Orwell in Afghanistan

George Orwell deplored obstufication, lack of clarity and language that serves to obscure not illuminate.

By way of illustration he took this famous verse from Ecclesiastes--“I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all”--and rendered it as, “Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.”

In Afghanistan support for the Karzai government is falling. Resentment against foreign troops and the 'collateral' damage—read killing of civilians—that follows from their increasing reliance on air power and artillery is growing. In an attempt to minimize and rationalize this situation the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), NATO and the Canadian military are resorting to every trick in the book and breaking all of the rules Orwell outlined in 'Politics and the English Language'.

Consider this peripatetic offering from Commander Paula Rowe, Spokesperson for Task Force Helmand. She needed 55 words to say we blame the victims:

The enemy chooses to fight from within local communities, using houses and compounds as firing points and deliberately putting local people in harm’s way. In this case, it was the enemy who began the attacks and the enemy who we hold ultimately responsible for the death of a local man and injury to two others.

In print, with an apology thrown in, it took a mere 52 words (and a typo) to repeat the same thing:

ISAF regrets any injuries caused to civilians. ISAF soldiers are trained to take steps to minimize civilian casualties, whilst at the same time taking appropriate action to protect them selves when threatened. The insurgents however, choose to engage with ISAF within populated areas clearly placing the local Afghan communities at extreme risk of injury.

These comments bear frightening similarities to those made by Israel during their recent assault on Gaza. And to comments heard on playgrounds around the world--'He started it', 'he hit me first', and 'I'm sorry but...'

Often even the media join in these games. The Times of London announces today that President Karzai will be overriding the Afghan Election Commission and not waiting until August to hold the election. Instead it will be held on April 21, less than two months away and a month before Karzai is to step down as president.

This change ensures that Karzai will campaign as the incumbent controlling the security apparatus, the police, and finances. The northern and mountainous regions of Afghanistan that offer little support for Karzai will be snowbound reducing voter turnout. The 'snap' election will also make it impossible for meaningful international monitoring of the election to be organized.

The Times describes the change in soccer terms as if it were merely polite parliamentary shenanigans: An attempt to "wrongfoot his opponents.” It is a bald rigging of the election and, in the language of another English institution, the bookie, 'a royal screwing of the punters'.