Obama's Troop Surge - Why I cannot agree with WAMM

I tried to keep awake in Kabul so that I could hear first hand Obama’s speech on Afghanistan and failed. I woke up and logged on to screaming headlines and a flood of outraged mail from various Peace groups – Women Against Military Madness, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Avaaz, Progressive Democrats of America, The Brave New Foundation Team.

President Obama had announced that he will send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan while setting a goal of starting to bring forces home by summer 2011.

I logged on to Face Book and an Afghan friend wondered if Obama had asked any Afghan his/her opinion about whether to increase troops or not. I wondered if any of the members of the peace groups had asked any Afghan his/her opinion on whether to withdraw troops or not.

I walked to the office and asked my colleagues what they thought of the decision. Except one, everyone said the decision was good. I asked the guards – all agreed the decision was good. In the evening I went out and asked my driver. He said that the decision was good. I looked inside my own head and came to the horrible realization that if certain conditions were met, I too thought the decision was good.

Since my own reach is limited, I turned to Pajhwok Afghan News whose reporters swarmed the streets across every province in Afghanistan to get reaction. Here too, most thought, with some conditions, the decision was good. Those who did not want the surge, definitely also did not want an immediate withdrawal. Those few who wanted an immediate withdrawal, wanted the American soldiers to instead go guard the border with Pakistan.

Given my years within the non-violent peace movement, I am now so conflicted, I feel compelled to explain myself and to lay out my thoughts, so that others can read and challenge them, and I can examine this turnaround more clearly.

The ridiculous assertions

I’ll just get these out of the way because they are too silly. If you want me to explain why these assertions are silly, write me and I’ll do another blog on it. A Russian General has come out saying, “Afghanistan is an unwinnable war” because after all they tried to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. Stop. I’m not a flag waving American, but I know enough that we are not behaving the way the Russians did. At least not yet. Some are declaring this to be Obama’s Vietnam. Stop. Compare the casualty numbers between the two events and restrain yourself. There are other comparisons, but reviewing those would mean I take this assertion seriously.


Do Not Escalate the War

When we are in America digesting news about Afghanistan through CNN and most other media sources, “WAR” is what we think about. When we are HERE in Afghanistan, two other words come to mind – “SECURITY” and “DEVELOPMENT”. We don’t really use the word “war” here. A typical question might be, “what do you think? Is the security on the road from Kabul to Jalalbad good?” We don’t say, “What do you think? Is the war bad now between Kabul and Jalalabad”?

“Development” is broken into sectors, and we talk about the education sector, or agriculture, or public health, etc. So when we talk about development, it is usually focused on one area and we all pitch in with what we know. Over a period of 30 years, hospitals, schools, universities, irrigation systems, farmlands, parks, entertainment centers, museums, art galleries, libraries, and more have been destroyed. Systems that make up civil society and run things: education of children, fire and water departments, communication, garbage clearance, sewage systems, banking; all severely damaged. So, as you can see, we have a lot to talk about and it is usually 60 to 80 percent of our daily conversations.

So Obama’s decision on increasing troops is talked about here in Afghanistan, as it relates to how it may/may not improve the security situation in Afghanistan, and how security and development to most Afghans are NOT a chicken and egg story – it is clear to most people. If there is no security, there is no development. There is improvement in certain sectors. However, large scale job creation that is only possible through industrialization (and it could be green economy here) is impossible without security. So, Afghanistan is awash in goods from every country except Afghanistan. The manufacturing industry is a struggling, unhealthy infant.

Along with never talking about the need for Afghanistan’s development, there are two more pieces to this situation that the peace movement chooses not to talk about, or when it does, you over there and us over here are not only singing different tunes, we are singing two completely different songs.

One, the anti-war movement talks about the war “spreading to Pakistan”. Most people here think that the insurgency is “coming from Pakistan”, and now that Obama has put pressure on Pakistan’s leadership to clean house and hell has broken loose in the Waziristan area, most Afghans will say the local version of “the chicken has come home to roost”.

Second, is a skeleton in the closet of Afghanistan’s history, a fear that simmers only skin deep under the skin of many Afghans, and that is the Afghan civil war. The Russians finished their humiliating withdrawal in 1989. The Taliban did not come in till 1996. In this very dark period, Afghanistan erupted into a horrific civil war and in 1994, 10,000 (ten thousand) people died in Kabul alone. This is only a few years ago, and there are many who fear that a quick withdrawal will result in another power vacuum and as such another civil war.

Before I go on to my wish list, I want to vent on my main peeve. There are three kinds of armed forces here that help with security in Afghanistan. There are the Afghan police. The insurgents are not afraid of them, as they are not well trained or well equipped. There are the international forces. The insurgents are not terribly afraid of them, as they don’t do hand to hand combat and can be easily manipulated into bombing innocent civilians. Then there is the Afghan National Army (ANA) – not enough in number, maybe not the best trained, but very brave and well armed and trusted by the locals.

More members of the ANA have died than ALL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOLDIERS ACROSS ALL OF THE COUNTRIES PUT TOGETHER. They deserve our support in helping to increase their number and improving their training to the point at which they can defend themselves. They deserve that their contribution in bringing security and stability to Afghanistan be recognized. Please, stop talking only about American soldiers giving up their lives, and about Afghan civilians. There are Afghan soldiers here fighting more bravely than the international forces and paying a heavier price for it.

