Few people have a better analysis of what is going in Afghanistan than Terry Glavin

Julian Aussage and Wikileaks - my 24 Hours Column for this Week

This is from 24 Hours. It was inspired by this Wall Street Journal article I read about the implications of the release of all these documents on the war in Afganistan

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Globally there is a whistleblower site called Wikileaks. It provides a secure place for people to leak documents. Recently they posted about 76,000 documents relating to the war in Afghanistan. Wikileaks seems much more interested in global notoriety than reviewing and releasing the information that is appropriate to publicize. Meanwhile editor Julian Assange seems to be basking in a smug glory from the release of the documents and ignoring the impact of his actions.

Within the documents there are the names of many people in Afghanistan that have been secretly working for the government against the Taliban. Estimates are that several hundred people are named within the documents.

The Taliban may be immoral thugs interested in personal gain but they are not morons, they have been combing the documents for the names of these people opposed to them. They have said they will be seeking out these people and their families and execute them.

The Taliban have a long record of attacking anything to do with modern society and tolerance. As an example, Vancouver carpenter Mike Frastacky was killed in 2006 for building a school. In 2010 the Taliban has increased their execution of community leaders, doctors and teachers. They are now killing five times as many as in 2009. The Taliban is trying to systematically destroy any sense of a civil society.

The Afghan people have been living in fear and terror of the Taliban for years. Over and over again it has been shown there is little popular support for the Taliban but what there is, is a great fear of retribution. Even with this there are many people willing to counter this tyranny at the peril of their own and their families lives. What crime did these people commit that their names should be given to the Taliban?

Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are important but they are also not absolute. Wikileaks had a moral duty to ensure no one came to harm from their release of the documents, they did not do so. I get no sense that Julian Assange feels any personal responsibility for putting all these people in harm's way.

Various well respected human rights groups have called Wikileaks on their actions that are endangering people. Amnesty International, Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, the Open Society Institute, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, and the Kabul office of International Crisis Group have all called on Julian Assange to take responsibility and so far he has refused.

It may all be moot in any case as the Taliban warlords only need to wait until the western troops protecting the people leave like Canada will do in 2011 and the Netherlands have just done. Without a stable and well established civil society in Afghanistan it is likely the people of the country will be forced to endure many more years of hell on earth. The death of the Afghans named in the documents will bring this closer.

Afganistan

I have been meaning to read Christie Blatchford's book Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army for awhile now. I got a copy for Christmas. I started reading it on Tuesday and it had me close to tears within the first 60 pages - there is a passage on page 52 that moved me in ways I had not expected:

The scene is the return of Ray Arndt's body in August 2006, Darcia Arndt was in tears and shock and told to look out of the car and watch the hearse as it left the base. She did not want to do this

But Darcia did what Johnson asked. She forced herself to look out the window. Outside the fence around the base, along the road were knots of people standing silently, as there would be knots of people on overpasses along the 401 highway to Toronto.

I've been to Trenton for a repatriation ceremony. Those people were there then. They are always there, clutching Canadian flags, weeping, standing straight. They line up outside the fence, they can see and hear almost nothing of the somber service on the tarmac, they wait uncomplainingly for hours in rain and cold. I met a man there who had come to every repatriation ceremony and then one day nearly came for his own son's - his boy, a soldier serving with the 1st Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment, had just been injured and was in Germany, soon to come home.

"There were civilians saluting - saluting the police, the military police, saluting us - as we drive by. It was like, wow, what respect," Darcia remembers. "I realize why now, and I'm not mad at him (Johnson) anymore."

Christie Blatchford is one of the great writers of reportage, a format that I really enjoy and the major reason I read Granta for many years. The stories of the soldiers are compelling and brings life to the world of the military.

I remember meeting a soldier from the PPLCI last summer on the Sayward Forest Canoe Route. I had a chance to talk with him and what he said is very similar to what is on Christie Blatchford's book.

