The Taliban is planning for what they will do if they win in Afghanistan. They have governors appointed for almost all provinces. They have appointed cabinet ministers.
Compare and contrast that to the Bush Administration, which did zero planning and allocated no resources in advance of the fighting to prepare for what came afterwards.
(Not that there was much else to distinguish the two groups, as they held common beliefs in science, the use of the death penalty, the importance of education and a complete lack of tolerance for dissent.)
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Leisure
38 minutes ago
1 comment:
The difference between the American Taliban (today's Republican Party) and the Afghan Taliban seems to be one of belief in government, rather than fundamental underlying moral beliefs. The American Taliban has decided to embrace "government is the problem, not the solution" (other than to the solution to the problem of, "how can the minority enrich themselves at the expense of the majority?"). The Afghan Taliban, on the other hand, still have faith in the ability of government to solve problems of public order and the general welfare.
Other than that mild difference between them, you're right, they're two peas in a pod. I suspect this is one reason why the Busheviks hated the Taliban too much -- they viewed the Taliban as competitors, and took the Mayberry Mafia approach to competitors (i.e., the horse's head in the rear seat bit, then take'em out of they didn't get the message). Of course, being the Mayberry Mafia, they were utterly inept at actually executing, but ...
- Badtux the Geopolitics Penguin
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