We can't "Get Afghanistan Right" until we mount political pressure to change our approach. We need to be lobbyists, hence, this little warm up exercise.
Now its as easy as 1, 2, 3: Copy, Email, Send!
Please, write your representatives (and the President) and campaign for peace! I've made it easier with this letter I humbly offer. While you're at it, educate yourself. If you hit the books, you'll actually know what you are talking about before you speak! wink Afghanistan and Iraq have very different histories, and the two wars are quite disimiliar. You can follow up by taking the same action I am asking the representatives for: read up! Sarah Chayes, Greg Mortensen, Malalai Joya --people who live in Afghanistan and know it first hand -- are your best sources. THANK YOU to those care enough to act!
A THOUSAND THANK YOUs ("Ta-shakur Azar-daffa") to those who've gone above and beyond for Afghanistan, making the lives of those in turmoil a little brighter, and risking your own.
~
Imzaa
TO: Representative/Senator/President (Name)
FROM: Constituent from (City, State)
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, FOREIGN AID, WORLD PEACE.
ACTION REQUEST: Please read the works of Sarah Chayes, Greg Mortensen, Malalai Joya --people who live in Afghanistan and know it first hand – before deciding how to move forward with AFGHANISTAN WAR operations.
Dear President Obama:
WEAPONS DO NOT WIN PEACE
The United States has a moral obligation to aid the most destitute nations on Earth, among them, Afghanistan. We are currently fighting a war in this country, but war does not solve problems. What the United States needs to do is to take a "Three Cups of Tea" goodwill approach -- sending doctors, nurses, and irrigation and potable water system engineers to help the Afghans restore their own country.
While sending troops is an important step in protecting US civilians and Afghanistan’s people from extremists, sending troops without aid and education does nothing to end the perpetual war Afghanistan has seen since 1979. Surely world peace would be better served with leadership in hunger relief, education, medicine than with weaponry. Once the Afghans are given fresh seeds of civilized society, these independent, determined, and resourceful people will mend their country themselves, but they need the help of the United States to get started on a path to peace.
LISTEN TO THE LOCALS
In 2001 the U.S. freed Afghanistan of the Taliban and reintroduced democracy, but sadly, the United States also mistakenly and unknowingly appointed/backed local organized crime and militant leaders to parliament positions and governerships. This situation has been to the detriment of the civilian population--the people in positions of stewardship and governance should be protecting the citizen, but instead, they are exploiting the people of Afghanistan. Please look into the speeches of Malalai Joya, the brave and esteemed Afghan female parliamentarian, and the books of the wise and courageous American journalist Sarah Chayes for reports on what the citizenry have been suffering under some of the current governors and officials. You will see that indeed, it is a time for change.
GETTING IT (MORALLY) RIGHT
Not only do the people of Afghanistan deserve our sympathy and a helping hand as a people in need-—the moral duty of a blessed and privileged nation such as ours—-but the people of Afghanistan have suffered for decades in part because of their allegiance to the United States. It was not a "cold" war for the Afghans – in fighting the Soviet forces, the homeland of the Afghans became a defacto battleground for America and the USSR. In the process, it destroyed 99% of what was a peaceful, moderate, open Muslim society, sending Afghanistan plunging into the darkness of a Taliban-run theocracy. Much of Afghanistan has been turned into ruins and rubble because international forces (including those of the Pakistani military and secret service) have been wrecking havoc on the population since 1979 for their own benefits.
Afghanistan was once an open, moderate country, more like modern Turkey than like modern Iran. Afghanistan today presents you an opportunity to do the right thing and cease the perpetuation of suffering and violence. We need to secure the future of America by doing the right thing--by giving Afghanistan's common people a little hope. They are resilient people, but they need us desperately right now.
Respectfully,
(Name)
(Title)
Constituent from (City, State)