http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/defence-and-security-blog/2012/oct/23/uk-military-and-afghanistan-and-taliban?newsfeed=true
This article raises a good point in regards to the war on terror in Afghanistan. In the article the British commander says he "got the unvarnished "crystal truth" about the state of Helmand." by examining the local markets and produce. His findings shed light on the state of the war effort, but although they show promise, as it states later in the article, it is not the whole story. Many factors are prevalent during any war, and especially during a war such as the war on terror, where it is not a battle front, straightforward but instead a war based on intrigue and deception. In many respects, Afghanistan is getting better, the populous has stable food and goods, and there is trade throughout the nation, but in other respects, it is just as bad as it was. The fact that there is still fighting and violence is testament in that regard. I think this duality is due to the fact that we (UN / major powers) are still present in Afghanistan, and having foreign troops in their homes is still stirring up the people of Afghanistan.
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I find it very surprising that the state of Afghanistan is judged by the amount of violence, and not the standard of living of the common public. The acts may die down for some time only to shoot back up again. This makes it unrealistic and unreliable to measure Afghanistan's recovery by the number of bombings. Taking a look at the quantity and quality of produce in the markets shows what the people are able to purchase. From this, you can at least figure out how well the people are eating and when you see a change in produce, you can remeasure their standards.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Daniel had to say and fully agree that it is surprising and sad that our judgement has stooped down to the level where we make assumptions of peoples aspects of life based on the few things we actually know. I think this a great example of ethnocentrism. We should look beyond the issues of violence and realize that the produce coming out of Afghanistan is feeding many people sufficiently.
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