Journal: News & Comment

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A country is not a nation, not a state

Jason Elliot has traveled extensively in Afghanistan, and has written a book about it. Here's what he recently told Salon:

"I can't think of a more freedom-loving country than Afghanistan. That may sound strange to Americans right now, but these people gave everything they had in the fight with the Soviets. That left their country destroyed. In the absence of any help afterward, the country fell apart and became a haven for terrorist groups. Afghans are deeply disappointed that they didn't get much help in rebuilding."

And as Tamim Ansary, an Afghan-American, wrote a few days ago, "You can't bomb us back into the Stone Age. We're already there."

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