Must Read: Captured by the Taliban 10/31/2009
David Rohde, New York Times journalist, was held hostage for seven months by the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He lived to tell the tale. His story reads like a novel and offers rare insights into the most dangerous place in the world. The video is available here.
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Pakistan Policy 10/30/2009
Source: CFR.com
In the continuing dialogue between PBOM and Garrett, I’ll address Pakistan policy. I prefer the term “policy” to “strategy.” It makes a clear distinction between our strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan vs our efforts to work with Pakistan. Thankfully, America does not occupy Pakistan and does not control its security services. Pakistan is a sovereign nation and it behooves us to remember this.
With that in mind, my guiding principles for U.S. policy Pakistan are twofold: humility and a focus on popular opinion.
Humility in the sense that Pakistan, like every other country, only takes actions that are in its perceived self-interest. America’s influence and aid dollars only go so far- the rules of state behavior still apply.
A focus on Pakistani popular opinion is the second principle. In the long-term, generals and politicians need popular support to wage war. This is even more important when fighting a terrorist counter-insurgency. Terrorists are not fighting the army—they can never defeat an army in war. They are instead fighting against the will of the population to sacrifice their children and their money to the war effort.
Click "Read More" to Continue ---->
With that in mind, my guiding principles for U.S. policy Pakistan are twofold: humility and a focus on popular opinion.
Humility in the sense that Pakistan, like every other country, only takes actions that are in its perceived self-interest. America’s influence and aid dollars only go so far- the rules of state behavior still apply.
A focus on Pakistani popular opinion is the second principle. In the long-term, generals and politicians need popular support to wage war. This is even more important when fighting a terrorist counter-insurgency. Terrorists are not fighting the army—they can never defeat an army in war. They are instead fighting against the will of the population to sacrifice their children and their money to the war effort.
Click "Read More" to Continue ---->
Currently Reading- The Cosmopolitan Tongue: The Universality of English by John McWhorter 10/30/2009
Money Quote:
The main loss when a language dies is not cultural but aesthetic. The click sounds in certain African languages are magnificent to hear. In many Amazonian languages, when you say something you have to specify, with a suffix, where you got the information. The Ket language of Siberia is so awesomely irregular as to seem a work of art.
But let’s remember that this aesthetic delight is mainly savored by the outside observer, often a professional savorer like myself. Professional linguists or anthropologists are part of a distinct human minority. Most people, in the West or anywhere else, find the fact that there are so many languages in the world no more interesting than I would find a list of all the makes of Toyota. So our case for preserving the world’s languages cannot be based on how fascinating their variegation appears to a few people in the world. The question is whether there is some urgent benefit to humanity from the fact that some people speak click languages, while others speak Ket or thousands of others, instead of everyone speaking in a universal tongue.
Full article here.
The main loss when a language dies is not cultural but aesthetic. The click sounds in certain African languages are magnificent to hear. In many Amazonian languages, when you say something you have to specify, with a suffix, where you got the information. The Ket language of Siberia is so awesomely irregular as to seem a work of art.
But let’s remember that this aesthetic delight is mainly savored by the outside observer, often a professional savorer like myself. Professional linguists or anthropologists are part of a distinct human minority. Most people, in the West or anywhere else, find the fact that there are so many languages in the world no more interesting than I would find a list of all the makes of Toyota. So our case for preserving the world’s languages cannot be based on how fascinating their variegation appears to a few people in the world. The question is whether there is some urgent benefit to humanity from the fact that some people speak click languages, while others speak Ket or thousands of others, instead of everyone speaking in a universal tongue.
Full article here.
Well, That's Embarrasing 10/30/2009
Someone needs to show the Obama folks how to use a calendar. On October 17th the White House invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Washington D.C. on October 29th. But that's Republic Day (Cumhuriyet Bayramı), which is basically the Turkish 4th of July.
I would give them a mulligan since not everyone out there is a Turkophile, but this is the second time in two months the Obama folks have selected an incredibly inappropriate day to conduct foreign policy. Anyone remember last month when the White House announced it was scraping the Bush administration's plan to locate ground-based interceptors in Poland on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland?
All joking aside, it's scary that the Obama folks clearly didn't consult a Turkey expert, or at least pull up a Turkish calendar when they decided to invite Erdogan to Washington.
