Taliban: the indistinguishable enemy

[Pete]

Taliban: the indistinguishable enemy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/16/taliban-indistinguishable-enemy-afghanistan

".......That makes it difficult for Isaf forces to distinguish between friends and foes. "It's a mix of different forces that leads [ethnic Pashtuns] to fight," says Fakir Kakakhel, a young but already experienced war correspondent based in Peshawar. "It is what we call gahirat-a-Pashtoon," he adds, "a term referring to our honour, religion, economic and political independence." Not everyone accepts this premise, but that is not the point. What matters is that our foreign armies can never hope to match this natural home advantage........"

An interesting article.

[The Reaper]

Taliban: the indistinguishable enemy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/16/taliban-indistinguishable-enemy-afghanistan

".......That makes it difficult for Isaf forces to distinguish between friends and foes. "It's a mix of different forces that leads [ethnic Pashtuns] to fight," says Fakir Kakakhel, a young but already experienced war correspondent based in Peshawar. "It is what we call gahirat-a-Pashtoon," he adds, "a term referring to our honour, religion, economic and political independence." Not everyone accepts this premise, but that is not the point. What matters is that our foreign armies can never hope to match this natural home advantage........"

An interesting article.

BS. He is blinded to reality by his loyalties.

TR

[blacksmoke]

"First, despite our best attempts, the foreign troops and the state they prop up are viewed as outsiders who have come not to liberate the country but subjugate it."

"Second, so long as our presence in Afghanistan is primarily military, our relationship to ordinary Afghans will be based primarily on violence."

First, what is the Taliban known for? Second, what kind of presence does a sharia law compliance gang have?

"That is why the conflict has resulted in a steady stream of civilian casualties."

Unlike the careful stewardship and benevolence of the great Jihad.

"There should be no illusions about the Taliban either. Who can forget the destruction of the priceless Buddhas of Bamiyan? Afghans have not forgotten their own atrocities either. All of that was washed away, however, with America's unilateral decision to invade Afghanistan in late 2001. Almost overnight the Taliban were transformed into freedom fighters, "

Give me a break.