A Letter From Afghanistan

A MUST READ posted by Patrick Belton on Oxblog — their latest long, detailed and highly compelling letter from their Afghanistan correspondent. A small excerpt, on his conclusion:

This bears emphasis, in contrast to the unwarranted hysteria of some of the commentary I read on Afghanistan (”an electoral-narco-gulag-permanent-base dependency,” passim). Many people still don’t understand just how bad things were in Afghanistan, or how hard it is to find the traction to begin rebuilding a country from such a low base. Look at the stats on
where Afghanistan is now (poverty, infant mortality, kidnappings, repression of women, impunity for murderers), and of course it’s appalling, of course it’s a dependency — four years ago it was a textbook failed state. Look at the trajectory of the place, and there’s reason for much hope.

It’s highly detailed. Read it all.