I would give them a mulligan since not everyone out there is a Turkophile, but this is the second time in two months the Obama folks have selected an incredibly inappropriate day to conduct foreign policy. Anyone remember last month when the White House announced it was scraping the Bush administration's plan to locate ground-based interceptors in Poland on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland?
All joking aside, it's scary that the Obama folks clearly didn't consult a Turkey expert, or at least pull up a Turkish calendar when they decided to invite Erdogan to Washington.
Hamid Karzai's Brother is on the CIA Payroll 10/28/2009
Ahmed Karzai (R) - Photo by Banaras Khan - Agence France Presse
More reasons why bribing regional leaders should be a tactic rather than a strategy.
Apparently, Ahmed Wali Karzai is the most powerful man in Kandahar- the former Taliban headquarters. He is also a notorious drug lord. Getting his support was probably a necessary move, but gosh does this look bad.
Money quote from the NYTimes:
If we are going to conduct a population-centric strategy in Afghanistan, and we are perceived as backing thugs, then we are just undermining ourselves.
- Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the senior American military intelligence official in Afghanistan.
Apparently, Ahmed Wali Karzai is the most powerful man in Kandahar- the former Taliban headquarters. He is also a notorious drug lord. Getting his support was probably a necessary move, but gosh does this look bad.
Money quote from the NYTimes:
If we are going to conduct a population-centric strategy in Afghanistan, and we are perceived as backing thugs, then we are just undermining ourselves.
- Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the senior American military intelligence official in Afghanistan.
China's Rise 10/27/2009
An interesting consideration, quoted in the Economist's special report on Sino-American relations:
...as we focus on the potential challenge that a strong China could present to the United States in the future, let us not forget the risk of a weak China, beset by internal conflict, social dislocation and criminal activity; becoming a vast zone of instability in Asia.
- Bill Clinton, 1999
...as we focus on the potential challenge that a strong China could present to the United States in the future, let us not forget the risk of a weak China, beset by internal conflict, social dislocation and criminal activity; becoming a vast zone of instability in Asia.
- Bill Clinton, 1999
Quote for the Week 10/26/2009
Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, which is the only fact we have.
- James Baldwin
- James Baldwin
Crazy World Leaders 10/26/2009
Quran Written with Saddam's Blood - BBC
I was recently talking to some friends about one of my favorite topics- crazy heads of state- when my comment that Saddam had ordered a Quran written with his own blood drew incredulous looks and suggestions that these were American rumors.
According to the BBC, Saddam gave this explanation to the official Iraqi media:
My life has been full of dangers in which I should have lost a lot of blood...but since I have bled only a little, I asked somebody to write God's words with my blood in gratitude.
I feel bad for whoever had to write it.
According to the BBC, Saddam gave this explanation to the official Iraqi media:
My life has been full of dangers in which I should have lost a lot of blood...but since I have bled only a little, I asked somebody to write God's words with my blood in gratitude.
I feel bad for whoever had to write it.
What is Lebanon? 10/26/2009
Afghanistan Strategy 10/26/2009
One of our regular readers, Garrett, recently asked for our thoughts on whether the U.S. should engage in an urban-rural "dual" strategy in Afghanistan- securing the cities and bribing rural leaders to pacify the country. My thoughts:
This proposal is essentially a call to revert to the strategy employed by the United States earlier in the war. Basically, the U.S. paid the Northern Alliance to overthrow the Taliban, and early on promoted a war strategy of securing the major cities.
The Northern Alliance undoubtedly used American money to bribe warlords to join them, and then when Hamid Karzai came to power, he also used American money to buy support and create some appearance of stability.
This causes three main problems. First, the Taliban were never eradicated- they just fled to the mountains and rural areas to regroup and launch guerilla attacks.
Click "Read More" to Continue--->
This proposal is essentially a call to revert to the strategy employed by the United States earlier in the war. Basically, the U.S. paid the Northern Alliance to overthrow the Taliban, and early on promoted a war strategy of securing the major cities.
The Northern Alliance undoubtedly used American money to bribe warlords to join them, and then when Hamid Karzai came to power, he also used American money to buy support and create some appearance of stability.
This causes three main problems. First, the Taliban were never eradicated- they just fled to the mountains and rural areas to regroup and launch guerilla attacks.
Click "Read More" to Continue--->
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