President Obama's Nobel Prize speech

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRWjTDaT4JuS0nFj9APZAues8vjAD9CGFID00

This is a link to the speech text. The speech is brilliant in many ways. I am inadequately qualified to amplify or clarify the philosophy that is presented. I do think that the history of Reagan and perestroika is not as it is presented. This however is a minor point and although it is interesting that this understanding is that of the American president, a well educated and brilliant man. This of course makes me doubt my understanding of this time in a big way. If you read Gorbachev's book, it is clear that the ideas of perestroika were not primarily about economic freedom as is often quoted in the West. An example quote:" Those who hope that we will move away from the socialist path will be greatly disappointed. Every part of our program of perestoika... is fully based on the principle of more socialism. Mikhail Gorbachev November 2, 1987 The idea was to find a way to integrate what was a third world country economically with a first world military. The arms control part of the comment may also be faulty, but again, who am I to question the president and his history majoring, ivy league going speech writers. My memory had it more like tough love arms negotiations by Pres. Reagan. If I have this wrong, I would like to be corrected.

But really folks, this is a great speech!!! -read it!

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Democracy Now!

This is Mrs. Hoyle - so don't hunt Kalo down for this! 

Following is a link to video/audio for the program Democracy Now! which aired last week featuring a young Afghani woman, Malalai Joya. Joya was the youngest person ever to be elected to the parliament in Afghanistan in 2005, but was suspended in 2007 and has since been forced to stay constantly in hiding in order to stay alive. She has written the story of her experience called - "A Woman Among Warlords" and considers herself a committed activist for democracy in her country. She doesn't intend to leave Afghanistan, as so many people have had to do in order to either 1)stay alive 2)maintain their livelihood 3)keep their families together 4)speak their minds. Malalai Joya is only in her mid 20's. She is young, intelligent and incredibly outspoken. The program includes a clip of her forcing her way to the front of the speaker's box and making a statement on behalf of the "young people of Afghanistan" - it was after her bold statements that she was booted out. Malalai is vehemently opposed to American intervention in Afghanistan. She succinctly and strongly explains her opposition to American troops being in her country - just as she vehemently opposes the tyranny and misogynistic rule of the tribal warlords who have historical hold of Afghanistan's politics and only benefit from the current chaos because it allows them to stay in power. Listening to her, it becomes apparent that she does not equate American military presence with promotion of democracy in Afghanistan. She sees it as harmful and believes the U.S. needs to leave and make amends for the destruction it has been complicit in.

Whether or not her argument is militarily/strategically compatible with our mainstream understanding of Afghanistan's position - it is extremely important that the quick glimpses given to us in the media don't allow us to imagine that because America is a democracy, therefore American military presence in a foreign area will spread democracy. That is flawed logic. Any news source, in order to be timely and engaging must present us with generalizations - sometimes dramatic generalizations. It is our responsibility to think past the news, outside of the news. We must listen, and think about real individual people - even if they seem strange to us, remembering all the time that WE are strange to them! Malalai Joya is certainly someone worth listening to. I hope you all get to hear her story.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/28/a_woman_among_warlords_afghan_democracy

Gunmen Storm UN Guest House in Kabul

This is a story I saw on Yahoo! this morning in case you guys haven't seen it already. The second paragraph features one of our boys in Kansas City who held off gunmen and saved several lives; yeah. That's what I'm talkin' about. :)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

I realize this is Afghanistan and that we are on Pakistan now but I was wondering if any of you guys had any insight as to why this happened.

Here is another Yahoo! story on a car bombing in Pakistan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

This blog that i have linked has some great videos to show you what is really happening in Afghanistan. After watching it I have this strange feeling that no one is quite sure what we are doing in Afghanistan.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/fighting-uphill-in-afghanistan/

Kalo

Force or Freedom?

The author of the previous blog used a poem by Daw'ud Mannion to express the Afghans' point of view toward America and democracy. Out of curiosity, we looked up Daw'ud Mannion, the author of the poem. We thought that we would share our findings. Daw'ud Mannion grew up in the United Kingdom, and, under freedom, became a converted Muslim. He does not live in a country where his liberties are denied, in fact, he has been actively involved in politics.

After reading the poem, we realized that the author said nothing against freedom, but against Christianity. He seems to have the false impression that Americans will force Muslims to turn to Christ. This is absolutely not the case. Christianity and freedom go hand and hand, which is why Mosques can be built in the United States.

Life in Christ is about choice, not about force. God bless the missionaries and our soldiers.

"Crusaders"

I realize we are not on the subject of Afghanistan anymore, but I thought this poem was interesting. Although it's talking about missionaries, I think that the same message might apply to American troops trying to bring democracy and stabilization to Afghanistan. I have been under the impression that a lot of the people there are not interested in being told what to do or how to live, even if the U.S. has good intentions. I think that some of us Americans are of the mindset that we are crusaders for democracy, which can look bad to people in other countries.

Note: if you react badly to anti-Christian sentiments, don't read this. It is not bad, but I could see how it might offend someone.

