hideway
still hiding
- 8 Dec 2006
- 463
- 22
This is an issue that has been haunting me for quite some time.
Afghanistan is currently in war, mainly NATO against talibans, terrorists and insurgents. This is not a peacekeeping mission but a real war being waged in Afghan territories. And we all know the reasons that drove the U.S. to invade the country back in 2001.
The flag of "freedom against oppression" has been waved by the current U.S. government for a large number of occasions, Afghanistan is no exception. Over the years I've seen lots of news and articles about the increasing freedom the Afghan people got since the moment most of their territory got rid of the taliban rule. Personally I'm glad they were driven out of government, not because of the 9/11 but because I believe that it will enable Afghans to live better in the future.
However a recent news has definitely taken me by surprise:
Death sentence for Afghan reporter
I acknowledged that things were far from perfect in this field, but I never thought they would be this bad. It has certainly shaken my confidence in the all process. Is this the freedom that NATO is fighting for?
This incredible situation occurs at the same time as the U.S. keeps criticizing its NATO allies for not bringing enough troops to afghanistan. Although there are tons of countries in the coalition, you can count by an hand the ones that allow their soldiers to be in real combat situation. Most countries keep themselves in the southern part of Afghanistan where they seem to die more out of military accidents than from actual combat.
Many questions seem to be raised by this situation. Most about Afghanistan and about the NATO and the E.U..
After all, is this Afghanistan war making any beneficial effect at all? Is the freedom flag weared out in Afghan lands? As a mirage denied by the current rulers? Was it worth the enormous death-toll of civilians and soldiers (mostly U.S. soldiers) during the war? Did the war results (Destroyed "terror camps", killed islamic terrorists, etc) really compensated the side efects (increasing drug production, high civilian death toll, higher U.S. hate-feeling in the region - which can (already did?) cause the growing of the terrorist number)?
Afghan aside, this situation raised really hard questions on the NATO and the E.U. side. As it is wide known, the E.U. has the long announced objective of having the "European Rapid Reaction Force" as a fast-deployment military army for emergencies. There has been much talk over the years about a single European military opposed to each country having its own military. This situation in Afghanistan really puts the whole idea in question. What good is a rapid deployment army if they do not fight real wars whenever it is strictly necessary? For peacekeeping?
And what use is NATO if they just talk? It IS supposed to be a strategical organization too coordinate in terms of defense, not some picnic club.
Although I'm rather pacifist, I like to think I see the world as it is and not as I would like it to be. We DO need these kind of organizations to keep the world global balance in a manageable situation until everyone learns to behave themselves like humans being and treat others as such.
So what do you think?
Afghanistan is currently in war, mainly NATO against talibans, terrorists and insurgents. This is not a peacekeeping mission but a real war being waged in Afghan territories. And we all know the reasons that drove the U.S. to invade the country back in 2001.
The flag of "freedom against oppression" has been waved by the current U.S. government for a large number of occasions, Afghanistan is no exception. Over the years I've seen lots of news and articles about the increasing freedom the Afghan people got since the moment most of their territory got rid of the taliban rule. Personally I'm glad they were driven out of government, not because of the 9/11 but because I believe that it will enable Afghans to live better in the future.
However a recent news has definitely taken me by surprise:
Death sentence for Afghan reporter
I acknowledged that things were far from perfect in this field, but I never thought they would be this bad. It has certainly shaken my confidence in the all process. Is this the freedom that NATO is fighting for?
This incredible situation occurs at the same time as the U.S. keeps criticizing its NATO allies for not bringing enough troops to afghanistan. Although there are tons of countries in the coalition, you can count by an hand the ones that allow their soldiers to be in real combat situation. Most countries keep themselves in the southern part of Afghanistan where they seem to die more out of military accidents than from actual combat.
Many questions seem to be raised by this situation. Most about Afghanistan and about the NATO and the E.U..
After all, is this Afghanistan war making any beneficial effect at all? Is the freedom flag weared out in Afghan lands? As a mirage denied by the current rulers? Was it worth the enormous death-toll of civilians and soldiers (mostly U.S. soldiers) during the war? Did the war results (Destroyed "terror camps", killed islamic terrorists, etc) really compensated the side efects (increasing drug production, high civilian death toll, higher U.S. hate-feeling in the region - which can (already did?) cause the growing of the terrorist number)?
Afghan aside, this situation raised really hard questions on the NATO and the E.U. side. As it is wide known, the E.U. has the long announced objective of having the "European Rapid Reaction Force" as a fast-deployment military army for emergencies. There has been much talk over the years about a single European military opposed to each country having its own military. This situation in Afghanistan really puts the whole idea in question. What good is a rapid deployment army if they do not fight real wars whenever it is strictly necessary? For peacekeeping?
And what use is NATO if they just talk? It IS supposed to be a strategical organization too coordinate in terms of defense, not some picnic club.
Although I'm rather pacifist, I like to think I see the world as it is and not as I would like it to be. We DO need these kind of organizations to keep the world global balance in a manageable situation until everyone learns to behave themselves like humans being and treat others as such.
So what do you think?
