Half of Afghan Military Forces Won't Achieve 1st Grade Literacy Level by 2012

Half of Afghan Military Forces Won't Achieve 1st Grade Literacy Level by 2012

www.cnsnews.com

(ISAF) training mission in Afghanistan predicts that only about 50 percent of Afghan military forces will be able read and write at the 1st grade level by January 2012, according to a Department of Defense report mandated by lawmakers.

illiteracy rate among the ANSF recruits is expected to drop from 86 percent to 50 percent by January 2012

a 1st grade literacy level “represents only a very elementary grasp of literacy (numbers, letters and some simple words).”

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is all you need to read to understand that this adventure in Afganistan is a complete boondoogle run by the military industrial complex. There is no hope to achieve anything close to a functioning society in Afganistan and there never was.

Today's military is technical and complex, even with respect to basic weapons. These Afgans will not be able to read a manual, write reports, read intelligence reports. In other words, they will forever be aided by our friends at Haliburton, Booz-Allen, Blackwater, Northrup Gruman and the rest of these war profiteers who will never see this cash flow stream end. These firms will make hundreds of millions of dollars rewriting manuals at a 1st grade level and teaching Afgan security forces reading and writing.

What is the end game here? A democracy? A functioning society? Keep in mind that the Afgan military is made up of the best and brightest of Afgans.

There is absolutely no hope for anything close to a viable outcome in this hell hole. All the signs have pointed to the reality that Afganistan will never be anything but a failed state which it has been since its inception.

Now that OBL is dead, there will be yet another reason to double down the efforts to blunt the reaction to his killing, driving more dough into Afganistan, when logic would suggest that now that the Taliban has been hammered, OBL killed that its time to wind down. Not the troop wind down, but a total wind down, with military contractors being pulled out as well, not this shell game where we will see troop numbers decrease and the number of 3rd parties increase, those third parties being run by the CIA, so again off the books from public scrutiny. Normal logic here does not apply however, only the logic that indicates that the more invested in this nonsense we become, the more cash lines the pockets of the military contractors, their lobbiests and the politicians whos pockets they're both filling.



www.cnsnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

That's about what our soldiers have too isn't it? I mean if they were smart they would have mutiny by now. But anyhow, you don't need to be able to read to take care of your country. America did fine for the first hundred years. It takes time, but a baby will never learn and grow up unless we send him off to college. So for god's sake, they have a military, we killed osama. Time to go. Use the money to fix America and use the soldiers to help with the flooding. Or how about this, since they are using our military, let us use theres to help with the flooding. Either way it's our tax money.

Hmh...I'm just not surprised.
Anyways....yes it will take a long time to build working society in Afghanistan. But it's worth the effort as Afghanistan is one ofnthe biggest Opium producers. Somewhat working society would decrease it's production. And thus making a world safer place.....

in my opinion, no one in the middle east needs to be smart. they just have to know how to reproduce. thats all thats required.

Originally posted by bellagirl
in my opinion, no one in the middle east needs to be smart. they just have to know how to reproduce. thats all thats required.

I guess onus falls upon all us, meaning us as literate people to educate, show them that there is another way in interacting with other humans. After all, we all occupy one planet for now.

reply to post by bellagirl


What? Ignorant statements and racists on ATS are running rampant this week apparently.

Maybe the west should stop investing in weapons and bullets and start investing in education

it is no surprise the illiteracy rate is so high, they have no education system in place. Charles Nesbit Wilson said himself that it was important to stay in Afghanistan after they helped the Afghanis push out the Russians, to build schools and infrastructure there but the US refused to give him the few millions he wanted to do it

At least we can say the illiteracy rate for these recruits has dropped from 86% to 50% that is a large improvement, invest more on infrastructure and education, less on killing, that can help change the ME

Afghan security forces are also nortoriously flakey and heavy into drugs. From what I've seen, they might show up for security detail at some base where they are babysat by Canadian/US forces, smoke a bunch of dope, and then leave soon later with most of their equipment.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


BS i learned to read katakana and hiragana in under 4 months and i was baked outta my mind every study session, theres something else wrong here.


dope aint good for fighting forces, but its not stopping them from learning to read.

Originally posted by gougitousakusha
reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

 

BS i learned to read katakana and hiragana in under 4 months and i was baked outta my mind every study session, theres something else wrong here.


dope aint good for fighting forces, but its not stopping them from learning to read.

edit on 10-5-2011 by gougitousakusha because: (no reason given)

Well, you're probably high now because I never said anything about smoking dope and its relation to learning. I said Afghan security forces smoke dope while on the job, which usually leads to them not really caring about their duties.

I had a good video of US forces babysitting Afghan national army soldiers. The guy in charge kept complaining about how unreliable and undisciplined the Afghan soldiers were. I can't seem the find the video now...

