Afghanistan Update
April 11th, 2008 at 02:05am Mark Noonan
Mostly ignored, except as a prop in the anti-Bush/anti-Iraq morality play of the left, Afghanistan is becoming ever more clearly a success, and a model for what we are doing in Iraq - from American Thinker:
Here are a dozen more facts from the report you are unlikely to see in media reporting:
1. The Afghan Army is growing in size, experience, and leadership capabilities.
2. A recent study found that 90% of the Afghan population trusted the countries military force.
3. More than 4,000 km of roads have been built where only 50 km existed in 2001.
4. The rehabilitation of the North-East power system has advanced and access of the rural households to electricity has been significantly increased.
5. In 2007 alone, ISAF nations completed 1,080 civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) projects.
6. 2,000 schools were built or repaired in the last five years and around 6.4 million children (including 1.5 million girls) are now in schools.
7. Since 2001, both infant and under-five mortality has declined by 26% and 22% respectively.
8. In 2001, 8% of Afghans had access to some form of healthcare. Now more than 80% of the population has access to medical care.
9. The non-opium economy has grown at an average of 12% over the past four years; the number of poppy-free provinces has grown from six in 2006 to 13 in 2007.
10. Afghan public support for international involvement in Afghanistan remains high with around 70% of Afghans supporting the presence of international forces.
11. The majority of Afghans believe their country is going in the right direction and 84% support their current government (as opposed to 4% who would support the Taliban).
12. They also maintain a positive view of reconstruction efforts with 63% saying that reconstruction efforts in their area have been effective since 2002.Yet all of this good news goes nearly unreported in the American media in favor of a “resurgent Taliban” narrative. At some point, media consumers must not only question the media narrative but the cause of this distorted reporting. We can only conclude that the disparate nature of the facts from the reporting points to nothing less than purposely biased reporting at America’s journalistic institutions.
Michelle Malkin recently alluded to the American media misreporting of the Tet Offensive. Her discussion referred to a historical study of the media reporting versus what really happened in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive that found the media narrative drove the reporting, not the events. We are now experiencing another Tet Offensive in Afghanistan, not from the enemy forces, but from an enemy media that seeks to put a Democrat in the White House by discrediting anything our military has accomplished, as long as the Commander-in-Chief is a Republican.
The stunning turn around in Afghanistan, dear anti-war critics, is brought to you by the very same President, Administration and military you say have made complete mess of Iraq - in your view, not only has nothing been done right in Iraq, but what we’ve done has actually made matters worse. This is a strong indictment, and if it were true then it would be an indication of complete incompetance on the part of President Bush and his Administration…but this President and his Administration have done so much good in Afghanistan that it can’t be denied (even if it is ignored); and this, in turn, means that President Bush and his Administration are not miserable incompetants…and as Afghanistan has no oil, it also shows that the President and Administration, far from fighting for oil, are actually fighting just for what they say - liberty and peace.
When you add to this the massive good done under President Bush with Africa and the growing American alliances with nations like India, Georgia and Ukraine plus the fact - stoutly denied by those on the left, but unmistakable, all the same - that things have gotten better in Iraq and look to continue to get better in the future, what we get is a clear picture of a President and Administration not only know what they’re doing, but are doing it better than than any other past Administration, and under far more difficult domestic circumstances than any war President has had to suffer since Lincoln dealt with the Copperheads in the Civil War.
You on the left are not just wrong, you’re foolishly wrong - and those of us who have backed President Bush will have the honor of looking back at our lives and saying, “we backed the right man with the right plan”, while you on the left will just have to wallow in your lies and hatred…unless, of course, you choose to wise up and admit your gross errors.
Entry Filed under: Foreign Affairs, President Bush, Republicans, War on Terror
20 Comments
1. Iraq War » Afghanis&hellip | April 11th, 2008 at 4:07 am
[...] Mark Noonan wrote an interesting post today on Afghanistan UpdateHere’s a quick excerptThe stunning turn around in Afghanistan, dear anti-war critics, is brought to you by the very same President, Administration and military you say have made complete mess of Iraq - in your view, not only has nothing been done right in … [...]
