Another fumble in the 'hearts & minds' campaign: Your tax $$ at work

LadyEagle · Dec 10, 2006

Taliban seize US cash from locals to fuel jihad

WHEN US troops in the southern Afghan province of Ghazni handed out cash to village elders, they must have thought they were winning friends. The money, intended for bridges, wells, drinking water, irrigation systems and other infrastructure projects, was supposed to convince the locals that the foreign presence would benefit their country in general and them in particular.

After distributing the funds to villagers in Ghazni's Andar district in early October, the US soldiers left, having done their best to get Andar on side. This "hearts and minds" campaign formed part of a major anti-Taliban offensive - codenamed Operation Mountain Fury - which US-led coalition forces launched in mid-September in conjunction with the Afghan National Army (ANA).

The only problem was that the resources intended to combat the Taliban's influence ended up doing just the opposite.
Locals in several parts of Andar district have since told how almost as soon as the coalition forces left their villages, the money found its way into Taliban coffers to finance the jihad against the foreigners.

"American money is haram unlawful in Islam," said Abdul Jalil, an elder in one Andar village. "We could not use it to improve our lives, so we decided to give it to the Taliban. The most important thing we could do with this money was help the Taliban to pursue the jihad."

At a gathering in the local mosque after the coalition troops had left, mullahs exhorted the faithful to reject foreign blandishments and contribute to the insurgency, said Jalil. The elders agreed, so the Taliban were summoned and the money handed over.

An elder in the village of Lashko, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said villagers there were well aware they could not use the funds without Taliban consent.

"It's the Taliban who are with us in the night-time," he said. "They are powerful - they can enforce their rules and punish those who violate them.

"One day, the US troops gave us 50,000 afghani $1000 for a construction project, but the Taliban came to us that evening and asked us what we were going to do with it. We told them it was their decision. They took the money and left."

According to this man, US troops arrived a few days later to see what had been accomplished with their donation. At a loss to reply, villagers told them the Taliban had taken the money by force.
Click to expand...

http://www.sundayherald.com/interna...n_seize_us_cash_from_locals_to_fuel_jihad.php

I wish Bush and his advisers had a clue about the muslim culture, but they don't. After all our tax dollars lost and soldiers lives and limbs lost, they haven't learned a thing. It's sad to have an administration in charge of our country who are so blind to reality.

Daisy · Dec 11, 2006

LadyEagle said:

http://www.sundayherald.com/interna...n_seize_us_cash_from_locals_to_fuel_jihad.php

I wish Bush and his advisers had a clue about the muslim culture, but they don't. After all our tax dollars lost and soldiers lives and limbs lost, they haven't learned a thing. It's sad to have an administration in charge of our country who are so blind to reality.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what this has to do with Muslim culture - it's not much different from any other group of peasants caught between warring factions. They want to live.

The Galatian · Dec 11, 2006

Rather simple. The Taliban will kill them if they don't comply. We won't. So they chose to live. We could make it otherwise, but then we would be the Taliban.

We had a chance to rout them, and drive them out forever. But we stopped short of a complete victory, because Bush wanted his war in Iraq, which was not in any way threatening us.

Now, it's a mess in both places, and the Taliban is again winning in Afghanistan.

LadyEagle · Dec 11, 2006

Daisy said:

I'm not sure what this has to do with Muslim culture
Click to expand...

I was thinking specifically of this part of the article:

[quote]"American money is haram unlawful in Islam," said Abdul Jalil, an elder in one Andar village. "We could not use it to improve our lives, so we decided to give it to the Taliban. The most important thing we could do with this money was help the Taliban to pursue the jihad."

[/quote]

Another fumble in the 'hearts & minds' campaign: Your tax $$ at work

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Another fumble in the 'hearts & minds' campaign: Your tax $$ at work

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