The prime minister of Australia announced that he will send 450 more troops to Afghanistan. He says this will help fight the Taliban resurgence and show that they will not let terrorism continue. Australia already had 1,100 troops in Afghanistan, so this is a 41% increase. The Australian prime minister says they must help fight off the Taliban so terrorists do not harbor in Afghanistan and become a threat to not only Australia, but to the United States and other countries as well. Oftentimes we forget other countries are fighting the war in Afghanistan in addition to the U.S. Most people do not think of Australia as a major force there, but this increase shows their commitment to involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
A parade for the 17th anniversary of the overthrowing of the communist government in Afghanistan has been cancelled. Last year on the anniversary, three people were killed as militants attempted to assassinate President Karzai. In preparation for something like this happening, police were deployed to prominent locations in Kabul, and the parade was cancelled. Many people are upset about this, as they cannot celebrate this anniversary. Mr. Karzai did host a meal for dignitaries for a celebration, but many people are upset that the anniversary is not being treated with enough respect. While President Karzai’s decision to scale down the celebrations this year has been met with some upset people, it makes sense after he was nearly assassinated last year.
This summer, the American military will send thousands of troops to cut off the Taliban’s opium trade. This is the terrorists’ main source of income- as it generates about $300 million a year. This is enough to sustain the group’s operations in southern Afghanistan for an entire year. This number also makes up 90% of the world’s total opium trade.
The Americans think by hurting the Taliban’s opium trade they will be making a huge dent in their income, and crippling their operations. “The Americans say their main goal this summer will be to provide security for the Afghan population and thereby isolate the insurgents.” The three main places the troops will be sent are Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul. About 20,000 marines and soldiers will be sent by August 20th. This operation, if successful, will definitely help take down the Taliban, not only by isolating the insurgents from one another, but cutting down their main economic source.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
4/15 blog
A new law was signed in Afghanistan taking away many of women’s rights, and reminding the country of the oppression of the Taliban. The bill that was recently passed through congress and signed by the president is extremely controversial, making things like marital rape legal and not letting women go to school without their husband’s permission. Afghani women staged a protest demanding their rights.
The protest, staged in Kabul, was somewhat successful in creating more discussion about the law. President Karzai has received a lot of resentment from the US and other countries for signing the law, and has said he is considering changing some of the most controversial parts. Some people believe the president only signed the bill to win the favor of the Shiite clergy, as Mr. Karzai is up for re-election this year. The women who participated in the rally, though, are adamant about gaining their right. Men gathered to call them whores, and support the bill, saying they do not want NATO and other countries affecting how they treat their women.
I think the laws are disgusting. It is obviously a very different culture, but I don’t think we should be supporting a country who makes marital rape legal, and gives the husband all control over his wife. I think the Afghani president is in a tough spot- if he changes the bill, many men in his country will be outraged, but on the other hand, much of the world is again what he is doing.
The American military in Afghanistan is working hard to recruit Afghani men in fighting against the Taliban. They are convincing men to take up arms and defend their own villages against Taliban attacks. The US did something similar in Iraq in enlisting militia men to support their efforts over insurgents, and were very successful. However, some elders of certain villages in Afghanistan are not cooperating like the US wishes.
When the tactic first started, many men enthusiastically joined the US to patrol their villages. The US armed them, since they have been very supportive of the American military’s efforts. However, “The trouble came from the Pashtun enclave of Zayawalat, one of five large villages in Jalrez.” The elders of this enclave have met with American military officials many times, but cannot decide whether to send men or not because of the fear of the Taliban coming after them. The Taliban has been known to kill men and their families who have turned against them.
This is a huge risk for the US. To arm average Afghanis and trust them to do the right thing and fight the Taliban shows a great deal of faith in the militia. It seems to be working though, and hopefully it will really help fight of the Taliban. I think it is time Afghans start taking more action instead of just the Afghani and US militaries, which obviously cannot do it all themselves.
A young couple looking to elope was killed by the Taliban. The man and woman tried to escape because the woman was being forced to marry a man she did not like. The two young people intended to elope, but Taliban officials found out and hunted them down. They were both shot to death publicly in Kash Rud. NATO officials say this was a rural area and not in their region to cover. The officlal said NATO was not responsible for that area and that they have very limited presence there.
Apparently killings like this are very common in the Taliban. I think it is a very twisted, backward way of thinking to kill two people in love because the woman was being forced to marry another man. I find it odd to think no troops were aware of the very public shooting, but it was a very rural area so it is true NATO’s presence there was very limited.
