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by YeGoblynQueenne
1759 days ago
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You don't have to say it in such culture war-y terms, or to sound so reactionary. It stands to reason that the average Afghan may hate and fear the Taliban, but hate and fear the invading Westerners even more. Besides, it's a repeating leitmotif of history that whenever a foreign power invades a far-away land, they find the locals more preoccupied with their internecine power struggle. It happened in the Crusades and in the conquest of Peru and Mexico by the Conquistadores. It has probably happened in every major empire-building campaign before and since. The locals fight the invaders only to the extent that the foreigners interfere with the locals' plans, and often the locals attempt to use the invaders as pawns (often only to find to their great dismay that the "pawns" then turn around and take their king- as famously happened with Moctezuma and Atahualpa). |
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It's more that they hate the corrupt Afghan government the U.S. was propping up. From what I've read, the Taliban is predictably corrupt and somewhat fair, provided you aren't a woman or gay and they don't find a reason to kill you. You pay one bribe for whatever you want to achieve at that moment and get a receipt that other Taliban people honor.
The U.S.-supported Afghan government was unpredictably corrupt and very greedy—you had to bribe every policeman, soldier, checkpoint guard, and official you came into contact with. Both options suck but one sucks less, and, for most Afghans trying to live their lives, that matters more than airy ideals about democratic liberalism and sexual equality.