The Last Man

“And in his mercy, the Afghan king ordered to stop at the last man and let the last man go alive.”

On Jan. 6, 1842, the British army withdrew from Kabul and began its march through the snow in the direction of India. Behind them were Afghans on horseback, firing at the rear, with their long swords raised.

That was the first day, and the blood colored the snow a dark red.

On the morning of the second day it turned out that during the night many people had died from the cold, and many had lost their limbs by freezing. That was the second day, and the blood colored the snow a dark red.

On the third day the British army entered the Khoord Kabul Pass. Above them were tribe members who then fired on the troops, and behind them were Afghans raising their rifles and brandishing their swords. That was the third day, and the blood colored the snow a dark red.

On the fourth day there was thick snow and the British Army traveled blind, dying from wrathful blows, dying in the snow. The silver of the sword, the black of the night, and the white of the snow. That was the fourth day, and the blood colored the snow a dark red.

On the fifth day the British were seized by a horrible despair and did not stop. They marched on all night. But the Afghans foresaw this. They attacked, and there in the night the British troops died. Every man died. Every man, under the knives of the Afghans. And in his mercy, the Afghan king ordered to stop at the last man and to let the last man go alive.

It was Dr. William Brydon.

“Let them know,” said the king. “Let the British know what the Afghans did. That is the messenger and he will tell the story. Leave him to ride off in safety with his horrible burden, and the world will know about the Afghan love of freedom, and will tremble. Our deeds will never be forgotten until the world will perish into dust.”

And since then the children of the empire have told stories about the past as they sit together to get through the long cold nights, stories about the great deeds of those times. And the fathers tell their sons, and when the son becomes a man, he will tell his son. The triumph of the Afghans will not be forgotten until Afghanistan itself is destroyed.

For more than nine years the Americans have been fighting unsuccessfully in the same area. But the situation is different now than it was in the time of the British. The Afghans are now divided into pro and anti-American camps. The Americans have been warned. If the war continues in this manner, it can lead to a popular uprising. The octogenarian Afghan war, known as the Anglo-Afghan wars. These memories are still fresh. The Americans have created an image of hostility for themselves. As is so often the case in the history of a divided society, there is the risk that the people will unite to hate an enemy.

The resignation of McChrystal — the American four-star general — was a big mistake by Obama. McChrystal tried to reverse the ever-increasing image of American hostility. He began to talk with the Afghans.

If Obama triggered a popular uprising with the firing of McChrystal, his first man now would be the last man of that time.

General McChrystal versus Dr. William Brydon.

Who will later tell the story?