The Afghan Phoenix

“You were more likely to be murdered in the United States in 1991 than an Afghan civilian is to be killed in the war today.”

From Peter Bergen's outstanding report, The Afghan Phoenix

Lost in the deluge of the recent media coverage of the rising
violence and the flawed presidential election in Afghanistan are the
markers of real progress over the past eight years, which in a small
but important way is exemplified by the turnaround at Kabul airport.

Consider that:

• More than five million refugees have returned home
since the fall of the Taliban. This is one of the most substantial
refugee repatriations in history, yet it is little remarked upon
because it has largely gone so smoothly.

• One in six Afghans now has a cell phone. Under the Taliban there was no phone system.

• Millions of kids are now in school, including many girls. Under the Taliban girls were not allowed to be educated.

• In 2008, Afghanistan’s real GDP growth was 7.5 percent. Under the Taliban the economy was in free fall.

• You were more likely to be murdered in the United States in 1991 than an Afghan civilian is to be killed in the war today.

Some reading this may be thinking — can this really be right? But do the math: In 1991, almost 25,000 people were murdered in the United States at a time when the American population was approximately 260 million. In Afghanistan today some 2,000 Afghan civilians are killed each year by the Taliban and coalition forces out of a population of around 30 million