To understand anything about Afghanistan from then till 9-11 you must
know the history and the participation of the major powers in the
country for more than 200 yrs.I have pulled and read government
documents from the US, Britain, and even the Soviet Union, dating back
to 1747.

Did you know in 1919, when gaining Independence from Britain with the
help of Russia after the third anglo-Russian war for control of the
area, the Afghan King asked the US for aid and assistance, and the US
refused, considering Afghanistan a British territory, and not worth
their consederation?

Again, in 1954 the Prime minister of Afghanistan was a man named Daoud.
Wanting to build a Democracy with full support of the King and his
people he asked again for US aid military and economic.Even though he
had enacted policies to allow women to vote and go to school, the US
turned them down again. This time stateing the reason as being
Afghanistan would not abandon nuetrality and sign anti-soviet treaties
introduced by America.

There is much more, but Ill see ya later. I must go for now...
Peace out dudes....

Considering that everyone involved in those decisions DIED OF OLD AGE
long ago.... why does it matter?


The world is evolving. They say you can never step into the same river
twice. And it's true, the water keeps on flowing, changing. The same
holds true for countries.

Hi, Fanta,

Yes, I'd be interested in a history of international involvement in
Afghanistan.

I do know that the Russian people ended up viewing Afghanistan as the
same kind of disaster that Viet Nam was for the United States.

Looking forward to your post(s)!

Thanks,
Oceans

okay nra man. u have my jsh site. go for it, and tell us what inquiring
minds need to know.

revenge for one.

Some times I wonder if the government got this script by reading "1984".

First, you dumb down the population (terrible school systems instead of
taking words from the dictionary).

Next, you find a common villain (Usama Bin Laden).

Then, you start a war (War on Terror).

Last, You start taking away freedoms (Patriot Act).

If you haven't had a chance to read Orwell's 1984, you should.

A very depressing book.

yeah, good recommnedation, Boy Scout. 1984 -- chilling and all the more
relevant today than I ever thought it would be. I sure hope the American
people wake up, throw off the fear that has been created in them, throw
the neocons into the sea, and remember how great this country once was
-- without all the 1984 controls and linguistic trickery that now passes
for politics....

Also: Huxley's Brave New World. On the positive side, Heinlein's
Stranger in a Strange Land?

In another thread, daVinci reminded us of George Stewart's Earth Abides,
to which we can add Ecotopia (Callendar, IIRC), and Neal Stephenson's
wonderful Snowcrash....

Summertime reads!

Oceans

I've read it. It's not applicable. Not *yet* at least. And, frankly,
the media is doing more damage than the schools. When people get their
education from hollywood movies instead of actually LEARNING- problems
are guarenteed to arise.

I find it fascinating that the US refused to help a democratic
Afghanistan, because they would not denounce Russia, who had help them
gain their Independence, (what is a friend) and a country that they
shared a border with.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but one has to wonder what if?, and notice a
pattern comparable to our policies today. I also continue to notice all
around the world that the British have, at one time or another, been
involved with all the trouble spots today, and that a common cause is
Britain's drawing of borders. When their Empire collapsed around the
world the US stepped in every time to fill the gap, and by continuing
the British policies have also inherited the mess.