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


i know the exact video your talking about, they where a bunch of idiots sitting around getting stoned, probably some of that afghani goldseal. you shouldnt give an idiot a gun stoned or not.

point being this group probably dosnt care to learn. they die as terrorist or shame their religion and die killing muslims with the US. makes sense to play/be the incompetent fool and not be trusted sent to the front lines.

Originally posted by gougitousakusha
reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

 

i know the exact video your talking about, they where a bunch of idiots sitting around getting stoned, probably some of that afghani goldseal. you shouldnt give an idiot a gun stoned or not.

That's not the point. Point is we have imperialist forces telling indiginous Afghans what to do and how to do it, and they really don't care. They had more freedoms under the Soviets and I bet they regret replacing them for Americans by now.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
They had more freedoms under the Soviets and I bet they regret replacing them for Americans by now.

Would you care to expand upon that and give some sort of supportive evidence or is that your obviously unbiased opinion?

Originally posted by Freeborn
reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

 

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
They had more freedoms under the Soviets and I bet they regret replacing them for Americans by now.

Would you care to expand upon that and give some sort of supportive evidence or is that your obviously unbiased opinion?

Well, Afghan girls could wear bikinis on the streets under the communist party; now, they are beheaded if not dressed in full burka or within a heavily Westernized location.

My point is that the US created the Taliban. All of the hardships that Afghans suffered since the end of Soviet occupation are the direct result of US interferance. Americans must be pretty damn naive to think the Afghans to be so stupid as to allow themselves to be under American control. This applies to the National Afghan Army too; the passion for regular Afghans to serve in an army to continue serving American interests just isn't there.

They know that the US will never leave. The US is there for resources and strategic bases. If all US (and Western) forces left now, the pro-West regime would be ripped to shreds and Afghanistan will become a real extremist international-terrorist breeding ground.

Just think of how many ex-Afghan mujahideen went to Chechnya to help kill Russians.

The Western governments try to present this pretty picture of Afghan soldiers that are happy that the American superpower has bombed their country and killed thousands of their people. None of it makes sense. This story of Afghan military literacy isn't a question of how stupid they are; it's about how much they really care about supporting the Western mission there that really has little interest in them.

Does this really come as a suprise to anyone? I mean, most of the Afghan population live nomadic lives and only learn what is needed to survive. Do you have to know how to read to learn how to skin a goat or burn dried animal dung? The fact is, reading is not a necessity in their way of life. And no, WE should NOT be trying to educate them unless they ask nicely first. If you want a favor, you show some respect.

Originally posted by Zamini
reply to post by bellagirl

 

What? Ignorant statements and racists on ATS are running rampant this week apparently.

Well this is ATS. It pretty much runs rampant every week.

Considering A$$crackistan is one step up from the Stone Age, i'd call the reading percentage an accomplishment.

This country has been fighting invaders or themselves since time began. If there isn't a foreign invader to unite them, they just fight each other. Tribal loyalties will always trump everything else.


"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." - Edmund Burke. It rings soooooo true.

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

Well, Afghan girls could wear bikinis on the streets under the communist party; now, they are beheaded if not dressed in full burka or within a heavily Westernized location.

Wow....so the definative measure on personal freedoms is whether women are allowed to wear bikini's or not?

And I think you'll find it's The Taliban who impose these brutal and repressive doctrines and not The US Armed Forces who are opposed to The Taliban.

My point is that the US created the Taliban.

No they didn't, Islam and Middle Eastern culture created The Taliban and no-one else and it's about time Muslims as a whole stood up and recognised and accepted this instead of constantly looking for any convenient scapegoat to put the blame on and use as an excuse for the continuation of their hatred for all things non-Islamic.

All of the hardships that Afghans suffered since the end of Soviet occupation are the direct result of US interferance.

Absolute bollocks.
And if the USSR hadn't intefered in Afghani affairs in the first place there would have been no need for the US to.

They know that the US will never leave. The US is there for resources and strategic bases. If all US (and Western) forces left now, the pro-West regime would be ripped to shreds and Afghanistan will become a real extremist international-terrorist breeding ground.

The US will never leave as long as The Taliban pose a real and live threat.
They are a destabalising presence throughout the region and they can not be allowed to regain power in Afghanstan, that would have devestating repercussions for all of us.
Both Russia and China know this and that's why they do very little practically to hinder US operations in the region - there is a common enemy and purpose.

Just think of how many ex-Afghan mujahideen went to Chechnya to help kill Russians.

Quite a few I imagine.
As they went to numerous other countries around the globe killing innocents of various nationalities, particularly targetting US citizens and personnel.
Your point is?

The Western governments try to present this pretty picture of Afghan soldiers that are happy that the American superpower has bombed their country and killed thousands of their people.

