A Canadian Reader Writes On Afghanistan—Not An Ethnostate
05/04/2012
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Re: James Fulford's Article Diversity Is Strength! It’s Also...Unarmed American Soldiers Dying In Afghan “Green On Blue” Shootings

From: A Canadian Reader [Email him]

As regards the comment about Germany and Japan being more civilized then Afghanistan, I think the point is moot at best. The real difference is that both countries in 1945 were extremely homogeneous and had none of the tribes, factions and endless divisions that plague Afghan society today.

Hence it was much easier for the occupying Americans to reach a consensus with a cohesive occupied population then the ethnic and cultural mish-mash that is Afghanistan. Diversity is "strength". It’s also a recipe for a chaotic occupation.

James Fulford writes: It’s true that  Afghanistan not homogeneous (Pashtuns, Tajiks, Turmens, et cetera)but frequently the factions that are fighting each other are the from the same ethnic group. It’s just that they’re not an organized country. Iraq, on the other hand, is divided between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims, and has been a suitable case for partition for years.

That makes it "two nations warring within the bosom of a single state", as they say in Canada. The problem is that American troops were in the middle.

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