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How US Ignorance Helped Doom the Afghan War
Americans' lack of knowledge about Afghanistan is virtually limitless. Which matters, because the U.S. is at war there. And which explains why the American military is losing its longest war.
During my 2001 trip, where I covered the Taliban defeat at the Battle of Kunduz for the Village Voice and KFI radio, I met a British reporter who offered an amusing prescription for American military action. "If the average American cannot identify three cities in a country," he suggested, "the U.S. should not invade it."
Given that the average American doesn't know their state capital, much less three cities in, say, Canada, this would transform us into a pacifist society overnight.
More appalling than Joe and Jane Sixpack's ignorance about Afghanistan is the doltishness of the official media. If print and broadcast journalists get the facts wrong, how can the public (or the military) be expected to do better? To cite one tiny example, U.S. newspapers routinely refer to the citizens of Afghanistan as "Afghanis." Afghanis are the national currency; the people are Afghans. Dammit.
On a broader level, the Afghan war document trove leaked by WikiLeaks has prompted many to ask: Why didn't the media question the war against Afghanistan before now?
Mostly, U.S. state media didn't want to know anything that questioned the Bush-Obama Administration's official line: 9/11 came out of Afghanistan, we have to prevent Al Qaeda from turning the country into a land of terrorist jungle gyms, and oh, yeah, we should do something about opium and burqas too.
People like Ahmed Rashid, the Pakistani journalist who wrote "Taliban," tried repeatedly to get the world to pay attention to a different take. Pakistan, not Afghanistan, was the real danger in the region. In Afghanistan, Karzai government was underfunded and overcorrupt and widely considered illegitimate. The U.S. sent in troops to shoot and bomb when they ought to have delivered construction equipment to build the infrastructure necessary to form a coherent state and viable Afghan economy.
Rashid wrote books. Wonks bought them and read them, but the political leadership ignored them. I wrote books. Ditto. But it didn't make a difference. It is shocking and disgusting that President Obama listened to people who knew nothing about Afghanistan while ignoring those who do.
Countless personal experiences confirmed my impression that reporters "parachuted in" to cover wars for brief assignments could never deliver the nuanced, detailed, accurate coverage necessary for American leaders and the public to make informed decisions.
In '01 CBS' correspondents sent to cover the invasion flew straight to Pakistan, only to get stuck there because the Khyber Pass was closed. (Anyone familiar with the region knew that.) I had a brief discussion with the network about my plan to go in via Tajikistan. A producer told me I would never make it. "The mountain passes are already snowed over," he said confidently, looking out his window at Manhattan traffic. "There's six feet of snow there." I made it. No snow. Not a single flake.
This reminds me of D-Day. Civil affairs detachments that accompanied the first wave of troops at Omaha Beach brought tons of food to feed French civilians, whom the Allied military believed to be starving. Though hunger was indeed widespread in occupied France, warehouses in Normandy were bursting with food; Allied bombing raids had cut the train lines that carried Norman produce to the rest of France. "Plenty of food," officers wired Eisenhower. "Send shoes."
French feet hadn't seen new shoes for four years.
In 2001 the Village Voice committed to me only after their first attempt to get a reporter "in country" failed. As Dave Barry says, I am not making this up: the poor guy got himself embedded with the Navy. He spent the war on the deck of a ship floating in the Indian Ocean taking photos of cruise missile launches. What part of "landlocked nation" did he miss?
I'm leaving for South Asia on August 1 and expect to be in Afghanistan for a month, beginning on or about August 13. Accompanied by fellow cartoonists Matt Bors and Steven L. Cloud, I'm going to take advantage of new satellite technology to upload a new kind of daily war correspondency to my blog (rall.com/rallblog) and a half-dozen newspapers: a recounting of the day's events in comic form. I'll be going to the most remote parts of the country--the north and western villages and towns that see few if any visits by Western reporters. Why?
Because they see few if any visits by Western reporters.
Pitching papers on this project has proven that little has changed since 2010: editors and producers are still clueless. Among some of the more priceless responses I've gotten:
"Do they take American Express there?" (No credit cards. Cash only.)
"How about if you call us and pitch us if you see something interesting?" (No phones.)"Do you speak Pashto?" (No, but neither do Afghans in the north or west.)
