An Interesting Story

This story is filed November 27th, 2012.

In rural areas, a common corruption allegation is that the relatives or friends of powerful militia commanders are thrown into classrooms to collect a teacher's salary -- despite being unqualified to teach.

 There's NATO "nation-building" for you!

Hey!

Schools and health centres built by the British in Afghanistan as part of the military's counter-insurgency strategy are being forced to close down because President Karzai's government cannot afford to pay for them, the Guardian has learned.

Do you suppose some of those schools are the ones where the cash-strapped kleptocracy is sending the friends and family fake teachers? (Curiously, that story is also filed for November 27th, 2012.)

So, ... lots and lots of "teachers" simply being corrupt patronage appointments. The British military spending money on buildings without coordination with the (corrupt) government on how to permanently staff and maintain them. And, finally:

The country has already seen vast improvements in its educational services. Before the fall of the Taliban in 2001 only 5000 of the one million children in school were girls, but since intervention that figure has risen to 8 million, including 3 million girls.

But with 5 million - around 42% of children - still out of school, the charity head warns that with international forces preparing to pull out, Afghanistan’s most promising legacy hangs in the balance. 

Now, don't get me wrong, ... I'm sure Dr. Sarah Fane of Afghan Connection and others (including the British soldiers who built those schools in their "hearts and minds" campaign, and Canadian Euston-Nitwit Terry Glavin) are sincere in their hopes for the education of Afghanistan's youth, male and female. Don't get me wrong, I think the Taliban's misogyny, religious fanaticism and puritanical nonsense, are detestable. But the United States military first went into Afghanistan in 2001. It is now 2013. As late as last November the education system (the main symbol of NATO's mission against the Taliban) completely failed to even have places for 42% of Afghanistan's school-age children. For the rest, it is a "common complaint" that many "teachers" are frauds, collecting a salary for some warlord narco-gangster. Finally, many of these schools (staffed by placeholders or genuine teachers or whatever) have no long-term funding.

This massive failure is the direct result of the corruption and indifference of the NATO member governments and their Afghan puppets. This is why sane people opposed this "mission." Not because we're Taliban lovers. Not because we're indifferent to the hopes of the Afghan people. It's because (pay attention psychotic, ignorant, war mongers) our governments are comprised of inhuman, corporate scumbags.