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Originally Posted by Agnostic Muslim
None of the answers to those questions would satisfy you- because they would be approached under a different set of dynamics than what NATO faces in Afghanistan - and I am not referring to the purely military aspect of this conflict.
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How so? I am asking a simple question. Can you carry through?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Agnostic Muslim
I think we have had more than one "set back", and "popular" Pakistani opinion has its own dynamics, with which us "enlightened Pakistanis" express our frustration quite vehemently - but at the end of the day, it is about what the "democratically chosen popular opinion" wants is it not? For that is exactly what your media and Governments repeatedly reminds us is best for us and shove down our throats. So let the chips of "popular opinion" fall where they may.
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Seriously, I would like to know what the "democratically chosen popular opinion" is. I can tell you what the Canadian "democratically chosen popular opinion" is - we're carrying through with this war.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Agnostic Muslim
Most Pakistanis do equate the NATO presence with the Soviets, and arrive at the same conclusion - that atrocities galore are being committed, that NATO has no local support, and will eventually lose and be driven out. If your side cannot be bothered to explain its side of the story, then there is no need to complain about the mis-perceptions on our side. Is the "winning hearts and minds" effort faltering already?
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And you're missing the point altogether. It is not what NATO thinks nor what Pakistanis think. At the end of the day, it is what the Afghans think ... and the Afghans have been telling you big time what they think.