Welcome to The Kettle!

Primarily, "The Kettle" publicizes and manages the "Three Cups of Tea Book Project." However, as described in our very first post (click here), we also hope to use "The Kettle" as a medium for individuals interested in social issues to become more aware of the lives of those less fortunate. Ideally, whatever we write or publish here will take that nascent concern and transform it into action. To inspire any action, small or large, in the genuine interest of doing better for the world is our ultimate goal.

Though heavily slanted towards Pakistan and Afghanistan presently, we do try to include news, opinions, and reference materials regarding diverse topics, including poverty, reconstruction, human rights, Africa, "Green" developments, Micro Finance, and other solutions and considerations for what are essentially man made problems in the world. In the universe of charitable options, we endorse and support multigenerational solutions and initiatives for multigenerational problems.

The education made possible by the Central Asia Institute is one such solution, but there are certainly others. We encourage the commitment of resources and people that goes beyond merely "patriarchal" handouts to the multitude of people in need. We agree that it is good to charitable, but charity that only treats the symptoms and not the root causes has proven to be insufficient. A consistent commitment to work with the local communities of people in need to provide and/or improve education, nutrition, access to capital, human rights, security, sustainable development/redevelopment, and environmental stewardship are what will lead to an enduring improvement in people's lives.

If you have any questions, general comments, and suggestions for improvements, please leave a comment on any of the posts below, and we'll follow up with you!

The Kettle's shared items

Sunday, May 10, 2009

www.apakistannews.com: President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the United States to provide drone technology






"WASHINGTON: President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the United States to provide drone technology and other necessary equipment to help Pakistan fight terrorists more effectively and rejected the notion of American personnel joining the anti-terror fight on the Pakistani soil."

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Not sure the U.S. should be giving Pakistan drone technology...but some encouraging mention of building a solid peace with India. As for President Asif Ali Zardari, some believe he was (maybe is) corrupt, having stolen from Pakistan. (He's currently a billionaire...and has been accused of stealing $1.5 billion from Pakistan). Maybe the accusations of murder and corruption were drummed up by his adversaries? Who knows anymore!? One thing I'm learning about Pakistan...It's very complicated, and unless you were there, it's hard to tell who's telling the truth.

As for the drone technology, you can't deny that they inflict considerable damage to the enemy...and is probably the only weapon Taliban and Al Qaeda fear, but these same weapons have killed scores of civilians during the current conflict, and those deaths will continue to feed the violence around the world and breed distrust and ill-feeling between the U.S. and the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Seeing as how the U.S. can't even use these weapons without managing to injure their own cause, I shudder to think what the spread of this technology would mean for the world. The U.S. once almost killed Hamid Karzai with a misdirected bomb...He lived, but 20 of his loyal tribesmen died, as did 3 U.S. Special Forces soldiers. I've also read accounts of how some Northern Alliance commanders had disingenuously directed Americans to use drones to bomb non-Taliban/non Al Qaeda targets when the Afghanistan "invasion" was taking place. War is bad enough...perhaps it's even worse when you can't even really see the person you're about to obliterate. We all look kinda alike from thousands of feet in the air...

-- The Kettle Rumbles
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1 comment:

  1. The KettleJune 9, 2009 at 4:31 PM

    Follow up article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/world/asia/03military.html

    Speaks of the U.S. Army admitting mistakes with using bombing raids that killed 140 civilians in Afghanistan.

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