Most people in Afghanistan like anywhere else but more than anywhere else want peace. Some are so tired of decades of war that they are ready to trade some freedom for it.

It's not as much the US they want out as troublemakers in general. And the US have brought a lot of trouble along with some peace.

Lokk reading books does not make for real experience. Unlkess you spend time living and communicating with a borad swat of Afghan and Pakistany people, whatever you are doing is a waste of time. Talk with Rober Fisk about connections.

The user deleted this comment.

Going to Afghanistan is a very honorable and brave thing to do in this time of unrest. this country seems to be starting off on a new foot. people who can be trusted are hard to find. without interfering with the country's people i think we should stay out of the country's affairs. we got into this war under an oil hungry president now we are forced to deal with his mistakes. Afghanistan is unstable and there are sure to be more problems. please be safe in your travels and maybe you can open the eyes of the American public to the rest of the worlds problems and maybe we can think about having peace with other nations. improving the lives of the people in need is what our country should be focused on. it is not our country to rule or dictate. we should not be imposing democracy or any government support. we should be supporting a system that is eliminating violence so the country is safe. just because we think democracy is right they might not think the same. its not our place to push our beliefs but only to help and assist. we need to help the people get their country back.

I would like to know if anyone in the administration has any thoughts about finding someone among the Taliban with whom to TALK about finding a peaceful compromise. After all, what we want (I hope) is simply to not be victimized by them or any of their guests.

USD together with opium is a big problem in Afghanistan, Afghanistan is a country now, that there are all kind of mafias present.
The instaled and support people are dealing with opium and they are busy with robbing of the money of supported countries, they enjoy not only the chaos and anarchy in country, they are supporting such criminal activities to continue their opium deal and robbing. They are cooperating with Taliban for keeping chaos and anarchy.
The important question will be to ask by common people, do they accept the group of Mr. Khalilzad? Do they accept the so call former Mujahidin leader and their commander to be on the power?
Do they accept to come Taliban back on the power?
Do they want to be replace Hanifi through Wahabism in Afghanistan?
The question will be, how the common people are thinking about peace and how it can be possible to bring it into country?
Further question will be, will be carried out the coming election in honest way?
What should do Mr. Obama to get trust the common peopl on present of USA military in Afghanistan?
There are lot of questions, but I am sure, Mr. Greenwal will organize his questionairies in a proper way!

One of my biggest concerns is the quality of life for the Afghanistan people and that we not impose a more impossible situation there by bringing in more soldiers. Reporting your findings to President Obama should be of great urgency at the end of your visit. Thank you for what you are doing

Robert: Indeed, do some serious role-playing (thank you, Stuart Chase) in Afghanistan. Try to interview Taliban leaders -- Mullah Omar?!

Ask what the Afghans want of us -- and of themselves.

Ask if they think Afghanistan as a country is politically viable, and if they want a strong central government , or if they prefer strong regional/tribal authority and a federation, and if so, if the Pashtun should be a separate political entity, redrawing the Afghan-Pakistani border line.

Ask what they think might replace poppy-growing as the cash crop of the impoverished country.

Ask their feelings about living next to a weak and volatile Pakistan and near the looming Russians.

Ask if they would endorse and participate in a UN-led international conference , with everyone participating and listening to them and with no one allowed to leave the conference table until there is common agreement that Afghanistan can peacefully proceed on its own -- years hence, probably. Churchill was right: jaw-jaw is better than war-war, and the Afghans must be bone-weary of war after centuries of it.

WE CANNOT SUCCESSFULLY IMPOSE OUR VALUES ONTO A STONE-AGE NATION... NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE, TIME OR MONEY AVAILABLE, NOR IS IT RIGHT.

AFGHANISTAN IS ANOTHER SLIPPERY SLOPE... PLEASE, JUST DECLARE "VICTORY" AND LEAVE.

THANK YOU,

STEVE KESHNER
37 MANRESA RD
ST AUGUSTINE, FL 32084

To the Afghans,
I assume you do not want a return to the days of Taliban rule. What can the U.S. do to help you or would we help the most by leaving? What do YOU want us to do?
I am concerned that NATO troops could be used by you to do your dirty work. You need to step up and not allow one group to take over, even if that means having to fight a fellow Muslim.

Demagogery is what keeps the people justifying of violence, which truthfully they also perpetuate on each other. The West isn't faultless -- but it's not like we're invading that country to take their gold. Their violence is spilling out.

Unfortunately, some countries get a raw deal when it comes to geography. Violence occurs in rich countries and families also, but it breeds really well in impoverished conditions.

So another question I have is, what will it take for Afghans to want to stay home and attend to the flowering of the country God gave them? Is it possible? And what is sustainable? The West could maybe gift them with 100 new hospitals for the same cost as military intervention, but what is sustainable long term?

The rest of the world is only reacting to the flow of poisons from there -- violence and opium. Our part would be to take Afganistan off the customer list for guns and weapons. But what is their part going to be? Do they even WANT a flowering Afghanistan? Where's the vision?

Thanks.

Hi -- I'm a progressive white American woman. I've also lived in the Middle East, in Egypt. I loved it, others hate it, but it's very different culturally. *Conceptually* the matrix of value-priorities is almost totally the same as ours -- but in operation or functioning they are completely different.

That said, also consider that five times a day the imams or sheiks NUANCE the Koran, vocally, out loud, and broadcast everwhere. I have often thought that, for example, in our own country, the Right were able to gain power these last many decades because of the weekly sermons propounded by the Christian Right's network.... (the Left and progressives being less inclined to church). So there was a repeating pulpit. But imagine how much more compelling, and "knitting" together, would be messages propounded not only weekly, but daily, five times?

My question to the Afghan peace movement is:

Exactly how (emphasis) do they plan to combat demagogery in Afghanistan?

It's not the religion we fight. It's the wide open door to demagogery, which Islam unfortunately, sadly, is open to being used for due to its devotion.

How do they plan to combat demagogery? That's my question.
Thanks!

Well if it were judged by whom has the most weapons or whom had been in the most wars or whom sticks their nose into the situations of others the most, wouldn't the good ol USA be the most dangerous country? Our main export is guns and war making materials, do we expect to get love and flowers from these people in return? Seems like we have the proverbial beam in our eyes to me.

We have been in Afghanistan for eight years and it seems as if it will never end. We are sending more troops but how will we know when we win the war? It is a nation of tribes, some of which are strict religious sects, very few are rich. Killing religious leaders will only result in more popping up. Traffic back and forth to Pakistan makes it even less possible for improvements in the situation. We need a major effor to help farmers have other crops that can be grown to feed their families which is difficult. Taking away the only crop that brings money to families seems futile. Trying to kill key Taliban leaders seems to be a fruitless approach. I do not understand how this situation can be drastically changed.

You asked for it! As a retired Army/Iowa Guard veteran of both Vietnam & Desert Storm, a back injury kept me from a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2004. Many of the medics I helped train have served or will be doing a tour of duty there in the future.
1.) How widespread is the poppy production in both countries and how can NATO forces
convince local farmers to grow another crop that can FEED their local community with even HALF of the profits for a grain ?
2.) How much of the entire agricultural output of AFGN is comprised of the Opium production from the poppy fields ?
3.) The number one local source of finance for the TaliQueda ( frankly, to most Americans, there is very little difference between the Taliban and AlQueda except one if foreign and the other are warlords that want a return to the 16th Century) is the HEROIN
trade, is it going to take MASSIVE bribery to convince farmers to grow GRAIN instead ?
4.) What is being done to track the flow of money, munitions , materiel and training to
fundamentalist warlords who take money from the US AND the TaliQueda and harbor
WANTED terrorists along the Pashtun border region ?
5.) Why can't the UN be more proactive on a humanitarian level to aide the AFGN refugees in Pakistan ?
6.) What is being done to track down duplicitous local government officials in the border
region of Western Pakistan who take money from the TaliQueda and cooperate with the
Paki government when it suits them to stay in power ? These are the people who shelter
high value criminals like Bin Laden.
7.) Is there any real hope of the Paki government allowing covert "black opns" inside their border with US Spec Ops units to grab high value TaliQueda leadership ?
8.) When is the CentCom going to learn that you shouldn't use drone aircraft to remove
unwanted pests without collateral civilian casualties that causes WHOLE villages to turn against the US forces in AfPak ?
9.) The two nations are inextricably intertwined in this war. Why can't the US and respective nations of AfPak understand that its in EVERYONE's best interest if they
all work together to stabilize Afghanistan, remove corrupt government officials, reach
peace accords with as many war lords as possible, remove the opium/heroin finance
equation, stabilize the infrastructure - especially solar energy for remote villages,
clean drinking water, schools and health clinics ? This is only the tip of the iceberg !
10.) Girls who are taught to read scare the daylights out of Islamofacists. That is why they pour acid on them and blow up the schools they are taught in. You do the math.

Dear Good Sir,

I doubt you will hear my comment because it is very few out of the many and I haven't donated to your cause yet because I'm still unsure about how you even know who I am and thus what your full intentions are but your emails are vague and often just focus on the events of the 11 o'clock news tonight before quickly moving into a new subject to apparently 'cure' the world by planting you into downtown Kabul.

If you go to Afghanistan and come out of it at set time what will you accomplish that cannot be done without my $20 (ect.) going to you instead of directly to the people of Afghanistan?

We Americans seem to forget, that we are baby infants compared to other cultures & civilizations on this earth. Afghanistan and its people, culture and traditions have been praciticed upon this earth for thousands of years. Their way of life can not be changed or improved by invasion, proxy governments & war. Their land is very poor for agriculture, which is also dedicated to poppy growing & because of the rough terrain, causing people to go hungry, which creates desperate measures thru desperate times. Which in turn means crime & violence. America needs to stop poking her nose into other peoples buisness and stop building military bases around the world. Build them around the east & west coasts of the U.S. Surrrond our country with all the military bases around the world! Talk about Home Land Security! The minute we realize our presence in foreign lands is what fuels the insurgency, is the minute the world becomes a better place. Occupation, usually will create resentment, hate & fustration. Why stir up a bees nest half way around the world?

