I-Search+by+Jasper

Title: A threat to us all

It's a terrible fact today how the terrorist organization, the Taliban, has pretty much taken over the country of Iran. now, many of the nations citizens live in fear of the fast rising movement that has engulfed their country in mortal terror. Sad it is to live here with this group of people mercilessly rules over a third world country. We've been fighting the Taliban for a while now. They're a terrorist organization that is devoted to creating chaos in America and the Middle east. Operatives are also partnering up with Al-Khaida to perform fatal attacks upon the American forces. some of their actions include suicide bombings, ambushes, and deadly assaults.

I often wonder, "why do they do this sort of stuff? What good do they get out of doing it? The only thing the Taliban's doing is killing countless numbers of people". so many people die each month as a result of the organization's evil and ruthless plotting. the people are literally willing to kill for what they want; they've already done it before. it's ridiculous how hard it is to take down this form of government in the Middle East right now and it's absurd how much we're trying to stop it. Thousands of lives and trillions of dollars are being spent now on fighting a losing war right now in Iraq and Iran. Why is it that we keep on being so persistent then? Us Americans, we're so ludicrous.

There are many things that flow through the dense mental cloud inside ones head. To analyze what the typical things in that cloud are, there's school work, money, romance, hardships, your job, etc, etc. These are some common thoughts someone who we randomly pull of a street would be turning over in the depths of his mind. But then there are things less heard of. More serious thoughts that require the person to inquire about what he or she is thinking of. Ones that make you reflect about the type of society you live in right now. I sometimes draw a thought like that into my mind. just now, I ponder over this thought, "what is it inside the hearts of men that turns them against their brothers? What is the wicked poison that makes men pick up the gun and shed the blood we all share?" I turn over and over again in my head, trying to shine a light on that darkness that burrows itself into the bosom of people. There is no chance in getting rid of this fundamental darkness. We are born with it, sleep with it, eat with it, work with it, live with it. It doesn't affect all people though; For some people are able to tame it and keep it to a minimum. what troubles me is how can the Taliban allow for the fundamental darkness consume them into performing countless acts of cruelty against human kind. those men and women themselves be taken over by it; have been shaped and mutilated into something else which once represented a human being being. Their lives are filled with hatred towards world peace and it is a saddening sight for me to see. To be able to merely gaze into the black soul of a man or woman who could have been so much more then what they are now is sickening. I want to know why the Taliban allowed this to happen, although I face the truth I may never find an answer to that thought.

While I cannot exactly find the answers to all of my questions, I can find some to a few questions. what the Taliban is, I can get first-hand details from my uncle. he's a demolitions expert who has done a few tours in the middle east. I would assume that he has plenty of enough experience to give me an account about who exactly it is I'm talking about. I am also currently reading a book called " The Kite Runner" written by Khaled Hosseini. It is about a young boy and his struggles in the Middle east with events such as the Russian invasion, the dark side of life and ultimately, the rise of the Taliban. It is a disturbingly realistic book, but it speaks the truth about events that are happening there right now. It helps me learn more about the actions of the Taliban to ordinary citizens and the darkness that has spread through the third world countries of the Middle East. Although it is a great book, it is not suitable for all age audiences. it is recommended mostly for age audiences of young adults ages 15 and up.

__The search Is On__

Upon beginning my research, I came up with a list of things that I was most hoping to answer while doing research. When finished, the list had a various array of goals from finding out the real definition is to people's point of view on how dangerous they are. I was know ready to go on a searching safari. My first step was to try to find the reason why the Taliban is so hostile to the world. It didn't take me a long time to find out for I found a trusty website with accurate information. The Taliban actually did want to make political connections to other countries, but apparently the other nations did not on an account of how aggressive they were to there people. The Taliban's bank accounts were all frozen, no country wanted to have a political tie with them; Iran was practically isolated from the rest of the world. Even being isolated isn't enough to stop them for today, they export 93% of the worlds heroin and are among the top producers in opium. My first question was ready to be marked off the check list as I moved on to the second one

