Afghanistan has three times been the cemetery of imperial pretensions. The British twice and the Russians once. Both powers understood intricacies of the Great Game, yet were thwarted by the tenacity of the ruthless tribesmen beyond the Khyber Pass. Balochs. Uzbeks, Pashtuns, Hazaras, Turkmens, Tajiks, Arabs, Gujjars, Pamiris, Nuristanis, Brahuis, Qizilbash, Aimaqs, Pashais not to mention the Ghilzai who annihilated the 44th Regiment of Foot in 1842.
All because the British High Command decided to cut the stipends of these wild mountain warriors.
Money talks loud in the canyons of the Hindu Kush.
Louder than military force, although some senior military commanders for the US forces in that landlocked country are questioning the wisdom of President Obama's announced deadline for departure, warning that a date for disentanglement will encourage the Taliban.
More encouragement than civilian deaths, corruption, and an occupation army.
The only successful invasion of Afghanistan was by the Mongols and they left pyramids of skulls as a monument to their conquest the high plateau.
Nothing else will suffice, for as the words of the Afghani national anthem say
This land will shine for ever,
like the sun in the blue sky
In the chest of Asia,
it will remain our heart forever
Inshallah.
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