--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing the Americans can do…" description: "\"“There is nothing the Americans can do. Their presence here only fuels the fire of the Taliban hatred. It's as if everybody thinks that Afghans are the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/deborah-rodriguez-44724_real-people_there-is-nothing-the-americans-can-do-th_2592899.jpg" --- # There is nothing the Americans can do. Their presence here… ![“There is nothing the Americans can do. Their presence here only fuels the fire of the Taliban hatred. It's as if everybody thinks that Afghans are theirs for the taking. It's as if we're not real people with hearts and minds of our own. It's as if we're animals who need humans to shape us. By…” quote by Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/deborah-rodriguez-44724_real-people_there-is-nothing-the-americans-can-do-th_2592899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/deborah-rodriguez-44724_real-people_there-is-nothing-the-americans-can-do-th_2592899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/deborah-rodriguez-44724_real-people_there-is-nothing-the-americans-can-do-th_2592899.jpg) > ““There is nothing the Americans can do. Their presence here only fuels the fire of the Taliban hatred. It's as if everybody thinks that Afghans are theirs for the taking. It's as if we're not real people with hearts and minds of our own. It's as if we're animals who need humans to shape us. By Muhammad, I know that if more of us had some education and could read, we would be a mighty force. We could rule our own lives.”” [Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American presence fuels Taliban hatred; education could empower Afghans to self-govern. **In simple terms:** US presence fuels hatred; education empowers. Key Takeaway Promote education for autonomy. Themes politics foreign policy education Mood urgent hopeful Type political humanitarian When to use this quote - military occupation - NGO work - community training Key Concepts self-determination human rights Questions to Reflect On - How to balance aid with sovereignty? - What alternatives to military presence? A Different Perspective Education alone may not resolve deep conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghans Theirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghans-theirs-1875529/) [Americans Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-presence-1875530/) [Real people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-people/) [Taliban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taliban/) [Taliban Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taliban-hatred-1875528/) [Thinks Afghans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-afghans-1875527/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm not an alcoholic, I am freedom fighter against the teetotal taliban.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-murray/i-m-not-an-alcoholic-i-am-freedom-fighter-against-the-teetotal-taliban/) [Al Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-murray/) > [When we started after Osama bin Laden, we really decided to go after the Taliban. And we seemed to be content to kick the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-clark/when-we-started-after-osama-bin-laden-we-really-decided-to-go-after/) [Wesley Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-clark/) > [I believed Afghanistan was always going to be hard. It's the fifth poorest country in the world. And when you fly over it, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/i-believed-afghanistan-was-always-going-to-be-hard-it-s-the-fifth/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-war-is-not-going-well-and-it-is-time-to-say-why-it-has-been/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Liberals compare Jerry Falwell to the Taliban, but then are furious with George Bush for not being Jesus Christ. Evidently, what a president is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberals-compare-jerry-falwell-to-the-taliban-but-then-are-furious/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [ There \[in Afghanistan\] is also a growing insurgency threat from al-Qaida, the Taliban and other extremist elements, some of which comes from the tribal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petraeus/there-in-afghanistan-is-also-a-growing-insurgency-threat-from-al/) [David Petraeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petraeus/) > [If today is anything like the typical day of the past 3 years, three American soldiers will die in Iraq or Afghanistan, the Taliban…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcee-hastings/if-today-is-anything-like-the-typical-day-of-the-past-3-years-three/) [Alcee Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcee-hastings/) > [Believe me, having a teenage daughter is like living with the Taliban.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-lette/believe-me-having-a-teenage-daughter-is-like-living-with-the-taliban/) [Kathy Lette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-lette/) > [America does not hold to the colonial tradition. America came, liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban and al-Qaida, came to an arrangement with Hamid Karzai,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/america-does-not-hold-to-the-colonial-tradition-america-came/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [For many people in the west, Afghanistan is synonymous with the Soviet war and the Taliban. I wanted to remind people that Afghans had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/for-many-people-in-the-west-afghanistan-is-synonymous-with-the-soviet/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Based on what you're seeing on your televisions and have seen of the Taliban rise up and take over Afghanistan faster than any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-travis/based-on-what-you-re-seeing-on-your-televisions-and-have-seen-of-the/) [Clay Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-travis/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [“Michael Freeman was thirty-five years old – a former Special Forces soldier turned policeman. He was a tall