Finally reading The Afghanistan Papers, by Craig Whitlock. Attempts to train Afghan forces sound like something out of science fiction, where modern people travel back in time and meet medieval peasants. Afghans didn't know their colors and mistook urinals for drinking fountains.
Children thought the color on a black soldier's skin would come off.
US Army Major: “I hate to say it, but there was a lot of inbreeding. The district chief had three thumbs."
"US troops referred to the practice as 'man-love Thursday'... Maj. Randy James... recalled a tense encounter in 2003 when an Afghan man approached a baby-faced male American soldier in his unit and declared, 'You’re my wife.'"
The Taliban came really close to assassinating Cheney in 2007. A fascinating historical what-if is if they'd succeeded. I shudder to think how this country would've reacted. We would've probably invaded 5 more Muslim countries and his daughter would permanently own the GOP.
The US tried to get rid of the warlord Dostum by making him an executive producer on a movie, then threatening him by reminding him of other American allies who got killed. At the same time, others in the gov were paying him $70K a month.
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