10 Years Of Rebuilding Afghanistan

[CENTCOM]

Do we not keep forgetting why the US even entered Afghanistan? It was because the Taliban regime harbored the terrorists who attacked us all over the world for years and finally on our homeland on 9/11. The Taliban who were in power refused to give up the Al-Qaeda terrorists, so the US was forced to attack, to defeat, and to eliminate the terror organizations. We were able to do that pretty quickly, but the Taliban along-with Al-Qaeda kept on attacking our forces and innocent Afghans who refused to adhere to the Taliban philosophy of brute terror.
We have made many sacrifices in Afghanistan, and today it is a much improved country, on its way to becoming among a most prosperous country. Here are just some of the advances the Afghans have made in the last decade:

• Under Taliban rule, only 1.2 million students were enrolled in schools, with less than 50,000 of them girls. Today, under the government of Afghanistan, there are 7 million students, of which nearly 37 percent - or 2.6 million - are girls.

• During the extremist rule, there were approximately 20,000 teachers, who were mostly males. Currently, there are nearly 175,000 teachers, out of which 30 percent are females.

• The quality of primary and secondary education improved considerably from the times of Taliban rule. It is estimated that more than 223,125 people from 2,600 communities in 20 provinces have received literacy/productive skills training and vocational education.

• Under Taliban regime, healthcare was almost non-existent. Today, advances in healthcare have contributed to a 22 percent drop in infant deaths and a doubling of immunization coverage.

• Under Taliban rule, there were no women in government. Today, 68 seats are allocated for women in the lower house of Parliament.

• Under Taliban rule, there were only about 30 miles of paved roads in the country. Today, there are nearly 3,000 miles of paved roads, including the nearly complete “Ring Road.”

• Under Taliban rule, there were hardly any television or radio stations to provide news and entertainment. Today, 75 television channels and 175 radio stations broadcast throughout the country.
The mission to stabilize Afghanistan continues, and it is our utmost belief that after we leave the region, Afghanistan with all its resources will continue to move forward and take its rightful place among the developed nations of the world.


Maj TG Taylor
DET – United States Central Command
U.S. Central Command

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Hey centcom why did u create them in the first place? why didnt u rebuild it after afghan war? where are the iraqi WMDs ? what abt abu gharib? what abt killing innocent people? burning their dead bodies? gang raping iraqi women? killing thouands Pakistani civilians in indicriminate drone attacks in name of collatral damage? what abt ur bloody contractor n embasy driver killin n crushing innocents in lahore? what abt ur contacts with the afghan taliban and negotiating peace deals with them? supporting ouur dictators....etc etc


U guys r pathetic....and yeah dnt give us AID.

 

[unicorn]

Good effort by US and allies.

 

[blain2]

Definitely a good thing for the upliftment in Afghanistan. I hope this social/economic development continues even after the draw down of the US troops in Afghanistan. The last thing that region needs is the US and the foreign donors withdrawing this support once all is said and done, similar to post Soviet withdrawal.

Pakistan too has been battered and bruised and should not be neglected. More trade with Pakistan and Afghanistan is the way forward. No amount of aid can replace the benefits of opening up US and European markets to Pakistani and Afghan goods.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Ten years of rebuilding?

How about this:

- 30,000 plus dead in Pakistan in those ten years.

- $60 billion plus in economic damages

- Hundreds of suicide bombings and the rise of the Taliban in Pakistan

- Continued regional instability through the spread of terrorism and extremism as a result of the US invasion and occupation

- The exponential spread of terrorism across the world, especially with the subsequent US invasion of Iraq based on false pretenses.

I really don't see how anything you posted above justifies the losses suffered by Pakistan, and indeed Afghanistan, since the US invasion, when the war and all this loss of life and resources could have been prevented by engaging with the Taliban regime in 2001 and taking up their offer to explore OBL's extradition and trial in a third country.

Ten years of absolutely unjustified and unnecessary war, chaos, death and destruction is what the US has accomplished.

 

[53fd]

The US's success. Less than the bare minimum.

Positives: Strengthening of the ANA, ANP a bit, took out a few key terrorist leaders.

Negatives: Making the AfPak region (esp. Afghanistan) more unstable than its ever been, torturing innocent civilians in Afghanistan, killing innocent civilians in Pakistan & Afghanistan, negotiating with terrorists after fighting them (when Pakistan told them to do that from the beginning), taking off the names of senior Taliban leaders from the UN blacklist, increased poppy growth, more cross border infiltration attacks, failing to tackle Afghan terrorist safe havens, rampant corruption in government, social upliftment programs failed, losing control of regions to the Taliban (which has now reached 80+% of the whole of Afghanistan in the Taliban's favor). And many more things.

Essentially, the US has 'stirred up the hornet's nest', in every sense of that phrase.

To see how the US has 'rebuilt Afghanistan', please read the articles in these threads:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/world-affairs/133552-top-10-under-reported-facts-afghanistan.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/u-s-foreign-affairs/133550-failing-u-s-strategy-afghanistan.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/strategic-geopolitical-issues/133559-afghanistan-war-west-cant-win.html

 

[Al Bhatti]

The title should be; 10 years of demolitioning the region

 

[Roybot]

Ten years of rebuilding?

How about this:

- 30,000 plus dead in Pakistan in those ten years.

- $60 billion plus in economic damages

- Hundreds of suicide bombings and the rise of the Taliban in Pakistan

- Continued regional instability through the spread of terrorism and extremism as a result of the US invasion and occupation

- The exponential spread of terrorism across the world, especially with the subsequent US invasion of Iraq based on false pretenses.

