Quote Originally Posted by tequila View Post
I can't say I really agree with you, Steve.

Psychological empowerment does not necessarily equate to "getting girls." I agree that many young men become insurgents or jihadis for much the same reason that young men in the United States become Marines - the urge to be part of something larger than oneself, a sense of mission endowed with the glamor of violence and danger, community admiration. However, I find it doubtful that sexual conquests are really part of the bargain given typical marriage structure typologies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Women available outside these typologies are not generally those drawn to jihadis, either - they are, more likely, among the targets of such --- witness the recent trigger for the Lal Masjid siege.
I was kind of using a cariacature of my position. You're absolutely right, of course, that psychological empowerment is a multi dimensional phenomenon. What I was really getting at is that in nearly all societies, women's empowerment constrains risk taking behavior by men. That's the reason that women tend to be disempowered in gangs, the Mafia, etc. So counterinsurgency needs to be more than just creating a bunch of low paying jobs and holding elections. It needs to constrain male risk taking and provide non-violent forms of empowerment. Exactly how that is done will vary from situation to situation.