NationStates Jolt Archive

A colonel of the Italian Army, currently commanding a regiment in eastern Afghanistan, has been interviewed by "La Repubblica" italian daily. I'm summarizing very briefly.

The colonel said that, in the effort of winning the hearts of the local population, humanitarian and logistical help is far more important than weapons.

He was pretty dismayed at the refusal of an european ngo who had promised to fund the construction of a road linking Kabul with a nearby mountain valley. The italian army, with the current funds, will be able to build just an earthen road, that will be very likely swept away by flash floods in the cold season.

"During the day, we help building roads and aqueducts and homes, we carry people to the hospitals in Kabul; during the night, we have to patrol the borders of this area, because the talibans are trying to enact a retaliation against the local populace, guilty of supporting the western invaders", said the italian officer.

The local afghan leaders, however, voiced their gratefulness to the italian army, although they were really hoping for that road and all kind of infrastructures they have never had.

"So many money has been already wasted in this war," says the colonel, "why should the West not give some more money for the really important things like roads, schools and hospitals? Our needs of military equipment are well-covered; we need more excavators, not bullets".



Well, some of my trust in the italian army is restored after that. What do you think.

Yes, but reconstruction is what the terrorists want! They must remain in poverty!

What do you think.
I think it's the same story one hears from the German contingent in the north. Reconstruction there is difficult mainly because of a lack of funds and equipment.

It's development in the unstable provinces that's a bit trickier. That's the places where the Brits, Dutch, Canadians, Australians and Americans operate. If you try to build a school or a road there, you'll get shot at.

Short of splitting up Afghanisan and building a massive fence, the whole thing has to continue on two "fronts" as it were. Without keeping the Taliban down, there can be no progress in Helmand etc. That requires fighting, and personally I don't see why that fighting should be done only by a few countries. Rotation seems a better option to me. And I'm afraid that it is true that if the Taliban were to take control of significant parts of the south again, they would just spread the instability and violence into the rest of the country.

In the north and quieter areas the development effort has to be stepped up with a lot more money and mainly better management. At the moment a lot of the money is wasted.

It needs to be a mix of both bullets *and* excavators, of course. There's no sense in building a school the Taliban will simply show up the next day and bomb. The Taliban needs to be dealt with at the same time. It's a difficult job over there.

That requires fighting, and personally I don't see why that fighting should be done only by a few countries. Rotation seems a better option to me.

Uh... I doubt that Italy - just to name one - is able to put a greater military effort in Afghanistan. We have a serious debt, plus we have a lot of soldiers abroad in various UN/NATO/Euroforce missions (Kosovo and Lebanon). We really cannot afford to send more troops and military equipment, while we could increase the spending in the reconstruction area - if Karzai weren't such a jerk, that is, look at the affaire with the italian medical ngo "Emergency".



In the north and quieter areas the development effort has to be stepped up with a lot more money and mainly better management. At the moment a lot of the money is wasted.

Right. Also, I would like all ngo to state how much of the money they receive goes into help, how much into salaries, and how much in whatever else.

It needs to be a mix of both bullets *and* excavators, of course. There's no sense in building a school the Taliban will simply show up the next day and bomb. The Taliban needs to be dealt with at the same time. It's a difficult job over there.

Yes. That's why I think that the "tough" approach of the US military isn't a good idea. Getting bombed by the guys who claim to be there to help you isn't a great relief.

Uh... I doubt that Italy - just to name one - is able to put a greater military effort in Afghanistan. We have a serious debt, plus we have a lot of soldiers abroad in various UN/NATO/Euroforce missions (Kosovo and Lebanon).

Your country's debt is insane.

It needs to be a mix of both bullets *and* excavators, of course. There's no sense in building a school the Taliban will simply show up the next day and bomb. The Taliban needs to be dealt with at the same time. It's a difficult job over there.
WRONG!

If you build a school and the Taliban blow it up, then the local people will be amazingly pissed off and with stop supporting them.

If you build a school and the Taliban blow it up, then enter a gunfight in which NATO kills even a single civilian, then immediately people can turn around and say "ah, I see why they're doing this, to fight the evil occupiers who killed -insert Afhgani name-, now I kind of see their viewpoint".

If you build a school and the Taliban blow it up, then the local people will be amazingly pissed off and with stop supporting them.
And you think the Taliban care? They've got guns, remember. The local people are farmers and goat herders. The Taliban didn't run Afghanistan for years because they were so popular with the people.

We really should invest in building Afghanistan's infrastructure. If they have good schools, roads, telephone and internet infrastructure and other modern necessities they can join the world economy and learn about more advanced cultures.

They can build factories instead of growing opium and they can educate their women instead of marrying them off at 9 years old. Plus there will actually be something there for us to bomb when the taliban decide they don't like the changes coming in from the outside world and decide to commit terrorist acts.