Hitler, Genghis Khan

Since we're discussing warfare a bit, the mentioning of Hitler and
Genghis Khan is certainly appropriate. I wanted to say that often, these
two are compared as being somewhat similar personalities; that's a
mistake, because they couldn't have been more different. Hitler was, to
me, a rather perverted little fellow, but with some sort of gift that,
obviously, gave him some sort of devilish power. There was something
inherently twisted about him, and he didn't strike me as a warrior sort,
particularly. He made many stupid tactical blunders, for example, that
may well have cost him the war. He also murdered many millions of
people, but not in the heat of battle; his crimes were, again, of a real
sick, warped mind, and his perceptions of the Jewish race were, as we
see, horribly destructive, and for no reason. He was the worst kind of
pervert and racist, and if one digs a bit into the Nazi mentality, I'm
sure they would find all sorts of dark secrets, regarding the roots of
his beliefs in a spiritual way.
The Khan, on the other hand, was not any sort of deviant or pervert;
he was very kind, overall, to his people, loved his family and
compadres, treated his soldiers very well, and was legendary for keeping
his word. At a fundamental, personal level, he is a rather legendary
warrior, I would say, and a study of what he and his nation did would,
perhaps, reveal a little different picture than has often been
presented. Yes, the Mongols killed many, but not in the way Hitler did
(or Stalin or Pol Pot or those sorts). For example, his conquest of the
Middle East was precipitated by the dishonorable murder of some Mongol
traders, by a local Middle Eastern governor. The Khan did not attack; he
first sent envoys to the Shah, requesting that the offending governor be
turned over to him for justice. So, the Shah burns off the beards of
Genghis Khan's envoys, and sends them back. Well, he unleashed something
well out of his league, as the Mongols crossed the mountains of Asia (in
the winter, building many bridges along the way, and traveling with a
large herd of cattle as well), and whomped his booty pretty good when
they got there. I'd say the Shah started that one, pretty clearly, and
got an appropriate response. The Shah, BTW, totally abandoned his
people, running for his life, which he lost fairly soon. Yes, the
Mongols waged serious war; but, there are also documented reports of
them approaching a city, and offering to spare it if the citizens
surrendered...can't get much fairer than that. Genghis Khan did not
molest his people, was not cruel unnecessarily, and, interestingly
enough, let people keep their religions in regions he conquered. He was
a monotheist, referring to the Creator as The Blue Sky, and was
extremely tolerant of people's cultural beliefs. That was a Mongol
trademark, until his descendants started being influenced by the local
religions of the areas they lived in. Also, an interesting fact; after
the Khan died, his son Ogodei succeeded him...when he died, soon after,
his wife ruled the Mongols for 2 years, until a successor could be
found. A bit different than the Taliban, for sure. They loved women,
BTW, and did not abuse them...
No doubt...the Mongols killed many, but we must remember this was
800 years ago, and there were a lot of nasty folks back then. The
crusaders were pretty vicious, on the Christian side of things, and even
sent a bunch of kids to their fates in an incredibly stupid endeavor,
the Children's crusades. The Chinese were reported to have impaled
babies on their swords, just for sport, and the tortures back then were
pretty inventive. For example, the Chinese nailed one of Genghis Khan's
ancestors to a wooden donkey...ouch. They had been at each other for
hundreds of years. If you check out the scene back then, you'll see that
it was very violent and dangerous; the Mongols just did it better than
everyone else, and scared the pee out of lots of folks, especially the
Europeans, who attributed supernatural powers to the Mongol warriors.
But, it wasn't so...they were geniuses of warfare, and usually outwitted
their foes, who often had superior numbers of troops. No, the Khah and
Hitler do not belong on the same page of infamy, as far as I am
concerned. It was a whole different approach to life, and even a short
study of the Mongols will reveal that...Hstick
PS..in all seriousness, I have thought that, if you want to root out bin
Laden in his holes, get a division of Mongols to do it...that's their
element, as Mongolian winters are among the harshest in the world.
That's why they were so tough; you had to be to survive in their
climate...

Neil, the Hazzara in central Afghanistan, guardians of the demolished twin Buddhas in Bamyian, are Mongols. The have lived in central Afghanistan for c. 4000 years and they were in Afghanistan before the Pashtun.

They would be the majority in Afghanistan today if not for Pashtun/Taliban genocide against them.

Johnny Reinhard