STIFFENING THEIR RESOLVE!
Saturday, December 27, 2008 at 09:46AM "Make love, not war" has been replaced with make war with love.
"Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people – whether it's building a school or handing out Viagra," one veteran CIA officer told The Washington Post. According to the newspaper, pills to boost the libidos of Afghan tribal patriarchs are the latest in a long line of inducements including medicine or operations for family, toys and school equipment, tooth extractions and visas. In one case, a warlord aged 60 who was struggling to satisfy his four younger wives was also holding back information that could be crucial to American interests. A clandestine CIA operatives who was visiting sensed an opportunity and reached into his bag for a small gift of four blue pills. "Take one of these," he said. "You'll love it." Four days later, the CIA man returned to a beaming warlord – whether there were any smiles form his wives was not reported. The warlord furnished the CIA with invaluable details of Taliban supply routes and movements before requesting more pills."
Mmm....some of the CIA schemes do worry me. It's all very well to bribe these tribal leaders but their loyalty will last just as long as the next Viagra tablet, and what if Bin Laden and his co-horts up the ante and bribe them with TWO viagra tablets? War is a dirty game and in the final analysis it is fair enough that we do all that is necessary to win. But I can't help but feel that the CIA tends to get carried away in some of these well-intentioned but perhaps somewhat..ahem..non-sustainable endeavours!
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Reader Comments (4)
I seem to remeber that it was the same CIA who armed the mudjahadeen against the Russian occupation forces, only to discover that, some six-seven years later, the same American weapons and tactics were being used against, -OOOPS- the Americans who were liberating that same country from the Taliban.
I find it quite hard to decide on a firm opinion to hold on this story.
The CIA man in question should be given a promotion.
Lots of those tribal big shots are older guys and this particular barter is a stroke of genius.
Ach David, it's just an effort to give the men a wee lift!:-)