Winning the hearts and minds

[Puppycow]

MP Stands for Multipurpose
What happens when you ask soldiers in Afghanistan to be diplomats?

"There are four things you can swear about anybody here," says Staff Sgt. Ronald Ketterman, gesturing toward a room full of Afghan policemen. "They take bribes, they lie, they **** each other in the ass, and they steal. If you wake up in the morning and just assume that is as gospel as the beard on your face, you're gonna do well."

Oops. That'll get him in trouble.

Fortunately it looks like they have finally realized the futility of this project and are making preparations to end it.

 

[Puppycow]

I love this part:

MPs are trained in cultural sensitivity. Before deploying, they learn about Islam. They're encouraged to use basic phrases in Pashto and Dari. But Trash Day tested their limits. It's one thing to let the Afghans work less during the day because it's Ramadan. It's another to forbid the Americans, who are working, from drinking water just because the Afghans, who are not working, cannot. "I was speechless when [Wasser] said we couldn't drink water," one of the 1st Platoon soldiers said later. "I wanted to punch him in the face."

"Cultural sensitivity" means American soldiers can't drink water when they are working.

 

[Virus]

Unfortunately their culture is pathetic. They haven't developed concepts like professionalism, work ethics or personal responsibility.

 

[DC]

Unfortunately their culture is pathetic. They haven't developed concepts like professionalism, work ethics or personal responsibility.

Whose? the diplomatic culture of soldiers?

 

[Chaos]

Whose? the diplomatic culture of soldiers?

I think maybe he was speaking of his own country in third person, that being the only culture he has the least bit of clue about, and him being a skeptic he would never dare make claims about a culture that he has no clue about.

 

[DC]

yep that must be it

 

[Virus]

I think maybe he was speaking of his own country in third person, that being the only culture he has the least bit of clue about, and him being a skeptic he would never dare make claims about a culture that he has no clue about.

You'll find that it's the Afghans who have no clue about what the rest of the world is like. Which is why they're stuck in the stone-age. Which is why our international forces are doing their dirty-work for them while the Afghan army and police lie around, get stoned and watch little boys dance while they decide which ones to ****.

These drawbacks aside, the country is still doing a lot better now than it was when the Taliban controlled 80% of the country.

 

[DC]

I think you know full well what I was talking about. Unless the plain meaning of words escapes you.

HAHA way to miss the point of his sarcasm.
how do you say it? you got pwned?

 

[Puppycow]

I think maybe he was speaking of his own country in third person, that being the only culture he has the least bit of clue about, and him being a skeptic he would never dare make claims about a culture that he has no clue about.

Did you read the article?

 

[Virus]

Training and fighting with the ANA: