Home » What’s next for our new partners in peace, the Taliban?

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What’s next for our new partners in peace, the Taliban? — 55 Comments

  1. One may wonder how much command-and-control the new and improved Taliban have over all those gnarly foot soldiers.

  2. I admit I have not been watching the news as closely the last few weeks. So I may have missed it.

    But has anyone DIRECTLY seen or heard from either those still trapped. Or the supposed thousands we rescued?

    Other than 3rd or 4th hand testimony. I dont recall seeing anything from either of these groups. Which to me is a huge tell by the press they will try to make this vanish very soon

  3. We should care because for 1400 years Islam has been the focus of evil in this world. Islam has slaughtered far more innocent people and destroyed far more lives than has Marxism. Marxism denies the existence of the soul. Followed faithfully, Islam turns the soul into the enemy of God because it declares evil, good and good, evil.

    Regarding Islamist’s murderous hostility toward Israel. The Knesset needs to formally pass a law that the “Samson Option” includes the mandatory provision that the day that Israel suffers a nuclear attack is the day that Mecca ceases to exist.

    Same with India.

    You gain leverage over an enemy by connecting to the actions you wish to deter, what for them is unthinkable and intolerable consequence.

    The traitor in the oval office is surrounded and assisted by a litany of traitors. It’s SOP for tyrants and Biden has always been a tyrant in waiting.

    “It’s ironic that many people voted for Biden thinking he’d restore respect for the US around the world, although I was always deeply puzzled as to why anyone would ever entertain such a notion.”

    That meme appealed to their biases. It didn’t have to be true or even possible. That’s what they told themselves because it’s how they want reality to be. The “inmates” have taken over the asylum and they really are disconnected from reality. That they find our surrender to Afghanistan’s Taliban merely regrettable and an inconvenient truth, one that is properly viewed as “at this point, what does it matter?” is proof of that reality.

  4. I’ve seen a few commenters ask where the human interest joyful return to America stories about those who got out of Afghanistan are. One possible answer is they are being flown to military bases, so no press. Still I’d expect something when such people made contact with family. When soldiers were returning from the Gulf War they got covered. So … color me suspicious of everything. I saw such comments on Powerlineblog’s “who we brought out” post dtd 9/4.

    Some people, Lara Logan, Michael Yon are covering those left behind, Yon had one mentioning a military guy left behind – in the hospital, with no legs. None of these are making into the so called MSM. What’s that line about their business being to cover stories by smothering them?

    Conservative Tree house (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/) right now has at the top of the blog an interview with a congressman: “A fascinating interview with Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin as he describes the frantic effort to help stranded Americans in Afghanistan. {Direct Rumble Link} Rep Mullin was part of a rescue mission to Afghanistan that ran into a roadblock put into place by the U.S. State Department.” which appears to have been on Fox.

  5. Neo
    You might ask why we should care. After all, there are plenty of awful places around the world.

    let’s read this:

    The American delegation was met at the Kabul airport by Taliban gunmen in pickup trucks, who drove us to the Presidential Palace. The freewheeling Richardson decided to include me in the delegation, telling me to identify myself as a “note-taker,” should anyone ask. An honor guard of Pashtun fighters greeted us and led us through a series of musty corridors to a small room with gray walls. The room was undecorated, except for a bookcase holding the collected works of Washington Irving. We had a long wait before the Taliban delegation arrived. It was led by Mohammed Rabbani, the deputy to Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader (who rarely left Kandahar, and who in any case refused to meet non-Muslims). The Taliban men were ignorant of diplomatic niceties, and Richardson’s icebreaking small talk was met by incomprehension. But Richardson gamely moved through the issues. He expressed the Clinton Administration’s concern that the Taliban was shielding a terrorist. Rabbani, who sweated profusely throughout the meeting, responded, “He is our guest here. He is under our control.”

    Richardson persisted; so did the Taliban. Richardson consulted his State Department and N.S.C. advisers; we waited to see how far he would push the matter. He dropped it, and continued with the agenda, which included a discussion of the possibility of running an oil pipeline across parts of Taliban territory. We were then led to a banquet hall, where we were served rice and pigeon as gunmen circled the table.

