Reading The Unforgiving Minute. The author mentions handing out food and supplies to tribal leaders. As his squad drives away, he sees one leader brain another with a hoe and grab his stuff.
Read that Rolling Stone article.
I wonder, sometimes, what the deep thinkers come up with when they think about options to solve The Afghanistan Problem. Assuming it even can be.
I imagine that they think about:
- nuking the entire country, similar to wide-beam chemo
- isolating the country, nothing gets in or out
- buying off the country(1) - we'll give you money to keep yourselves in check
- buying off the country (2) - we'll give you money to assassinate the Taliban. Lots of money.
- going all Apocalypse Now on the place - look at me funny, you and the guy next to you get blown away
- reshaping it, blowing the hell out of impassable passes and toppling mountains, to make transit easier and hiding harder.
None of which sounds all that good to me, though I do like one of them.
What else do they contemplate?
2 comments:
The only thing that will solve this problem is LOTS of education. Schools upon schools and exposure to the rest of the world. Also getting plenty of women into those schools. Otherwise nothing will ever change.
By itself, I agree. Yet it can't happen so long as the environment allows the Taliban to exist and flourish. The unwillingness of the Afghans to join in common cause unless there's an outside oppressor doesn't help.
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