Re: [Gnu-arch-users] [OT] facism gaining ground in US

[Frank T. Pohlmann]

> in the
> main government, so those tribes see it as mostly a
> Pushtun government, 
> rather then a pan-Afghan government.

Sigh. It is actually the Pashtoons who feel excluded
and the Tajikis, Uzbeks, Turkmen and assorted others
(with apologies to those concerned) who rule over the
roost...at least they are perceived that way.

> explain it well enough to keep everyone from jumping
> down my throat 
> about that not being true. I think there is a
> difference between thing 
> that you inately understand and things that have to
> constantly be 
> explained to you. People who grow up with stronger
> inter-family, 
> inter-clan, inter-tribe ties will understand that in
> a way that most 
> Americans never will.

I am somewhat astonished by this. Sure that's what
everyone seems to believe about USians, but when
looked at closely, my US friends have plenty of strong
family ties and my Muslim friends seem to have plenty
of divorces:) I am not entirely kidding.
 
>   We're also buying off the warlords instead of
> deposing them. So in a 
> way, we're just creating safe havens for future
> problems by trying to 
> "fix" Afghanistan in a quick and dirty fashion.

There is no fix for Afghanistan except the Afghans
themselves. But that is another matter.

> Afghanistan probably 
> needs _more_ attention then Iraq, not less.

I think Afghanistan needs 20 years of peace and an
alternative to poppy monoculture and, of course, lots
of psychologists to help with post-traumatic stress
syndrome.

> If he'd been 
> willing to compromise even
> a little, the Middle East would already have lots of
> democracies, 
> instead of lots
> of tyrannies. 

Neither Wilson nor anyone else has had much influence
in the Middle East. They have been fobbing off
outsiders for several thousand years. Lots of soft
power (to use the dreaded word) will help. Soldiers
will not.

-Frank

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