The Fallacy Of Good Intentions

THE CENTURION CHRONICLE
Special Issue – Sept. 2009

THE FALLACY OF GOOD INTENTIONS
(when helping those who won’t help themselves)

We’ve been in Afghanistan for eight years now, and the Afghans have yet to show any significant efforts either politically, economically, or even militarily, to organize their society so as to sustain themselves as a viable nation-state….all on their own.

Meanwhile, we, and our NATO allies, have had to bear the burden of doing it for them, with the blood of our soldiers, and billions of our tax dollars (mostly ending up in their personal pockets, or, even worse, in the hands of our common Taliban enemies).

All of which just shows that the fallacy of good intentions, to help those who won’t help themselves, simply creates and encourages an attitude of dependence on outside help, rather than motivating those receiving such help to get off their collective buns….and begin fending for themselves.

So here we are, after all that time, effort, blood, and money, and they’re still bogged down in tribal mindsets, warlord/drug lord maneuverings, unable to face down a resurgence of Taliban thugery, or, provide their people with an effective national government.

We must therefore ask….what’s the point of it all, and what have all those good intentions of ours really accomplished? Not much….apparently.

We returned to Afghanistan eight years ago in reaction to the 9/11 assault against us, and because the Taliban thug-run government there was aiding and sheltering Bin Laden and his al Qaeda co-conspirators of that event.

Besides demonstrating to the world of Islam at large that America’s military claws and fangs could rip them all to shreds any time….any where….when turned by such acts into an enraged and revenge-thirsty lion, it was also ripping out that much despised Taliban government, while most of the rest of the world applauded and cheered it on.

But then, in our typical American way, once the heat of anger and blood lust had cooled, and we’d mauled and mangled, and otherwise scattered what remained of the Taliban regime and its al Qaeda friends, we set about to show everyone that such an enraged lion could just as easily turn into a very friendly pussy cat, full of good intentions (with lots of money besides), ready to rebuild what it had knocked down, and otherwise help bind up the wounds from its actions there.