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Originally posted by dadudemon
What the f*ck did you just f*cking say about me, you little b*tch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in guerrilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the f*ck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my f*cking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, f*cker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You’re f*cking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your f*cking tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re f*cking dead, kiddo.

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Originally posted by Surtur
Lol Steve did your government pull some MK Ultra type shit on you bro?

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
No, I just have a passport and decided to show people in regions where they don't like westerners much not all of us are scared of them or hate them or want to kill them. It's always a risk to go to people in friendship hoping you can help change things through mutual understanding and diplomacy, but like I said, why would most people want to kill someone they have not met... Oh, that was me paraphrasing the great Muhammad Ali about why he wouldn't join up for Vietnam but would fight anyone in the ring as an individual. Words to live by.

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
No, I just have a passport and decided to show people in regions where they don't like westerners much not all of us are scared of them or hate them or want to kill them. It's always a risk to go to people in friendship hoping you can help change things through mutual understanding and diplomacy, but like I said, why would most people want to kill someone they have not met... (Usually because of the acts of their Government and Military). Oh, that was me paraphrasing the great Muhammad Ali about why he wouldn't join up for Vietnam but would fight anyone in the ring as an individual. Words to live by.

But then, I'm neither nationalistic or patriotic.

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Originally posted by Surtur
Interesting. Did you ever ask any of them why they follow such an awful religion? Get back to me with their answers, I'd be curious to know.

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Originally posted by cdtm
The people to look out for are the kind of people we'd mutually hate, imo.

For example, I think anyone regardless of race agrees if you're not a skinhead or a blood, you're probably not going to get along too well with them..

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
Now there is a true keyboard warrior and every internet comment like that creates the climate of hate many people hold in their hearts and reinforces poor opinions fo the west and America in particular and could potentially lead to another incident like the guy getting chopped up for being an American in Niger. Which was incredibly sad. It also leads to wars like the one that was lost in Afghanistan by America and Britain where nothing was gained and now the Taliban are again part of the future Government process as they were before the intervention. Nothing was gained for the west except dead Yanks and Brits.

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Originally posted by Surtur
No, the keyboard warrior is the one going "come meet me in the Sudan" lol.

And comments like that lead to an american getting chopped up? Nothing else? The horror that is Islam played no part?

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
No, a true Keyboard Warrior propagates hate on the internet. I propagate peace but am unafraid of the "different" in real life and yes come and say that about a relligion I am not part of but certainly don't see as evil in the Sudan. See what happens to you. Like I say you guys can all spew your hate and bile online and yes it does lead to a world climate where your countrymen who have good intentions do have targets on their backs. You and your jingoistic little group of hate speakers won't understand a word I have just said. But hey ho, you don't have passports and you are not your brave countrymen you will put at risk.

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Originally posted by Surtur
Lol Steve by all means, enlighten us all. What would happen if I went there and told them Muhammad was a piece of shit? What would they do?

Go on, describe the way these friendly people would react.

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
I don't think I have to my brave little keyboard hatemonger, but what you fail to understand is how core to their lives their religion is. You are attributing your culture to someone else's and you seem to think your brave military will change this culture... No, bombs and guns like I said just made the west lose in Afghanistan as bad as the Russians did and the Taliban are back around the negotiating table. By going into someone else's country for spurious reasons and costing billions and hundreds of lives and then leaving with our tails between our legs we can see your way doesn't work. Like I said you'll never understand because you have never had occupying forces to hate and don't have the imagination or passport to understand what kind of climate that would create as a breeding ground for radicalism, But keep it up, you might be radicalising someone who will kill a westerner now! Good job (but really not)

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
I don't think I have to my brave little keyboard hatemonger, but what you fail to understand is how core to their lives their religion is. You are attributing your culture to someone else's and you seem to think your brave military will change this culture... No, bombs and guns like I said just made the west lose in Afghanistan as bad as the Russians did and the Taliban are back around the negotiating table. By going into someone else's country for spurious reasons and costing billions and hundreds of lives and then leaving with our tails between our legs we can see your way doesn't work. Like I said you'll never understand because you have never had occupying forces to hate and don't have the imagination or passport to understand what kind of climate that would create as a breeding ground for radicalism, But keep it up, you might be radicalising someone who will kill a westerner now! Good job (but really not)

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
I don't think I have to my brave little keyboard hatemonger, but what you fail to understand is how core to their lives their religion is. You are attributing your culture to someone else's and you seem to think your brave military will change this culture... No, bombs and guns like I said just made the west lose in Afghanistan as bad as the Russians did and the Taliban are back around the negotiating table. By going into someone else's country for spurious reasons and costing billions and hundreds of lives and then leaving with our tails between our legs we can see your way doesn't work. Like I said you'll never understand because you have never had occupying forces to hate and don't have the imagination or passport to understand what kind of climate that would create as a breeding ground for radicalism, But keep it up, you might be radicalising someone who will kill a westerner now! Good job (but really not)

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Education


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The education system in Afghanistan is regarded as one of the country's biggest success stories since the Taliban were driven from power.

In 2001 no girls attended formal schools and there were only one million boys enrolled. By 2012 the World Bank says there were 7.8 million pupils attending school - including about 2.9 million girls.

However, many schools are still operating from tents, houses and under trees. The World Bank says of 180,000 teachers, only 52% meet the minimum standards required and the rest are receiving in-service training.