My Wish List

President Obama gave a speech. I do not know the details of his plan. I hope it includes the following:

1. Increase in the number of troops with the following caveats: their primary responsibility is to recruit and train more people in the ANA, they consult heavily with ANA before engaging in any battle, they run away from battles if it looks like they are out gunned and come back the next day; they do NOT call in for air power and bombing. It does not work. This last tactic has already started and people are appreciating it.

2. I like the deadline, because it does say two things: we are not here to stay, and it puts pressure on Afghanistan to take responsibility for their own security. Keep repeating this message.

3. Put pressure on BOTH the Afghan government and USAID to not engage in corruption and implement best practices in the use of development aid dollars.

4. Pledge to continue giving money for development even after we have withdrawn. We cannot rebuild in two years. We cannot rebuild in 10 years. It will take longer. We need to keep supporting Afghanistan in its development because we played a large part in its destruction.

5. Return USAID to what it was, a genuine aid organization full of people who knew what they were doing and people who cared. Take it away from the State department.

6. This one is a real stretch - the US Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) and the Army Core of Engineers (ACE) cannot be effective when they are part of the US Army. Remember, even the Taliban are calling for the withdrawal of the NATO army, NOT of aid organizations. No other country has this linkage. Relabel them as private or non-military government organizations staffed with skilled engineers who are skilled in reconstruction of roads, buildings, etc.

7. Peace is not the absence of war. My challenge to the Peace Community is to develop a compelling policy of peace and stability in Afghanistan and lobby for its continued funding by the US Government long after the last soldier has been withdrawn. I have scoured the web-sites of the anti-war groups, and I find no such policy of peace. It is not candles and sage, it is not posters and bumper stickers, it is not marches with chants of “Who is the terrorist? Bush / Obama is the terrorist”. it is a whole lot of tangible infrastructure that challenges us American to share our wealth for sound domestic policies – both at home and for those countries less fortunate than us.


8. I believe that ONLY WHEN we financially contribute towards a compelling peace policy, which is far, far cheaper than a policy of using weapons to keep peace, true peace is possible. When we believe that spending money on our own health care is important and giving some money to another country’s health care is also important, peace will arrive. Until the various peace movements can rally together, come up with such a policy, lobby for it and legislate it, simply a rant of “withdraw all troops” is not just ineffective, it is naive.

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My Experience of the Afghan Culture

A View from the Top of the World

It's almost Eid and I thought this might be a good time to post this article. To all my Afghan friends, if anything that I've written is insulting, I apologize. I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of the Afghan culture and I've loved writing this piece to share with everyone a bit about what my experience with the Afghan culture has been here.

I have lived in Kabul now for about a year and a half. I’ve had the privilege of being able to get a peek inside the proverbial veil and want to give you my perspective of some aspects of the everyday culture of the Afghan people. A large section of the Afghan population is nomadic. I am not writing about them as I have not got close to anyone in this group. I am mainly talking about people who most likely share the kind of demographics as the readers of this article – middle class and educated.

A child is born. “It’s a boy!!” He will continue the family name and take care of his parents. Huge numbers of relatives and neighbors are invited on the sixth day – Shab-e-Shash – evening-of-the-sixth. I was invited to one and took a friend with me. We entered to find at least 50 other women sitting tightly against each other along the perimeter of the living room. We sat down in one corner and wondered if we had been impolite by not individually greeting everyone, even though we knew no one. We had. We made up for it by overdoing the good-byes.

This brings me to Afghan greetings – an overwhelming, elaborate and complex set of rituals for the uninitiated. I am invited and I enter the house. The hostess comes up, grasps my hand and kisses me three, four, five, six times on my cheeks while unleashing a series of sentences at the same time: how are you, are you tired, is your health ok, is your family ok, welcome to my home, may you live long. I am supposed to do the same, but even after a year I helplessly hyperventilate as I cannot keep up. I’m entrenched in the polite, how are you, I’m good, thank you. End of greeting.

Now let us reflect that in most Afghan houses several brothers with their wives and parents and children live together. Each man, one by one, rests a hand on his heart, bows slightly and greets you with, Salam-wale-kum, khush amadi, zinda bashe – Hello, welcome, may you live long. All the women and teenage girls kiss you, shower you with questions, and all the little ones, boys and girls, gravely approach you and shake your hands. A good 15 minutes have passed by before it is all over and I can sit down, and I’m secretly dreading the time I have to leave, because a variation of this is going to happen all over again. At the same time, it is difficult to explain how nice it feels when a person always, always asks “how are you, are you well” before launching into whatever question he/she has.

Children are completely adored and spoiled. I genuinely can’t understand how they grow up to be so polite and capable. An Afghan 13 year old boy or girl is extremely self-sufficient. Most boys marry by the time they are 22 and girls by the time they are 18. The boy is capable and confident, able to work, negotiate in the bazaar for the best price on everything from a melon to a TV, maneuver the bureaucracy to get jobs done, organize events and the girl can cook for 30, sew everything from curtains to elaborately designed wedding outfits, take care of babies, manage a budget – it amazes every non-Afghan here.

The society is segregated at a very early age, and boys and girls older than five or six do not play together. At weddings a huge hall is separated by a wall - the women sit on one side and the men on the other. The male guests never see the bride as they celebrate the marriage of a friend. The weddings are wild and raucous affairs with hours and hours of dancing and jokes and laughter – of course the women dance with women and the men with men.

