Roger, are you counting?

[Michael Eisenstadt]

"A B-52 bomber made lazy circles overhead much of the day, =

its white contrails a constant reminder of the threat of =

American air power. Late in the afternoon, a huge black =

cloud =97 much bigger than those from the rest of the day's =

bombing =97 rose over the mountains." -- NYTimes reporter
in today's paper

reading Samuel Huntington's 1996 The Clash of Civilizations =

was rewarding but frustrating. If you want to get up to =

speed on what is known about the history of the clash
between Islam and the West, this is the best book to
begin with for an overview of the subject.

militant Islam will not disappear because of the
successful intervention in Afghanistan. however =

Islam like everything else evolves. for example the =

common view among Arabs that 9-11 was a Mossad =

provocation will doubtless fade away. the mood of =

the Arab street is not the prime mover of world =

history.

in the first day of the Somme campaign in 1916 the
English lost 20,000 soldiers DEAD. one day, folks.

USA - 3000 dead, 2 undistinguished skyscrapers
destroyed and enormous business losses due to =

economic turndown

Afghanistan - >3000 innocents (women, children,
non-combattants) dead

native Afghan Talibans - surprisingly few dead

Arab mujahadeen - ~1500-3000 dead (whom witty
Afghans call "tourists")

the most provocative remark in Huntington's book:

(rough paraphase) the clash is not between the
West and militant Islam, the clash is between the
West and Islam

the advice of the Afghan peasant at the beginning
of all this was excellent advice and not entirely
off the mark as to what actually happened:

"Why don't they just slit his throat and toss the
body over the border?"

the Pashtun are the Pathans whose "parting shot"
(Horace?) was their ability to shoot arrows
accurately over their shouldiers as they feigned
flight. tough neighborhood. Peter Lohman a German-
Austin hippy once drove a VW van from Yerp to =

India in the 60s. the drive through Afghanistan
he said was very scary. drivers were warned =

not to stop on the road between rest stations.