2. OperationChaos | April 11th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Mark, those who come here and moan about the “mess in Iraq” are merely following marching orders from CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, and MS-LSD. They refuse to let the facts get in their way. Their egos won’t let them accept the truth because they’ve swallowed the lies for so long.
There’s no hope for these people; you must ban them…
3. Jo | April 11th, 2008 at 6:38 am
My hubby spent his last overseas tour before retiring in Afghanistan. He said there are steps forward and back, but mostly forward. He said the biggest benefit? No media!! They didn’t feel hampered in doing their job for fear the MSM would record and distort it.
4. Pain | April 11th, 2008 at 6:39 am
“All tyrants fear a free press.”
5. js | April 11th, 2008 at 8:11 am
you know the UN is going to get the credit for all that mark
its true
6. Bigfoot | April 11th, 2008 at 8:55 am
the number of poppy-free provinces has grown from six in 2006 to 13 in 2007.
This is a shocker. I had thought that opium production had reached pre-invasion levels. Of course, such negative news easily passes through the MSM filter.
The stunning turn around in Afghanistan, dear anti-war critics, is brought to you by the very same President, Administration and military you say have made complete mess of Iraq
And who also, in invading Iraq, steered us away from the “real” war on terror in Afghanistan, allegedly preventing any real success there.
7. Cavalor Epthith, Esquire, D.S.V.J. | April 11th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Oh sure OC that is the proper solution to those who disagree with you blatant censorship. Well that works for a few voices but what about many? more austere methods may be needed to quell their vocal ire, eh? Are you one of those men who dioesn’t mind “cracking a few heads?” You likely had no problem with the MSM when they were reporting the infidelity of one William Jefferson Clinton or the constant drumbeat of Reverend Wright’s sermons. And do you recall that the Bush administration worked feverishly to get the media embedded with the #3d ID as the iraq War went into full bloom?
I refer you back to my dear frind Pain’s comment about tyrants.
8. Zach | April 11th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Although I love to hear and read about the good news coming from Afghanistan, I will Submit that numbers 1 and 4 on that list leaves a little something to be desired. Mainly, some actual numbers on size and capability of the Afghan Army, and maybe a Megawatt reading would be nice too.
9. Joe | April 11th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Mark,
Just think of how great things would be in Afghanistan if we didn’t divert 90% of our resources away from here and into Iraq.
Then we may actually have a very stable Afghanistan with little threat of a return of the Taliban.
If only.
10. kimberly4victory | April 11th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Why on Earth would the MSM stoop so low as to report the good news on the GWOT? /sarc
Gee, Joe, nothing good to say about the progress in Afghanistan? Is your glass always half empty?
11. Amanda | April 11th, 2008 at 11:03 am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/30/newsweek-afghan_n_94096.html
…And some more facts and figures for you to consider when you think we’re doing so well in Afghanistan:
87: The percentage of Afghan women who report suffering physical abuse, half of which is sexual.
60: The percentage of marriages in Afghanistan that are forced.
57: The percentage of Afghan brides who are under the age of 16.
88: The illiteracy rate amongst Afghan women.
5: The percentage of Afghan girls attending secondary school.
1 in 9: The number of women in Afghanistan who die in childbirth — that’s the highest in the world, alongside Sierra Leone.
1 Million: The number of Afghan widows who have no rights, including no right to work — leaving them to beg on the street.
£800 to £2,000: The price of a child bride if Afghanistan.
12. Joe | April 11th, 2008 at 11:11 am
k4v,
nope… not glass half empty. Just stating that we went into Afghanistan for a specific reason. In response for 9/11. Before the job was even close to being completed there, we diverted to Iraq… for no valid reason.
