Iraq was and is a 'Balkan State". Like the late Yugoslavia it is composed of different ethnic groups that hate each other. To even think that the US could impose a working "democracy" was the height of their superciliousness. They will find their own way out of the mess we created. We can only hope to give them support so that it is not an anti-American solution.
Likewise, Rumsfeld, Cheney at al failed to read history and to learn from the British fiasco in the 1890s or the Russian disaster which happened a few years after these pictures were taken and led to the breakup of the Soviet empire state. Once we understand that only with a cooperative ruling body in a local area can we have a degree of success and perhaps destroy the ben Ladens that bedevil us.
In the near future I will post some photos of the country outside of Kabul , which will give an idea of the land and what faces our troops. Right now here are some scenes of Kabul in the early 70s. I apologize for the poor quality of some shots but all of this batch of slides have undergone sever degeneration.
Doc,
ReplyDeleteI think the British Disaster in Afghanistan was in the 1838-42. In the 1870s, Lord Roberts of Kandahar (as he was later titled) decisively defeated Afghan forces and forced a treaty on the country which held for decades.