Hmmmmm--. Lyndon LaRouche strikes again, blanketing the responses with his drivel. The LaRouche movement is five people in a store front with a computer. I'm sure you must know they are to be ignored.

Thanks for keeping a spotlight on the issue of Afghanistan. I am outraged that this foolish and escalating war is being totally ignored by the mainstream media and I am disappointed that the American peace movement is not taking it as seriously as we should as well. I would love to see a strong public response to this dangerous road we are on. When is the big march on Washington planned for us to make a big show of our opposition to the senselessness of our military presence in Afghanistan? We should be getting that started now for September or October of this year. By then things may be so out of hand we will have wished we could have done something about it before. It burns me up that the Obama Administration is continuing Bush's reckless policies - we are given no better reason for waging war in Afghanistan than we were for invading Iraq!

The week of September 11th, 2009 I will be in Washington DC doing my best to inspire legislators to at least test dust and steel samples collected from ground zero in NYC for explosive residue... amazing that the 9/11 Commission didn't see any reason to do this? Anyway, I invite you to join me. One day we lobby for an end to the Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, another we could lobby to shut down the SOA?, another we could lobby for clean, affordable non-corporate provided energy?, another we could lobby to save the Constitution? and Friday 9/11/2001 we lobby to re-open the 9/11 investigation. I agree now is the time to begin planning something & if the 2 of us commit maybe others will also? If not, we at least can sleep knowing we did more than most to affect change democratically in the non-violent spirit of Gandhi & MLK. o.razor@yahoo.com

We in the US seem to think that our way is the only way. Find out what will truly lift up the people, not what we think is the best government for them, and give them the tools to make better lives for themselves. Until we create economies of peace, the economy of war will continue to undermine every effort to end war.

If the USA and other governments really and truly cared about the people of Afghanistan, they could offer refugee status to any Afghanistan citizen wanting to relocate to their countries. There would be no need for war, and It would be much cheaper than supporting thousands of troops for how many years now. Not too mention all the innocent people murdered by the indiscriminate use of bombs by both sides of the war.

We need to build schools, as the CAI has been doing. Only through education, particularly of girls, can we achieve peace in Afghanistan. No more bombs, just bricks and blocks, books and teachers.

The essential confusion among those who are in the position to influence violent activities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, or elsewhere is that there is a need for various international policing to create a stasis to an unstable condition. But what is only looked on and in effect disregarded or dismissed as not an immediate problem is the poverty that is the central reality of most of the instability over the world.
Powerful countries, such as the U.S., should concentrate on spending money and effort to find new sources of energy, and other viable technologies to generate a new worldwide condition, where there is no longer a need for a majority of the human race to have hateful envy of the small number who are living in relative comfort and peace.
Mr. Obama, his colleagues, and all those who are concerned for the world in an intellectual way need to admit that a world where one human must compete with hundreds or thousands of others for one job is no longer a possibility. We, as a species, must direct our thoughts to bring about a worldwide prosperity. The truth of a threat to any prosperous country otherwise is very real. Because the world has subjectively shrunk in size, because of the speed with which a plan of violence thousands of miles away can be accomplished in a short time, any unhappy and unfulfilled population is indeed at our back door. Force of any nature cannot solve the threats. Only plenty can.
But so saying, humanity as a whole must also recognize It's responsibilities to the rest of life on Earth. Again, we are all in this together, and without working for the health and prosperity of the whole Earth, we can not succeed, and are doomed to a very unhappy and suffering future.

Robert: You can ask them what they expect US troops to accomplish. What reason US troops have to be in and/or occupy part of the country. How long do they expect (we've been there eight years now) US troops to assist them to form a government that is any better than what they have? How many lives should the US sacrifice before we call it a day and return home?

UNODC Head Again Warns
About Drug Money
Jan. 31, 2009 (EIRNS)—This release was issued today by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee (LPAC).

UN Office of Drugs and Crime director Antonio Maria Costa has again warned that huge international drug money flows are bailing out the crisis-hit banking system. This is Costa's second warning this week.

On Jan. 30, Costa told the Associated Press in Vienna, that organized crime is using the financial crisis "as a golden opportunity" to launder funds through bank deposits and buying shares. He would not name any institutions, but said that money laundering is "certainly happening across the board.... The money is available and the need for that money is there. I think the whole system is infected."

On Jan. 27, the Vienna weekly Profil published an interview with Costa, in which he said that banks had been saved from collapse by injections of drug money, in the second half of 2008.

Costa said that the bank managers know what is going on. "I'm pretty sure that when someone knocks at the door of a banker with a few million, or tens of millions of dollars in a briefcase, the bank has plenty of reasons to doubt the origin," he told AP. He is using information from prosecutors in a number of countries, discussions with banking representatives, and years of experience tracking organized crime, as the basis for his warning. Not only the $320 billion world drug trade, but arms and human trafficking profits are involved, he said.
----------------
A Brawl Inside NATO over Afghan War on Drugs
30 Jan 2009
January 30, 2009 (LPAC)--A policy war has erupted inside NATO, over the issue of whether or not to shut down the massive Afghan opium trade, that finances and fuels the insurgency. On Jan. 28, the German news magazine Der Spiegel leaked the contents of a classified directive from NATO Commander Gen. John Craddock (USA), giving NATO troops in Afghanistan the authority to go after drug traffickers, regardless of whether there is advance evidence of their ties to the Taliban and other insurgents. Der Spiegel quoted the directive, which was sent on Jan. 5 to Egon Ramms, the top German official at the NATO command in Brunssum, Netherlands, where the Afghan force is headquartered, informing him that "it is no longer necessary to produce intelligence or other evidence that each particular drug trafficker or narcotics facility in Afghanistan meets the criteria of being a military objective." In other words, Gen. Craddock approved the targeting of the drug apparatus.

Craddock's leaked letter said that NATO's defense ministers had given him the authority to go after the drug pushers in a meeting in October, 2008. Getting such a go-ahead from NATO's Ministerial Council, against British opposition, has long been an objective of patriotic U.S. officers.

Der Spiegel's leak of the classified document claimed that top NATO officials, including Ramms, and Gen. David McKiernan, the ground commander of all NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, are opposed to the Craddock order; this is improbable, at least in McKiernan's case. It would appear that the Der Spiegel leak is aimed at sabotaging the NATO policy shift, a shift based on clear evidence that the entire Afghan insurgency is driven and funded by the opium trade. In a recent speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Gen. McKiernan argued that the opium trade is the wellspring of the insurgency, and that no success is possible without the elimination of the opium trade. In an earlier speech at the same Atlantic Council, Gen. Barry McCaffrey had denounced the British, by name, for sabotaging any efforts to change the NATO rules of engagement and allow for the elimination of the opium.

Now, the British press and sympathetic German Green politicians are trying to use the leaks to demand Craddock's resignation.

Lyndon LaRouche said today that "the real issue is that the United States and other countries are sending troops in as suckers to get killed for no purpose, while the British are promoting drug trafficking out of the area. It's simple; that's what's happening. Either we stop the drug trafficking, or we lose civilization.

"And the drug trafficking is a form of warfare tantamount to international terrorism," he concluded.

LaRouche: Stop Dope, Inc.'s
Takeover of World Economy
by Dennis Small

[PDF version of this article]

Jan. 30—"This is Doomsday Time," Lyndon LaRouche warned in a Jan. 28 statement issued by the LaRouche Political Action Committee. "The world's available money supply is tied largely to the attempted bailout of financial institutions, and you've got a shortage of money, of any kind of credit, building up rapidly into catastrophic levels in every other area."

With no money available for useful production, and most world leaders still not willing to address the necessary bankruptcy reorganization of the entire international financial system, unemployment is skyrocketing, factories are closing, state and national governments around the world are teetering at the edge of insolvency, and world trade is grinding to a halt. In late January, the usually staid United Nations' International Labor Organization (ILO) issued a report forecasting that 50 million jobs would be lost worldwide by the end of 2009, and that there will shortly be 1.4 billion "working poor"—about half the planet's working-age population.

The ILO's forecast is actually "optimistic," LaRouche responded, given the accelerating disintegration of the global economy. "People are going to start dying as a result of these economic conditions."

Furthermore, the London-centered international drug cartel known as Dope, Inc. is moving in "to take over the whole world economy," LaRouche warned.

The danger is that the people who are pushing drugs will thrive; and those who get drug money will feel that they are going to thrive, too. And those who are not getting the drug money are going to find out that they don't get anything.

Now, the argument is that you have to be good to the drug pushers, because they are the only ones who are supplying the loose cash with this situation presently, in which the world money supply is collapsing and the drug supply of money is increasing.

LaRouche said that this drug takeover of the world economy by the British Empire, operating through front men like the Nazi-trained George Soros, has to be stopped cold. "Destroy the bastards! Shut them down. There's no reason to put up with this crap. Civilization is at stake," LaRouche insisted.

'The Whole System Is Infected'
The director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria Costa, has also exposed the escalating role of drug money in bailing out the drowning banking system. In a Jan. 27 interview in the Austrian magazine Profil and in comments to Associated Press, Costa said drug money laundering in unprecedented amounts is "certainly happening across the board.... The money is available, and the need for that money is there. I think the whole system is infected," Costa asserted (see below).

Costa estimated that the total street value of all illicit drugs was about $320 billion a year. This, however, significantly understates the magnitude of the problem, according to a new systematic study of Dope, Inc.'s global activities that EIR is currently preparing. Preliminary findings indicate that the total dollar value of drug production may well be two to three times UNODC's figure, and that other components of the global "black" economy— illegal weapons, commmodities contraband, gambling, prostitution, etc.—are probably as much again as the drug money, bringing the total into the ballpark of $1.5-2 trillion a year.

In these days of trillion-dollar TARP bailouts and quadrillion-dollar vaporization of derivatives and other financial assets, $2 trillion may not sound like a lot of money. But this is loose, highly-liquid, free-floating cash, which can go a long way to purchase politicians and narcoterrorist armies, and salvage friendly financial institutions—albeit briefly.

