I don't think anyone is inherently evil, but I can proudly say much of my work was oriented toward humanitarianism and democratic initiatives. Call it cliche, but you do win people over with kindness and decency.
We worked to build schools, teach farmers about modern agricultural practices, provided medical services, and let women vote or shop by themselves in the local bazaar without fear. We helped reduce IEDs placed in the area to prevent civilian casualties, encouraged safe driving practices, and worked to convince young kids to stop fighting.
I cried when I read that the city in which I lived for a year was recently retaken by the Taliban after we left. I could only hope that the people with which I shared hot tea on cold desert mornings, or potluck style meals, or laughs around a hookah, were able to stay safe.
> Call it cliche, but you do win people over with kindness and decency.
You are probably familiar with the work of Dale Carnegie. A large part of HN find his work to be overrated and obvious at best, while personally so far I found it enlightening and found that the world would be a better place if people actually followed its advice. What is your opinion on his work?
I've personally never read his work. I thought the titling alone so shallow as to not warrant a toe-dip, and the orientation toward success in business was just another factor in my shying away. Sorry!
Lol jk (somewhat). How much would you say the US mission in Afghanistan is influenced by this kind of humanitarian directive vs. some nebulous geopolitical motivations?
For a period of time, counterinsurgency doctrine for Afghanistan was entirely based on humanitarianism - i.e. "winning the hearts and minds".
We stopped pushing that around the time I was there, as regular Army folks can do a fantastic fucking job of erasing months of progress in one patrol or meeting.
I $till haven't landed on a $ati$factory explanation for our geopolitical motivation$ to $tay in Afghani$tan, though.
