Tag Archives: afghans

Note the siege mentality: why the leap to the conclusion that the U.S. must have gratuitously entered Afghanistan in order to “destroy Islam”? And with the U.S. building hospitals and schools and roads in Afghanistan, the notion is laughable — but that never stopped the conspiracy paranoia before. “Think tank: 92% of Afghans never heard of 9/11,” by Daniel Tencer for Raw Story, November 19: 'Fewer than one in 10 Afghans are aware of the 9/11 attacks and their precipitation of the war in Afghanistan, says a study from an international think tank. A report (PDF) from the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) shows that 92 percent of those surveyed had never heard of the coordinated multiple attacks on US soil on September 11, 2001. It also shows that four in 10 Afghans believe the US is on their soil in order to “destroy Islam or occupy Afghanistan.” To be sure, the survey can't claim to be definitive: It only canvassed men, and relied primarily on respondents from Helmand and Kandahar, the two most war-torn provinces in the country. But the results nonetheless show that Western forces fighting insurgents in Afghanistan have largely failed to connect with the local population. “We need to explain to the Afghan people why we are here, and both show and convince them that their future is better with us than with the Taliban,” ICOS lead field researcher Norine MacDonald said in a statement….' Good luck with that, Norine. added by: crystalman