We choose leaders with charisma rather than courage and glibness rather than morals. But ultimately we get only a reflection of ourselves. The work must be done internally first before we can expect to see external change. The miracle must take place within first.
Truth in every word! This is not the time to ask for more of the same, please . It's time to call them out for their lack of patriotism to our country. No more wars!
1. The idea that Afghanistan is a "graveyard of empires" is a fiction that Westerners started telling themselves after 2001 to make ourselves feel better about our own incompetence. Persianate empires, Buddhist and Islamic, thrived and built culture and beauty in Afghanistan for hundreds of years.
2. Besides the American lives lost, let's never forget that thousands of local Afghan National Army recruits DIED fighting Taliban, because of their earnest, misplaced belief in our ability to "build democracy" there.
3. Besides the subsidies to the military-industrial complex and to crooked contractors, check how many $100,000,000s in American government money that the Afghan president and his cronies took with them to Dubai and Tajikistan.
Make no mistake... this isn't just a story about ourselves as Americans... there were Afghan families who both won and lost from our neocolonial enterprise there. Honest people lost, and corrupt people won, and the disillusioned turned to the Taliban for help. Our own story is not of active evildoing, but abusive neglect and disinterest for the nation we took control of for 20 years. Our military failed to learn lessons, never had skin in the game, and maintained a bureaucratic disinterest in arresting and prosecuting the psychopaths, robbers and war criminals we exported to Afghanistan. Read Wesley Morgan's book about the COMPLETE story of the Pech Valley. When will Americans start to care about our own collective responsibilities?
The latest (surely not the last) chapter of a long story. I knew a little bit about the history of Afghanistan but I felt I needed to learn more. That’s how I came across this amazing documentary in YouTube:
Excellent, clear synopsis - thank you.
We choose leaders with charisma rather than courage and glibness rather than morals. But ultimately we get only a reflection of ourselves. The work must be done internally first before we can expect to see external change. The miracle must take place within first.
The title says it all.
The text explains the title.
Wonderful.
Informative.
May wewake up.
Thank you for your blunt language calling it like it is, especially – but not only – about the media!
Thank you! Right On.
Thank you, Marianne, for your bold truth-telling. If we’ve ever been called upon to transform the world, it’s now. Keep telling it like it is!
Wat een waarheid. Thank you Marianne
Thank You ... very well written!
Truth in every word! This is not the time to ask for more of the same, please . It's time to call them out for their lack of patriotism to our country. No more wars!
1. The idea that Afghanistan is a "graveyard of empires" is a fiction that Westerners started telling themselves after 2001 to make ourselves feel better about our own incompetence. Persianate empires, Buddhist and Islamic, thrived and built culture and beauty in Afghanistan for hundreds of years.
2. Besides the American lives lost, let's never forget that thousands of local Afghan National Army recruits DIED fighting Taliban, because of their earnest, misplaced belief in our ability to "build democracy" there.
3. Besides the subsidies to the military-industrial complex and to crooked contractors, check how many $100,000,000s in American government money that the Afghan president and his cronies took with them to Dubai and Tajikistan.
Make no mistake... this isn't just a story about ourselves as Americans... there were Afghan families who both won and lost from our neocolonial enterprise there. Honest people lost, and corrupt people won, and the disillusioned turned to the Taliban for help. Our own story is not of active evildoing, but abusive neglect and disinterest for the nation we took control of for 20 years. Our military failed to learn lessons, never had skin in the game, and maintained a bureaucratic disinterest in arresting and prosecuting the psychopaths, robbers and war criminals we exported to Afghanistan. Read Wesley Morgan's book about the COMPLETE story of the Pech Valley. When will Americans start to care about our own collective responsibilities?
The latest (surely not the last) chapter of a long story. I knew a little bit about the history of Afghanistan but I felt I needed to learn more. That’s how I came across this amazing documentary in YouTube:
https://youtu.be/L7e6tejlTNw
It’s as objective as it can be, I recommend it to bring context and broaden our understanding of the current situation.
Thank you Marianne for your endless commitment to make a better world 🙏🏻
👏💯🔥