03/12/2010 01:07:04 AM EST
The problem with purely military solutions
posted by Robrob
Amid continuing war, Afghanistan is plagued by 40% unemployment. Infrastructure lags and the economy is plagued by mismanagement.
In Afghanistan, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Sound familiar?
"One day we work, three days we don't. How can life be good?" said Ahmed Jalal, poking his red-bearded chin through a crowd of laborers. "The Americans are sending cash to Afghanistan to build factories, but our officials are taking it for themselves. If there were factories do you think we'd be standing in this dusty place?"
"If the U.S. and other countries want a stable Afghanistan, they don't need war, they need to build industries," said Ahmad Morid Rahimi, a coordinator with a relief and job placement agency. "People join the Taliban. Why? To feed their families. Instead of sending 15,000 soldiers to fight in Marja, why didn't the U.S. spend those millions of dollars creating jobs?"
