Thursday, December 28, 2006

It's The Little Things....

Via NYT, a tragicomic microcosm of the past six years:
Last year, the Iranian Embassy opened the Iranian Corner, a room in Kabul University's main library filled with computers, books and magazines from Iran, promoting Iran's ancient culture and modern achievements. Librarians say it is more popular than the adjoining American Corner, sponsored by the United States Embassy, primarily because it has a better Internet connection.
We've poured billions into infrastructure in Afghanistan and Iraq, including the largest U.S. embassies in the world in Kabul and Baghdad. And supposedly one of our main concerns is Iran's growing influence in the region. But when it's time to do something at which we should excel -- provide a simple, low cost technology to students that could yield outsized future returns -- we're beaten by....Iran.

Updated mantra for Michael Ledeen: Faster internet connections, please.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Um, it's not all about US efforts or lack thereof - Dari, the language spoken by a majority of Afghans, is basically the same as Farsi, which might explain the sense of cultural kinship and greater willingness to read Iranian published materials. Maybe the computers in the Iranian cultural corner let you type in Farsi font.

An American culture that Afghans see represented in military and overpaid-consultant compounds and big SUVs isn't likely to be so attractive, by contrast.

12/28/2006 11:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It would suprise me if the Bush Admin. did anything competently.

12/28/2006 6:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Iraq is a diversion. As the army attacks Iraq, the US gov't erodes rights at home by suspending habeas corpus, stealing private lands, banning books like "America Deceived" from Amazon, rigging elections, conducting warrantless wiretaps and starting 2 illegal wars based on lies. Soon, another US false-flag operation will occur (sinking of an Aircraft Carrier by Mossad) and the US will invade Iran, (on behalf of Israel).
Final link (before Google Books bends to gov't demands and censors the title):
America Deceived (book)

12/28/2006 6:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

At least the Iranians are supplying action-able cultural, political, and technical ideas.

US offerrings are very difficult to implement within the context of the Afghan culture.

12/29/2006 11:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I search Sara Miller, please give me her icq or email
Thanks all

12/30/2006 8:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070103/ts_nm/usa_gulf_navy_dc

1/03/2007 8:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/03/news/college.php

1/04/2007 11:57 PM  
Anonymous viagra online said...

That's very nice in this way many people can study for free and use internet.

5/12/2011 11:45 AM  

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