# Is 5000 militants really bad for us?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 28, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031 "2001-10-28T00:39:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Dave\_D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_D)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/1 "2001-10-28T00:39:15Z")
Just curious I’ve read this link
> **[MSNBC News - Breaking News and News Today | Latest News](https://www.msnbc.com/)**
>
> MSNBC breaking news and the latest news for today. Get daily news from local news reporters and world news updates with live audio & video from our team.
about 5000 Pakistanis going into Afghanistan to help protect the Taliban. I’m just wondering is this bad for us or good? I mean I know it’s portrayed as bad but are these guys trained soldiers that fight with incredible skill or just 5000 yahoos who’ll just suck down resources and run when they actually get shot at? Any opinions welcome.
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### Author:  [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/2 "2001-10-28T01:09:04Z")
They are not a military threat to the US’s actions.
It hurts politically since it would be better if Pakistan could keep Taliban supports on the sidelines. It is possible it could help in Pakistan since they now have 5000 less active opponents to their policy of helping the US. Only time can tell.
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### Author:  [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/3 "2001-10-28T01:40:01Z")
There may also be among the 5,000 some who are willing to die to inflict spectacular casualties on American ground troops. But then, there are probably already any number of Afghans with that same qualification.
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### Author:  [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/4 "2001-10-28T03:31:51Z")
The question is, are these 5000 militants more real than the 3000 members of the Taliban who supposedly defected to the Northern Alliance?
(The point being that the Taliban defection is something the Northern Alliance just made up for propaganda purposes. Did anyone actually see these people get off their buses in Afghanistan?)
If true, I’m inclined to say it’s a good thing. It’s 5,000 fewer people who can destabilize the Pakistani government.
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### Author:  [@iadoraeudora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iadoraeudora)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/5 "2001-10-28T04:00:00Z")
We’ve managed to ignore many dozens of millions of Pakistanis for years. What’s a handful more.
Our foreign policy is written on a chalkboard. Iran is a potential friend this week.
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### Author:  [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/6 "2001-10-28T04:18:19Z")
Helps us and our allies. These are 5,000 less protesters at their home in Pakistan where they can cause real touble, and off to a foreign land with very difficult terrain, using resources and putting these potential enemies of ours on ground where we can shoot at them.
I really wouldn’t want to be one of those 5,000. Winter approaching, away from home, a very well funded and supported enemy.
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/7 "2001-10-28T15:12:17Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I really wouldn’t want to be one of those 5,000. Winter approaching, away from home, a very well funded and supported enemy.
I wouldn’t want to be one of them either. The odds against them sound grim. They must be pretty dedicated to the cause if they’re willing to walk away from their normal lives like that. It makes one wonder how many others are willing to fight for their cause on a part time basis.
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### Author:  [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2001, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-5000-militants-really-bad-for-us/90031/8 "2001-10-28T15:51:01Z")
In one sense, their military contributions would be small and meaningless. Five thousand additional radicals heading toward the Afghan cities/front lines in derelict buses and vans could be quickly bombed and killed before they could ever join their Afghani counterparts.
The symbolic and political dimensions are more worrisome–and that is why these radicals are really going to Afghanistan: they want their martyrdom to serve as a
tripwire that pulls Pakistan into the fray, that further polarizes the Arab world, and that ignites conflict on a regional scale.
At the least, their deaths will further poison Pakistani opinion against the U.S. and radicalize the middle class, all of which furthers their radical agenda. Once the US-led coalition kills these radicals and word of their deaths reaches Pakistani television, that nation could boil over in rioting and public opinion would swing toward the Taliban again. (I might also note that the radicals heading from Pakistan to Afghanistan were probably recruited by Afghanis who slipped across the border, for that very reason, weeks ago.)
We are engaged in a military campaign, yes, but also in war of public opinion–and we are losing badly.