And, we’ve been the BAD influence military before, too . . . so now we’re coming with civvie compassion? S’heah,. that will sell well in Talibaini turf . . .

And now, we want to sell humanity and civvie goodies?

Like we did in SE Asia in the 50’s?

We sold a bill of goods, civvie wise.

And then, we pulled it out, and sent in more guns, bombs, and death.

That would be my point of speaking of the 50’s, as drawn to where I think this effort to employ ‘civvie’ efforts to solve our Afghani problem.

It won’t work, it won’t be fully supported, it will be subjugated by military/pentagon interests, and it will be driven by all the profiteering mongrels of our history we know about.

And it will fail, and more than a few innocent civvies of our citizens (like my father, like our family, like many others from SE Asie back then) will be fucked, when they stand up for what they believe in.

Kapiche? *G*

Or it’s just the same stupid mistakes all over again.

I’m all FOR civvie programs to sort out our foreign policy issues.

But I fear, like before, they will fail from lack of full support, opposition from the Pentagon, and politicians who are greased by the War Machine to support guns, rather than butter.

THAT’S the pattern of SE Asia regarding post Dien Bien Phu.

Of course, there’s the pattern of US Gunboat Diplomacy in the early 20th Century, like in China, too.

Similar in many ways. Civilian support abrogated by special ops and then military ops.

Sigh. Just like I was young again, hiding behind mattresses in a drywall house in the US Compound in Vientienne, Laos while the ‘insurgent’s’ around us swarmed up and over.

Took the Capital, The US Embassy (where pops was pinned down for two weeks) and then let us all go.

Later, in 6 months, we ended up destitute in ‘62 stateside. With tix home and basic goods shipped. And my old man blackballed.

I see patterns, others, they may see dead people walking. *G*

I guess they feel that they have a right on “moral” grounds to do this [ throwing acid in a girl’s face for getting an education ].

It sounds about like torturing women who were accused of being a witch. If they die the body will be freed when the witch leaves, so it’s alright (in their view).

If Islam is everything, then what does it mean to throw acid in a girl’s face? If you’re saving them for all eternity, then it’s nothing.

There is a logic, but it doesn’t allow the girl to decide her own fate and it doesn’t allow for the possibility they are wrong about Islam or that Islam would allow for such a punishment. It’s entirely inflexible…which is an indication of fundamentalism.

… the moderates, Indians, Iranians, Pakistanis all have to be at the table, hammering out a regional treaty.

If a treaty could be done that would be the way to do it. But, if you ask the people of Pakistan and India you would probably hear that it would be either extremely difficult or impossible to get and keep.

America’s interests very likely wouldn’t coincide with their and that complicates things.

But this is just like post Dien Bien Phu.

And I know.

My father got his JOB with the State Department in ’53 based on a similar rush to fight Communism.

Only, The Dulles Brothers won out, the military won out then, and killed the civilian programs of help to wage war.

Damn. Just like the last time.

I see a LOT of similarity in this ruse.

It’s a cover for more military to come, and in the meantime, it’s a ruse to fund budgets in the Pentagon, be they under the auspecies of civvie programs or not.

Damn. This really comes back to me . . . damn.

Same patterns . . . over and over and over again . . .

Damn. Thanks Spencer, for posting this . . . go look at some history of our Fool’s Rushed In post Dien Bien Phu.

Look at USOM, AID. Dulles Brothers. Back that to the business corporations (aside from the war machine one’s like DOW Chem, DuPont and others) who supported a more military presence rather than a civilian advisory corps.

Damn. Same as it ever was . . . .