How’s Afghanistan doing?

by philg

It’s the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 jihad to which we responded by invading Afghanistan. How’s the country doing?

“How the Taliban Suppressed Opium in Afghanistan—and Why There’s Little to Celebrate” (TIME, July 17, 2023):

The Taliban has been remarkably effective in maintaining brisk trade and crucial minerals exports, stabilizing the Afghan economy, significantly reducing corruption in taxes and customs, and generating some $2 billion in yearly revenues—the same as what the Afghan Republic did under far more generous international circumstances. … As the economist Bill Byrd puts it, the Taliban’s economic stabilization is one of a “famine equilibrium.” With 90% of the population stuck in poverty, what has kept Afghans from starving is humanitarian aid. Yet that aid has been rapidly declining this year—by at least $1 billion out of the $3 billion provided in 2022. … If the ban is maintained and in another year or so Europe starts experiencing a heroin drought not yet felt, a fentanyl epidemic will likely surge… it’s clear that cutting off supply doesn’t end use. It just forces those with substance use disorder and without treatment to switch to more dangerous drugs or new suppliers. For these reasons, the Taliban should not be praised for or encouraged to persist in its drug ban.

So the Taliban have accomplished more in a couple of years than the U.S. has in 50+ years (our War on Drugs), but they should not be praised for this accomplishment, which was not worth striving for in the first place (which is why we strove for it for 50+ years).

Humanity is going extinct, according to planetary physicist Professor Dr. Joe Biden, Ph.D. The Taliban will come to the rescue, says the Washington Post… “Rich lode of EV metals could boost Taliban and its new Chinese partners”:

In a 2010 memo, the Pentagon’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, which examined Afghanistan’s development potential, dubbed the country the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” A year later, the U.S. Geological Survey published a map showing the location of major deposits and highlighted the magnitude of the underground wealth, saying Afghanistan “could be considered as the world’s recognized future principal source of lithium.”

But now, in a great twist of modern Afghan history, it is the Taliban — which overthrew the U.S.-backed government two years ago — that is finally looking to exploit those vast lithium reserves, at a time when the soaring global popularity of electric vehicles is spurring an urgent need for the mineral, a vital ingredient in their batteries. By 2040, demand for lithium could rise 40-fold from 2020 levels, according to the International Energy Agency.

In other words, the Taliban in a couple of years have done more than the U.S. and its puppet government accomplished in 10+ years.

How about coronapanic, the standard by which Americans judge the success of any society. Afghanistan, a country of 40 million (double the population of 20 million when we invaded), has suffered about 8,000 COVID-tagged deaths. Compare to 1.12 million in the U.S., a country of 335 million. 1 in 300 Americans was killed by COVID, in other words, compared to just 1 in 5,000 Afghans. The Taliban, in other words, have done a far better job of “controlling the virus” than the U.S. federal and state governments have.

Speaking of muscular human control of the weak flabby virus, what are the Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention up to on this day of solemn remembrance?

In case the above gets memory-holed, a screen shot:

Posted in War

18 thoughts on “How’s Afghanistan doing?”

  1. Sounds like a paradise. Taliban should govern US, too. Wonder if their monetary policy has been any more successful than 40 years of inflation targeting.

  3. I’m not sure if you’re trying to be cynical or funny…
    Sure, the US of A didn’t succeed in making Afghanistan great (or Iraq, Vietnam, Korea and others), it’s no secret.
    I’m not sure what you expected from a giant power with chronic low ability to deliver anything except munitions (not always to the right target)

    But, claiming that the Taliban is “succeeding” is a giant over statement.

    More people are poor, more people die and a lot more violence, you just don’t hear about it on the news, because it ain’t interesting and also the Taliban is not releasing numbers so really, how can you even compare?

    Regarding COVID – it isn’t a fair comparison, USA is a vast country with a LOT of inner-travel, Afghanistan is very sparesly populated (giant country not as crowded) with many communities that are remote and inaccessible, it can take a few days to get somewhere that in the US takes a few hours drive…

    In short you are comparing apples to mountains…

    I would guess that most Afghans would prefer “USA with no Taliban” than “Taliban with no USA” that would be a fair comparison.

    • > More people are poor, more people die and a lot more violence, you just don’t hear about it on the news, because it ain’t interesting and also the Taliban is not releasing numbers so really, how can you even compare?

      This is a lifestyle, a choice Afghans have made. The US of A or any other country should not get in the people of Afghans way. Let them sort it out on their own.

      If we think Afghans are pressed, the same argument can be made for other countries, such as China or Russia. Shouldn’t we “save” those people too?

      > I would guess that most Afghans would prefer “USA with no Taliban” than “Taliban with no USA” that would be a fair comparison.

      I don’t think so. If so, the Aghan people, who number far more than the Taliban, would rise up against the Taliban, but they have not and accepted the Taliban rulers.

  4. That’s an amazing statement: “If the ban is maintained and in another year or so Europe starts experiencing a heroin drought not yet felt, a fentanyl epidemic will likely surge… it’s clear that cutting off supply doesn’t end use. It just forces those with substance use disorder and without treatment to switch to more dangerous drugs or new suppliers. For these reasons, the Taliban should not be praised for or encouraged to persist in its drug ban.”

    An inescapable conclusion from that statement is: Afghanistan has to boost heroin production to keep the eurotrash more or less healthy.

    • Anon: Adjusting for age distribution is anti-Science. California is one of the youngest U.S. states, for example, and the Scientists there frequently touted their slightly lower COVID-tagged death rate as evidence that their lockdowns and mask orders were effective.

  7. Sounds like the perfect place to move Chez Phil. Lower taxes, more to do and better weather than coastal Fla. No masking on the horizon except for the missus and if she gets out of line she will be lashed with no sense in her trying to get her share early since it will pass to the lads. Anyone who tries to steal Phil’s property will have his hands cut off. Don’t have to master a lot of pesky pronouns. No worries about LBQT etc. since if identified they will swing by the neck from the nearest crane, or just thrown off the roof of a building. The locals historically were ok with the Hebrew persuasion, though that community having lasted well over a millennium, is now extinct, but if Phil and the clan make it over there Chabad is sure to follow. The Garden of Eden awaits.

    • @JDC, the people of Afghanistan have chosen the lifestyle you describe, it doesn’t me Philip, you or I want it and will move to Afghanistan. The woke, however, will criticize the Afghans for their lifestyle and force onto them western rules by invading Afghanistan and killing innocent people.

  9. “The Taliban, in other words, have done a far better job of “controlling the virus” than the U.S. federal and state governments have.” US government supplied data may be questionable – but can you give any credence at all to data supplied by Taliban? Even their census – let alone covid deaths. Who’s even counting there – plus, at the height of covid, they ruled by US proxy strongmen, Taliban was not in charge of government services

  10. I take comfort in the fact that your logic will not be clouding the young and impressionable minds of MIT students, Dr. Greenspun 🙂

  13. Taliban also knows how to root out corruption and improve security, according to a soon-to-be former UK gov’t official:

    Ellwood released a video in which he described Afghanistan as a “country transformed”. He said that “security has vastly improved, corruption is down and the opium trade has all but disappeared” since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/13/tobias-ellwood-quits-as-chair-of-defence-select-committee-over-taliban-remarks

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