Friday, December 17, 2010
Can “Three Cups of Tea” policy turn Afghanistan around?
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
The phrase about Afghanistan being the Graveyard of Empires has been overused, but it pays to consider it, in the current atmosphere following President Barack Obama’s agreement to add 30,000 American troops to the current US and NATO commitment.
Why the commitment, to begin with? Well, we know that Obama considers this a just war, against terrorism and Al Qaeda, the organization directly responsible for the 9/11/2001 unprovoked murder of some 3,000 American civilians. No matter how irresponsibly the Bush war leaders handled their December 2001 attack against the refuge of Osama bin Laden and his Taliban friends, the Democrats have inherited the war, and will honor their responsibility for the Afghans who support us. There’s also the backlash in loss of prestige throughout the world; we would lose much of the good will Obama has fostered. not to speak of the respect of and for the US armed forces. Further, withdrawal would endanger the fragile power of Pakistan’s government, and put at risk its nuclear arsenal that might fall into the hands of Taliban-friendly rulers.
How did we get into such dangerous territory? Well, Secretary of Defense Douglas Rumsfeld and his military commander , Gen. Tommy Franks, in December 2001 did use only a tiny contingent of Special Forces at Tora Bora to pursue bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, allowing them to escape into Pakistan. Their subsequent excuse - that it was done for the purpose of avoiding having too many American soldiers in Afghanistan that would create an anti-US backlash and foster a widespread insurgency - was not believable, and has fueled suspicions of their motives. That was a time when US had the full support of most of the world, all NATO countries and even Iran, and Bushites frittered it away over a period of seven years, allowing a corrupt government and heroin-producing warlords. As people lost faith in the American-promised reform, the Taliban insurgents returned...
Actually, the Graveyard of Empires simile really favors US, compared to previous conquerors. Alexander the Great, the Mongols, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, and the Moguls were universally hated, as were the British Empire’s soldiers. The Communist revolution of 1978 and the USSR invasion with a force of 100,000 had the support of perhaps 5% of the educated population, and was defeated with the material aid of the US. Our December 2001 invasion came on the heels of a bloody takeover by the ultra-Islamist Talibans, with a heavy-handed attack on civil rights, such as they were, and education, art, and particularly, a demeaning of women’s position in society. Even now, some 60 % of Afghanistan’s population, such as the Usbek and Tajik people are anti Taliban, and it is among the 10 million Pashtuns that the radical Islamists find their strength.
The American command, Generals Petraeus and McChrystal and Admiral Mullen, recognize the need for a peaceful diplomatic solution rather than the impossible military victory in a war with invisible guerillas, and the American forces are being trained in conduct that involves socializing, collaboration with the locals rather than brute force. A longer continued presence, beyond July 2011 if necessary, is offered to Afghans, to encourage participation and discourage fear of a Taliban takeover after 2011. This policy counters Vice President Biden’s approach, of concentrations of Americans at strategic points, with air attacks on enemy villages.
The air war, when causing civilian casualties, is the killer policy that stands in the way of civilian collaborations, says Gregg Mortenson, who has become a civilian philosophical godfather to the success of this war. A son of missionaries and a mountain climber, he found the lack of education in North Pakistan primitive villages, particularly among women, the most destructive problem threatening peace and human progress, and started a foundation, Central Asia Institute, to build schools, with donations from Silicon Valley. His slogan,” If you educate a boy, you educate an individual; a girl educates an entire community,” led to building of schools, emphasizing women’s education that entailed the full collaboration of village elders, local workers and even Taliban converts. This effort began in 1993, and by now he has built 60 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, none burned by Taliban protesters, because entire communities stand behind the effort. One of his students has founded a clinic that has cut pregnant women’s death rate from 25% to zero in her village. Mortenson, with David Oliver Relin in 2006 wrote “Three Cups of Tea”, that has become a study text in schools US and world-wide, and required reading among US military members and command members in the Far East. This policy has been successful for 17 years and appears to have been accepted by US commanders. Afghanistan, before 1978 had a positive balance of trade, as a leading producer of fruit and nuts, before the heroin explosion. Can Obama succeed? Mortenson the successful believer thinks so.
Wally Dobelis and the staff of T&V wish our readers a Happy and Healthy Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa Holiday Season! And here's some good news, the greening of the neighborhood goes on: The Christmas tree in Gramercy Park now uses LED candles, to save energy.
