Sep 01 2009
Will A New Strategy Be Effective In Afghanistan - The Hope Is, It Will Be
With allegations of fraud increasing in Afghanistan regarding the recent election, this picture of Lal Mohammad, which was in an article I read this morning on MSNBC, who claims his nose and ears were cut off by the Taliban, is a disturbing example of the viciousness with which the Taliban operates.
According to the article, Mohammad states he was on his way to the polling station to place his vote when he was stopped by the Taliban who searched him, found his voter registration card, cut his nose and ears and then beat him unconscious with a weapon. Many women in Afghanistan chose not to take a chance and turnout was limited by the threats made by the Taliban.
The death toll for U.S. troops in the month of August places August as the deadliest month, so far, in the 8-year battle with a total of 48 lives lost which breaks the previous record set in July of this year with 45 Americans dead.
General McChrystal has submitted his evaluation of the efforts in Afghanistan and states “The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable.” He goes on to say that the strategy needs revision.
On Monday, suspected Taliban militants set fire to 18 container trucks, on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, carrying supplies for Western forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Also on Monday, vote tallies showed President Hamid Karzai was holding a strong lead over the top challenger Abdullah Abdullah. If he indeed wins the election then nothing will have changed, as had been hoped for by the United States.
I sincerely hope that the results of the election are not being relied on heavily by the United States as a move in a different direction because I fear that like the election in Iran, the outcome has been pre-determined and the vote was just a pretense in the name of Democracy. Time will tell who the true “victor” is and whether the attitudes change in terms of dialogue and support.
However, when it comes to dialogue, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says American messages to counter information coming from extremists abroad lack credibility. He goes on to say that “we need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate.”
Mullen believes Americans are viewed as an “arrogant oppressor” something I have to agree with. Can that label be diminished as long as we are in their lands, killing their people, is something that remains to be seen.
Mullen seems to feel that “only through a shared appreciation of the Muslim’s culture, needs and hopes for the future can we hope ourselves to supersede the extremist narrative.” In this, he feels that communications is the key, backed by actions confirming the communications.
While this is a very feasible concept, for I believe in communication, but only when ears and eyes are opened, I pray that somewhere in Afghanistan, Pakistan as well as neighboring countries, that there are indeed eyes to see and ears to hear the true intentions of interlopers known as NATO forces.
More to the point is that the intentions of the interlopers are genuine and sincere, for this is the only way that communications will be effective.
And that’s the way I see it!!!
the best way to deal with Afghanistan is to work with the farmers who cultivate the poppies and use their produce to the pharmaceutical industry. If you try to take away the farmer’s source of income, the US will be defeated.