Pergerakan Taliban didirikan oleh para mantan Mujahid setelah kemenangan atas Uni Soviet pada 1989. Bertentangan dengan asumsi-asumsi yang dibuat oleh media AS, Taliban masih menikmati dukungan luas di Afghanistan, terutama di wilayah suku Pashtun. Mengharapkan menang secara militer atas Taliban adalah hal tak realistis, dan jika Afghanistan bisa mencapai perdamaian, Taliban akan mendapat jatah kekuasaan politik.
Buku My Life with the Taliban adalah otobiografi Abdul Salam Zaeef, dan menawarkan perspektif unik kepada pembaca. Zaeef merupakan mantan anggota senior Taliban Afghanistan dan aktor utama dalam kebijakan dalam negeri dan luar negeri Afghanistan di bawah Taliban. Buku ini diterjemahkan dari bahasa Pashtun, dan kata-kata Zaeef mengekspresikan lebih dari sekadar sejarah pribadi sebuah kehidupan yang tak biasa, melainkan menyediakan kontra-naratif yang banyak dibutuhkan terhadap keterangan standar tentang Afghanistan sejak 1979.
Zaeef dilahirkan di Selatan Afghanistan pada 1968, dan memainkan peran dalam banyak peristiwa penting negeri tersebut. Zaeef berasal dari wilayah pedesaan dekat Kandahar. Keluarganya miskin dan kedua orangtuanya meninggal saat dia muda. Pada 1979, invasi Rusia memaksa Zaeef lari ke Pakistan. Pada 1983, Zaeef ikut serta dalam Jihad melawan Uni Soviet, dan bertempur berdampingan dengan beberapa figur penting kelompok perlawanan anti-Soviet, termasuk pemimpin puncak Taliban saat ini, Mullah Mohammad Omar. Setelah perang, Zaeef kembali ke kehidupan tenangnya di provinsi Helmand, tapi konflik faksional tak lama kemudian pecah, dan Zaeef, “muak dengan pelanggaran hukum yang timbul”, bergabung dengan mantan Mujahid lain untuk membentuk Taliban. Setelah Taliban memangku kekuasaan pada 1994, Zaeef menjalankan jabatan administratif bersama Taliban selama tahun 1990-an. Pada tahun-tahun belakangan ini, Zaeef menjadi kritikus publik terhadap pemerintahan Karzai yang korup yang didukung AS menyusul pelepasannya dari Guantanamo pada 2005. Zaeef kini tinggal di Kabul.
“Beberapa hari pertama pergerakan Taliban merupakan saat-saat kebutuhan yang besar. Kami punya sedikit senjata, tapi tak ada mobil dan uang. Mullah Abdul Sattar dan saya mempunyai motor. Tapi, di hari pertama, motor saya mogok karena masalah mesin, sehingga menyisakan motor Rusia milik Mullah Sattar sebagai satu-satunya alat transportasi Taliban. Motor itu tak memiliki knalpot dan kedatangannya bisa didengar dari jarak bermil-mil, meraung-raung menyusuri jalan yang kotor dan jalan pedesaan. Kami menyebutnya “tank Islam”. Setelah Mullah Massom mengunjungi desa-desa, banyak masyarakat datang ke pos pemeriksaan kami untuk melihat sendiri Taliban. Ada harapan dalam hati mereka untuk pertama kalinya setelah bertahun-tahun,” kenang Zaeef mengenai awal sederhana pergerakan Taliban.
Dalam My Life with the Taliban, Zaeef menceritakan waktunya bersama organisasi tersebut sebagai abdi masyarakat dan Menteri yang bernegosiasi dengan perusahaan-perusahaan minyak asing dan Ahmed Shah Massoud, pemimpin perlawanan Afghan sewaktu era Soviet. Pada waktu 11 September 2001, Zaeef menjabat sebagai dutabesar untuk Pakistan. Dalam bukunya, Zaeef menerangkan soal apa yang disebut “perang gadungan” yang mendahului invasi pimpinan AS terhadap Afghanistan.
Pada 2001, Zaeef “diantarkan” ke pasukan Amerika yang beroperasi di Pakistan dan menghabiskan empat setengah tahun di penjara, termasuk tiga tahun di Guantanamo, sebelum dilepas tanpa persidangan atau tuduhan. Komentar dan pemikiran Zaeef menawarkan pandangan unik dari seorang yang mempunyai hak istimewa tentang komunitas yang membentuk lapisan dasar Taliban, dan kekuatan yang memotivasi orang-orang seperti Zaeef dan anggota Taliban lainnya untuk terus bertempur.
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth.
Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit
different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be
efficiently
managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation.
Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the
game.
Work for the good of your country and
see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules.
First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you
will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress
as a fighter.
You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which
are owned by the state.
After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your
own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock
company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
"E-Sim is one of the most unique browser games out there"
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics
in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes.
From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability
to run for the head of the party you're in.
You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws
proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself.
Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you.
You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential
elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state
(for example, who to declare war on).
Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have
a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military.
In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control
over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials.
For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have
to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on
their territory.
You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life
as a pacifist
who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling
products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game.
It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present
in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth
according to their own.
So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.