JSU*Toi
New Member
One tribal leader, wagging his finger for emphasis, said that tribal elders saw America as the enemy and that his people would sacrifice their lives to keep American soldiers off their land.
A more moderate leader, a well-educated man, said more calmly that no foreigner may go into the tribal areas without permission. That warning must be taken seriously; ages ago, Alexander the Great was turned back, and for the last 53 years, until December, no soldiers, not even Pakistanis, were allowed in.
"Listen to me," he said, pointing his finger and switching from Pashtu to English. "There was a time, when Russia was in power, we liked Americans." Indeed, when the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan, men from the tribal areas joined the guerrilla army that was backed by the United States. "Now we hate Americans. Under our tribal rules, we designate an enemy. America is now the enemy."
Under tribal rules, once the elders have spoken, everyone falls in line.
His views, however harsh, are widely held in Pakistan and throughout Muslim Asia and Southeast Asia.
"We don't hate individual Americans, like yourself," he went on. The problem is the policy of the American government. "It is against Muslims," he said several times, categorically.
A more moderate leader, a well-educated man, said more calmly that no foreigner may go into the tribal areas without permission. That warning must be taken seriously; ages ago, Alexander the Great was turned back, and for the last 53 years, until December, no soldiers, not even Pakistanis, were allowed in.
"Listen to me," he said, pointing his finger and switching from Pashtu to English. "There was a time, when Russia was in power, we liked Americans." Indeed, when the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan, men from the tribal areas joined the guerrilla army that was backed by the United States. "Now we hate Americans. Under our tribal rules, we designate an enemy. America is now the enemy."
Under tribal rules, once the elders have spoken, everyone falls in line.
His views, however harsh, are widely held in Pakistan and throughout Muslim Asia and Southeast Asia.
"We don't hate individual Americans, like yourself," he went on. The problem is the policy of the American government. "It is against Muslims," he said several times, categorically.