mystic
soul on legs
hmm, I think the point you are not comprehending is that when innocent people are killed, their surviving relatives, friends or even neighbors have a much greater chance of picking up weapons. Don't you realize that "collateral damage" is an excellent recruiting tool? People who might not have otherwise fought the occupation join the resistance for those exact reasons.
I don't know about you, but if someone came to my country and blew up my house and killed half my family, I think I would want revenge too. What about you? Would you hide in the hills, or would you fight? Careful with your answer.
Besides, I think the majority that we have killed in Afghanistan have been farmers. There really isn't even a major threat in Afghanistan. Revenge for 9/11? We might as well have attacked Saudi Arabia (not that we would, cause she's our girlfriend and we love her sooo much).
Taliban were never a threat to us, Al Qaeda was/is a threat to us. They're global and sophisticated; Taliban, on the other hand, are illiterate war orphans. They terrorized Afghanistan...and that was about the extent of their power.
Of course, Afghanistan makes an easy scapegoat, doesn't she? Might as well kick her while she's down. Makes the people back home feel like they're getting "the bad guys".
