What will our expedition to Afghanistan teach us?

[TheCurmudgeon]

Let me add a few words.

Is it possible that the Taliban offered Afghans a more compelling narrative than the US? Think about it - if you are poor, uneducated and religiously conservative would a US propped Karzai (corrupt, insensitive & incompetent) be vastly preferable to the simplicity & piety of the Taliban (or other religious conservatives).

The last great narrative, Socialism was very attractive to the poor (I feel the US thinks it won the Cold War, so it has never seen the need to reflect on "lessons learned").

This is very true. Plus American's tend to equate socialism with communism without realizing that many of the "liberal democracies" of Europe have socialist leanings including England.

Now our new "threat" is China, a poor country that rose to become a economic giant in just a few generations (much like the USSR, except with less interest in expanding beyond their own territory).

Today, the most attractive narratives to the World's poor are religion and/or ethnic nationalism. Pentecostal Christianity & Fundamentalist Islam are the two most dynamic narratives among the poor. Thankfully, the first isn't anti-US, but the second is.

Religion offers simple answers to complex questions. Religions like Christianity and Islam offers the poor the ideal narrative - the faithful will receive their just reward in the afterlife (and the immoral wealthy their just desserts). They define clearly how we need to be in life to ensure everlasting bliss - a powerful narrative and one that is difficult to overcome as long as the poor remain poor. Economic stability, personal security, and a real hope (not just failed promises) of a better future may be the only way out.