The protest, staged in Kabul, was somewhat successful in creating more discussion about the law. President Karzai has received a lot of resentment from the US and other countries for signing the law, and has said he is considering changing some of the most controversial parts. Some people believe the president only signed the bill to win the favor of the Shiite clergy, as Mr. Karzai is up for re-election this year. The women who participated in the rally, though, are adamant about gaining their right. Men gathered to call them whores, and support the bill, saying they do not want NATO and other countries affecting how they treat their women.
I think the laws are disgusting. It is obviously a very different culture, but I don’t think we should be supporting a country who makes marital rape legal, and gives the husband all control over his wife. I think the Afghani president is in a tough spot- if he changes the bill, many men in his country will be outraged, but on the other hand, much of the world is again what he is doing.
The American military in Afghanistan is working hard to recruit Afghani men in fighting against the Taliban. They are convincing men to take up arms and defend their own villages against Taliban attacks. The US did something similar in Iraq in enlisting militia men to support their efforts over insurgents, and were very successful. However, some elders of certain villages in Afghanistan are not cooperating like the US wishes.
When the tactic first started, many men enthusiastically joined the US to patrol their villages. The US armed them, since they have been very supportive of the American military’s efforts. However, “The trouble came from the Pashtun enclave of Zayawalat, one of five large villages in Jalrez.” The elders of this enclave have met with American military officials many times, but cannot decide whether to send men or not because of the fear of the Taliban coming after them. The Taliban has been known to kill men and their families who have turned against them.
This is a huge risk for the US. To arm average Afghanis and trust them to do the right thing and fight the Taliban shows a great deal of faith in the militia. It seems to be working though, and hopefully it will really help fight of the Taliban. I think it is time Afghans start taking more action instead of just the Afghani and US militaries, which obviously cannot do it all themselves.
A young couple looking to elope was killed by the Taliban. The man and woman tried to escape because the woman was being forced to marry a man she did not like. The two young people intended to elope, but Taliban officials found out and hunted them down. They were both shot to death publicly in Kash Rud. NATO officials say this was a rural area and not in their region to cover. The officlal said NATO was not responsible for that area and that they have very limited presence there.
Apparently killings like this are very common in the Taliban. I think it is a very twisted, backward way of thinking to kill two people in love because the woman was being forced to marry another man. I find it odd to think no troops were aware of the very public shooting, but it was a very rural area so it is true NATO’s presence there was very limited.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Model UN reflection
I really enjoyed my model UN experience. I thought it was really cool how everything happened, and we could actually make realistic things happen. My group worked very well together, and I think it was a very worthwhile simulation.
My role was the “minister of foreign affairs” of Hezbollah. I was responsible for being knowledgeable about Hezbollah’s allies and enemies, and how they interact with others in the world. What I really liked was how everyone was able to contribute and make smart decisions together. We had the freedom to run an entire political party, and see realistic results of our actions. I also liked that we were able to use Google Earth during the simulation, which helped us in making some of our military moves. The way the news worked also made the simulation more alive. Having a news story come up was a good way of making us react. Overall, I though the whole way the simulation was run was very smoothly and realistically.
The actions I liked most that Hezbollah did was our efforts to win more seats in a new election. For the first part of the simulation, we worked very hard on internal popularity. We saw the positive effects of our efforts when the election actually happened. I wish we had done more covert operations. Hezbollah is known for its suicide bombers and drastic violence, so I thought we should have done more of the things it has been recognized for in the past. We did do a few things for our allies that were sneaky and covert, but more public strikes against Israel would have made the situation seem more real.
My role was the “minister of foreign affairs” of Hezbollah. I was responsible for being knowledgeable about Hezbollah’s allies and enemies, and how they interact with others in the world. What I really liked was how everyone was able to contribute and make smart decisions together. We had the freedom to run an entire political party, and see realistic results of our actions. I also liked that we were able to use Google Earth during the simulation, which helped us in making some of our military moves. The way the news worked also made the simulation more alive. Having a news story come up was a good way of making us react. Overall, I though the whole way the simulation was run was very smoothly and realistically.
The actions I liked most that Hezbollah did was our efforts to win more seats in a new election. For the first part of the simulation, we worked very hard on internal popularity. We saw the positive effects of our efforts when the election actually happened. I wish we had done more covert operations. Hezbollah is known for its suicide bombers and drastic violence, so I thought we should have done more of the things it has been recognized for in the past. We did do a few things for our allies that were sneaky and covert, but more public strikes against Israel would have made the situation seem more real.
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