The campaign for drug legalization, which Soros is spearheading internationally, will only make the problem far, far worse by vastly increasing drug consumption and revenues. The constantly repeated refrain that, "You just can't win the war on drugs, so we may as well strike a deal," is a pack of lies.

"The only reasons we have a drug problem," LaRouche stated on Jan. 19, "is because governments don't want to take it away. People say, 'Well, you can't solve the problem.' What do you mean you can't solve the problem?! We have the technological means to detect everything in fine detail, to find all of this stuff; we know how to develop methods for solving the problem. They choose not to do it! That's the reason—it's the only reason. Because you have a system which is doing it. You have to shut down the system."

Operation Afghanistan
LaRouche this week urged the Obama Administration to launch a serious war against drugs, as the best way—in fact, the only way—to solve the crisis in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia in general (see below).

"There is no hope for Afghanistan or Pakistan, so long as the drug trade is allowed to flourish," LaRouche stated. "The most direct way to shut down that trade, and establish the necessary conditions for a viable policy for South and Central Asia, is to first eliminate George Soros. Shut down his offshore operations, remove him from any access to the American political process. Cart him off to jail. Then, come and talk to me about an appropriate strategy for bringing stability and prosperity to Afghanistan and Pakistan." LaRouche added: "George Soros is so pivotal to the British opium war operations, whether in Afghanistan/Pakistan, or in Mexico and other parts of the Western Hemisphere, that no victory is possible in either of these areas, so long as Soros is allowed to operate."

LaRouche has also emphasized that the new war on drugs must be fought with a minimum of deadly violence, using advanced technologies—especially space-based technologies—to defeat the enemy by detecting, eradicating, interdicting, and seizing drug flows at every stage of the process. LaRouche has dubbed the needed approach "Operation Afghanistan."

Dope, Inc. has in fact converted Afghanistan into a giant opium and heroin producing machine for the global drug market that London has created. Afghan opium production soared by 140% over the last five years since the NATO invasion—from 3,400 metric tons in 2002 to some 8,200 metric tons in 2007—and its share of world production leapt from 75% to 92% in the same period (see Figure 1).

Dope, Inc. has a lot going for it in Afghanistan. Opium yields there averaged about 40 kilograms per hectare over the past three years, which is substantially higher than the 15 kg/ha average in most other opium producing countries. It is widely known that half of Afghan opium is grown in the British-occupied Helmand province, which is only 9% of the country's land area. As Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Baheen put it on Jan. 18: "Afghanistan's opium production was only high in places where international foreign forces were stationed, like the British troops in Helmand."

The vast majority of Afghan opium is converted into heroin, mostly inside Afghanistan itself, or in laboratories located just across the border in Pakistan. Furthermore, since about 2002, Afghanistan has improved the efficiency of its conversion of opium into heroin, by about 15%. Instead of requiring 10 kilograms of opium to produce 1 kilo of heroin (which has been the standard historic average around the world for decades), Afghanistan now requires only 8.5 kg of opium to produce 1 kg of heroin.

This means that, out of an estimated world production of about 795 tons of heroin in 2007, Afghanistan produced some 753 tons (95% of the total), and the rest of the world produced only 42 tons. The "Afghan bonus" due to the increased conversion efficiency since 2002, has added about 110 tons to what it otherwise would have produced—which, alone, is nearly three times what the rest of the world produced!

If we compare world production of opium and cocaine over the period 1995-2007, a crucial point comes into focus. Opium production increased by 90% during this period (from 4,475 tons in 1995, to 8,484 tons in 2007), with phenomenal increases, especially in the last two to three years in Afghanistan. Cocaine production, on the other hand, was almost flat during that same period, inching up from 929 tons in 1995, to 940 tons in 2007.

The reason? Eradication of over half of all coca plantations, principally in Colombia. If there had been no coca eradication, cocaine production in 2007 would have been 1,903 tons, almost double the 940 tons that actually were produced. And the curve of rising cocaine production from 1995 to 2007 would have looked like an exact copy of the curve for opium production (see Figure 2).

Stated otherwise: Over the past four years, Afghanistan eradicated less than 7% of its poppy crop. Why so little? Because the British wouldn't allow it, because they are promoting drugs in Afghanistan, and internationally. According to a July 2008 article in the New York Times Magazine, by former ambassador Thomas Schweich, a high-level anti-narcotics official from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs: When an aerial interdiction effort was briefly undertaken a few years ago in Afghanistan, the British command in the Helmand opium province "actually issued leaflets and bought radio advertisements telling the local criminals that the British military was not part of the anti-poppy effort."

During the same period that almost no poppy plants were eradicated in Afghanistan, the coca-growing nations of Colombia, Peru, and Boliva—but especially Colombia—eradicated 50% of the total coca crop.

But even these levels of eradication are modest, compared to what can be achieved with full deployment of shared modern technology, based on cooperation among sovereign nation-states. EIR has estimated that fully 90% of all drug crops—coca, poppy/opium, and marijuana—could be eradicated with a serious deployment of high-tech detection and eradication technologies. All that is lacking is the political will to do it.



________________________-
As Obama Ponders New Afghan Policy, British-Saudis Muscle In
02 Feb 2009

February 2, 2008 (LPAC)--While a new Afghan policy is on the anvil in Washington, the British-Saudi cabal is trying to wrest control of Afghanistan for their drug lords.



In Pakistan, the MI6-linked former ISI chief Hamid Gul, along with British-Saudi assets such as former Army Chief Mirza Aslam Beg and the Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad and others, have adopted a resolution in the Feb. 1 "Defense of Pakistan Conference" in the garrison-city of Rawalpindi. Gul said the U.S. should stop drone attacks, as these were hitting the nation hard. If the U.S. does not stop these attacks, the drones should be shot down. He said the Kashmir movement should be reinvigorated to win the right of self-determination for the Kashmiris.



In addition, the Peshawar-based Frontier Post reported that under the aegis of Saudi King Abdullah, a second round of talks took place last December in Saudi Arabia between the Saudis, the British and the Taliban. President Karzai had sent his brother, Qayuum Karzai to attend the pow-wow. The role of Saudi Intelligence Chief, Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, in bringing Taliban and the government to the negotiation table was stressed. Prince Muqrin travelled to Islamabad and Kabul to bring the Taliban and the Afghan Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an old-CIA-Saudi-ISI asset going back to the 1980s, into the talks.



Prior to these talks, Ghairat Baheer, the representative of Hekmatyar's Hizb-e-Islami and a participant in the first round of dialogue, was in London to interact with Britain-based Afghans. He was thought to have briefed the Afghan leaders in Britain and other European countries. A Hizb source does not rule out that Baheer may have met with British authorities. The source was of the opinion that the main purpose of talks in London was not only to include the Britain-based Afghans in the process, but also to bring Hizb-e-Islami in line with the Taliban's demand that foreign troops leave Afghanistan immediately. Hizb-e-Islami has previously called for a timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops.

WASHINGTON, Nov 9: One of the first priorities of the Obama administration will be to reassess US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, his aides say.

And as a first step, he has appointed Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and adviser to three US presidents on South Asia and the Middle East as his adviser on Pakistan.

His aides say that Mr Obama is impressed with Mr Riedel’s views and it was on his advice that Mr Obama spoke of the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute in an interview with a US television network last weekend.

According to these aides, one of Mr Riedel’s long-time themes is that resolving the Kashmir dispute is essential for fighting terrorism.

But in doing so, Mr Riedel does not emphasise the need to restoring the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. Instead, he advocates finding a solution that satisfies India and ends Pakistan’s excuse for lingering the dispute.

A major part of Mr Riedel’s theory for ending conflicts in South Asia deals with persuading Pakistan to accept India’s influence in the region and stop its efforts to counter India by promoting its own interests in places like Afghanistan.

By persuading India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute, Mr Riedel also hopes to refocus the Pakistani military on fighting militants within its border, a point Mr Obama also stressed in his interview to CNN last week. But this over-emphasis on the military option is already worrying experts on the Afghan conflict.

Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist who is now an adviser to the Commander US Central Command Gen David Petraeus, said in an interview that instead of over-emphasising the military option, the Obama administration should develop “a regional approach” to ending the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“That means bringing in the neighbouring countries: Iran, India, and the five Central Asian states, and then resolving some of these regional problems — like the disputes between India and Pakistan, between Iran and the Americans, between Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

Washington-based South Asia analyst Marvin Weinbaum, who advised Mr Obama on Afghanistan and Pakistan during the campaign, told Dawn he was confident that Mr Obama would not follow the policies of the Bush administration.

The Obama administration, said Mr Weinbaum, would increase the number of US troops in Afghanistan but he would also negotiate and seek compromise where possible.

“There is a consensus, even in the American military, that there is no, strictly speaking, military solution. It is one which may involve the military in order to be in a position to negotiate without having to concede surrender to your enemy,” Mr Weinbaum said.

Mr Weinbaum noted that in his latest interview on this issue, Mr Obama also urged the Afghan government to improve governance, provide security and jobs to its people and to expand its reign beyond Kabul.

Mr Weinbaum also noted that while Mr Obama did not oppose the idea of trying the Iraqi model of arming local tribesmen to fight insurgents in Afghanistan, he stressed that the situation in Afghanistan was different from Iraq.

Christine Fair, a senior political analyst at the RAND Corporation, said she had strong doubts about copying the Iraqi model in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In an interview to a US media outlet, Ms Fair said that even in Iraq, this policy was already having “unintended consequences.”

“I am an opponent of this because it never works. In fact, in the case of Afghanistan, we are where we are today because we choose to outsource securing Afghanistan to [people who are] basically warlords. There is no reason to believe that it will be successful, except in a very short-term definition of success.”

Obama to Explore New Approach in Afghanistan War

By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 11, 2008; A01



The incoming Obama administration plans to explore a more regional strategy to the war in Afghanistan -- including possible talks with Iran -- and looks favorably on the nascent dialogue between the Afghan government and "reconcilable" elements of the Taliban, according to Obama national security advisers.

