<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[The Dish]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://dish.andrewsullivan.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Andrew Sullivan]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/author/sullydish/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[The Wages Of Endless&nbsp;War]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[
<p>Andrew Sprung <a href="http://xpostfactoid.blogspot.com/2009/11/oxfams-survey-of-afghans-their-wishes.html">sums up</a> the findings of a new poll:</p>
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<p>An <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/18_11_09_oxfam_afghan.pdf">Oxfam poll</a> of 704 randomly selected Afghans reveals untold suffering&#8211; 1 in 5 say they&#39;ve been tortured, three quarters have been forced to leave their homes at some point in the endless civil war, 43% have had property destroyed. The survey also has what would seem to be some moderately encouraging findings regarding the counterinsurgency: 70% see unemployment and poverty as a key driver of civil war; 48% blame the government&#39;s weakness and corruption; 36% point to the Taliban; 25% to interference by neighboring countries; just 18% to the presence of international forces; another 18% to d al Qaeda&#8211; and another 17% to the lack of support from the international community. After 30 years of civil war, only 3% named the current conflict as the most harmful period (though the report cautions that areas where the current fighting is worst are underrepresented).</p>
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