punditman says...
There is an unspoken rule that permeates all mainstream broadcasts and most intellectual discourse: namely, we in the West always fight the "bad guys." In fact, we often hear military officials and clownish politicians talk about going after "bad people," and celebrating when we kill them.
How stupid is this paradigm? Are we living in a giant batman movie or what? Never mind that we may be killing innocent Pashtun tribesmen and their families in far away regions that few people can pronounce. Or we may be killing people that we used to support. But never mind these inconvenient truths; we call anyone who opposes us "Taliban," or "militants" or "extremists" or "insurgents" or, wait for it..."al Queda."
The script goes something like this: We "good guys" may be occasionally misguided though our intentions are pure, and though we may be experiencing total confusion and "mission creep" in the Af-Pak War, we are on the "good side" of history. Yet history suggests that we are no better or no worse than any previous colonial force. And we are having a really tough time pretending otherwise as we try to figure out what to do about being knee deep in the big muddy. Juan Cole understands this. Listen to him, for he is wise.
Juan Cole, author of Engaging the Muslim World, discusses the origin and meaning of the Taliban, the conflicting messages Obama and the U.S. military give on why staying in Afghanistan is a good idea, the benefits of an “Egypt solution” billion dollar yearly payoff to stabilize and allow withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s low popular support and territorial control.
There is an unspoken rule that permeates all mainstream broadcasts and most intellectual discourse: namely, we in the West always fight the "bad guys." In fact, we often hear military officials and clownish politicians talk about going after "bad people," and celebrating when we kill them.
How stupid is this paradigm? Are we living in a giant batman movie or what? Never mind that we may be killing innocent Pashtun tribesmen and their families in far away regions that few people can pronounce. Or we may be killing people that we used to support. But never mind these inconvenient truths; we call anyone who opposes us "Taliban," or "militants" or "extremists" or "insurgents" or, wait for it..."al Queda."
The script goes something like this: We "good guys" may be occasionally misguided though our intentions are pure, and though we may be experiencing total confusion and "mission creep" in the Af-Pak War, we are on the "good side" of history. Yet history suggests that we are no better or no worse than any previous colonial force. And we are having a really tough time pretending otherwise as we try to figure out what to do about being knee deep in the big muddy. Juan Cole understands this. Listen to him, for he is wise.
Juan Cole, author of Engaging the Muslim World, discusses the origin and meaning of the Taliban, the conflicting messages Obama and the U.S. military give on why staying in Afghanistan is a good idea, the benefits of an “Egypt solution” billion dollar yearly payoff to stabilize and allow withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s low popular support and territorial control.
MP3 here. (30:17)
(courtesy antiwar.com)
