The only solution for Rahman

It looks as though my half-jocular solution to the Abdul Rahman situation, bring him to America, has already been suggested and rejected. According to the Washington Times, one of the clerics who had been calling for Rahman’s death also said that the only way for him to survive would be to go into exile. But, the Times continued,

Said Mirhossain Nasri, the top cleric at Hossainia Mosque, one of the largest Shi’ite places of worship in Kabul, said Mr. Rahman must not be allowed to leave the country.

“If he is allowed to live in the West, then others will claim to be Christian so they can too,” he said. “We must set an example…. He must be hanged.”

But not all the clerics are demanding no exile; and in any case how would they stop it? Exile seems the only possible way to save Rahman’s life and preserve American and Western involvement in Afghanistan. But how long must we stay there? If our mission is to keep the new government from falling to the Taliban, then, just as in Iraq, since we do not seem to have the ability to defeat the Taliban, we will have to remain in Afghanistan forever. I can’t see this.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 25, 2006 02:08 AM | Send