Another Afghan Explosion

A new trouble for Afghanistan is emerging in the countryside, a site more troubling than any black-turbaned, RPG-wielding Taliban could ever spawn. In village after village creeping mobs of squat, doe-eyed darlings burst forward to greet visitors. Afghanistan is exploding with children.

For a country that has limped through three decades of war, extreme poverty and newsworthy repression, it is astonishing that anything has germinated. No matter how successful the surge in troops and reconstruction may be—the benefits will vanish when these adorable babes transform into violent young men without jobs.

Some progress is being made regarding birth control. In 2009 from January to September the sale of birth control pills nearly doubled. Yet, today over half of the country's adults are 15-to-29 year olds, compared with only 26 percent in the United States.

Since 1950, the population has nearly quadrupled. According to AfPak Channel “The pace of growth strains government services as well… even if the Taliban stopped destroying schools and obstructing attendance, the government would face a momentous challenge in furnishing enough classrooms and teachers for this burgeoning generation.”

If a centralized Afghan government truly emerges, keeping it intact will be a burden for whoever dominates the political landscape.

Preparing for his future, this sweet eight year old from a village at the foot of the Tora Bora mountain range came forward and offered me a pouch of white powder for only one dollar. Heroin, an ADT member wondered. Being under the watchful eye of my US Military escorts, I chose to pass on this great deal.

Terrorists, insurgents and opium traffickers relax—your future is secure.

by Janet Killeen