Wait - Why *DID* The Aiel Do Such a Baaad Job in TGS of Stabilizing Arad Doman??

[DaughterOfNight]

That actually IS an interesting Parallel.

 

The only unfortunate aspect to it is the fact that in MY country we had a little something happen here a few years ago called 9/11. Maybe you heard about it? ...It occured here for definitive reasons. The MAIN reason 9/11 occured in The United States is because Americans are a people that live free and want to live free. It'd be the easy thing to do to not support American Military being in Iraq, but I am one American that is NOT going to let the terrorists win.

 

Fish

 

Woah, woah, woah!  I definitely was not implying whatsoever that I do not support our military.  I was only pointing out certain similarities and that is all.  Not the place to talk politics anyway... and I certainly did not mean to hit a nerve like I did.  Sorry!  

 

I also have two brothers in the Marines and support them and their cause 1000%.

[The Fisher King]

Padraic, Daughter of the Night, (And everyone) - Sorry, that was the ''general'' 'You' I was addressing, not you or anyone specifically here. I didn't mean to go off to a side rant on politics. We all have the right to think whatever we want about Bush, Obama, Iraq, Healthcare etc...I also wasn't being sarcastic about the analogy that was made between Arad Doman and Afganistan ... it is interesting. ... Anyway, If I get a burr under my saddle to give a political opinion again, Ill constrain it to the Genral Forum ;)

 

Now, back to WOT ;)

 

I had a thought about just how ''sick'' Arad Doman was. I know Brandon has confirmed that there WAS a rather intentional writing point to make of showing the paralel between the Nature of The Dragon Reborn and The Land. And, at that time in TGS, The Dragon was definitely sick with Anger and Insanity ...Combine that with one of The Forsaken having influence there for so long...

 

Yeah...Wow...The Land of the Domani had to be...Pretty Messed Up...

 

 

Fish

[The Fisher King]

jsbrads...I think you may have just done a much better - and succinct - way of stating what I just tried to say, LOL!

 

 

Fish

[Crael123]

well i am sure that at least someone high up in the aeil councils is dark. but the WHO is bothering me. just like Bashere may be dark and be Rand's "snake in his bosom" as min's viewing went. but somebody high up is dark in rands councils. thats all i know

[yoniy0]

I think the Aiel weren't successful because Rand behaved as an ungrateful brat. Really, mistrusting Bashere and Ituralde? Consider what Ituralde could have done in Bendar Eban if he were told Alsalam was most likely taken by Graendal, and given troops and support. He could have probably appoint new merchants to the council (or make the existing members choose new ones), then elect a new King. And Bashere could have done better in the Borderlands (especially now that Tenobia's no longer there to disturb him).

 

The only unfortunate aspect to it is the fact that in MY country we had a little something happen here a few years ago called 9/11. Maybe you heard about it? ...It occured here for definitive reasons. The MAIN reason 9/11 occured in The United States is because Americans are a people that live free and want to live free. It'd be the easy thing to do to not support American Military being in Iraq, but I am one American that is NOT going to let the terrorists win.

I don't see the connection. That America was within its right to attack Iraq (BTW I'm not sure that you guys had a valid cause, unlike if George W. would have chosen to go after Iran, for example. Iraq had little connection to Al Qaeda) doesn't make your army capable of bringing peace to a country which culture you don't understand. As an aside, I don't think 9/11 happened because you guys live free. It's because Islamic fundamentalists believe all non-believers should be killed or converted. And, let's face it, because you do fund operations that serve your interests in their home countries, which makes the local population resent you even more. Don't get me wrong, I wish you all the best in that endeavor, but since when has that kind of operation worked? Which brings me back to WoT. Ituralde, as an influential local, could have done much more for his country than Rand could (if he were told the whole truth and given resources). Rand should have focused on defending Arad Doman from the Seanchan and hunting Graendal, and left the rest to the Domani.

[TheAngryDruid]

I'll echo what others have said.

 

1) The Aiel didn't do a bad job at all, and told Rand as much.

 

They restored order to the cities. But since Graendal had killed most of the Merchant Council, and possibly the king, choosing a new king was impossible, and the only other person that could have gotten the support of the populace (Ituradle) wasn't trusted enough by Rand and he kept him out of the country.

 

More importantly, there was no food.

 

2) No food.

 

Rand's plan was to use the Sea Folk (he continually underutilized them) to bring a bunch of food in to feed the people in the capital. And hope word would spread and people would flock there, and use that as a base to restore order.

 

However, because of his increasingly inhuman behavior (due to insanity, link to Moridin, the need to be iron, or all three) and his link to the land, the

DO's touch kept getting stronger and all the food Rand brought in spoiled.

 

3) No Time

 

When Rand realized this was the case, he realized his play had failed. As Arad Doman was a relatively small piece in Rand's plan (he's more worried about the Seanchan, the Last Battle, going insane, how to seal the DO, etc), and because he was becoming less and less humane, he just pulled the plug on the whole thing.

 

Maybe he'll re-examine that decision now that he's come back from the brink. The food shouldn't spoil as much now. Plus, if the Seanchan take it over, at least there will be food.

 

And, as others have said, he's was mad because he's mad.

 

[Thor]

I agree that it was really weird he distrusted Ituralde so much. Really lame, but then again maybe it's good with the borderlanders messing around.

[Duskfire]

I agree that it was really weird he distrusted Ituralde so much. Really lame, but then again maybe it's good with the borderlanders messing around.

 

Not really, he mistrusted everyone in that book. Rhuarc, Dobraine, Bashere, Narishma; people who have been loyal to him for ages he became suspicious about, which was/is an example of his dark personality. Everyone had an ulterior motive, according to Rand. Distrusting someone he had ever met before who probably does have ulterior motives is hardly surprising.

[Sharaman]

Key difference between Arad Doman, Tear, Carhein and Caemlyn or the lands occupied by the Seanchan: 

Graendal busted the entire chain of command up in Arad Doman by her creative chaos.

Other places, the chain was intact and Rand just had to replace the top guy.

Ituralde was unwilling to take the throne or assume power in any form, which could be a fast solution.

 

In those circumstances, a military occupation has to be followed up by rebuilding a local chain of command. That takes a lot of time and Rand doesn't have time, according to his estimate. He did make an attempt to find the Council of Merchants but it didn't work.