tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1571201204115952544.post7581263299877836013..comments2024-03-15T00:21:37.019-07:00Comments on The Trench: Operation Moshtarak: Propaganda MotherloadJames Gundunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16141055666432969361noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1571201204115952544.post-90657002193150421062010-02-28T06:14:13.278-08:002010-02-28T06:14:13.278-08:00Last September, Dr. Yacoobi was seeking funding to...Last September, Dr. Yacoobi was seeking funding to initiate a college level program throughout her network. $250,000 is a small sum in this context. She spoke of the difficulties negotiating the grant network and how men seem to walk through with a few proverbial handshakes. The Feminist Majority features Afghan Women in their appeals. I suspect that funds under her control would go further towards Afghan stability and clean dealings than money dropped in any other pockets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1571201204115952544.post-80730615218573057352010-02-13T18:03:47.649-08:002010-02-13T18:03:47.649-08:00And we appreciate your information. Afghan women a...And we appreciate your information. Afghan women are a wild card. Engaged properly and they have more value than any amount of US or ANA troops. Lose them and the war could be compromised. Women make negotiations with the Taliban extra complicated and must be carefully considered. We completely agree that cultural warfare must emerge as the dominant spectrum of US counterinsurgency - and hope this actually happens. Too many times these programs stop half way.<br /><br />As for Obama's time limit, we only want to point out that its necessity may come into conflict with reality. The Taliban is unpopular but to defeat it requires above average execution out of Kabul. America can't hold any territory or train ANA forces without an efficient and accountable Afghan government, which is likely to take longer to establish than Obama is hoping.<br /><br />We're predicting his exit time to slip. The situation may call for it, we simply wonder how Americans would react.James Gundunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16141055666432969361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1571201204115952544.post-27352054817801608802010-02-13T06:42:26.435-08:002010-02-13T06:42:26.435-08:00I deeply appreciate this excellent source of infor...I deeply appreciate this excellent source of information. Thank-you for the link you placed in your NYT comment. <br /><br />The women are a factor to consider here. Dr.Sakena Yacoobi founded the Afghan Institute of Learning in 1995. You can see her on You Tube. She develops excellent curricula beginning with healthcare. Her network of women exists in refugee camps as well as throughout Afghanistan. Graduates of AIL find UN jobs mostly in WHO. She insists that every girl will be educated, "We can always find a way. If not at school, we do it at home. I even have a special 3-4 year curriculum for women who were denied an education as girls. We women will never allow the Taliban to rule again. We will do anything."<br /><br />Another interesting factor is the use of "human terrain" experts. Our military began using anthropologists to interview the local population. They discovered that one Paktia village was only inhabited by widows with their youngest son (no woman would be left alone). These moms agreed to stop feeding and sheltering the Taliban in exchange for protection from the Taliban, weaving supplies and a market for what they weave.<br /><br />I am glad about Obama's time limit. This may be the first signs of our ability to wage peace. I expect us to reach a tipping point when the people of Afghanistan will take complete control and free themselves from stone age brutality, as well as freeing us from terrorists.tyetmanoreply@blogger.com