--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Afghans are probably the world…" description: "\"The Afghans are probably the world champions in resisting foreign domination and infiltration into their country.\" — Stephen Kinzer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-kinzer-2514_champions_the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champ_1915259.jpg" --- # The Afghans are probably the world champions in resisting… ![“The Afghans are probably the world champions in resisting foreign domination and infiltration into their country.” quote by Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-kinzer-2514_champions_the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champ_1915259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-kinzer-2514_champions_the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champ_1915259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-kinzer-2514_champions_the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champ_1915259.jpg) > “The Afghans are probably the world champions in resisting foreign domination and infiltration into their country.” [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Afghans demonstrate remarkable resistance to external control, reflecting deep cultural resilience. **In simple terms:** Afghans resist foreign domination. Key Takeaway Learn from resilient societies. Themes resilience national identity geopolitics Mood respectful thoughtful Type analytical informative When to use this quote - policy making - conflict zones - community building - education programs Key Concepts history political science Questions to Reflect On - What fuels Afghan resilience? - How can outsiders support without imposing? A Different Perspective External support may unintentionally undermine local agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghans/) [Afghans Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghans-probably-2909473/) [Champions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champions/) [Champions Resisting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champions-resisting-2909475/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Domination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domination/) [Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign/) [Foreign Domination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-domination-2909472/) [Resisting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resisting/) [Resisting Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resisting-foreign-2909474/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In the past, foreign intervention was obviously a major problem. Foreign domination, or if not domination, interference. But that has ended. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/in-the-past-foreign-intervention-was-obviously-a-major-problem/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) > [India will not be a helpless partner in her own exploitation and foreign domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/india-will-not-be-a-helpless-partner-in-her-own-exploitation-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Undoubtedly the Afghans must be, by our standards, the best-looking people in the world. They have everything; height, proportions, carriage, features and complexion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/undoubtedly-the-afghans-must-be-by-our-standards-the-best-looking/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [If you take a look at Afghan history, usually they have united to defend against an outside enemy, and as soon as that's accomplished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-eagleburger/if-you-take-a-look-at-afghan-history-usually-they-have-united-to/) [Lawrence Eagleburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-eagleburger/) > [The people suffering most from the Taliban were Afghans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-people-suffering-most-from-the-taliban-were-afghans/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [No Afghans, as far as we know, have been involved in terrorist acts against our country. We shouldn't be swatting at hornets' nests we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-goetzman/no-afghans-as-far-as-we-know-have-been-involved-in-terrorist-acts/) [Gary Goetzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-goetzman/) > [The Afghans I met were some of the nicest and most honorable people I've ever encountered. There is a code called 'Pashtunwali,' so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-thor/the-afghans-i-met-were-some-of-the-nicest-and-most-honorable-people-i/) [Brad Thor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-thor/) > [The majority of Afghans do not see the Americans as foreign occupiers who must be defeated. Instead, they are hungry for the Americans to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/the-majority-of-afghans-do-not-see-the-americans-as-foreign-occupiers/) [Gayle Tzemach Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/) > [“Take two Afghans who've never met, put them in a room for ten minutes, and they'll figure out how they're related.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/take-two-afghans-who-ve-never-met-put-them-in-a-room-for-ten-minutes/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [A sea-green sky: lamps blossoming white. This is marginal land: fields of strung wire, of treadless tyres in ditches, fridges dead on their backs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/a-sea-green-sky-lamps-blossoming-white-this-is-marginal-land-fields/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Obviously it is right that the Afghans take responsibility for their own future in the end, but they need to know and feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/obviously-it-is-right-that-the-afghans-take-responsibility-for-their/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“In Our Villages - You killed thousands by thousands, after each thousand, You are killing another one thousand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abed-rahmani/in-our-villages-you-killed-thousands-by-thousands-after-each-thousand/) [Abed Rahmani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abed-rahmani/) > [“The Hindi kid would soon learn what the British learned earlier in the century, and what the Russians would eventually learn by the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-hindi-kid-would-soon-learn-what-the-british-learned-earlier-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“By not burning their poppy fields to the ground but instead maintaining a security umbrella that international development agencies could safely work under as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-wood/by-not-burning-their-poppy-fields-to-the-ground-but-instead/) [Jake Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-wood/) > [ Our \[Afghanistan\] main problem is education. Over 90 percent of our population is uneducated. So what can you expect? The terrorists come from Syria,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najibullah-quraishi/our-afghanistan-main-problem-is-education-over-90-percent-of-our/) [Najibullah Quraishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najibullah-quraishi/) ## More by Stephen Kinzer > [It is truly vital for the United States to assure that it is not attacked with weapons of mass destruction; to prevent wars in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/it-is-truly-vital-for-the-united-states-to-assure-that-it-is-not/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Land ownership in Guatemala is more unequal than anywhere else in Latin America. Roughly 90 percent of Guatemalan farms are too small to support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/land-ownership-in-guatemala-is-more-unequal-than-anywhere-else-in/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Honduras is strongly anti-Communist, maintains no diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and has provided vital support for United States-backed rebels fighting to overthrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/honduras-is-strongly-anti-communist-maintains-no-diplomatic-relations/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Any country that grants asylum to Snowden risks retaliation from the United States, including diplomatic isolation and costly trade sanctions. Several don't seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/any-country-that-grants-asylum-to-snowden-risks-retaliation-from-the/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Mayors of New York are almost automatically national figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/mayors-of-new-york-are-almost-automatically-national-figures/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Human Rights Watch wants