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2008-03-27 Afghanistan
Taliban foot soldiers deeply ignorant of Canada the world
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Posted by ryuge 2008-03-27 05:35|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ]  Top

#1 I can't believe that a reporter from The Globe and Mail would proceed from the assumption that front-line fighting men are sophisticated intellectuals.

Oh yeah, I forgot, reporters are quite parochial and don't meet people outside their own little circles. Now it all makes sense.
Posted by gromky 2008-03-27 06:05||   2008-03-27 06:05|| Front Page Top

#2 In fact, he would have trouble finding Canada on a map.

No insult to the Canadians, but how many Europeans would be able to find Canada on a map? Or South Americans, Asians, whatever-ans? For that matter, how many Canadians would be able to find Afghanistan on a map, or know the name of it's president? I'm a little hazy on the geography bit myself unless I've recently looked it up, and I've had the advantage of a Rantburg education!

The survey did ask better questions, the answers to which will definitely help The Globe & Mail's readers understand how deeply ignorant the Taliban jihadis are -- men who spend the first half of their lives memorizing one book in a language they don't understand, then the rest of it trying to destroy what their betters have built... with the result, according to the imams, that six million Muslims per year are driven out of their religion. I suspect that, were the surveyors to have asked the "sophisticated" city Taliban equally probing questions, their knowledge would have been discovered to be very narrow indeed, their understanding of the world beyond their little war not significantly more extensive than that of the cannon fodder.
Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife  2008-03-27 07:09||   2008-03-27 07:09|| Front Page Top

#3 Stephen Who?
Posted by Parabellum 2008-03-27 07:22||   2008-03-27 07:22|| Front Page Top

#4 The results show the depth of ignorance among front-line insurgents in Kandahar.

This tells me that gun toting trogs should try going to school instead of blowing them up.
Posted by Sonny Throth9621 2008-03-27 08:04||   2008-03-27 08:04|| Front Page Top

#5 Maybe that's why they so frequently confuse the red wire with the green one.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-03-27 08:19||   2008-03-27 08:19|| Front Page Top

#6 "survey of insurgents..."

It should be an exit (from this life) interview, and the last question should be "Which side (of the head) do you want your exit wound to be on?"
Posted by M. Murcek">M. Murcek  2008-03-27 08:35||   2008-03-27 08:35|| Front Page Top

#7 Sounds like graduates of the San Fransisco indoctrination public school system.
Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader  2008-03-27 09:09||   2008-03-27 09:09|| Front Page Top

#8 "...oft-repeated perception of the Taliban as sophisticated terrorists who pose a direct threat to Western countries."

Just a tad of spin here? Nothing to worry about, no need to look behind the curtain, don't be a big bully and beat up on these innocent, iggerant boys.

Seems to me that we saw exactly what the Taliban will do. They will provide a drug money fuelled safe house for the OBLs of the world. But that's not dangerous is it? Ptui.
Posted by AlanC 2008-03-27 09:23||   2008-03-27 09:23|| Front Page Top

#9 I'm reminded of the Korean War, where Chinese soldiers captured in Korea often told their captors they were fighting on Chinese soil.
Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-03-27 09:48||   2008-03-27 09:48|| Front Page Top

#10 Yup, AS. These ignorant savages don't know much, but they do know they've been promised a world wide Umma.

Alan, I don't think the reporter cares if the Taliban shelter OBL. They're arguing there's no immediate danger to Canada -- and the conclusion they expect their readers to draw is that Canada should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
Posted by lotp 2008-03-27 09:55||   2008-03-27 09:55|| Front Page Top

#11 Tw. Canada is much too big to be missed on a map. Now don't ask me to point where is Alberta, New Brunswick or even Quebec. But at least I know the
names of the first two. I doubt many europeans can say the same.
Posted by JFM">JFM  2008-03-27 11:59||   2008-03-27 11:59|| Front Page Top

#12 I start losing map sense at the Andorras of the world. Far too many of them.. Esp island ones... or African states constantly changing their names.
(although most of the latter seem to always have lots of French troops in them.)