And yet, once married, the couple is allowed, in their own house, a surprising level of public display of intimacy. As the whole family sits down for dinner, husbands and wives sit side by side with knees touching and hands resting easily on each other’s legs. After dinner, as we relax over tea and fruits, husbands and wives will sit very close and even softly talk to one another while everyone else is engaged in another conversation. It is a startling contrast to the high level of segregation found in almost all other areas.

While a man can have up to four wives, most Afghans I know only have one. Culturally, it does not appear to be a hugely popular thing to do and the Afghan women I know would be deeply hurt if their husbands brought home another wife. While it is easy to divorce, it is virtually unheard of as the commitment of marriage is taken very seriously. Every earner in the family contributes a share to the family pot, and this share is determined by the money manager – and this could be the oldest male or female of the house.

Although Afghans do socialize with friends, most of the socializing is done within the family, with we

ekends being taken up by visiting relatives and celebrations related to birth, engagements and weddings of relatives. Everyone is introduced to me as a cousin as it is too complicated to explain what the relationship is.

There are celebrations that take on a more communal slant – the two big ones being Nowruz (New Year) and Qurbani-Eid. Afghans follow the lunar calendar and New Year is around March 15^th and it is so, so, so, so much fun. The markets are a crush of people buying new clothes. Fish comes into Kabul by the ton from Jalalabad and Pakistan and fish-fry vendors litter the streets.

A big fish is filleted and cleaned along its length, rubbed by spices and flour and deep fried till it is crisp. A mixture of lemon juice and oil is squirted over the fish, it is wrapped in a huge nan, which is then wrapped up in newspaper. In another paper bag, hot and colorful jalebis are placed and you strut off with your fish and jalebis – a staple to celebrate the new year.

Three days before the New Year you start preparing Haft Mewa (seven fruits) – walnuts, almonds, redkishmish, black kishmish, pistachios, dried apricots and dried plums. You wash and rub, wash and rub, till the almonds and walnuts are white and all the skin is gone. You then clean the raisins and soak it all in water for three days. In the end you get this heavenly fruit soup in which you sprinkle rose water. It is a good thing that people laugh at you if you make it any other time, because honestly, you can eat kilos of it – it is just that good.

Music blares from every street corner, people visit each other, kite flying competitions decorate the sky and then the mela– Sakhi-Jan mela – starts and GOES ON FOR 40 DAYS!! Vendors, palm readers, gamblers, musicians, tricksters all come together to give you and your loved ones a very good time.

In contrast to the revelry is the celebration of Qurbani Eid, in which animals are sacrificed and the rich feed the poor. The smell of blood fills the air as brightly colored sheep, cows and goat are sacrificed, the meat divided into three parts – part one for the family, part two for the neighbors who could not afford to sacrifice, part three for the mosque where it is cooked in huge vats and served to the poor. Again, droves of families and friends visit each other and people keep track of who did not come to visit!

Aside from food, most expendable income is spent on clothes. Afghans are fashionable people and extremely good looking. They are also thin, have wonderful skin and hair, and are comfortable in traditional and western outfits. The men wear salwar kameez. For casual attire they have jeans, t-shirts and casual shirts. For women, the salwar kameez is an import from Pakistan and they do wear it, but equally common for the women are jacket and skirt suits (full length), and jacket and pant suits. All women wear head scarves. There are many who still wear the full burqa when they go outside,and as they walk you can still see the fashionable clothes and the high heels.

Every culture has a relationship with sports and it is huge here in Afghanistan. The society is very competitive as evidenced by the rapid rise of the Afghan cricket team. Soccer is hugely popular. Wrestling and body-building are highly respected sports and lately every block has started boasting a school on martial arts. The more distressing, but nevertheless popular sports are dog-fighting and cock-fighting. However, the crowning glory is the national sport - Buzkashi, and to me, this sport in many ways explains the mystery of Afghanistan.

I'm at a loss of words on how to describe this game. The one I went to had about a 100 horses with riders. It was a large field surrounded by the ever present wall and there was a white circle (about 5 feet in diameter) in the center of this dusty field. A calf had been slaughtered and beheaded and dipped in brine overnight to prevent rigor and to make it pliable. The body was thrown next to a flag on a post dug into one end of the field, and the riders went at it. The object is to retrieve this calf (estimated at between 30 to 40 kilos) and then to toss it inside this circle. It is one man against all and except for hitting the face, all is fair.

The men bandage their legs with layers of cloth, then surround their calves with long sticks and bandage that, and then put on the famous long Buzkash boots. Their bodies are heavily padded with very thick coats and pants, their heads are covered with thick fur hats. They have to leave their hands bare. No gloves are allowed. They carry short whips filled with sand and the horses are trained to bite. In the crush of vicious horses that are bucking from the whips, men who are whipping each other, a rider has to retain control of his horse, grab the calf, shove it under one leg to grip it, hold on to one leg of the calf with a hand, and then try to get it to the circle.

Sometimes the body positions simply defy any sense of gravity and often you see a rider holding on to the calf with just his thigh, lashing out with both hands at attackers, with the horse seemingly knowing exactly where to go. The better rider watches other riders fight to lift the calf off the ground (remember, these horses are about 6 feet high, muscular and strong) and just as someone has a bit of a hold, forces his horse right into the tangle of horse and men, takes the other leg and through sheer physical force of horse and rider emerges with the calf.