“Crusaders” by Daw'ud Mannion

With fire, cross and sword,once to Muslim lands you came,now with bombs, cross and bullet,once more you are trying to do the same.

But still you see not,the destruction that you bring,children's lives and limbs destroyed,as Crusader's Christian hymns you sing.

"It's for your own good!"you say as lives and riches you openly steal,but you will never realize that for us,death's better than to the Christian cross to kneel.

So keep your missionaries back,No non-combatants in this war,Soldiers only steal lives but missionaries steal souls,the greater crime has a greater punishment in store.

You think this is now finished?Think now your done and can soon go home?Flying your stars and stripes over this land,where once Imam Hanifa as a boy did roam.

Soon just like the Soviets,you will be made to taste defeat,your wasted corrupt lives finished,in deserts and mountains your nemesis to meet.

All then left of these young men is the ragged remains,The US a once great nation nursing a generation's losses,Leaving behind so many hastily buried dead,that soon enough you'll run out of your Christian crosses.

Social Imperatives

The topic that I will be writing about today is of the social imperatives of the Taliban, the lack of any women’s rights under Taliban control, and the lack of a lasting solution through military force.

The Taliban is an anti-modernism tribal-based organization that is based on an interpretation of the Koran. Their original purpose was to remove the unjust dictators that had ruled over Afghanistan for many years, but in the end they turned out to be just as bad.

Something that is very important to understand is that in Afghanistan the entire culture is built around the ideology of the Koran and because of this their world is utterly different than that of any western society that I know of. We also must understand that though most of the population is Muslim there as always are many interpretations of the social imperatives of the religion. The Taliban have a very strict understanding of what the Islamic beliefs are. Their reign over Afghanistan from 1996-2001 was a time of fear and strict control for a large portion of the Afghanis. One of the major problems that most people in the west have a problem with is the Taliban’s treatment of women.

In an explanation of the situation for women in Afghanistan Abdullah Qazi says that, “Over 1400 years ago, Islam demanded that men and women be equal before God, and gave them various rights such as the right to inheritance, the right to vote, the right to work, and even choose their own partners in marriage. For centuries now in Afghanistan, women have been denied these rights either by official government decree or by their own husbands, fathers, and brothers. During the rule of the Taliban (1996 - 2001), women were treated worse than in any other time or by any other society. They were forbidden to work, leave the house without a male escort, not allowed to seek medical help from a male doctor, and forced to cover themselves from head to toe, even covering their eyes. Women who were doctors and teachers before, suddenly were forced to be beggars and even prostitutes in order to feed their families.”

Though the Taliban share many basic fundamentals with a large number of people. There are some things that are in their belief that one must question what must be done to stop these ideals for the benefit of Afghanistan.

When the United States began their campaign to “fix” Afghanistan there were many things that they did not understand. We must look at what other solutions to the problem there are rather then just sending more troops to fight an ever-growing insurgency. It seems that we might be the cause for the Taliban’s growth as well as causing harm to the Afghani people. In 2005, walking round Zafaraniya, a poor suburb of Baghdad, an American battalion commander Colonel Brian Doser (who is also a civil engineer) showed the new sewage and clean water systems that he and his team had installed. "We should have done this much sooner," he volunteered. And then he made a really persuasive point. "You can't wait for the security problem to be solved before you work on reconstruction," he said. “For the Campaign in Afghanistan to be a success we must look to finding solutions that help stop the problem and not to perpetuate it.” The Taliban’s beliefs make diplomacy very hard, but military force is not a lasting solution either. As Colonel Brian Doser says, "If you wait to solve the security problem before you improve the infrastructure, you may never solve the security problem."

From what I understand, the problems that face the American and local military in Afghanistan involves a lack of ability to change the beliefs of part of the society that the Taliban has created. Without this kind of change there can’t be a significant improvement in the living conditions for the people, specifically the women.

Kalo

http://www.afghan-web.com/woman/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8274993.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban#Origin

Corruption in Afghanistan

What is corruption? Dictionary.com has several definitions, but they all relate back to perversion of morality. In the case of Afghanistan, the governmental corruption is an issue of the government functioning for the advantage of its own members and colleagues in many instances rather than the good of its country’s people.

As reported by the New York Times in “Afghan corruption: Everything for sale”, the main issue driving the corruption here is money. Free passage through neighborhoods in Kabul, acquittal, governmental position--in fact, everything--is bought and sold for outrageous prices, whether outrageously high or outrageously low. Favoritism and backroom deals, particularly energized by loyalties and the opium trade, fuel almost every transaction in the streets, in the offices, and even in the government.

In a developing country like Afghanistan, the Times says, corruption is not unusual. But unfortunately for the welfare of the Afghan people, it has taken a complete hold all the way to the top—President Karzai openly admits the corruption within his own government, and, as is evident from the recent questions in the election fraud and bribes coming to his own family, is not immune to it himself. With a fairly weak government placed precariously on a toppled Taliban rule, lack of checks and balances leaves the doors wide open for bribery and hypocrisy. The Taliban, as well, with its ever-strengthening “shadow government”, pulls many of the strings related to the everyday life of the people.

