abu_doubleu

I hope this won’t take away from the AMA, I just want to give a perspectives I do know.

I am an Afghan, though I have not been in the country since 2004, I help Afghans who have immigrated here to Canada and am also connected with a similar agency in Kyrgyzstan (it also has many Afghan immigrants). This question comes up much in immigration discussions.

The majority of the country supports the troops. It varies though.

Support for the Taliban does exist among civilians. Because the Taliban movement began as a Pashtun nationalist movement, the majority of its soldiers and supporters are Pashtuns (however, the majority of Pashtuns are not Taliban!). In the Pashtun-inhabited parts of Afghanistan, in some parts the south, you can find some communities that actively aid the Taliban and provide them with hiding. This is also, obviously, where resentment against foreign troops is strongest.

The most positive view is held among the places that were liberated from the Taliban and are inhabited by Hazaras. This ethnicity faces severe discrimination from the Taliban and some believe there is an ethnic cleansing movement by the Taliban against them. Hazaras have historically been discriminated in Afghanistan. They once were the country’s largest ethnicity but an ethnic cleansing movement by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in the 19th century more than halved their population (it has since recovered in number, but not in %, not even close). In the 1970s also, the Pashtun nationalist government of Daoud Khan specifically targeted them (although all non-Pashtuns were barred from government positions..). Hazaras are very grateful to be freed from Taliban by foreign troops.

Otherwise, opinion is generally positive. But not as strong as in Hazarajat, the homeland of the Hazaras.

What must be noted is that as time goes on, it’s almost as if a lot of the strikes are getting sloppy. Accidental deaths from American airstrikes now outnumber deaths from the Taliban as of 2018; this wasn’t a thing before. This has led to some resentment even by ones targetted by the Taliban, because their family and friends can be targets in that.

There is more variation of opinion in the parts which haven’t seen many troops or action in ages. In Kabul, which judging by the news of bombings many think is a warzone, has had more or less no combat for over a decade and is currently developing extremely rapidly with many modern highrises and apartments (it’s the world’s 5th fastest growing city and many diaspora Afghans are actually moving back to Kabul for opportunity along with an expat community). Because of this, many resent the presence of foreign troops in the country and especially how they influence politics.

u/cryptosal can maybe add more on to this, since it is his AMA after all and I wouldn’t want to take it away from him. But I hope this helps.

Hello! I am interested what the Alaskan Natives think of the oil expansions. Do they mostly support it or are mostly against it? Why?

Just to correct, Arabs make up a bit over 2% of Iran's population, predominantly in Khuzestan but also on the southern coast there are many.

(I have family in Iran from Afghanistan).

A lot of people take issue that the Chinese government is trying to change the demographics of Xinjiang to become majority Han for the purposes of stamping out Uighur resistance (no Han will support Uighur separatism) and culture. It’s the exact same here, but with India and Kashmiris.

Well the major claims against you are that you are not Iranian. You can respond to them in Persian, and add it to your first post as well. I speak Persian, I could vouch for you, for example, if you respond in Persian.