By Jerome H. Barkow, Member of METI International’s Board of Directors
Everyone seems to want to conquer Afghanistan, perhaps because its location is strategic. Wikipedia lists some 9 invasions (or 13 if we count each of both Britain and the Soviet Union’s three attempts separately). Success is always temporary, as the most recent invaders have learned. Geography in large measure explains why Afghanistan is so expensive to invade and conquer and why any conquests are temporary. The country consists of mountains, with fertile valleys between them where farming villages can thrive, and also of various deserts. Defenders can hide in their familiar mountains, attacking at will, and sooner or later the invaders withdraw.