Despite the United States’ efforts in Afghanistan, an outside force cannot eliminate corruption, even while working closely with the corrupt for change. Corruption is an internal issue at heart, and is, in fact, is an issue *of* the heart.

Afghan corruption: Everything for sale
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/world/asia/02iht-corrupt.1.19050534.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

US troops in Afganistan

The United States of America has many troops located in Afganistan, which affects the life of many normal Afganis. Considering we have 68,000 plus troops who live there, eat there, fight there, and try to ensure no riots or terrorist attacks happen it affects the life of the people group. How the US is perceived in Afganistan by the common people will go a long way to determine our future relationship with the entire region. Many people blame policies of the past for the deep US resentment in the region.

One of the political realities President Obama faces is this is a very unpopular war. In a resent New York Times article the war in Afganistan waas compared to Vietnam. This will affect the policys made because there will be heavy resistince made on any effort that is not pulling our troops out. Many of his own supporters, according to Marie Cocco, who supported his decision in his campaign to pull troops from Iraq and concentrate efforts in Afganistan, are now weary of war and want our troops out altogether. Yet, there are many of his own supporters who believe that the precense of US troops in Afganistan is absolutely essential to win the war on terror. An ardent support of Obama, Marie Cocco states, "They forget why we are in Afganistan-that it was here in this faraway land of poverty, tribal animosities, and historical hostility toward outsiders that a sophisticated terrorist network was allowed to take root, to flourish and plot the spectacular attack. (9/11) Afganistan today is once again such a couldron" Clearly President Obama is facing a difficult decision on what to do with US troops.

Prerequisites of Democracy

What are the prerequisites of democracy?
(Information taken from wikipedia)
~Causes (prerequisites) of democracy: There is considerable debate about the factors which affect or ultimately limit democratization. A great many things, including economics, culture, and history, have been cited as impacting on the process. Some of the more frequently mentioned factors are: Wealth(GDP/capita), Education, Capitalism, Social equality, the existence of a Middle class, Culture, and Homogeneous population.

Do these prerequisites exist in Afghanistan?
Simply put, No. These prerequisites are, for the most part nonexistent in Afghanistan at the present.

If not, can they be implanted by a foreign power?
I'd say probably not.
~Quote from Hoover Digest - Democracy in Afghanistan? Don't Hold Your Breath By Robert J. Barro
"The Western ideal for representative democracy involves free, multiparty elections and maintenance of civil liberties. As Aristotle realized, and as the evidence from a large number of countries demonstrates, democracy is almost never sustained in a country that has income and education levels as low as those in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, Washington always recommends democracy, even to the poorest nations, and the results have included such failures as the new Congo and Haiti.
"Freedom House's latest ratings place Afghanistan in the lowest categories for electoral rights and civil liberties. This lack of democracy corresponds to the predictions I would make from the country's economic and social conditions. Given where Afghanistan is today, my statistical analysis implies that the chance a midrange democracy - characteristic at present of countries such as Turkey and Indonesia - will exist five years from now is less than 1 percent."

Like a River flowing into a swamp

After reading the latest posts perhaps it would be helpful to introduce an idea called interestingly coin theory. This is not a theory on what size the quarter should be but rather a military idea that is an acronym for counter insurgency theory. The ideas that whirl around this can be succinctly explored in a post from SWJ which is linked on this blog. For a full url, http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2009/09/a-few-random-thoughts-on-coin/

The point of this idea is trying to clearly define the objective of the mission before you begin and to fully recognize the idea that when America is operating in a sovereign country the responsibility for the counter insurgency would seem to lie with the host country. Operationally as we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan this can be difficult to say the least. President Obama and his many qualified advisers are wrestling with the difficult life changing decisions regarding increasing American troop number in Afghanistan.

The reason to discuss this on the blog is to give us all pause and to consider the concluding "random thought " by the author of the previously recommended blog,

Can there be victory in the conventional sense in COIN? Or is it more along these lines: “Someday, if you are successful, the mission will disappear, like a river flowing into a swamp.”

Which leads me to my final random thought: If you have to win a fight you send the Army and the Marines. If you have to help someone else win a fight without taking over the fight (and if it is going to take 10 or more years to reach a satisfactory conclusion), then perhaps another type of force is needed.

Colonel David S. Maxwell, U.S. Army, is a Special Forces officer with command and staff assignments in Korea, Japan, Germany, the Philippines, and CONUS, and is a graduate of the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth and the National War College, National Defense University. The opinions he expresses in this paper are his own and represent no U.S. Government or Department of Defense positions.

religion in Afghanistan

Acccording to Afghanistan's.com, 99% of Afghgans are Muslim. It does not seem as if the Afghans have many fueds because of a Mullah ( Religious teacher who solves social, personal, and health problems). Most of the fighting that goes on is between the Taliban and locals. The Taliban Mullah is one of the greatest Afghan community leaders, therefore eliminates disputes. Their are few indeed Christians in Afghanistan, but they sill influence other sections of Afghanistan. There is not as much fighting between the religious groups as there are just plain outlaws and tribes who steal and raid cities.