Old Blue wrote:

“As far as being the “occupation forces,” we are not, in fact, occupiers. The Taliban tries to paint us as such, but we are an assistance force, tipping the scales heavily in the favor of the IRoA government. That is why we have to walk a fine line. ”

Kind of splitting hairs here. If a poor ole pasty white guy like me on this side of the pond has trouble distinguishing between “assistance force” and “occupying power” I can just imagine what my counterpart must be thinking over there, especially given their governance history.

…and that “payroll skimming” don’t we refer to that as “payroll tax”?

Cannoneer No. 4 wrote:

“I believe in cultural awareness sufficient to get them to do what you want.”

What the heck is it that ‘we’ want ‘them’ to do??? Isn’t the whole ball of wax just gettin’ them to act civil?