If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering what our soldiers have to say about any number of things, but particularly about the mission itself – it’s purpose(s), it’s challenges, it’s rewards & it’s heartbreaks.
I stumbled across Dave’s blog a few weeks ago while surfing (I’d hat tip someone, but I forget how I clicked through to him), and bookmarked it for that very reason. The comments are moderated (good call!) so won’t show up until they’ve been checked for stupidity, but I highly recommend you stop by regularly for updates.
His current post is brilliant (he’s apparently working on a rebuttal to the buttheads that think we should bail, I’m looking forward to that) and explains the intricacies of the Afghan culture. It’s a response to an email asking whether sending him pencils for schoolchildren was a good idea. Here’s a sample:
“…But let me tell you about other factors that you�re probably not aware of.
Afghanistan is peopled by many different cultures. In the north live Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmen. In the middle of the country, there are the Hazara, possibly the descendants of Ghengiz Khan�s Mongol Horde, Nuristanis, and Baloch. And in the south, there are the Pashtuns. Ethnic divisions are not clear-cut – nothing is in Afghanistan – and sizable populations of Tajiks live in the south and Pashtuns in the centre and so on. But each province has its ethnic makeup, and in Kandahar, like in Waziristan across the Pakistani border, the Pashtuns predominate.
Pashtuns form the largest tribal society in the Islamic world. They view themselves as the natural leaders of Afghanistan, and despise peoples like the Hazara as a sort of underclass. Their relations with one another are dominated by a tribal code called pashtunwali, which values above all honour, hospitality, loyalty, bravery, revenge, and fierce individualism. This code has some pretty inexplicable facets – it is perfectly acceptable under pashtunwali, for example, to change sides in the middle of a battle for a bribe. You don�t have to understand it, but if you are doing business here you have to deal with it.
Pashtuns are hardly monolithic either. One is not simply a Pashtun, one is a Durrani or a Ghilzai; and one is not simply a Ghilzai or a Durrani, one is a Popolzai or a Barakzai or an Alikozai or an Ishaqzai Durrani Pashtun, or a member of one of dozens of other tribes. It doesn�t end there; families come next. And it is a vast understatement to call the interrelationships complex. Don�t try building a road through a Barakzai area using Alikozai labour, unless the Barakzai of that area have just concluded an agreement with the Alikozai families. And be prepared for it all to go pear-shaped in a heartbeat, for reasons you will never fully understand…”
Go read the whole thing. It’s fascinating.
These distinctions. How…annoying.
It makes working with multiple unions sound heavenly, doesn’t it?
What a great kid. He could teach the MSM a few lessons on intergrity, analysis, good research and reporting.
It makes me gag at the good stuff that is censored or ignored on our airwaves.
The smartest are in the military, the dumbest are in journalism.
Well…we’ve got our Queebeckers, then them Newfies, the Herringchokers,the BC Pot Smokers,Civil Servants,Green Party, Maple Leafs Fans, bikers, snowmobilers, Bowelinda Stronach Faithful, born-again-deadbeats(such as myself), imports of virtually any hue……….etc…
A good book (fiction) by an Afghani author is “The Kite Runner” about his experiences growing up in Kabul, the taliban taking over, his escape and then when he went back in from the States to find his friends little boy.
An excellent post. Full of idealism and realism. Obviously loves what he is doing.
Aaah, everything is so hopeful in the spring of your years. I would be the last person to take it away. Keep it as long as you can.
These soldiers must have the “patience of a Saint” to have to deal with this stuff on a daily basis. They are heroes in my eyes and I am thankful that men like Dave are there in Afghanistan doing their job and doing it so well. I know it’s in Dave’s “job description” to make a difference, to help and care for the people he is protecting etc but I agree with Penny; it appears we have the best kind of people working in our military and the worst kind in the MSM.
