Why There Is No 'Gratitude' In Afghanistan And Elsewhere

An Afghan mother and child watch as U.S. troops meet with the director of a nutritional center within the Farah Feeding Center in Farah City, Afghanistan, July 13, 2013. The troops are assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah, 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Security Force. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Chad A. Dulac

Ingratitude in Afghanistan and Elsewhere -- Paul Pillar, National Interest

The latest in an escalating series of disagreements between Washington and Kabul as the U.S.-led military expedition winds down concerns customs duties. The coalition never paid any taxes on all the equipment it brought into Afghanistan over the past decade. Under the terms of the agreement by which it did so—and similar to the rules tourists sometimes encounter when they bring an expensive camera or other gear with them to a foreign country—there was supposed to be paperwork to provide an accounting and an assurance that the same stuff the came in is also going out. But most of the paperwork was never filed as coalition forces were busy ramping up their war effort. Now the Afghan government is saying that without papers, it wants a fine of $1,000 per truckload. Equipping a war that has gone on for this long involves a lot of truckloads—70,000, according to the Afghans' estimate.

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My Comment: A good friend of mine who is a social worker gave me a heads-up on his profession. His role is to help people when they are the most vulnerable, and when he has helped them to quickly disappear. His reasons for leaving are simple .... we all have a sense of pride and a deep unwillingness to show to others our weaknesses, but this will be quickly replaced with resentment against the person who provided the help in the first place .... especially if they are still around when one is back on one's feet. I guess the same came be said about countries .... once they are helped it is in everyone's interest that the one providing the should disappear .... if not .... resentment and "ingratitude" is the result.