In article
<572afb17-244b-4490-b7b2-92dd2ab03b03@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
=?ISO-8859-13?Q?P=E7teris_Cedri=F2=F0_=28Peteris_Cedrins=29?=
<cedrins@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On 10 Maijs, 13:10, hol...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Eugene Holman) wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> > The two protracted wars that the United
> > States has been waging in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced nothing
> > tangible
>
> No?
>
> 1. The Afghan Army is growing in size, experience, and leadership
> capabilities.
Yes, it can now ensure that the government controls Kabul and some of its
suburbs, at least by day.
> 2. A recent study found that 90% of the Afghan population trusted
> the countries military force.
I'm not sure what such a survey or such statistics mean in a country like
Afghanistan.
> 3. More than 4,000 km of roads have been built where only 50 km
> existed in 2001.
Modenr armies don't travel on camelback, so the infrastructure building is
not altruism but self interest.
> 4. The rehabilitation of the North-East power system has advanced
> and access of the rural households to electricit
y has been
> significantly increased.
Being that Afghanistan was living essentially in the Middle Ages, one
percent would be a "significant increase".
> 5. In 2007 alone, ISAF nations completed 1,080 civil-military
> cooperation (CIMIC) projects.
The conventions of diplomacy require the "civil" to come before the
"military", but in actual life it is often the reverse.
> 6. 2,000 schools were built or repaired in the last five years and
> around 6.4 million children (including 1.5 million girls) are now in
> schools.
This is an undeniable accomplishment, although one would expect the number
of girls to be approximately 3.2 million. Much obviously remains to be
done.
> 7. Since 2001, both infant and under-five mortality has declined by
> 26% and 22% respectively.
The stats are still dreadful, though. According to the CIA World Factbook
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html),
Afghanistan, with the world's third worst infant mortality rate, takes the
bronze medal in this sorry league.
> 8. In 2001, 8% of Afghans had access to some form of healthcare.
> Now more than 80% of the population has access to medical care.
Perhaps the American Republican Party can learn something from this.
> 9. The non-opium economy has grown at an average of 12% over the
> past four years; the number of poppy-free provinces has grown from six
> in 2006 to 13 in 2007.
That would probably have happened without the war.
> 10. Afghan public support for international involvement in
> Afghanistan remains high with around 70% of Afghans supporting the
> presence of international forces.
I would suggest being critical about such statistics. People from the
Baltic countries in particular know that it is not a wise idea to complain
in public about their country being occupied when asked by representatives
of the occupiers.
> 11. The majority of Afghans believe their country is going in the
> right direction and 84% support their current government (as opposed
> to 4% who would support the Taliban).
I am certainly no fan of the Taliban, but I am highly sceptical of these
figures.
> 12. They also maintain a positive view of reconstruction efforts
> with 63% saying that reconstruction efforts in their area have been
> effective since 2002.
This I can understand.
>
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/the_afghanistan_success_story_1.html
For a less optimistic assessment, see
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,534467,00.html
I still stand by my position that the wars have been a colossal waste of
manpower and resources. The one thing that these conflits teach us is that
modern technological warfare is not an effective strategy for dealing with
these types of problems. The Americans should have learned that lesson in
Vietnam. The Soviets learned it in Afghanistan. The Russians have
prevailed in Chechnya only because the area was developed enough for 21st
century warfare applied in the most brutal possible manner, accompanied by
massive propaganda to an educated populace as well as by influential
locals willing to collaborate, to make the freedom fighters/insurgents
understand that they really had something to lose.
Violence is not the strategy for dealing with problems seemingly emanating
from the poorest and least developed areas of the world.
The returns for more than five years of protracted warfare in Afghanistan
and Iraq, with Iran evidently next on the hit-list, have been surprisingly
modest. Ubama bin-Ladin still survives. The Taliban is arguably not only
bigger, stronger, and more respected, but also controls a larger area and
influences more people than at any time in its history. Compare that with
the fate of the Nazis five years after they overstepped the line.
Regards,
Eugene Holman
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