Mullah Omar - On War and Peace

<div class="post-content"> <div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-1" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><div class="fusion-text"> <h4 class="entry-title fusion-post-title fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px" style="--fontSize: 18; line-height: 1.33; --minFontSize: 18;"><em style="font-size: 16px;">As the war in Afghanistan reaches an historic turning point, Arnaud Mafille revisits the words of late Taliban leader Mullah Omar spoken at its outset – and how his statements can provide a roadmap to moving away from damaging cycles of violence.</em></h4> </div> <h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><em>This article is published as part of CAGE’s new series of expert essays ‘<a href="http://cage.ngo/perspectives">Perspectives on the War On Terror</a>‘.</em></h5> <h4 data-fontsize="18" style="--fontSize: 18; line-height: 1.33; --minFontSize: 18;" data-lineheight="23.94px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"></h4> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_2_3 2_3 fusion-two-third fusion-column-first" style="width:66.666666666667%;width:calc(66.666666666667% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.66666666666667 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-2" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the West, Mullah Omar is largely remembered as one of the most wanted men in the world with a $10-million bounty on his head. In his country, however, people overall mention that under his authority, “Afghanistan (…) was 90 percent safe and no more than 10 percent corrupt” according to a surprising comment by </span><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/journalist-bette-dam-on-the-death-of-taliban-leader-mullah-omar-a-1046086.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bette Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, his Dutch biographer.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-3" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In any case, Mohammed Omar Mujahid’s views and decisions have contributed to shape the world as we know it today. His words and reflections are valuable to understand the current War on Terror and most importantly to find a way out of the cycle of violence.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_3 1_3 fusion-one-third fusion-column-last" style="width:33.333333333333%;width:calc(33.333333333333% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.33333333333333 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none"><img width="300" height="196" title="NATO Afghanistan" src="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NATO-Afghanistan-300x196.jpg" class="img-responsive wp-image-28510" srcset="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NATO-Afghanistan-200x131.jpg 200w, https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NATO-Afghanistan-400x262.jpg 400w, https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NATO-Afghanistan-600x393.jpg 600w, https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NATO-Afghanistan.jpg 799w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 400px"></span><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-4" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h6 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 15; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 15;" data-fontsize="15" data-lineheight="16.95px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated">NATO in Afghanistan</h6> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-3 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-3 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-5" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Local grievances and western foreign policy as the causes for violence</b></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-6" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mullah Omar was no sociologist. Nevertheless, he had a first-hand understanding of what motivates Muslims to take up arms. After all, he was himself a young man who </span><a href="http://www.ciiradio.com2015/07/30/official-taliban-biography-of-mullah-muhammad-omar/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">had</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to interrupt his religious studies to join the many other Afghans and foreigners in their fight against the Soviets.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-7" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If you look at Islamic countries, the people are in despair. They are complaining that Islam is gone. But people remain firm in their Islamic beliefs. In their pain and frustration, some of them commit suicide acts. They feel they have nothing to lose”</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, he explained in a 12-minute </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/26/afghanistan.features11"><span style="font-weight: 400;">interview</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to Voice of America.</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The people ask to follow Islam, but the governments do not listen because they are in the grip of the United States. </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">If someone follows the path of Islam, the government arrests him, tortures him or kills him. This is the doing of America</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">”</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, he added.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-4 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-8" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His assertions that Muslims in the Islamic world wish to see their faith as a form of governance remains true to this day. In 2013, the Pew Research centre published a survey conducted over four years in 39 countries. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the</span><a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2013/05/01/Most-Muslims-want-sharia-law-split-on-interpretation-study-.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> study</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, most Muslims were in favour of traditional Islamic law being adopted as “the law of the land” in their countries.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-4 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-5 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-9" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>The way out of the conflict for Mullah Omar</b></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-10" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just days after the 9/11 attacks, amidst US preparations to invade Afghanistan, the leader of the ‘Islamic Emirate’ described what he regarded as the root-cause of the problem and the way forward to overcome violence.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Taliban leader’s assessment was stark.</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Americans will not be able to prevent such acts like the one that has just occurred (i.e 9/11) because America has taken Islam hostage”,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he said.</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;“America has created the evil that is attacking it. The evil will not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die”.</span></i></p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-11" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His prediction has proven to be true. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the past twenty years, the United States and their allies have extra-judicially killed, arbitrarily detained, and tortured numerous leaders and members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, alongside a majority of “collateral victims” not involved in either group.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-6 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-first" style="width:50%;width:calc(50% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.5 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-12" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2a01Rg2g2Z8?start=753&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" id="player_1"></iframe></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-7 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-last" style="width:50%;width:calc(50% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.5 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-13" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet, the conflict remains and arguably, it has spread.</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ironically, making Mullah Omar’s point, then-President Barack Obama conceded the US’ role in the birth of what many have identified as the new threat.</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“ISIL is a direct outgrowth of al Qaeda in Iraq, that grew out of our invasion, which is an example of unintended consequences,” </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">he</span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a01Rg2g2Z8"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to VICE.</span><i></i></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-8 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-14" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On nearly all accounts, Mullah Omar’s forecast has been correct. Perhaps then, policy-makers might also consider his recommendations to bring an end to the conflict. There is no quick fix though according to him. It requires a serious change in the United States’ approach to the Muslim world.