It went on for three hours (there were several rounds) and at the end no man died, fell off a horse, no horse buckled or limped - and most of us just sat there in complete disbelief about what we just saw. I mentioned that once there is peace and security in Afghanistan, marketing this alone to the west will hold up the Afghan economy. We were in Kabul, the ones held in Mazar and Badakhshan (northern provinces) are played with around a 1000 horses. All I could think of is this game is a clue of why no one ever has been able to conquer Afghanistan.

We were just four women among a few thousand spectators of men and could not really cheer loudly and that was difficult. There were bleachers carved into the mountain for everyone to sit. As soon as we entered, there was first silence, and then people scrambled to bring out rickety plasic chairs for us to sit on. We were with my favorite Afghan guide here, who scoured us an invitation from the war lord (General Fahim, the famed Masood's right hand man, and an ex-defence minister). General Fahim never demeaned himself by actually coming to us, but we felt pretty safe knowing that we were his guests. You can google this sport for narrative that does more justice to this extraordinary sport, than my narration has been able to achieve.

Peace be with you. You can write to me at santwana@hotmail.com.

Swine Flu and Elections in Afghanistan

A few hours ago we learned that a Presidential order has been issued to close all schools and universities for three weeks – to stop the spread of swine flu. I just returned from the Philippines and was told by the health professionals there that none of us from Afghanistan were a danger, because there were no recorded cases of swine flu in Afghanistan. Zero. Nada.

So, what is going on? A few days ago, on Afghanistan television it was reported that an international aid worker (read "a foreigner") had gotten swine flu after eating a ham sandwich. Let us forget for a moment that this is an entirely air borne flu and one cannot get it from eating any kind of sandwich. What is more interesting is the timing of this little piece of news that has caught on like wild fire. It is curiously similar to those of George Bush's periodic declaration of "orange alert" - throwing the nation into panic about an impending terrorist attack. Any time bad news about the economy came up, poll numbers were down, another messy embarrassing news about corruption by one his best friends - ORANGE ALERT!!!! and the news media repeated the same mantra and the public quietened.

As a person working in the education sector, and as a person who manages two NGO's whose primary work is in the education sector, I am outraged by this decision. Schools were halted two months ago for elections and the teachers worked hard to make up the lost time. Now to make up THREE WEEKS of lost classes is, I believe, impossible. In Afghanistan, exams are held in November, results declared in early December, and then schools close for three months as winter settles in. I suppose one can push the exams back. However, if winter comes early and indications are that it is, it will not be possible.

So, what gives? Here is my take on what gives. A series of events, falling one behind the other like dominoes, may well be the reason for this ridiculous use of "swine flu" as an excuse to close down all schools and colleges for three weeks.

Event A: The second Presidential elections in the history of Afghanistan are held in August, 2009. President Karzai declares victory. The United Nations says, "not so fast", and the election commission settles down to review allegations of wide spread fraud.

Event B: As most Afghans, even the highly educated ones, publicly say "no" to a run-off election and just want to move on, the west finds itself between a rock and a hard place. As enough votes are tossed out to deny Karzai a majority, the west has to support a run-off. Otherwise, history might very well state that the west turned a blind eye to outright fraud and corruption in the election process.

Event C: While a run-off election is settled for November 7th, nothing is done to eliminate the root causes of the fraud claimed by Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the key opponent to Karzai. No election commissioner or minister is removed from the process, and as far as I can see, no pressure by the west is put on Karzai to take action to prevent another round of fraud.

Event D: The Taliban vow to disrupt this new round of elections and in a brazen attack on a UN guest house kill 5 UN workers and injure 9 others. Two of the workers were working on the elections. Suddenly, the UN - bastion of fraud-free elections - loses its will to really get behind this run-off and evacuates all of its non-essential personnel. It also appears to have lost its will to really push for a second round of elections and is uttering phrases like, "we will support the people of Afghanistan and their wishes". Well, what they really wished for was NOT to have a run-off in the first place!!

And now the west, stymied in its attempts to make democracy happen overnight in Afghanistan is offering up canned statements like, "the United States remains committed to supporting the Afghan people in carrying out a constitutional electoral process". Whatever that means.

Event E: The pressure mounts on Dr. Abdullah and President Karzai to form a "unity" government. Someone should get whacked upside the head for coining such a ridiculous term. Obama and Hillary fought a bitter campaign, and Obama did not take on Hillary as his running mate!! So, why these two men who fought a very bitter campaign should now all of a sudden be expected to become all chummy beggars belief. Additionally, one of them is in power (neither Obama nor Hillary were the President), and the other accused him of all kinds of nasty stuff. And now they should share power? How will that be? And how can that be worked out in a short time frame?

Event F: Dr. Abdullah runs out of money and also realizes that the fraud machinery is still in existence and the likelihood of him winning is very slim. It is also possible that the attack on the UN may have made him pause and think about other violence that would sure unleash if the elections were to continue. So, he pulls out and asks for his people to be calm.

Event G: Now President Karzai is in a tough position. Dr. Abdullah has strong support and that base is bitterly disappointed. As is with change candidates, a lot of the base is the youth. Dr. Abdullah himself made his "I'm pulling out" speech near the area where several colleges are right next to each other. An interesting choice.

Conclusion: There is absolutely no telling what tomorrow will bring. Will there be an election on November 7th? And if so, who the heck is going to come out and risk life or finger to vote, when there is ONLY ONE candidate? What will Dr. Abdullah do in the next few weeks? What are Karzai's options? The pressure is intense on both men to share power - two easy words, but what does that look like? Afghanistan does not exactly have a grand history of men sharing power - if you know what I mean. Can these two men create history?

