Improving the Situation in Afghanistan
Michelle Malsbury, BSBM, MM
October 26, 2009
President Obama has been seeking advice and weighing his options in Afghanistan as the people in America have shown waning interest in continuing the war efforts there. General McCrystal wants more troops to effectuate his mission, but has anyone bothered to ask what the people of Afghanistan want?
I´ve met recently some friends from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Israel. We´ve been discussing the situation there with regard to the elections and other terror situations on the ground while seeking viable alternatives to the proposal made by General McCrystal. These people tell me that the news does not depict the true picture of the situation in Afghanistan and their hopes for me writing about this is to present the truth unvarnished by politics or religion.
For instance, the terrorists who are now in Afghanistan get support from both, Iran and Pakistan, as well as other international sources that help to provide these terrorists with valuable assets for training and recruitment. The recent fouled election involved many more factors than we learn about from the media. Apparently President Karzai has support from many warlords known and unknown. Conversely Abdullah Abdullah is a member of a terror faction that leveled Kabul during their civil war and they are not well liked by the Afghan population. The current government is entirely corrupt and the people of Afghanistan are looking to America to make the necessary changes there. What can be done to alleviate this situation and bring safety and security back to this war torn region?
The following items are a collection of what these people in that region feel is best for Afghanistan:
Pakistan needs to be pressured by the international community to stop supporting terrorists. We have heard in the news that Pakistan has made inroads against terrorism, but these sources tell me that is not so. There are two splinter groups that create the Taliban. One is hostile to the Pakistani army and Pakistan does fight them off with regularity. The second one exists only within Afghanistan and they target the USA, Europe, India, and Afghanistan. Their training camps are located across Pakistan and according to the Pakistani army and Pakistan intelligence this group is considered a "strategic asset." They work together. This practice has got to stop! Pakistan must stand with America and the international community against terror!
American and international leadership should work to strengthen and train the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police instead of adding more troops. The purpose of such would be to create employment opportunities where none currently exist and provide the Afghan´s with the tools and skills necessary to perform anti-terrorist operations themselves. These local people know the terrain within Afghanistan better than anyone else possibly could. Doing so would save American lives and improve things on the ground for the people of Afghanistan by helping them to stand alone and present a united front against terror.
The corrupt government in all provinces across Afghanistan helps to recruit personnel for the Taliban because nothing ever gets better. Reconstruction efforts are thwarted by these corrupt officials who get huge amounts of money to turn the other way. The Afghan people are disillusioned and losing hope that reconstruction will ever take place. Therefore, measures must be in place to quell this corruption and provide a sense of honesty, transparency, and truthfulness to the people in Afghanistan that they lead/govern. Reconstruction must become a reality!
America and the international community could do more if they discontinued support for the warlords and began to disarm them. Each warlord is well armed and has their own army so they can do as they please. The atrocities these people promote range from killing or maiming to rape. Most of them secretly or overtly support the terrorists and help to further their causes. Stopping this progression would provide a modicum of goodwill, and a sense of safety and security, for the Afghan people from the international community.
The people of Afghanistan have been living with the constant fear from the warlords, their armies, and the Taliban. They fear that each day may be their last. Those who speak out or write against these practices are threatened, silenced, or killed. This has got to stop!
Please do your part to pressure the leadership in the United States and the other international community leaders to change their approaches to Afghanistan. Write or call your local and state legislators. Please ask them to provide these people in Afghanistan with a government that is without corruption and in tune with the wants and needs of their people. Help them to rebuild and move ahead in a peaceful and safe environment where they can contribute to, and be a part of, the global economic community.
I´ve met recently some friends from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Israel. We´ve been discussing the situation there with regard to the elections and other terror situations on the ground while seeking viable alternatives to the proposal made by General McCrystal. These people tell me that the news does not depict the true picture of the situation in Afghanistan and their hopes for me writing about this is to present the truth unvarnished by politics or religion.
For instance, the terrorists who are now in Afghanistan get support from both, Iran and Pakistan, as well as other international sources that help to provide these terrorists with valuable assets for training and recruitment. The recent fouled election involved many more factors than we learn about from the media. Apparently President Karzai has support from many warlords known and unknown. Conversely Abdullah Abdullah is a member of a terror faction that leveled Kabul during their civil war and they are not well liked by the Afghan population. The current government is entirely corrupt and the people of Afghanistan are looking to America to make the necessary changes there. What can be done to alleviate this situation and bring safety and security back to this war torn region?
The following items are a collection of what these people in that region feel is best for Afghanistan:
Pakistan needs to be pressured by the international community to stop supporting terrorists. We have heard in the news that Pakistan has made inroads against terrorism, but these sources tell me that is not so. There are two splinter groups that create the Taliban. One is hostile to the Pakistani army and Pakistan does fight them off with regularity. The second one exists only within Afghanistan and they target the USA, Europe, India, and Afghanistan. Their training camps are located across Pakistan and according to the Pakistani army and Pakistan intelligence this group is considered a "strategic asset." They work together. This practice has got to stop! Pakistan must stand with America and the international community against terror!
American and international leadership should work to strengthen and train the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police instead of adding more troops. The purpose of such would be to create employment opportunities where none currently exist and provide the Afghan´s with the tools and skills necessary to perform anti-terrorist operations themselves. These local people know the terrain within Afghanistan better than anyone else possibly could. Doing so would save American lives and improve things on the ground for the people of Afghanistan by helping them to stand alone and present a united front against terror.
The corrupt government in all provinces across Afghanistan helps to recruit personnel for the Taliban because nothing ever gets better. Reconstruction efforts are thwarted by these corrupt officials who get huge amounts of money to turn the other way. The Afghan people are disillusioned and losing hope that reconstruction will ever take place. Therefore, measures must be in place to quell this corruption and provide a sense of honesty, transparency, and truthfulness to the people in Afghanistan that they lead/govern. Reconstruction must become a reality!
America and the international community could do more if they discontinued support for the warlords and began to disarm them. Each warlord is well armed and has their own army so they can do as they please. The atrocities these people promote range from killing or maiming to rape. Most of them secretly or overtly support the terrorists and help to further their causes. Stopping this progression would provide a modicum of goodwill, and a sense of safety and security, for the Afghan people from the international community.
The people of Afghanistan have been living with the constant fear from the warlords, their armies, and the Taliban. They fear that each day may be their last. Those who speak out or write against these practices are threatened, silenced, or killed. This has got to stop!
Please do your part to pressure the leadership in the United States and the other international community leaders to change their approaches to Afghanistan. Write or call your local and state legislators. Please ask them to provide these people in Afghanistan with a government that is without corruption and in tune with the wants and needs of their people. Help them to rebuild and move ahead in a peaceful and safe environment where they can contribute to, and be a part of, the global economic community.
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