Article

2009-07-07 Afghanistan

In Afghanistan surge, soldiers negotiate complex web of local loyalties

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Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2009-07-07 15:39|| || Front Page|| [10 views ] Top

#1 Not complex at all. The Pashtuns favor the Taliban, and the non-Pashtuns don't. And you can generally tell the Pashtuns from the non-Pashtuns just by looking at them.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2009-07-07 20:30|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2009-07-07 20:30|| Front Page Top

#2 "The Taliban's appeal is limited to their own ethnic group, and also has a strong tribal dimension," he says.

So you arm every other ethnic group to the gills, train them, and then let those tribes 'police' the recalcitrant, making sure the participating tribes never forget the pain and suffering brought into their homes by the Taliban.

Posted by Procopius2k 2009-07-07 22:36|| 2009-07-07 22:36|| Front Page Top

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