Oy.

Poirot,

I suppose we'll have to re-hash all the myths about 9/11 now :(

The Taliban took over Afghanistan after bloody battles with other crack-pot mujahideen, Abu Sayyaf's and Hekmatyar's thugs. Taliban thugs ruled.

They allowed al Qaida to set up bases in the waste-lands they controlled, in their guise as a 'government'.

Al Qaida blew up the twin towers in the US - is that disputed ? If not, then we have to assume that the US faced the dilemma of either letting al Qaida continue to carry out terrorist (is that too hard on them ?) acts around the world, OR to go in and neutralise al Qaida, and in the process, punish and overthrow the Taliban 'government' for harboring it.

Having chosen the latter option - after all, what else could they really do ? - they were driven, by their own systems and logic, to introduce minimal democratic forms of government and society into Afghanistan, in particular to raise the status of women. Yes ? No ?

Twelve years later, hundreds of thousands of girls and women have ventured outdoors, taken off the burka, and gone to school and uni, and sought employment.

So YOU face a dilemma, Poirot: would you concur with the Taliban returning and driving those women back into their homes, those who survive ? I'm sure that you are genuinely feminist enough to consider the implications of opposing a continued US presence.

Often, maybe always, we have to choose between many, many options, and none of them as pure as the driven snow. For example, I would suggest that the most workable option in Syria is a coalition - yes, a coalition of thugs, terrorists and murderers, anything to avoid a war to the death which will have to take many millions of people until one bunch of reactionaries prevails over the others.

Cheers :)

Joe

Actually I totally agree we, We, the yanks & followers that is, should get the hell out of all the middle east, & Muslim countries.

Firstly there is no reason to have our men as targets for gutless bombers. They have plenty of their own to blow up.

Secondly there is no reason to go in, to control territory, promote democracy, educate girls, etc. We had cruise missiles & now have drones, that punish those we don't like, in safety from afar. What else do we need?

Time we left these fools to destroy each other & themselves, as they want to do.

Perhaps we should throw them a few weapons of mass destruction to hasten the process.

My ex son in law has been to Afghanistan twice. He is sure we are doing a good job & helping greatly. Most of his time was spent building schools & such stuff.

Now the idiot has decided to join the SAS, which is why he is Ex. Pity, they had been sweethearts since grade 11, but a girl can only take so much

Anti,
You raise some issues/points that are not easily addressed in a five minute sit down post but I'll attempt a thumb nail summary.

True, I do not foresee a fundamentalist *takeover* any time in the near future. But they don’t need a majority to intimidate, witness the recent attempt to stop the showing of the anti-Islamic film. And were feminists –the card-carrying variety– ever in the majority?

I don’t see affluence as necessarily an antidote to fundamentalism .Many of the most narrow minded fundamentalists, and terrorists have been have been quite well off both in terms of wealth & status—and after all Osama wasn’t a poor man by any stretch.

Australia even with all its current affluence and democratic institutions is producing more than its fair share of fundamentalists. They leave our shores to fight jihads in Afghanistan, the horn of Africa , Lebanon, Syria etc. then return to their insular Oz suburban communities. In the past via a process of osmosis communities blended. Now with, the proliferation of satellite TV, religious school etc some communities exist as islands.

If when you return to university (you haven't told us which one?)if you get a chance, drop into a whiteness studies lecture or tute. Feminism is just the pointy edged of the wedge. The same cast and crew that were instrumental in implanting what you call fundamentalist feminism are also pushing a similar agenda with race.And just as males were the hate objects of feminists, whites (those of Euro descent & their culture) are the objects of hate in the new crusade.

Banjo I had not intended to miss use your thread.
The constant story,s about women actively changing things their make me feel good.
And, no way around it, womens involvement in so many causes but far less in this one surprises and disappoints me.
No woman, in any country, should live like some in this and other country,s do.

SPQR, "And just as males were the hate objects of feminists, whites (those of Euro descent & their culture) are the objects of hate in the new crusade."

Because there are government-funded, make that taxpayer-funded, careers in it and it is much easier than engineering.

Belly,
You did not mislead the thread, I appreciate your input. Looks like another issue we agree on.

I do not mind the thread going off subject as there seems little interest in the matter and I did mainly want to see what interest there was. Am learning from the later posters.

I fail to comprehend how women and girls can be treated that way. How can anyone pour acid over a girl for the crime of wanting to go to school?