12 Reasons why The Taliban sucked balls

[Supacool1]

Makes an interesting and thought provoking read/view.....


After the Taliban, Back to Normal - Newsweek

 

[davethemus]

there were plenty of rights for women before the americans handed the country to the taliban in the 80's, it's funny how the article doesn't clarify that.

 

[Dryce]

there were plenty of rights for women before the americans handed the country to the taliban in the 80's, it's funny how the article doesn't clarify that.

Interesting bit of Pilger-esque revisionism.

ISTR that the Soviet's were somewhere in the close vicinity during the eighties and there were some larger cold war powerplays involved.

The Taliban are part of a more local ME/Pakistan powerplay.

And as regards the womens' rights stuff before the 80s the situation was uneven across the country over the 50s/60s/70s. The Taliban evened it out during the late nineties.

 

[davethemus]

And as regards the womens' rights stuff before the 80s the situation was uneven across the country over the 50s/60s/70s.

bit like the rest of the world then,

 

[Dryce]

bit like the rest of the world then,

No.

I would add. One of the things that is often missed by the western media is the impact in these societies on male freedoms. It's a different set of restrictions from those applied to women - but authoritarian culture covers both genders even when it's so blatantly asymmetric.

 

[davethemus]

and how does this absolve america from it's guilt?

 

[vijilants]

The only thing that appears missing is a McDonalds and a picture of Rambo

 

[Hi-Ho Silver]

Is somebody forgetting why America 'and-it's-allies' invaded Iraq and then Afghanistan ?

 

[grober]

Ah- American foreign policy [ or sometimes lack of it ?] post World WAR II ----discuss- legitimate subject but perhaps should have been posted in the "off topic" section??

 

[nick mercedes]

Is somebody forgetting why America 'and-it's-allies' invaded Iraq and then Afghanistan ?

American invaded Iraq to get the oil.

We took part in the invasion because America told us to - see gimps.

The everyday people in Iraq and Afghanistan paid a heavy price for the above.

History will not judge us well...

 

[Dryce]

History will not judge us well...

History never judges us well.

The question is whether it judges us fairly in context and relative to other players.

 

[Dryce]

Is somebody forgetting why America 'and-it's-allies' invaded Iraq and then Afghanistan ?

You have that the wrong way around.

Afghanistan came first. Slight matter of their government and a tall gangly guy who used to appear in videos and a matter involving some planes and a demolition job in US city.

 

[SAFC]

Afghanistan

My father was in the Khyber Pass during WW2. Churchill had him and his mates up there in readiness for a Soviet Invasion - Churchill was SOOOO far ahead of his time ... !

Anyway, my dad said that nobody will EVER take that County. The terrain is massive and impenetrable.

Later the Soviets tried and failed.

Now the Yanks (with our misguided assistance) are trying. They'll fail.

Anyway, even if we OWNED the place, it wouldn't stop anybody attacking our homeland here in the UK.

We're there because Blair thought he was invincible and subsequent PM's want the same Kudos - simple as.

Very, very sad and such a waste of life.

 

[neilrr]

American invaded Iraq to get the oil.

How are we doing in that project?

 

[Bellow]

We took part in the invasion because America told us to - see gimps.

We're there because Blair thought he was invincible and subsequent PM's want the same Kudos - simple as.

.

Blair joined America in both misguided ventures to put distance between Old and New Labour. He feared attack from the Tories if he went against Bush, feared being likened to the old anti American Labour as typified by Michael Foot. That, and the fact that he wanted to emulate his heroine and her 'special relationship' with America (the Thatcher/Reagan love affair).

 

[Bellow]

How are we doing in that project?

Hard to say, but it did lead to a ($140/barrel) spike in oil price that saw good ol' Yankee default on his mortgage payments just so he could fill the pick-up with gas to get to his work. Now he has neither job or home and the pick-up's for sale...

 

[A-AvantGarde]

My father was in the Khyber Pass during WW2. Churchill had him and his mates up there in readiness for a Soviet Invasion - Churchill was SOOOO far ahead of his time ... !

Anyway, my dad said that nobody will EVER take that County. The terrain is massive and impenetrable.

Later the Soviets tried and failed.

Now the Yanks (with our misguided assistance) are trying. They'll fail.

I've heard the same thing said many times and I believe that to be the case too.

What worries me is the long term stability of both Afghanistan and the 'Federally Administered Tribal Areas' of Pakistan. In essence there is no real border between the two countries, just something called the Durand line.

Whilst I find it interesting to read about; what is happening in that region, and the issues that Pakistan has in that area (again there's a lot of history about how and why the FATA area exists etc). It's even more scary when you think about what it means to the people that happen to live there.

The political situation that exists and the warped idealogical ideas of some add fuel to an already volatile / unstable situation that goes back a lot longer than the current war or the Soviets.

 

[nick mercedes]

How are we doing in that project?

Well it would appear:

"Furthermore, Iraq oil is sold unmetered and more than $4 billion in oil export revenue was sold off illegally to U.S. cronies. "We do not know the exact quantity of oil we are exporting, we do not exactly know the prices we are selling it for, and we do not know where the oil revenue is going to," an Iraqi official in the Iraqi Oil Ministry told ISN Security Watch recently. This deliberately encouraged corruption, designed to undermine Iraq's future and contributes to lost potential oil revenue, is estimated to be $8 billion a year."

 

[Dryce]

Well it would appear:

"Furthermore, Iraq oil is sold unmetered and more than $4 billion in oil export revenue was sold off illegally to U.S. cronies. "We do not know the exact quantity of oil we are exporting, we do not exactly know the prices we are selling it for, and we do not know where the oil revenue is going to," an Iraqi official in the Iraqi Oil Ministry told ISN Security Watch recently. This deliberately encouraged corruption, designed to undermine Iraq's future and contributes to lost potential oil revenue, is estimated to be $8 billion a year."

Looks familiar.

The author of that piece tends to work to an agenda and has some strong and articulate anti-western views - and occasionally spouts complete twaddle in support of them.

So not exactly a quality reference.

Actually neither is the BBC these days ....

 

[Supacool1]

I just thought the images were pretty poignant and made me think. You all make valid points.