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Poverty, danger persists in wake of Taliban

Randy Wyrick

Soldiers in Afghanistan quickly learned to weld metal plating to the side of military vehicles, to repel small arms fire. Chicken wire over the windows of a Humvee will keep grenades from being thrown inside – a lesson learned the hard way by group of soldiers who ended up recovering in Addington’s hospital.

Former NFL safety Pat Tillman walked away from his life of privilege to trade his football uniform for a military uniform. He paid for that decision with his life when he was killed in an attack.

Following Sept. 11, Afghanistan was discovered to be harboring Taliban training camps. Capt. Roy Addington the healer saw the war clouds gathering and knew what the fallout would be. Capt. Roy Addington the soldier said the situation had to be dealt with decisively. And sometimes, keeping order means swinging an iron fist.



“There are still bad guys in the hills and mountains, and the refugee camps are so poor and impoverished that they sometimes become breeding grounds for terrorist recruiters,” said Addington.

More than 3,000 Marines recently arrived in Qandahar to drive enemy fighters away from refugee camps near the city in southwestern Afghanistan. “They’re Marines, and they’re there for one purpose – to secure the region,” said Addington.

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Addington said Afghanistan was a lawless country with no infrastructure and crushing poverty. “The schools,” he said, “were brainwashing facilities designed to inculcate kids into behavior patterns.

“It’s like gangs,” said Addington. “They tell people ‘If you don’t have anywhere else to go, you can come with us.'”


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