<i>More slowly, he recounted the long list of relatives he lost over these decades of calamity, from a brother who died in the war against the Soviets in the 1980s to his 70-year-old brother-in-law, who was beheaded this month. The Taliban killed more than 19 relatives in all.</i><p>Indeed, it seems very likely that on the other side there are numerous individuals who have suffered similar losses and fight for similar reasons. And moreover, it seems likely that both sides will continue to inflict further deaths that will continue the process. And here, the idea that the tactic of using drone strike to kill Taliban leaders and "incidentally" many bystanders, could help put an end to the situation seems both absurd and grotesque.<p>Moreover, for as long as the war on drugs and geopolitical maneuvers pumps significant funds into underdeveloped, lawless areas, conflicts in those areas seem fated to continue in their present fashion - you'll always have machine guns and people with considerable motive to use them against people in the next village. The brutal views of ISIS and similar groups just seems a logical generalization of such a situation.<p>I guess it's not common knowledge that the ruling Shia-dominated government operated death-squads on a large scale in Iraq, targeting Sunni-ethnicity tribe people group now supporting ISIS/ISIL/daesh/etc.<p>"Not only counter-insurgency units such as the Wolf Brigade, the Scorpions and the Tigers, but the commandos and even the highway patrol police have been accused of acting as death squads."[1]<p>One more instance of after X many family members members have been killed, how much effort do you think someone is going to take to get revenge? And how many family members of someone else will they kill in that process?<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badr_Organization" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badr_Organization</a>
I hope that this is not another textbook case of abused gets abuser, and "fiercely effective fighter". To put traumatized people at charge, is a good new for the innocent civilians trapped in the villages currently controlled by terrorists?. I doubt so.
How sweet, wonderful propaganda, mean while other innocents at Guantanamo experience the joys of anal rehydration and the Kafka esque life of indefinite imprisonment without trial.<p>But yeah, I'm glad the NY times can share such heart warming news.