    The Unknown
    By Jeffrey Goldberg, February 2, 2003

  6. Thank you, Neo, for your clear and unequivocal indictment of Biden as an incompetent fool and traitor. His Cabinet is close behind him.
    We are in fact awash with incompetent fools. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, 4 star Gen. Milley, is one. Here is his deployment experience:
    Multinational Force and Observers, Sinai, Egypt
    Operation Just Cause, Panama
    Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti
    Operation Joint Endeavor, Bosnia-Herzegovina
    Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq
    Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan

    He is a bureaucrat, not a soldier. Never fired a gun except on a shooting range. He is symbolic of the rot that afflicts our officer corps.

  7. @Cicero, Milly is a Dilly

    This is kinda out in left field but “Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti” caught my eye. Hurricane hits Haiti, send money. Floods hit Haiti, send money. Loss of Democracy hits Haiti, send money. It goes on and on…

    Why does no one ever mention the Dominican Republic in all of these Haiti tragedy stories? I guess the hurricanes, floods, etc. somehow jump over the DR

  8. @JD Keene:
    Haiti is the result of 200 years of absence of civilization in any form, after the slave uprising that killed all Euros. I consider to be impressed by Murray’s data that show US black average IQ is 85, versus us evil whites with an average of 100. One cannot raise an IQ with education…our US public schools are living evidence.
    The African tribal chiefs that sold off their tribespeople to the Arab slavers knew what they were doing.
    Haiti is Liberia transplanted to the Caribbean.

  9. There are about 1.7 billion Muslims in the world. Of that number there are probably 10 – 15% who are dedicated fundamentalists. The problem with fundamentalists is that they have no tolerance for infidels. They believe sincerely that all non-Muslims should be converted or killed.

    Well, there are 6.2 billion non-Muslims in the world. If hey are to kill or convert that number they have a huge job ahead.

    Most Muslim majority countries are desperately poor. Raising armies and fighting wars of conquest are beyond their means. So, they use fourth generation warfare to make their attacks possible.

    They are fanatics who cannot be persuaded to give up their aims . Right now they are in as good a shape as they’ve been for many years. The humiliation and “bugging out” by the U.S. has given them renewed faith that Allah is has helped them defeat the Great Satan. So the war will continue. The non-Muslim world needs to devise a strategy to deal with fourth generation warfare and fundamentalism because it’s not going away any time soon. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

  10. Re the Taliban on Israel.

    Fortunately Israel has nuclear weapons, submarines, cruise missiles, not to mention the ability to do long range commando raids back in the mid-seventies already… so Israel ought to be able to take perfectly good care of business should the need arise — without the USA spending $nT on making a pig’s breakfast of it.

    There, there… It’s gonna be OK.

    For the rest, Afghans gonna Afghan. Sit back, enjoy the show. Every time you read of this or that atrocity or sad story, just remind yourself that while yes there are actual humans suffering, the reason and the only reason you are being permitted to see these reports is to further someone else’s agenda.

    There has to come a point even in the West when it dawns on even the dimmest voter or State Department Brahmin (new or old breed) that this recurring 50+ year theme of The Rag Tag Bad Guys Winning might imply that substantial fractions of the populations of these benighted countries actually *prefer* their Bad Guys ™ to our Quislings.

    (On a totally unrelated note, what festivities are planned for 2026?)

  11. “It’s ironic that many people voted for Biden thinking he’d restore respect for the US around the world, although I was always deeply puzzled as to why anyone would ever entertain such a notion.”
    A FORMER friend in the UK did an email to us just after the election and echoed those thoughts. I did a very tart response, which my darling wife edited. We have not communicated since, and I don’t intend too.

  12. “The problem with fundamentalists is that they have no tolerance for infidels. They believe sincerely that all non-Muslims should be converted or killed.” J.J.

    Islam has no tolerance for infidels. Allah has repeatedly declared in the sacred Qur’an that all infidels must be either converted, enslaved or killed.

    As for the 85-90% who are not ‘dedicated’ fundamentalists.

    Consider some facts;

    86% of Egyptians support the death penalty for apostasy.
    35% of prisoners in Belgium are Muslim, compared with 6% of the general population.

    Vancouver Sun (2015): 42% of Canadian Muslims agree that Islam is “irreconcilable” with the West.