</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;“If it stops supporting those governments and lets the people deal with them, then such things won’t happen”.</span></i></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The US should step back and review its policy. It should stop trying to impose its empire on the rest of the world, especially on Islamic countries”.</span></i></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the years, this argument has gained traction, even among the US military establishment. In the 2015 “Senior Conference”, Nelly Lahoud and Robert Person, two academics from the US military academy, </span><a href="https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/july-2015-3"><span style="font-weight: 400;">raised</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the question whether democracies should revise their partnership with non-democratic states, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“lest their support&nbsp; of autocratic regimes breed more&nbsp; terrorism”. </span></i></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">General Votel, who headed the Joint Special Operations Command, also expressed the current tendency to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“myopically focus on a singular root cause (…) while effectively ignoring other potential reasons”</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Our focus on ideology is a great example of this. Sunni-Wahhabism is in vogue today, and is winning our attention right now, but I am not so sure I agree that it is the singular root cause for&nbsp; terrorism”,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he said.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-5 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-9 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-15" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Politicians perpetuating the cycle of violence</b></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-16" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite all of the above, politicians have shown they have paid no heed.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-10 fusion_builder_column_2_3 2_3 fusion-two-third fusion-column-first" style="width:66.666666666667%;width:calc(66.666666666667% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.66666666666667 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-17" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An example of this is Washington’s backing to Sisi’s coup which ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi, part of the Muslim brotherhood. This “strong support” in John Kerry’s </span><a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/john-kerry-arrives-in-egypt-on-unannounced-visit-1403426551"><span style="font-weight: 400;">words</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> came with the promise that Washington will continue the flow of military aid.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;Likewise, amidst mass killing and arrest of protestors, the United Kingdom </span><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-looks-forward-to-strengthened-egypt-uk-relations"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rejoiced</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at the election of Sisi, looking, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“forward to working with his government to strengthen the broad and productive relationship between both our peoples”.</span></i></p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-18" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unfortunately, this blind and counter-productive approach is also now being applied within Britain, through the PREVENT program. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">leaked</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> PREVENT training published by CAGE, it is admitted that local and global injustices, perceived and “even true” are a driver to violence in the War on Terror. Yet, they are quickly dismissed as a “distortion of history” and religion.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-11 fusion_builder_column_1_3 1_3 fusion-one-third fusion-column-last" style="width:33.333333333333%;width:calc(33.333333333333% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.33333333333333 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-19" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><span style="color: #999999;"><em>“<span style="font-weight: 400;">General Votel also expressed the current tendency to </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“myopically focus on a singular root cause (…) while effectively ignoring other potential reasons”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></em></span></h3> <h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><span style="color: #999999;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Our focus on ideology is a great example of this.”</span></em></span></h3> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-12 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;"><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-6 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-13 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-20" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Dialogue as the way forward</b></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-21" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The longest war in American history is coming to an end; not after the opponent’s capitulation but through dialogue with the very men America once imprisoned and tortured. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The peace process still has a long way to go in Afghanistan. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, it should serve as a model for western states involved in the Muslim world to end wars and envisage relationships that are based on mutual respect and interest, rather than sheer force.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-22" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twenty years ago, Mullah Omar’s words were directed at the United States. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the US post-2001 approach failed militarily and morally, it succeeded on one account: spreading its inflammatory rhetoric to other super-powers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hence, China, Russia and India have all understood that the language of the War on Terror provided the perfect cover for their brutal repression of Muslim populations.</span></p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-23" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If those countries do not benefit from the US’s experience in Afghanistan, it might well be they fall into the same cycle of violence if those very Muslim populations opt for self-defence in the name of their faith, echoing the words of Mullah Omar when asked if he feared America would beat the resistance:</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m very confident that it won’t turn out this way. Please note this: there is nothing more we can do except depend on almighty God. If a person does, then he is assured that the Almighty will help him, have mercy on him and he will succeed.”</span></i></p> </div><div class="fusion-sep-clear"></div><div class="fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep" style="margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width:100%;"><div class="fusion-separator-border sep-double" style="border-color:#e0dede;border-top-width:1px;border-bottom-width:1px;"></div></div><div class="fusion-sep-clear"></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-24" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><em>Image courtesy of Flickr/<a href="https://flic.kr/p/c1Snhh">NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization</a><br> </em></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-7 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-14 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-person person fusion-person-center fusion-person-1 fusion-person-icon-top"><style>.fusion-person-1 .imageframe-liftup:before{-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;</style><div class="person-shortcode-image-wrapper imageframe-liftup"><div class="person-image-container person-rounded-overflow" style="-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;border:0px solid #f6f6f6;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;"><img class="person-img img-responsive wp-image-28531" width="300" height="300" src="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AM-300x300.jpeg" alt="Arnaud Mafille" srcset="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AM-200x200.jpeg 200w, https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AM.jpeg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 300px"></div></div><div class="person-desc" style="background-color:#f7f7f7;padding:40px;margin-top:0;"><div class="person-author"><div class="person-author-wrapper"><span class="person-name">Arnaud Mafille</span><span class="person-title">Education and Training Director, CAGE</span></div></div><div class="person-content fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-8 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: #ffffff;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-15 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; 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