Part of my job overseas was OMLT and POMLT operations... Essentially I was working first hand with their police and military with a mentoring team to get them ready to look after their own country. Those guys were there to get the Taliban out. So many of them have stories of things that have happened to their families.
I don't care where you are from, parading a headless corpse around in the bed of a pickup strapped to the light bars isn't the right thing to do in ANY religion... But I experienced that as well.
I was in the home of a "retired" school teacher... Well, not so much retired as he had his school destroyed by the Taliban because he refused to follow their extremist rules for teaching. He believed the girls deserved education, and he pushed the kids to not support Taliban. He spoke pretty good english (obviously was an educated man) and I had about 12 hours with the guy, he offered me food from his home.
I have many first hand accounts from interacting with locals. Most of them want a Taliban free life. I've walked those alleys and streets and I've seen how ****** it is there. I feel so bad for those kids. And it's sad to know that most of the world lives in poverty like that... We are one lucky country.
I don't know if you've ever heard of the term "Man love Thursday". It's what we call their Thursday night "fun". Which usually consists of raping boys for their own pleasure... Think it doesn't happen? I KNOW it does and it's common. We had one helper in our camp that would come in beaten up weekly, and when I finally got him to talk to me, I found out why... He tried to stand up for himself and not be raped.
Oh, and this is something very common there and something there is no punishment for. How is this allowed in any society??
It's so hard to say what the "typical" Afghan really is. In the Cities they know who the Canadians are. They know who the Americans are. In the "rural" areas they still think it's the Russians over there.
No, they don't want war there, but most of them get it that the reasoning for these foreign countries being there is to get the Taliban out.
I don't want to get all political and crap, but I've talked first hand to the people in that country, and I've seen their normal way of life.
I don't care what religion you are, and you can have whatever beliefs you want to. But, when you start to harm others and use your religion as a reasoning to it, then I have an issue.
Not directed at you, I'm just sort of saying it how it is, from someone that has been there and interacted directly with them.
You're saying the Taliban actively and religiously support raping boys? The Taliban claim support for violent homosexual sex from Islam? And this is somehow tied to other Muslims and Iran?
Edit - You seem to have extremely little information on the Taliban and are confusing culture, religion and even the time of events and trends. The Western media has attempted to claim the Taliban exploitation of the heroine trade but we all know the Taliban eradicated opium production. In fact the Taliban asked the IMF for loans to purchase various other crop seeds to start these farmers off on new crops. The world denied their request, despite the Taliban's pleas that the farmers would turn back to poppy production as the Taliban were only able to enforce the eradication for so long before the farmers began to starve. Again the world denied them any help. This was all prior to 911. Only Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had official dialog with the Taliban and sought to soften their stance on women's issues, their zealous demo of the Budhist statues and their poor public image. But the point was the Taliban were in dialog and beginning to reform. They had after all only been in power for less than 5 years and still wrapping up a war with aligned war lords in the North East.
But you distort the truth as do the Western media when they claim the Taliban are responsible for heroine and now this boy rape. You either don't seem to know the truth or you deliberately misrepresent it. You also don't represent that many in Afghanistan want the Taliban back, largely due to their swift and severe justice. What did you do about the boy rape situation? Kill some more innocent people? Or defend you little fort? Or maybe sip on some imported Timmy's? Pfft propaganda.
And before you retort about how little I might know because I wasn't a boot on the ground, I also didn't take up arms in anyone else's country with the little that I do know! Had you said you were a reporter, that's one thing, but to spout off like you know what you're talking about cause you were on some base? There is no respect in that, especially if you think any of what you said is justification to continue or go after another country! You don't want to "get all political and crap"?!?!?! You ARE POLITICAL, your ACTIONS ARE POLITICAL and violent and you supported the oppressive invasion of another foreign sovereign land! Your "world police" attitude is actionable, scratch that, ACTIONED politics! Don't front like you're minding your own business type of guy now, you stuck your nose and gun barrel in it. You didn't go into the office and politely side step and religion / politics debate, you flew across the world to shoot bullets at it!
/Edit
Do you think the Afghans tell you the truth, that they all love you? Or do you think after over 30 years of constant warfare their culture is one that agrees with ever who is holding the biggest gun in their face? Looks like the police are turning on your sort in droves these days, still think you have an inside line on the truth in that society? Wonder why the Taliban wont just go away? Ever wonder why the movement is so strong and persistent? Its an enormously complicated answer that you never bothered to ask before you went in guns blazing.
Trust me, if this society went through what Afghanistan went through, it would be chopping heads in the street too! Here are some examples of Western brutality....Mexican border towns, Rio slum gangs, Black lynch mobs...and those dont even involve foreign occupation and rule by oppressors, drug lords, and uneducated zealots.
I would love to see a weakened US to see how hose Republican militias run things!
You cant compare Afghanistan to here, nor can you compare it to Islam, or Iran. That's absurd.
And dont think for second this society wasnt raised on cruelty, brutality, theft, oppression, rape, discrimination, abuse of minorities and women, because it spent over 500 years climbing in that fashion to its current state, which has only been so rosey for the last 60 years or so. You gave the Taliban 5 years before you invaded, The West got over 500 years!!!!