    In 2012,
    58% of Muslim-Americans believe criticism of Islam or Muhammad is not protected free speech under the First Amendment.
    45% of American Muslms admitted that they believe mockers of Islam should face criminal charges.
    32% of Muslims in America believe that Sharia should be the supreme law of the land.
    EEOC (2015): Muslims in the United States make up 1% of the population but 40% of workplace discrimination complaints.
    Muslim Advocates/NPR (2019): In the United States, Muslims make up 1% of the population, but 9% of state prisoners.

    The reason these percentages exist is because the “dedicated fundamentalists” hold the theological high ground. They’re faithfully practicing what Islam unequivocally commands. Fundamentalism goes up when Middle Eastern Muslims imigrate to the West. And there are no moderate street protests.

    Omar and Tlaib are ‘good’ Muslims acting just as Allah has commanded them to act.

  13. Zaphod:

    “Sit back, enjoy the show” yourself. It’s not the least bit enjoyable, and I consider it an abomination to say it is.

  14. SHIREHOME:

    Then again, you might want to drop your friend a line right about now and ask, “So, how’s Biden working out for you now?”

  15. J.J. on September 4, 2021 at 8:13 pm said:
    They believe sincerely that all non-Muslims should be converted or killed.

    Did you read the history of Islam and Muslim World?

    I doubt it, you read any, as far as your comment go do your home work and come to Writ your informed comments.

    Yes.

    Q Morning, Mr. President. I have a more general question about the United States’ work to democratize the rest of the world. Many have viewed the United States’ effort to democratize the world — especially nations in the Middle East as an imposition or invasion on their sovereign rights. Considering that it was, in fact, the Prophet Mohammed who established the first known constitution in the world — I’m referring to the constitution he wrote for the city of Medina and that his life and the principles outlined in his constitution, such as the championing of the welfare of women, children and the poor, living as an equal among his people, dissolving disputes between the warring clans in Arabia,

    giving any man or woman in parliament the right to vote and guaranteeing respect for all religions, ironically parallel those principles that we hold most precious in our own Constitution. I’m wondering how might your recently formed Iraq Study Group under the U.S. Institute for Peace explore these striking similarities to forge a new relationship with Iraqis and educate Americans about the democratic principles inherent in Islam?

    THE PRESIDENT: Great question. I believe that the terrorists have hijacked a peaceful religion in order to justify their behavior. I thank you for bringing that to my attention.

    I will pass on your comments to James A. Baker, who is one of the chairmen of the group going to Iraq.

    Remarks by President Bush on the Global War on Terror
    The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
    The Johns Hopkins University

  16. As for the 85-90% who are not ‘dedicated’ fundamentalists.

    Did you consider your faith and religion haven’t the “‘dedicated’ fundamentalists.?

    What seen through the history all religions have had “dedicated’ fundamentalists.” despite links to a specific religions/ believes of them, this could be found till today even in your neighbourhood.

    Origins of Neo-Nazi and White Supremacist Terms and Symbols

  17. Zaphod is in his own very small way an intellectually and morally corrupt voice.
    dh is bringing up the rear, from Canada or the UK- see “neighbourhood”.
    Neither of them actually gives a sh*t.

  18. dh, I refer you to the comment by Geoffrey Britain. He is much more learned than I on the Quran.

    I also refer you to the writing of Hassan al Bana and Sayyid Qutb, the fathers of the Muslim Brotherhood. They are responsible, as much as any Muslims, for reviving the philosophy of holy jihad and the tenets of Wahhabism after WWII.

    I have no argument with the Five Pillars of Islam. I do have a problem with Sharia Law – at least as it’s practiced by the Taliban. But that is now an issue for the Afghani people to deal with.

    It has long been apparent to me that the globalist idea that all nations will eventually be liberal democracies is a bridge too far. The cultures, religions, habits, and histories of diverse nations are too wide to be easily bridged even when we have jet travel and instant communications. Mutual tolerance would be a good thing to aim for. We aren’t there.

    Are you aware of the website, TROP.? ttps://thereligionofpeace.com
    It documents attacks on infidels and apostates by jihadis. Their figures may not be totally correct, but even if they are only 25% correct, it’s an impressive record of mayhem.

    Peace, tolerance, and good will towards all is my motto. But I also believe in the right to self defense.

  19. J.J. on September 4, 2021 at 11:59 pm said:

    I also refer you to the writing of Hassan al Bana and Sayyid Qutb, the fathers of the Muslim Brotherhood.

