Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan

[Oozlefinch]

I got some breaking news for you...we are broke and haven't won a war since August 1945. Nice try though. We lead the world only in folks in prison and those who believe in angles. Get off that high horse crap.

Hmm, I seem to remember 2 little conflicts known as "Korea" and "Gulf War". Although maybe I misremember things, and they were before August 1945.

 

[Morality Games]

People too often make the assumption that everybody thinks the same way they do. Here in the west, we think in terms of ideas, the relationship between the individual and our government, and the formation of our group identity around these factors. Afghanis are seriously inbred. They are undereducated. They marry their cousins and nieces and their way of life revolves around the clan rather than the greater society.

They are not like us. The sooner we realize that, the better.

It has been scientifically verified that the genetic damage of inbreeding is extremely overstated, and cousin marriage were historically one of the most common types of marriage in the history of the human race since its inception. The lack of cousin marriages in the last 100-200 years in the West is atypical. For tens of thousands of years our ancestors were marrying their cousins.

You can have multiple generations of cats who inbreed without much consequence.

The fact people marry within their families is more of a symptom of a clannish, primal mentality and a socially and technologically stagnated civilization than a contributor to those conditions.

That being said, you are right that people overlook the fact that the rural cultures of the Middle East are more primal than all except the worst zones of the Ozarks.

 

[Sherman123]

I got some breaking news for you...we are broke and haven't won a war since August 1945. Nice try though. We lead the world only in folks in prison and those who believe in angles. Get off that high horse crap.

1. We've won several wars as others have mentioned including in case you forgot the rather recent Gulf War in 1990, and many others since 1945.

2. We have a big issue with legal and prison reform.

3. I too believe in angles, they are important when approaching mathematics, practical engineering, and many other useful things. I sincerely hope you are not trying to disparage the angle.

 

[EagleAye]

Hmm, I seem to remember 2 little conflicts known as "Korea" and "Gulf War". Although maybe I misremember things, and they were before August 1945.

Panama and Grenada as well. Must have been pre-1945.

 

[Oozlefinch]

Panama and Grenada as well. Must have been pre-1945.

I left those off because they really were not worth mentioning. Both incidents were over within days, and only used a small number of forces.

 

[EagleAye]

and apparently who can't spell very well.

Okay, I finally got it. I shrugged this off earlier as non-sequitor and didn't bother with it. It seemed plausible to me that anyone who thinks we haven't a military win since 1945, might also think disparaging thoughts about "angles."

 

[EagleAye]

I left those off because they really were not worth mentioning. Both incidents were over within days, and only used a small number of forces.

Weak opponents too. I just couldn't resist piling it on.

 

[solletica]

The Taliban will ultimately regain control of Afghanistan. The war was a total waste of lives and money. The only consolation the US had was the killing of OBL.



BBC News - Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan

The Taliban are winning (as everyone w/noodle predicted they would) because US forces and its leadership suck horribly compared to them, end of story.

Nevertheless, they are beatable. It just takes a military force that can match them in tactics.

 

[solletica]

So when the US tries to prevent systematic violations of whole people that produce results like this:
View attachment 67131372

Are you thinking, "meh, who gives a damn?" Maybe it's too far away for you to care? Stopping such things often requires war. No other country has the combination of wealth AND a strong military to defend people like this besides the US. Who would propose do this instead? Peru? Zimbabwe? And don't come back and say the UN if you want to be taken seriously.

The facts about her de-nosing are unknown. It may have been random, or militarily motivated (i. e. Taliban forces doing it to her because her Dad was collaborating w/pro-US forces, or opposing forces de-nosing her and then blaming it on the Taliban to stir up hatred for their opponent). That's the way war is--it's foggy, not clear-cut and surgical like the naive, brainwashed right that always trusts their government thinks it is.

In any case, for the US military to simply try is insufficient. When someone screws up at a job for 8+ years, I could care less if he/she tried. That person should be fired. The US military is no exception.

 

[MoSurveyor]

That being said, you are right that people overlook the fact that the rural cultures of the Middle East are more primal than all except the worst zones of the Ozarks.

Sorry - The Ozarks, which are mostly in Missouri and Arkansas, do not allow cousins to marry and haven't since at least the 50's (that's as far back as MoRevisedStatutes go) but probably before then. There are still several states in the SE and other places that allow such things ...

State laws and cousin marriage | Cousin Marriage Resources

[/sidetrack]

 

[ecofarm]

The Taliban are winning (as everyone w/noodle predicted they would) because US forces and its leadership suck horribly compared to them, end of story.

Nevertheless, they are beatable. It just takes a military force that can match them in tactics.

Wait, what?

 

[EagleAye]

The facts about her de-nosing are unknown. It may have been random, or militarily motivated (i. e. Taliban forces doing it to her because her Dad was collaborating w/pro-US forces, or opposing forces de-nosing her and then blaming it on the Taliban to stir up hatred for their opponent). That's the way war is--it's foggy, not clear-cut and surgical like the naive, brainwashed right that always trusts their government thinks it is.

Nice revisionism. What is so "not clear-cut" about a very clear statement from the victim herself?

