Afghan Peace Activist Malalai Joya Speaks on “Crisis and Resistance”
T A K E A C T I O N
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Afghan Refugee
Camp Forcibly Evacuated
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http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/29/afghanistan-a-whole-new-approach/
Afghanistan: A Whole New
RAWA Resettle the Families in Afghanistan
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to empower Afghan women against fundamentalism
Collect donations for us to run Malalai
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Women in Afghanistan:Field Report
from Women for Women Int'l
http://www.womenforwomen.org/index.php
Based
on a poem for Kashmir
Afghanistan
Bleeds
And beauty.
Who devoured you?
Beasts of prey.
What is your crime?
Pursuit of happiness and liberty.
Brutes garbed as men
Out to denude you of dignity.
Afghanistan envy of paradise,
Reduced to ashes by fire and fury
Fire that burnt life and liberty,
Beauty and dignity.
Your bereaved Kabul where arson and
Rape reign supreme.
Where death is cheaper than life
Where life must cry and moan
Where children die before they areborn
Where chastity is molested day andnight.
Hills, valleys and lakes glow in bloodand fire.
The enemy of humanity:
Fundamentalism.
Approach
by Jim Wallis 10-29-2009
We’ve all been watching carefully as the Obama
administration tries to decide how to move forward on U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
And we’ve been listening to the arguments and counter-arguments being
offered. Religious leaders in particular have been paying close attention to
both the political and moral arguments that fill the air.
Contrary to Dick Cheney’s accusation that the administration is “dithering,”
many of us feel that a period of discernment is clearly called for in Afghanistan.
We know what Cheney wants America to do — he never dithered, even when
there were no facts to support his case for more war. Dick Cheney always wants
to fight. But Cheney’s foreign policy was an embarrassment for America,
and a tragedy for the rest of the world. And not to follow his advice is always
a good first step of moral wisdom.
But we need more than that. What we need is a whole new approach in Afghanistan.
The argument in Washington, D.C. is far too narrow. Two points of view are contending
inside the Obama team, and on Capitol
Hill. One supports a robust strategy of counter-insurgency, requiring a substantial
escalation of troops that would bring the total number of U.S. forces to as
many as 100,000. The other prefers counter-terrorism, relying on the most sophisticated
technology and Special Forces precision to focus on the most dangerous operatives
who are the greatest threat to us.
Of course these are all old arguments. Counter-insurgency increases the massive
American footprint in Afghanistan, which is clearly one of the primary causes
of our failures in that country thus far. Add in a corrupt Afghan government,
a radically decentralized society, and a physical terrain that has confounded
every other occupier in history there; it doesn’t make many of us hopeful,
and painfully reminds us of a history that deeply formed us. The laser-like
precision of our counter-terrorist missiles and unmanned drones may cost less
in American lives and treasure, but they often don’t just hit the bad
guys. They have resulted in serious civilian casualties, even further alienating
the populace and producing more angry young recruits for terrorism. And the
solution that may be emerging in Washington could be a confused combination
of the two strategies, bringing us the worst of both worlds.
We need a whole different approach.
We should know by now, and most of those on the ground in places like Afghanistan
do, that what re-builds a broken nation; inspires confidence, trust, and hope
among its people; and most effectively undermines terrorism is an old and proven
idea — massive humanitarian assistance and sustainable economic development.
And it costs less — far less — than continued war. Perhaps this
was best put by Richard Stearns, the U.S. president of World Vision, at a recent
meeting of President Obama’s Council
on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in Washington, D.C., when
he said, “The best face of America for the world is a baseball hat and
not a helmet.
Many of us have advised the president that the people who know places like Afghanistan
the best are neither the military nor the private contractors who increasingly
dominate U.S. foreign policy in war-torn regions. Rather they are the NGOs doing
relief and development work who have been there for years, have become quite
indigenous, and are much more trusted by the people of the country than are
the U.S. military or their mercenary friends.
So here is the new approach. Lead with what works — development. Yes,
effective development needs security, and when you massively intervene in a
country as much as the U.S. has in Afghanistan, you can’t responsibly
just walk away — as has tragically happened to this country too many times
before. But we should lead with development now, and only provide the security
necessary to protect the strategic rebuilding of the country that is urgently
needed — and that kind of security might better attract the international
involvement we so desperately need in Afghanistan, even from Arab and Muslim
countries.
And here is an idea of how to do that. Bring to the White House the international
organizations who know Afghanistan well because they have been there so long
— such as World Vision, Mercy
Corps, Catholic Relief Services,
Oxfam, Tearfund,
Christian Aid, Church
World Service — and many others. Ask them what U.S. policy would
best work, and what kind of security they would need to really do the kind of
development in Afghanistan that is most needed.
Let the non-military strategies lead the way, rather than the other way around,
which often just makes aid and development work another weapon of war; but then
provide the security needed for that work, and make it as international as possible.
Also bring in some of the religious and other nonprofit leaders from the Obama
Advisory Council and others, to focus on the deeply ethical and moral issues
that are at stake in our decisions about future policy in Afghanistan —
legitimately protecting Americans from further terrorism, defending women from
the Taliban, developing a diplomatic surge, genuinely supporting democracy,
and saving innocent lives from the collateral damage of war — to name
a few.
The conversation is much too narrow right now on Pennsylvania Avenue and at
the U. S. Congress. It’s time for a deeper look and a whole new approach.
Stupid people might call that dithering; smart people would call it discernment.
 My Environmental Concerns: http://my.opera.com/dcimagery/blog/ http://my.opera.com/azimagery/blog/ http://www.vimeo.com/user428906 http://www.youtube.com/user/azimagery http://my.opera.com/azimagery/blog/2009/09/04/american-casino-movie Why I Care about the Environment: Denny Carr, MFA Photographer and Video Artist BIKE !!!! hase lepus trike (stroke-paralysis) age 61 eco-friendly no-car "I am a stroke survivor and deal daily with a speech disorder called Aphasia. This disorder is a result of my stroke in 2005. I am thankful God has given me the ability to express myself through my images and films." For more information, visit these websites: http://www.azimagery.com/stroke/ http://steetsblog.blogspot.com/ Topics of Interest: http://steetsblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/love-ellen.html http://steetsblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/surviving-economic-meltdown-in-age-of.html 
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“endgame for the human race.”
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