Afghanistan: Mission Accomplished

[Yuwipi Woman]

I don't know if finger-wagging about other people's cultures gets us very far though. As outsiders whose views on Afghan culture are of little interest to rural Afghans particularly, the best way to make Afghanistan better for women would be economic development that would end the huge pool of unemployed and under-employed men, and then draw more women into paid economic activity. The Western powers had 20 years to make that work but they invaded at the peak of neo-liberalism so were constitutionally incapable of encouraging what was needed for economic development - massive, state-led infrastructure development. They probably still would have fucked it up in some way, but at least they would have left a legacy of economic development and greater integration with the rest of the world that could lead to improvement in people's lives, including women eventually.

I seems to recall that that they contracted to build infrastructure, but they did it through military contractors, so they had massive cost overruns and got fuck-all done. It was mostly a scheme to be war profiteers and not actually fix anything.

 

[TopCat]

Looks like the Taliban have eradicated the growing of poppies within their borders. A great effort and result.

 

[Raheem]

Looks like the Taliban have eradicated the growing of poppies within their borders. A great effort and result.

Yes, they seem to be doing, er, really well.

 

[TopCat]

Yes, they seem to be doing, er, really well.

Eradication of the poppy crop will do a lot to stem terrible addiction problems. The British couldn’t do it nor the yanks.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Eradication of the poppy crop will do a lot to stem terrible addiction problems. The British couldn’t do it nor the yanks.

Sort of. The dealers will just start knocking out fentanyl instead though.

 

[TopCat]

Sort of. The dealers will just start knocking out fentanyl instead though.

I can’t see dealers sending fentanyl covered heroin into Afghanistan. Choking the brown off will cause other massive issues but for Afghanistan itself, they have one of the biggest drug problems of the world.

It’s welcome.

 

[hash tag]

Looks like the Taliban have eradicated the growing of poppies within their borders. A great effort and result.

Is this the same group that have basically confined any female from above the age of 10 from ever leaving the home?

Taliban order closure of beauty salons in Afghanistan

Morality ministry decrees another reduction of Afghan women’s access to public spaces

www.theguardian.com

 

[Raheem]

Is this the same group that have basically confined any female from above the age of 10 from ever leaving the home?

Taliban order closure of beauty salons in Afghanistan

Morality ministry decrees another reduction of Afghan women’s access to public spaces

www.theguardian.com

What we really need to know, in order to form a judgement, is are the trains running on time?

 

[krtek a houby]

Looks like the Taliban have eradicated the growing of poppies within their borders. A great effort and result.

Great bunch of lads

 

[TopCat]

Great bunch of lads

No one thinks that

 

[TopCat]

Is this the same group that have basically confined any female from above the age of 10 from ever leaving the home?

Taliban order closure of beauty salons in Afghanistan

Morality ministry decrees another reduction of Afghan women’s access to public spaces

www.theguardian.com

Yes

 

[Yossarian]

What we really need to know, in order to form a judgement, is are the trains running on time?

"They may be hardcore religious fundamentalists but at least their draconian crackdown on drugs was a success" isn't a sentiment you often see on urban

 

[SpookyFrank]

Looks like the Taliban have eradicated the growing of poppies within their borders. A great effort and result.

Jesus fuck you just get worse and worse every day.

 

[Brainaddict]

Obligatory dril tweet

 

[TopCat]

"They may be hardcore religious fundamentalists but at least their draconian crackdown on drugs was a success" isn't a sentiment you often see on urban

A sentiment you agree with or not?

 

[TopCat]

Must be better not being bombed all the time too.

 

[Yossarian]

 

[TopCat]

View attachment 383554

Did you support the invasion of Afghanistan? I can’t remember. Would not surprise me. Can you clarify?

 

[LDC]

Did you support the invasion of Afghanistan? I can’t remember. Would not surprise me. Can you clarify?

Did you support the Russian invasion of Afghanistan? I can't remember. Would not surprise me. Can you clarify?

 

[Yossarian]

Did you support the invasion of Afghanistan? I can’t remember. Would not surprise me. Can you clarify?

I did not support the invasions of Afghanistan or Iraq and was at some of the same protests as you, IIRC

 

[krtek a houby]

All the rigid, inflexible double downs must be exhausting on the old spine.

 

[Serge Forward]

A sentiment you agree with or not?

Not.

 

[TopCat]

Did you support the Russian invasion of Afghanistan? I can't remember. Would not surprise me. Can you clarify?

It was a long time ago. Pre Urban. My recollection at that time was that the Afghans had had a big influx of ultra religious types from US funded madrases (sp?) who weee causing all sorts of problems.

I couldnt say I supported the Russian invasion no. I did think the US would reap disbenefits from all the arms and cash they pumped in on the basis of opposing anything the Russians did and so it came to pass.

I think I have always felt the fate of Afghanistan should be in the hands of those who live there.

 

[TopCat]

Not.

Elucidate a bit. Genuinely interested.

 

[Flavour]

Was the Russian invasion of Afghanistan also really the US's fault?

 

[Flavour]

Must be better not being bombed all the time too.

tell that to the women of Afghanistan who've had their chance at an education taken away from them

 

[Flavour]

it's all very easy you see.

US invasion of Afghanistan: it is not possible to identify a single positive outcome for anyone in Afghanistan. anyone who in any way benefited materially from US invasion of Afghanistan (e.g. some women) are liberals, middle-class, NATO fans, US lackeys.

Taliban rule of Afghanistan: though it may contain some small positive outcomes, e.g. a crackdown on poppy cultivation, it is nonetheless the US's fault for funding the opposition to the Soviet invasion.

 

[MickiQ]

Eradication of the poppy crop will do a lot to stem terrible addiction problems. The British couldn’t do it nor the yanks.

Tbh the West's solution was to try and use money to persuade the farmers to grow something else but good old market value persuaded them that poppies were the cash crop.
The Taliban approach is more along the lines of shooting the farmer and his family and then torching the fields. That kind of approach tends to focus the minds of his neighbours.

 

[TopCat]

Tbh the West's solution was to try and use money to persuade the farmers to grow something else but good old market value persuaded them that poppies were the cash crop.
The Taliban approach is more along the lines of shooting the farmer and his family and then torching the fields. That kind of approach tends to focus the minds of his neighbours.

Reports thus far haven’t suggested anyone has been shot and fields have not been torched. They just seem to be trashing the crops.

 

[TopCat]

tell that to the women of Afghanistan who've had their chance at an education taken away from them

It’s not a zero sum game. Not being bombed is obviously good.