What about the wild card - the youth? Will they be placid spectators to this game, or will they simmer in discontent ready to explode into violent protests? In all honesty, it is very difficult to take the risk of the youth rioting on streets. So, Karzai and his administrative machine stoke this small piece of swine-flu-caused-by-ham-sandwich news, and close down the main source of youth gatherings - all in the name of - I want to take care of you and make sure that you don't get swine flu.

The Bush-Cheney team certainly taught the leadership here well. Using swine-flu as an excuse to close schools for three weeks also is a subtle way of saying - "these foreigners are causing our children to fall sick". Just like the Bush-Cheney team successfully used the "we must be afraid of the terrorists (foreigners)" technique to stop the masses from thinking in America, the administration here is using the same technique. Good teacher. Good student.

And while the children and the youth celebrate a surprise holiday, they remain too young to realize that the government just stole something from them - a hope for the future. I am the eternal optimist, and I hope the two men seize this moment in history, and do indeed figure out a way of sharing power, and create history - something that makes Afghans proud, the international community bow in respect, and the children see behavior they can aspire to.

A small dog in Kabul

“Chuche (pronounced choochei) Sag” was how we all called him – Dari for “small dog”. He was about 6 months old, born on our street to another street dog. He had a few more litter mates that scattered, and Chuche Sag was left by himself, to find his position in the hierarchy within the gang of dogs that patrol our street.

I never knew him. I have my own dog, and there are two others that I regularly feed – a whole another story. I always saw him, a bit of a loner having no companions his age, with the same street smart attitude of other young street dogs.

A few days ago, a horrific sight waited for us as we walked escorted by our armed guards to our office. One of Chuche Sag’s front legs was viciously damaged. The entire skin had rolled down like a stocking, pooling by his paws. The bloodied muscle was exposed, and it was clear that his leg was badly broken. Something had hit him – a car or a motorcycle, but did not kill him.

He limped on three legs, and after two days did not move much. My friend and co-worker Fiona begged me to do something. I was at a loss – he was a street dog and afraid enough of people to bite, and I did not want to be bitten. I called Tigger House, the only animal shelter in Kabul, but the doctor was not in. When I finally got in touch, my Dari was not good enough, his English was not good enough, and I could not explain my need.

So, then we started feeding him – leaving bowls of food a few feet away from him. He always hunkered in the culverts, just out of reach. However, a few hours later, the food would be gone. Two days went by in this attempt to draw him out, so that we could nab him and take him to the vet.

On Saturday, about five days later, I went over to the vet and said that I would pay for him to come with me and capture this dog. He readily agreed, and we came back to the house, but the dog was nowhere to be found. By this time, a whole lot of people had gotten involved to save this dog, and some of the guards went out on motorcycles to find the dog – no dog to be found. The doctor left a slim leash and gloves and taught a towering guard how to capture the dog, should we find it, and then to call him.

On the sixth day, we spotted him, and the towering guard, captured him and we had him leashed. He screamed in fright and pain, and finally curled himself into a ball and gave up the fight. I called the office and told them what was going on and to send a driver to Tigger House. The driver, left his breakfast unfinished, and rushed to get the doctor. The doctor came with a kennel, came over to see Chuche Sag, and said, “this does not look good, we may have to put him to sleep”.

By this time Chuche Sag was completely terrified, and with barely a whimper allowed himself to be pushed into the kennel and driven to the hospital. A few hours later, a doctor with perfect English called and gave the bad news – the entire leg is smashed and not just broken, the skin is gone and cannot be stitched to save it, infection has set into the bone and has most likely spread. The dog is in extreme pain. Even in the US, most vets would recommend either amputation or euthanasia.

Dogs have difficult lives in Afghanistan, and a three legged small puppy will not have a chance. In any case, Tigger House was not set up for amputations, or for the intense care required for recovery. He asked for my permission to put him to sleep and I agreed. Within the next hour he was gone and buried.

I am writing this article to mourn him and to talk about him. I feel that somehow he should be remembered in a tangible manner, and not just lost. I have no pictures of him. It was so cute to watch him grow up and make his way. It was so humbling to see this little thing silently and bravely deal with his injury. It was so heartbreaking to see him slide farther and farther into a lonely place, as he crept along in culverts all alone hoping that somehow food will be available.

It is extreme irony that while in health he had so many reasons to fear the species we call “human”, that when he finally was surrounded by people who wanted to help him, it was simply too late.

I just want you to know that you are mourned and that you are remembered. All the guards shook their heads sadly at the news – they were rooting for you. Haris, the driver who sped to the hospital to get the doctor, upon hearing the final decision, cursed the driver who dealt you the fatal blow. You were Fiona’s favorite dog, and she regrets not having taken you in when you were very, very little, and she mourns you.

Be in peace.

Really? Pakistan is the Most Dangerous Country in the World?

“Iraq for Sale – The War Profiteers”, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price”, “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism” – Robert Greenwald and his company Brave New Films do impressive work, and I have counted myself as a fan. And as such, today it is with great reluctance that I question his approach for his newest endeavor: “Rethink Afghanistan”.

A friend e-mailed me about this and I immediately dug in, and found this headline, “Pakistan, the Most Dangerous Country in the World”. There were a couple of video trailers of various scholars, diplomats, military folks who gave sound bites about how no one should rattle this country, and how the fate of Afghanistan and Pakistan are inextricably linked.