President-elect Barack Obama also intends to renew the U.S. commitment to the hunt for Osama bin Laden, a priority the president-elect believes President Bush has played down after years of failing to apprehend the al-Qaeda leader. Critical of Bush during the campaign for what he said was the president's extreme focus on Iraq at the expense of Afghanistan, Obama also intends to move ahead with a planned deployment of thousands of additional U.S. troops there.

The emerging broad strokes of Obama's approach are likely to be welcomed by a number of senior U.S. military officials who advocate a more aggressive and creative course for the deteriorating conflict. Taliban attacks and U.S. casualties this year are the highest since the war began in 2001.

Some military leaders remain wary of Obama's pledge to order a steady withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, to be completed within 16 months -- an order advisers say Obama is likely to give in his first weeks in office. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called a withdrawal timeline "dangerous." Others are distrustful of a new administration they see as unschooled in the counterinsurgency wars that have consumed the military for the past seven years.

But conversations with several Obama advisers and a number of senior military strategists both before and since last Tuesday's election reveal a shared sense that the Afghan effort under the Bush administration has been hampered by ideological and diplomatic constraints and an unrealistic commitment to the goal of building a modern democracy -- rather than a stable nation that rejects al-Qaeda and Islamist extremism and does not threaten U.S. interests. None of those who discussed the subject would speak on the record, citing sensitivities surrounding the presidential transition and the war itself.

As Obama begins to formulate his Afghan war policy, some senior military strategists have begun to question the U.S. commitment to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is expected to run for reelection next year but is widely considered weak and ineffective. Some European and NATO officials have suggested that an assembly of tribal elders should select the country's next leader, an idea the State Department has rejected.

Obama advisers have emphasized that a sharper focus on al-Qaeda does not mean pulling back on the Afghan ground war. Obama called early in the campaign for deploying two or three additional U.S. combat brigades to Afghanistan. Bush has already approved such an increase, although the timing of the deployments, likely to begin next spring, depends on the drawdown of forces from Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Mullen, frustrated by the performance of NATO allies whose troops make up more than half the total foreign force in Afghanistan, have already planned for a more overt and forceful U.S. leadership role in the war, as well as more direct involvement by U.S. forces in fighting the Taliban in southern and western Afghanistan.

Some NATO military officials said enhanced U.S. leadership would be welcome, as long as it was not seen as a "takeover bid," said one senior European officer whose country has troops fighting as part of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan. While the U.S. military has long criticized some NATO members for lacking combat zeal and expertise in Afghanistan, many European officers resent what they see as U.S. arrogance.

The NATO officer suggested that Obama, whose election was greeted with wide approval in Europe, may have more success than Bush in persuading other alliance members to increase their fighting forces in Afghanistan. "I think you'll find the new president would then be able to persuade a number of European nations who have not liked this administration's way of doing business to come in behind them," he said.

At Mullen's direction, the map of the Afghanistan battle space is being redrawn to include the tribal regions of western Pakistan. U.S. military and intelligence leaders have delivered forceful messages to Pakistani officials on the need to step up attacks against Taliban and al-Qaeda sanctuaries in their territory.

Obama, advisers said, plans to intensify the U.S. military and intelligence focus on al-Qaeda and bin Laden. Intelligence officials say the search is already as intensive as ever, even as they emphasize that the decentralized al-Qaeda network would remain a threat without him. Bush administration officials have publicly played down the importance of a single individual in the broad sweep of their anti-terrorism offensive.

One week after the election, the Obama team is far from fleshing out how it will bring bin Laden closer to the forefront of the U.S. counterterrorism agenda, both rhetorically and substantively. Although Obama last week received his first high-level intelligence briefing as president-elect, members of his national security transition teams are still studying briefing materials the Bush administration has prepared for them. They have yet to fully examine available military and intelligence resources and how they are currently being used, and have not yet plotted their diplomatic approach to Pakistan, where U.S. intelligence officials believe bin Laden is hiding.

While emphasizing the importance of continuing U.S. operations against Pakistan-based Taliban fighters who attack U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the incoming administration intends to remind Americans how the fight against Islamist extremists began -- on Sept. 11, 2001, before the Afghanistan and Iraq wars -- and to underscore that al-Qaeda remains the nation's highest priority. "This is our enemy," one adviser said of bin Laden, "and he should be our principal target."

Obama said during the campaign that his administration would explore talks with countries such as Iran and Syria, rejecting bedrock Bush policy and rhetoric that some U.S. military officials believe may have outlived their usefulness.

Iran, on Afghanistan's western border, has played a mixed role over the years, at times indirectly cooperating with U.S. objectives and at times assisting the extremists. The Bush administration has kept Tehran at arm's length, but "as we look to the future, it would be helpful to have an interlocutor" to explore shared objectives, said one senior U.S. military official. The Iranians "don't want Sunni extremists in charge of Afghanistan any more than we do," he said.

Advisers also said Obama is open to supporting discussions between the Afghan government and "reconcilable" elements of the Taliban, a nascent effort of which the State Department has been fairly dismissive. Although it supports the terms the Afghan government has laid down -- abandoning violence and accepting the Afghan constitution -- the Bush administration sees "no serious indication from anybody on the Taliban side that they're interested," Assistant Secretary of State Richard A. Boucher said. "They keep hijacking buses, killing people and chopping their heads off. These are not people who have shown any serious desire to negotiate."

But the Pentagon, at least rhetorically, has left the door open wider. Senior officers describe a substantial portion of Taliban foot soldiers as more opportunistic than ideologically committed. Gates has spoken openly about the possibility of reconciliation, saying, "at the end of the day, that's how most wars end. . . . That's ultimately the exit strategy for all of us." Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, said during a recent visit to Washington that the idea of "reconciliation, I think, is appropriate, and we'll be there to provide support within our mandate."

At the White House, presidential adviser Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute is leading an interagency assessment of the Afghanistan war, scheduled to be finished this month, that administration officials said will focus on enhancing support for provincial and local governments and building the Afghan police. Lute plans to travel to Brussels to summarize the review for NATO.

At the Pentagon, Mullen is overseeing an Afghanistan and Pakistan transition strategy and force-structure review by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former Iraq commander sworn in last month as head of the U.S. Central Command, is drawing up plans for his wider new responsibilities, which include Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mullen and Petraeus will remain in place when the Bush administration's civilian policymakers leave office in January. Petraeus, a senior Defense official said, has indicated he agrees with Obama's more regional approach to Afghanistan and welcomes "a debate about goals and how much is enough" in terms of nation-building there. "We are not going to seize the flag there and go home to a victory parade," this official said.


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My goodness, you posted page after page after page of the same propaganda type information (ie. Afghanistan produces 95% of the world's heroin...) that we have been relying on since the immoral invasion of Afghanistan. So how is your lengthy, copied & pasted post supposed to inspire Mr Greenwald to help our nation "rethink" Afghanistan?

There are more important things, but I have always been interested in the historical context which has led to the current situations.
Is Pakistan another Iran, where the CIA installed and maintains a puppet government?
Does this reflect, like Iran, the take-over or extension of the British empire by the American empire ?
Is it the same characters involved in both empires at the top in some respects ?
Do these people still have their global agendas and is their plan falling apart, and what will that mean, and how much is the American government a puppet government of a society of bankers and industrialists with a world agenda ?
Was there any instabillity originally created by "us" to create a need to militarily invade Pakistan, but now that seems too costly ?
The idea that we helped invent the Taliban to fight the Soviet Union and now they fight us, - sometimes it looks like "we" may still use them as an excuse to be militarily involved in the Middle East. Great pains were made to link Al Qaida to Saddam to help justify support to militarily occupy Iraq. Could some of this same methodology be involved with Pakistan ? Blow-back is a possibillity, but Iraq can only be considered that if Saddam was put in power by the CIA as some propose.
The history of Britain and then the US in regards to putting down threats against the empires and putting up puppet governments, and how this all may be falling down despite the lessons we taught Iraq, and the motives and interests involved, seem to be the main story, especially if the real actors behind "America's" interest and England's interest previously, and any connection between these people can be revealed.

So many times we have "national security" used to mean protecting America's interest, but we see government selling out America to transnational agendas. It seems like the America whose interests are defended belongs to a corporate elite not necessarily of America and has little to do with the American people, except our tax dollars and people are involved in wars of aggression based on lies and hidden motives.

Globalization seems to mean a group of bankers wanting to have the globe in debt to them, and the reality of people's rejecting that idea, while entrepeneurs sell out on anyone and everyone, - there is no government anymore. Investors looking to exploit and defend global plunder versus a global insurgency. Pretty odd.

Be careful about getting killed by any number of interests over there. I guess that's what its about, everyone's interest and power being projected, and generally in a selfish manner.

Wasn't it Chrchill who said that the empire's borders must be defended and the peoples not allowed to unite against the empire ? Divide and conquer ? Doesn't PNAC represent a new face of empire ?

Did PNAC fail in its objectives ?

Does Obama represent the same group of people with a different slant for fooling the world ? - Take the troops from Iraq and put them in Afghanistan while leaving 100,000s of mercenaries in Iraq ?

And all this to what end ? A new American century for whom ? Who are those people who will really benefit a New American century ?

Did the Cold War ever really end ?

Although it is controversial, if 9-11 was an inside job, and all this stuff in the Middle East was anticipated and is being orchestrated as well, is Obama on board, or will he cause it to fail ? Is Obama somehow allowed in at such a point after lunatics launched this global agenda that isn't working, while those "masterminds" back-off ? Is Obama a alternate plan "B" ? If so, good luck now.

What about this banking scam, was it orchestrated to bring what's left of America to its knees to global bankers ? Are those at the top just cashing out on a sinking ship ?

Oh well, I like all the stuff you do. Servant of the truth is noble enough. Wish you well.

