Street markets in my experience are more likely to involve people dealing with other people as familiar customers, with more flexibility. That ruthless dog eat dog approach if anything sounds more typical of high pressure stock markets and so much.

I don't think edifices of theory constructed on a basis of anecdotal sociological and cultural differences are really very trustworthy. The only Afghans I have ever met - exiles admittedly - have seemed to be remarkably similar to everybody else in their pattern of thinking and begahving. And in the news and documentary I have seen the young Taliban do not seem particularly different from other young men, except that they seem a bit less inclined to look gloomy.

Demonising the enemy doesn't help. Well, it might make it easier to feel OK about killing them, and I imagine that the suiciders may well have gone in for it. But it is no help at all in anticipating how they will behave or react.

As for the suggestion that Muslims being allowed to lie to infidels. That's just the kind of thing you sometimes hear people say about Jews, or Catholics, for example.