Everyone wants to look back now and say we went into Iraq for good reasons and all. But the point is we were in the middle of taking care of business in Afghanistan and turned away towards Iraq.
So claim whatever good things you want in Afghanistan (true or false). The bottom line is if we just concentrated on Afghanistan when we went in, we would be much better off militarily and financially.
13. SteaM | April 11th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Can woman vote in Afghanistan?
14. Amanda | April 11th, 2008 at 11:46 am
SteaM,
Yes, but not without obstacle. This article lays it out pretty well:
http://www.msmagazine.com/fall2004/afghanwomen.asp
But the main point is this:
Nevertheless, more than 4 million women registered for the country’s 2004 presidential election, 41 percent of the 10.5 million people who signed up to vote.
15. Mark Noonan | April 11th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Amanda,
Your links don’t work - but I note that your article on Afghan women voting is from 2004. Last I checked, this is 2008.
Be that as it may…
5% of Afghan women attend secondary school - actually, that is pretty good considering that for a couple decades most Afghan women couldn’t attend primary school. What as the percentage in secondary school in 2001?
87% report abuse? Just how would anyone be able to get that figure - if the women are being abused on such a regular basis, how would they be able to respond to a survey asking them if they’ve been suffering abuse?
57% of brides are under 16 - you are aware that this is Afghanistan, right? You know, a highly conservative, Moslem society where you’re an old maid if not married by 18?
60% of marriages are forced? I figured that it would be 100% - given that marriages in Afghanistan are largely arranged by the parents…once again, Afghanistan being a very conservative, Moslem society which isn’t about to think that some nitwit of a 16 year old can figure out whom he or she should marry…
1 million women have no right to work? What the heck is a right to work? You mean that if one of those woman presented themselves at, say, the local laundry asking for a job, the boss would say “sorry, you’re a widow, can’t hire you”?
Do you ever think about the things you read? You know, apply a little bit of critical thought, rather than just mindlessly accept what is handed to you?
16. Amanda | April 11th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Well, Mark, that’s because the presidential election was in 2004. There was also a parlimentary election in 2005. There are no voting statistics for Afghanistan since those two instances. The next elections in the country will be in 2009 for president and 2010 for parliament.
That aside, I expected you to be nothing less than dismissive of the numbers I provided. Particularly charming is your complete disbelief that 87 percent of women could report being abused. And I notice (with little surprise) that you seem to have no problem with the childbirth death rate or the illiteracy rate. Considering that women were 41 percent of the population that voted in the 2004 election, and that the illiteracy rate is so high, it’s a sure bet (and it was documented in many stories written about the 2004 election) that most of those women went to the polls and voted but were unable to read the ballots. Is that really something to be proud of?
The story that those numbers came from, by the way, is here.
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/77779/
17. Zach | April 11th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
The problem I have with comments like Amanda’s is that there isn’t any recognition on ANYTHING good from Afghanistan.
I read your posts and I get the sense that you expected Afghanistan to be a thriving uptopia in the 6 years we’ve been there. Anything less is a total failure.
No progess to see here I guess.
18. Joe | April 11th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
zach,
we are not saying that nothing good has happened in Afghanistan. We are saying that after 6 years, we should be further along than we are. We WOULD be much further along if we didn’t divert nearly all our funds and efforts to Iraq for no reason whatsoever.
After 6 years, why are we still talking about the Taliban at all? Why is AQ still operating on the Afgh/Pak border?
19. Amanda | April 11th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
And the problem I have with comments like Mark’s is he wants to tout the progress we’ve made (which I acknowledge as well) while dismissing outright that there’s anything seriously troubling still going on in the country. He wants to gloss over the bad in favor of the good. “60 percent of marriages are forced? That’s nothing! I would expect it to be higher,” is not an acceptable response.
20. Diana Powe | April 11th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Yes, it’s all great. From last December’s report by the Congressional Research Service (emphasis added):