Small Countries here

Posted by 3dc 2008-03-27 12:29||   2008-03-27 12:29|| Front Page Top

#13 Re: #2 In fact, he would have trouble finding Canada on a map.

That's our secret cloaking device in operation.
Posted by Canuckistan sniper 2008-03-27 13:09||   2008-03-27 13:09|| Front Page Top

#14 Something changed in the article. I tried to Google cache but there is nothing there.

When I read the original article this morning, the reference was to a survey of 42 "ordinary insurgents" LOL. What the hell is that? Apparently the Globe figured it out as well.

So you survey a group of Taliban that have been raised in a madrassas and you expect knowledge? These folks probably can't tell you the days of the week.

Hey, wear this vest, find a crowd, push this button, welcome to paridise!
Posted by Creling Darling of the Lichtensteiners8341">Creling Darling of the Lichtensteiners8341  2008-03-27 13:21||   2008-03-27 13:21|| Front Page Top

#15 Canada is much too big to be missed on a map.

JFM dear, you can read a map. Thus you have an unfair advantage over the Taliban. Yes, Canada is awfully big, but one has to know where it is before one can find it there, and how many Europeans do? To be inclusive, I've no doubt there are Americans who cannot find Canada on the map as well.
Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife  2008-03-27 13:28||   2008-03-27 13:28|| Front Page Top

#16 Hell, tw, there are Americans who can't find America on a map. :-(
Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut  2008-03-27 13:40|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]  2008-03-27 13:40|| Front Page Top

#17 It's all Dar al Harb.
Posted by Cleger Squank1540 2008-03-27 13:53||   2008-03-27 13:53|| Front Page Top

#18 Hell, tw, there are Americans who can't find America on a map. :-(

Yep, "The Untied Staes of Aremica" comes to mind.
Posted by Redneck Jim">Redneck Jim  2008-03-27 14:39||   2008-03-27 14:39|| Front Page Top

#19 To most Talibunnies, a map looks like a table cover with stains on it.
Posted by wxjames 2008-03-27 14:41||   2008-03-27 14:41|| Front Page Top

#20 Hell, tw, there are Americans who can't find America on a map. :-(

I was trying to be polite, Barbara. I can find America and Canada -- after all, I grew up on the south side of the border, closer to Toronto than New York City -- but I've only a vague idea where Utah is.
Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife  2008-03-27 16:09||   2008-03-27 16:09|| Front Page Top

#21 Reminds me of a joke from a few years ago:

The bad news is that fewer than 250,000 Americans know where Iraq is.

The good news is that they're all Marines.
Posted by lotp 2008-03-27 16:27||   2008-03-27 16:27|| Front Page Top

#22 but all the taliban study is the koran or how too badly aim an ak
Posted by sinse 2008-03-27 16:42||   2008-03-27 16:42|| Front Page Top

#23 Taliban foot soldiers deeply ignorant of Canada the world

Fixed.
Posted by Seafarious 2008-03-27 17:01||   2008-03-27 17:01|| Front Page Top

#24 Our ignorance of Canada is not entirely our fault...all the weather in the US apparently stops at North Dakota and turns white. At least when you're watching the evening news.
Posted by Seafarious 2008-03-27 17:04||   2008-03-27 17:04|| Front Page Top

#25 And some of us think that the correct map of America is Saul Steinberg's New Yorker cover.
Posted by Eric Jablow">Eric Jablow  2008-03-27 18:44||   2008-03-27 18:44|| Front Page Top

#26 "I've only a vague idea where Utah is"

Everybody knows where Utah is, tw.

It's out there to the left <<--- somewhere. ;-p
Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut  2008-03-27 19:51|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]  2008-03-27 19:51|| Front Page Top

#27 Utah is fun to drive through...
(not kidding...)
Posted by 3dc 2008-03-27 23:12||   2008-03-27 23:12|| Front Page Top

#28 For those who enjoy driving, 3dc, I'm sure it is.

Barbara: *giggle* Eric Jablow's map shows you to be correct.
Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife  2008-03-27 23:21||   2008-03-27 23:21|| Front Page Top

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