Är vi i krig?

Skrev en artikel för skolans tidning North Park Press om vad studenter här egentligen vet om kriget i Afghanistan. Nyhetsmedia droppade det från radarn för ungefär fem år sedan och det är först de senaste månaderna när Obama valt att skicka in 30 000 nya soldater som kriget fått uppmärksamhet. Här får ni en chans att träna engelsk läsförståelse.

Are We In a War?

Despite claiming to follow the news, North Park students have a hazy knowledge why American troops fight in Afghanistan.

"I don´t know, but I assume it has to do with 9/11."Something about Al-Qaeda.""War on terror…to get oil maybe?" These were the hesitant ballpark guesses from a sophomore, a senior and a junior who retrospectively wanted to remain anonymous.

The ongoing conflict began in October 2001 when, in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, United States and coalition forces entered Afghanistan to destroy the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, find its leader Osama bin Laden, and remove the totalitarian Taliban regime from power. Today, United States troops battle a growing Taliban opposition while trying to secure free elections.

Knowledge and opinions about the war progress and Barack Obama’s decision to send in 30, 000 more troops are also fuzzy. "I don´t know, but I guess we´re doing badly," said a female North Park junior. "Are we still looking for bin Laden?" asked a sophomore female, and "What? I thought we were taking troops out!" said a surprised male senior.

Probably, this lack of knowledge is the result of a combination of factors. According to Dr. Margaret Haefner, professor in the Media Studies-department at North Park, the media does not continuously cover the war, she said, students do not know where to look for information, or are just not interested.

"Without a crisis in Afghanistan to grab the public’s attention, it’s hard [for the news media] to make it seem other than old news," Haefner says. Recently, however, the conflict has made the news. For example, CNN.com ran a story on January 25 about the devastation of the country and reports of the Taliban changing their public relations tactics appeared in many outlets a few weeks ago. But still, student awareness is low. "Perhaps the students’ just don’t see Afghanistan as an important enough topic to cue in when news and information does become available," said Haefner.

Also, Haefner points out, there are many alternative information sources out there, but people need to dig them out. But sadly, she said NPU students, like Americans in general, do not dig "despite the fact that many people are dying and hurt in the war, and that billions of tax dollars are going to support the war."

In addition, students may not care because they have no personal connection with the war. Monica Thomas, 27, graduated from NPU in December 2009. Before college, she served four years in the U.S. army and hold strong opinions about the Afghanistan war. "I believe we finally are in a place we need to be," she said, comparing the Afghan war to Iraq. "Many soldiers, including an ex-classmate of mine, died [there] for no reason at all."

However, Thomas stresses she never promotes war. "I don´t believe any war is just," but, she said, if the objective is to stop Al Qaeda, there might be a reason for it. "We should be there along with other troops around the world. This is not just our war."

This article was written by Gustav Skogens

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Sorgligt att studenterna inte bryr sig mer, för att de har all anledning att göra det. En soldat kostar skattebetalarna en miljon dollar om året. De nya trupperna kostar alltså 30 miljarder dollar per år, pengar som skulle kunna användas till....hmm, vad vet jag...allmän sjukvård?

Yours Truly,

Gustav