One thing entirely missing from American media is the kind of intrepid journalism one sees regularly in Europe. In today's wars which have cost us $30,000 to $40,000 per household since 2001, the kind of seat-of-the-pants reporting brought to us by a special breed which might be called totally crazy is never seen on the networks or even cable. About Afghanistan, where we now know we are essentially funding both sides,...
according to this summer's Tierney Report, a number of such broadcasts exist. Rep. John Tierney's House subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs revealed that a good portion of Pentagon funds for trucking contracts to move military supplies around the country is forked over to insurgents for protection payments, and that without these, the war would grind to a halt as U.S. bases could not be resupplied. The amount may be as much as the Taliban takes in from the opium trade.
Now we know that for all the more than $300 billion we have spent on military operations in Afghanistan so far, it remains one of the five poorest countries in the world. That's $10,000 per Afghan, where men work gladly for $4 a day, and chronic malnourishment of in both adults and children is anywhere from 35-60 percent going on 10 years into the occupation.
Since you are paying for this show, thanks to these 308 members of the House who voted to keep funding it last June, you may as well watch all the news you can get. Seriously, this is astonishing footage, one from Claire Billet of France 24 in 2007, who interviews a Taliban man saying he favors the education of both boys and girls.
The other was shot this year for UK's Channel 4 News, by a Norwegian journalist who was later kidnapped for six days then released. Sorry dude, but you are crazy.
UK Channel 4 News
France 24
26-minute documentary by Paul Refsdal, "Taliban: Behind the Masks."