Many Western advisers stationed in Kabul opposed the decision by General John Allen, commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to withdraw them from their offices, even if -- as NATO insisted -- the move was temporary. "Pulling all advisers from the ministries as a blanket reaction to an incident at the Interior Ministry was an extreme reaction, giving the message that we don't trust anyone," says Santwana Dasgupta, an American support manager at the Ministry of Higher Education. "During these times, I believe it is even more important for the international community to reach out to the Afghans they know, express their dismay at the Koran burnings and not to hide in fear," Dasgupta tells TIME. "I think it is a shame that internationals are asked to run and hide."
No, it's a shame that internationals have to run and hide because illiterate and intolerant 19th-century simpletons think that every personal affront should be solved with a jihad and a bullet.
By: Brant
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3 comments:
19th century? I think you're being a millennium too generous.
In the wake of the Koran burnings and subsequent protests, riots, and murders, a friend asked, "What the heck is going on Afghanistan?"
I had a simple response: "Savages being savages."
F*** them all: the Afghans, the Pakis, the Iraqis, the Syrians, the Libyans, the Egyptians, the Nigerians, and all the rest of the Third World savages. (Jury is still out on the Iranian *people*, but the odds are not looking good). Here's Guardian's solution:
1) Take all the money that we're spending trying to help the savages (including OCO funds) and re-invest it in new energy and transportation technologies and policy. Not political games like Solandra, but a comprehensive, no-joke, Government-run, tightly-managed Manhattan Project. Some key points:
Safe nuclear fission (next-gen reactors, thorium reactors, etc.)
Nuclear fusion
Solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal power (where it works)
Hydrogen-fueled and electric transportation
Battery technologies
More railway utilization and less over-the-road trucking
More telecommuting and less car commuting
Safe and efficient public transportation: the reality is that many people don't want to use public transportation simply because the public is on it and it is therefore a dirty and violent cesspool
More teleconferencing and less business travel
2) In the interim, get together with the Russians, Chinese, Indians, Europeans (ha!), and anybody else in the civilized world who wants to participate. Seize, secure, and hold the oil fields and any other critical natural resources and associated infrastructure. Handle the natives like the old Roman and British empires did, with carrots and sticks. As soon as part (1) is done, pack up and go home. It took the West about 1,000 years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance to grow up. When the Third World gets through that growing up process in their own time, they're welcome to join us in the 21st (or later) century.
3) Israel: Thanks for sticking with us. We're all in now and we need some forward bases. Now, let's do this!
Yes, I'm in rare form today!
The 21st Century will be the Guardian Century!
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