<Our Afghani friends let a lot of them go, maybe most, and fer sure OBL escaped with their help.

Sorry. I missed that report.

Anyway, I hope it's human nature, not just a tendency of us Americans, to think other cultures are somehow less than human.

Must be human nature. Ask al-Qai'da how they feel about Westerners -- and don't think the response is due to our beating the crap out of them and taking their country from them. The hatred you'll find predates the war by centuries -- kinda. “Kinda,” considering they’ve been at war with the West for centuries already.

And, if any of those tribes get really, really irritated, and hook up with a country which doesn't like the US and get their hands on Stinger-like missiles, it could get tough for the Allies over there.



That's what happened to the Russians. They were doing OK, no great, but were viable UNTIL the US supplied the rebels with Stingers. It was over.





Almost true. I doubt if they'll hook up with the US in this one. We seem to be on the other side, with ties to Russia and several other old-Soviet republics -- and I strongly doubt China is in a place to stop our aggression against the al-Qai'da trying to cross their border. They’ll get their few stingers, and possibly even a nuke, but they’ll be extremely expensive and not from the large suppliers.

I wouldn't underestimate them. And I wouldn't assume they don't have every emotion you do.

True, though what Frank clearly stated was that the people were possibly inured to the deaths and a “fact of life” in Afghanistan, not that Afghanis were emotionless clods.

Dan