I was listening to the most recent Hardcore History podcast(*) (show 25) which featured an interview with Gwynne Dyer. While discussing whether technological advances might make an invading force more likely to succeed in Afghanistan than every previous attempt, he unleashed this bon mot which so nicely sums up long term cultural conflicts:

All the drones and all the technology, well it just allows you to kill more people. But, you know, killing people tends to annoy their relatives.

Indeed.

(*) I haven’t settled on an opinion of this podcast yet. I’ve heard a couple of interview shows which have been OK, but my understanding is that they aren’t really the core focus of the show.