Kharzai can't control his country by himself. He of course doesn't like the Taliban and Al Qaida. There are at least a dozen dominant tribes ruled by Warlords that also hate Taliban/Al Qaida. And USA/Nato would like to leave that hell as soon as possible..
I think the solution is to arm the Afghan president and Warlords with modern tanks and supplies so they can fight the Taliban and Al Qaida themselves and USA should give them only training and aerial support any time they ask for. Do the same in Iraq and leave which is what Obama has promise us and is not doing, sending instead more troops. We Americans democrats don't want any more wars. We need to do peace instead.

Dear Mr. Greenwalk...

If you haven't already, please read "Three Cups of Tea" before you venture to Afghanistan or Pakistan -- Here is a web link....http://www.threecupsoftea.com/

I read this book and was amazed at what one person was able to accomplish with patience and putting an emphasis on building relationships. We in the US are so used to instant gratification and that's just not how it works if you really want to make a difference. Understanding or at least making an effort to understand their culture is important -- more important than them understanding ours. When setting expectations for this part of the world we need to think differently. Relationships, Education and patience are key --- Just a thought..... Read the book -- very enlightening.

Dear Mr Greenwald:
I'm an old Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Nigeria in the 1960's--as a community organizer. I do not believe the United States should be escalating our efforts in Afghanistan except in the areas of diplomacy or community development. I believe strongly in getting developmental dollars directly to the people, with minimal governmental filters.
I believe the concerns of the United States should be to assure that Afghanistan does not again become a training ground for those who wish to do violence to us, and to eliminate the opium trade which apparently serves the dual purpose of financing the Taliban and feeding the drug habits of Americans and Europeans.
Afghanistan is basically an agrarian society whose primary cash crop is opium. The West frets, ineffectually, about the huge amounts of opium smuggled into Europe and the United States . THE UNITED STATES SHOULD SIMPLY BUY THE ENTIRE POPPY CROP!!!--DIRECTLY FROM THE FARMERS, AT A GOOD PRICE--MORE THAN THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRADE WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY.
These purchases could be made through the central government thereby establishing a direct link between the farmers and the government in Kabul. The program would, of course, require rules and conditions. The farmers would have to agree to reduce their poppy plantings by a percentage each year, in the meantime transitioning to other crops or other means of making a living. Sound familiar?? Of course--who has more experience in paying farmers not to grow crops than the United States?
Such a program would be a good vehicle to insert intense training in modern "green" agriculture. Programs such as Cooperative Extension or Future Farmer's clubs in the United States might serve as a model. This approach could also result in a weakening of the warlords as the farmers develop a direct relationship with the central government. If the farmers were assisted to form agricultural cooperatives, such coops could develop into centers of countervailing , progressive local power. Coops could also be a jumping off point for other development such as safe water projects and wind farms.
Thanks for listening and good luck with your project.

Sincerely,

Eric Goodale

I don't have any specific questions. However, I believe that the terrorist problem in Afghanistan can not be solved unless we consider India-Pakistan-Afghanistan as one problem. Extremists in Pakistan are fighting in Kashmir. The same extremists are fighting in Afghanistan. The same extremists are fighting across the globe.

It is often said that to have peace you must have justice. But the concept of justice in Afghanistan and Pakistan seems to be very different from our (Western) definition.

This make it very difficult for all parties to work for peace.

Can we get agreement on the essential elements of justice among all the parties?

What roles and priorities are assigned to the following:

* Poverty?
* Food/hunger/malnutrition?
* Physical security/civil order?
* Religious freedom?
* Political freedom/right to vote?
* Freedom of speech and assembly?
* Women's rights?
* Education for all who want it?
* Corruption/Drugs?
* Civil authority vs Religious authority?
* Civil authority vs Military authority?
* National Soverignty vs Tribal authority?

There are probably many more determinants of justice in these countries which need to be understood on an intellectual, cultural, social, political and economic level in order to effectively work towards a mutual set of policies and programs which bring some semblance of peace, security and stability.

First, PLEASE BE CAREFUL. Because of the Taliban, this is a very hostile place for reporters - especially reporters from the West.
I would like to know what Hamid Karzai thinks should be the strategy for continuing the military efforts to reduce the influence of the Taliban, who seem to be mostly ethnic Pashtuns from the southern part of the nation.
I would like to know if Hamid Karzai would like ALL the military from the Western nations to leave, and let the Afghanis handle their own affairs.
I would like to know what the Afghani citizens want, both from their own government (such as it is) and from the Western nations now in their country.
I would like to know what the American and other nation's military commanders now involved in this counter-insurgency think should be the strategy for continuing (or not proceeding) with this effort.
Finally, what do the NGO participants now in the country think should be the strategy for assisting this war-ravaged people.
Safe journey, Mr. Greenwald.

You should review the recent Bill Moyers program on this subject. It was very thoughtful. Following it I am reading the book Descent into Chaos by Ahmed Rashid. It is extremely detailed account of the disaster that has been developing in the region (Afghanistan and Pakistan ) over the past 20 years mainly due to neglect by Bush Senior, Clinton and then seriously worsened by the last president. He knows all of the important people and could give you valuable introductions. The problem from his viewpoint is the Pakistani military and ISI which have been using the fundamentalists for their proxy wars against Russia in Afghanistan, and India in Kashmir. They have never been willing to sacrifice this relationship and have lied repeatedly to the US while doing nothing. The Bush administration was satisfied with a few Al Quaeda captured, and poured tens of millions into the military which then strengthened the '
Taliban. Now they have ceded part of Pakistan to the fundamentalist as they are incapable of fighting them without changing their attitude towards India which they consider to be their major enemy. The big issue is the weakness and corruption of the civilian governments which cannot handle the military or the fundamentalists.
The Pakistani Ambassador to the US was interviewed on the Lehrer news hour and sounded passive aggressive towards us and stressed that Pakistan adhered to the Sharia law which according to Rashid is not true as there is a written constitution that allows women their freedom etc.. As you may remember there have been judicial stonings under previous governments. So the country is really fragile and dangerous.
The majority used to be pro American before the recent Bush administration

let's avoid another dead end....are we doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again. i thought new leadership would usher in an era of enlightment and resurgance of US leadership. instead we seen to be going down the same path as the previous administartion. Having somebody who means well as president is a good thing but what is he doing?!
Help!!!!

SANDY LIEBERSON

America's rampant militarism is affecting people adversely worldwide. The Military
Industrial Complex profits from all of these never wars Boeing, Lockeed, Raytheon
ect. The people suffer from having to support all of these wars, America or should
I say the United States of Israel is fast becoming a third world country. Whereever
America goes people die by the thousands. For everyones benefit America should
get out of all of the Middle East countries and let them live in peace.

Mr, Greenwald,

Before you travel to Afghanistan and/or Pakistan, I suggest you contact Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea is his book on the area and his life's work) Greg has spent his life trying to bring peace to the region through building village schools esp for girls, on the assumption that through education of the people is the only way to lasting peace. He has built over a hundred schools so far through his Central Asia Institute. Google Greg Mortenson . Thanks

I totally agree with this comment. Greg Mortensen was interviewed with Ahmed Rashid in a program by Bill Moyer. I plan to read his book after the descent into Chaos.
See my comment above.
Thanks

Here is my comment. Get the army out of Afghanistan. Obama promised an end to the war in Iraq. Now the army is still in Iraq and the war is being expanded in Afghanistan. Here is my message. Get the army out of both countries!

Hello Mr. Greenwald,
Judging from your name and your looks, I can only guess that you could be a Jew.
I have an advise for you. Instead of blaming Pakistan or Afghanistan or any other Muslim country for what is going on in this world, why don't you go and make a movie about the illegitimate creation of the so-called israel in the heart of the Arab/Muslim world...!
The illegitimate creation of the so-called israel based on mythological BS is totally unacceptable in this day-and-age. It is like giving American to the Red Indians and arm them to the gills to go out and kill and intimidate everybody around them.

Let the world make up their mind and decide who is right and who should be removed and sent back to Brooklyn, N.Y.

Once you make a documentary on this subject, you will educate the American public and the rest of the world. In the meantime you will teach the world that all the Arabs/Muslims are trying to do is get their country back...!

As soon as you make this documentary based on the truth and justice, I will give you all the money you want...!

By 1839 our righteous forefathers had murdered over 12 of 16 million indigenous "RED" Indians ( George Catlin; Letter #1) and put the remainder into concentration camp type reservations, out of sight, to starve and die of disease. I suggest anyone who still believes the "Savage Redman" propaganda read some of George Catlin's work.

BTW, I for one would rather the Navajo rule this nation than what we have had over the last 50+ years.

Mr Greenwald, Please interview Richard Gage, AIA (AE911Truth.org) before leaving. If you really want citizens of this nation to "re-think Afghanistan", include what he has to say in your documentary.

A way to achieve military security in Afghanistan would be to build a wire fence of manganese steel wire, which can not be cut with a wire cutter. Such a fence would not keep Taliban killers out, but if patrolled every half hour or so, would usually keep them in long enough to capture them, since it is not practical to bring ladders inland during a raid. Thus they would have no practical safe haven, and things should quiet down considerably. There is no reason why the soldiers patrolling could not be Afghanistan soldiers employed by us with a substantial additional reward for any captures, and not our troops. Afghanistan should provide its own security as much as possible.
Their chief source of revenue inside Afghanistan is the drug trade, which our citizens provide for them. This could be cut off overnight if we were to provide free drugs to anyone who wanted them here in our country to be consumed only at clinics. This would degrade the average health of Americans a tiny bit, but not even remotely as much as the junk food industry degrades it every day currently. And it would only increase drug usage a small amount from currently, while giving a fringe benefit of reducing drug related crime considerably.

Ridiculous, war never beget peace - not in my universe. We are tired of the hurting, each person that dies or is persecuted in any way - we feel. Just because these hardened souls don't feel it doesn't mean that sensitive people don't. It would be nice to live in a world where joy was alive and everyone didn't have to go around feeling guilty for every extra pound on their body or every person who wasn't getting a fair shake in life. You all know better, let's do it!

