Not a pretty pricture is painted in this account about the experiences of a British soldier in Afghanistan. The tale indicates a lack of resources and manpower that prevents the U.S. and U.K. forces from gaining the trust of the people, with afghans joining the Taliban as a way to seek revenge.
The Afghans are sick of our armies killing their people: Last year in Afghanistan, while serving with the British army, I sat on the rooftop of our patrol base in the middle of Sangin. We had seized and occupied Sangin a few days previously, wresting control of the town from the Taliban. During our advance an 11-year-old boy was killed in the crossfire, shot in the head accidentally by our allies, the Afghan national army. Despite this we established our base in a local government building, the district centre, and patrolled the bazaar every day. The locals seemed ambivalent about our presence.
But below the surface, however, tension simmered. The boy’s death made us a threat to the local population. Despite promising development we had nothing to show for all our big talk. Days later Sangin exploded into violence, seeing some of the fiercest fighting by British troops since the Korean war, and which continues as I write.
It was never supposed to be like this. On my arrival in Afghanistan, I was optimistic about being involved in a reconstructive, nation-building endeavour. Our strategy, the Comprehensive Approach, was supposed to provide security, development and governance.
The Comprehensive Approach was never given a chance. Our occupation of Sangin and other towns was motivated by haste and beset by ignorance. Far from improving Afghan lives, we have committed a terrible military blunder.
Spreading freedom at the point of a gun works every time… oh, wait.
I wonder if neutralizing Afghanistan-based attacks on the rest of the world was ever part of the guy’s mission?
RBG
Proof again that the doctors adage “First do no harm’ is a good rule for everyone to follow, certainly what our foreign policy should promote. If we arent they we dont give them near the reason to muster hatred for us. Go Ron Paul!
#2 – I wonder if neutralizing Afghanistan-based attacks on the rest of the world was ever part of the guy’s mission?
RBG
What attacks are you taking about? I remember an attack on the United States back in September of 2001. That one was committed by Saudi Arabians.
4. Saudi Arabians who were hosted and harbored in Afghanistan. But that’s only half the point, since it was our involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War that put them there in the first place.
Dang…so war is hell….unbelieveable insight there.
American conservatives are completely convinced that all you need to do is kill the enemy and then peace will prevail.
Unfortunately in reality, revenge killing only locks you in a never-ending cycle of violence, with no hope for peace.
It’s a shame that the poster-boy for large scale lynch mob diplomacy is our commander-in-chief.
4. Saudi Arabians? you mean………..we………all this time….but….Al queda…………..and…Bush holds hands with……….oh fuck!
If you goto YouTube and type in “Inside the Green Berets,” they have the National Geographic documentary on their actions inside Afghanistan.
#7 – You should watch that documentary, there is a lot more going on than just targeting the Taliban.
Sick of military occupation? They’re pretty sick of the Taliban coming into communities, terrorizing school teachers as well as students (specifically girls), using families as human shields, and killing off tribal elders. This article is all over the place so it is hard to know where to begin. A few quick points, many of the cases of civilian deaths are attributed to a JDAM hitting a house where the Taliban are, and civilians who are used as human shields. Militarily speaking, the Taliban are getting smacked around this summer, after the over-hyped Spring Offensive ’07 fell flat. The new yokel they got to take the place of Mullah Dadullah may switch tactics to utilize more IEDs, but this goes against traditional Taliban tactics, it is seen as cowardly by the majority of Afghanis. Finally, I haven’t seen any respectable reports that they the Afghanis want NATO forces out, as the country has developed quite a bit since 2001. Their agriculture sector needs a lot more work, and a micro-loan system could help with that. They need to bring back their raisin export industry, instead of poppies.
9. Wow, you got all that from watching telebision? Gonna have to get me one of those. Then I too can be an Armchair General.
8. Yes, the same ones currently blowing up things in Saudi Arabia and attempting to annihilate the leadership there.
RBG
#10, Naaa, them’s Republican talking points.
What were they expecting with all the resources being siphoned towards Iraq?
Why do we spend millions of dollars to get our people killed in order to stop people who hate us from killing each other?
#10 and #12……those aren’t Republican talking points, they are similar to other reports I read quite often in the British papers. The biggest problem is as Angel said, we are so bogged down in Iraq, there isn’t much left for more than a holding action in Afghanistan. But it also doesn’t help that our NATO allies are sitting in Kabul, with men, equipment and money and refuse to fight along side the US or UK troops, because the French and German governments only promised to send the men and equipment to Afghanistan, but not to actually USE it.
The Taliban is more hated than the US and the UK. This one soldiers story isn’t want is actually happening throughout the country. There really has been a lot of progress against the Taliban supposed resurgence and in infrastructure building. But, it’s slow, because of the still lethal Taliban in some areas.
