Sheri Berman (“From the Sun King to Karzai,” Foreign Affairs, March/April, 2010, vol. 89, no. 2, 2-9) writes that the U.S. mission in Afghanistan will not be complete until a strong central government capable of controlling the entire country has been put in place.
Archive for the ‘Afghanistan’ Category
State Building in Afghanistan
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010Widening Rift Between Afghanistan’s President and the West
Monday, April 5th, 2010As President Hamid Karzai moves closer to Iran and China, his speeches have begun to take a stridently anti-Western tone. One Western diplomat in Kabul said, “‘The political situation is starting to deteriorate; Karzai is flailing around…At the moment we are propping up an unstable political structure, and I haven’t seen any remotely plausible plan for building consensus.’”
Alissa J. Rubin, “Karzai’s Words Leave Few Choices for the West,” New York Times, April 5, 2010, A6.
A New Leader in Marja
Saturday, March 6th, 2010Bennett Carroccio
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghan-marja7-2010mar07,0,5830529.story
“After NATO offensive in Marja comes a new leader, and his violent past”
After Marines drove the Taliban out of Marja, Afghanistan, NATO swore in a new civilian town leader, Abdul Zahir, who spoke of retaining “dignity and prosperity” to Marja. This all sounds great for the American cause, but Gulab Mangal, the governor of the Helmand province, seems to have not done his homework on Zahir. According to international officials, Zahir had spent time in prison in Germany for stabbing his son, the reason not mentioned in the article.
All I can say after reading this is: “Not in America.” In the United States, although many politicians have been involved in numerous types of scandals, I am doubtful that any are on record for attempted manslaughter, especially of an immediate family member. Perhaps Mangal is trying to portray a message of a “new beginning” for the people in the Helmand province, or maybe he is ignorant to Zahir’s past. Zahir denies all claims although a German court citing shows that while living in exile he was jailed for attempted manslaughter in 1998 after stabbing his son. Official German documents says Zahir was jailed, Zahir says he was not, and Governor Mangal seems to be willing to overlook all of that. US officials are giving all responsibility to the Afghan government for handling this situation, which is logically a smart move so the Afghan government doesn’t seem to be completely reliant on America in terms of running itself.
I believe that the United States is acting correctly in remaining isolated from this situation. The Afghan government, in order for America’s assistance to seem effective, needs to be able to handle its own issues, with this case being a small step with internal affair. I believe Magal should find a new civilian leader in Marja for the building blocks of a new government in Afghanistan are presently being laid and I do not think it will serve the cause well if part of it’s foundation is tainted by international criminals.
Osama- The Taliban’s Oppression of Women
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Paul Bloemsma
Osama
The film Osama, directed by Afghani Siddiq Barnak, hauntingly portrays the condition of women under the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan. The opening scene depicts a demonstration in the street of an unspecified small city in Afghanistan. Dozens of women dressed in pale blue burqas chant (in Persian translated into English subtitles), “We want work.! We are not political!” A picket sign reads, “We are widows.” These women must put their economic needs above their desires for political and social equality. The Taliban come to break up the demonstration, and they drive the protestors out with a hose. An image of a blue burqa being sprayed around in the mud is replayed continuously, metaphorically exhibiting how women have been cast down in this society. Several women are locked in a cage with chickens, revealing the Taliban’s treatment of them as subhuman.
From the onset, the film emphasizes how the Taliban’s oppressive regime incapacitated women, both socially and economically. All the women must wear burqas, also known as Chadri, to hide their feminine features. Though the current Afghani government does not require the burqa, many women still wear it due to the influence of the Taliban and political instability particularly in Southern Afghanistan. Economically, women could not work. In the film, the Taliban shuts down the hospital where the protagonist, a 12 year-old Afghan girl, and her mother work. Women’s reliance on men in this society become evident when one night, the mother sobs, “I wish You [God] hadn’t taken my husband in the Kabul Wars. I wish You hadn’t taken my brother in the war with the Russians. He could help my mother.” The female protagonist must disguise herself as a boy to be able to work at a chai teashop to support her mother and grandmother. “Osama,” as she calls herself, is soon taken to a Taliban training school along with other boys of the village. At school, the boys make fun of her feminine characteristics and affect. After the masters discover her first menstrual period, they arrest her. An elderly respected religious leader in the community, Mullah Sahib, takes her in marriage to the chants of “God is Great.” Though she is saved from stoning, her ending is grim as she is married off to an evil man. Sahib’s oppressive nature exhibits the seeming contradiction between piety and the abuse of women so pervasive in the Taliban’s fundamentalist form of Islam.
