If you read Afghanistan's history, the only men to conquer this essentially landless region were Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. Everyone else pretty much failed miserably. Tom Friedman references that with yet another excellent column in today's New York Times:
"Last week, I toured the great Mogul compound of Fatehpur Sikri, near the Taj Mahal. My Indian guide mentioned in passing that in the late 1500s, when Afghanistan was part of India and the Mogul Empire, the Iranian Persians invaded Afghanistan in an effort to “seize the towns of Herat and Kandahar” and a great battle ensued. I had to laugh to myself: “Well, add them to that long list of suckers — countries certain that controlling Afghanistan’s destiny was vital to their national security.”"
The rest of Friedman's column is worth reading as well.
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Pushing Pakistan to act
A couple of stinging columns from Fareed Zakaria (an Indian-born Muslim-American) and Zalmay Khalilzad (an Afghan-born Muslim-American).
Zakaria quotes someone telling him:
""It's like a person, caught in bed with another man's wife, who is indignant that someone entered his house," one Pakistani scholar, who preferred not to be named for fear of repercussions, told me."
whereas Khalilzad writes:
"The killing of Bin Laden only 60 miles from Islamabad, its capital, has put Pakistan on the defensive, and the nature of our strike capability is not lost on Pakistani leaders and their terrorist and insurgent clients."
Perhaps Pakistan should be worried about the Muslims from its neighboring countries that are growing more and more skeptical of it than what the United States wants to do with it?
Zakaria quotes someone telling him:
""It's like a person, caught in bed with another man's wife, who is indignant that someone entered his house," one Pakistani scholar, who preferred not to be named for fear of repercussions, told me."
whereas Khalilzad writes:
"The killing of Bin Laden only 60 miles from Islamabad, its capital, has put Pakistan on the defensive, and the nature of our strike capability is not lost on Pakistani leaders and their terrorist and insurgent clients."
Perhaps Pakistan should be worried about the Muslims from its neighboring countries that are growing more and more skeptical of it than what the United States wants to do with it?
Friday, December 10, 2010
If you scratch my back...
It's kind of embarrassing for India that the three countries ahead of it for having the most prevalent cultures of bribery are Liberia, Afghanistan, and Iraq: one country artificially created by the United States in the 19th century that is forever enthralled in political turmoil and two countries where the United States has actively engaged war recently. Perhaps this means the reason we Americans are so far down on the list is because we tend to export bribery inducement to other places?
On the other hand, considering India's economic progress over the past decade or so, I'd be curious to know if this percentage has actually decreased over that period.
On the other hand, considering India's economic progress over the past decade or so, I'd be curious to know if this percentage has actually decreased over that period.
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