Book review: How Canada made things worse in Afghanistan

Walt would prefer to write his own reviews, but, unlike journalists and critics in the lamestream media, he doesn't get review copies in advance of publication. When I'm able, I'll certainly read [and possibly purchase? Ed.] The Dogs Are Eating Them Now, by Graeme Smith, formerly a reporter for the Globe and Mail, now a member of the International Crisis Group, still hanging his hat -- or perhaps it's a helmet -- in Kabul.

I have made a decision to read The Dogs Are Eating Them Now ASAP, based on the review by Mr. Smith's one-time colleague, Jeffrey Simpson, in today's G&M. He calls the book "a wise, enthralling, detailed, realistic account of [Smith's] time in Afghanistan." Here are a couple of excerpts.

"Many are the lessons from Mr. Smith’s book, but one emerges above all: that the presence of foreigners did not necessarily turn the tide against the Taliban. Indeed, the foreigners’ military forays and strange (to the Pashtuns) ways may even have allowed the Taliban to survive and, ultimately, to grow....

"His is a picture of Kandahar and its surroundings, where the Pashtun code of tribal identity and revenge has for centuries proved difficult for foreigners to understand. In southern Afghanistan, at any rate, 'we are leaving behind an ongoing war; at worst, it’s a looming disaster,' Mr. Smith says.

"How the West, including Canadians, unintentionally made things worse is a textbook case of cross-cultural misunderstanding and hubris. The West will tell itself heroic stories, then forget about Afghanistan."

Did you notice "the West, including Canadians"? Although Canada punched above its weight in Afghanistan, at large cost for a small country, it was and still is the USA that took the lead, both in invading that wretched country and in fighting on although the "war on terror" was lost (for the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph) years ago.

I would think The Dogs Are Eating Them Now should be required reading for American (as well as Canadian, British, etc etc) politicians and policy-makers, in order that we avoid a future fiasco -- in Syria, for instance. But I wouldn't bet on it.