Wadeusaf: “Eastern Afghanistan and NW Pakistan have much in common, terrain, inaccessibility and a lack of economic incentives. Bringing peace means bringing contact with the outside world bringing stability means allowing them to achieve what they themselves cannot. Beating the bullys has a lot to do with that.”

Excellent. The only thing that I would amend is that Eastern Afghanistan and NW Pakistan are exactly the same. The only reason that the two areas have different names is the Durand Line.

Yesterday, C-ford blustered about the Afghans being forever savage and that area being forever wilderness, but there were times when I looked at a good size village and I could just see 50 years down the road when there will be a Super HajiMart at a well-used intersection, the parking lot half full of cars while people shop for their families.

They’ve alread got some Zippy-Mart style gas station / convenience stores even in some smaller villages.

It’s going to happen if we are successful. If we are not, those poor little bastards are always going to wind up being the “hosts” of whoever needs a backwards place to hide.