"You'd be safer if you were embedded." (U.S. troops are the main target. Embedded reporters get hurt more often than independents. And of course it's impossible to be objective, or speak freely with locals, when you're traveling with soldiers.)
But nothing speaks louder than the lack of interest in this project by the vast majority of media outlets. They'll keep talking about Afghanistan--but they won't put up the bucks to find out what's really going on.
- Posted in
68 Comments so far
Show AllTed, the cheney administration knew all they wanted to know; trillions of dollars were there for the taking.
You don't have to know anything about a country to defeat it militarily if you are able and willing to do enough killing.
The USA is nowhere near this.
The rulers of the USA just want things to remain on a low simmer --forever, apparently.
There is no draft. The sons and daughters of congress people or corporate execs don't serve. Only families of those in the fight care.
Their care is insincere.
They fight for the money. They are mercenaries. Putting the victims aside for the purposes of this discussion, while we must have pity on mercenaries we must also pity murderers and rapists, arguably more so for many of the latter two are grindingly, desperately and passionately caught in circumstances they inherit from their parents and other social circumstances. They did not volunteer.
But these mercenaries volunteer. They are careerists, and although often caught by economic circumstances, who is not? They are like the officers and politicians who send them to war. As Afghans so clearly see, the amazingly apt images of their body armour and use of 'drone games' makes them as contemptible in 'victory' as GW Bush was in the infamous aircraft carrier victory speech. In this way even many of the most impoverished of US citizens are without excuse.
Militarism as understood in the USA is entirely without merit. It is also embedded in the culture so much so that, in the balance, the structure known as the USA has no merit.
What we are discussing is not a military, economic or political defeat. It is a cultural debacle. The entire culture of the USA, all its finest understandings, is a fraud.
This fact is written on the wall and only bloody fools do not read it.
Many US citizens do. By doing so they are no longer US citizens, for as the recent Coming of the great US prophet clearly said, 'If you are not with us, you are against us.'
"The sons and daughters of congress people or corporate execs don't serve."
Even if there were conscription, those people wouldn't serve unless they volunteered. If the law was anything like it was in the 60's you could get out of the draft if you had a few bucks to your name or get someone to loan it to you.
"Why didn't the media question the war against Afghanistan before now?"
Answer: Mission Accomplished...
"Every official we questioned about the possibility of an invasion of Afghanistan said that it was almost unthinkable, absent a provocation such as 9/11...." - The 9/11 Commission Report, July 2004 (p 137)
“Officials we interviewed flatly said that neither Congress nor the American public would have supported large-scale military operations in Afghanistan before the shock of 9/11—despite repeated attacks and plots, including the embassy bombings, the Millennium plots, concerns about al Qaeda to acquire WMD, the U.S.S. Cole, and the summer 2001 threat spike. Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz warned that it would have been impossible to get Congress to support sending 10,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan to do what the Soviet Union failed to do in the 1980s. Vice Admiral Scott Fry, the former operations director for the JCS, noted that “a two-or-four division plan would require a footprint [troop level] and force that was larger than the political leadership was willing to accept.” - 9/11 Commission: The Military: Staff Statement No 6, 2004 p.12
GHANDI:
Nothing like a well-timed "Pearl Harbor" when the next war is desired... by those who have covertly taken control of much of the country. Worked like magic for Hitler when he had insiders burn down the Reichstag to rouse citizens, and win them over to the idea that the time had come to go after terrorists... in their midst. Great way to justify a drift net that catches anyone who dissents against the authoritarian make-war state! Sound too familiar?
When plots are copied in the literary field, one can sue for plagiarism. Too bad military planners are not held to the same standards. Maybe the public would begin to see the redundant use of the same deadly scripts and bloody plot devices.
I remember hearing abot the problems with asbestos in the twin towers, and how hard it was gonna be to get it all out, they might have had to close them for years. Except for that sad accident.
>^^<
urban reform anyone?
Of course, the news media supports the oligarchy's intentional perpetual war scam - which is designed to gratify their extreme greed while milking the American people (of about a trillion dollars a year). Truth, justice & diplomacy are their biggest rivals. It's not about winning or loosing, it's about keeping the money flowing and keeping the people acting like ignorant sheep.
