# What about Afghanistan?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 19, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635 "2003-03-19T21:27:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chickendoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@chickendoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chickendoc)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/1 "2003-03-19T21:27:32Z")

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What ever happened to Afghanistan? What is the current US involvement in the country? I haven’t heard much about it with the talk of Iraq and North Korea.

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/2 "2003-03-20T12:46:06Z")

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The US continues a military presence there, but remarkably little has been done for the locals. Under the Taliban, Afghans produced over 90% of the world’s heroin, and that made up most of the country’s economy. After the war, under Karzai, Afghan heroin production is setting new records. US troops may be merely looking the other way, or they may be setting up irrigation systems. They apparently aren’t teaching the locals to grow alternative crops.

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**Author:** ![Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreaming_of_Maria_Callas)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/3 "2003-03-20T13:12:06Z")

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The new government is limited to Kabul. In the rest of this massive country, warlords - many of whom were friends with the Taliban - continue to hold power and the US looks the other way.

UnuMondo

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**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/4 "2003-03-20T20:36:00Z")

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I thought Geraldo Rivera was the new leader?

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/5 "2003-03-20T20:48:15Z")

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Actually there was a major attack on afghanistan coinsiding with the attack on Iraq… yesterday. Over a thousand marines went into several villages with what was supposed to be good intelligence on the whereabouts of OBL. [http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/03/20/afghan.us/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/03/20/afghan.us/index.html)

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/6 "2003-03-20T20:48:18Z")

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The US recently launched a large military action involving about 1000 troops in several Afghan cities.

[http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/03/20/afghan.us/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/03/20/afghan.us/index.html)

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/7 "2003-03-20T20:50:56Z")

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wow freido - a legit simul-post

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-afghanistan/162635/8 "2003-03-20T21:16:02Z")

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Are you accusing my other simulposts of being illegitimate?

🙂