How exactly the Taliban plan to keep all systems running, in one of the poorest countries of the world that depends on more than [$4 billion a year] in official aid and where foreign donors have been covering [75 percent] of government spending, is an urgent question.
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Trafficking in opium, hashish, methamphetamines and other narcotics is not the biggest kind of trade that happens off the books: The real money comes from the illegal movement of ordinary goods, like fuel and consumer imports. In size and sum, the informal economy dwarfs international aid.
For example, our study of the border province of Nimruz, published this month by the Overseas Development Institute, estimated that informal taxation — the collection of fees by armed personnel to allow safe passage of goods — raised about $235 million annually for the Taliban and pro-government figures. By contrast, the province received less than $20 million a year in foreign aid.
But it’s not a country in any meaningful way. A collection of fiefdoms, multi language, multi cultures. The boundaries are set, but it’s a stretch to call it a nation.
Civilization has been in the region for 5,000 years. It was at the frontiers of both the Indus and Mesopotamian civilizations. Big time early trade. Toss in rich tin deposits (component of bronze) and you had a market economy that was really something. But it was always subject to large scale immigration from the north, east, and west. Same features that led to its markets. The peoples there now are fairly diverse. They aren’t really a country. Like Iraq, so much.
I mean, look at how hard the USA struggles to act in one direction. Can anyone master the allegiance of the South, the Northeast, and the Pacific coast? If we can’t do it here, how the hell can we expect to do it there?
We had already announced we were leaving. Getting the civilians out 1st keeps scenes like the airport and embassy from happening. Also provides an escape for the people (read translators … ) who risked their lives to help our efforts. You know, a planned, orderly withdrawal instead of the crap show we have now.
This. We announced the date at which we would leave. We should have offered aid in getting out to all our allies before the actual withdrawal, and actually removed them while or military still controlled the airport and transportation to it.
Because in 2021 America, if you hate the other side more you blame them for everything wrong while praising your own side for anything right, and you never, under any circumstances, credit the other side or critique your own for anything.
All of this has given me a newfound appreciation for billionaires who sit on their money and try to give it out in a calculated manner. The Pentagon spent a lot of money in Afghanistan. Over $100bn was spent building the ANA, building out infrastructure, building schools, building an economy.
Yeah with this in mind my modified what-if plan would be, give the Taliban 1 trillion dollars in exchange for Bin Laden, treating women a little better, and building up infrastructure to enable 2-day delivery in 20 years.
Yep. The Wikipedia page on Afghanistan is a good indicator Of what is going on now. The number of factions, government changes, and outside meddling over the past century doesn’t look good for someone trying to create stability.
I agree with the sentiment. If the US led with humanitarian and education rather than military we would be more successful and the world would be a more peaceful place.
I found this with little trouble. It is from 2020 and as you can see says we have 14K troops in Afghanistan but removing them only takes it down to 44K in the middle east.
By the numbers: The U.S. has nearly 800 military bases around the world, and U.S. Central Command says between 60,000 and 70,000 U.S. troops are in the Middle East.
Afghanistan:14,000 U.S. troops are in the country, plus 8,000 NATO soldiers
Announce we will be leaving in 6 (or 10 or 12) months and in the meantime we will help the people we need to help. If this date was set by Trump and Biden is continuing Trump’s policy then WTH have we been doing for the last 8 months? Why did it just this month occur to anyone that we need to get the people who helped us out of there???
