The article “Anger grows at civilian deaths” in today’s (Oct. 7) Recorder reminded me of how our country used to try to win the hearts and minds of people around the world by helping them, by offering aid and a hand up out of the debris of war. I’m really not old enough to remember how the Marshall Plan worked to do this, but I know that Germany and Japan were beneficiaries of this kind of policy, and so it is with consternation that I read about how we are creating enemies, and have been by being at war ever since 9/11.
Afghanistan was selected as the first place of attack since Osama bin Laden, a Saudi, had his base of operation there. For 10 years he was hunted (2001-2011), but the war continues so we know that there are, and were, other goals involved, just as there were in the United State’s attacking Iraq.
The drone killing of 20 more Afghan civilians, reported today, is adding fuel to the fire. The people want us out of there — their country. We are not making friends, even though there have been stories of how our armed forces have tried to help the people improve their lives. We don’t know what that improvement would look like. We who believe in democracy should, perhaps, let them design their own improvements.
In an interesting juxtaposition of reading today, I found Barbara Kingsolver’s essay “Small Wonder”, in the book of the same name, to be addressing the same theme of what an enemy is and how we approach that fearsome creature. On page 7, she writes, “… now we are faced with something new: an enemy we can’t kill, because it’s a widespread anger so much stronger than physical want that its food soldiers gladly surrender their lives in its service ….”
Kingsolver actually says, “… the stinging truth [is] that we aren’t exactly loved for our ways in this world.” An understatement indeed!
Laurel Facey
Wendell