The phrase about Afghanistan being the Graveyard of Empires has been overused, but it pays to consider it, in the current atmosphere following President Barack Obama’s agreement to add 30,000 American troops to the current US and NATO commitment.
Why the commitment, to begin with? Well, we know that Obama considers this a just war, against terrorism and Al Qaeda, the organization directly responsible for the 9/11/2001 unprovoked murder of some 3,000 American civilians. No matter how irresponsibly the Bush war leaders handled their December 2001 attack against the refuge of Osama bin Laden and his Taliban friends, the Democrats have inherited the war, and will honor their responsibility for the Afghans who support us. There’s also the backlash in loss of prestige throughout the world; we would lose much of the good will Obama has fostered. not to speak of the respect of and for the US armed forces. Further, withdrawal would endanger the fragile power of Pakistan’s government, and put at risk its nuclear arsenal that might fall into the hands of Taliban-friendly rulers.
How did we get into such dangerous territory? Well, Secretary of Defense Douglas Rumsfeld and his military commander , Gen. Tommy Franks, in December 2001 did use only a tiny contingent of Special Forces at Tora Bora to pursue bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, allowing them to escape into Pakistan. Their subsequent excuse - that it was done for the purpose of avoiding having too many American soldiers in Afghanistan that would create an anti-US backlash and foster a widespread insurgency - was not believable, and has fueled suspicions of their motives. That was a time when US had the full support of most of the world, all NATO countries and even Iran, and Bushites frittered it away over a period of seven years, allowing a corrupt government and heroin-producing warlords. As people lost faith in the American-promised reform, the Taliban insurgents returned...
Actually, the Graveyard of Empires simile really favors US, compared to previous conquerors. Alexander the Great, the Mongols, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, and the Moguls were universally hated, as were the British Empire’s soldiers. The Communist revolution of 1978 and the USSR invasion with a force of 100,000 had the support of perhaps 5% of the educated population, and was defeated with the material aid of the US. Our December 2001 invasion came on the heels of a bloody takeover by the ultra-Islamist Talibans, with a heavy-handed attack on civil rights, such as they were, and education, art, and particularly, a demeaning of women’s position in society. Even now, some 60 % of Afghanistan’s population, such as the Usbek and Tajik people are anti Taliban, and it is among the 10 million Pashtuns that the radical Islamists find their strength.
The American command, Generals Petraeus and McChrystal and Admiral Mullen, recognize the need for a peaceful diplomatic solution rather than the impossible military victory in a war with invisible guerillas, and the American forces are being trained in conduct that involves socializing, collaboration with the locals rather than brute force. A longer continued presence, beyond July 2011 if necessary, is offered to Afghans, to encourage participation and discourage fear of a Taliban takeover after 2011. This policy counters Vice President Biden’s approach, of concentrations of Americans at strategic points, with air attacks on enemy villages.
The air war, when causing civilian casualties, is the killer policy that stands in the way of civilian collaborations, says Gregg Mortenson, who has become a civilian philosophical godfather to the success of this war. A son of missionaries and a mountain climber, he found the lack of education in North Pakistan primitive villages, particularly among women, the most destructive problem threatening peace and human progress, and started a foundation, Central Asia Institute, to build schools, with donations from Silicon Valley. His slogan,” If you educate a boy, you educate an individual; a girl educates an entire community,” led to building of schools, emphasizing women’s education that entailed the full collaboration of village elders, local workers and even Taliban converts. This effort began in 1993, and by now he has built 60 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, none burned by Taliban protesters, because entire communities stand behind the effort. One of his students has founded a clinic that has cut pregnant women’s death rate from 25% to zero in her village. Mortenson, with David Oliver Relin in 2006 wrote “Three Cups of Tea”, that has become a study text in schools US and world-wide, and required reading among US military members and command members in the Far East. This policy has been successful for 17 years and appears to have been accepted by US commanders. Afghanistan, before 1978 had a positive balance of trade, as a leading producer of fruit and nuts, before the heroin explosion. Can Obama succeed? Mortenson the successful believer thinks so.
Wally Dobelis and the staff of T&V wish our readers a Happy and Healthy Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa Holiday Season! And here's some good news, the greening of the neighborhood goes on: The Christmas tree in Gramercy Park now uses LED candles, to save energy.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 7:32 AM 
