Video: Winning Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan
posted at 12:10 pm on June 21, 2007 by Bryan
We don’t hear or see much about Afghanistan in the media. The series “Winning Hearts and Minds” aims to change that, by following the lives and work of a group of US Army civil affairs soldiers as they help the locals rebuild, or in many cases build, Afghanistan.
We need a series like this one produced in Iraq.
Blowback
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The modern media tends to label Afghanistan “The Forgotten War” since most media attention is on Iraq. The irony is too rich.
Mindcrime on June 21, 2007 at 12:13 PM
Doing the jobs that the U.N. won’t do (and without rape or corruption)
Civil Affairs Division, it almost sounds like the Peace Corps in uniform, but actually accomplishing something of value. Good on you, soldiers.
Freelancer on June 21, 2007 at 12:21 PM
This is the kind of story that has been denied to the public for way too long. Glad to see its finally getting some public attention.
Bad Candy on June 21, 2007 at 12:26 PM
And you’re right Bryan, what we really need is one produced in Iraq.
Bad Candy on June 21, 2007 at 12:27 PM
The BBC has daily coverage from Afghanistan.
aengus on June 21, 2007 at 12:34 PM
Bad Candy on June 21, 2007 at 12:27 PM
No what we really need to do line the liberal journalists up against….er what I meant to say is get some fair and balanced reporting…
doriangrey on June 21, 2007 at 12:35 PM
Heros. Plain and simple.
Because Afghanistan has dropped off the pages of American newspapers people sometimes forget about how on day #2 of the invasion of Afghanistan the NYTimes labeled the invasion a “quagmire” and “another VietNam.” DAY #2! Boots had barely even hit the ground. Here it is:
http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/Vietnam/apple-afghan.html
Zetterson on June 21, 2007 at 12:37 PM
Make that 3 weeks after, but what’s the difference?
Zetterson on June 21, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Indeed.
unamused on June 21, 2007 at 1:04 PM
Awesome. Thanks for finding this HA.
Yakko77 on June 21, 2007 at 1:17 PM
The US should come right behind this development with bennies like rebuilding infastructure and mabey a community center with basketball courts? They could creat a little industry mabey a couple little factories making whatever bricks or concrete. Gainful employment would these guys another venue to get self esteme besides the hate/kill cycle.
sonnyspats1 on June 6, 2007 at 1:00 AM
…Those guys should introduce some american sports into the area also. I mean c’mon sandlot baseball is a natural!
sonnyspats1 on June 21, 2007 at 1:22 PM
Just a quick update from one of “the allies”, three Canadian soldiers from 3rd Batt PPCLI got killed in Afghanistan yesterday. This brings the number of Canadian soldiers killed to 60, almost all in the last two years. Lest We Forget. (the Toronto Sun website (torontosun.com) has their pics on the front of the site)
Blaise on June 21, 2007 at 1:27 PM
Our civil affairs soldiers will change that prevailing mindset in a hurry.
CliffHanger on June 21, 2007 at 2:08 PM
Actually, it needs to be called, “The Forgotten War II”, due to Vietnam trumping the Korean War….
Tim Burton on June 21, 2007 at 5:31 PM
What minds? What hearts?
profitsbeard on June 21, 2007 at 5:55 PM
Bryan, you rock… thanks.
MsUnderestimated on June 21, 2007 at 8:30 PM
“This ain’t New Orleans, get off your butt”. It is good to see this sort of stuff even if it about some REMF’s.
Sorry can’t resist. There mission is every bit as important as the grunts. They are doing the same things in Iraq.
/ well you know when they aren’t kicking in doors and terrorising the local populace – John Kerry
To the troops keep it up. When this is finally written about in the history books you will have the satisfaction of having a hand in writing that history and not merely reading it.
LakeRuins on June 21, 2007 at 8:33 PM
And what does that mean? If it means what it appears to, on its face, I am afraid that it sounds petty, mean and innaccurate. Please disabuse me of that notion.
As the S-5 of TF Eagle 2004-2005, I met plenty of Afghans with “hearts’ and “minds”. Many of the Afghans I worked with were killing Taliban before you ever heard of ‘em. And they had been making the Soviet Army’s life miserable before that. If anything, they would have the right to sneer at others for being Johnnies-Come-Lately to the fight(s).
I helped rebuild schools the Talib trashed, then turned into latrines or fighting positions – all the way from Kabul to Jabal-os-Saraj. Is helping them make whole their loss from this welfare or a waste? I suppose we could leave it to the Saudis to beuild them nothing but madrassas and nthing for the female half of the population either.
There are some problems that the Afghans have to overcome in the face of 30+ years of fighting and internal problems – they are not perfect by any means, but insinuating they lack hearts or minds is unworthy of commentary on this blog.
major john on June 21, 2007 at 9:05 PM
Bryan, by the way, thanks. Sometimes I do wonder if people know what we are doing in Afghanistan. You have helped show that and I am grateful.
major john on June 21, 2007 at 9:10 PM
holy crap…Kling, Reisz,Carrillo on Hot Air….wish we would have done some video like this in Paktya Province…glad to see you guys posted something of the 321 tour…
yankeegohome on June 21, 2007 at 9:30 PM
major john-
Check out the Afghan Constitution some time.
Heartless and mindless, institutionalized.
profitsbeard on June 21, 2007 at 10:08 PM
You feel that way about the people too?
Would you rather they had Uzbekistan’s governmental forms? The Tajiks? I’d rather have to Wolesi Jirga and Meshrano Jirga wrangling the constitutional validity of removing the Foreign Minister with Kazai and the Supreme Court than a rerun of Dahoud’s coup against the last King, or Hekmatyar Gulbuddin being PM again, or the Talib govt…
The Aghans have a ways to go, but calling them mindless and heartless is off base.
major john on June 21, 2007 at 10:14 PM
major john-
Article 3, specifically. But, there’s plenty more.
Thus
profitsbeard on June 21, 2007 at 10:17 PM
You still haven’t answered about whether you think the people as opposed to the constitution are “mindless” and “heartless”.
major john on June 21, 2007 at 10:50 PM