Quoted post[/post]]Well it took a day but finally someone decided to touch what I said, let me see if I can help complete the details
So lets see if I can actually fill in the gaps
I know this thread has exploded, but I figure I owe Silverchild the respect he's given me
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Quoted post[/post]]Rahmatullah's education is being fully paid for by the "International Education Foundation" which was founded by Mike Hoover, who admittedly had pre 911 ties to the Taliban. Hoover was even in negotiations with the Taliban to interview Bin Laden when the planes struck the towers
What kind of ties are these? Terrorist ties? or journalistic ties. Ever seen "Live from Baghdad" starring Michael 'Batman' Keaton? He plays a cnn journalist who covers Iraq just before the first attacks on Baghdad. And he had close ties to the Iraqi Foreign Minister. Does that insinuate he supported Saddam? Do your comments insinuate Hoover's position on Taliban/terrorism? I especially like the "Bin Laden when planes attack" line. It seems sooooo pertinent since
any journalist would have loved to interview Bin Laden from before 2000 till now.
Quoted post[/post]]Rahmatullah goes up for review for degree status in April or May, and is expected to pass. While Yale will not allow ROTC due to discrimination against gays, apparently they have no problem with a man who was once in an organization that would cut of a woman's hand if she wore nail polish.
Which brings me to his Taliban affiliation. While the Taliban did not pay for his 2001 trip he was a full member of the Taliban where he worked as a spokesman and apologist after we kicked their asses.
The attacks on Afghanistan began Oct 7th 2001, he visited the US in May/June of 2001 (somewhere in there, but much before 9/11)--> so he wasn't apologetic
after we kicked their ass, but before. After 9/11, he did manage to get his family to the edge of Afghanistan/Pakistan border. He left the Taliban and then cleared his name with US officials in 2004, later receiving his student-visa from the state department. And I haven't really said anything about the military thing yet. I do admire someone bringing attention to the military's discrimination, but I know the recruters aren't that bad. Also, anyone who wants to be in the ROTC or military should be able to without so much trouble.
Quoted post[/post]]As he was an active, productive member of the Taliban party I would not equate him to a German Soldier in WWII but rather an active productive member of the Nazi party. Someone like that DOES share in the responsibility for the crimes against humanity committed by the government they were working for.
While he might be indicted, he would most likely be cleared of any charges. Rahmatullah has regrets, and doesn't seem too fond of the extreme methods of the "Vice and Virtue" office of the Taliban that dealt with the floggings, beheadings, etc. Hopefully we can learn to call him the ex-Taliban member who has helped us understand the Middle-east, instead of the Taliban in our midst.
Quoted post[/post]]The only facts I have left to un-earth are Why Yale would allow anyone with a 4th grade education and a GED in regardless of political affiliation, and lastly why have the other members of Mr. Hoover's "foundation" chosen to remain anonymous?
Why would Yale let him in? Ask him or the dean. They thought he was smart enough to get in, and he seems to be doing well (3.33 GPA so far).
What other anonymous member of his "foundation"? Where do these claims come from? I have found little information on this foundation, you seem to know more than me.
Lastly, you have to have sympathy and perspective. The history of Afghanistan helps. They go from war with USSR, to fighting warlords, to a "peaceful" Taliban. While they were still a fundamentalist muslim regime(w/crimes and punishments), there weren't any gang members with AK's and rocket launchers walking everwhere. Foreign journalists got around much safer during the Taliban. They changed from civil war to the 'modern' muslim country, like Iran/Iraq/etc. That's quite an improvement for a wartorn country after like 15 years. The thousands of landmines still remind them of the past. Hopefully they can move further ahead, faster then we expect them to.