I am an east-Indian and routinely have to remind myself that there are real people living in Pakistan and not monsters, since as a child of parents who barely survived the partition, I’ve been genetically programmed to be hostile to this country. And even I was rattled. Why is that we are outraged when President Bush declares a few countries to be the axis-of-evil, and yet when a progressive declares a country to be the “Most Dangerous Country in the World”, we remain silent? We even might start thinking, wow, this must be truth.

As Mr. Greenwald investigates and rethinks Afghanistan, I want to urge him to consider the following in his new documentary. I want him to challenge his viewers to ponder this question:

“When the United States of America spends more on manufacturing killing paraphernalia than the rest of the world combined, could it be that we are the most dangerous country in the world”?

To make sure that people really understood, he could use the following image to show how our defense spending is almost MORE THAN THE REST OF THE WORLD COMBINED. (Link Here to see the picture below more clearly)


I would like him to investigate this question: Since in the above pie chart Pakistan is not even a sliver, and yet it is awash in arms, where are those arms coming from? Could they be from the five members of the U.N. Security Council, who together manufacture 80 percent of the world’s arms? Does that not beg the question: Are the five members of the Security Council the most dangerous countries in the world?

Mogadeshu, Dafur, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq – all countries in heavy conflict and heavily armed. Where are these arms coming from?

Why is it that our drug policy is to spend billions to try and stop the supply and not the demand, but when it comes to our arms policy it is not applicable?

Please consider the following facts:

Since 1992, the United States has exported more than $142 billion dollars worth of weaponry to states around the world.[1] The U.S. dominates this international arms market, supplying just under half of all arms exports in 2001, roughly two and a half times more than the second and third largest suppliers. [2 ] U.S. weapons sales help outfit non-democratic regimes, soldiers who commit gross human rights abuses against their citizens and citizens of other countries, and forces in unstable regions on the verge of, in the middle of, or recovering from conflict.

The United States military has had to face troops previously trained by its own military or supplied with U.S. weaponry in Panama, Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, and now in Afghanistan. Due to the advanced capabilities these militaries have acquired from past U.S. training and sales, the U.S. had to invest much more money and manpower in these conflicts than would have otherwise been needed.

I have ranted on in my living room about the military industrial complex, and one day my step-son asked me to explain the concept to him using simple language. I thought a bit and used the analogy of a farmer growing potatoes and selling them. I asked him why I would keep on buying potatoes. He laughed and said, because you love them so much, you keep eating them up. I said, similarly, if someone makes money by selling arms, why would someone keep on buying more and more? His laughter died as the puzzle fell into place and he whispered, because they keep using them up.

My request to Mr. Greenwald is to also address this side of the equation, how the supply of arms, more and more and more arms to Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan is affecting the stability of this region, and then to again ask the question, “Just who is the most dangerous country in the world”?

Falling in love with Afghanistan

This is December 2008, and I’m on my fourth visit to Afghanistan. I’ve never been able to explain to anyone, including myself, why this historically xenophobic and fiercely independent country feels like home – warm and welcoming. In response to this baffling and helpless love for an elusive and dangerous country, many “internationals” contend that they have been afflicted by the SARS virus - Sudden Afghanistan Return Syndrome.

While my stories will be generalized, I do want to state that Afghanistan is a diverse country. The largest tribe is the Pashtuns, followed by the Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. There are many other smaller ethnic groups including Hindus and Sikhs. Finally, significant portions of the population are also nomads. It is completely landlocked, surrounded by a variety of countries whose names end in “stan”, Iran and China. She has two national languages – Pashto, a complex and difficult language, and Dari, a derivative of Persian with many words similar to Urdu.

I’m going to start this post with some initial impressions of the people of Kabul. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by towering and bare rock mountains. A shockingly visible culture clash plays itself out as women in complete powder blue burkhas share the streets with other women dressed modestly in skirts and pants, along with defiantly laughing and chattering girls in uniform walking as if they own the streets. Young men unaware that they are sporting T-shirts promoting girls underwear (Hanes, Her Way) share the dusty and rocky footpaths with men in turbans, long beards and salwar-kameez. Armored SUV’s are as responsible for causing traffic-jams as the donkey-carts and shepherds herding large flocks of fat, black and brown sheep. The balance of this clash still favors heavily the older times, so much so that a friend of mine recently remarked, “any moment I’m expecting Jesus to come around the corner and say, Hi Christina!”.

The bigger surprise is the people themselves. Where are those fierce men that I imagined from watching TV in America? Instead I find men who are relentlessly polite, hospitable and protective. It is rare to see a man raise his voice, and common to see them carry their children and go goo-goo-ga-ga over a cute child as easily as any woman. The Afghan hospitality is legendary, and like an urban myth everyone seems to know that ONE man who killed his own son for not being hospitable enough to a guest. They really do mean it when they say, “my house is always open to you” and one part of a room is always set to receive guests. Bowls of almonds, walnuts, raisins and candy are set on an oil-cloth on the floor. Cups of tea overturned on saucers are ready to be poured with green tea flavored with cardamom the moment a guest steps into the house.

A few weeks ago, a group of us “internationals” were parked on the street to pick up a friend. As there was already a car in front of the friend’s house, we were parked in front of the house next door. As we waited, an elderly man came out of the house we were parked in front of and asked us what we wanted. We explained we were waiting for a friend from the neighboring house. He smiled, and asked, “While you are waiting, would you like some tea?” We profusely thanked him and declined and he ambled away. We shook our head in disbelief as we launched into discussions on contrasting behaviors in each of our respective countries when we sometimes need to park in front of a neighbor’s house – leave alone in front of a stranger’s house.

