Big Media's retrospective has been colored by their opposition to the war and to President George W. Bush, who launched the military incursion against the Taliban embedded in Afghanistan after the attacks of September 11, 2001. News outlets have bemoaned the chaos that still grips Afghanistan.
However, the view from ground level in this country, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, looks a lot different from the perspective more than 10,000 miles away in the U.S. Afghanistan has emerged from its sordid past to become a democratic nation with a growing economy.
This dichotomy between perception and reality in Afghanistan is reflected in recent polls. Nearly one-half of Americans believe nothing has been achieved in Afghanistan. The Afghans hold a very different view. Nearly 80 percent think the country is better off for America's involvement.
As recently as 2010, there were 100,000 U.S. troops hunkered down in Afghanistan. As of October 6, troop deployment levels had dipped to 24,050 American military men and women. President Obama recently announced a U.S. force of about 10,000 troops will remain to advise and train Afghans.
Despite the draw down of troops, Afghanistan's future has never shone brighter. That is the assessment of U.S. Army General John F. Campbell, who assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August of last year.
"I recently took a flight over Kabul at night and was amazed at the number of lights, wedding parlors, traffic and other things that simply weren't there in 2001," General Campbell wrote in an email to friends and military comrades. His point: a sense of normality has returned to Afghanistan.
To illustrate his observation, the general ticked off a few statistics. Afghanistan's economy has leapfrogged from $2 billion in 2001 to $20 billion. The population in the capital of Kabul has swollen from less than 500,000 to more than 3 million. The number of paved roads has more than doubled.
In 2001, there were 1,000 schools in the Asian nation staffed with 20,000 teachers. Today there are more than 14,000 schools and 180,000 teachers in the country. There were no females in primary or secondary schools 13 years ago, but now girls represent 48 percent of the student population.
According to General Campbell, there are 50 television outlets, 150 radio stations, 6 million Internet users and more than 22 million cell phone subscribers in the country. When the Taliban ruled, there were no electronic media or Internet users. Less than 25,000 people had wireless phones.
Most Afghans have benefited from the changes made possible by U.S. military involvement. The average per capita income was $150 in 2001. It has risen to $1,100. Unemployment has nosedived from 50 percent during the dark days of terror to less than 35 percent today.
Opinion polls conducted in Afghanistan confirm citizens are confident about their country's outlook. Nearly eight in 10 report they expect the future to be better. Importantly, 78 percent of Afghans want the multi-national military coalition (ISAF) to remain in their country to train their own forces.
Regarding that last point, the country's leaders agree. In the last few weeks, both houses of the Afghan parliament have nearly unanimously approved the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) paving the way for continued U.S. involvement.
In addition to its military role, one of the coalition's chief objectives has been to "facilitate improvements in governance and socio-economic development." Measured by General Campbell's statistics, America and its military partners have left the country better off than when they found it.
This does not mean the Taliban has abandoned efforts to reclaim control of the country. But the terrorist group has been substantially weakened, even in Kandahar Province, once a Taliban stronghold. Significantly, popular support for the Taliban has dwindled.
Suicide bombings and roadside explosive devices still make the news in Afghanistan. However, while those events grab headlines in the U.S., Afghans are quietly working to build a nation where security and prosperity are found in abundance.
Most Afghans are grateful to the United States for making that transformation possible.
As recently as 2010, there were 100,000 U.S. troops hunkered down in Afghanistan. As of October 6, troop deployment levels had dipped to 24,050 American military men and women. President Obama recently announced a U.S. force of about 10,000 troops will remain to advise and train Afghans.
Despite the draw down of troops, Afghanistan's future has never shone brighter. That is the assessment of U.S. Army General John F. Campbell, who assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August of last year.
"I recently took a flight over Kabul at night and was amazed at the number of lights, wedding parlors, traffic and other things that simply weren't there in 2001," General Campbell wrote in an email to friends and military comrades. His point: a sense of normality has returned to Afghanistan.
To illustrate his observation, the general ticked off a few statistics. Afghanistan's economy has leapfrogged from $2 billion in 2001 to $20 billion. The population in the capital of Kabul has swollen from less than 500,000 to more than 3 million. The number of paved roads has more than doubled.
In 2001, there were 1,000 schools in the Asian nation staffed with 20,000 teachers. Today there are more than 14,000 schools and 180,000 teachers in the country. There were no females in primary or secondary schools 13 years ago, but now girls represent 48 percent of the student population.
According to General Campbell, there are 50 television outlets, 150 radio stations, 6 million Internet users and more than 22 million cell phone subscribers in the country. When the Taliban ruled, there were no electronic media or Internet users. Less than 25,000 people had wireless phones.
Most Afghans have benefited from the changes made possible by U.S. military involvement. The average per capita income was $150 in 2001. It has risen to $1,100. Unemployment has nosedived from 50 percent during the dark days of terror to less than 35 percent today.
Opinion polls conducted in Afghanistan confirm citizens are confident about their country's outlook. Nearly eight in 10 report they expect the future to be better. Importantly, 78 percent of Afghans want the multi-national military coalition (ISAF) to remain in their country to train their own forces.
Regarding that last point, the country's leaders agree. In the last few weeks, both houses of the Afghan parliament have nearly unanimously approved the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) paving the way for continued U.S. involvement.
In addition to its military role, one of the coalition's chief objectives has been to "facilitate improvements in governance and socio-economic development." Measured by General Campbell's statistics, America and its military partners have left the country better off than when they found it.
This does not mean the Taliban has abandoned efforts to reclaim control of the country. But the terrorist group has been substantially weakened, even in Kandahar Province, once a Taliban stronghold. Significantly, popular support for the Taliban has dwindled.
Suicide bombings and roadside explosive devices still make the news in Afghanistan. However, while those events grab headlines in the U.S., Afghans are quietly working to build a nation where security and prosperity are found in abundance.
Most Afghans are grateful to the United States for making that transformation possible.
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