Dear Mr. Greewald
I know you don't have much time, but you should really read this book called "The Man Who Would Be King: the first American in Afghanistan" by Ben MacIntyre. It's the true story of Josiah Harlan, the first American to go into the interior of that country way back in the early 1820s. Josiah is completely unknown to Americans today, much to our own detriment, but he wrote about his travels and associations with the rulers of that great country and nearby India, what's now Pakistan and things have not changed there much since his time. You really owe it to yourself to read about that country before you go. This book is well written and entertaining besides brilliant and offers information you won't get any place else. I highly recommend it to you in order to understand the Afghan culture and complex relationships between peoples living there. Have a safe trip.

Ask them about people they knew and were killed, wounded, tortured and in other ways mistreated by US troops.

I noticed that many of the writers mentioned Greg Mortensen. He is an amazing man.
He is doing so much good, helping Afghanis and Pakistanis. He should get he Nobel Peace Prize. I am crusading to make all I know read his book, when they do, they agree with me. I am sure Greg Mortensen, could tell you a lot about the people, their costumes and beliefs and how to interact with them
Please be very careful. The Taliban has promised to kill foreigners

I think they thought about foreigners wearin uniforms.

Thanks for your concern, Lisa. We'll be sure to check out Mortensen's work.

Love your movies Robert!

I want to know if the Afghans accept the US rationale for the invasion and occupation: the 9-11 attacks. Do they honestly believe Osama bin Laden caused the stand-down of US defenses so that even the most heavily protected building in the world (the Pentagon) was miraculously ill-equipped to respond to 4 slow moving aircraft for a period of an hour and a half.

Do they think he did it, or do they think the invasion had more to do with creating an extensive oil pipeline and boosting the opium trade?

How do you think the drones/missiles the US is sending into Pakistan are affecting the people in Afghanistan?

Yes, this is a serious a concern... stay tuned for part 2 of our documentary, which looks at how this was will impact Pakistan.

I would ask them what they feel are the most strategic moves they can make to bring peace among the numerous tribes of Afghanistan. Who are their strongest leaders & visionaries for peace? What names keep cropping up? Is there some kind of panel which is made up with representatives from each of the major tribes? What are their biggest concerns? What has history taught their country about mistakes which can be avoided in the future? (Like any country!)

Bon Voyage, Robert! You are the best! Many will be with you there in spirit!

If you don't already know about him, I would say check out the work of Greg Mortensen author of "Three Cups of Tea" and the Central Asia Institute. They do good work building schools and do development work in Afghan and Pakistan communities.

I would be curious to know what Afghans think the role of the US in their country should be. How do we address the issue of terrorism without becoming occupiers of their country?

I would also like to know what they think about the role of Pakistan and how the US should deal with that country in the most effective way.

Thanks for your work!

Lisa&Karen, Yes, if we look to the Afghan history, then we will find there, that Afghans never let foreigner in their country to rule, it is fact.
USA was attacked with the address of Afghanistan in year 2001, in fact those wahabis Sheichs( Bin Laden group together Taliban group), which are the invention of Mr. Khalilzad, but no body care about this fact now!

The slogans of Mr. G. W. Bush was in year 2001 " we are going to Afghanistan to get the nation free from terrorists(Taliban and Al Qaida), to bring into country peace, freedom, security and prosperity".

The whole nation acted passive when the so call supported countries entered Afghanistan because the people believed the slogans of Mr. G. W. Bush.

Unfortunately realized the nation soon, that those slogans are cheating. Mr. G. W. Bush in cooperation with Mr. Khalilzad combind exported group( Karzai, Jalali, Ashraf Ghani, Hidiatullah Amin Arsala, Anwarulhaq Ahadi, few from Europe, Canada and Australian) with known killer, criminals groups( Rabani, Qanooni, Abdullah Abdullah, Saiaf, Haqani, Khalili, Dostum, Fahim and another) together, they got then internatinal authorization in Bonn in 2001.
For nationalauthorization it would organized artificial elections in year 2002 and 2004 and all those groups could announce after the elections themself as winner.

I was in both elections in Afghanistan, I went to governors and told them, no body is aware about the election in country side, do we have election now or not? One governor took me by hand and told me, you are naive, how can we carry out election in whole country and be sure that the specified people will be then elected?
We have TVs, Radios and News papers and we have every where in region governor building, we are selecting trustful people and we distribute money to bring some paid people into our building and they will be presented via TVs as voter as example in whol region, in fact we are sending to Kabul those people who will select Mr. Karzai and the same procedure was followed by the election of parliament.

Foreigner soldiers started blind bombing in regions, they started wild house checking, they started to kill, to insult and put into jails innocent people of villages and cities.

The combined exported and criminals and killer started robbing, corruption, occupying the property of helpless people, all reconstruction maney went into dark channels.

In Kabul and in another cities can be seen their luxury houses, hotels, huge shopping centres and in Emiraten, UK, USA as well.

Mr. cheater Khalilzad is on way to cheat the nation again, he wants to select again among his group one guy for continuing the disaster in country, he will talk to Taliban too.
It does not exist moderat Taliban and fanatic Taliban, he is using for his cheating such slogan as pretext. He wants to close the poison cicle of those criminals with the Taliban criminals.

It is appearing question now, how it is possible, that during seven years no body can know it at least where are Bin Laden, his deputy and Mullah Omar?

Here is a very dirty game on way, this guy damaged the Image of USA, this guy put Afghanistan into horrible trouble.

If he and EU are trying to bring the Taliban back, what for then so much killing of innocent people and destroyed their simple existent?

Mr. Robert Greenwald will have trip to Afghanistan, he can check all above points and he will collect by the common people more additional updated information.

I hope, you know it now, why the nation of Afghanistan is angry and disappointed, the nation of Afghanistan wanted to have peace, security and prosperity, if the robber, corrupted, criminals and killer were not on the neck of nation, then we would not have terrorists in country and Afghanistan would be seen in direction developement.

The huge many disappeared with such huge money could complete the reconstruction of two Afghanistan.

Karzai brother are together with other drug dealer, punch Karzai has Zero quality to be president, but he was made as such, may this time he will be replaced by Jalali or Ashraf Ghani or Abdullah Abdullah, those people are nation and at the same time ruler, so are the real situation!

Do the people of Afghanistan really need or want our help? If so, why. And specifically what kind of help do they need from us? If not, Why?

When I was in Afghanistan in 1980 a man I met in Kabul told me: "As long as there is one Afghani left alive, the Russians will never rule our country!" Does the average Afghani today still feel this way?

Good question from an historical perspective!

Hello,

I am unaware if you are taking a strict United States approach to this film but many nations are currently on this "UN sanctioned" mission. I am Canadian and would love to hear what other countires are saying about it as well.

If you want to know more about the current state of affairs in Afghanistan, a good person you should contact there is Sarah Chayes who is an occasional guest on Bill Moyers' Journal on PBS. She knows what the U.S. is doing wrong in Afghanistan and has insight on what the Obama administration should really be doing there to help get us out of that mess.

JMS, We Afghans had such bitter experiences, once during the time communist regime and later on during Mr. G. W. Bush Era and before, namely Mr. Khalilzad as Afghan, he acted from time 1996 till 2008 as top Afghan expert for Afghanistan and he does not give up still, even he started again recently( but we do not know, is he on instruction of Mr. Bush or Mr. Obama or as privat person?). Any way, he is the guy, that through him we have disaster, chaos and anarchy in Afghanistan. The Nation of Afghanistan has enough from such flatter and two faces Afghans. It is good and necessary to collect honest information in country by an America person, then it is possible to reflect to the USA nation the truths and to understand what those people did in Afghanistan? Through such actions of honest journalists and film maker will appear then the truths to the nation of USA and to the world. Such Afghans people like Khalilzad made it possible to unit all killer, criminals, corrupted in Kabul and he put them on the neck of nation, it was and it is ignored all other patriot Afghans in country, he circulating always his group together with the killer around and he is following still this mechanism, which is known to all Afghans in country.

Why ARE you going to Afghanistan? Why send a novice? Why send someone who thinks they can read a bunch of books and articles and understand a country? Send an Afghan who speaks the language, knows the culture and people, has been following the lives of real people for a long time. You can't just jump into this and expect an in depth "Rethinking" of Afghanistan. There are hundreds of talented young Afghan filmmakers right there in Afghanistan who should be getting the funding that you are raising for this project! They know the Afghan peace movement, read the Afghan bloggers, know the views of their parliament. I just get the impression this whole project is ill-conceived and naive... and packed with hubris. Afghanistan can't be rethought until we send some Americans to figure things out. I'm surprised at you, Brave New Foundation! (PS I've been working in Afghanistan over the last 7 years and I still feel a novice.)

Let me assure you that Rethink Afghanistan came about after tons of preparation, reading, studying, and discussing the issues at hand with leading experts, as you can see from part one of the documentary. That said, we don't pretend to know all there is to know about Afghanistan--this film is designed to raise questions Congress should address formally in oversight hearings that inform the public--which is why Robert will travel to Afghanistan soon. He wants to meet with Afghan filmmakers, bloggers, members of the peace movement and parliament who have been unable to make their voices heard in the U.S. That is the whole point. If you know anyone we should talk to from having lived in Afghanistan for the last seven years, can you put us in touch?

What is troubling is that while we don't know everything about Afghanistan as documentary filmmakers and journalists, our elected representatives and military leaders don't have a full understanding either. Yet they are quick to commit tens of thousands more troops and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to this war.

IMHO, the answer for Afghanistan lies in Wash., DC, where Congress started this mess when they enacted Public Law 107-40, aka the 'AUMF' that authorized the President to wage war on whoever he said caused 9/11 (Bush fingered al-Qaeda and announced that the Taliban would be treated the same way).
The war goal, as stated by Congress, was 'preventing future terrorism' by our enemies. Nobody in over seven years has ever explained how the US can prevent future behavior in order to achieve victory.
If you get the chance, ask why Congress allowed the President to start a war that cannot be won.

Thanks and good luck.

Your questions must depend on where you go and whom you talk to. Whom are we trying to help? What do they actually need/want that we can supply. Clearly they need more than material assistance: for example, how can we help the Afghans create a sustainable and sustaining educational program--the kind of program that will be necessary for the long-term survival of a participatory government? Or how can we convince them (by what example?) of both the possibility and benefits of such a system? I doubt that missile strikes will do it.

