A military or government hierarchy is anathema to the dispersed population and diverse tribes of mountainous Afghanistan.

A lot of technologies in the world were unusual in the beginning, and became standard. That's the beauty of bottom-up entrepreneurship and innovations.

During the Cold War, the U.S. instituted a policy of sending money to governments in poor countries to buy their political loyalty. While studies show that sending aid to foreign governments creates allegiance, it does not lead to economic progress.

When leaders are no longer beholden to the people who elected them, corruption results and the recruitment of extremists becomes easier.