    The Brotherhood‘s Westward Expansion
    Ian Johnson

    ISIS Leader Admits: We Are Being Funded By The Obama Administration

  20. J.J. on September 4, 2021 at 11:59 pm said:

    Peace, tolerance, and good will towards all is my motto. But I also believe in the right to self defense.

    Agreed, well said.

    We should united against any “terrorists” who love to destroy the human live hood and human life and element them as possible as we could united

  21. GB; The “inmates” have taken over the asylum and they really are disconnected from reality.

    Greece More Secure with Biden as President
    The US Senator speaks to Kathimerini during Athens visit

    Here’s the takeaway sentence:

    “I think that the Trump administration was extremely transactional in a way that went above and beyond anything that I’ve seen in 30 years. I think the Biden administration is committed to a core set of values, values that the president has developed over this time.”

    Can anyone explain what he means by transactional? Is it a compliment or an insult? No follow up on what their core set of values may be. ..developed over what time?….the last 3 weeks?

    Here is another howler:

    “…And in that respect, the Eastern Mediterranean is in a stronger position because when you share our values, we cherish you as an ally. When you don’t share our values, there’s trouble.”

    Does he really believe that? I once thought that Bob Mendez was one of the more balanced Democrat Senators. I no longer think so. Just another party hack.

  22. I remember a day or two after 9/11 speaking with a Muslim coworker about the events and hearing his perspective that we had it coming and that he was happy that we got a little taste of own medicine (he specifically cited U.S. sanctions of Iraq causing over 1 million deaths). Other than that, he was great to work with.

    I wonder if Taliban 2.0 will manage to moderate at all. I think they allowed female news readers on the air after the takeover of Kabul. That’s a good sign, I guess.

  23. “transactional”

    I suspect that he (Menendez?) means that Trump, coming from a business/real estate/developer background was…A BUSINESSMAN.

    …and that he brought an oh-so-gauche (because undisguised) “Let’s-make-a-deal-here’s-what-I-want-what-have-you-got-to-offer” attitude toward his politics and policies.

    Of course, that’s what diplomacy is about to a large extent (well, except for the “Do as I say or else” variety, I guess).

    But he was an abrasive, unabashed guy from Queens and therefore truly deserving of all the contempt and abuse the elites could dish out on someone as uncouth as he….

    …and he wasn’t corrupt. Another huge point against him.

    (Did I mention that he loved his country—and unconditionally at that)? That was the final straw….)

  24. I remember a day or two after 9/11 speaking with a Muslim coworker about the events and hearing his perspective that we had it coming and that he was happy that we got a little taste of own medicine (he specifically cited U.S. sanctions of Iraq causing over 1 million deaths). Other than that, he was great to work with.

    He should be stripped of his right of residency and deported. While we’re at it, most of our word-merchant element deserves the same fate.

  25. Joke Bidet’s speech declaring the Afghan disaster a success, would be analogous to FDR’ proclaiming that Pearl Harbor was a huge success, because the the US Navy and Marines thwarted a Japanese invasion.

    Bidet’s speech – and the lies and total bullshit emanating from the anal holes of his military, state dept, cabinet , and esp. from Jen – Bagdad Bob- Psaki , show that there are many people in power here in the USA that will do absolutely anything to remain in power or attain more power.

    Keep this in mind when you hear that what happened in Germany in the 1930s or what happened in Venezuela in 1999 or what happened in Russia in 1917 could not happen here in the USA.

    It most certainly can and there are millions of Americans that would have no problem with this.

    Bidet’s approval ratings are in the 40 % range; this is absolutely un-F’n-believable.
    Despite all that has happened in Afghanistan and at the Mexican border one would think his approval rating would be near zero.
    But no; not at all.

    There are more than enough Americans that will gladly shove their fellow citizens with whom they disagree into gas chambers or gulags.
    Just remember the AMERICAN student radical members of the SDS and the Weathermen.
    Never forget what their plans were.

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  27. @John Tyler:
    I have repeatedly commented that the US is in a position similar to that of early Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The majority of Americans are like the “good” Germans then; they put their heads down and obey.
    The tyranny of forced mask-wearing despite their known uselessness against viral particles is one example. The refusal to recognize the right of MDs to prescribe HCQ for COVID is another; this drug is FDA-approved (sic) for use in rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and malaria, and is quite safe in medical hands… but not for COVID because Trump took it for that and then praised it. The White House doc can override the FDA, no?

