Guest MonkeySee Posted December 28, 2008 Posted December 28, 2008 Little Blue Pills Among the Ways CIA Wins Friends in Afghanistan By Jody Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, December 26, 2008; Page A01 The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift. Four blue pills. Viagra. "Take one of these. You'll love it," the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam. The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes -- followed by a request for more pills. For U.S. intelligence officials, this is how some crucial battles in Afghanistan are fought and won. While the CIA has a long history of buying information with cash, the growing Taliban insurgency has prompted the use of novel incentives and creative bargaining to gain support in some of the country's roughest neighborhoods, according to officials directly involved in such operations. In their efforts to win over notoriously fickle warlords and chieftains, the officials say, the agency's operatives have used a variety of personal services. These include pocketknives and tools, medicine or surgeries for ailing family members, toys and school equipment, tooth extractions, travel visas, and, occasionally, pharmaceutical enhancements for aging patriarchs with slumping libidos, the officials said. "Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people -- whether it's building a school or handing out Viagra," said one longtime agency operative and veteran of several Afghanistan tours. Like other field officers interviewed for this article, he spoke on the condition of anonymity when describing tactics and operations that are largely classified. Officials say these inducements are necessary in Afghanistan, a country where warlords and tribal leaders expect to be paid for their cooperation, and where, for some, switching sides can be as easy as changing tunics. If the Americans don't offer incentives, there are others who will, including Taliban commanders, drug dealers and even Iranian agents in the region. The usual bribes of choice -- cash and weapons -- aren't always the best options, Afghanistan veterans say. Guns too often fall into the wrong hands, they say, and showy gifts such as money, jewelry and cars tend to draw unwanted attention. "If you give an asset $1,000, he'll go out and buy the shiniest junk he can find, and it will be apparent that he has suddenly come into a lot of money from someone," said Jamie Smith, a veteran of CIA covert operations in Afghanistan and now chief executive of SCG International, a private security and intelligence company. "Even if he doesn't get killed, he becomes ineffective as an informant because everyone knows where he got it." The key, Smith said, is to find a way to meet the informant's personal needs in a way that keeps him firmly on your side but leaves little or no visible trace. "You're trying to bridge a gap between people living in the 18th century and people coming in from the 21st century," Smith said, "so you look for those common things in the form of material aid that motivate people everywhere." Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 What? No beads? The beads only work with the dumb Indians in New York. Wasn't Manhattan sold for $24 worth of beads? Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 The beads only work with the dumb Indians in New York. Wasn't Manhattan sold for $24 worth of beads? That's how the story goes. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted December 30, 2008 Posted December 30, 2008 What? No beads? Who needs beads when you have viagra. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted December 30, 2008 Posted December 30, 2008 Who needs beads when you have viagra. You can use the beads to pray the viagra works as it should. Quote
Guest Steve1903 Posted December 30, 2008 Posted December 30, 2008 Read this story a couple of days back. Stupid story it is at that. I dont know why the papers waste space with this sort of nonsense. Not disputing that they may be handing out viagra but the headline screams that they are using viagra to win the hearts and minds war. To suggest that would work in changing political views is an insult to the reader. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted January 3, 2009 Posted January 3, 2009 These guys have five or six wives. They need viagra more than they need food. Quote
Guest xiandarkthorne Posted January 3, 2009 Posted January 3, 2009 These guys have five or six wives. They need viagra more than they need food. I think a radical and traumatic vasectomy is what's really needed. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted January 3, 2009 Posted January 3, 2009 Hey, just because they like tuna is no reason to cut their dicks off! I'd love to have five or six hot husbands! Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 You can use the beads to pray the viagra works as it should. I gave up praying on those rosary beads years ago. Use the Indian version of Viagra. It works every time, for me. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 The problem with viagara is that you have to be careful with it. It raises your blood pressure, so you use other "stimulants" it can be dangerous. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 The problem with viagara is that you have to be careful with it. It raises your blood pressure, so you use other "stimulants" it can be dangerous. I beg to differ. It really lowers your blood pressure. In fact, it was developed as a blood pressure lowering medication and they saw it had some interesting side effects. The danger is if you are on other blood medicqations (nitrates) you have to be careful. Quote
KhorTose Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 I beg to differ. It really lowers your blood pressure. In fact, it was developed as a blood pressure lowering medication and they saw it had some interesting side effects. The danger is if you are on other blood medicqations (nitrates) you have to be careful. Monkeysee is correct. Nitrates are not only nitroglycerin, which is prescribed to heart patients, but all of its cousins like Amyl Nitrate, Butyl Nitrate, etc., often called poppers. There have been several death and suspected deaths by combining Viagra with a nitrate. Do not do it!! Quote
Guest slackersam Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 Interesting. My doctor always takes my blood pressure before he will give me a new prescription. Quote
KhorTose Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 Interesting. My doctor always takes my blood pressure before he will give me a new prescription. Yes, he would. Here is a good article on the subject. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art...articlekey=8229 Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 Interesting. My doctor always takes my blood pressure before he will give me a new prescription. Your doctor probably takes your blood pressure everytime you visit! Quote
Guest slackersam Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Nope. Only when I ask for Viagara. Thought truth be told I see him every 30 days - because I need to get my anti-anxiety medication renewed and by law he has to talk to me before he can do it. (I suspect to make sure that I'm actually taking it and not selling it on the street.) Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Nope. Only when I ask for Viagara. Not much of a doctor, in my book. With heart disease striking so many people, it is hard to believe that your doctor or your doctor's nurse, is not regularly taking your blood pressure. The fact that you need viagra is most likely an indication of problems with your blood flow. Maybe you might think about changing doctors? Quote
Guest slackersam Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 It's the anti-depressants that make me need viagara, not a blood problem. And that's a seriously common side effect. When I go to him for anything other than my monthly prescription re-up he does take my blood pressure. But, my monthly visits are a formality. It's my shrink who decides my dosages but her recommendation has to be backed up by a GP. The two of them work together so it's not a big deal. It's just living up to the letter of the law. If I even cough when I'm there he does take my blood pressure. The bottom line is that Paxil plus Xanax is bad for the dick -but they allow me to get out of bed in the morning and not be afraid to walk down the street, so I call it a fair trade. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted January 10, 2009 Posted January 10, 2009 It's the anti-depressants that make me need viagara, not a blood problem. And that's a seriously common side effect. Forgive me for thinking your erectifle dysfunction was do to vascular problems. Since many men have bad diets, high cholesterol, pom pui and smoke cigerettes, often the culprit of penis problems are due to atherosclerosis or narrowing of the arterial flow to the penis. Nerve disorder and medication side effects are also cause for problems. I am glad the Paxil and Xanax allow you to function. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted January 10, 2009 Posted January 10, 2009 Yeah, I was a mess before Xanax and Paxil. I just wish they could invent versions that didn't challenge my dick. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted January 11, 2009 Posted January 11, 2009 Yeah, I was a mess before Xanax and Paxil. I just wish they could invent versions that didn't challenge my dick. The drug companies could make a fortune, if they found an anti-depressant drug that has no sexual side effects. If your only side effect is a dick that doesn't work, but still have an active libido, then you are lucky. Thank Buddha, we have viagra. Quote
