So, what hasn't been said? And who hasn't yet said something, anything, however repetitive, however vacuous, however well-meant, about the war in Afghanistan? Suddenly we are all commentators, suddenly we all decide we oppose war, and suddenly we are all interested in the experience of Afghan civilians.
But the number of words spewed about the crisis reveals a desperate scramble to find higher ground. For many, there is a well-rehearsed, reflexive response to conflict, and in…
While we are writing this, Britain - where we WRI workers live - and the US are dropping bombs on Afghanistan: it is the first weeks of the “war on terrorism”.
At the same time on Oxford Street - a couple of kilometres from the WRI office - mainstream Britain goes shopping; life goes on as normally as possible, although protective clothing and gas masks are sold-out, in response to fears of anthrax attacks. Who cares about the bombs dropped thousands of kilometres away in order to…
