"A fly cannot go in unless it stops somewhere; therefore weapons, fuel, food, money will not go to Afghanistan unless the neighbors of Afghanistan are working, are cooperating, either being themselves the origin or the transit"
About this Quote
A fly cannot get into a room without landing somewhere first: it is a homespun image, but Brahimi uses it like a scalpel. The metaphor shrinks a sprawling war into a basic fact of geography and logistics, then turns that fact into moral pressure. Afghanistan, in this framing, is not an isolated “problem country” so much as a node in a regional system. If weapons and cash keep arriving, it is because someone nearby is letting them, profiting from them, or quietly preferring the war to end on their terms.
The line’s intent is diplomatic bluntness disguised as common sense. Brahimi isn’t naming names, but the audience is obvious: Pakistan, Iran, the Central Asian states, Russia, China, and the Gulf actors who bankroll networks at a distance. By listing “weapons, fuel, food, money” in one breath, he collapses the usual tidy separation between illicit and humanitarian flows. Even food is political once supply routes become leverage; even aid becomes a bargaining chip when border gates are controlled by states with agendas.
Subtext: stop treating Afghanistan as a self-contained civil conflict. The insurgency is not only an ideology; it is a supply chain. Brahimi’s “therefore” is doing heavy lifting, implying that any strategy focused solely on Kabul - elections, counterinsurgency, institution-building - will be outflanked unless the neighborhood is compelled or incentivized to cooperate. It’s a warning about sovereignty, too: Afghanistan’s fate is negotiated not just in its valleys, but in customs posts, intelligence offices, and informal markets across its borders.
The line’s intent is diplomatic bluntness disguised as common sense. Brahimi isn’t naming names, but the audience is obvious: Pakistan, Iran, the Central Asian states, Russia, China, and the Gulf actors who bankroll networks at a distance. By listing “weapons, fuel, food, money” in one breath, he collapses the usual tidy separation between illicit and humanitarian flows. Even food is political once supply routes become leverage; even aid becomes a bargaining chip when border gates are controlled by states with agendas.
Subtext: stop treating Afghanistan as a self-contained civil conflict. The insurgency is not only an ideology; it is a supply chain. Brahimi’s “therefore” is doing heavy lifting, implying that any strategy focused solely on Kabul - elections, counterinsurgency, institution-building - will be outflanked unless the neighborhood is compelled or incentivized to cooperate. It’s a warning about sovereignty, too: Afghanistan’s fate is negotiated not just in its valleys, but in customs posts, intelligence offices, and informal markets across its borders.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
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