Afghanistan

[rotorgun]

The peoples of this region have always seemed to have a history of resistance to change, and an almost obsessive reluctance to compromise. The splintered tribal nature of their culture is also a factor in being able to agree on any meaningful reforms. It was surprising to me when I looked up their history on Wikipedia, that there were periods that outsiders, such as the Persians, Greeks, and the Seleucids, to say nothing of the British or Russians, could have ruled in Afghanistan. The only thing that unites them is Islam.

I don't know what makes them so warlike, except that the difficulty of living in such a hostile environment must breed a toughness and stoicism that enhances their fighting attitudes. They are also patient, and realize that any foreigners will soon tire of dealing with how hard a job it is to succeed with a seeming endless task.

[Ibrahim]

The peoples of this region have always seemed to have a history of resistance to change, and an almost obsessive reluctance to compromise. The splintered tribal nature of their culture is also a factor in being able to agree on any meaningful reforms. It was surprising to me when I looked up their history on Wikipedia, that there were periods that outsiders, such as the Persians, Greeks, and the Seleucids, to say nothing of the British or Russians, could have ruled in Afghanistan. The only thing that unites them is Islam.

and even then Islam doesn't help, seeing as how the tribes will still fight wach other at the drop of a hat.

I suspect that when it comes down to it, Afghanis are the way they are because they are isolated geographically, in the sense that they live in a mountainous and difficult piece of real estate, surrounded by powerful neighbors. I've seen the same independent mindedness, quarralsome nature, and warlike behavior in other peoples in a similar place. just look at the ancient greeks, or illyrians, or Caledonians ("scottish" britons).

[Centurion1]

Its true that hill peoples are traditionally pugnacious. A contemporary example i can think of right at the moment is the Hmong people of Vietnam. They have an amazing history of opression because they refused to bow down to overlords (china, vietnam, thailand, Siberian tribes)

[Ibrahim]

Its true that hill peoples are traditionally pugnacious. A contemporary example i can think of right at the moment is the Hmong people of Vietnam. They have an amazing history of opression because they refused to bow down to overlords (china, vietnam, thailand, Siberian tribes)

bah, the Hmong don't compare to the sfaneti (I probably missplelled their name) people of Georgia (the former USSR republic); they start fights with each other/others for the dumbest of reasons, and until the 1980's-90's some were still wearing chainmail to prevent assasination by dagger. I still remember a feud that started because a pig crossed from one man's poperty to another. last I heard, it was still going on, and has gone on for 40 years (back in 2003-4).

[Centurion1]

sfeneti sounds familiar for some reason.... Ha, they just sound like highlanders stuck back in the middle ages (like they fit in medieval Scotland). The hmong were once located in China. Then the Chinese asked them to bow the knee. They started fighting CHINA. They lost. So they just left everything they had and moved south, hows that for stubborn.