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I was surprised by the level of sophistication of the Special Operation forces. Among them were anthropologists and PhD candidates. I felt because I understand the patterns of nineteenth-century jihad in West Africa that I was definitely going to be more advanced than they were in comprehending what the militant rallying cry was.

Eliza Griswold

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Eliza Griswold
Age: 51
Born: 1973
Born: February 9
Journalist
Poet
Writer
Force
Definitely
Advanced
Understand
Cry
Operation
Rallying
Felt
West
Surprised
Comprehending
Going
Among
Candidates
Anthropologists
Level
Operations
Jihad
Levels
Africa
Nineteenth
Century
Patterns
Sophistication
Special
Forces
Militant

More quotes by Eliza Griswold

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The future of Afghanistan is incredibly dark, and decisions are happening incredibly quickly.
Eliza Griswold
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You can't be wrong in journalism. Take a wrong turn in journalism, and you are writing fiction. You can take a wrong turn in poetry, and something wonderful can happen.
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I can't imagine how Afghanistan's fall isn't going to be ten times faster than Iraq's.
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When I would ask women to tell me landays, and they were comfortable enough to do so, they'd tell me ones that reflected the state of their own lives.
Eliza Griswold
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News isn't designed to talk about daily life in its nuances, but poetry is.
Eliza Griswold
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Seeing the Afghan women in their burqas, it's easy to say, Well, they're not as fully aware as I am, so why do I have to worry so much about their plight? But that's a misunderstanding. They are brutally aware of their station.
Eliza Griswold
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Islam doesn't have a monopoly on violence in Africa. And violence plays a particularly critical role in places where statehood is weak at best, such as the Maghreb.
Eliza Griswold
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It's important to understand that violent Islam is only one face of violent religion.
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I worked with two young women translators. One died and the other received a death threat from the Taliban.
Eliza Griswold
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Poetry isn't as relevant in the Western world as it is in Afghanistan. And not many people make time for something that doesn't feel relevant.
Eliza Griswold
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We know what war means, and we know what poverty means. We need to develop a better model for reaching out to the world than we have.
Eliza Griswold
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Poetry allows me to write about what I don't know, whereas journalism demands a higher level of certainty to be worthy of being written.
Eliza Griswold