Though the film centers on the issue of women’s rights in Afghanistan, the movie also displays the cycle of indoctrination in Taliban society. The “school” that Osama and the other young boys must attend is a madrasa, where a religious leader teaches them the Koran as well as military skills. Additionally, the film displays the Taliban’s rejection of Western influence. An American or British cameraman who is caught filming the opening protest scene is executed to the chants of “Death to the Infidel!” Osama is a difficult, yet beautiful movie that honestly and gruesomely depicts the oppressive nature of the Taliban’s regime in Afghanistan.
Response to “Obama’s War”
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Max Png
This five-part film by Frontline reinforced what we are currently learning in “Descent into Chaos”, pointing out the key obstacles regarding our operation in Afghanistan, notably the asymmetrical tactics of the Taliban, the failing political governance, and the complicity of Pakistan.
The first and second parts of the movie brought to us the harrowing experiences of being a Marine based in Afghanistan. In the several cases when the camera was rolling, the troops had only a vague idea of where the Taliban was shooting or firing RPGs from. The use of such hit and run tactics, along with using IEDs and long ranged snipers, means that the Marines hardly ever have an actual target to shoot at. This greatly hampers, as General Petraeus said at a high level meeting, the primary objective of the troops in Afghanistan- protecting the people. If we cannot even locate the Taliban, how are the people supposed to believe that we can kill, or even repel the Taliban? Such a sense of helplessness is what fuels the fear of the Taliban- even when the Marines were based just a minute from the now-deserted bazaar. The systematic use of predator missiles and unmanned drones is not exactly a great PR story either, according to the latest headline from the New York Times. Use of such technology, of course, is required since the latest battle strategy has been the heavy reliance on superior military technology while scaling back on ground troops- the guys who actually do the talking. Of course, we are learning from our mistakes, with a heavier emphasis on foot patrols rather than convoys of vehicles, erasing the “Star Wars stormtrooper” image. Even then though, there exists a disconnect between the Afghan civilians and the US Marines sent to protect them.
The third part was about how the political situation in Afghanistan is just as important as the military fight. According to the frontline report, the lack of proper political system is causing the Afghan people to turn to the Taliban. The one basic need of people is security- protection from death. With the government literally strangled by corruption (the sort of vertically integrated corruption as discussed in class today, where even the policemen will not do their work unless their palms are greased) the people settle for the Taliban’s shadow governance – it may be ruthless, but skewed governance is better than anarchy. To counter this, the US military is flying Kabul politicians into areas to secure and stabilize the areas that they have taken from the Taliban. A perfect example would be the recent operation in Marja, where the most important phase is literally dropping in a pre-organized government.
The fourth part was about Pakistan’s involvement. Solid evidence has been procured by US intelligence services about the ISI and the Taliban working together. In in the video, such links where categorically denied by the Pakistan army spokesman – using their operation to retake Swat as an example of their alliance with the US. That alliance is not as strong as they paint it though, with Pakistan repeatedly refusing to give up the location of key Taliban leaders such as Mullah Omar or to use drones against the Taliban, which raises legitimate questions about the supposed joint CIA-ISI operation which supposedly netted top Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Barada.
Several experts pointed out that the counterinsurgency’s final objectives were very vague, which would lead to an eternally prolonged campaign. This was proved when General McChrystal answered the frontline reporter with “In the end, we will have an Afghan solution to an Afghan problem”, which was about as good as saying nothing at all.
More troubling was the statement made by Steve Coll, author of The Bin Ladens, that America was waging a war against it’s own ally, because the Taliban is a proxy of Pakistan, and only when Pakistan decides that supporting the Taliban is counterproductive can the Taliban finally be destroyed. As Amrullah Saleh, Director of Afghan Intel said, (who throughout the entire video very obviously had a bone to pick with Pakistan’s government) “You cannot incentivize bad behavior”. And in my opinion, with the billions of dollars being poured into Pakistan, that is perverse truth- we are indirectly sponsoring suicide bombers.
“At War” – New York Times Blog
Saturday, February 13th, 2010The anticipated allied assault on the insurgency stronghold of Marja has gotten underway. The New York Times maintains a blog on the “Af-Pak” war, which is linked from the IMEB Links at the right side of our blog and from here:
Charlie Wilson, Pioneer in the race to arm the Mujahideen, dead at 76
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Congressman Charles Nesbitt Wilson, a Representative from Texas’ 2nd Congressional district, has been pronounced dead today in Lufkin, Texas, where he resided. He was 76.
Wilson crafted an infamous reputation for himself on numerous fronts. Now primarily known for his advocacy of aid to Afghanistan during its conflict with the Soviet Union, Wilson originally gained noteriety in various Washington D.C. party circuits.