I really don't see how anything you posted above justifies the losses suffered by Pakistan, and indeed Afghanistan, since the US invasion, when the war and all this loss of life and resources could have been prevented by engaging with the Taliban regime in 2001 and taking up their offer to explore OBL's extradition and trial in a third country.

Ten years of absolutely unjustified and unnecessary war, chaos, death and destruction is what the US has accomplished.

Security in Pakistan is America's responsibility?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Security in Pakistan is America's responsibility?

The escalation in violence and the spread of terrorism and extremism through war and occupation certainly is America's responsibility.

There is a direct correlation between the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan (and Iraq) and the spike in violence, terrorism and extremism in those regions and elsewhere.

BTW, just to play Devil's advocate with your argument, the 9/11 attacks were also not 'Afghanistan's fault', since they were perpetrated by individuals who received flight training in the US, and managed to find security and intelligence loopholes in the US system to perpetrate the 9/11 attacks.

The same would also apply to the Mumbai attacks - they are India's responsibility, since the perpetrators managed to navigate through seas guarded by the IN and Coast Guard and slip by local Indian LEA's and wreak havoc.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Do we not keep forgetting why the US even entered Afghanistan? It was because the Taliban regime harbored the terrorists who attacked us all over the world for years and finally on our homeland on 9/11. The Taliban who were in power refused to give up the Al-Qaeda terrorists, so the US was forced to attack, to defeat, and to eliminate the terror organizations. We were able to do that pretty quickly, but the Taliban along-with Al-Qaeda kept on attacking our forces and innocent Afghans who refused to adhere to the Taliban philosophy of brute terror.
We have made many sacrifices in Afghanistan, and today it is a much improved country, on its way to becoming among a most prosperous country. Here are just some of the advances the Afghans have made in the last decade:

• Under Taliban rule, only 1.2 million students were enrolled in schools, with less than 50,000 of them girls. Today, under the government of Afghanistan, there are 7 million students, of which nearly 37 percent - or 2.6 million - are girls.

• During the extremist rule, there were approximately 20,000 teachers, who were mostly males. Currently, there are nearly 175,000 teachers, out of which 30 percent are females.

• The quality of primary and secondary education improved considerably from the times of Taliban rule. It is estimated that more than 223,125 people from 2,600 communities in 20 provinces have received literacy/productive skills training and vocational education.

• Under Taliban regime, healthcare was almost non-existent. Today, advances in healthcare have contributed to a 22 percent drop in infant deaths and a doubling of immunization coverage.

• Under Taliban rule, there were no women in government. Today, 68 seats are allocated for women in the lower house of Parliament.

• Under Taliban rule, there were only about 30 miles of paved roads in the country. Today, there are nearly 3,000 miles of paved roads, including the nearly complete “Ring Road.”

• Under Taliban rule, there were hardly any television or radio stations to provide news and entertainment. Today, 75 television channels and 175 radio stations broadcast throughout the country.
The mission to stabilize Afghanistan continues, and it is our utmost belief that after we leave the region, Afghanistan with all its resources will continue to move forward and take its rightful place among the developed nations of the world.


Maj TG Taylor
DET – United States Central Command
U.S. Central Command

Well these are interesting bench marks but I ask you

a) The schools would have been constructed anyways with help from United Nations over time
Afghanistan was emerging from Cold war aftermath and in 7-8 years education would have flourished on its own

b) Drug trade was 0% in Afghanistan

c) There were only 20,000 teachers before , because before that the were fighting USSR and after they left , they had no funding
did USA provide funding for Taliban to build schools after USSR left no , Sir.

d) Television station , radio , entertainment again its possible with financing a average Afghan made 2-10$/ day
so how could they setup that even if they wanted to before under Taliban


Every thing you stated could have been achieved by just donations to United Nations

1) There was no need for invasion
2) There was no need for war
3) There was no justification what so ever as Taliban requested evidence to link claims to the guilty which is
normal rule of law (Guilt after trial and review of evidence) , in retaliation they got war


I am sure , 100% sure that Afghanistan would have had same results if simply funds were given to Afghans by United Nation when it was 100% stable prior to any invasion


The point is !!! This CHANGE could have happened with just financing via United Nation for Afghans and that would have been 1000% more effective and less costly

Probably for 10-30 Billion , donations it would have

a) Created schools
b) built roads
c) Created jobs
d) Increased women in teaching

Its interesting people say that the old government was Evil , well they hardly had any time in power they had

a) no money to bring wide change
b) They had no resources human resources or capital they just finished a war 20 years and had
a odd 2-3 years period with civil war , and things were calming down and well guess who
comes along

Afghanistan would have been some what like Saudia of 1970's if money was donated and with United nations help , today Saudia has schools , women workers etc on its own why because it took 30 years of Natural Progression not an artificial insemination of ideas in 2-4 years

Saudia discovered oil and then they gradually built their schools and their people and economy and mind slowly opened up ... with Afghanistan it was shoved down their throat - sure schools and women rights are great but Nature has its own time frame where Nations find their own answers ...

So due to Resistance it costs 20 Trillion dollars as oppose to just 5-70 billion dollars

Even USA did not had many schools 100-150 years ago but it gradually came

Now financial cost to Pakistan is separate matter we will not even talk about damage to Pakistan

 

[BATMAN]

10 years of terrorism and destruction of Pakistan.

10 years of unfair contract awarding to Indian contractors.

10 years of Pakistani transit aid.

10 years of media war on Pakistan.