It is interesting to note that the operative said that last line because it implies that they have no resistance to the drugs and that it was another way to exploit them for "whatever we wanted". Maybe it is all the colonialism that we've been reading from Gregory but this article does show some of that through the operatives' quotes. Such as how they are trying to bridge their primitive gap of life to the 21st by Viagra.Four days later, when the Americans returned, the gift had worked its magic, the operative recalled.
"He came up to us beaming," the official said. "He said, 'You are a great man.' "
"And after that we could do whatever we wanted in his area."
While it makes sense that you have to give something to get something and sex has been a motivator for everyone everywhere, does it make it okay? It is okay that the reasoning behind this is that if we don't do it, someone else will (Taliban, Iran, etc)? Morally, I want to say no. We are using them to our ends while they are perceived to give into carnal pleasure. The article portrays Afghanis as fickle backstabbers,especially as devious high libido old men, that need to be bribed just for cooperation.
It was interesting to see that something we take for granted in the US (I'll broaden Viagra to include medicine) can have such power in Afghanistan. It was also surprising to see that things such as pocket knifes and school equipment could be used for bribery.
ReplyDelete"You're trying to bridge a gap between people living in the 18th century and people coming in from the 21st century."
This quote really shows the divide between the West and Afghanistan. It sounds very "us and them." It literally puts Afghanistan in a different century. It sounds like this article is implying that Afghanis can be easily swayed by Western novelties, such as Viagra or other 21st century products and procedures.