Schools, hospitals, medicine, infrastructure, industry to develop a GNP besides poppies, agricultural means and technologies, minimize troop/weapons use except for self defense in delivering these goods. Winning the hearts and minds of people does not take troops and weaponry. It takes giving them what they need to rise up and become a productive and self determined nation with pride in itself. Thus far our purposes in Afghanistan have been self serving and hinged on revenge and control of natural resources. You win no one's heart and mind when you are exploiting them for your own purposes. You just kill and maim them and in return, they live to return the slight. Give the Afghanis what they need to become a viable state entity instead of spending on expanding our own empire and pentagon pipe dreams and this is a winnable situation. A country for them and lots of jobs and a place to produce product for American companies. We could do this on what we currently spend on mercenaries alone in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it can't be a secondary concern. We have to do it because we mean it, or even a goat herder will still see though our genuine motivations...as they can and do now.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
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