To support, or not to support.

I really admire Rory Stewart. Those who know me well know I admire him immensely (insert wink here, wink wink!). He's my hero.
But at the same time, you have to disagree with the guy on some things. Looking at http://afghanistanica.com/category/media/, I really do side with the blogger on this one.

From http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071003/national/afghan_cda_rethink_3:
Canada should help lead a major refocus on parts of the country, namely in the north, that actually support democratic reform and development, he says.
Hang on! Why not the south? The danger there is extreme, yes. But why not focus on the south as well, since that area is so obviously, well, screwed?
Those three or four things may include efforts to improve education and infrastructure in Kabul and other relatively peaceful zones where such development is welcome, Stewart says.
Is development not welcome in the south? Personally, I think there are some people in the south of Afghanistan that would love what Stewart is offering.

This was from another interview:
Afghans are bored with foreign consultants and conferences and are saying, ‘Bring back the Russians: at least they built dams and roads.” To win them over we should focus on large, highly visible infrastructure to which Afghans will be able to point in 50 years — just as they point to the great dam built by the United States in the 1960s.

Huh? I just read something on this same dam:

It was the largest economic failure toward the development of the country. It, however, provides a good guide for development work in Afghanistan -- it certainly doesn’t serve as a model for future projects, however it does serve as a less for what kind of projects should not be undertaken. ( http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/Foreign%20Affairs/us-afghan/helmand_0.htm )

That project was a failure. It sucked! It blew! Was a bomb! Shot to hell! Check out the link here: http://afghanistanica.com/2007/04/01/rory-stewarts-damn-afghan-dam/ and look at the NASA comparison of the area, 1976 to 2002.

I'll always love the man. Always! He's amazing. Great guy. But sometimes, when I see him challenged by others, I tend to go with the people critisizing. *sigh*