Over in Afghanistan one of the hardest this to get is reliable intel from the many elderly warlords that populate the countryside. Many things have been tried by the CIA in order to illicit reliable and accurate information from the naturally reticent men. From the normal trinket types of things like pocketknives and tools through to medicines or surgeries for family members – they have all been tried.
While these methods produce slightly better results than promises of guns (which could easily be turned on them) to money nothing has done a better job for the CIA than the famous little blue pill – Viagra.
Not everyone in Afghanistan’s hinterlands had heard of the drug, leading to some awkward encounters when Americans delicately attempted to explain its effects, taking care not to offend their hosts’ religious sensitivities.
Such was the case with the 60-year-old chieftain who received the four pills from a U.S. operative. According to the retired operative who was there, the man was a clan leader in southern Afghanistan who had been wary of Americans — neither supportive nor actively opposed. The man had extensive knowledge of the region and his village controlled key passages through the area. U.S. forces needed his cooperation and worked hard to win it, the retired operative said.
After a long conversation through an interpreter, the retired operator began to probe for ways to win the man’s loyalty. A discussion of the man’s family and many wives provided inspiration. Once it was established that the man was in good health, the pills were offered and accepted.
Four days later, when the Americans returned, the gift had worked its magic, the operative recalled.
“He came up to us beaming,” the official said. “He said, ‘You are a great man.’ ”
“And after that we could do whatever we wanted in his area.”
Source: Washington Post
Yup nothing like letting some old fart with a whole lot of guns under his power find out he can still get a woodie.
[hat tip to Danger Room]