It's no longer just the print and broadcast journalists which have contributed to the ignorance and "dumbing down" of America. The internet has joined that group. Just spend time at Huffington Post or Drudge Report (two supposedly different ends of the political spectrum) and read the comments and how issues are covered. Those "news" type sites are contributing to the further divide with the "us" against "them" mentality (Democrats vs. GOP). Most of the reporting (except for a rare exception such as Ryan Grim) lacks any depth on the topics at all.
It seems to be a complete blight on journalism when "accurate information" only results from leaks which the President then immediately turns into a criminal matter. Wow...message received by many journalists I'm sure...don't report on the military or wars except in a whitewashed manner. What have we become?
To Ted Rall: PLEASE continue writing realistically about issues such as Afghanistan. Some of us want to see reality. Thank you.
But the people who orchestrated the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan knew all they needed to know. Pipelines needed to be built, strategic positions needed to be secured and 100s of billions of dollars needed to be bilked from taxpayers and transferred into private corporate hands. Plus, Walid Karzai and the good ol CIA are apparently making quite a tidy sum from the rampant opium and heroin trade.
The deaths of US/NATO soldiers and tens of thousands of Afghans (and Pakistanis) did not enter their calculations.
The same now applies to the current administration and many are prepared for un-ending violence, imperialism, occupation and wars.
Mr. Rall is barking up the wrong tree here, although he does make some valid observations.
That was my take, much as I respect Mr Rall, the folks who orchestrated this debacle (who are the same people profiting from it) "knew all they needed to know..." American ignorance certainly facilitated the plan, but it did not make it possible.
My only correction would be regarding the "necessary" deaths needed to carry out their nefarious works. Those deaths were very much a part of the calculations, and the numbers deemed acceptable. We are a nation of war criminals. The time for the "Good American" to speak up is long past. We're all guilty now.
Why is it pundit after pundit after pundit scratches his head at how stupid our government is in executing the Afghan (and Iraq) "war"? It's not a war! Are these guys so completely naive to think what's going on is what the government tells them? Since when was that the case? Sure Americans are stupid, but so what. Reporters being stupid and naive is another thing entirely.
I believe John Perkins "economic hitman" methods could have secured these things. I believe the war is pursued ,on orders from the imperium, to continue destroying US. It's pursued BECAUSE it is unwinnable. It's pursued to financially destroy us, keep our constitution in abeyance,produce lethal "austerities" for mainstreet, funnel more wealth & power thru wallstreet FOR the transnational imperium, to destroy the main potential force that can actually destroy the imperium; the U.S.as a "we the people" mainstreet U.S. (but we would need a strategic alliance with russia, china, india to achieve it, because that's how strong the imperium has become).We would need ,at minimum, glass-steagall & the rest of FDR's reform slate reinstalled, to confirm mainstreet is back in the saddle & hunting down the imperium. Until that minimum happens, we're doomed victims of the imperium.
I appreciate that Rall was there at the Battle of Kunduz, but I don't care if Americans can name all the cities, all the provinces, all the ethnic groups and the major dialects spoken. The US should not have gone in there in the first place. What changed after 9/11 was...we got even stupider.
If you are going into a country to wage war, shouldn't you at least have a basic understanding of what you are dealing with? Those who don't understand about all the different ethnic groups and tribes in Afghanistan for example, will think we can easily just walk into that country, take it over and provide "freedom". It is so much more complicated than that which is why in my opinion people DO need to have a basic understanding of a country before sending our troops into battle. If more members of Congress, for example, had fully understood what we were getting into, maybe they would have thought a little longer about going to war in the first place.
And...at the time, 38% of Fox "News" viewers thought the 9/11 hijackers were from Iraq and working with Saddam Hussein. Another example of why it is important to understand history, the make-up of a country (tribes, etc.) before invading (especially under false pretenses). The lack of "real" MSM reporting resulted in the "dumbing down" of our citizens.
38% is pretty small for Fox News viewers. 38% would be pretty large for all viewers of all networks.