    The Bidens let hordes pour into the US via the Southern border, but refuse to let one Cuban enter Florida from Cuba. These medically unvetted hordes are dispersed quickly throughout the USA. Our airport serves only regional jets with generous-length runways, last flight in at 10pm. But a friend recently let his dog out at 3 AM and saw a larger (e.g. Boeing 737) plane on its low final approach at 3 AM. Secret dispersals!

    The whole of it is a Cloward-Piven dream come to life.

  28. The political left lives in a fantasy world that would destroy us if ever implemented. I have never decided if they believe all they say or if it is just an extreme argument that one might have in a dormitory bull session. That is who is now running the country, at least the federal government. Most of the bureaucracy ignores those ideologues but agrees in principle. Political types are fundamentally corrupt. Both parties.

    It might be interesting to see how Islamophobic China gets along with the fundamentalists.

  29. My explanation for Leftist thinking our prestige in the world would rise is their thinking the whole world wants to be woke and just needed a leader in wokeness.
    I still think Leftists are loving our weakness militarily and Afghanistan outcome is made to order.

  30. My wife & I tried to warn our adult children about voting for Joe Biden & his 40+ year political career as a buffoon and mediocrity–to no avail–their fatigue from media
    anti-Trump hysteria was too strong.
    BTW, has anyone seen any interviews with the 6000-7000 Americans evacuated from Afghanistan?

  31. dh yesterday @ 11:15 pm,

    Unfortunately, it’s not at all clear to me what you’re trying to say.

    Xylourgos,

    Hopefully Kathimerini listened noncomitedly.

    Menendez? was speaking for the rubes back home, telling them what they want to hear? Perhaps delusional? Whistling past the graveyard? I read the other day that Greece is putting up more barriers in fearful anticipation of more “refugees”.

    ” (he specifically cited U.S. sanctions of Iraq causing over 1 million deaths).” deckhand_dreams

    Typical ignorance gleaned from the MSM. Saddam was diretly responsible for the deaths, not US sanctions. The necessities were not blocked.

    “I wonder if Taliban 2.0 will manage to moderate at all. I think they allowed female news readers on the air after the takeover of Kabul. That’s a good sign, I guess.”

    Temporary expedient. The thing to understand about Islamic fundamentalists is that they can’t change because Islam places a theological straightjacket upon its adherents. One that’s not open for debate, at least in the fundamentals, open to differing ‘interpretations’.

    If they’re devout, they have no choice but to embrace it. If not, they dare not rock the boat because their very lives depend upon it.

    “He should be stripped of his right of residency and deported. While we’re at it, most of our word-merchant element deserves the same fate.” Art Deco

    Yes. I refer you to the statistics I cited above. Especially to the fundamental incompatibility of Western values and Islamic tenets.

    “there are many people in power here in the USA that will do absolutely anything to remain in power or attain more power.” JohnTyler

    There is no lie too great, no deceit too foul, no depravity too severe that they will not embrace in their lust for power. Something they repeatedly demonstrate. 60+ MILLION dead babies testify to it.

    “There are more than enough Americans that will gladly shove their fellow citizens with whom they disagree into gas chambers or gulags.”

    It’s a tragic truth that when a people are free, a not insignificant percentage of them will embrace evil. Cain and Abel.

    Fortunately we have the ability to “dispute” such a ‘vote’. Upon Freedom of Speech all rests and upon the right to bear arms does rest the preservation of the right to speak freely. To hold a different opinion, however unpopular.

    Cicero,

    Yes, they are following a Cloward-Piven strategy. Which in an armed society will eventually prove to be a suicidal strategy. They just haven’t pushed us far enough. But you can count on it, they will.

    Mike K,

    Ultimately, fantasy is trumped by reality.

    China will not allow either Afghans or Pakistanis to emigrate to China. The CCP recognizes another predator when they see one.

  32. My enthusiasm for the USA is severely depressed, reading all of the above.

    In Seattle, the disease of decline is more specific because Protestantism has declined into secular eco-pablum (eg, “Climate Pledge Arena” courtesy of Jeff Bezos), and assumed the uniform of feminazism, ie, short manly hair and mom clothes styled by women who proudly have no need for men.

