Article

2004-06-12 Afghanistan/South Asia

UK Tel: American soft-sell turns Afghans against al-Qaâeda

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Posted by Super Hose 2004-06-12 2:39:59 AM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Wait a minute. This can't possibly be right. Al-Q is beloved by the Afghans because Osama built roads and schools and daycare centers!

That moonbat female CongressCritter (whose name blessedly escapes me) told us so!

Posted by Barbara Skolaut 2004-06-12 10:46:41 AM|| 2004-06-12 10:46:41 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 That would be U.S. Senator Patty Murray from the state of Washington (voters take note) who said: "Osama bin Laden is popular in poor countries because he helped pay for schools, roads and even day care centers. We haven't done that. How would they look at us today if we had been there helping them with some of that rather than just being the people who are going to bomb in Iraq and go to Afghanistan?"

This was prior to US troops going into Afghanistan. Which according to the press and the left (but I repeat myself) would be a "quagmire and a bloodbath".

Posted by A Jackson 2004-06-12 11:02:30 AM|| 2004-06-12 11:02:30 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 The one thing I have learned about the Pashtun is once they are bought they stay bought for the length of the contract. $45k (the well) is probably a long term contract. According to a marine I know (and actually an article posted here a few months ago) AQ is having money troubles in Afganistan, whereas we are tosing money everywhere, including hiring "militia" guards. OBL was popular with certain tribes because he bought militia and gave out guns. Well, those contracts are up and the tribes are turning.

Posted by David 2004-06-12 12:15:40 PM|| 2004-06-12 12:15:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 I hope that we are doing testing of the well water for arsenic. I sure would like to avoid a Bangladesh situation with arsenic poisoning (literally killing people with kindness). There are field kits now available that that can sense arsenic down to 5 ppb. Just a thought.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2004-06-12 2:51:45 PM|| 2004-06-12 2:51:45 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 selective testing, AP

Posted by Frank G 2004-06-12 2:59:08 PM|| 2004-06-12 2:59:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 In Iraq bombs are used to fight the war, but in Afghanistan the US military has a subtle new set of weapons in its arsenal: schools, wells and roads

Point of order: the same thing is being done in Iraq. Or is this correspondent just screamingly ignorant ?

Posted by Carl in N.H. 2004-06-12 7:22:22 PM|| 2004-06-12 7:22:22 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Carl in N.H. is absolutely right. I seem to remember something like 87 BILLION DOLLARS!

Posted by Kentucky Beef 2004-06-12 10:33:50 PM|| 2004-06-12 10:33:50 PM|| Front Page Top

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