Portrait of an occupied country

[unhappycamper]

Portrait of an occupied country
By Evan Hill

In the days since whistle blower website Wikileaks released more than 90,000 military reports chronicling the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2009, journalists and commentators have written extensively about the deteriorating security situation they describe.

The mass of classified communications has served to highlight links between the Taliban and Pakistan,the spreading danger of improvised explosive devices and the woeful discipline of Afghan security forces.

The flip side of the war effort, the attempt to rebuild a war torn country, has not caught the headlines.

But thousands of newly released reports on meetings between Nato and Aghan officials, discussing everything from village schools to irrigation retaining walls, describe in day-to-day detail the breadth and depth of Nato's influence in the country.

The documents show an Afghan decision-making system almost entirely dependent on foreign reconstruction teams and military units to set the way forward.

[hobbit709]

1. Nobody likes an occupier.

[Selatius]

2. The problem in Afghanistan is that elders and tribal chiefs call the shots, not elected leaders.

Here is the problem in a heartbeat. Read this snip:

A taxation system viewed as corrupt by Nato that had filled the coffers of 150 local villages and influential elders was set to be uprooted, subsumed into a single flow of income that would head straight to the governor's office and be subject to only his oversight.

The new plan angered the elders. The governor, presumably the highest authority in his own province, wanted it reversed. The officer pointed out that elders and police officers had been abusing the system to extort vendors to pay for personal cars and mobile phones.

An Afghan man accompanying the governor warned that there would be unrest and protests. Another military officer spoke up: In that case, he said, there won't be a bazaar or money to argue over at all.

The discussion was over, and more than 100 local power brokers had lost a major source of income. The decision had not come from a shura, or even the governor, but from Nato.

This is how you fast-track moving over a village elder's name from "Ally" to "Supporter of the Taliban." When you fight the local elders and the people around them who protect the elders, you're fighting against the locals, essentially.

In this snip, I'm simply high-lighting money problems. I haven't even started talking about the movement of food and humanitarian goods, yet. You know that that equally exacerbates the situation if you're simply standing there dictating to people who gets the food and medicine for the winter vs. who doesn't, and on top of that, you profess ignorance over who is exactly in need because you don't have sufficient boots on the ground or the resources to actually go out there and verify for yourself.

[txlibdem]

4. Much easier to control one puppet Governor

Rather than having to locate and influence (bribe or threaten) dozens of local chieftains.

PS, how did these persons gain their positions of power and influence in the first place? No murdering opponents I'm sure.

[stray cat]

3. I can tell she is praying for the Taliban to come back - oh wait she isn't covered

and if she is on her way to school they might throw acid in her face and kill her

[lunatica]

5. What you say reminds me of a quote from Clayton Williams who ran against Ann Richards

"Rape is like bad weather: if it's inevitable, you might as well relax and enjoy it."

If the Taliban or her father or brothers find reason to kill that girl or anyone else none of those soldiers can stop it.

Where the hell does anyone find the proof that war makes the enemy more civilized? That peace rammed at the point of a gun is anything close to true peace? This is why it's a quagmire there, and we don't have the worst of it. That girl in the photo does.

[polly7]

6. I can tell she's terrified looking at occupiers with guns.

Who knows, maybe she's one of those child brides whose warlord hubbies has been given the gift of Viagra by the CIA and has torture to look forward to nightly. These girls and women have much to be afraid of. I always wonder at the excuse that NATO is there to help them, does anyone really believe that?? Not even my cousin who's been there twice, and is herself heartbroken they can't do more to do what she thought they were there for, says she really believes it anymore, though she tries. She's an amazing lady, I want her home safe. Bring them all home.