SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
US War Machine Leaves Ugly Imprint in Afghanistan
Dispatch from remote base reveals physical and political damage left in wake of US occupation
Dec 31, 2012
If only in a microcosm, a dispatch from a remote outpost in Afghanistan reveals the damage and dysfunction created by years of US occupation and how little regard western military forces have for local communities when a final determination is made that an outpost should be abandoned.
Reporting from Kunar province, the Guardian's Emma Graham-Harrison describes that following a recent midnight departure from a US military outpost that had existed for years, all that was left in the morning were "piles of equipment, an unpaid rent bill and a festering land dispute that threatens to undermine the Afghan government."
As Graham-Harrison writes:
Rows of air conditioning units stuck out of a damaged wall, a giant, dilapidated generator was marooned near shipping containers and twisted, dented vehicles remained. But there was no sign of a cheque for a landlord who said years of rent, running to hundreds of thousands of dollars, was owing to him.
"They stayed six years and only paid rent for one year," said Haji Najibullah Khan, who grew up in the Pashengar house that became a US base. He said the departing US commander warned him off pushing for rent money when they met a few weeks before the soldiers drove away in the night.
At a separate base closing nearby, all that was left following the US departure was a land dispute that villagers warned would push neighbor against neighbor and some into the the welcoming arms of the Taliban.
With a planned drawdown scheduled for 2014, but with no signs of a significant peace agreement in Afghanistan, the reality of life on the ground in the shadow of war appears precarious at best for most Afghans.
The US made no promises to its people when it invaded Afghanistan in 2001. More than eleven years later, little has changed.
As 2013 dawns, it seems, the US focus will continue to be on its own desires and interests. For Afghans, on the other hand, the useless waste of war is all they should expect to keep.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
If only in a microcosm, a dispatch from a remote outpost in Afghanistan reveals the damage and dysfunction created by years of US occupation and how little regard western military forces have for local communities when a final determination is made that an outpost should be abandoned.
Reporting from Kunar province, the Guardian's Emma Graham-Harrison describes that following a recent midnight departure from a US military outpost that had existed for years, all that was left in the morning were "piles of equipment, an unpaid rent bill and a festering land dispute that threatens to undermine the Afghan government."
As Graham-Harrison writes:
Rows of air conditioning units stuck out of a damaged wall, a giant, dilapidated generator was marooned near shipping containers and twisted, dented vehicles remained. But there was no sign of a cheque for a landlord who said years of rent, running to hundreds of thousands of dollars, was owing to him.
"They stayed six years and only paid rent for one year," said Haji Najibullah Khan, who grew up in the Pashengar house that became a US base. He said the departing US commander warned him off pushing for rent money when they met a few weeks before the soldiers drove away in the night.
At a separate base closing nearby, all that was left following the US departure was a land dispute that villagers warned would push neighbor against neighbor and some into the the welcoming arms of the Taliban.
With a planned drawdown scheduled for 2014, but with no signs of a significant peace agreement in Afghanistan, the reality of life on the ground in the shadow of war appears precarious at best for most Afghans.
The US made no promises to its people when it invaded Afghanistan in 2001. More than eleven years later, little has changed.
As 2013 dawns, it seems, the US focus will continue to be on its own desires and interests. For Afghans, on the other hand, the useless waste of war is all they should expect to keep.
If only in a microcosm, a dispatch from a remote outpost in Afghanistan reveals the damage and dysfunction created by years of US occupation and how little regard western military forces have for local communities when a final determination is made that an outpost should be abandoned.
Reporting from Kunar province, the Guardian's Emma Graham-Harrison describes that following a recent midnight departure from a US military outpost that had existed for years, all that was left in the morning were "piles of equipment, an unpaid rent bill and a festering land dispute that threatens to undermine the Afghan government."
As Graham-Harrison writes:
Rows of air conditioning units stuck out of a damaged wall, a giant, dilapidated generator was marooned near shipping containers and twisted, dented vehicles remained. But there was no sign of a cheque for a landlord who said years of rent, running to hundreds of thousands of dollars, was owing to him.
"They stayed six years and only paid rent for one year," said Haji Najibullah Khan, who grew up in the Pashengar house that became a US base. He said the departing US commander warned him off pushing for rent money when they met a few weeks before the soldiers drove away in the night.
At a separate base closing nearby, all that was left following the US departure was a land dispute that villagers warned would push neighbor against neighbor and some into the the welcoming arms of the Taliban.
With a planned drawdown scheduled for 2014, but with no signs of a significant peace agreement in Afghanistan, the reality of life on the ground in the shadow of war appears precarious at best for most Afghans.
The US made no promises to its people when it invaded Afghanistan in 2001. More than eleven years later, little has changed.
As 2013 dawns, it seems, the US focus will continue to be on its own desires and interests. For Afghans, on the other hand, the useless waste of war is all they should expect to keep.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy