Reply #2: THIS is the message of the story [View All]

From the LA Times article:

<snip>

Even in anti-Taliban areas, the jubilation over America's role in toppling the hard-core religious regime has long faded and resentment is growing. Many Afghans see the American forces as interlopers, even occupiers, and gossip about their bad deeds and ill intent is rife.

<snip>

We see the same thing in Iraq. Even Iraqi's who hated Saddam and welcomed the US now resent the US as an occupation force. Imagine how Afghani's feel after 2 years of it.

We don't see as much of the Afghani resentment in the news as we do from Iraq - maybe because Afghan citizens aren't killing our troops like Iraqi's are. But American's need to understand that ANY country's citizens will resent occupation. No one wants to live under the rule of an empire. That's why they don't join an empire voluntarily.

So I think the important message of this story isn't that Afghan villagers think the US millitary trained tigers to keep them in line - its that Afghan villagers have such resentment of the US troops that they think they are capable of it.