    For example, as a tall man, I offered to rear breads on the top shelf at the grocery store. The feminazi refused my help. Then wandered away as I scanned unfamiliar brands, seeking a bagel of interest.

    Sure enough. This feminazi living out denial returned to tippy toe some selection on the roof top shelf. “10 Things I Hate About You” (the 1999 Seattle based teen pic ‘Taming of the Shrew’):has grown up but never matured. But instead has metastisized.

    My point? Dysfunctional denial of reality throttles Leftist tyranny.

    Until these puppies are brought to heel and smell their own shi-yite, there is no hope for these sorts, who’ve lost corrupted and denied their common humanity beyond all self-recognition and self-control.

    This leaves them an abject danger to us and the rest of the best on planet earth.

    Optimism is the opiate of the foolish.

  33. TJ:
    I agree with your “Optimism is the opiate of the foolish”, at least as far as this life is concerned.
    The American Middle Class has historically been optimistic about the future and the future of its kids. But, except for the Trump years, it has gone downhill due to globalists both Dem and GOP since Bush I.

    Now we have the monstrous “social media” driving the foolish ever more Leftward. Plus our entire educational system is riddled with Leftists and more Leftists.

    There is a reason Stalin extinguished Russia’s Middle Class aka Kulaks. The Marxist Left despises that Class, the bourgeoisie, and we will see ourselves progressively reduced toward poverty by Biden inflation, higher federal taxes, helicopter money, paying people not to work, suppressing small business by Fauci-isms and CDC “recommendations”.

  34. @Geoffrey Britain
    Unfortunately, it’s not at all clear to me what you’re trying to say.

    You are smart as you comments here and as readers here thinks?

    You either your mindset don’t thinks far from the past history realties or you just try to find excuses by putting this statement.

  35. dh,

    Try to restrain your defensive hostility toward me for gently pointing out your clumsy command of English. Instead, look to improve, so that those of us limited to English can understand you. Or… get a translator.

    Cicero,

    The fundamental mistake Stalin made is that Russia’s middle class were the producers. Today’s Marxists make the same mistake because their ideology insists upon a flawed understanding of reality and they’re too stupid to see its flaws.

    They’re a classic example of Orwell’s observation; ” there are some ideas so absurd, that only an ‘intellectual’ could believe them”

  36. Marxists are not only “too stupid to see its flaws”. They are in an absurd world of denial that reality is real. And they mean us harm.

  37. Notice that term “white supremacy” turned up at least 47 years ago.

    “Socialism is the total opposite of capitalism/imperialism. It is the rejection of empire and white supremacy. Socialism is the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and the eradication of the social system based on profit. Socialism means control of the productive forces for the good of the whole community instead of the few who live on hilltops and in mansions. Socialism means priorities based on human need instead of corporate greed. Socialism creates the conditions for a decent and creative quality of life for all.”

    Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism, Weather Underground, 1974, page 41.

    That was the Left then, now they’re feeling their oats again as the insiders this time.

  38. @BarryMeislin:

    Pretty self-explanatory, the video. You hang around Third World you see all kinds of bulk exported second and third hand clothing and other stuff.

    Stuff like trucks, vans, etc… Well the amount of gear/kit purchased by GloboHomo NGOs with your tax dollars to fund pie in the sky grifts out in Oogabooga is mind-boggling. A Land Cruiser for every Seven Sisters Dyke teaching dusky wimmins their Rights is pretty standard. They all gotta go somewhere after the shonky leases have been milked by the connected. Rinse. Repeat.

    And then the bog standard Black Market in Everything.

    Ain’t Life Grand?

    Nothing super nefarious.

    Unlike (say) this:

    https://www.newsweek.com/china-israel-military-technology-beijing-jerusalem-saul-eisenberg-weapons-607117

  39. @BarryMeislin:

    Another factor just occurred to me: Korean Traders and small businessmen. I’ll bet they’re there on the ground in Kabul. This in addition to Chinese middlemen.

    Koreans are like Chinese in that a significant fraction of them are entrepreneurial and brave enough to strike out on their own in very foreign and rough places — cf. Rooftop Koreans of LA Riots fame. You find them in Cambodian casino towns where commercial disputes are solved by rolling a grenade through the front door (1st verbal warning to desist, 2nd time pin in, 3rd time pin out). I don’t think the Taliban are much of a problem when you’re foreign, not White and not proselytizing. Old School Koreans make Pashtuns seem like feminists anyway (*).

