Talking to the Taliban - Part 5 - View of the World

Front-line Taliban deeply ignorant about the world


KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
March 27, 2008

The typical Taliban foot soldier battling Canadian troops and their allies in Kandahar is not a global jihadist who dreams of some day waging war on Canadian soil. In fact, he would have trouble finding Canada on a map.

A survey of 42 insurgents in Kandahar province posed a series of questions about the fighters' view of the world, and the results contradicted the oft-repeated perception of the Taliban as sophisticated terrorists who pose a direct threat to Western countries.

Faced with a multiple-choice question about Canada's location, only one of 42 fighters correctly guessed that Canada is located to the north of the United States, meaning the insurgents performed worse than randomly.

None of them could identify Stephen Harper as the Prime Minister of Canada, and they often repeated the syllables of his name -- "Stepheh Napper," "Sehn Hahn," "Steng Peng Beng," "Gra Pla Pla" -- that reflected their puzzlement over a name they had never heard.

Nor did they seem to associate the word "Canada" with anything except, in some cases, the soldiers now serving in Afghanistan. Most could not distinguish between the French- and English-speaking rotations of troops.

One of The Globe and Mail's questions offered the Taliban a chance to volunteer any information about Canada: "Do you know about this country? What kind of people are there? Is it a big country or a small country? Poor country, rich country? Cold or warm? Do Muslims live there?" None offered any meaningful responses, and most of them simply declined to answer. One of the few who guessed, a 21-year-old farmer, seemed to think the word "Canada" indicated a faraway city.

It might be an old and destroyed city," he said.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Interview
• Taliban
• Afghanistan
• Terrorist
• Canada
• Muslim
• Mujahideen
• Suicide
• Bombings
• Kandahar

[mohibullah00]

It's Pashto, not Arabic

[junkrat1]

@dharmanova if you can speak arabic just google the lyrics, otherwise i couldn't help you.

[dharmanova]

1 What is this chant (song) that they are using in every part of the film?

2 Where can I find it/listen/download?

Thanks 4 all your relevant input on the matter.

[BrBilal]

How cruel. The world watched Afhganistan get torn apart and be used as a theatre in which to fight proxy cold-war battles. Then, when the survivors of thirty years of war turn out to be ignorant because of a lack of schooling, all we can do is mock their lack of urbanity? That is hardly fair, and certainly isn't helpful.

p.s.: I wonder how many Canadians could point out Afghanistan on the map.

[Alladin1984]

@red1kb Good point

[Alladin1984]

Computer is oki, monitor is bad... :D:D:D:D:D:D HAHAHAHAHAH

[red1kb]

i think the question that came to my mind WHAT THE HELL DOES CANADA DO IN AFGHANISTAN ?????? if the Afghani people does not know anything about canada.

[AFGHANVIEW]

lol that one is ignoranr maybe they could use beamers.