They're like children writing an essay about the differences between rural and city life. It's tragic, somehow strangely endearing, and yet incredibly difficult to read how these eighteen year...
They're like children writing an essay about the differences between rural and city life. It's tragic, somehow strangely endearing, and yet incredibly difficult to read how these eighteen year olds were pulled into doing their "religious duty" of waging war.
It's like some of them are on the cusp of understanding there's more to life than going to your mosque and forcing that life upon others.
I spent a little time with the Taliban in 2017/2018 and honestly this is getting pretty close to the truth. Many of them don't have a strong concept of what it means to be in the Taliban. The...
I spent a little time with the Taliban in 2017/2018 and honestly this is getting pretty close to the truth. Many of them don't have a strong concept of what it means to be in the Taliban. The opinions I heard from rural Taliban members were more similar to beduin I had worked with in Jordan than members of other militant Islamic groups like Al Shebab. They called themselves "good Taliban" and referred to me as a "China" as that is the largest foreigner group to visit. Many don't know about 9/11, very few had a strong grasp of much outside of their villages (outside of odd curios like dogs names Hitler), and by and large they quite friendly.
This changed in areas of higher population density and more frequent conflict, like Waziristan or Quetta in Pakistan, but not as much as you might think. Largely, they are interested in all of the things men who live out in the countryside would be interested in the US: women, drinking, hash, games, music... I don't agree at all with how they have organized their society, but I think if the world stopped seeing them as some evil, extremist collective and recognized that they are much more of an insular, backwoods tribal network we might be able to work towards some non-violent progress.
Travel can be eye opening, even just within a country.
They're like children writing an essay about the differences between rural and city life. It's tragic, somehow strangely endearing, and yet incredibly difficult to read how these eighteen year olds were pulled into doing their "religious duty" of waging war.
It's like some of them are on the cusp of understanding there's more to life than going to your mosque and forcing that life upon others.
I spent a little time with the Taliban in 2017/2018 and honestly this is getting pretty close to the truth. Many of them don't have a strong concept of what it means to be in the Taliban. The opinions I heard from rural Taliban members were more similar to beduin I had worked with in Jordan than members of other militant Islamic groups like Al Shebab. They called themselves "good Taliban" and referred to me as a "China" as that is the largest foreigner group to visit. Many don't know about 9/11, very few had a strong grasp of much outside of their villages (outside of odd curios like dogs names Hitler), and by and large they quite friendly.
This changed in areas of higher population density and more frequent conflict, like Waziristan or Quetta in Pakistan, but not as much as you might think. Largely, they are interested in all of the things men who live out in the countryside would be interested in the US: women, drinking, hash, games, music... I don't agree at all with how they have organized their society, but I think if the world stopped seeing them as some evil, extremist collective and recognized that they are much more of an insular, backwoods tribal network we might be able to work towards some non-violent progress.
Travel can be eye opening, even just within a country.