“It’s not second best. It’s realistic.” This has become the battle cry of Brigadier Gordon Messenger of the British military. After most of the world hailed the downfall of the Taleban in 2001 as victory not only in Afghanistan, but in the world at large, this seemed to be a precarious attitude to take by one of the military’s top ranking officials. The reason for this turn in events is unknown. The Taleban, though not visibily powerful, still control parts of southern Afghanistan, and the fear they instill in the country is still rampant throughout. Bandits make the roads intraversable, and corrupt police officers demand money in the still of the night.
This is a far cry from the beacon of democracy everyone had hoped for when the Taleban was ousted in 2001. Rumors permeate through the country that health clinics are the next targets in that healthcare has been a major success chapter in this still unfinished story. 85% of Afghanis are able to receive some form of health care when needed. But the ultimate test of the success of the mission, the realization of the rhetoric, is if life has become better for the ordinary citizens. At this point, the answer to this question is still unknown, but perhaps this new realism has already answered it.
This is a wonderful story in that it took a major issue, the War in Afghanistan, from a British perspective and the writer explained the problem in a new way. I thought his title was fascinating, and that was what ultimately drew me to the story. From there his construction of his argument was parallel to his title and followed suit in a logical yet poetic manner. The pictures that complemented his writing were tantamount to the emotions he was trying to convey: hope, desperation, uncertainty, weariness, fear. This was a remarkable writing that should be examined by all of us, communications majors or not.