I know there are many out there that want the Canadian troops out of Afghanistan. I am a pacificist and my desire is to see an end to all of killing of humans by any other humans, but I can not get behind the anti-war movement. The anti-war movement is not a peace movement. Here is a press release from MAWO about the recent illegal and unprovoked killing of Canadian soldier Karine Blais:

Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO)
Statement on Latest Canadian Soldier Killed in Afghanistan
April 16th 2009

Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO) continues to condemn the illegal and brutal Canada/US/NATO occupation of Afghanistan, which for over 7 years has denied the Afghan people to their basic rights to life, dignity and self-determination. The occupation forces have not only killed over 50,000 Afghan people in this criminal and unjust war, but is also taking the lives of young soldiers who have been convinced to fight in this war.

On Monday April 13th, 21 year old Karine Blais became the 117th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan, and the second women of these 117 deaths. Her death was quickly followed by statements made by her godfather, Mario Blais, who told reporters that "I think she did this for absolutely nothing" and said he thinks Prime Minister Steven Harper should "get the troops out of there as fast as possible."

This godfather’s comments reflect the sentiment of the majority of people across Canada, as well as the over 14,000 signatures from the Lower Mainland on the MAWO Canada Out of Afghanistan petition.

Many young men and women like this soldier are convinced by military recruiters that they are going to Afghanistan to help women and children, or to stabilize and reconstruct the country. Reality in Afghanistan is a different story. The best help for women, children and all people of Afghanistan is the end of the occupation of their country.

Women’s rights and health have only gotten worse in the 7 years of occupation. Women now have the second highest rate of maternal mortality in the world, and have a level of domestic violence that has gone up 40% between March or 2007 and 2008. Suicide and self-immolation by women is also on the rise, as reported by the IRIN UN agency. Women’s rights cannot be expected to improve under occupation, as the Canada/US/NATO backed government has proposed new laws further diminishing women’s rights. The new law signed by President Karzai applies to Shia Muslims, and legalizes the rape of women by their husbands, limits women’s movements outside the home as well as other restrictions. This shameful law is put in place by the puppet government that the occupation forces have installed and supported in Afghanistan.

The situation for children in Afghanistan is also deplorable. Due to high levels of unemployment and poverty brought on by the occupation, as well as older family members killed by war, children are forced to work in order to survive. In Kabul alone, there are 50,000 to 60,000 street children as reported by UNICEF.

As for reconstruction, one only has to read the news to see that the occupation forces aren’t constructing clinics or schools, and rather they are bombing villages and homes.

As long as the occupation continues in Afghanistan, the body bags of many young Canadians in combat boots will return to Canada. As we learn from the statements of the godfather of Karine Blais, these young people are doing this for absolutely nothing. In support of both the people of Afghanistan and here at home, MAWO encourages all peace-loving people to get involved in antiwar events and actions, to demand an end to the Canada/US/NATO war drive in Afghanistan.

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MAWO ~ Mobilization Against War & Occupation
http://WWW.MAWOVANCOUVER.ORG
info@mawovancouver.org
P 604.322.1764 || F 604.322.1763

So all the western troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan, then what? Are the people at MAWO convinced that life will be better in Afghanistan if the troops leave? How about the fact that the people in Afghanistan over and over say they want the western troops in the country to protect them?

Life is tough enough in the country, but I can not image what would happen to women if the western troops pull out.

The reality is that the western troops are the first foreign troops in Afghanistan at the request of the government and not an occupying force. The western troops are the first armed force of any kind interested in supporting the development of a functions civil society.

The conflict in Afghanistan comes from the small set of immoral leaders of armed sects in the country. If they would simply stop killing people the war would end. The call from the anti-war movement should be focused on the gang leaders who use guns to gain power and wealth from the hard working people in the villages. The western forces are combating a clearly evil group of people, calling for them to leave is to give in and surrender to a group of people that have evil in their hearts.

