Military documents reflect deep suspicions among U.S. officials that Pakistan’s spy service has for years guided the Afghan insurgency with a hidden hand.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26isi.html
-- The Kettle Rumbles
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
NY Times: Pakistan (Intelligence Service) Aids Insurgency in Afghanistan, Reports Assert
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26isi.html
-- The Kettle Rumbles
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Thoughts on Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson
I just finished reading "Stones into Schools," the follow up book to "Three Cups of Tea," and I highly recommend it to anyone who has read "The Cups of Tea" by David Orlin and Greg Mortenson. Relative to "Three Cups of Tea," "Stones into Schools" takes on a more personal and gripping tone, as Greg Mortenson himself picks up the pen and continues the story from where "Three Cups of Tea" ended. In "Stones into Schools," the reader gets a glimpse of the many, at times ridiculous, challenges faced by the CAI and Greg Mortenson in growing their operations in Afghanistan while fundraising in the United States (and elsewhere) and continuing their mission in Pakistan. The stories recounted in the book really show how the Central Asia Institute is not your run of the mill NGO. Rather, the CAI shines in providing a vital service to the people at "the end of the road," where not even the local federal governments venture, let alone foreign NGO's.
That said, the book is only partly about the CAI and Greg Mortenson. Always inclined to focus the attention on others, rather than himself, Greg Mortenson spends much of the book detailing stories of admirable determination and sacrifice demonstrated by his motley staff of local Pakistanis and Afghans. There were several moments when reading this book that I found myself truly touched and inspired by the valor and nobility of these men, who Greg Mortenson affectionately refers to as the "Dirty Dozen." At the very least, anyone who reads the book, should gain some perspective and inspiration for dealing with the challenges in his or her life.
A big criticism of the CAI, which was explicitly highlighted in "Three Cups of Tea," was that without Greg Mortenson, everything the CAI has done would unravel. However, after reading "Stones into School," one is left with the distinct impression that it is now the local Afghan and Pakistani administrators and directors of CAI who are making the greatest contributions to the mission of female literacy. Despite Mr. Mortenson having to spend the majority of his time these days raising money and awareness in the United States for CAI's mission, the CAI has managed to push forward. The CAI has built and currently support over 130 schools in the region. They achieved this success despite unforgiving climates and terrain, limited resources and infrastructure, a complicated political landscape, natural disasters, federal corruption and bureaucracy, Taliban reprisals, pervasive drug trafficking, and widely publicized civilian deaths from U.S./NATO military attacks.
Perhaps the greatest personal appeal of Greg Mortenson, and why I think "Three Cups of Tea" has been so successful, is his fundamentally human imperfection. Far from trying to justify everything he is doing, Mr. Mortenson candidly expresses his doubts, guilt, and physical inabilities. He spends some time questioning whether he has lost some level of commitment to the communities he has helped by now spending most of his time in the West. Then again, who is perfect? Who doesn't have doubts? This is reality. This magnetic appeal extends to many characters in the book. The title of the book, "Stones into Schools," is coined from a speech made by a former mujahideen commander who has spent the majority of his life in vicious combat, and who has probably had to be complicit in opium trafficking in order to provide and protect his community. The story of the CAI and the people of the region is not a fictional novel or fairy tale about uncompromising superhumans moving mountains with sheer force of will. Rather, it is about ordinary, flawed people who have to pick up each stone one by one in order to build a better future. It is fitting that Mr. Mortenson describes the "Dirty Dozen" as "underqualified overachievers," because to me, that description would fit him as well. It only seems natural that he would find some kindred spirits during his noble campaign in Central Asia.
Finally, as someone in America who will probably never have the courage and stamina to do the good work that the CAI does in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I feel that the least I can do is give some financial support for a mission that ultimately benefits us all. Despite all the problems in this world, I become hopeful and thankful when I see people like Greg Mortenson and his staff and organizations like the CAI. In summary, I highly recommend this book. It is essentially a story of regular people doing what they can, which in combination amounts to a great sea of change in the middle of what had been a barren dessert.
-- The Kettle Rumbles
PS. You can buy the book here: http://www.stonesintoschools.com/ and a portion of the proceeds will go directly to supporting the CAI's work.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
NYTimes: More Schools, Not Troops
A compelling argument against more troops in Afghanistan rests on this trade-off: For the cost of an additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for a year, nearly 20 schools could be built. [More]
Excerpt:
Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea,” has now built 39 schools in Afghanistan and 92 in Pakistan — and not one has been burned down or closed. The aid organization CARE has 295 schools educating 50,000 girls in Afghanistan, and not a single one has been closed or burned by the Taliban. The Afghan Institute of Learning, another aid group, has 32 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with none closed by the Taliban (although local communities have temporarily suspended three for security reasons).
