My friend has read Greg Mortenson's book about Afghanistan called Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson has been building schools in Afghanistan and argues that instead of war this is what should be done. My friend keeps asking me this same question. Why the US does not do this instead of slaughtering people in war. I get a little frustrated. My friend's question is a good one. In any sane world it would be the obvious way. But we do not live in a sane world. We live in a capitalist world and capitalism does not work. My friend's question is based on the mistaken idea that US foreign policy and US Afghan policy is based on a desire to solve the problems of other societies, in this case Afghanistan. In this insane capitalist world this is not the case.
The US is in Afghanistan to seize the estimated $1 trillion of resources of that country, to consolidate its hold on the rest of the Middle East, to drive up into Central Asia and control this area and in so doing put a ring around Russia and China. Building schools and helping people in Afghanistan is the least of their concerns. Also in their quest for military domination and alliances they have to work with the warlords and drug dealers and corrupt military and the most backward if the islamic forces of the country. A good education for all would threaten the rule of these elements. So US capitalism, in pursuit of its interests, has to make its deal with the most rotten and corrupt and instead of helping people, it has to shoot them and drive them into the ground to make them submit. Sean
1 comment:
My goodness. Your friend does not even have to look as far abroad as Afghanistan to see what capitalism is really all about.
Does he not wonder why the US does not build homes for all the homeless in the US, why the US does not bail out all the workers whose mortgages are foreclosed and let them keep their homes.
Why the US allows working and poor people to die rather than offer them free health care? Does he not wonder why schools in poor areas are denied quality education and teachers are losing their jobs in the hundreds?
As for foreign policy-does your friend even understand what wars are about- profit and resources for profit.
The indications are a vacuum of even the most basic understandings of capitalism and imperialism and war.
Sounds like a kind and well intentioned person. But methinks too many live in an absolute bubble. Too many that have the resources and the time to do a bit of reading.
Why dos he think that poor countries are poor and have been poor for centuries. Why regardless of war any US citizen should have to go abroad to build homes-why are the homes not there , why are there so many poor.Why have they been robbed of the profits the massive rsources in theor countries for centuries.
What does he think of the the IMF and the World Bank-and crippling debt on loans designed to increase profit for the rich and rob infrastucture? keeping workers in these countrie at poverty wages and the poor poorer, destroying communities.
My oh my.
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