Described by John Fund of the Wall Street Journal as a “carousing libertine,” Wilson was notable for his candid response to (frequent) accusations of indiscretion: while he never swore an oath of sobriety, Wilson promised that if caught in a true scandal, he wouldn’t “blame booze….and suddenly find Jesus.”
Visiting an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan in 1981, Wilson was disgusted by what he witnessed. Responding to the site of children maimed by Soviet weaponry (“explosives disguised as toys”) Wilson vowed to “grab the commie sons o’ bitches by the throat” and upon returning to Washington began to lobby for increased funding to the Mujahideen.
With help from Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, Wilson managed to increase funds to the Mujahideen, who relied on American weaponry (particularly on American made grenade launchers and “Stinger” missiles), by 1 Billion US dollars every year. While covert funding to the Afghan iniative was already well under way, supported by then President Ronald Reagan, Wilson’s drastic expansion is credited for the victory of the Mujahideen, and with the serious weakening and collapse of the Soviet Union. Numerous experts in the field believe that without Wilson’s funding, the Soviets would have developed capability for a long term occupation of Afghanistan. Humiliated in defeat, the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the outcry from Soviet citizenry over the war is widely credited as accelerating the collapse of the superpower.
While Wilson’s victory may have been decisive in 1989, when Soviet troops began withdrawal, his aid to the Mujahideen has garnered scrutiny, especially in the wake of September 11th:
The United States is considered to be a victim, and creator of, what is deemed “blowback.” Blowback, in essence, is defined as the unintended consequence of various interventionist efforts by the United States. Wilson’s funding of the Mujahideen, an organization that would later splinter and form the Taliban, is but one example of “blowback” out of many.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703382904575059351052263666.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
“Kabul paralyzed by bombings, shootout with Taliban fighters” by Keith B. Richburg (The Washington Post)
Thursday, January 21st, 2010In the city of Kabul, the capital and largest city in Afghanistan, seven suicide bombers launched several attacks throughout the city. The first attack from the Taliban occurred directly outside of the presidential palace, where President Hamrid Karzai prepared to welcome 14 new cabinet members into office. Shortly after, three suicide bombers were approached by a security guard in a mall, revealed the numerous weapons they were carrying, and ordered everyone to leave. Later, a suicide bomber in an ambulance drove to the Educational Ministry and proceeded to detonate his explosives after getting out after the vehicle. The numbers vary in different reports, but this article cites 5 deaths and 71 injuries as a result of these attacks, not including the deaths of all seven terrorists.
The investigations done thus far has shown that the Taliban were targeting civilians in these attacks, which some actually consider a positive. The loss of life is of course tragic, but the actions of the bombers reveal the weakening terrorist infrastructure. “It shows the terrorists have lost their ability to fight face to face.”
Officials praised the rapid response to the attacks by the Afghan police and NATO forces, actions by these forces still raised some concern. It was reported that the Afghani police, overwhelmed by the pressing crowd, fired rounds in the air and even aimed their weapons at civilians in attempts to restore order. These seemingly unjustified actions raise questions about the training of Afghan police and soldiers, heightened further by the volatile situation they must face everyday.
There might be a silver lining to these attacks, as a strengthening Afghani government and police force prepare to eliminate the already weakening threat of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Reports on Yesterday’s Insurgent Attacks in Kabul
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010We will discuss the latest insurgent attacks in Afghanistan in class today. Here are the two reports that were cited:
Dexter Filkins, “Kabul Attack Shows Resilience of Afghan Militants,” New York Times, Jan 19, 2010 (Includes video)
(via NMH Virtual Desktop and ProQuest) Keith B. Richburg, “Kabul Paralyzed by Attacks,” The Washington Post, Jan. 19, 2010
Deadly Protest in Afghanistan Highlights Tensions
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/world/asia/13afghan.html
Eight Afghan civilians were killed and over a dozen more were wounded in violoent street protests in the town of Garmsir. Several hundred Afghans gathered, upon hearing a reports that U.S. and Afghani forces had abused a local woman and desecrated a Koran. According to local officials the protests was orchestrated by the Taliban. During the protests several cars were overturned and a school was set on fire. The crowd stormed the office of the local Afghan domestic intelligence service, where agents opened fire. This event showed just how easily resentments could turn into open violence. Military officials denied the charges of desecration and sexual abuse while promising to mount a full investigation. Maj. Gen. Michael Regner responded, “ISAF is an international force that includes Muslim soldiers, and we deplore such an action under any circumstances.”
