Moving forward on Afghanistan

Watching news coverage on television of the war in Afghanistan, it's hard to get a sense of what progress, if any, is being achieved by Western military forces. We see scenes of soldiers on foot patrol and occasionally interaction between them and local people. Sometimes, we see the aftermath of an improvised explosive device. There have been many civilian casualties. Overall, the military objective of stabilizing the country by ensuring security and winning "the hearts and minds" of the population appears a nearly impossible task. The country is vast and underdeveloped; the local security forces, police and army, too small, susceptible to pressure and corruption; the divisions between tribes, interests and loyalties very hard to overcome.

While safety has been improved in some cities and other areas, it has come at a great cost, in terms of financial resources and human life. Efforts to create national infrastructure have been hampered by corruption, betrayals and the insurgency.

The war in Afghanistan is being played out against a backdrop of high-risk geo-political tension: perceived global threats from fundamentalist religious regimes; the lure and traps of oil revenues; the strategic positions of Western democracies, China and Russia, just to list several issues.

Increasingly, it appears the road to stability in Afghanistan may lie not so much in centralized democratic government, but rather in developing local leadership in the rural areas and assisting people in creating workable alternatives to Taliban rule. We may need to abandon notions of Western-style democracy in Afghanistan. Countries rarely achieve in a few short years what others have developed over hundreds.

Traditionally, people in Afghanistan respond to tribal leaders. Perhaps greater efforts can be directed towards protecting and encouraging these leaders. Moderate religious authority figures, likewise, could be assisted, so that they regain their former standing in their communities. They will also require complete protection from insurgents and their radical form of Islam. None of this will be easy.

Analysts argue that allowing Afghans to determine local solutions to local problems may be a more effective approach to securing the country from the Taliban threat. This will take patience and fortitude. But perhaps Western countries will be seen more as genuine partners than occupiers and invaders, as Taliban propaganda surely labels U.S. and NATO forces.

If such an approach yields results, we should see fewer troops on the ground.


Notes:
For more information on military options in Afghanistan, see Mitchell LaFortune's article in the New York Times. LaFortune served as an intelligence analyst with the 82nd Airborne Division in two tours of duty in the country.

See also Thomas L. Friedman's backgrounder on the global perspective on the war. It's a revealing behind-the-scenes op-ed piece entitled: The Great (Double) Game.

For a variety of comments on the situation, see Afghanistan and the Counterinsurgency War at PBS.org

Photo credit: United States Marine Corps, through Wikimedia Commons.

An incredible act of bravery

When I read the article in the Globe and Mail newspaper this morning, I was choked with emotion: school girls disfigured by an acid attack in Afghanistan have defied the men who targeted them and have returned to school. 

It's an incredible act of bravery that anyone who believes in fundamental human rights should applaud and shout from the rooftops.

Can you imagine?  These girls were walking to school with their teachers in November when a group of men on motorcycles picked them out and sprayed their faces with acid, apparently because the students had the temerity to want to improve themselves by seeking an education.

Now the girls, some with permanent scars and damaged vision, have returned to school. According to the Globe, most of the 1,300 students have gone back to class.  The headmaster, Mahmood Qadri, 54, apparently begged the families of the girls not to let the attackers have their way by giving up on their education.  The community listened; and acted. 

 

If your child had been attacked in this way, would she have the courage to do such a thing? Would you, as a parent, have the conviction to let her risk her life in this way?  This is simply amazing.
 
The actions of these girls and their teachers bring hope to Afghanistan and are a powerful symbol of the human spirit.  

I'm so moved that words cannot adequately express my feelings. Thank you, girls of Kandahar. 

Notes:

Read the Globe and Mail story here. 

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Kandahar lifeline

If there's anything that can fill a citizen's heart with pride, it's the unseen and unheralded work of the men and women in military hospitals in a war zone. As Canada prepares to receive the body of another soldier killed in Afghanistan, we are reminded of the role of medics in the field and the staff in remote hospitals.

The other night, I watched a riveting documentary about the Canadian Forces medical personnel and the work they perform in Role 3 Hospital in Kandahar. The hospital cares for Canadian soldiers, coalition troops, Afghan civilians and also Taleban prisoners.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation spent four weeks at the hospital and returned with a compelling portrait. The bare facts tell a story on their own: last year, Role 3 surgeons performed 900 surgeries. About 1,300 soldiers and civilians were treated at the hospital in 2007. 98% of the casualties treated there survived.

Some of the most challenging and difficult cases involve Afghan children wounded in bombings and the fighting. It's really a remarkable story.

The field hospital also has an adjacent walk-in clinic to handle community cases. The doctor in charge of primary care at the time the documentary was filmed was Major Sandra West. She also led the teams when trauma cases arrived from the fighting. Her age seems to be between 40 and 55. Formerly a senior doctor at an Ottawa military base, she went about her business in Kandahar with steely resolve and military efficiency. But she also seemed very compassionate. Gillian Findlay, the CBC reporter, asked her if she had children of her own. She said yes, she did. The conversation continued something like this:

"Are you like a mother to these soldiers?"

"Yes. Once a mom always a mom."

"What's it like when you lose one (of the patients)?"

A pause..."I think about their moms."

And then she turned away quickly because the tears were coming.

On the whole, the medical staff seemed sensible, kind and incredibly connected as a team. I sense that the Canadian experience is not unique. Every citizen of every country with forces represent in Afghanistan should get a look at the work of the medical personnel. This is the other side of war.

If you'd like to read more about the CBC documentary called "Life and Death in Kandahar," click here. The site has photographs, interviews and video.

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Illustration courtesy of http://www.wpclipart.com/

An inflexible, limited view of the world, life and death

The Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper has pieced together a riveting portrait of the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan through 42 videotaped interviews of militants in five different provinces. This dangerous assignment by the newspaper and its researchers provides valuable insight into what motivates the Taliban and what keeps them fighting.

The portrait that emerges, while not scientific, reveals men who are willing to die for primarily one main objective: removing non-Muslims from Afghanistan. The 42 fighters who were videotaped by the newspaper do not seem to have much knowledge of the Western world, even of the locations on the globe of some of the countries like Canada that are sending soldiers to Afghanistan. They seem to have very limited views of the world in general. Many receive funds from the cultivation of poppies and the drug trade. They provide pat answers to religious questions, giving the impression they blindly follow the teachings of certain religious leaders. They say suicide bombings are sanctioned by Islam. A few are fighting because they lost members of their families to NATO bombings. But mostly, they seem to have taken up arms to return a religious government to Kabul. They don't seem to have the international perspective of Al Qaeda-type organizations. Foreign fighters in their ranks appear to be a tiny fraction of their numbers. The people interviewed don't seem to care for much else other than the return of fundamentalist Islamic rule in Afghanistan.

The Globe's videotaped interviews will be a valuable tool for NATO commanders and politicians. They provide details that reveal much about the mindset of the front-line fighters facing Canadian troops in the Kandahar region. The interviews are perplexing and worrisome. Negotiation does not seem a short-term possibility. Even though large areas of the country are being restored and improved under the protective cover of European and North American soldiers, many of these fighters don't seem to care. They have no faith in the present government in Kabul.

The research project provides a lot of material for consideration and raises more questions for readers. One wonders: would the fighters be killing Afghan Muslims if their religious brothers were on the other side of the negotiating table?

The Globe and Mail will be publishing its special project in stages. Meanwhile, you can watch the interviews and read some of the work of Graeme Smith and his Afghan researchers at the paper's web site. See it here.