Nicholas Kristof: More Schools, Not Troops in Afghanistan

nytimes.com:

Dispatching more troops to Afghanistan would be a monumental bet and probably a bad one, most likely a waste of lives and resources that might simply empower the Taliban. In particular, one of the most compelling arguments against more troops rests on this stunning trade-off: For the cost of a single additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for one year, we could build roughly 20 schools there.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[JoAnnCr]

If you read "Three Cups of Tea" you can see the possibilities of schools.

I love the idea of virtual schools. No brick and mortar to bomb.

Build infrastructure.

[S1m0n]

Building schools is a waste of time if those schools are seen by the locals as war by other means, as is now often the case. If foreign soldiers build a school, insurgents are likely to burn it, just as western soldiers would shut down or destroy any Madrassahs built by the Taliban.

[freshnotbitter]

Kristof is talking about building brick and mortar schools but how about virtual schools via electronic devices designed by liberal western societies?

Go "viral", infect the Taliban DNA with virus.

[jeanrenoir]

Warm and cuddly thought. But why should we build schools for the Taliban to use to preach hatred of us, after we either abandon the country outright, or LOSE outright, because the American public is so "war-weary" after six years of total neglect of the country by Bush and the neocons. FORGET those six wasted years, when we had very few casualties, relatively speaking. The real war Bush and the neocons should have fought six years ago is only starting NOW. It's tragic that Bush and the neocons got us and Afghanistan is this terrible situation with their crazy irresponsibility in Iraq. But that's the hand these fools left us. If we fold now, it won't matter how many schools we've built. We'll have nuclear attacks as thank you notes from the Taliban and Bin Laden. Count on it. Let's PLEASE get real about this, folks, or this country is truly toast.

[sense oar sheep]

build schools for afghan males!

what would be done for afghan female since the taliban forbids schooling for females?

[JulieSA]

I like Krist.of, but his reas.o.ning here is fund.amen.tally flawe.d

You can bui.ld sch.ools all day long, and we'.ve built many new scho.ols there since we kic.ked the Tali.ba.n out of power in 2002, but if there's no one to prot.ect the te.achers and stu.dents from being mai.m.ed or mu.r.der.ed by the Tal.ib.an, then the school building serves no purpose.

[jeanrenoir]

EXACTLY right. Kristoff would like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, just like COKE. A wonderful dream. But we've got to annihilate the Taliban and Bin Laden first. If we don't, the world is going to look a lot more like Cormac McCarthy's The Road than a Coke commercial singing Kumbayah. It's amazing that blowing up the World Trade Center didn't teach so many Americans a lesson they would never forget. We can't afford for Bin Laden to make a much bigger impression on their memory by nuking New York. Somehow, these people must wake up NOW, before it's truly too late. We were fools for not taking Bin Laden seriously enough before 9/11. We can't afford to be fools about underestimating his threat to us again, because when he takes Afghanistan, he will take Pakistan and its hydrogen bombs, too.

[JulieSA]

I like Kristof, but his reasoning here is fundamentally flawed

You can build schools all day long, and we've built many new schools there since we kicked the Tali.ba.n out of power in 2002, but if there's no one to protect the teachers and students from being mai.med or mu.rder.ed by the Tal.ib.an, then the school building serves no purpose.

[waitforme]

I've been saying this for months. I've noticed that violence has only begot more violence. When the US leaves Afghanistan it won't be worth much with so many prople there who can 't even read, much less have they studied world history, world religions, writing, literature, science, engineering, civics, architecture, music, art.....

Soldiers should be used to guard schools, making sure students get home safely and that teachers are safe, 24/7. A large, separate, Peace Corps-LIKE (but not Peace Corps because it will take people willing to take higher risks and have no families) contingent of people trained in a few subjects could go there and train teachers in those subjects as well as in how to teach them.

All drones should stop, because they just evoke lethal recruits to the Taliban.

We hear, from David Rohde, Matt Hoh, Ms Joya (interviewed on Talk of the Nation/NPR yesterday or Tuesday and DemocracyNow.org this week) and many others that Afghans don't want to be occupied, that al Qaeda have left the Af/Pak region and in any case can do their recruiting on the internet and from Somalia, Sudan, etc. We have heard the crying need for teachers who can at least read and more: educate.

Mr. Hoh suggests the US is well behind the facts on the ground in Afghanistan. Hilary Clinton, when she talks, sounds as if she is chastising children -- not an evolved or effective attitude, and one which reflects a Bush-era understanding of the area and a

[akashm]

It sounds easy, but when Taliban and AlQaeda destroy any kind of school that is not Islamic how it will be possible. Unless Saudis stop funding or send their soldiers (or other Middle East countries send the peace keeping troops) to Afghanistan to control the Taliban, the Afghan war will never end.

[JulieSA]

All the girls' schools will have to be shut down. The Ta.lib.an throws acid on schoolgirls, and beh..eads those who teach girls.

[tomorrowman58]

Investing in education is the BEST investment for our country and the world. Sure it takes years but the positive consequences far outweigh the inconveniences and the alternatives: terrorism, massive ilegal immigration, wholescale crime, narco-trafficking. Look at the Scandinavian countries, not perfect but way better than Afganistan, Honduras, Mexico,South Central LA, etc. etc etc etc

[The Professor]

Building schools is fine but without protection, isn't building a waste?

[JohnLinus]

It is a joke to invest in schools in other countries. We should get out and put the money (that doesn't exist, by the way) in our system.

[jqcitizen]

Educating someone is too costly.

[tomorrowman58]

More schools in Latin America...and by the way more schools in the good ol USA!
Education is the answer...not bombs.

[motoGpifupleez]

Two groups want more troops:
1) Generals angling for "consultant " jobs within the defense industry.
2) RightWingers looking to show toughness by risking OTHER peoples lives.
Everyone who has spent time actually working with the Afghani people says that the Afghanis do NOT want More American soldiers. In fact, they want the American soldiers to leave.
Unfortunately for them, our typical response to that thought process is to "go Cheney" on them with an emphatic "So"?