Part two of this documentary discussed events closer to my frame of reference. I did not feel as lost watching this segment, as I did last week. Not all of the information presented was new to me, however that did not take away from the impact of the film. I thought it was important to start where the film did. Most people my age probably just think of our current relationship with Afganistan. However, the film explores that there was once a time where we helped them out. Not only did we support the Afgans against the Soviet Union, but we gave weapons and training as well. Even Osama Bin Laden was involved at this time. One of the more troubling things about this saga, was that when the Soviet Union wanted peace, we denied them and continued to support Afganistan. Eventually the Soviet Union crumbled, and the United States was quick to take credit as a victory. However, the real reason it collapsed was just a poorly structured government. The United States feels like the whole world should end tyranny and that we have the right to do so. This mindset is still prevalent today.
This documentary series is very well done. Not only is it informative, but also thought provoking. I cannot help but think what happened? It just seems like there were plenty of red flags along the way that someone should have noticed. Then again, I'm sure some people did noticed, but were drowned out or ignored. This series of films is very frustrating. This is the kind of stuff that not enough people know, and even less care to know, and I think that is the worst part. Ok I'm ranting, I have to stop. I am definitely looking forward to watching the third installment next week.
Hey Paul, I agree with you - I thought this second part was much easier to engage with, but that the first part of the series was important for us to understand the complexity of the more recent events we understand more about.
ReplyDeleteI thought your discussion of religion was important. It's even remarkable how much morality is a part of our political discussion in current debates (such as women's reproductive rights). And I agree that it's an extremely powerful motivator - without the morality component, we wouldn't even be able to have this discussion about neoconservatives and Islamic extremists. It's fascinating, though, how such a narrow interpretation of morality is simultaneously shared by both groups, and yet used in opposition of the other (or the Other, for our purposes).
I think to focus on how our relations with Afghanistan have changed over the past couples decades is important especially for the purpose of our class. There was a time where we were allied with Afghanistan, thy were not to be feared, in fact they were to be trusted. So much so that we taught them how to fight, how to use complex weapons, and had the same common enemy, the Soviet Union. It's hard for our generation, though I'm sure now for every American citizen to believe, that this time existed where we didn't fear Afghanistan and see them as a threat. As this part shows us, we were so involved with Afghanistan that we even refused to leave until there was no more Soviet "threat" even though they had already collapsed and asked for our help. Looking back at our relations with Osama and Afghanistan, it is hard to believe. We are naive to think that we are more powerful than any country or leader, and especially shouldn't underestimate people and cultures we don't understand because we are not all powerful.
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