In the following far-ranging interview with Failure, Peters discusses the Obama Administration’s approach to Afghanistan, the evolution of the Taliban, the role corruption plays in perpetuating the drug trade, and her own personal experiences reporting from one of the most dangerous regions in the world.
The war in Afghanistan has received increased media attention recently. Why?
In part, because it is going badly. By some estimates the Taliban now controls or dominates as much as sixty percent of Afghan territory, and casualty rates are higher than ever. Also, President Obama said that Afghanistan would be one of his central foreign policy efforts. He said he would refocus attention on the war in Afghanistan and finish it the way it should have been finished from the start.
Read the full interview here.
I have long been a fan of the brave and determined Afghan reporters at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. They go into areas where few other journalists dare to tread and come back with balanced and insightful reports. If you want to keep up with what is going on in the countryside, read their dispatches.
Two reports out this week are especially good: This story examines the state of voter apathy in Helmand, where thousands of US and British troops are attempting an 11th hour effort to stabilize the province ahead of Aug 20 polls.
Engineer Abdul Hadi, the provincial head of the Independent Election Commission, said that Helmand would have 222 polling centres housing 1,092 polling stations.
But if the security situation does not improve markedly in the next two weeks, dozens of these centres could remain empty.
“You cannot conduct a military operation one day and expect people to come vote the next,” said Shah Nazar, a retired police officer. “People need to feel safe. But under these circumstances, nobody can participate in the elections.” (Read the full story here)
The IWPR reporter, Mohammad Ilyas Dayee, spoke to people in Marja, the scene of recent heavy fighting between the Marines and the Taliban, Musa Qala, a town the Taliban controlled for about four months in late 2006 and early 2007. It’s a sobering assessment of the chances of having a legitimate vote in the country’s largest province.
Meanwhile, another enterprising IWPR reporter actually traveled to a militant-controlled area to attend a rally of sorts where Mullahs were warning people not to vote:
The mullah spoke in generalities for a bit, asking people to maintain their unity. But slowly he came to his main point – exhorting people not to participate in the elections.
“These elections are a trick, a fraud perpetrated by western countries, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom,” he said. “Whoever participates in these elections will be shamed in front of Allah and his prophet.”
Ehsanullah Ehsan, a member of this group, had a black turban and black clothes. He looked like Taleban, and he told me that they had given speeches like this one in Karokh, Gozara and Oba districts of Herat province. The people in those areas had welcomed them warmly, he added, and the process was continuing.
Ehsan said that he himself had given some of the speeches, and added that participation in the elections was a very great crime.
“The Americans are just picking a puppet for themselves,” he said. “The president of Afghanistan is not going to be elected by the people.”
Ehsan urged participants at the gathering to tell their relatives not to vote.
The purpose of this counter-election propaganda was to motivate people to take up arms against foreign forces rather than vote, said Ehsan.
“Afghanistan has been invaded by these foreigners,” he said.
Ehsan knew how to play on people’s emotions. He talked about subjects designed to make people very angry, such as the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad published in western newspapers; the alleged abuse of the Koran by Americans; and the “genocide” caused by coalition forces’ bombardment of peaceful communities.
Ehsan told people that the foreigners had come to control our country and our people, and it was the job of each and every Afghan to spread the word that foreigners are the enemies of our culture and our religion.
Ehsan said that the mullahs did not belong to any specific group, but were just trying to serve Allah and rescue Afghanistan from the invasion of the infidels. He did say, however, that the mullahs were being financially supported by the Taleban.
Each of the mullahs had a mobile phone and modern weapons, and they were walking around the area without fear.
Their propaganda seemed to have an extraordinary impact on their audience. (Read the full story here)
It’s a fascinating read, and another indication of how badly NATO, the US military and the international community is losing the public relations war in the rural Pashtun south. It’s another example to me of how the West has deeply underestimated the enemy, and a sign of that old counterinsurgency dictum: “the best weapons don’t shoot.”
As the Obama administration and the Pentagon revamp strategy towards the region, an effective campaign to counter the insurgents’ misinformation campaign will be as critical to any effort to “clear, hold and build.”
