On Taliban Turf, Long Lines of Ailing Children - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

cmac2012 · #1 12-12-2007, 05:07 PM

Whoa, tough story. This is the kinda stuff that makes me proud to be an American.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

LaRondo · #2 12-12-2007, 05:19 PM

What a conflict. Caught between a rock and a hard place is no discription for it.

How do you mean this kind of stuff makes your proud to be American?

cmac2012 · #3 12-12-2007, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaRondo

What a conflict. Caught between a rock and a hard place is no discription for it.

How do you mean this kind of stuff makes your proud to be American?

The picture of those GIs dispensing the best medical aid most of those people have had in their lives.

I hate to be down on so much of what we do abroad cuz I know most all of the people involved want to do the right thing.

I was impressed by a lot of what we did after the Pakistan earthquake also. Soft power is powerful stuff.

BENZ-LGB · #4 12-12-2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Whoa, tough story. This is the kinda stuff that makes me proud to be an American.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Good stuff Carl. I know what you meant.

How did the last rains treat you?

I had to make a quick trip to the Monterey Peninsula this past weekend and man, oh man, did it pour Thursday night!

You ever spent any signficant time in Santa Cruz? What's your impression of the town?

Monterey is nice, but I still think of Santa Cruz as some sort of '60s enclave where time has stood still.

cmac2012 · #5 12-12-2007, 05:30 PM

Very little rain here. Unlike my family up in WA state. Oh man, they're in Oly, about 30 miles north of where people had flood waters up to the roof line.

I've only been in Santa Cruz a couple of times. Not sure what to make of it. Believe it or not, I also get burned out on excessive hippie-dippie-ness.

I was talking with a late 20s lady the other day and she was going on a medical care being a "right."

Well yeah, but . . .

tankdriver · #6 12-12-2007, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

The picture of those GIs dispensing the best medical aid most of those people have had in their lives.

Not only that, they help in enemy territory.

Medmech · #7 12-12-2007, 06:03 PM

Good post CMAC, for those interested you must rent or buy the National Geographic special Inside The Green Berets, it will enlighten those who do not know the real mission of Special Forces or the men who wear the Green Beret.

cmac2012 · #8 12-13-2007, 08:22 PM

I get incredibly conflicted over this stuff. I see the courage of these guys in a spot like that but then I consider how unlikely the overall society is to accept our help.

They had a bit somewhere in there where they got news that at another village, the Taliban came in, took the mittens and coats the GIs had given the kids, and made a bonfire out of them. Bloody unbelievable but on some level, you sorta expect it.

Fear and loathing of the outsider is almost to be expected in those parts and actually doing some good is tricky business.

An old saying that is endlessly fascinating to me is the one that goes 'the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions.'

Of course, I in no way imply that the guys in this story are on their way to hell for what they did, just that good intentions alone are often not enough.

tankdriver · #9 12-14-2007, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

I get incredibly conflicted over this stuff. I see the courage of these guys in a spot like that but then I consider how unlikely the overall society is to accept our help.

I think that when you help the needy, they never forget. Especially when the Taliban comes around and deprives them of the help and replaces it with nothing.

aklim · #10 12-14-2007, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

I was impressed by a lot of what we did after the Pakistan earthquake also. Soft power is powerful stuff.

The question is what it does buy us besides the lip services and "Thank you"s.

cmac2012 · #11 12-15-2007, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tankdriver

I think that when you help the needy, they never forget. Especially when the Taliban comes around and deprives them of the help and replaces it with nothing.

You've got to figure those people will be secretly plotting to stick it to the Taliban thugs first chance they get.

Jeez, what a trip.

aklim · #12 12-15-2007, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tankdriver

I think that when you help the needy, they never forget. Especially when the Taliban comes around and deprives them of the help and replaces it with nothing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

You've got to figure those people will be secretly plotting to stick it to the Taliban thugs first chance they get.

OTOH, they could just as well take our stuff and when it comes to crunch time, Screw you, tankdriver. Screw you Cmac2012. Remember, you are talking of a human being not a dog. Shakespeare once said in his play "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." Even our own muslim servicepeople are not sure which side their bread is buttered on. What more them?

tankdriver · #13 12-15-2007, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

OTOH, they could just as well take our stuff and when it comes to crunch time, Screw you, tankdriver. Screw you Cmac2012. Remember, you are talking of a human being not a dog. Shakespeare once said in his play "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." Even our own muslim servicepeople are not sure which side their bread is buttered on. What more them?

Those with nothing don't forget when they are helped. They may not be able to pick up arms against oppression, but if the Americans take control of that area, there won't be many locals fighting them.

aklim · #14 12-15-2007, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tankdriver

Those with nothing don't forget when they are helped. They may not be able to pick up arms against oppression, but if the Americans take control of that area, there won't be many locals fighting them.

Again, it does sound good in theory. Not sure about the how it works out in real life.

cmac2012 · #15 12-15-2007, 06:13 PM

I think it will help some, OTOH, xenophobia is clearly a force in them parts.

One sad aspect to this story, in the NYTimes the day of this story, they had the 'quote of the day' with one of the GI medics there who said something like, "We're medics. They want us to be miracle workers."

A lot of the conditions that were described in the article might be beyond help in even a state of the art hospital. One wonders if any of the locals might resent the Americans for being unable to work the sort of magic everyone thinks they must be able to.