Beware of mountain people with guns. (Other Countries).(Brief Article)

S. Frederick Starr, "Altitude Sickness: Poverty and Violence in the Mountains" in The National Interest (Fall 2001), 1112 Sixteenth Street, N.W., #540, Washington, D.C. 20036

What do the Taliban in Afghanistan, e Shining Path in Peru, and the Zapatistas in Mexico all have in common? They're all mountain people in revolt against civilization. S. Frederick Starr of Johns Hopkins warns that a "disproportionate number of the world's bloodiest zones of conflict today are in mountain regions."

One-sixth of the world lives in mountainous areas, and these regions are among the world's poorest areas. Construct a chart of areas where the average wage is less than a dollar a day and you'll encircle most of the world's mountain people. Mountain people tend to have less education, poorer roads, little or no rail service, and no air transportation. The few goods available from traders are usually expensive, which increases indebtedness and resentment against lowland neighbors.

What's the best way to deal with rebellious mountaineers? Mountaineers have historically been able to defend their own territories against aggressors. "Any government that ...