Girls' dropout rates are still very high in secondary schools and the country's adult literacy rate, 39% over the age of 15 can read and write, is one of the lowest in the world.

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Women

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The position of women in Afghanistan has begun to improve. Under the Taliban they were barred from attending school and going out to work. Latest figures from the World Bank say 36% of girls are now enrolled in school - although many do not complete their secondary education and figures from 2007 suggest 52% of women were married by the age of 20.

Literacy among female adults is still very low - although official statistics are hard to come by. A report by the Central Statistsics Organisation/Unicef reported a literacy rate of 22.2% among women aged 15-24 in 2010/11.
Some women have begun to forge careers for themselves.

More than a quarter of parliament and government employees are now women, according to charity Islamic Relief. A survey by the Central Statistics Oranisation (CSO) in 2009 found women were being employed by government at a much faster rate than men. If the female growth rate continued, the share of female employees would be more than 40% by 2020.

Women are now also employed in the police and army. British officers have helped to establish a military training academy that aims to train 100 female army officers per year.

Despite the advances, violence against women is still a problem, with beatings, forced marriage and lack of economic support being listed as the top three offences reported by the CSO in 2010. Although the number of cases appears to be going down, the report also notes a new form of violence - prevention of women from taking part in social activities.

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Poverty

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The United Nations and its humanitarian partners are seeking US$406 million to provide five million people with essential, life-saving aid in 2014.
Afghanistan has one of the world's largest repatriated populations. Almost six million refugees have now returned home since the Taliban were ousted - and the UNHCR estimates just under two million of these still require support.
About 600,000 people are still recognised as internally displaced - most of them in the south and west of the country.

The proportion of the population of Afghanistan in poverty is estimated at 36% - although it varies from a relatively low 29% in urban areas to 36% in rural areas and 54% among the country's nomadic or Kuchi population.
In 2010 Afghanistan had the lowest gross national income per head of population among the developing countries in Asia, well below Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

According to the CIA World Factbook, 78.6% of Afghanistan's population is employed in agriculture. In 2008 the unemployment rate was estimated to be 35%.

The number of people with access to the internet is now 5.5% - although many more people have access to mobile phones. The CIA World Factbook estimated there were 18 million mobile phones in circulation in the country in 2012.

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Health

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There have been big improvements in the country's health system.
Life expectancy has increased slightly from 56 to 60 years. But there have been big improvements in the under-five mortality rate and the maternal mortality rates.

According to the UN, access to safe drinking water improved from 4.8% of the population to 60.6% by 2011. Access to better sanitation, including private rather than shared toilets, has also improved to an average 37%. But the averages again mask big differences between urban and rural areas, with much less improvement in rural areas.

Vaccination campaigns continue to work towards the elimination of polio in Afghanistan, one of the last remaining countries where the disease remains endemic. In 2013 there were 14 reported cases, down from 37 in 2012.

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Economy

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Afghanistan's biggest export is still opium - despite attempts to persuade farmers to diversify. 2013 was a record year and the country produces 90% of the world's opium.

The high sale price of opium makes it difficult for farmers to resist. They also say promises to provide high-quality seeds and fertiliser have not been kept.

Other exports include fruit and nuts, handwoven carpets and wool.

Imports include machinery, food, textiles and petroleum products.

Afghanistan is said to have rich mineral reserves, including natural gas, which have not been exploited due to the political situation in the country.

It has one of the lowest rates of energy usage in the world. According to the World Bank only 28% of its population is connected to the national power grid and the service is unreliable. People in urban areas are more likely to be connected than the rural population.

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Originally posted by Steve Zodiac
It's not strange really because it's interesting, London, for example, has seen the murder rate drop from around 300 a year to 100 a year in the last 30 years due to gentrification. South America and South African (where I visit regularly) with always be more dangerous than most other industrialised places. Countries where foreigners are rarely seen like Somalia and Nigeria (where I lived for a while are a particular danger for non-natives). Americans like to make out they are tough because they have a lot of loonies and no gun control. Yes, it makes America dangerous anyone can get a gun on any street corner. But most Americans don't have a passport and when they are involved in military conflicts outnumber and outmatch the opponents so the risk is minimised (this is true for Britain in military conflicts also). So the point I am making still stands being in a war zone with air support and a military machine, isn't necessarily a choice for everyone in Education and doesn't necessarily make you Rambo either. I have some lovely Americans working for me, some ex-military, it doesn't mean I don't tell them I think western military interference from the US and Europe isn't the biggest problem to stability, it created most of the problems we face now. And as to how this started, I think someone accused people posting against the military of being armchair warriors, I find it funny when people who have either had a platoon behind them or never visited dangerous places, try and belittle those who live in them and try to show every day not every westerner is a bigoted fool and do so at their own risk.

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Originally posted by Afro Cheese
So how would you have responded to 9/11?

Also, there have been some improvements made in Afghanistan since the Taliban lost a good amount of control and prominence.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26747712

Far from perfect but also not exactly a complete disaster, considering the challenge we are up against in this region.

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Originally posted by dadudemon
How much of this is directly or indirectly attributable to UN, NATO, and American military interests and how much of it was just the natural modernization of Afghanistan, which was already underway to improvements before we started invading Afghanistan, as your data shows?

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Originally posted by Afro Cheese
I don't tend to think that Afghanistan under Taliban rule was on the path to modernization. Rather, they had taken a few steps backward.

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Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
You didn’t answer Surtur’s question.