Forgotten fact by too many: after the 9/11/01 terrorism, the Afghan Taliban offered to turn OBL over to a third party nation if Bush provided evidence that OBL was behind the 9/11 atrocities. OBL has always denied involvement (if you discount the CIA-faked "OBL confession video").
Bush refused, and then started the attack on Afghanistan.
To this day, the FBI does NOT list the 9/11 crimes as one of OBL's many crimes on OBL's Most Wanted page. They still don't have enough hard evidence of his involvement.
So Bush & Cheney, who had planned the invasion of Afghanistan long before the 9/11 terrorism, had their convenient justification for inserting U.S. troops & mercenaries on Iran's eastern border, and near Russia's southern border and China's western border.
What is it that makes some people here feel the need to jump on someone's grammar or spelling, for Chrs sakes? We're not playing teacher here. We're sharing views. If you don't get the meaning, either ask or skip the comment.
Why should anyone write two words when one will do just fine? Is it because the Queen of England said so?
I am not trying to take sides on this issue but here is something for you to ponder. When someone is called out for their spelling, they may just take a few moments longer in the future to make sure they have correctly spelled a word. With time, this can become second nature for them, and they benefit in addition to all those trying to make sure they understand the comments correctly (example bear vs. bare in an ambiguous statement which either could apply). On the other hand, you are correct that we should ask for the "meaning" of their comment. Unfortunately, sometimes, the person making the comment has already moved elsewhere.
In all honesty, I don't think people pointing out mistakes are trying to put others down but actually trying to build them up to try harder. Of course, this is a comment from someone whose father was a teacher ☮
This wasn't a spelling correction. It's more a matter of the old guard fighting against language change. Can't get much stupider than fighting the tide.
ctrl-z
The guard doesn't get any older than me.
I paused, vacillated between 'more stupid' and 'stupider', decided to go with stupider for effect, and that's the effect I got. Still, I do think I had to say something about 9/11.
How many Americans will read this simple article? Answer, not enough of them to call for withdrawal.
do we need a comic version? a cartoon wikileaks?
are you going to mention the heroin, Ted, or just the 'war'?
Alas, the arrogance of imperialists!
I remember when my 9th grade Social Studies teacher, returned from Vietnam, told the class that the U.N. was planning some event to discuss peace in the region. He further remarked that beef was to be served at lunch, even though many of the dignitaries attending held religious beliefs that made eating beef a serious taboo. This breach of protocol was seen as a huge faux pas.
Here, too, the organizers never bothered to learn about their guests, or the facts ON the ground. Armchair theorists get paid big bucks to formulate abstract theories. How often do they work?
Perhaps Julian Assange, already motivating Ted Rall, will inspire a new fashion in journalism: one that actually takes the FACTS into account, ones that extend beyond the preferred views of the innermost imperial circles.
We really need to promote journalists such as Ted Rall and all who seek the FACTS. There was a time when journalists aspired to be like Ted Rall and search for the facts, then report them. I hate to say this, but, I have about as much confidence in most MSM "journalists" as I do in Congress or the President "doing the right thing"...very little.
The only source of truth about the Vietnam War was what the grunts who returned had to say. The DOD painted a rosy picture of "hearts and minds" embracing our way of life then and nothing has changed one iota today! I look forward to Mr. Rall's reports. His journalism is simple, direct, and wise. Qualities we need badly in the struggle for ....
Peace
I find it naive to believe that those who conceive, propagandize, prosecute and are enriched by war want "reporters "parachuted in" to cover wars for brief assignments could never deliver the nuanced, detailed, accurate coverage necessary for American leaders and the public to make informed decisions." Show me any evidence to confirm that there is a desire by the war industry, and the press certainly is an essential component of selling the necessity of war, to have an informed citizenry. It seems to me that is the last thing decisionmakers for the rest of us want.
They don't want an "informed citizenry" which is why it is so dangerous to have a monopolistic corporate media providing "information". As an example, NBC is owned by General Electric which provides Military engines among other things. Hmmm...no conflict there, right?
War , what can be said about war. Understanding war.
War is a means to a conclusion.
Sometimes war is waged to stop tryants or dictators that cross borders and invade nations for empire building.
Sometimes wars are waged to force one nations will on another.
Sometimes wars are waged so that a powerful group of bankers , politicians and corporations can earn huge profits.
