Context for #The911Wars panel:
"But in the areas where most U.S. funding was concentrated — territories that were key to winning the war — American efforts have fallen woefully short of the grand claims the government made, claims that it knew were false."
"But in the areas where most U.S. funding was concentrated — territories that were key to winning the war — American efforts have fallen woefully short of the grand claims the government made, claims that it knew were false."
https://twitter.com/AzmatZahra/status/619045781501292544
In some cases, American efforts to provide education have actually backfired, embittering local people rather than winning their hearts and minds. ...
a fmr USAID manager on education in Afghanistan for years, watched the military’s counterinsurgency goals steadily creep into the agency’s work. USAID officials & contractors were summoned to presentations by generals, who asked how their work fit into the military’s strategy...
'The purpose was to get out a lot of good numbers, really quickly,” he said. “You needed a good story. You needed a win.'
Unfortunately, my reporting in seven battlefield provinces of Afghanistan showed that claims about gains for women and girls especially were grossly exaggerated— and used to for that "good story" — that military "win."
It was easy for the military to sell those myths because Americans primarily hear the voices of women and girls in areas that are more accessible—non-battlefield areas—where you can often find incredible gains for women and girls. It was a partial portrait.
To be clear: it's not a rural vs. urban divide so much as a battlefield vs. non-battlefield divide.
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