Sorry I missed your email about the fundraiser. I am interested if you are also going to visit Mexico. In my mind, Mexico is also a top priority in matters of National Security. I know because I am half Mexican and lived there for twenty-four years and see threats most Americans don't see.

thanks for the many comments and thoughtfulness. this is a major issue, complicated and important. I have been editing the next section of RETHINK. which will be about pakistan and reading up to get ready for the rip. robert

Please be aware that, per Sarah Chayes & Ahmed Rashid, journalists who live in the area - in danger themselves - and recently interviewed by Terri Gross on NPR, that most Afghans cannot speak freely, under threat of death by the Taliban, who have blown up 200 girls' schools, forbiidden the education of girls, and held public executions of villagers seen as challenging their authority or that of the strict Islamic law the Taliban enforces. The majority of the population lacks access to many basic needs (let alone to the internet). We destroyed their already minimal economy & inrastructure, but can't restore them without defending against the Taliban, which is supported by Al Qaeda, the core of whom is committed to global jihad through the use of suicide bombings, and to training growing numbers of soldiers to carry them out. It's very unlikely that these leaders are interested in negotiating for peace with westerners, though of course that door should always be open. But Al Qaeda continues to plan & carry out attacks elsewhere & to extend their camps further into Pakistan, whose political instability has recently added another element of danger to the area. War should always be a last resort, but President Obama would not put troops & resources into Afghanistan (let alone in the middle of an economic meltdown!) if he did not have serious reason to fear not only for our security but for that of Afghans & of the entire area. He has stated many times his commitment to the use of diplomacy. That doesn't mean Congress should not have oversight, or that we should not learn as much as we can about what most Afghans think; but that we need to be aware of the uniquely complex elements of this 'war' - to avoid the temptation to find simple answers or to apply the lessons of the tragedy we perpetrated in Iraq to this very different situation.

You are brave but did you know the U.S. military has used depleted uranium in Afghanistan as well as Iraq .It's been in use since George Bush the first was in office. You will be exposed to toxic uranium read Discounted Casualties, published in 2003.The U.S. plane The Warthog can deliver 4,000 rounds per minute of depleted uranium according to Major Doug Rokke in an interview with Dennis Bernstein in May 2003. Go to editor@ecotecture.com to read full interview.
also please go to DU@gmail.com to sign a petition to ban D.U by the Veterans for Peace-Chap.116. I wish you well. Sincerely, Agnes

I believe the only sure way to overcome the Taliban, Al Qaeda, etc. is to help dry up the pool of recruits; and we can do that only by demonstrating sound, intelligent policies and actions aimed at "winning hearts and minds"--putting the Afghan people's needs first, pursuing peace with justice in the Palestine/Israel conflict, making up somehow for the damage we've inflicted on Iraq and Iraqis. I'm sure your discussions will follow such lines as this, and I wish you success in your mission.

By all means, try for a widely inclusive--yet sharply focussed--report on women.

Do you think we will ever find Osama?

I would like lots of interviews with members of RAWA

Definitely! We're reaching out to RAWA and focusing on the rights of women in Afghanistan.

USA is a supper power, but it seem to me, it is supper power in military and it is always investor of money in wrong and dangerous way like it was happen in the past and in Afghanistan at the present time.

USA kept always as close friends those people, who was cheater, killer and thieves like we can see it in Afghanistan now.

USA is multiculter country, there are imigrant from all countries of the world, among them tried some of them to offer themselves as top expertieses of their born countries like we have it as clear example Afghanistan and Iraq now.

I want to concentrate on the matter of Afghanistan.
Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad has a crawling, flatter and poodle type, he realized the illness of the few conservative war agitators, he started to appear himself as expert of Afghanistan, Iraq and as Asian in general.

His expert being was based on cheating, namely to create first disaster like he did it among the killer so called Mujahidin groups in Pakistan and asigned Bin Laden as Key person in Pakistan to organize the foreigner Islamic fanatics and bring them via Pakistan to Afghanistan to join the war against the former UdSSR and to support them with money in additional, such initiative made this expert Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad and it was started in 1983.

When the former UdSSR had to leave the country( thanks the resistance of united nation of Afghanistan and not those killer Mujahidin groups), those sold killer groups including Dostum Killer entered Kabul together with an other sold groups, which was trained in Iran and they occupied the city Kabul and divided it into zones, they started war among themselves and it tooks almost three and half years, during this time, they killed more than 65000 innocent people, they destroyed the city fully and Mr. expert was in waiting position, then he saw the time for the start next step.
It was created under cheating slogan " weapon collect in country and get free the nation from those criminals and killer" the group of Taliban( 1995), which before never exist as such group.

He knew it that the society of Afghanistan is very complicated, each cheating step can be distort easlly as we know it, how he did in the past and while Taliban time and now.

Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad had created his own group under the leadership of Mr. Karzai in USA for his third step.

He and Mr. Karzai acted as experts and adviser by Unocal, so the new created group Taliban enjoyed their support in weapon and money and Bin Laden was brought in cooperation of Mr. Rabani via Pakistan to Afghanistan.
Taliban took over the power 1996 and Bin Laden joined the Taliban as adviser and later on he acted as true ruler in Afghanistan.

He started to misuse the address of Aghanistan as we could see it in year 2001.

Mr. Khalilzad started to take an other horrible step to unit his trained group with the known killer and criminals in year 2001 in Bonn.

We can see the output of those people during the seven years, we have disaster in country, many innocent people killed, the country destroyed, the innocent people insulted and are in jails and the reconstriction money went into dark channels.

He is going to take his finall action to appear again as expert of Afghanistan, namely to unit his Taliban friends with his an other trained and communists, nationalist and Mujahidin killers to close the poisonous circle and he should then act as president with their support in country.

Mr. Obama should be very careful to use this poodle of war agigators for his new strategy in Afghanisan, he has to remember always the doubt of former President Mr. Clinton, he said: Afghanistan can become the position of 2nd Obama Vietnam, if he will be not careful enough, at the same time he mentioned that he has around him experiences people, he hope not!
If Mr. poodle Khalilzad can start again in solo style to talk to Taliban in Abu Dobai, then I am afraid, we will get unbelievable disaster in country by uniting all those criminals, corrupted, killer and wahabisten and the experiences personalities of Mr. Obama will be then helpless.

I know it, it is dangerous to announce the truths, but the proud suffered nation of Afghanistan does not earning such vicious sircle after so much suffering!

It was the nation of Afghanistan, that the former UdSSR collapsed and no because of other reason. We have more than 90% illiterate people, it will never work exported democracy style in Afghanistan and it will never possible to calm the nation through exported and trained people and it is impossible to establish peace and security throgh increasing of soldiers and bombing in Afghanistan!

I'm a Vietnam veteran. I think our most basic mistake is, as MLK,Jr. said in his "Beyond Vietnam" speech, this Western arrogance that says we have everything to teach and nothing to learn. So the most important thing you can ask when being given the tremendous opportunity of meeting with Afghan people is :"How do you think peace can come to Afghanistan?" or "What do you think is most important for Afghanistan?" Don't ask them leading questions. Let them lead the conversation.

This is a good point of view.

from what I have read and seen, the Afghan people do not want us there. Ask them why?
Our military intervention is a no-win situation. And if we win, what do we win?

The way to defeat Osama is to use the money we spend on war to make the USA respected again.

I strongly suggest you talk with Rick Steves (yes, the travel guru) about his recent trip to, and video-making in, Iran. He talked with many Iranians about very similar issues. He has a real knack for getting to know people of all cultures and for asking them about the issues that really matter to them... their families, their jobs, their homes, their schools, their place in the world... the very things that matter most to us, too!

Steves' goal was and is to help us Americans get to know the Iranian people better (or at all, in most cases) in the hope that that knowledge will inform our choices when it comes to our future relationship with and behavior toward Iran. It seems your goal and his are very similar, and equally important.

If you study it in Google, 500,000 Russians went there, and achieved nothing i in 9 years. They're not interested in war--they are impressed with valor. A friend went there during Charlie Wilson's time, under his instruction, and was made chieftan of his area because he knew how to sword fight, and they gave him an albino camel because he proved himself a real man with his shooting expertise--and teaching them to beat the Russians. I'm talking to him tomorrow, I'll have him write to you, because the mentality of the Afghan people is totally different than ours.

Thanks Jeannie, keep us posted on this.

I wonder what the average "Afghan on the street" and/or Afghan official think s is the USA's motivation for its military presence in their country. Irregardless of what it is...(what is it anyway?)...what one thinks is, for them, what it is.

For historical perspective, I would like to know what Afghans (who are old enough to remember) thought of the years before the establishment of the mujahadeen in June of 1978 and the subsequent Soviet invasion in December of 1978.

I suggest you contact Sarah Chayes (author of The Punishment of Virtue) who has lived and worked in Afghanistan for at least 5 years - she's worked on rebuilding projects, etc., and really outlines the problems of living with the Taliban, the Karzai corruptions, etc. you probably are already familiar with her.... but just a thought.. Your Fan Sylvia Meyer

Thanks Sylvia, we'll try to reach out to Chayes.

As far as I understand it, the Soviet Union spent 10 years in Afghanistan and received squat for it. Is there anything we're doing differently? Also, I think Pakistan is a key player in any non-proliferation/arms reduction action and the war in Afghanistan is straining our foreign relations there. Are we really making the world safer through this war? The answer may be yes or the answer may be no. It's a question worth asking.

Please ask them what they would want President Obama to do about this conflict.

I would like you to ask,
"what are your personal goals for the next year to two years?"
"what would you like for yourself?"

In our daily news we mostly hear about the Taliban and Al-Qaida in Afghganistan and the Pakistan border regions but we hear little if any reports of what leaders the Afghanistan people would respect, follow and champion in order to bring peace to their world. Please ask the people you interview to name one or two people they would want at the peace table, to build a world that they want in their country for their culture...I appreciate your efforts and dedication for making a difference and for being an example of a real peacemaker in the world.

