US NATO Role in Afghanistan

David Kilcullen and Trudy Rubin:

1. David Kilcullen is an author and former Senior Counterinsurgency Adviser on the staff of US Army General David Patraeus. He planned and executed a campaign which drove the troop Iraq surge of 2007.

Trudy Rubin is a journalist who works for the Philadelphia Enquirer. He has written middle articles about middle-eastern countries and the issues there.

2. Kilcullen believes that the more troops must be sent Afghanistan because the Taliban/Al Qaeda are too big a threat and can't be allowed to gain control of Afghanistan.

Main Points:

-He believes the standards of living of the people must be improved and local security forces must be strengthened. Also, the people need to be able to resist intimidation from the Taliban.

-He believes the US must remain until a stable government/security force can be established.

-He also believes that the issue of the Pakistan tribal areas needs to be addressed diplomatically.

Michael A. Cohen and Parag Khanna:

1. Michael A Cohen is Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation. He frequently comments on political and international affairs and his work has been published in many publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington post.

Parag Khanna is the Director of the Global Governance Initiative and Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation. He wrote a book called The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order which has become an international best-seller. He was a foreign policy advisor on President Obama's campaign.

2. They believe the Taliban can't really gain and maintain power in Afghanistan and that both Al Queda and the Taliban are now focused on Pakistan so the focus should be shifted to Pakistan.

Main Points:

-They argue that the Pakistani government/military need to be strengthened so that they can combat the Taliban in the tribal region.

-They believe that drone strikes are the most effective way of eliminating Al-Qaeda leaders.

-They say that the Taliban can't gain control of Afghanistan because the massive lack of popular support would force them from power.

Tariq Ali:

1.Tariq Ali is a novelist, filmmaker, historian, and political campaigner born in British Pakistan, but later became a citizen of independent Pakistan. He studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University. He is regular broadcaster on BBC radio and has had many articles published in publications such as The Guardian. He is a vocal critic of American foreign policy, particularly their relations Pakistan which tend to support military dictatorships over democracies.

2. He says that we should focus on diplomacy and peace initiatives in the reason instead of a military approach because many factors in the region makes it difficult for this approach to succeed.

Main Points:

-He says that examples in history (Russia, Britain) have shown that occupying Afghanistan has never succeeded and that it is no more likely that the US will succeed.

-He believes the people of Afghanistan only support the Taliban because it is a solution to throwing out another invader and that they would be open to other solutions to solve this problem.

-He believes that military efforts are not the solution and instead the US should focus on forming pacts of support with regional powers to support an Afghan government.

George Will:

1. George Will is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist working for the Washington Post. He is one of the most widely recognized, and read, writers in the world. He has won over ten awards for his journalism and has over fifteen honorary degrees.

2. He believes the war in Afghanistan is not winnable and that the nature of the Taliban makes it difficult to fight. He believes the US and NATO should withdraw.

-He states that the plan we are currently undertaking would take hundreds of thousands of troops and decade or longer and that this is not an acceptable solution.

-He argues that Afghanistan's current government is littered with corruption and that setting up a stable government in Afghanistan is currently impossible.

-He argues we should focus our operations offshore with tactical military operations.

Children of Taliban

1. With the suicide bombings and the public beheadings, it may seem strange to many people that children would join the Taliban. There are, however, many reasons that children are joining the Taliban. One of these reasons is that the Taliban indoctrinate children at a very early age in their madrassas. The children learn the beliefs of the Taliban at an age where they are very impressionable and have a hard time changing these beliefs as they grow up. Another reason children join the Taliban is because they see or are directly effected by the horrible things that the US and Pakistani armies do. When they have family members killed by US forces they feel the need to get revenge and the Taliban is an easy way for them to do that. One example of this is the boy in the frontline video "Children of the Taliban" who said that he wanted to join the Taliban to get revenge for the death of his family. 