I will end with this story of an astonishing behavior that would be thought of as irresponsible and dangerous in any large city in America or India.

I was once going someplace in my car with my driver and bodyguard. We were up high on a mountain road and stopped because of some construction work. There were no cars ahead of me or behind me. Two women in full burqa knocked on the driver’s door. He rolled it down and they said something. The driver responded and rolled up the window. I looked at his face and saw that he was flushing a bright red, as if from embarrassment. I asked him what the women wanted and he replied that they had wanted a ride down the mountain but he told them that he did not have permission. I asked him if it was safe and he said, “Yes, we do it all the time in the mountains.” I said, “You mean, strange women walk up to strange men in unknown cars and ask for rides?” Both men said, “Yes, of course, it is difficult for the poor women to go up and down the mountains by foot”.

Much to the driver’s relief, I asked him to give the women a ride. They sat silently next to me, and got off quietly with a murmured “thank you” at the foot of the mountain. When I think of the number of times I’ve stood in freezing temperatures waiting for a bus, and people in cars whizzing by without stopping or the possibility of knocking on a strange window asking for a ride not even occurring in my fantasy, I have to wonder who really has a firmer grip on being civilized?

Why is the pace of reconstruction in Afghanistan slow?

It is important to understand that when the destruction of a country is so complete, improvements will be at glacial speed. Over a period of 30 years, hospitals, schools, universities, irrigation systems, farmlands, parks, entertainment centers, museums, art galleries, libraries, and more have been destroyed. Systems that make up civil society and run things: education of children, fire and water departments, communication, garbage

clearance, banking; all severely damaged. Over two million people are dead. One out of five Afghans has left the country. Thirty percent of households are headed by unskilled women or boys under the age of 15. The remaining population includes a high percentage of people with severe physical disabilities, and 70 percent of the people live on less than a dollar a day.

But all of this destruction pales in comparison to the horror when the person we are depending upon to rebuild the country is a shattered human being, a shadow of what was once the legendary proud Afghan. This is where hope starts to falter and fear sets in, when aid workers like me begin to realize that the fundamental instrument needed for a successful reconstruction - an adult Afghan that can think critically, exercise leadership, effectively solve problems, negotiate, manage etc. - is badly, even severely damaged.

What does this mean? I will focus on three qualities that are difficult to find in large quantities in Afghanistan. First is a person's ability to believe in and plan for the future. Sarah Chayes, author of the book The Punishment of Virtue, says that Afghanistan has become a nation of citizens suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD. It is all in the "now", as if the mind is unwilling to believe that peace might finally come.

Trust represents the second quality sorely lacking in Afghanistan. A culture known for its legendary loyalty to each other that comes from centuries of tribal structures and blood marriages has broken down completely. A friend of mine calls his country "a nation of agents". He tells me that the last 30 years has seen the Russian invasion, followed by civil war, the Taliban and now, international troops. Men have been and continue to be rewarded for "telling on each other" for so long that brother no longer trusts his own brother.

The third quality lacking in today's Afghanistan is critical thinking. These are the set of skills that allow us to solve problems, assess risk, negotiate, create effective presentations, and write a proposal - skills that are critical to speedy and successful reconstruction. As another friend said: "It takes six months to build a house, and six seconds to destroy it." Afghanistan has experienced 30 years of six seconds. I will leave it to you to do the math.

People will blame corruption, not enough aid, lack of security - the list goes on. However, all of these obstacles can be navigated if enough skilled and emotionally whole human beings reside in a nation. In the US, we have seen that those areas with sound "human resources" can jump back on their feet quickly after experiencing complete devastation cased by tornadoes, floods, droughts, etc.

The question then that begs to be asked is: how do we move forward? How do we get to the point where we focus less on humanitarian and more on reconstruction? I believe the answer lies in the belief that Afghans do have the skills, and that we can develop more effective partners in the reconstruction effort by acknowledging the skills Afghans do have, understanding and respecting their culture, and working within these contexts to help Afghans help themselves.

We must acknowledge that Afghans have the potential to be good leaders and problem solvers. Most Afghans older than 35 have exhibited strong leadership and problem-solving skills while moving their families over and over again to escape war, seeking refuge in a camp, then either moving back to Afghanistan or seeking asylum in a foreign land. Not surprisingly, these same skills developed in crisis tend to lose all translation in the work environment. Our challenge is to create an environment of trust and encouragement, enabling Afghans to exercise good judgment without feeling threatened by "internationals".

We must believe that, just as we would address "at risk neighborhoods" by balancing security with opportunities, the same applies in Afghanistan. We cannot delay reconstruction in the country's most troubled regions until every aspect of security risk is addressed. Since the adults are so badly scarred, we need to invest heavily in the children. No doubt, the children are the future leaders of Afghanistan. The three sectors that need to be nurtured heavily are: primary, secondary and higher education for boys and girls. This effort includes building schools; training teachers; introducing modern curricula in science, math and English; and providing adequate supplies of books, stationary and laboratories.

Another sector needing immediate attention is agriculture. Afghans are skilled farmers. Thirty years ago, the country was self-sufficient in food, even exporting excess supply. Now, Afghans lack the technology to reclaim the land devastated by proliferation of landmines and chemical warfare. Finally, Afghans need opportunities for people with low levels of modern skills. This sector includes vocational training, construction-related jobs, loans for small businesses, and creation of businesses and markets for women to operate out of their own homes.

