Troops Maybe, But More Education: Yes

Making the case for more schools and less troops in his Thursday column:

"It’s hard to do the calculation precisely, but for the cost of 40,000 troops over a few years — well, we could just about turn every Afghan into a Ph.D." -- Nicholas Kristof

The butter versus bullets scenario of how to occupy another country is teaching us again and again, people need something to live for that the military can't supply. Not to say they are our next big trade partner, but stability in that region means something to the world.

Kristof adds:

"In short, there is still vast scope for greater investment in education, health and agriculture in Afghanistan. These are extraordinarily cheap and have a better record at stabilizing societies than military solutions, which, in fact, have a pretty dismal record."

And if someone does not educate these people, the hateful fundamentalist groups will. Denying the importance of education is guaranteeing the next generation of opposition. The Islamic Wahhabi extremists offer scholarships for the best pupils to study abroad before returning to become leaders of their communities. How do you counter that?

Source: NYT