POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN IN THE TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL
Yes, indeed, the Taleban are the population, or a good deal of it.
How silly for people in Canada or America to sit back in comfort and judge what they cannot possibly understand.
This is a huge and ancient land where much of the population lives in the 14th century.
The armed forces can stay for many years, and they cannot change that basic fact, which in turn influences the many habits and customs so misunderstood in North America.
Just think about European customs in the 14th century - everything from drawing-and-quartering prisoners to iron chastity belts - and it took centuries of economic development to be rid of them.
Only fools think they can change an entire society quickly, or that a few thousand outsiders make a dint in 25 million spread over a vast and ferocious territory.
God, what a useless, destructive enterprise this is.
