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Afghanistan, 6/1/09
Overview:
In October of 2001, the U.S. led a coalition invasion of Afghanistan seeking to oust the ruling Taliban and find Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden. Join Active Minds® for a look at the path Afghanistan has taken since then, including the establishment of a new government under the leadership of Hamid Karzai. We will also take a look forward at what the future holds for this war-torn country as U.S. troop presence there continues to increase.
Key Lecture Points:
• Afghanistan is scheduled to hold a Presidential Election in August 2009. The U.S. government announced in March 2009 that it would provide $40 million to underwrite the cost of the Afghanistan elections. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton stated that the U.S. has an interest in fair and legitimate elections but that the U.S. was not interested in turning Afghanistan into a Western-style democracy.
• The international conference on Afghanistan, held on March 31, 2009, brought together high-ranking officials from 72 countries and a dozen international organizations. Clinton said the Afghan problem cannot be solved without the engagement of all Afghanistan's neighbors. She said narcotics, violent extremism, economic stagnation, water management, electrification and irrigation are all regional challenges that require a regional solution.
• Notwithstanding its military defeat in 2001, the Taliban has regained military and political footing in Afghanistan in the past few months. Western analysts suggest that the resurgence of the Taliban is associated with the support that is coming from Pakistanis in the border region between the two countries. In May 2009, President Obama announced that General Stanley McChrystal would take over military command of US forces in Afghanistan as part of a broader regional counter-insurgency strategy.
• Some 70,000 international troops are operating in Afghanistan, 38,000 of them American. 62,000 of the troops operate under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the rest in a U.S-led coalition force. President Obama announced that the U.S. will send 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan this year.
• Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world's supply of opium worth an estimated $3 billion a year to the Afghan economy. Taliban insurgents make an estimated $100-200 million a year from taxing opium production and trafficking.
• Human rights continue to be a major issue in Afghanistan, not the least of which is the treatment of women. A new law passed in April 2009 makes it legal for men to rape their wives, human rights groups and some Afghan lawmakers said, accusing President Hamid Karzai of signing the legislation to bolster his re-election prospects. Critics worry the legislation undermines hard-won rights for women enacted after the fall of the Taliban's strict Islamist regime.
Exploration Questions:
• Who do you think was more destructive for Afghanistan as a whole, the occupation by the Soviets or the Taliban? Explain.
• In what way did the U.S. unwittingly strengthen the Taliban and Osama bin Laden by training and supporting insurgents during the Soviet occupation? What should the US do now to reduce the power of anti-western forces in the region?
Reflective Questions:
• When you think of Afghanistan, what do you picture? Is it people or places or things?
• What do you think the U.S. should do to help bring peace to Afghanistan?
More to Explore:
• Overview of Afghanistan: www.state.gov
• Timeline of Afghanistan history: http://news.bbc.co.uk
• U.S. intelligence paper on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: http://isd.georgetown.edu
Books For Further Reading:
• Coll, Steve. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. Penguin Books, 2005. 738 pages. The explosive first-hand account of America’s secret history in Afghanistan. Click here to order.
• Chayes, Sarah. The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban. Penguin Books, 2007. 396 pages. A NPR reporter, Chayes reveals the misguided U.S. policy in Afghanistan in the wake of the defeat of the Taliban, which has severely undermined the effort to build democracy and allowed corrupt tribal warlords back into positions of power and the Taliban to re-infiltrate the country. Click here to order.
• Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Riverhead Books, 2008. 432 pages. Fiction: With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival. Click here to order.
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