>>CB:If I was Obama , I'd say to the Taliban "look bros, obviously, you are some bad motherfuckers because even Alexander couldn't conquer y'all, or was it that Alexander was the only one who conquered y'all.<<
For a second there, I thought you were talking to some rap stars. This is another myth about 'Afghanistan'. The place has been overrun and conquered numerous times by various cultural groups--Persians, Indo-Persians, Turks, Mongols, etc. etc., and was itself a center of power for asserting control over what are now Pakistan and N. India. What isn't possible is controlling S. Pakistan without the Pashtun doing it (interestingly one of the myths the Pashtun hold about themselves is that they are a lost tribe of Israel that found Islam but whose leaders descend from Alexander's generals). It's about the same as the post-British Empire Muslim Indians trying to control the so-called 'frontiers' of Pakistan without the cooperation of Pashtun and Baluchis, except in the case of Afghanistan the Pashtun form the single largest minority. However, these areas of Pakistan are only 'frontier' in the sense of them being adjacent the borders. Historically speaking they are the center of political control in Afghanistan and what is now Pakistan. _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