The Afghans clearly don’t want Canadians there any more than they want the Americans. \\
The Canadians will leave just as the U.S. troops pull out of Iraq which is near at hand.
The culture of the “sands” must settle their own inter-tribal disputes and running interference in civil war is not possible.
Taliban and Al Qaeda are on the run and must be given a chance to reinsert in Afghanistan, then we go back and get them.
going for it now is a costly mistake in terms of troops, equipment and no clear targets, just guesses.
The Afghans clearly don’t want Canadians there any more than they want the Americans. \\
The Canadians will leave just as the U.S. troops pull out of Iraq which is near at hand.
The culture of the “sands” must settle their own inter-tribal disputes and running interference in civil war is not possible.
Taliban and Al Qaeda are on the run and must be given a chance to reinsert in Afghanistan, then we go back and get them.
going for it now is a costly mistake in terms of troops, equipment and no clear targets, just guesses.
dontbelieveit, I’m having a problem believing you actually read the whole post.
Me as a taxpayer thinks that humanitarian aid is better than military intervention. The people of Afghanistan don’t trust outsiders and why should they? All have tried to conquer them and failed.
“You can only help people that want help”
If all the humanitarian ngo’s have been chased out of the country by the Taliban, SaskTF, then what? Let them starve?
Sure, let’s just rip up all the treaties we’ve signed with all of the countries in the world and live on this huge landmass & hope like hell no one attacks us or invades us, including the terrorists that have had us on their target list since 9/11.
As someone said somewhere (sorry, I forget where) you can put your head in the sand and ignore it, but there’s a good chance you’ll get your ass blown off.
Or you can take a stand.
why is it that chicken hawks are the ones that promote war and killing put never enlist or if they are no longer of age make sure that there never join the armed forces? why is that?
nobody in politics said canada should bail out of afghanistan before its original commitment was done! and there is nothing wrong with having an informed debate as to what is the mission exactly and should we negotiate a new commitment, and for how long?
for those of you who think that afghanistan is a peacekeeping mission, i believe you are making a big mistake.
karzai afgans president is pretty much kabul maire, he dares not venture outside of the capital in fear he might be assassinated just like his daddy was in 1999 by the taliban. warlords control most of the afghani provinces and the villagers are most likely supporters of the taliban.
this is no peacekeeping mission!
and how nice it is to have our americans friends redeploy in iraq, when iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and leave canadians and others in afghanistan to finish the job?
Oh nalornody you big tough guy. You just TELL us all about what it’s like to be in the armed forces in Afghanistan buddy. With your sweeping generalizations about Afghanistan you must be real familiar with it. C’mon tough guy tell us all about it.
As for Sask.taxpayersFederation, uhh pal, I pay taxes too, and I SUPPORT the Afghan effort. In fact I’d rather pay taxes to support our troops in Afghanistan then a bunch unemployed, lazy goofs in economic basket case Saskatchewan.
Having served in Viet Nam and presently having a son over in Afghanistan, I would like to point out some items.
To the Canadians who have never been in any of the third world countries…you don’t have a clue. You live a privilaged life with no strife, other than what is self inflicted, you have a standard of living that ensures you food, safety and shelter (IF you desire, or NOT if you desire) that the rest of the world can only envy.
I fought with some terrific and proud men who not only were doing their duty, but preformed in a selfless manner anyone would be proud of. In my son and the men & women he serves with, I see the same integrity and bravery.
They (the media) shouldn’t diss the military fighting man because of what their political masters say and do..they don’t deserve it.
As for my son serving in Afghanistan (previously Bosnia/Kabul/others) … if not the HAVES helping the HAVE NOT’S, then WHO??? Yeah, some of the politics stink, but not everything can be as clean and sanitary as you would like.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see that the only political issue in a country like Afghanistan be over whether one politician said something nasty about another politician.
They sure would, and that’s the eventual end result we would like to see…people arguing and voting for changes that effect their lives….hmmm..kinda like Canada??