But is always true in the conclusion, is that innocent men ,women , a, children,familys,and soldiers die.
And in the end , all the reasons for war are about men who have had there hunanity and souls erode away, and something subhuman is left.
As for terrorists, they are criminals, they will move from country to country, war is not the solution to terrorism or drugs.
War is the sub human foley of men who can not solve problems without the intervention of greed.
A Realist.
Safe travel, Ted.
I was in Afghanistan in 1972 for a few weeks, travelling independently with my wife through the Kyber Pass through the country, exiting in Iran. I am no expert on the country but I can assure you that the US will never get their way there. The Afghans are extremely independent people who value their ancient way of life and religion. They are rather wild, protective of their society and way of life. They smoke hashish more than they use opium or at least that was the case. There is no way that the Americans and NATO can subdue these people - - they will not be dominated by an alien force that is hostile to their life and beliefs. They are a strong, tall people and are not of a dark complexion but are of what is called Aryan stock - - they look pretty much like Caucasians if you look at any photos. They enjoy fighting and the "manly" aggressive martial arts. They do not appreciate strangers getting close to their mud walled villages. It was well known at that time that if you were in the wrong place they would just shoot you. Most carry guns and there is (was) a very large weapons bazaar in the Khyber Pass. The men are extremely protective of the women who are completely subdued by law and custom. The US and NATO made a big mistake from the beginning. This war is a continuing tragedy for all concerned and will end in tragedy in a few more years. Quotation:
"Earlier, Obama argued in an appearance on the ABC talk show "The View" that the leaked documents suggesting the war was not going well merely proved that he had been right to argue a change of strategy was needed. And he told Americans that he had no choice but to "finish the job" in Afghanistan."
Good luck Ted and thanks for the blog link. Look forward to hearing from you all. Keep the water on hand I reckon.
US media consumers lack cable connections to international media. CNN International is a dumbed down version of what is available outside the US. Al Jazeera English is modeled on the original CNN. Part of the reason it is unavailable to Americans is the Israel Lobby but the other part is the power of the media lobby that works with any and every lobby that keeps out competition. Freedom of the Pre$$ remains the law of the land.
I think it was on Saturday that Robin Young on Here and Now, "liberal" talk radio, had a guest on from an NGO based on Afghanistan, winning hearts and minds, he was, hoped we stay there another 10 years.
What is wrong with losing a war that was misguided at the outset and mismanaged in between? We "have to" win to justify future militaristic adventures.
That's messed up. Thanks, O'Bummer.
The United States has plenty of people who understand Afghanistan; some are Afghanis who choose to live in the US; others are academics. The problem is not with a lack of expertise, but with an abundance of arrogance on the part of the Pentagon. Military people are the most ethnocentric tribe in the United States. They draw heavily from rural, southern communities, areas not known for an interest in world religions, exotic languages, and the customs of people different from themselves. The State Department had many trained officials, many fluent in languages appropriate to the countries in which they worked. It has been muscled aside by military types, who not only lack a background in other cultures, but also hold a blinkered perspective blinded by prejudice towards Muslims. If it weren't for the sorry, wounded soldiers sent home from battle, I would take delight in watching the generals get a kick in the ass. As it is, I cannot rejoice.
There are thousands of Ex-Peace Corps Volunteers who served in Afghanistan, who spoke almost fluent Farsi or Dari and who lived in Afghan villages. Prior to the Soviet Invasion, the US actually had a good political relationship with Afghans. There was a small embassy staffed by South Asian experts. The US military was licking its wounds following losses in Vietnam.
The State Department did have experts fluent in Farsi. They, however, did not waste their time in the backwaters of rural Afghanistan. They were too busy trying to keep the Shah in power.
I do not agree that the State Department had Afghan experts. Most of the Georgetown graduates were pissed that they were not assigned to Paris or London - Kabul was a death sentence.
There were no Afghan studies programs in the US. One would be hard pressed to find even one course at the elite eastern universities. There were one or two graduate courses at SOAS - University of London - mainly in Farsi linguistics.
There was one cultural history of Afghanistan (well-written), When one considers that James Mitchner was one of the few to write about Afghan culture - one must concede a total lack of understanding on the part of westerners.
