Think tank: 92% of Afghans never heard of 9/11

Think tank: 92% of Afghans never heard of 9/11
By Daniel Tencer
Friday, November 19th, 2010 -- 5:06 pm

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Fewer than one in 10 Afghans are aware of the 9/11 attacks and their 
precipitation of the war in Afghanistan, says a study from an international 
think tank.
A report (PDF) from the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) 
shows that 92 percent of those surveyed had never heard of the coordinated 
multiple attacks on US soil on September 11, 2001. It also shows that four in 10 
Afghans believe the US is on their soil in order to "destroy Islam or occupy 
Afghanistan."
To be sure, the survey can't claim to be definitive: It only canvassed men, and 
relied primarily on respondents from Helmand and Kandahar, the two most war-torn 
provinces in the country. But the results nonetheless show that Western forces 
fighting insurgents in Afghanistan have largely failed to connect with the local 
population.
“We need to explain to the Afghan people why we are here, and both show and 
convince them that their future is better with us than with the Taliban,” ICOS 
lead field researcher Norine MacDonald said in a statement.
The survey also suggests that Afghans are skeptical of their own government's 
ability to protect them, and have little regard for the fledgling democratic 
institutions the country is building. Fully 43 percent could not name one 
positive aspect of democracy, and nearly two-thirds -- 61 percent -- said they 
didn't think Afghan forces would be able to keep up the fight against the 
Taliban if and when Western forces withdrew.
The ICOS study recommends a publicity campaign to explain to Afghans why foreign 
forces are fighting on their soil. The think tank also proposes a number of 
other initiatives meant to improve the image of foreign forces in the country, 
including having NATO forces deliver humanitarian aid where aid groups fear to 
travel, providing farmland to the poor, setting up women's councils, and "safe 
village convoys" which would see foreign troops escort villagers in dangerous 
rural areas.
ICOS has a permanent presence in Afghanistan and has been studying the nearly 
decade-long war's impact on Afghan society. The think tank has previously 
proposed that Afghanistan license the growing of opium. The group argues that 
eliminating the opiate trade from Afghanistan is virtually impossible due to its 
entrenched place in the culture. At the same time, Afghan farmers could earn 
money by selling opiates to painkiller manufacturers.
Opponents of the idea say that Afghanistan is not stable enough to develop a 
proper opium-manufacturing industry, and a licensing scheme would only encourage 
the sale of opium to heroin manufacturers.