re: #134 austin_blue

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But that’s not our fault, really. We upset the ancient status quo for twenty years and gave the society enough room to grow to educate girls and women. It just didn’t work. It never took hold. The Taliban is just the culture’s default status quo ante.

The Taliban are not the culture’s default — at least not the urban culture. There were educated women in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion, not in the rural areas but in the cities. The Taliban arose in opposition to the Soviets — created by Pakistan, armed by the Cia. So again it comes down to others interfering with Afghanistan, leaving it far worse off.