> I'm not at all saying that you're wrong (I don't know enough about Afghan
> particulars to do so), but paying off the opposition and coopting
> premodern traditions (like, exploiting blood feuds between clans that
> were linked to Taliban-style Islamism and those that were Sufis) is
> pretty much exactly how Russia established peace in Chechnya
Except that the conflict in Chechnya was an internal issue within Russia's legitimate borders. That's in no way comparable to the US occupation of Afghanistan and invasion of Iraq, which were acts of pure, unadulterated colonialism.
Which is why bribing the locals won't work. They're not fighting for local status or money, they're fighting to kick out foreign colonists. Iraq is already lost -- the US is leaving and a Shiite theocracy, best friends of Iran and Hezbollah, is now in charge. And in Afghanistan, the US is deep into its Colonel Kurtz lunacy.
-- DRR