We could actually do what we said we would do in Afghanistan, and would have done it by now if it weren’t for Iraq sucking up everything in sight. Hopefully, we can get out of Iraq, and devote the time and money to Afghanistan, a country that actually WANTS to build a better future.
The military is run by idiots who couldn’t make it in civilian life.
16. Sounds like someone got rejected by the military. But, I guess, as long as what you say is true for the other side as well, we’ll be ok.
RBG
All this talk of “giving these people a chance of freedom” reminds me the last Military president in Brazil. He said that: “I will make this country a democracy, anybody who disagree I will arrest and crush.”
#16 – Seriously man… Speaking as a died in the wool liberal… take that shit somewhere else.
The United States military has its flaws like any and all organizations do… But these guys don’t think twice about putting themselves in harm’s way for their country, for me, and that’s a thing I cannot take for granted or disrespect.
Some people in the Services have done unethical things and made bad decisions. That just makes them like the rest of us. You can’t paint the whole military with one brush.
15. “Hopefully, we can get out of Iraq, and devote the time and money to Afganistan, a country that actually WANTS to build a better future. ”
Very idealistic joshua, and it sounds great. But at some point you need to realize you cannot force your way of life on someone else. We dont understand their culture, and our leaders make no attempt to try. Our reputation has been ruined by decades of intervention under the guise of spreading “freedom”. Well I call bullshit on that. At this point you should have some realization that the mideast problem is not about spreading democracy, but even if it was, I dont think they want our so called “gift”.
If there was no money in it, we wouldnt be there.
20. “If there was no money in it, we wouldnt be there.”
I can just hear those bankers rubbing their hands together even as the collapsing towers killed their co-workers.
RBG
#20…Mark…I might have a better grip on the situation than you, since I understand that Afganistan isn’t part of the Middle East, and the problems there aren’t remotely the same.
This is a country that has had over 30 years of occupation by super powers, Pakistan proxies and then the Taliban. This is actually a country whose everyday people want peace and some form of freedom and security, but whose leaders are the War Lords who have made the country want it is today, a mess. If we did what we claim we went there for, or even half of it, we would have a success story on our hands instead of another quagmire.
joshua- fine then. Do you have the courage of your convictions? Put on a uniform and get on over there then, put some of that education to work, make your parents proud.
#23 – No reason to get an attitude just because you can’t back up your one liners with any with supported facts or detailed analysis. Also, as a person who is going into the military in the winter, I look forward to the possibility of helping the Afghanis rebuild their country after 30+ years of complete destitution.
Joshua – Asia Minor…the Middle East, yea they’re basically the same. A couple of point to what you said.
With regards to Afghanistan & Iraq, without a doubt some resources were take away that could have sped up reconstruction effort. Honestly, I look at the situation in Afghanistan and see a 10 year support period for major NATO operations. If the Iraq War would have been executed more decisively, maybe Afghanistan could have been only a 7-8 year support period. However, as a person who supported the removal of Saddam, I find it to be worth the opportunity cost.
This brings me to a second point, the unequal distribution of weight placed upon the U.S. in a NATO based mission. NATO really needs to reanalyze how they carry out operations, and how much of the burden is shared among the members. I don’t like to point the finger, well yes I do, but France, Germany, and to a lesser extent Italy could all do much more to see that Afghanistan succeeds. As a side note when Canada is showboating to Germany in terms of military might, something needs to be re-examined. Rock on Prime Minister Harper. I’ve heard Afghanistan referred to as the Special Forces Olympics for all the countries involved, and Germany, UK, US, the Aussies, France, Canada, Italy, all help out there, but the clear & hold strategy demands a much more traditional role.
Looking back if I could have one wish, it is that Japan would have amended Article 9 in their constitution in the 1990’s and helped out with the NATO mission. Japan has the military power and financial resources to be a major player in these types of conflicts. Plus, Japan would make a great addition to the international face being presented to the Afghani people.
24. I wish you luck, and as a vet, I mean that sincerely.
So liberals talking points are
Iraq is costing too many lives. We need to withdraw to focus on the war on terrorism.
Afghanistan is a quagmire. We need to withdraw from there too.
Going after terrorists locally should involve the courts and not the military.
26,
1) Yes. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, and we need to pursue a diplomacy-based solution there. Killing more people will not bring us any closer to a solution there.
2) If we had kept our focus in Afghanistan we might not have this problem now. We definitely need to switch to a diplomacy-led effort there as well.
3) Going after the terrorists locally should be a police enforcement issue. If the cops and FBI can handle organized crime, why not terrorists? A good cop on the street is worth $1,000,000 of fancy surveillance and analysys.
27. Diplomacy… 72 virgins… diplomacy… 72 virgins… what’s a terrorist to do these days?
RBG