Comments on: Pulling Afghanistan from Poverty http://www.annrachelmarlowe.com/2008/12/29/pulling-afghanistan-from-poverty/ www.annrachelmarlowe.com Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:45:08 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Andre http://www.annrachelmarlowe.com/2008/12/29/pulling-afghanistan-from-poverty/comment-page-1/#comment-591 Andre Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:16:34 +0000 http://www.annrachelmarlowe.com/2008/12/29/pulling-afghanistan-from-poverty/#comment-591 There's a good deal of truth here. It makes one uncomfortable to say this. I've spent almost three years here. I have many Afghan I friends and there are many aspects of Afghanistan that I like, but they are not poor or divided because their land is not rich with resources. There used to be great kingdoms here. I read about these places and yet I find almost no sign of them here. I think perhaps the Mongols destroyed and crippled Afghanistan as they did Russia. Then, the Russians themseleves came in and finshed the job in 1979. I have never seen a place so completely dominated by the zero-sum game approach to the world. I think there is hope for the Hazara and the Tajiks, but the Pashtuns have to get it together if there are not going to destroy this place. I suspect Pakistan is on the road to even greater chaos. There’s a good deal of truth here. It makes one uncomfortable to say this. I’ve spent almost three years here. I have many Afghan I friends and there are many aspects of Afghanistan that I like, but they are not poor or divided because their land is not rich with resources. There used to be great kingdoms here. I read about these places and yet I find almost no sign of them here. I think perhaps the Mongols destroyed and crippled Afghanistan as they did Russia. Then, the Russians themseleves came in and finshed the job in 1979. I have never seen a place so completely dominated by the zero-sum game approach to the world. I think there is hope for the Hazara and the Tajiks, but the Pashtuns have to get it together if there are not going to destroy this place. I suspect Pakistan is on the road to even greater chaos.

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