-- The Kettle Rumbles
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
FEER: The Art of Afghan Alliance Building | Foreign Affairs
The Art of Afghan Alliance Building | Foreign Affairs
-- The Kettle Rumbles
Summary --
As the United States and its NATO allies slog on in Afghanistan, it is Washington's mismanagement of local alliances that has proved to be the undoing of its strategy in the country. [MORE]
-- The Kettle Rumbles
NY Times: Remembering Afghanistan’s Golden Age
From the 1930s to the 1970s, Afghanistan had a semblance of a national government and Kabul was known as “the Paris of Central Asia.” [MORE]
-- The Kettle Rumbles
Thursday, September 24, 2009
NY Times: Real Men Tax Gas
Real Men Tax Gas
There is something wrong when our country is considering sending more troops to Afghanistan, but can’t even talk about a gasoline tax to reduce our dependency on oil. [More]
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The man has a point. Who are really the "cheese eating surrender monkeys" if the country is willing to send young people to fight (and die) in Afghanistan, but won't tax oil to fund the deficit and promote energy independence?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
NYTimes: To Save Afghanistan, Look to Its Past
Any one of the crises Afghanistan faces would justify convening a loya jirga, or grand assembly. But the most compelling reason for doing so is to select a president. [More]
-- The Kettle Rumbles
Sunday, August 23, 2009
NYTimes: A School Bus for Shamsia
A writer returned to Afghanistan to buy a bus for Afghan girls who were attacked on their walk to school. But it turns out giving isn’t always easy. [More]
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
NYTimes: Central Asia Sounds Alarm on Islamic Radicalism
Officials in the region fear that homegrown militants may be moving north to take on the area’s brittle governments. [MORE]
-- The Kettle Rumbles
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
NYTimes: In War and Isolation, a Fighter for Afghan Women
Pashtoon Azfar, director of Afghanistan’s Institute of Health Sciences and president of the midwives association, is bringing attention to maternal deaths. [MORE]
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Her mother delivered her own 10 children by herself! Wow. The article demonstrates the damage Afghan society has endured at the hands the Taliban, but I am sure the civil war and Soviet invasion before then didn't help either.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
NY Times: Teacher, Can We Leave Now? No.
Watching the delight in the faces of Afghan girls crowded into a school waiting to learn put a new perspective on the war. [MORE]
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Thomas Friedman writes about his thoughts after being at one of the Central Asai Institute's schools in Afghanistan. The impression he got was enough to give him hope that perhaps not everything that has happened in Afghanistan is bad and that perhaps the world can't just leave and abandon the region (again).
Monday, July 6, 2009
NYTimes: Running Out of Options, Afghans Pay for an Exit
Running Out of Options, Afghans Pay for an Exit
Young Afghans are abandoning their country, frustrated by endless war, a lack of prospects and the slow pace of change. [MORE]
Sunday, June 7, 2009
ARGHAND
If you've ever wondered how you can help in a sustainable way in Afghanistan, without risking your life in Kandahar...
Check out the good works of Arghand.
They make soaps from fruit oils to give farmers an alternative to growing poppy. The founder is Sarah Chayes, author of "The Punishment of Virtue," former NPR correspondent, current Kandahar resident, and all around awesome person.
Their list of retail partners can be found here: http://www.arghand.org/retails_usa.htm
Monday, May 25, 2009
NY Times: U.S. Captain Hears Pleas for Afghan Detainee
An American officer, who in civilian life is a policeman, helped find a lawyer for a man held as a suspected Taliban leader.
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Captain Black should be commended for putting in the extra effort to listen to locals in Afghanistan. Instead, he is investigated by the military and told to stop speaking about the case. The war for the hearts and minds of people in Afghanistan is already lost if we can't act by the same principles this country was founded on. Does the basic human right of habeas corpus not apply to non-Americans? How about non-Westerners? Fear does not excuse tyranny.
Conditions are hard and good information and records are hard to come by in Afghanistan. So, I don't blame the U.S. Military for making mistakes. Mistakes by themselves won't lead to ruin...but a failure to learn from them and do better certainly will.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Associated Press: Third Afghan Girls’ School Experiences Sudden Illness
At least 98 people from an Afghan girls school were admitted to a hospital Tuesday for headaches and vomiting in the third such episode in three weeks.
Excerpt: "MUHMUD RAQI, Afghanistan (AP) — At least 98 people from an Afghan girls’ school were admitted to a hospital on Tuesday for headaches and vomiting in the third such episode in three weeks, officials and doctors said."
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I really, really hope that these girls aren't being poisoned. It's awful that people who insist that girls shouldn't be educated resort to throwing acid in their face, blinding and disfiguring them for life. In "Three Cups of Tea," Greg Mortenson speaks of how he got official recognition from the Shia High Council (forgive me if I am messing up the proper title for this council) that his work with educating girls was noble and is in keeping with the Koran. I truly admire the courage of these organizations, teachers, builders, parents, and students. They are risking their lives and well being to educate young women and improve their future.
Monday, May 4, 2009
NY Times: Porous Border With Pakistan Could Hinder U.S. Troops
"Afghan militants are able to cross the border with ease, according to interviews with a logistics tactician for the Taliban."
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