With Al Qaeda's influence in Iraq severely diminished, Afghanistan has become, once again, the front-line in the war on terror.
Cal Thomas has described a rather promising strategy for befriending tribal leaders and gaining intelligence on Taliban and AQ activities: VIAGRA! I kid you not. . .
quote:
Government is famous for the ways in which it wastes our tax money, but this one expenditure appears to be well spent. Officers with the Central Intelligence Agency have been handing out little blue Viagra pills to Afghan tribal leaders, some of whom have more than one wife.
According to a story in the Washington Post, a CIA officer gave four of the pills to an Afghan leader in his 60s who has four wives. "Take one of these," said the CIA man, "you'll love it."
The officer who described the meeting said that he returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception, and the Afghan chieftain had a big grin on his face. The officer said the man gave up lots of information about Taliban movements and supply routes. He then asked for more pills.
"Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people, whether it's building a school or handing out Viagra," said one longtime CIA operative.
This is surely a better approach to extracting information than waterboarding. Not many would describe consensual sex as torture.
Handing out Viagra pills to aging Afghan warlords is a strategy for reducing, uh, tension. If Afghan leaders are in bed, they are less likely to be helping the Taliban, or firing weapons.
The battle for hearts and minds ---------------------------------------
I noticed the same story in other news media, with a smile.
Surely Viagra pills come cheaper than some of the other means that have traditionally been used. Such as the vast sums of cash money that disappeared during the early days of the Allies� Iraq occupation, and which is still "unaccounted for".
Afghanistan deserves focus. As does Pakistan (where there is no tidy solution), particularly the Tribal Areas. One of the problems here is that the central government has never used made any significant effort to do anything constructive for the people here.
I am confident that the new Administration will, to a far greater degree, engage in a battle for hearts and minds. That means sincerely addressing various injustices, and not just Western concerns. In the longer run, that is the only way to win the War on Terror.
Such as the vast sums of cash money that disappeared during the early days of the Allies� Iraq occupation, and which is still "unaccounted for".