LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
HUFFINGTON
10.14.12
Hearts,
Minds and
Failures
ROM AFGHANISTAN, Joshua Hersh
puts the spotlight in
this issue on the war
efforts we rarely hear about—
the American efforts to build
trust among the people. These
are the “hearts and minds” development projects bringing
clean water, electricity, roads,
hospitals and schools to the
people under the assumption, as
Joshua puts it, that “If you
build it, goodwill will come.”
Visiting a military base in Lash-
ART STREIBER
F
kar Gah, he encounters deep frustration—a sense that is reflected
in the latest research on the effectiveness of nation-building in
Afghanistan. Hundreds of miles
of new highways now connect Afghanistan’s major cities; life expectancy has risen while infant
mortality rates have dropped;
and millions of girls attend brand
new schools across the country.
Yet instead of creating goodwill
and stability, the “quick-impact
projects”—long considered essential to counterinsurgency—are
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