As America's military commitment in the Middle East goes on, many politicians and strategists have said that United States occupying forces can withdraw as soon as new armies in Iraq and Afghanistan are capable of taking over the job of protecting their nations. But how long will that take? Carol Dysinger examines the long uphill battle to create an effective standing army in the Middle East in this documentary. Shot over a period of five years, Camp Victory, Afghanistan focuses on a handful of American National Guardsmen who have been deployed to Afghanistan to help train the new Afghan National Army's 207th Corps. While the American soldiers are strong and dedicated, it isn't long before they realize how difficult their assignment truly is -- eighty percent of the men they're training can't read or write, the weapons and materials at their disposal are outdated and often faulty thanks to Afghanistan's dire economy, the fighting experience of the Afghan commanders and soldiers is very different from those of the American Guardsmen, and not only are Taliban forces often more passionate and better trained than the Afghan soldiers, they frequently come from the same neighborhoods. Can a real army be created under these circumstances, and the American truly the ones to do it? Camp Victory, Afghanistan was an official selection at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival.
by Mark Deming
synopsis
