The Taliban collection (2006 onwards)

**Strickland** · 10-03-2006

Originally Posted by SSG Rock

IMO, yes, the Taliban were absolutely a "dictatorial" Islamic Theocracy. And you might be right in that they won't play well with others. But I'm heartend to at least hear a civilian leader talking about this....finally.

Question - were more people victims of murder, rape, sectarian and religious violence under the Taliban or since Oct. 2001?

What was the level of heroin production under the Taliban? What has it been since?

**SSG Rock** · 10-04-2006

You mean in terms of executions, or collateral damage?

I'm not sure what kind of correlation heroin production has to do with anything. We might be better served to ask who is growing the poppies and why?

**Stu-6** · 10-04-2006

Poppies were wide spread under the Taliban until about '99 or so when they ban their production.

I agree with the idea of letting the Taliban in the government, if they had a good democratic vote I am sure some of them would get elected so while they may not support democracy I am not sure you can really have a democracy without them.

Of course my real reason for wanting to let them in is the simple logic that we can’t kill them all so we better find a way to live with them.

**SSG Rock** · 10-04-2006

Originally Posted by Stu-6

Poppies were wide spread under the Taliban until about '99 or so when they ban their production.

I agree with the idea of letting the Taliban in the government, if they had a good democratic vote I am sure some of them would get elected so while they may not support democracy I am not sure you can really have a democracy without them.

Of course my real reason for wanting to let them in is the simple logic that we can’t kill them all so we better find a way to live with them.

Ah yes, now I remember. The Taliban did not allow poppies to be grown under their watch.

The idea of bringing the Taliban into the government I think, is something that should most definately be explored. The idea while kind of novel in and of itself, is a take on classic counterinsurgency operations. Unless I'm way off, an insurgency is rarely defeated in the classic military sense rather, you take away it's support and if you can't do that, diluting it might work too.

**Strickland** · 10-04-2006

There is a group inside Pakistan called the MMA (which is a re-named and re-packaged version of the Taliban). Two years ago, they won popular elections in two of Pakistan's provinces. The more you treat these folks as something dangerous, and thus to be avoided; the more over-informed and under-educated young Pakis and Afghanis are going to turn to them. Dont young people tend to want to go places and with people their parents warn them against?