As a Quaker I believe there is that of God within everyone. Killing a person is a direct attack on God. The people killing the Canadians in Afghanistan are doing is in direct opposition to all major faiths in the world, not only Quakerism. Specifically what they are doing is against the tenets of Islam and they are not faithful Muslims.

How do we stop them? How do we protect the people they prey on and force to live in misery? How can be abandon them to a hell that is worse than anything ever seen in Canada? Do we not have a responsibility as humans to come to the aid of the oppressed? How many people need to die in Afghanistan before the anti-war movement will support ending the conflict?

As of now 117 Canadians soldiers have died in Afghanistan, not all of them in combat. The soldiers seem to know why they are there and see the benefit on the ground for the people from the Canadian troops. The soldiers see it as a war against evil, a war to protect the men, women and children of Afghanistan for oppression. It seems to be most clear cut mission Canada has sent troops on since World War 2.

Is NATO failing in Afghanistan?

There has been more and more talk about NATO not being able to 'win' in Afghanistan, that there is no point in having troops there because nothing will change.

There is an interesting article in the Economist on the Uruzagan province and how well the Dutch are doing there. They are in the province neighbouring Helmand (where the Brits are) and Kandahar where the Canadians are. They Dutch are having some success through modeling the benefits of stablity in the core areas. The withdrawl of NATO troops from this area would end this success.

Over drinks with Terry Glavin last week, we talked about Afghanistan and what is happening there. Clearly there is a strong desire among the people in the country for NATO to be there and bring stability, but somehow this does not get expressed much in the media.

Ashraf Ghani, candidate for president of the country, wants more western intervention to help a civil society develop. But his concern about the west is the lack of sympathy or engagement by the people in the west.

People in the west are willing to dismiss the people of Afghanistan as ignorant and unruly tribal people that are unable to function in a modern society, that are unable to make a rational decision at the ballot box. There is a strong prejudice in the west against the people in Afghanistan as being 'not like us' and therefore better left to the gangs and warlords than try to help them have a stable and open society.

It is through this lens of 'they are not like us' that the media is reporting the story of Afghanistan and reporting it as being lost by the west. The media also makes little distinction between the NATO mission in the country and the Soviet invasion in 1979 or even the British in 19th century.

The mission is very different because the troops are there because of a request of the government that was chosen by the people. It is also different because there is no national interest being pushed by NATO. Canada is not in Afghanistan to make sure Tim Horton's has the exclusive right to sell bad coffee.

Clearly the process to work towards a civil society in Afghanistan is going to take a long time. There is no quick fix and no easy way to change what generations of despotic rulers that worked hard to keep the people poor and uneducated means to the country.

So, is NATO losing? I do not think so, there is clearly a much better life for most of the people in the country. There are actual infrastructure projects underway for the first time in almost two generations. The population is better educated than it was seven years ago.

The problem in the nation is that there are gang leaders who want to steal as much as they can for themselves and they see the changes in the country threatening their generations long free ride off of the backs of the people. The Taliban warlords are trying to kill as many civilians as possible to scare the population into submission. Should they be allowed to do this? What responsiblity does Canada have to protect the civilian population from the attacks of the warlords? Is it not ethical for the west to intervene in favour of democracy? Is withdrawl unethical?

I still struggle with all of this as I am a pacificist. I can not condemn NATO when it chooses to intervene on behalf of human rights, I just wish we could do all of this without resorting to violence.

Afghanistan

OK, I always need to wrap my brain around how to deal with the issue of Afghanistan as I am a pacifist. I am enough of a pacifist that I will not buy a federal government savings bond because that money will in part fund the military. To me I can not reconcile killing humans with remaining true to my faith as a Quaker.

That said, I do still live in this world and I enjoy the luxury of not having my faith tested in real terms as I would in other places such as Afghanistan.

I found out this week that an old university friend is now a Canadian Forces Chaplain. I have no idea if he will be posted to Afghanistan, but he has an interesting blog called the Mad Padre. He is also the person I know with the driest humour ever, he would make Aki Kaurismäki look like the king of slapstick.

