I think yellus is wrong but he still hit the nail on the head for both Afghanistan and Pakistan with, "Most of the ~200 million people in Pakistan don't want what they're forced to put up with. They're just helpless against that motivated, organized minority responsible."
Because what we have here is really a twin battle of anarchy and chaos v. a stable government plus a battle between modernity and technology v. a primitive and reactionary force that wants to lead its residents back to the stone age.
The bulk of the 200 million Pakistanis long ago choose modern technology over the bad old days. As will virtually everyone on the planet. The myth is that the tribal areas of Pakistan is really part of Pakistan or anything Pakistan really cares about. When in fact the tribal areas of Pakistan have always been a semi-autonomous region that time forgot. But at least the tribal areas of Pakistan escaped the total anarchy and musical chair governments that characterize the rest of the highly similar Afghanistan where anarchy and chaos has been the rule and not the exception to the rule.
And it was first the Russians who decided to take over Afghanistan using the wondrous gifts of Western civilization, namely helicopter gun ships that brought new and better ways to kill Afghans. Then Uncle Reagan decided to arm Afghan terrorists with missiles that could shoot down helicopters. The Russians were forced out and Afghanistan descended into another civil war that became extra special bloody because of all those left over Russian arms. And even more benefits of modern technology, all kinds or corrupt rascals and war lords found they could enrich themselves with corruption, thuggery, and drug dealing as they encouraged opium cultivation. One has to be especially mentally retarded to not get the idea of why the man on the street Afghan decided if those are the only benefits of modern technology, we don't want it. Which also explains the rise of the Taliban, who were willing to use any level of violence to return to the glories of an ancient Afghan past that never was. But to the limited credit of the Taliban, they did stamp out a lot of Afghan corruption, did form stable government, but at a draconian cost as they disenfranchised all females and spurned the modernity that could lift Afghanistan from the basic stone age they had always been mired in.
Then to further make everything worse, Ossama Bin Laden received shelter from the Taliban, and then without the knowledge or consent of the Taliban used it to launch 911. And when the Taliban refused to turn over Bin Laden, it was suddenly resolved the Taliban had to go. So nato invaded with a skeleton force, allied with the umber corrupt Northern Alliance, the very rascals that made the Taliban the better choice, and chased the Taliban into Pakistan. And once the Northern alliance got done using Nato to get rid of the Taliban, they raced back home to reset up corruption, thuggery, and drug dealing even better than before.
But the ever war weary Afghans were willing to take Nato at its word, as Nato talked about the wonders of modern technology, democracy, and all that stuff. But unfortunately, in an occupation of the cheap, Nato miserably failed to even try to make good.
The Afghan government and democracy instead delivered a government even more corrupt than any preceding it, and even better, instead of just having two violent groups that would rather kill the average Afghan than look at them, now they have four. In the Taliban, corrupt war lords, the Afghan government, and Nato who will kill any number of Afghan villagers if it even thinks it can get one Taliban member. As the entire Afghan countryside becomes a shooting gallery.
As for any benefits of Modernity, that does and has not happened in an occupation on the cheap. As for the Afghan man on the streets, his government does not work, his courts do not work, if he sides with anyone, he gets killed by other groups, and he has no tangible benefits from the promises of Nato. No roads, no schools, no, no , and no nothing.
And now we in this forum fails to understand the appeal of the Taliban when they shout throw the Western devils out.
And why I believe the answer to the Taliban is simple, show the Afghan people the real benefits of Modernity. Even if we have to start in a small area and build outward. The Afghan people want the same thing everyone else wants, things we take for granted,
and they will not side with Nato if we can't deliver anything but death, destruction, corruption, and anarchy.
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