2. While the war impacts everyone in Pakistan, it impacts children in a special way. Many children have lost multiple family members. Many children are forced to raise themselves or lose someone very close to them. These are children who are living in a culture of fear where they don't feel safe from their government or the Taliban. Also, young girls are effected in that the Taliban feels that girls should not go to school. They bomb many schools and make it very difficult for them to get an education. Women in general are seen as somewhat inferior to men in the eyes of the Taliban and do not have as much freedom. 

3. The Pakistani/US armies have relied heavily on drone strikes. These drone strikes are useful because the drones are unmanned and piloted remotely from a generally safe location. There are also many problems with this strategy however. While these missile strikes often do kill their targets, they also often kill civilians. This, understandably, makes many people angry.  The Taliban uses these missile strikes as rallies to gain recruits. So, the effectiveness of this method has been questioned. An example of this is the same boy who had his village bombed and then decided he wanted to join the Taliban.

4. The Taliban continues to grow for many reasons. One reason is their indoctrination of the youth in their madrassas. Another reason they are gaining support is that people want revenge against the things that the US does. They also grow because they have created a culture of fear where people are afraid to speak out or otherwise oppose them. These are issues the US will have to address if they hope to stop the growth of the Taliban.

My Reaction to Obama's Plan.

I think that Obama's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan and then plan an eventual withdrawal was a fairly good choice that is not without its issues. Stationing additional troops in Afghanistan is something that is necessary if we intend to make any real progress. I also support Obama's plan to withdraw the troops because staying in Afghanistan is a major drain on US resources. The only criticism I have of this is that setting a timetable is somewhat unrealistic because it is difficult to know how the situation will unfold and perhaps withdrawing will not be the best option when the time comes and perhaps the time will come earlier for us to withdraw troops. Another problem with the plan is that the cost is fairly large and there is no current plan to pay for the expense of this surge of troops. Also, having more air strikes in Pakistan could create more problems than it solves, but will help towards keeping Taliban forces in the area under control. Teaching Afghan militants to resist the Taliban in their communities is a very good approach for fighting the Taliban in the local setting which is difficult to do for US soldiers. Having US and Afghan units combined is also a good idea as it will strengthen the Afghan military. Obama pressuring Karzai to crack down on drug trafficking is a good step to cutting of a source of funding for the Taliban if President Karzai acts on it.

Obama's Decision on What is to Be Done.

1. Yesterday, President Obama announced that he would be sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but also stated that he would begin bringing troops home in 2011. He argued that the US could not afford and should not have to bear an open-ended commitment. He hopes that this surge will bring a successful conclusion to the war. Obama stated that the cost would be roughly 30 billion more than we are currently spending and has not yet come up with a plan to pay this expense, although he has stated he is "committed to addressing these costs openly and honestly." He was vague on the issue of Pakistan, which many believe will be the more intractable problem in the future. He did sign off on a plan that calls for more drone aircraft strikes. They are using lessons learned from the previous administrations such as empowering local security forces to fight the Taliban in their communities and teaming American fighting units with Afghan units. The troops being sent will be for primarily protecting the country's population centers. Obama also pressured President Karzai to tackle issues such as corruption and drug trafficking.

Four major problems being faced by the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

1. One major problem currently facing US and NATO forces is the lack of ground troops in Afghanistan. The lack of ground forces causes the US to have to resort to missile strikes. These missile strikes, while effective, not only kill their intended targets, but also innocent civilians as well. This in turn causes the US/NATO forces to lose favor with much of the world and the people of Afghanistan. The lack of ground forces also makes it hard for US/NATO forces to gain and retain ground. This causes progress to be very very slow.

2. Another problem in Afghanistan is the fact that we are fighting an ideology. The war has been deemed a war on "terror". One reason this is a problem is that terrorists are not defined by a country or even an ethnicity, but are in fact defined by how they fight. This makes it harder to determine who our enemies actually are. Who exactly is a terrorist is something that varies depending on your point of view. Another problem with this is that they do not fight like an army. They do not wear uniforms, do not abide by any of the "rules" of war, and they are mixed in with the rest of the population.