He has had some interesting posts about the deaths of the Canadians in Afghanistan.

Canada and NATO involvement in Afghanistan is very different than the involvement of foreign troops in the country. This is the first time someone has come into the country to defend the people from human rights abuses and to allow a civil society to be built. The posts at the Canada-Afghanistan Blog and at Terry Glavin's Blog are showing the sort of real change that is happening on the ground.

To condemn our involvement in Afghanistan is to condemn the use of military for the defense of basic human rights. If there is such a thing as a just war, it is the one in Afghanistan. I can not condemn and I can not support and remain in a limbo.

Interestingly, the left in Canada that has so loved Obama, is not pushing for Canada to help him in his quest to build a democratic, just and civil society in Afghanistan. I suspect the left in Canada will soon condemn the core of the Obama/Democratic global foreign policy.

To leave now would be to admit defeat in the face of fascism. Admitting defeat in Afghanistan will not only destroy hope there, but in many countries in the world where fascism is on the rise, places like Iran and Sudan.

I believe that the opposition to the war in Afghanistan is easy in Canada because most people they are a bunch of illiterate, brown skinned, tribal zealots that are "not like us". I remember on September 11th 2001 pointing out to people that mass deaths are common in the world and happen on a 9/11 scale once a month. The response I got from Canadians is "they are not like us".

I do not understand how any person in Canada that believes in the existence of the military and supports humans rights does not support the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. There is a global conflict between fascism/totalitarianism and human rights/democracy.

I came across this piece through Terry Glavin. There is no case for any culture or religion to infringe on an individual's human rights, the culture or religion has to give way.

Fundamentally what is going in Afghanistan is different than when the Brits went in there or the Russians, the troops are their in defense of human rights, a fundamental shift. The defeat of troops in Afghanistan is a defeat for human rights in this world.

Globally there is a war on between those that value human rights and an open civil society versus those that seek tyranny. For some bizarre reason, the left in many parts of the world has chosen to champion the wrong side and fight against the average people on the ground.

The cultural relativists can’t excuse evil

By Lauryn Oates, The Ottawa CitizenJanuary 28, 2009

In November, when a group of unveiled girls was attacked by men on motorcycles who sprayed acid in their faces as they were walking to morning classes in Kandahar, Canadians were shocked.

They shouldn’t have been.

Every year, all over South Asia, hundreds of women have acid sprayed in their faces for committing the offence of going to school, or for going to work, or for merely walking down a street without covering their faces. In Bangladesh alone, an average of 228 women are subjected to such acid attacks every year.

But there is an important and very specific lesson to be learned from the Kandahar incident.

More than a dozen of the young Kandahari women were seriously injured, two of them blinded, and the victims have all defiantly returned to their classes at the Mirwais Mena school. One of the girls who suffered severe eye injuries is 17-year-old Shamsia: “I will go to my school even if they kill me,” Shamsia said. “My message for the enemies is that if they do this 100 times, I am still going to continue my studies.”

The lesson here is that millions of brave Afghan schoolgirls are dedicated to pursuing their studies, in sometimes perilous and hostile circumstances, and their devotion is heartfelt, homegrown and hardy. It has not been “imposed” upon them by the “West.”

As Canadians, we should be proud and honoured that history has afforded our country a specific opportunity to help young Afghan women assert their fundamental right to education. Our focus should be on how we can do more, and better. Instead, a bizarre kind of cultural relativism has come to infect national debates about the Afghan mission, clouding our judgment and entirely obscuring the very meaning of universal human rights.

I first noticed it when I was in high school, in 1996, when I was circulating a petition to protest the Taliban’s brutal oppression of women. One of my teachers refused to sign the petition, saying, well, that’s their culture, and we have no right to interfere.

Two years ago I spoke on a panel organized by Carleton University’s Students Coalition Against War, in Ottawa. I was accused of exaggerating the suffering of Afghan women, but even if I had a point, it was an “internal cultural matter,” and certainly none of my business.

