Quote:
Originally posted by JR@Oct 10 2004, 03:01 AM
It's very amazing to me that they had an election and that those 15 candidates had a voice to even complain. Two years ago, they would have been executed in the soccer stadium.... or they would have been Taliban supporters.
It's almost incomprehensible to me that someone would not view the general transition and election as a tremendous triumph over what can only be described as an insane, violent and archaic theocracy that not only actively supported terrorism, but was harboring Bin Laden, his followers as well as allowing them complete and absolute freedom to train terrorists in Afghanistan.
I have noticed that all the "doom and gloom" from the left and general criticism of being in Afghanistan died down fairly quickly from the left and the rest of the world. That must mean great things are happening. It's unfortuneate that those same people aren't so quick to brag about new schools, new hospitals, medicines, more freedoms and rights, women who can walk down the street without being beaten and even have the chance to study and learn, aid programs, UN programs etc etc etc. If they were, the world would be a better place and be focused on the optimism of a better future for all rather than preaching about the "obvious signs" of the impending doom of the human race that has been just around the corner for 10,000,000 years.
The most unfortuneate thing about global politics is that support and opposition always exist for selfish reasons of countries far, far away and the simple people in their own homeland are left without a meaningful voice and are usually the ones who suffer the most.
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What happened in Afganistan is amazing. It is truly historic. Afganistan has been one of the most unruly places in the world forever. The English at the top of their power could not make any progress, the Russians while not wanting a Democracy could not get the country settled.
This is a huge first step.
I think one of the keys to defeating Islamacists is enpowering WOMEN. Women have been a very claming influence in the Western World - especially when given the power to vote. Islamcists are afraid of this, they want to continue surpressing women, and treating them as cattle.
If women can become equal to men in that part of the world, it would go a LONG way to stablizing the region.