Bazz and Armchair

Someone I know with Afghanistan connections advises that the Hospital would have been marked on US maps as a Hospital-No Bomb Zone for years. A red cross on the roof would be a further reminder.

It was a US stuffup that was one factor.

A more telling factor is the nature of most armed Afghan institutions. They tend to act as private army-standover groups that extract protection money.

In this case Afghan forces had demanded Protection Money from the Hospital. The Hospital fell into arrears or refused to continue paying so an example was made of it. The Afghani military or police protection racket called in a confused US airstike.

Thats what Australian forces continue to fight and die for in Afghanistan.

Ahhh yes Plantagenet, that I can believe.
It fits in with the level of corruption reports that abound.
I would imagine that all the data and orders would be in text form
these days to make it traceable and error free.

Perhaps in the long run we should just let ISIS get on with killing
moslems and leave them to it.
We, the West, could just insure the oil facilities were protected and
leave them to fight to the death. It would do us all a favour.

Build an electronic wall around the middle east, stop anyone coming
out or going in except those involved in keeping the oil flowing.
Ahh well we can only hope.

Hi Bazz

Yes ISIS is the most popularly known problem.

Protection rackets have been an integral part of Afghani culture forever and part of wider Middle Eastern culture.

It must be admitted that up to the 16th century Europe and the UK also had protection rackets everywhere - lords of the manner and their men.

Once the oil runs out in the Middle East the uniformerly fat Gulf Arabs will run out of money to fund wars and terrorism.

Thanks for the inside info on the Kunduz hospital attack Plantagenet.
I also think your info sounds believable.
Its the probably the most reasonable explanation I've heard so far.

Plantagenet, the oil will take a long time to run out and as it does
the price will probably recover for a while.
The Saudis will have a reasonable income for a while but their problem
is their modecoddled population. At present they are drawing down on
their investments rather too quickly, $70 billion over the last couple
of months. They face problems with discontent as they cut back subsidies
on everything. It is thought if it gets tough enough the house of Saud
could go.

Actually the coming financial crash could bring everything to a head
and the middle east could suffer the most as it is a large food importer.
It would probably cause a mass emigration to take place.
Egypt is a case in point, it has to get rid of 45 million people.

I just wonder how Islam as a political system would stand up to an
impoverished middle east ?

What the West needs right now to win this war
against Islamists who plot the downfall of Europe is Putin,

I have thought we needed Russia as a European Allie since the
Russians invaded Afghanistan 30years ago.
I saw that war on the news reel at the drive in and it struck
me as odd then, that Europeans should be fighting Europeans
That is America against Russians, Anerica siding with what I considered to be some very dubious looking men with long scraggly beads in long robes. I didn't like the look of them at all,
And as was revealed in recent years Osama Bin Laden was fighting
in that war against the Russians. And who helped him, America.

Well they paid the price for supporting the wrong side with
the attack on the twin towers.

They are supporting the wrong side from the European well-being
perspective in Syria now I believe and I also believe that Putin
understands the history of that area and the Ottoman empire than
Westerners do and he is right to go in on the side of Assad.