and slim black man, with grey-flecked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-conway/michael-freeman-was-thirty-five-years-old-a-former-special-forces/) [Simon Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-conway/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [By terrorising the people, the Taliban have sown deep doubts about the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/by-terrorising-the-people-the-taliban-have-sown-deep-doubts-about-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) ## More by Deborah Rodriguez > [“People, even those closest to you, are surprising...Nobody is everything they seem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rodriguez/people-even-those-closest-to-you-are-surprising-nobody-is-everything/) [Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) > [“These new people were her people. So what that she'd only recently met these women. In their hearts they were all the same: women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rodriguez/these-new-people-were-her-people-so-what-that-she-d-only-recently-met/) [Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) > [“It was almost as if she was still the bewildred girl of fourteen who wasn't ready to be an adult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rodriguez/it-was-almost-as-if-she-was-still-the-bewildred-girl-of-fourteen-who/) [Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) > [“The eyes of a man betrayed his heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rodriguez/the-eyes-of-a-man-betrayed-his-heart/) [Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) > [“Women are like tea bags; you never know how strong they are until they’re put in hot water. — ELEANOR ROOSEVELT”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rodriguez/women-are-like-tea-bags-you-never-know-how-strong-they-are-until-they/) [Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) > [“It was as if you could see into the sky, through it's layers and into it's core. 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Muhammad would be proud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rodriguez/look-what-love-does-this-was-the-real-islam-the-islam-of-love-not/) [Deborah Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) [Explore all 9 Deborah Rodriguez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rodriguez/) ## More Real people quotes > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [Fat girls aren’t real people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/fat-girls-aren-t-real-people/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [What sometimes annoys me about the arts is increasingly that we have to put real people on screen or stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zawe-ashton/what-sometimes-annoys-me-about-the-arts-is-increasingly-that-we-have/) [Zawe Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zawe-ashton/) > [What I strive to do is make my characters seem like real people so that the reader experiences them as people - that's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaume-cabre/what-i-strive-to-do-is-make-my-characters-seem-like-real-people-so/) [Jaume Cabre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaume-cabre/) > [Sometimes after a compliment about my characterization skills, I'm asked if I model my characters on real people. Emphatically, no. And sort of, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/sometimes-after-a-compliment-about-my-characterization-skills-i-m/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“we shouldn’t surrender our real world perception to a false reality too much or we may suffer the inevitable consequences of deluded thinking. Technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-p-neary/we-shouldn-t-surrender-our-real-world-perception-to-a-false-reality/) [M.P. Neary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-p-neary/) > [“I drink beer not to get drunk or because i have stress, i drink beer just because i want to share good ideas with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntambara-sylvestre-owen-berbason/i-drink-beer-not-to-get-drunk-or-because-i-have-stress-i-drink-beer/) [Ntambara Sylvestre Owen Berbason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntambara-sylvestre-owen-berbason/) > [“But it will make mistakes," she says. 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I am only interested in real stories, real people, real connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-m-uninterested-in-superheroes-i-am-only-interested-in-real-stories/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [You know, really, it's not easy taking a 20 year story and condensing it into two hours. But they did a fantastic job of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bilott/you-know-really-it-s-not-easy-taking-a-20-year-story-and-condensing/) [Robert Bilott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bilott/) > [To me, my characters are more real than most people I meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/to-me-my-characters-are-more-real-than-most-people-i-meet/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [“The watching feeling is getting worse. I am not an experiment. I am not a stupid joke, or a trippy game, or an experiment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-fagan/the-watching-feeling-is-getting-worse-i-am-not-an-experiment-i-am-not/) [Jenni Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-fagan/) > [The most devastating thing though that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of biological evolution. Now that we know that Adam and Eve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zindler/the-most-devastating-thing-though-that-biology-did-to-christianity/) [Frank Zindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zindler/) [Browse all 966 Real people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is nothing the Americans can do. Their presence here only fuels the fire of the Taliban hatred. It's as if everybody thinks that Afghans are theirs for the taking. It's as if we're not real people with hearts and minds of our own. 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