Eight years of US military action in Afghanistan with an expense tab of a quarter of a trillion dollars, and Afghanistan is in worse condition, with less stable bordering countries, death filling the air, and a ranking of 181 out of 182 countries for human development indices. ‘Life expectancy has fallen to 43 years since the U.S. invasion. Forty percent of the population is unemployed, and 42 percent live on less than $1 a day.’

The current dilemma regarding the country is whether to grant the request of NATO for 40,000 additional US troops to pummel the country’s insurgents. Now, ‘most of the women do not want more troops: they need support to sustain their lives. They want the U.S. investment to reflect what is needed to bring peace. They need investment in the people of Afghanistan.’ But the US thinks through the barrel of a gun. It has also had a history of supporting corrupt Third World regimes such as that of fraudulently reelected Hamid Karzai.

The US policy in Afghanistan is an obvious failure. Poverty and suffering are at worse levels. ‘American funds and initiatives continue to support a situation that fuels insurgency instead of a sustainable culture.’ The US is missing the point of counter-insurgency campaigns. It thinks that military action will win the people over, and foster peace. It is still the old imperialistic invasionary tactic. ‘90 percent of U.S. funding to Afghanistan is used for military; only approximately 10 percent has been used for any kind of development.’

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Via AlterNet