Nat Geo. Talibanistan

The Documentary I viewed called Talibanistan on Netflix was made as a tribute to 9/11 going into detail on the Taliban, their army, hiding spots and how the US is taking action against them. First the movie goes into where they are located and their rise to power in Pakistan. They are located deep in the mountains, building military momentum, plotting, and planning. Pakistan has begun to take action with the US by going into their so thought "save haven" and trying to push out and eliminate them. The Taliban threatens all civilians and the integrity of Pakistan. As the crew went into the mountains they were instantly shot at, being shown how unwelcome they are there. The Taliban knows the US, Pakistan, and their allies are slowly moving in, and try to rise up against it, they team with who the US believes to be Osama Bin Laden and Alkida but slowly they are being pushed out and ultimately losing power.

National Geographic gives the viewer an inside look of how dangerous the Taliban really is. Raids were done and shot on camera, inside these Taliban safe houses were bombs, heavy artillery rifles, IED's and strap on bombs. It also shows our CIA drones closing in on incergents burring an IED in the road (roadside bomb). Then it shows another drone seeing what appears to be more incergents burying an IED, then goes in for a closer look, the thought to be incergents appear to just be teenagers playing in the road. The crew then go to a militia training camp, showing the blood shed that had happened there, and the brutal training violence.

From an anthropological standpoint this documentary went in and helped the viewer understand the culture, the people, and their customs. When most people think about middle eastern people all we see is terrorists, when in all actuality most of the civilians there are just as terrified and threatened by the Taliban as we are. A few of the villages however help the Taliban, because this "ghost government" the Taliban runs, fixes their homes and pays for things their villages need. The villagers aren't portrayed as bad people, their viewed as poverty stricken people who do what they need to do to keep their children fed, and their homes in tact. For these people to continue to have financial help they do the Taliban favors, like place an IED in a road, or shoot at convoys.

Then it goes into depth of how winning the peoples hearts and tearing them away from Taliban rule will not be easy but is crutial. These people have been put through so much and have had so much terror instilled in them that turning them involves giving them something better then what the Taliban gives them, protection. If these people can feel safe going against the Taliban they will do it, they understand how many people die and that some of the blood in on their hands.

This documentary gives an inside look at the extremes that our country is going to, to shut this militia power down for good. Even though public opinion on the war we're in is not good, this helps remind us why we are there in the first place, for the people and protection of the middle eastern culture. The things shown about the Taliban and how they terrorize surrounding villages is heart wrenching. Everybody in the country is on edge, nobody is safe. However, the military efforts have been successful, the pressure is on, the Taliban is retreating, though violence is still incredibly high because of the threat posed against them. Through retraining, and added protection the power of the people and the military is more powerful then ever.

By: Hadley Bryans