Afghan schools and clinics built by British military forced to close

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The Guardian, 27 September 2012
The British military in Helmand ‘had built too much … trying to win “hearts and minds”‘, ‘without enough consultation with the Afghan government and without thinking through how [it] would be maintained’, according to a new report. Now the PRT commander has to sort out which schools and clinics have to be closed, and it is expected that this will happen ‘particularly in more rural areas’. This is a clear example how COIN contradicts developmental principles, i.e. helping the most vulnerable which, in Afghanistan, would be found in more rural’ areas. The article also provides brilliant explanations why this was done: from ‘we didn’t think about it’ to ‘we were serious’ and had ‘the best of intention’.