The next question on my list was how do the Taliban treat the citizens in Iran and other countries in the Middle East. Rather then looking it up on some random website, I went to the book I was reading for guidance. In "The Kite Runner", an innocent man and his family are shot without mercy after refusing to give up his house to the Taliban. In another event the main character is forced to wear a fake beard and mustache in order to get into the city of Kabul because the Taliban flogged anyone who was caught without a beard. The characters in the story themselves in the story may have been fictional, but the events in time that are going on in time are real. The Taliban actually do this stuff and it's uncertain when they'll stop. They forced women to not go to school and if a girl was caught with nail polish on, she could possibly lose those fingers. It's malicious and humane the way how the Taliban treat people in the Middle East

After completing research on my second question, knew it was time to go onto my third question. I was more excited, however, to get an interview with my uncle who's a demolitions expert in the special forces of the U.S Navy. But alas, he lived in Virginia and contact with him was very difficult, so that meant I would have to do something else until he returned about a million calls from me. I decided to do a little bit of research on how the Taliban started up which led me to my third question: how did the Taliban originate in the first place. I went researching in multiple websites online and to basically sum everything up about what I found, the Taliban were originally groups of religious freedom fighters. They became more organized as the civil war in Afghanistan raged on during the 1990's and soon captured the capital of Kabul in 1996 from rivaling warlord. The Taliban was widely accepted into the government by the public, who were weary of warlords and other groups keeping control over them for so long. Little did they know that the Taliban would soon destroy any democracy there was in the middle east. But at the time, things such as public executions and floggings were common and accepted. Soon the Taliban government took away rights from women and outlawed things such as TV and music. I now know that this question was taken off of my shoulders which were so heavy from the the the thoughts and questions I was having

Finally, my uncle was able to contact me after what felt like weeks or so. He greeted me with a warm hello as he always did, but I was more business like. I immediately began to wring answers out of him. I first started off by asking him about his experiences with the Taliban. "The Taliban were always a constant source of threat to us when we were stationed in Afghanistan" my uncle Rick explained to me. "suicide bombings, homemade explosives and ambushes weren't exactly what we called 'uncommon' while I was there. Things are pretty rough out there. There was one incident where there was a group of people who ran a kidnapping business. They would kidnap children and then demand their return for a ransom. If the ransom was payed, the child would then be murdered and dumped into a nearby river." The news delivered me shocked me. "Could the Taliban actually be this cruel and inhumane" I thought. The question was soon answered. "you got to be real cautious of them. I mean, they're really that inhumane to do that to a humane being" my uncle said. Upon finishing up that question, I asked him a few more questions including how hostile of a threat they are to us and if he's had any close experiences himself. "The Taliban is increasing in power and we're trying to do the best we can to stop it. I've had a close encounter with them myself when I came upon a land mine while on patrol once. I was lucky I noticed the small lump sticking out of the ground. A few steps closer and 'WHAM', it would have been over for me." I asked a few more polite questions and concluded the interview by changing the topic to family. I could tell my uncle Rick wasn't very comfortable talking about his line of work.

After about a few weeks or so of rigorous research, I finally was able to put this monstrous question I had on my shoulders to rest. It took a long time and a lot of clicking and typing, but I finally was able to get answers to most of my questions. while this may be true for some questions I had, there are just others that can't be answered. I never did find the answer to what makes the Taliban kill others. The unanswered questions were mostly philosophical ones that can only be answered over time and experience. These jusst can't be answered in one moment, but must be pondered upon for a long time. Other then those questions, I am satisfied with the answers to my questions and have therefore ended my quest. My I-search yielded me exceptional work and I am am armed with this new knowledge.


 * WORKS CITED

2009, and a strong insurgency. "Taliban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2010. .

Hayes, Laura, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen. "The Taliban — Infoplease.com."//Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2010. .

Hosseini, Khaled. //The Kite Runner//. Boston: Riverhead Trade, 2004. Print. **