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Published: 18 December 2008
It’s hard to say how much of this fight belongs to the Afghans, and how much is ours. It should be theirs. It won't succeed until it is their fight -- even if they need some back-up help from us. One thing is certain: We are not “rebuilding” Afghanistan; it was never built to begin with. Centuries of repelling invaders kept the country free. But, perversely, it also meant that Afghanistan never benefited from the advances that most colonial power brought to the remote, primitive places they colonized. And thirty years of war, from the day the Soviets marched in, in the winter of 1979, though the internecine battles of the past decade, has destroyed much of what was there -- from the roads, to the mud compounds to a certain amount of the culture, generosity and spirit of the people.
This story can also be found covered at Pajamas Media.
The War in Afghanistan has truly begun. This will be a long, difficult fight that is set to eclipse anything we’ve seen in Iraq. As 2010 unfolds, my 6th year of war coverage will unfold with it. There is relatively little interest in Afghanistan by comparison to previous interest in Iraq, and so reader interest is low. Afghanistan is serious, very deadly business. Like Iraq, however, it gets pushed around as a political brawling pit while the people fighting the war are mostly forgotten. The arguments at home seem more likely to revolve around a few words from the President than the ground realities of combat here. I can bring the ground realities, but can sustain the coverage only by the graciousness of readers. Please keep that in mind. Please click…
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