Human rights are culturally relative, the thinking goes, and the universality of human rights is some sort of western imperialist construction. It is as though girls have no right to read if their “culture” forbids it. It is a rarely scrutinized assumption, but it is ubiquitous in Canadian universities, and it reaches its most toxic concentrations in “anti-war” debates.

The result is that the once great cause of fulfilling the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is rendered merely a “Eurocentric” enterprise, and necessarily something shabby.

Years from now, when our own children look back on us, what will they make of how Canada, one of the richest countries of the world, lived up to the promise of universal human rights? In Afghanistan, where those rights are only now being extended to the people, and are still just nominally available to the women of that country, did we uphold our commitment?

Did we not see in the Afghan people our shared humanity? Did we recognize death-cult misogyny for what it really is? Did we have the courage to call fascism by its proper name, or did we excuse ourselves and retreat into the comfortable, false virtues of pacifist isolationism and cultural relativism?

Afghanistan is not just a theatre of war in the conventional meaning of the term. It is also a battleground of values. But it is not a clash between “western” and “eastern” cultures. The Afghan people want their girls to go to school. The Afghan people do not want the Taliban. But in Canada, it has nonetheless become necessary to point this out, over and over, and also to point out what it is that the Taliban actually do want.

“They want what they had before 2001: an extremist, eccentric Islamic state where the sports stadium is used for public executions of dissenters, homosexuals and women accused of adultery,” Cheryl Benard of the Rand Corporation recently reminded us here in the “West.” What the Taliban want is a place apart from humanity, where “religious police roam the streets with sticks to beat anyone whose beard or chador is too short; and all education for girls is eliminated.”

The Taliban and their fellow travellers have not given up on this vision, and to achieve it they are happy to blow up civilians and their own in suicide bombings (an act condemned in Islam and in Afghan traditions, for any “yes, but” cultural relativists reading this). They kidnap journalists, hijack food-aid convoys, decapitate teachers, and slaughter unarmed women working for foreign aid organizations — the fate that recently befell the Canadian humanitarian workers Shirley Case and Jackie Kirk.

Yet to hear from some of the more prominent “troops out” voices in Canada, the Taliban are merely “dissidents” or “the resistance.” To listen to these voices, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Taliban were some quaint tribe, engaged in a noble fight against the power-hungry, capitalist West.

Once you strip away the misleading “explanations” offered up by the cultural relativists, all that remains is disgraceful excuse-making for an ideology that requires its adherents to pull women’s fingernails out for the crime of wearing nail polish. It is an ideology engaged in an open revolt against humanity, against the values shared by Afghans and Canadians alike, and against an entire international order founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

With a new year under way in our engagement in Afghanistan, let us do a better job of honouring the legacy on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based — in Afghanistan, and everywhere.

Lauryn Oates is a founding member of the Canada Afghanistan Solidarity Committee and project director of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan’s Excel-erate Teacher Training Program. She has advocated for the rights of Afghan women and girls since the Taliban invasion in 1996 and travels frequently to Afghanistan.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Terry Glavin in Afghanistan

Victoria writer Terry Glavin has take a trip to Afghanistan, you can read about his experiences here. The latest entry is about his ride across the country to get to the Afghan School Project in Kandahar. One way to make a difference in that country to take some time and donate money to the school. The facebook group is here.

I am getting more and more depressed about the opposition to the war in Afghanistan because it is so fundamentally unprincipled and isolationist. My personal opposition is to all war on the grounds of faith. But being opposed to war does not mean I am opposed to making the world a better place. We in the west are flipping out about our investments but are unwilling to make small scale donations of our time or money to improve the lot of people in Kandahar.

The problems we have here in Canada are minor blemishes on the highest and best standard of living human society has ever seen. But people spend their time gazing at their own navels and not seeing the bigger picture of this world.

We can make a difference through a school here, a well there, and other small projects that help some people.