Admittedly, establishing security remains critical. However, revitalization of the sectors mentioned above cannot represent a mere fraction of the effort being spent on security. No one, not even the greatest of world military powers, has been able to conquer the people of Afghanistan. With help to get back on their own feet, Afghans can look after themselves and rebuild the lives they have lost over the past three decades.

So how should we go about this revitalization effort? Aside from sharing money and international expertise, we internationals must not fail to operate within the Afghan cultural context. Otherwise, the reconstruction effort will fail. This reality requires us to dig deep into ourselves and find a never drying well of love, compassion, patience, genuine respect, and a belief that we can learn as much from them as we teach.

Afghans are extraordinarily hospitable and friendly. One never needs to call before visiting, and you can always count on tea, cookies and other goodies. Guests are honored in a way that leaves most people speechless. Questions that are considered personal to us are routine to them: What does your father do? Are you married? How many children? How many siblings? All of these questions can come up in the first half hour of a conversation. We need to maintain this behavior. We need to make the effort to know personal details about the Afghans we work with.

Afghans are frighteningly generous. Hardly a minute lapses between the completion of a scarf and the gifting of the finished product to another. Children share a bag of cookies as easily as we count one, two, three. We need to make an effort to exhibit that kind of generosity. It is routine and normal in their culture. For example, we cannot come into a meeting room with a bag of chips and start eating because we missed lunch. Afghans are horrified by this behavior! They would rather starve than not share their own bag of chips.

Afghans are very hard-working and quick studies. We should give Afghans the opportunity to do a job while we exhibit the patience to overcome hurdles of language, lack of computer skills, etc. Let us walk that journey with them to understand the level of difficulty, and use the experience as an opportunity to build mutual trust and respect.

Afghans are family-oriented. I do not anticipate the need to teach a class on work-life balance! Instead of looking down at Afghans for leaving work promptly at 4:30pm, et us learn from them how to honor the importance of family in our lives.

Finally, let us remember that we are guests. We are here because we want to help but we are being paid very well. let us not cop an attitude.In a culture that values hospitality to the point where a fther killed his own son for dishonoring a guest, we should behave as good guets. We can then become friends, developing into a great team that works together in the reconstruction ieffort.

I believe that if we do this, all of those hidden skills, lost confidence and self-esteem will come roaring back. I have seen this happen as I have worked ith enightened and seasoned internationals experienced in working in conflict zones. I hope you can come to Afghansitan to learn for yourself, and bringback with you a compelling and altnerative vision for how to lead the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan.

Response to "Taliban Poised at the gates of Kabul"

The article “Taliban poised at the gates of Kabul” is a typical example of irresponsible journalism – the kind of voyeuristic, fear-mongering, hope-crushing, let’s-give-up-on-Afghanistan-pandering journalism that we can expect from Rush Limbaugh, but elicits a response of deep disappointment when headlined on CNN.

I’ve been living in Afghanistan now for seven months, and this is my fourth visit to the country as a civilian. By the way, I am a woman. In this time, I’ve seen Kabul transformed from a city where every third building was damaged to a city with booming construction, a thriving retail business, increasing numbers of girls and women participating in life outside of their homes, a choice of seventeen channels on television, and a thriving banking industry. Afghans here get 6% interest on their deposits, something that we Americans can stand to be desperately jealous of.

An exhibit for briquettes (an alternative to wood) at the Kabul Agriculture Fair, 2008

Yes, there are security issues – serious ones. However, the tone of this article is one that gives insight to the saying, “a little knowledge is dangerous”. Reading this article would have my family and friends cringe with terror about my safety. However, the reality is, even with this current situation, the streets of Kabul are safer than those of Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Detroit etc. I challenge the author to compare the percentage of deaths caused through violence in Kabul vs. any of the cities above.

Yes, with the current population crush in Kabul, it would be easy for the Taliban to attack anywhere, anytime. Then – why don’t they? Could it be that they are increasingly finding it difficult to recruit? Could it be that the Afghan intelligence system is getting better? Is it possible that there are more patriotic Afghan police than corrupt? Has the author taken the responsibility to do a minor survey of ordinary citizens here to find out the overwhelming lack of support for the Taliban? Or has she convinced herself of abject terror – the same kind she is trying to convince the readers of.

To call Kabul as “one of the last bastions of security in Afghanistan” is a downright lie. There are no other words for it. A deeply dangerous and thoughtless lie. Has the author traveled to Bamiyan, Takhar, Daikundi, Mazar, Nangahar, Balkh, Panjsher, Herat and other provinces in Afghanistan? When I read the line out to several Afghans here, they just started laughing at the unbelievable level of ignorance.
Men and women gathering to see a play written by
women for women at an outdoor theater in Kabul

The author goes on to say after lamenting about the low wages of Afghan police and the resulting corruption, “Still, coalition forces have no choice but to keep rooting for Kabul's cops” Actually, the coalition forces can do something. If making Afghanistan secure is so important to the coalition, the high command could insist and make a serious and public recommendation that aid money be used to supplement the wages of the Afghan police and security forces. They could, on national television and in congressional hearings, say that increasing the pay of the Afghan police and army is an integral part of the strategy to improve national security.

But of course that brings me to my final question: If our press does not write about the horror that is Afghanistan instead of real and transformational solutions, how could we keep feeding the insatiable hunger of our military industrial complex?


The proud owner of the prize winning goat at the Kabul Ag Fair