There were very few Afghan exchange students - very few graduate students - very little academic interchange with the west. Afghans were not interested in westernization. They still are not interested. They just want to be left alone.
The CIA wants opium to finance covert operations. The west wants to maintain control of oil in Asia (keep it away from the Chinese and the IPI pipeline). The emerging alternative energy cartel wants Afghanistan's Lithium. The military wants a war to reward defense companies and mercenaries. Billions of dollars have disappeared ? right !!!
Islam is a convenient whipping boy .... Afghan experts are not needed. They are a nuisance. Ignorance is bliss, and in the case of the US - profitable.
"The US military was licking its wounds following losses in Vietnam."
They'll be doing it again when this disaster is over in about 30 years. The problem is, their tongue won't be long enough.
The best information for me came from the Virginia Quarterly Review, Spring edition. ( Yes, I've posted this before.)
What do the people of Afghanistan want?
They want us to go away and leave them alone, but leave them with , cement, lumber and blankets.
This tact would be much more useful and less expensive than our current military budget. Just stamp, "U.S.A." all over the merchandise .Pay a pittance compared to what we pay those contractors, to lumber supply stores( in every state)
Have the blankets made in the U.S.A ( in brand new factories) and have anybody but Halliburton supply the cement.
War over, and the public option lives! Besides, blankets, lumber and cement don't often kill people. More jobs for us, and less death for them. Unless one is a psycho military person, this makes perfect sense.
Just so they're not like the blankets the Brits gave the North American Indians.
All kidding aside, supplying them with American made goods they need makes a lot of sense. It would be Win - Win.
Don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.
Yeah, Ted, if Obama only knew the truth.
He does. But, his job, given to him by his ruling elite bosses, is to prosecute the war, until told otherwise.
Obama is a shill doing his masters work, nothing more.
He does not care one wit about America.
Remember the most resent leaks from Wikileaks about the war, shows that we have been giving aid and comfort to the enemy through Pakistan, and sometimes directly as security payola.
Aid and comfort to the enemy is the definition of treason.
Yet, no one is outraged at this treason?
I was outraged when Bush did it.... Can't be now cause goin against Obomber iz Raceist!
>^^<
"Obama . . . does not care one wit about America."
You got it!
Let's invade Panama again. It's fun!!! Herbert Wankkerbush, war preznit.
Mebbie ol'Obomber cain't find the Mission Accompolished banner.
>^^<
There's no one in the White House who can use Photoshop.
"More appalling than Joe and Jane Sixpack's ignorance about Afghanistan is the doltishness of the official media."
It is not Joe and Jane Sixpack who sent us haplessly into this murderous war but strategic planning by Joe ThinkTank, Tom and Daisy Uppercrust educated at Harvard and Yale, as well as Mr. Smithers, chairman of Lockheed, and Daddy Warbucks, Senator Winesipper and his wife lady Yachtswoman, and the Cheney beast peering out from his cave. It was the bribing of our "elected officials" by oil and mining companies who thought it would be a good business decision to send our kids there to secure resources for their companies risking only common people's lives and on our dime. It was entitled preppies masquerading as cowboys and down-home folks. It was contractors whose fangs quivered at the huge profits to be made when there is a "war".
The most appalling thing is the deliberate decisions by well-heeled and well educated "elite" to fabricate bogus reasons to go to war, and then to kill, maim and irradiate Afghan families, Iraqi unborn and our our domestic poor in pusuit of a contract, a pipeline.
Joe and Jane are admittedly often lazy, ill-informed and passive followers whose last bit of resistance was neutralized by a tall, good-looking narcissistic spokesmodel, recruited because he is a very effective phony. Even the ordinary people who have awakened, which is now a majority, have no honest representation with which to implement their will. They have never been in charge of this debacle.
Joe and Jane Sixpack is an offensive characterization, and misleading. It diverts from the real class that is behind these invasions. (Now that racism is somewhat discredited, I believe that class prejudice will be the last to go.)
Joe
Really? I thought it was to give all those kids who have no chance at getting meaningful employment, Something to Do. You know get them out of moms basement out in the good air, and some exercize :)
It's not an Adventure it's a carrier path!
>^^<