable and aggrieved is what they end up doing with this reporter's efforts. Putting doubt in the minds of fellow westerners and making them feel that their own society is what is at fault here is the end product.

And, that, in the end, will do nothing but assist in the tearing down of our own confidence in our society and ideals at a time when we face enemies who want to destroy us root and branch.

But, is it surprising that the BBC is filling this helpful role for our enemies? In light of recent BBC history, it shouldn't.