3. Opium is also a problem for the US/NATO forces. The Taliban is encouraging farmers to grow opium by buying it at an extremely high price and then selling it for an even higher price. Farmers have no incentive to grow more useful crops such as corn because the profits of such crops are much lower than that of opium. Also, the Taliban uses this money to fund their operations which does not help the US/NATO forces.

4. A failed state of Pakistan is also a huge issue in this conflict. The Taliban are partially based in Pakistan and disregard the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and since the US is allied with Pakistan, we can't send in ground forces. This make it harder to defeat the Taliban. Also, the Pakistani government supported the Taliban because it opposed President Karzai who was sympathetic towards India, the sworn enemy of Pakistan. Also, the Taliban have said that overthrowing the government of Pakistan is now a goal of theirs. This is very problematic because of the fact that Pakistan has nuclear weapons. If the Taliban were to get control of these they might just use them.

Blog-o-assignment #2: Of Beliefs and Strange Formatting Problems

I love surveys!

Part 1: Spirituality Level:

59 which is a Spiritual Straddler � One foot in traditional religion, one foot in free-form spirituality.

Part 2: Belief-o-Matic

1.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants(100%)
2.	Orthodox Quaker (90%)
3.	Liberal Quakers (85%)
4.	Unitarian Universalism (76%)
5.	Seventh Day Adventist (72%)
6.	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (71%)
7.	Reform Judaism (68%)
8.	Eastern Orthodox (64%)
9.	Roman Catholic (64%)
10.	Baha'i Faith (60%)

Here Follows what the Baha'i Faith believes:

Belief in Deity One personal God Almighty, creator, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent--incorporeal spirit.
	Incarnations The prophets of many religions, e.g. Jesus Christ, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, are revered as Manifestations and Messengers of God, pre-existent spirits (with individual souls) sent to reveal God's message. Each of the Manifestations is considered equal in stature as the perfect reflection, the infallible word, and the divine spirit of God. Bah'u'llh was the latest but not final Messenger, bringing Gods revelation to the modern world, and is considered to be the fulfillment of the promised return of Christ. The Messengers are not worshipped as equal or identical to God but are considered an intermediate level of existence between human and God.
	Origin of Universe and Life God created all from nothing and controls all phenomena that modern science reveals about the origins of the universe and life. They support scientific study and education, as they believe science serves to reveal rather than dispute God's awesome creative powers.
	After Death Literal interpretations of resurrection, heaven, and hell are regarded as figments of imagination. Resurrection is the spiritual awakening that occurs upon the appearance of a new Manifestation. Heaven is the indescribable bliss of closeness to God, harmony with God's will as revealed by the Manifestations--eternal spiritual life. The closer one is to knowing and loving God, the greater the joy of paradise. Hell is the self-made torture of isolation from God--spiritual death. Unlimited spiritual growth toward perfection continues after death.
	Why Evil? No original sin or Satan. The human nature that God created is all good, including both animal and spiritual aspects. God also gave people free will, and some will choose to express their inherently good nature in imperfect ways. The concept of Satan in the scriptures is symbolic for humans' choice to express the lower or animal side of their nature in ways that separate them from God. Those farthest from God are most prone to wrongdoing.
	Salvation Salvation lies in the search for truth as revealed by the Manifestations of God--the achievement of spiritual perfection and closeness to God, deliverance from one's imperfection or base nature. This is achieved by faith in God and strict obedience to the commands of God; turning to the latest Manifestation of God, Bah'u'llh, for spiritual guidance; study of the scriptures of the Manifestations; required daily private prayer; meditation; active participation in service work (tantamount to worship). No sacraments, e.g., baptism.
	Undeserved Suffering All suffering, including that caused by natural disasters, are God's will as a punitive, educational, or remedial response to individual or to humanity's denial of God and disobedience to the Divine Commands. All of humanity suffer when one commits wrong, and all benefit when one does good. The best often suffer the most for humanity's misdeeds. Nonpunitive suffering is part of God's plan to challenge the soul with adversity. Suffering educates the sufferer and aids spiritual growth toward perfection. Suffering helps people to remember God in their grief. The suffering of innocents will be greatly rewarded in the world to come.
	Contemporary Issues Devoted to world unity--one world government and religion, peaceful conflict resolution (but opposes disobedience to one's government), gender equality and women's rights (which does not include promotion of abortion rights), anti-poverty, and anti-discrimination. Service to others is considered a form of worship. Discourages divorce but doesnt punish or condemn; disapproves of homosexuality. Part Three: My personal response to the surveys find above: I thought that many of the questions on the surveys were poorly worded, didn't provide any answer that fit my beliefs, or made you choose between two things you believed equally. But, regardless of these shortcomings in the surveys, I thought the results of the belief-o-matic were fairly accurate with my faith. I disagreed with the after death beliefs slightly in that I am unsure about after death. I was raised as a Roman Catholic, but disagree with many of their teachings. I also am very accepting of other faiths and believe that any "good" idea is acceptable regardless of the faith it came from. My second and third results were surprising they were orthodox and liberal quaker. This is surprising since many of their beliefs differ from mine and from mainline or liberal christian protestants. Also, my highest rated eastern faith Baha'i was also a surprise because I had not heard of it. I agree with them mostly though I am not familiar with people such as Bah'u'llh and am still unsure about after death. Also, I am not against homosexuality. Part 4: Research of Baha'i 1. Baha'i Faith is a faith that emphasizes spiritual unity of all religions. They believe people such as Christ, Moses, Muhammad, and Buddha are all equally divine and were sent by God to help humanity according to the people and the problems at the time. The latest prophet, Bah'u'llh, is said to be the latest, but not the last and is said to be the second coming of Christ. They believe science was created by God and the science does not disprove God only reveals more about his creation. For them heaven is the indescribable bliss of being close to God. Growth toward being closer to God continues after death and the closer you are, the more blissful paradise is. This growth is unlimited. Their concept of evil is that human nature that God created is good and includes spiritual and animal aspects and, because of free will, some people express there inherent goodness in imperfect ways. The farther you are from God, the more likely you are to do wrong. Salvation lies in the truth revealed by the manifestions of God. This is achieved by faith in God and strict obedience to the commands of God which are: turning to Bah'u'llh, for spiritual guidance, study of the scriptures of the Manifestations, required daily private prayer, meditation, active participation in service work (which is considered worship). They believe everyone suffers when one does wrong and all benefit when one does good. Suffering of innocent people is greatly rewarded later. They believe in one world government and religion. Peaceful conflict resolution is promoted, but disobedience to your government is considered bad. They also believe in gender equality, but not promotion of abortion. They also support anti-poverty and anti-discrimination. Service to others is considered a form of worship. Divorce is discouraged, but not condemned. They disaprove of homosexuality. 2. My reaction to getting Baha'i so high was one of surprise. I had never heard of it before and was very interested in many of its philosophies. It was fairly far away from my number one answer and it only matched 60%, but I found that I agreed with many of its policies and also disagreed with many. I think the idea of being blindly obedient to the government is not good and a one government world, while a nice ideal, is very impractical. I am also not as sure as they are about many things.

Question B of Blog Assignment #1

Asian history, and history in general, is very important for multiple reasons. One reason is that learning the history helps you understand the people who live there. This in turn helps you understand the world as a whole. History also teaches us lessons. We learn from the mistakes and successes of people throughout history. History also makes for great literature. When studying a different history or culture it is important to have an open mind. It is sometimes a tendency of people to judge other people, but this can lead to false assumptions and misinterpretation.