troung

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htm.../20060729.aspx

Humiliation in Afghanistan

July 29, 2006: Afghan soldiers are being mocked by Taliban fighters, because the Taliban are getting paid three times more than the soldiers. Drug gangs are major sponsors of current Taliban operations. Then there is cash from wealthy Islamic conservatives in the Persian Gulf. This means that Taliban gunmen are getting up to $400 a month. Police and army commanders are also being approached, to see if they are willing to screw up, while pursuing Taliban gunmen, in return for thousands of dollars in cash bribes.

Not everyone in the army and police are rushing to switch sides. For one thing, the Taliban are suffering a casualty rate that's more than ten times higher than the army and police. For senior army and police commanders, the government will arrest and prosecute those caught taking bribes. This is not a major risk, but it is there. Corrupt officials also risk getting killed by the Taliban, if your work is not up to their standards.

The drug money, not religion, is causing most of the violence. The drug lords in the Taliban heartland of southern Afghanistan (especially around Kandahar), remember the way the pre-2001 Taliban would make deals. It was basically this. If you want to produce and move the heroin out of the country, pay the Taliban a cut of your profits, and no peddling the drugs to Afghans, or Moslems. That last bit was largely ignored, as in the late 1990s, Afghan heroin was finding its way to junkies in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and throughout Central Asia. The Taliban have returned with promises to bring back the good-old-days. In the meantime, the Taliban offer to provide the guidance and muscle to keep the government from interfering with drug production or shipment.


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Take with salt because of the source.

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To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

lemontree

A stupid and pessimistic article. If money could buy all men then one would have most policemen turning criminals.

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Cheers!...on the rocks!!

Ray

Afghanistan is not the Middle East Troung!

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"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

HAKUNA MATATA

Lahori paa jee

Try to buy a few Iraqi's, Lebanese, Syrians and Iranians

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Nisaar main teri galiyon pe aaye watan, ke jahan
Chali hai rasm keh koi na sar utha keh chaley

troung

Well there is no WoT section and this would be lost in the South Asia section...

Officer of Engineers

The easy way out, Captain. It starts out innocent enough. A simple truce after years of fighting. Then, a matter of not trying to escalate. And then the bad guy start making it worth your while.

That's how the Soviets got corrupted.

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Chimo