Middle East Focus: McChrystal Faces Marja Tax Concerns, Missing Cheney and the Flowers, Hopelessly Romantic Pashtun……..

Arabia Deserta

McChrystal Faces Marja Tax Concerns, Missing Cheney and the Flowers, Hopelessly Romantic Pashtun……..

“One by one, the men of Marjah tentatively approached the high-ranking Afghan official with their complaints. One man accused U.S. Marines of insulting Afghan men by conducting intrusive searches. Two worried that the government would tax their poppy harvests — just like the Taliban did. A fourth was told he'd receive financial compensation for relatives killed during the fighting. With U.S.-led forces now in control of the one-time insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai's deputy flew from Kabul on Monday to reassure Marjah residents that the Taliban were gone for good — and that things would slowly get better……....”

General McChrystal visited the town after the Taliban goons were ejected, for now. No reports of him being met with flowers by the locals, but then the Pashtun are known as either flower children or hopeless romantics. Perhaps if Dick Cheney had gone with the general things would have been more….. festive.
“Two worried that the government would tax their poppy harvests — just like the Taliban did.” That explains it all: the Taliban lost because they raised taxes! Someone in Marja read their lips! They had their own Teabagger hootnannies in Helmand and the coalition took advantage of the situation (and they didn’t even have to question Karzai’s birth certificate while studiously trying to pretend they ignored the color of his skin). Now if General McChrystal, whom I wish all success in Afghanistan, was a Republican, he could give them the “No more taxes, read my…..”, with all the dire consequences once the place was turned over to the Kabul honchos and their tax-raising schemes.
Still, it might have been more festive with the Cheneys present; they are a lot of fun.
Cheers
mhg

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