In any case, for the US military to simply try is insufficient. When someone screws up at a job for 8+ years, I could care less if he/she tried. That person should be fired. The US military is no exception.

Somehow, the idea of the Taliban hiding under rocks like worms wherever US forces are active doesn't strike me as a Taliban victory. Isn't the victor supposed to stand tall, not hide? And lets face it, the Taliban's greatest gains have been in another country (Pakistan), NOT Afghanistan. That hardly constitutes as a win in Afghanistan, does it?

 

[Oozlefinch]

In any case, for the US military to simply try is insufficient. When someone screws up at a job for 8+ years, I could care less if he/she tried. That person should be fired. The US military is no exception.

The government has been trying to solve problems ranging from education to poverty to cancer, and it has not fixed the problems yet. In fact, nobody has ever solved any of those problems.

Therefore, everybody must be fired.

 

[Darrell]

When they are attacking 'us' because of our miserably failed interventionist insane foreign policy I say it is not our business. Our business is to fix the mess. So what you're saying is if your neighbor keys your car burn his landlords house down? Real smart, for sure. We should have attacked the Saudis and Egypt if anyone.

I don't believe he said that. Osama Bin Laden, had power in Iraq and Afghanistan, not Egypt or Saudia Arabia. Yes, he is from Saudia Arabia, that doesn't mean we attack it. If I may say, he wasn't even found near Egypt or Saudi, he was found closer to Afghanistan, than Egypt. So, I fail to see your logic, maybe because there isn't any.

 

[Darrell]

The Taliban are winning (as everyone w/noodle predicted they would) because US forces and its leadership suck horribly compared to them, end of story.

Nevertheless, they are beatable. It just takes a military force that can match them in tactics.

Are you serious? We are fighting a bunch of people with no uniform, no allegiance to any country, they fight in crowed villages, they use kids and women as shields. Hell, we could just launch a couple of hellfire missles at their location in the village, but we don't. Do you know why? We will rather go in and reduce the number of civilian casualties, than raise it. When I say we, I mean the United States as a whole.

 

[Oozlefinch]

The Taliban are winning (as everyone w/noodle predicted they would)

Really? I guess that is why they are the Government in Afghanistan.

And they are really not hiding in Pakistan.

 

[Oozlefinch]

they use kids and women as shields.

When those are not the targets of their attacks.

Look at the number of girl's schools they have targeted with poisons and explosives. Look at the number of marketplaces they have destroyed.

Yea, they are winning in all right. For cruelty, carnage, and wanton slaughter. And people here actually seem to be rooting for them.

I bet they rooted for Hitler and Stalin as well. And have posters of Pol Pot on their walls as a great humanitarian.

 

[Darrell]

When those are not the targets of their attacks.

Look at the number of girl's schools they have targeted with poisons and explosives. Look at the number of marketplaces they have destroyed.

Yea, they are winning in all right. For cruelty, carnage, and wanton slaughter. And people here actually seem to be rooting for them.

I bet they rooted for Hitler and Stalin as well. And have posters of Pol Pot on their walls as a great humanitarian.

They do attack children alot.

 

[Mya]

Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan?


Because like all fundamentalists extreme organizations, it is ruthless, cruel (and would drag that country to the Stone Age). It attracted a lot of fighters and volunteers whose glory is fighting for Islam. Also, they are extremely well organized and are supported by Pakistan when it suits Pakistan.

 

[Risky Thicket]

Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan?

Group led Crossfit?

 

[Oozlefinch]

Group led Crossfit?

 

[SOBE]

Hmm, I seem to remember 2 little conflicts known as "Korea" and "Gulf War". Although maybe I misremember things, and they were before August 1945.

You "misremember things". Korea is a ceasefire, not a victory. We are still fighting in the gulf where our foreign policy is at a nadir. You are right about Panama and Granada. Capturing one guy and fighting Cuban construction workers is hardly the stuff of chest-mounding. You will know when we win one. There will be a parade.

 

[SOBE]

Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan?


Because like all fundamentalists extreme organizations, it is ruthless, cruel (and would drag that country to the Stone Age). It attracted a lot of fighters and volunteers whose glory is fighting for Islam. Also, they are extremely well organized and are supported by Pakistan when it suits Pakistan.

...or us when it suits us.

 

[EagleAye]

You "misremember things". Korea is a ceasefire, not a victory. We are still fighting in the gulf where our foreign policy is at a nadir. You are right about Panama and Granada. Capturing one guy and fighting Cuban construction workers is hardly the stuff of chest-mounding. You will know when we win one. There will be a parade.

Yet more revisionism.

The '91 Iraq war is probably the most lop-sided military victory in all of Human history. The #2 most lop-sided military victory is possibly the 2003 campaign against Iraq. The 2003 victory was over within weeks. What you are referring to is the 10 years after which was little more than a police action (NOT military units versus military units) against an Iran-backed insurrection. Laymen, especially those who are anti-US, always get that part wrong.

 

[solletica]

The government has been trying to solve problems ranging from education to poverty to cancer, and it has not fixed the problems yet. In fact, nobody has ever solved any of those problems.

Therefore, everybody must be fired.

Yes, that's what Libertarianism is about. Fire the government