Rwandans to be able to speak freely about their ethnic hatreds, and to allow political parties connected with the defeated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/human-rights-watch-wants-rwandans-to-be-able-to-speak-freely-about/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [“Acheson immediately understood the urgency of this message. He summoned Ambassador Franks and told him that the United States resolutely opposed “the use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/acheson-immediately-understood-the-urgency-of-this-message-he/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [During the 1980s, international interest in the Nicaraguan war was intense. No conflict since the Spanish civil war had provoked such passion around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/during-the-1980s-international-interest-in-the-nicaraguan-war-was/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [As long as Iran believes that its security will be increased by having a nuclear program, it's going to pursue its program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/as-long-as-iran-believes-that-its-security-will-be-increased-by/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Countries that control water are likely to be the big winners of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/countries-that-control-water-are-likely-to-be-the-big-winners-of-the/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [“It is a great tool of dictators and tyrants, who want to get masses of people to do what they want, to make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/it-is-a-great-tool-of-dictators-and-tyrants-who-want-to-get-masses-of/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [No offense to Iceland, but Latin America is where the fugitive leaker Edward Snowden should settle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/no-offense-to-iceland-but-latin-america-is-where-the-fugitive-leaker/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Castro has lived almost his entire life as a clandestine revolutionary. To such figures, truth is always malleable, always subservient to political goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/castro-has-lived-almost-his-entire-life-as-a-clandestine/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Latin America moved decisively away from military rule and toward civilian democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/during-the-late-1970s-and-early-1980s-latin-america-moved-decisively/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) [Explore all 163 Stephen Kinzer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) ## More Afghans quotes > [ Our \[Afghanistan\] main problem is education. Over 90 percent of our population is uneducated. So what can you expect? The terrorists come from Syria,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najibullah-quraishi/our-afghanistan-main-problem-is-education-over-90-percent-of-our/) [Najibullah Quraishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najibullah-quraishi/) > [“By not burning their poppy fields to the ground but instead maintaining a security umbrella that international development agencies could safely work under as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-wood/by-not-burning-their-poppy-fields-to-the-ground-but-instead/) [Jake Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-wood/) > [“The Hindi kid would soon learn what the British learned earlier in the century, and what the Russians would eventually learn by the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-hindi-kid-would-soon-learn-what-the-british-learned-earlier-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“In Our Villages - You killed thousands by thousands, after each thousand, You are killing another one thousand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abed-rahmani/in-our-villages-you-killed-thousands-by-thousands-after-each-thousand/) [Abed Rahmani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abed-rahmani/) > [Obviously it is right that the Afghans take responsibility for their own future in the end, but they need to know and feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/obviously-it-is-right-that-the-afghans-take-responsibility-for-their/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [A sea-green sky: lamps blossoming white. This is marginal land: fields of strung wire, of treadless tyres in ditches, fridges dead on their backs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/a-sea-green-sky-lamps-blossoming-white-this-is-marginal-land-fields/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Take two Afghans who've never met, put them in a room for ten minutes, and they'll figure out how they're related.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/take-two-afghans-who-ve-never-met-put-them-in-a-room-for-ten-minutes/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The majority of Afghans do not see the Americans as foreign occupiers who must be defeated. Instead, they are hungry for the Americans to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/the-majority-of-afghans-do-not-see-the-americans-as-foreign-occupiers/) [Gayle Tzemach Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/) > [The Afghans I met were some of the nicest and most honorable people I've ever encountered. There is a code called 'Pashtunwali,' so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-thor/the-afghans-i-met-were-some-of-the-nicest-and-most-honorable-people-i/) [Brad Thor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-thor/) > [No Afghans, as far as we know, have been involved in terrorist acts against our country. We shouldn't be swatting at hornets' nests we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-goetzman/no-afghans-as-far-as-we-know-have-been-involved-in-terrorist-acts/) [Gary Goetzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-goetzman/) > [The people suffering most from the Taliban were Afghans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-people-suffering-most-from-the-taliban-were-afghans/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you take a look at Afghan history, usually they have united to defend against an outside enemy, and as soon as that's accomplished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-eagleburger/if-you-take-a-look-at-afghan-history-usually-they-have-united-to/) [Lawrence Eagleburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-eagleburger/) > [Undoubtedly the Afghans must be, by our standards, the best-looking people in the world. They have everything; height, proportions, carriage, features and complexion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/undoubtedly-the-afghans-must-be-by-our-standards-the-best-looking/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [The Afghans themselves say that if you put two Afghans in a room, you get three factions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-afghans-themselves-say-that-if-you-put-two-afghans-in-a-room-you/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > ['In the nineteenth century, we beat the British more than once,' Afghans often told me. 'In the twentieth century, we beat the Russians. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/in-the-nineteenth-century-we-beat-the-british-more-than-once-afghans/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) [Browse all 45 Afghans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Afghans are probably the world champions in resisting foreign domination and infiltration into their country.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Kinzer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champions-in-resisting-foreign/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afghans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champions-in-resisting-foreign/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-kinzer-2514_champions_the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champ_1915259.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-kinzer-2514_champions_the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champ_1915259.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-kinzer-2514_champions_the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champ_1915259.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Afghans are probably the world champions in resisting foreign domination and infiltration into their…” — Stephen Kinzer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Kinzer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Afghans are probably the world...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champions-in-resisting-foreign/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/the-afghans-are-probably-the-world-champions-in-resisting-foreign/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```