Thursday TOON Roundup part 3 - Middle East

[n2doc]

[annabanana]

1. kickers. . . n/t

[n2doc]

2. all parts

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6780594&mesg_id=6780594

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6780703&mesg_id=6780703

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6780722&mesg_id=6780722

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6780716&mesg_id=6780716

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6780737

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

3. Great stuff this!

:)

[lukasahero]

4. Danziger needs an editor

But otherwise, thanks for posting these! It's one of few things I look forward to on DU any more.

[Blue_Tires]

5. k+r

[malmapus]

6. Ok, I've seen the Alexander the Great refs in a few cartoons.

Sure, he was there. But it didn't kill his Empire like it has done others, shoot he moved on deep into India. Him dying killed his empire.

[Hekate]

8. The real point is that the Afghan tribes don't get conquered, at least not for long....

They're tribal, the place is mountainous, and they know their own territory and people far better than any outside force is likely to ever be able to do. Afghanistan, iirc, was considered the Soviet Union's Vietnam: they killed lots of people, but they never won.

The US actually had a chance to do some good right after 9-11 -- the Taliban was making the majority of the population miserable and enslaving every woman above the age of puberty. Most people were actually grateful to see them gone. The kinds of things that got talked about in the early days sounded good (schools for girls, etc.), but there was no follow-through from Bush.

One of the worst things the Bush admin did, imo, was to take their eyes off the subsistence farmers, which I guess is most of them. They live on only a few thousand dollars a year. The Taliban ruthlessly suppressed opium poppy cultivation, but of course some enterprising souls managed to save some bags of seeds beneath their floors. Anyone who read just those few words would instantly understand that without some alternative in sight, farmers would go back to the one really reliable cash crop they had: poppies. My own naive thought was: subsidize the farmers, give them whatever it takes to make a better life for their families without leaving their land. But of course, Dubya had other ideas.

Hekate

[krispos42]

7. !!!!