"It is the open secret no one wants to talk about, the unwelcome truth that most prefer to hide. In Afghanistan, one of the richest sources of Taliban funding is the foreign assistance coming into the country.
Virtually every major project includes a healthy cut for the insurgents. Call it protection money, call it extortion, or, as the Taliban themselves prefer to term it, “spoils of war,” the fact remains that international donors, primarily the United States, are to a large extent financing their own enemy."
“Everyone knows this is going on,” said one U.S. Embassy official, speaking privately. Mckenzie
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Someone commented in these sacred pages a few days ago to the effect that it was not reasonable to expect the American People to accept the folkways of foreigners just because they were their folkways. No? Well, here is a "folkway" that will probably be rather hard to "swallow."
This reminds me of the way the Comanche and Kiowa used to go to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma in the 19th Century and ask for ammunition so that they could continue their war against "The Texans" (a non-American people in the eyes of the Indians) in the next fighting season. Ammunition, reservation beef, and other supplies were what they wanted. One of the Kiowa chiefs, Kicking Bird, I think, once demanded to be issued the Indian Wars campaign medal with the appropriate seasonal clasp. He said that without his men the war could not be held.
It's all a matter of perspective.
I am not surprised. I suggest that it will be impossible to halt this practise. They will find a way to do it. I understand that the Taliban are "hitting up" local Afghan businessmen and saying that it is "zakat." Lovely.
I further suggest that we find a way to turn the practise to our advantage. Can't figure that out? Work on it. pl