The US has made, and is continuing to do so, some horrendous policy and military decisions in Afghanistan.
But I genuinely believe their principle aim is to rid the region of The Taliban and to help deliver the governing of Afghanistan to the Afghani people.
However, I am not naive enough to recognise that there may be other benefits to their presence.

None of it makes sense.

Very little ever does to those of us with limited knowledge of the intricacies of 'The Great Game'.

This story of Afghan military literacy isn't a question of how stupid they are; it's about how much they really care about supporting the Western mission there that really has little interest in them.

I suspect Afghan literacy levels has more to do with Afghan culture and society and the remnants of Taliban indoctrination than it has to do with anything else.

I have found myself saying this quite often recently but all the ill's in this world are not the US's doing and whilst I recognise they have many failings the world would be a far worse place without them.

Originally posted by Freeborn

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

Well, Afghan girls could wear bikinis on the streets under the communist party; now, they are beheaded if not dressed in full burka or within a heavily Westernized location.

Wow....so the definative measure on personal freedoms is whether women are allowed to wear bikini's or not?

And I think you'll find it's The Taliban who impose these brutal and repressive doctrines and not The US Armed Forces who are opposed to The Taliban.

1) If a girl wore a bikini in Afghanistan now, she would be decapitated.

2) The US created the Taliban. The US forced the USSR out of Afghanistan and created a vacuum of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban would not exist if the US did not toy with Afghans for strategic interests.

No they didn't, Islam and Middle Eastern culture created The Taliban and no-one else and it's about time Muslims as a whole stood up and recognised and accepted this instead of constantly looking for any convenient scapegoat to put the blame on and use as an excuse for the continuation of their hatred for all things non-Islamic.

Rationalization is a psychological defense mechanism.

The facts:

- The US support extremist-Islamic fighters in Afghanistan to push the Soviets out. They evolved into the Taliban (and friends).
- The US distabilized Iraq intentionally and supported the civil war (for a specific example, look up the Wolf Brigade and all of the videos they made decapitating random Iraqis on the street; the US supported them directly). This was part of the "shock and awe" strategy.
- The US supports rebellion in Iran and Syria, and supports assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.
- The US supports Israeli apartheid of the Palestinians, and has no quarrel with supplying vast amounts of weaponry, funding and even nuclear weapons.
- The US supports Islamic extremist rebels in Libya, and thus incites civil war so Libya can be decimated just enough so Western assets can move and take over the infrastructure and resources. Assassinating Gaddafi is just one factor in this application of "shock and awe" on Libya.

Absolute bollocks.
And if the USSR hadn't intefered in Afghani affairs in the first place there would have been no need for the US to.

What did the US have to do with Afghanistan in the 70s and 80s? What right did they have to get involved? They did it because they knew that bogging down the Soviet effort would run down the entire Soviet Union.

And I take it that you don't know anything about pre-Soviet Afghanistan. It was an autocracy, with the only region that the government controlled was Kabul; the rest was anarchy and feudalism.

Obviously the USSR wanted Afghanistan for strategic reasons, but at least they didn't just invade based on lies. The communist government was already in power for years and making headway until the CIA moved in, supported the warlords, which then drew in the Red Army.

The US will never leave as long as The Taliban pose a real and live threat.
They are a destabalising presence throughout the region and they can not be allowed to regain power in Afghanstan, that would have devestating repercussions for all of us.
Both Russia and China know this and that's why they do very little practically to hinder US operations in the region - there is a common enemy and purpose.

The only real threat here is the US, as they have proven over and over. They are the destabilizing force in the region, not a band of warlords.

And you think Russia and China support you? The US and China have been dividing up Afghanistan for awhile now. Notice that $4 trillion in rare earth minerals that the US claims to have found (it was actually the Russians)? They need that to continue producing high-end electronics because China controls most of those minerals on the global market. In fact, China already has the rights to most, if not all, of foreign copper contracts in Afghanistan.

Russia has other interests. I'm sure that they love seeing the US throw their money away fighting rebels in the mountains. Besides, if the Islamist fighters in Afghanistan weren't fighting coalition forces throughout the middle east, they would probably be fighting Russians in Chechnya and Daegestan.

As they went to numerous other countries around the globe killing innocents of various nationalities, particularly targetting US citizens and personnel.

The US did the same to them for decades.

Very little ever does to those of us with limited knowledge of the intricacies of 'The Great Game'.

I'll give you that.

I have found myself saying this quite often recently but all the ill's in this world are not the US's doing and whilst I recognise they have many failings the world would be a far worse place without them.

I'm not talking about the world, I'm talking about Afghanistan. The US has history in viewing Afghanistan as a strategic location, and has put a lot of effort and planning into making it accessible to their grasp.