The sick soap about Harry and Afghanistan

We have reached new depths. Afghanistan has been turned into a soap opera. The media subscribe to the nonsense of fighting a 'world security threat' (the Taleban), winning the 'hearts and minds' of the local population, giving humanitarian aid in one way or another and - implicitly - spreading freedom and democracy across the globe.

This is of course all but a smokescreen for the real underlying factors: self-interest, the spread of global consumer capitalism, and securing resources (energy, production or otherwise). Slavoj Žižek perhaps summarises this most succinctly in his book Violence(London: Profile Books, 2008):

When the media bombard us with those 'humanitarian crises' which seem constantly to pop up all over the world, one should always bear in mind that a particular crisis only explodes into media visibility as the result of a complex struggle. Properly humanitarian considerations as a rule play less important role here than cultural, ideologico-political and economic considerations.

Yet we - collectively - are in a state of denial. Afghanistan is still - perhaps even more than ever before - talked of in terms of liberation and democracy, in terms of human rights, in terms of humanitarian motivations. Kosovo is (unsuccessfully) being sold as a cause célèbre for liberal self-determinists.

Afghanistan has been pushed even deeper into utter tragedy with the arrival (and departure) of our latter-day Lawrence of Arabia, namely Prince Harry. On a personal level it is of no interest whatsoever what, why, or how Harry went to Afghanistan. What does matter is the reception of his 'adventure'. Afghanistan has been trivialised beyond repair. The empty discourse on freedom and democracy has become even more devalued the soap saga of the Prince's 'normal' few weeks in the desert helping to bomb the Afghan population. Not only is the public craving for deceit about why we are in Afghanistan, but it is also craving for a lie about the importance of nobility in leading the way.

The only semi-decent article in the British press on this matter has been written by an ex-officer who writes candidly about his disillusionment and his disillusionment of craving for the deceits and lies surrounding Afghanistan, liberation, and freedom and democracy:

Read it here