Question asked to Afghan school kids. Who do you prefer? The Americans or the Taliban?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHAN_EASTERN_BATTLE?SITE=ILKAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

May 16, 7:35 PM EDT


Ambush at Afghan school in 'Valley of Death'

By ANDREW DRAKE and FISNIK ABRASHI
Associated Press Writers

AP's David Guttenfelder travels with Marines



ALIABAD, Afghanistan (AP) -- The bearded Afghan army officer dropped off bundles of pens and notebooks at the school and asked one boy which he preferred: The Americans or the Taliban?

"I don't know," the boy replied. But after a short silence other children in the classroom answered for him: "The Taliban."

Within minutes the discussion was punctuated by an insurgent ambush and the joint U.S.-Afghan patrol became pinned down in this area with forested mountains, caves and ravines that American soldiers call "the Valley of Death."

Related video of the encounter: http://video.ap.org/?t=By%20Section/World&p=&f=ILKAN&g=0516dv_taliban_ambush

under the Taliban.

of epic proportions.
obama owns it now.

If they say "The Americans" their family might get a late-night visit from the Taliban. He says talibam and the US isn't going to burn his house down or chop off his hands.

I think they were expecting a different answer.

Don

Yes, they're committing the horrible crime of being brave enough to stand up against the Taliban.

Not all Taliban are raging religious lunatics ready to circumsize women and throw them into burkahs. To many the Taliban represent Pashtun history and pride...a long established history to the country and the people vs. the U.S. that is a far away abstract power that only is yet another invader in their land. The U.S. had a window after the Northern Alliance overran the Taliban in 2002 to make a positive impression, but 7 years later and very little has been done to improve the lives of the people in that country, why would they want us around? This is a lesson President Obama is missing as well...and at his and our peril.

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Well, the bully with the guns live in the country

the bully with the bombs is a foreigner and seems to like hitting wedding parties

so I think I'd go with the bully that already lives here . .

But I don't think either party will will get a straight answer for this question.

A better one might be, "Do you you prefer the 21th century bully that accidentally kills civilians sometimes or the 15th century bully that makes the point of killing you on a regular basis. Say when your daughter commits the grave crime of learning to read?"