This Is What Winning Looks Like

rdf:langString This Is What Winning Looks Like

rdf:langString This Is What Winning Looks Like is a 2013 documentary by Ben Anderson on the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist in rebuilding key government institutions. In 2007, Anderson documented the "undermanned [and] underequipped" British forces fighting the Taliban in Helmand, Afghanistan. The documentary begins in December 2012, when Anderson followed United States Marines as they trained the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police to take control when United States forces leave Afghanistan. The film uncovers a less than seamless transition, revealing rampant sexual abuse and killing of young boys by Afghan police commanders and other adult men as part of a cultural practice called bacha bazi, addiction to drugs such as opiates and marijuana, corruption, insider attacks and double agents inside the Afghan security forces, and false imprisonment of prisoners by Afghan officials. Afghan officers are less than willing to rectify the issues and prosecute those responsible. During filming, there was an attempt on the life of an effective Afghan commander by a soldier under his command, and four boys were shot while trying to escape abuse at the hands of police commanders, three of which were fatal. To date, none of the commanders responsible for the abuse have been arrested or investigated. American and British officials receive and broadcast the message that they are succeeding in Afghanistan, despite the beliefs of soldiers on the ground, such as United States Marine Major Bill Steuber, the commanding officer of the police advisory team. Steuber described the rampant corruption, giving examples of skimming ammunition off supplies, fuel off shipments, and claiming unusable vehicles for oil and fuel money. He explains the pressure of working with people who regularly rob and murder civilians, and molest children, stating that it "wears on you after a while". Anderson summarizes, "All it is now is about getting out and saving face. We're not leaving because we achieved our goals. We're leaving because we've given up on achieving those goals."