Slate: US aid vs. Afghan insurgency — no-win? - Slate.com - msnbc.com: "KHOST, Afghanistan — When people hear about the U.S. military doing development work in Afghanistan, they think about 'winning hearts and minds' through humanitarian aid or building schools. The idea is that if Americans do nice things for Afghans, they will be so grateful they will begin to support the counterinsurgency.
But these days, heart and minds is a phrase that will get you nothing but a lot of sighs from members of the military. 'I'm sure someone meant well by that, but it's evolved into something that's dissonant with what we're trying to do here,' said Capt. Steve Deal. 'I think when you say you're winning hearts and minds, you're trying to win people over to your way of thinking. We're not going to change Pashtunwali [the Pashtun tribal legal system and moral code]. We're not going to change Afghan people and the way they live.' Other cultures have come to Afghanistan throughout history and tried to win hearts and minds, explained Deal, but despite money, military might, and promises of modernization, they've always been rejected by Afghans."
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
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