    Compare and contrast with Japanese who will go anywhere and suffer any indignities if they are a Salaryman and their employer tells them to do it… but are far less likely to try to make a go as a small trader in foreign parts.

    A global study of prevalence of wife beating found that South Korea topped the list. They went off to interview Korean men as to why. A typical answer was “If I don’t get in first, my wife will clean my clock.” Hyper Neo-Confucianism plus Hybristophilia. What’s not to like?

  40. Muslim Advocates/NPR (2019): In the United States, Muslims make up 1% of the population, but 9% of state prisoners.

    This one is probably a bit misleading. I’m picking a massive number of those prisoners are Muslim of the “Nation of Islam” variety.

    While on the face of it the same religion, in effect they’re about as similar as Protestants and Mormons.

    Let’s not forget that Islam is way less united than Christianity. There’s very little that a Nation of Islam believer would see eye to eye about with a Saudi Prince. Likewise both of them with an Iranian Mullah.

    As much as the Taliban will promote violence, most of it will be directed at wrong-thinking Moslems.

  41. @ChesterDraws:

    True re Blacks and Nation of Islam.

    As for the other Muslims:

    The main thing is to stop importing more of them and to keep a wary eye on the ones already in the USA. Better to deport them, but one can’t have it all in this imperfect world.

    What they do to each other or anyone else anywhere else in the world is Other People’s Business, not the business of the USA.

    Everything else is ‘Details’.

  42. Let’s not forget that Islam is way less united than Christianity. There’s very little that a Nation of Islam believer would see eye to eye about with a Saudi Prince. Likewise both of them with an Iranian Mullah.

    Chester Draws:

    However, the Nation of Islam is to Islam pretty much what the Children of God are to Christianity — both are fringe cults of personality vey loosely based on a major religion.

    Given the range of current Christianity from progressive churches which uphold basic Christian tenets only in the most metaphorical terms to strictly fundamentalist churches plus the huge Catholic Church which is its own thing, I’d say Islam is a more unified religion.

    Sufism gets loose at the edges but generally is more deeply coupled to orthodox Islam than Westerners believe.

    The Sunni/Shia divide is based on a succession disagreement early on, not basic doctrinal differences.

  43. Surprisingly, Muslims are far more unified on believing the Virgin Birth of Christ than Christians.

  44. @huxley:

    Nothing an Auto-da-fé or three couldn’t fix. Gotta be public. Pits and Pendulums won’t do. Islamic heterodoxy doesn’t stray too far from the mother lode because the dialectic rapidly goes kinetic.

  45. Hard to depart too much in a religion that has as it’s foundation a book that is considered the literal-really-really-literal word of God unlike Christianity where the Bible is known to have been written by humans and so subject to human interpretation of what it all means.

    @huxley,

    Don’t leave out the Eastern and Greek Orthodox churches which together make up the 2nd largest Christian denomination and have the most extensive history with Islam and what it means to be under their domination.

  46. Don’t leave out the Eastern and Greek Orthodox churches which together make up the 2nd largest Christian denomination and have the most extensive history with Islam and what it means to be under their domination.

    geoffb:

    True.

    I once debated progressive Episcopalians about Islam. One quoted a Greek Orthodox leader about how well Christians and Muslims were getting along.

    My reply:
    __________________________

    As the resident bad boy in this discussion, I’ll be blunt and say that this is exactly the sort of empty, misleading, diplomatic Christian rhetoric that will make no difference whatsoever in the current conflict except to delay the reformation of Islamic jihad.

    It is a polite, politic lie to state that Eastern Christians “have coexisted with Muslims in cooperation and harmony from the beginning of the Islamic message until the present day.”

    For centuries the lands of the Eastern Church were Christian. For centuries Constantinople was the center of Christianity, then after the East/West split, it was the center of the Eastern Church.

    Today, after many wars with Muslms, Constantinople is now named Istanbul in the nation of Turkey, where Christians compose less than 1% of the population.

    May Western Christians be spared such harmonious coexistence with Muslims!

  47. Huxley, since 9/11 we’ve had a number of sermons concerning martyrs of the faith in the Christian lands that were occupied and ruled by Islam in Eastern Europe. Horrific things done to those who refused to convert and submit.

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