Thanks, Ivan. Love the idea of bringing leaders to a peace table!

HOW do the Afghanis want US troops to leave their country:

- Rebuild __?___, then go
- Train local security forces, then go
- Develop truce w/___?__, then go
- Combination of the above
- Just go

Also I echo Cyndi Kahn's recommendation that you meet with Greg Mortenson as soon as possible. He is a leading figure on how to win the hearts and minds of people in the region. I am sure he is the only American Pakistanis and Afghanis do NOT want to see leaving their countries. The power of his diplomacy has far exceeded anything the US has ever done in those two countries. You should note that even in when in desperate need of funding for his humanitarian projects, he turned down millions offered by the Pentagon. Such is the nature of the man and his mission.

I'd like to know:

Do the Afghan people want a central government and, if so, how they recommend achieving that goal?

What can the US and global community do to help then achieve their goals?

How do they feel about education for women?

I would ask Afghans for some candid comments about the Pakistani ISI - its connections to the original Taliban, its possible involvement in the 911 attacks and the murder of Daniel Pearl, and its power as a "shadow government" inside Pakistan itself.

In a somewhat related way, I would ask about the rather vague reports in the American press suggesting that the Karzai government has entered into a supportive relationship with India. What do Afghans think about that development, assuming a growth in India's influence is taking place? Certainly Pakistan must be very disturbed by any such development. Are Afghans wary that they may become enmeshed in the whole India/Pakistan conflict?

Please ask them what future they would ideally envision for Afghanistan, what conditions in society, government the economy. Only knowing what they want for themselves can we help that to become a reality.

Ask them, further, what the US can do to help the cause of stability and justice there in Afghanistan, does it mean pulling out? Does it mean taking a more support role? Does it mean assisting with infrastructure and pilot projects? Does it mean supporting local intitiatives for education and development? What can we do to effectively help and what do the majority of people want?

Other than national security (which I beleive is a valid concern in today's geo-political climate), why should Americans care about a country that is dominated by tribalism and religious fundamentalists, even outside of Taliban controlled areas? In oither words, what do the intelligentsia, as well as ordinary citizensm see as common interests between our country and theirs?

Robert Greenwald have you heard of Greg Mortenson and his amazing book, "Three Cups of Tea"? I'm sure you have, but if not you must meet with him immediately. You must invite him to speak on your film and tell the American people why we must be building schools in Afghanistan, not bombing villages. His is an amazing story as the work that he's been doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Thanks for the recommendation Cyndi, we'll check Mortenson out.

Do the Afghan people want American troops in their country? If yes, what would you like for them to be doing? If no, is there anything else they would like Americans to do to help them?

This is an awesome project and a great asset to the peace movement. Cheer 'em on.

For the common peace activist on the net, although blogs are great for displaying an abundance of information, they are not the best platform for reaching the people and having your voices heard. Comment sections in the news get more exposure and can reach the people who are not already aware or concerned. Many comment sections, including this one, have a "Website" option so you can link to a blog, web page, etc, for more information, exposure, etc. Every news event with a comment section is an opportunity to influence perspective. Smaller countries with fewer major publications are easier to communicate with, yet still have the voice of a nation. Filling in the gaps, correcting disinformation, false stereo types, intentions, etc is the key to correcting perceptions. Many comment sections are moderated, which means part of your audience is the moderator, editorial staff, etc.

Combating the propaganda is a common key in solving almost every conflict, controversy, etc. Every peace group should have enough of an understanding of propaganda to spot the use of emotional triggers, spin, third party authorities, labels, and false stereo types, and a working plan for dispelling them. The propaganda was very effective back when TV was high tech, but the world has clearly changed. We are at the beginning of a new era, full of new opportunities in a time when our "lessons of history" may no longer apply, and the internet isn't even complete yet. Our power is growing now as an inevitable result of the era in which we live, and the people who understand that and what it means are making a stand. It's time for peace and we're not backing down.

The Afghan mess is the result of CIA massively supporting the drug warlords leading to anarchy, violence and now youths dying in the west from opiats. The democraticly elected regime preceeding the soviet invasion had an agenda of schools, healthcare and breaking the drug-mafia to use the soil to grow crops for the people and not for opium. CIA did everything it could to support an uproar and the soviets came to the regimes aid, after being called upon! This is the dangerous truth and another example of US sabotage and counterrevolution! ASK these Qs, investigate and see what you get for answers - if you dare! Don't shy away!

Are there periods of time in U.S. history that makes Afghans afraid of having our troups settle in their country for an unspecified time? What are they, if any?

For many centuries Afghanistan has been a crossroads between the mideast and Central Asia. As such, like many crosssroad territories, it has suffered from a lack of autonomy and a lack of development, and a lack of permanent leadership, as this or that power decided that it needed to use Afghanistan as its buffer, or its staging area or as a symbol of its power to others. Can there be a solution that doen't take into account Afghanistan's role as a crossroads, and all that implies?

Hi,happy to see you effort to help Afghanistan. please just leave them alone to conduct their own country among their own people. better or worse, Afghanistan is THEIR country. just giving them freedom. they are not stupid.let them having an experience to taste the process to build their own country in a 'natural' way. helping them does not mean having right to interfere...

Be sure to consult Barnett Rubin before you go.

We need to work with the Afghans while respecting their cultural values-- which are far from the violent Taliban way of life. Afghanistan, as a Muslim nation, was a great nation which contributed to many fields of science and especially to astronomy-- before Copernicus and Galileo. Let us be aware of their history and culture. Dropping bombs, and in the process killing innocent men, women and children will not work. The Afghans will not be cowed- they were not cowed by Alexander the Greek, the British or by the Soviets. The US can make a difference - but only if it recognizes that our armed might will not be sufficient.
Our "boys" and "girls" will be fighting in a nation they do not understand...... unless we are serious about rebuilding the nation. After all we were cheering from the side as the militant (turned Taliban) Afghanis were egged our own by Zbigniew Brzezinski to fight a "holy war". The Afghans suffered immensley but did kick the communists out--- and we said bye bye - until ben Laden, woke us up.
Let the Obama administration not repeat our past errors.

1-How can we respect the tribalism of the land and still support nationalism? It has been only adversaries that drive the tribes to some unified front.
2-How can we distinguish the Taliban from Al Queda? And how can we respect the Taliban with its alledged rules about women?
3-Who are the central figures in the region with which efforts to negotiate can succeed? On the grounds that negotiation, not domination, is the key?

I think most Americans have so many questions about the Afghan people because we are a misinformed country, so it is good to know you will tell Americans what it is we are accomplishing in Afghanistan and why do we need to send more troops.Just like 9-11, the Iraq war, the economic collapse, the 2000/2004 presidential election,etc., the Afghanistan war does not make any sense, and I think most Americans understand we have been lied to and the truth must come out, otherwise we Americans will not be able to solve our problems here at home. Did the American government invade Afghanistan to (re)claim the drug trade for powerful interests? Or did we bomb because the oil companies needed the ground "softened up" in order to eventually build a pipeline? There are so many questions out there, but what is the truth? I still have hope that President Obama's administration will eventually do the correct thing and withdraw from Afghanistan. I, for one, did not know there was an Afghan peace movement, or that Afghan elected officials are well-educated and speak a second language (english) well.Many American officials only speak one language, and then it's hard to understand what it is they are saying.Is it possible we Americans can learn something from the Afghan people if we just listen to them and respect them?Good luck Mr. Greenwald!We are all very interested in what you will find and report. Maybe someone in the corporate media will air your documentary too, so all Americans can see it .Things can change through knowledge and the truth.Have a good trip!

I would ask them.....how can we best help you defeat the Taliban and rebuild a country of peace? Also, I hope you will contact Greg Mortenson of CAI...I'm sure you know what tremendous peace work he is doing with the schools in Afghanistan.
One last thing...ask them what they would ask us...and turn it into a dialogue between the people of the two countries...sans the government and military.

Thank you for what you do!

what is the actual name of the country ? (Hint - The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) and why will no one tell us - who is guarding President Karzai from his own people - mercenaries, Marines, Special Forces? - what is TAPI? - where does the country fall on the corrpution scale out of 190 nations? - please speak to journalist Scott Taylor (Canadian) - where do the rich live? (a question to ask in any poor nation - ask a taxi driver) - speak to Ms. Joya - keep up the good work - vern huffman

Dear Mr. Greenwald,

I applaud your efforts to raise awareness of rethinking the options available for our national security in lieu of sending more military forces into Afghanistan.

In view of:
1) The recently reported hundreds of millions of dollars in support provided to the Taliban forces by the illicit opium producers of the Golden Crescent region in Afghanistan,
2) NATO’s decision to attempt to control the supply and distribution of illicit opium’s production by developing a strategy to search out and destroy the labs utilized by these producers
2) The acknowledged role of Afghanistan as being responsible for 90% of the world’s Illicit opium production,
3) The recent incursion of a Mexican drug smuggling Cartel’s armed incursion into Arizona resulting in numerous kidnappings and fatalities.

Would it not be prudent for the US government to explore pursuing a course of action to eliminate the demand for Illicit drugs?

William S. Burroughs a admitted long term addict, drug dealer and acclaimed author of the 20th century arrived at the conclusion in the 1950’s that the only way to successfully overcome the problem of addiction in the US would be to eliminate the demand for illegal drugs.

In view of he foregoing and since the Obama administration is actively pursuing universal health care; would it not be prudent for the Congress to de-criminalize all forms of addiction and re-categorize addicts as persons suffering from an affliction requiring mandated medical and physiological treatments instead of incarceration? With addict receiving medication it would seem that the market for illegal drugs and the ancillary criminal activities associated acquiring them would be significantly reduced. A similar system for dealing with addiction was utilized in Great Britain for many years which resulted in the significant decrease (and in some cases elimination) in the marketing and consumption of illicit drugs.

The benefits to such a policy would include:
1) Eliminating the source for hundreds of millions of dollars in support to the Taliban and effectively reduce their ability to inflict casualties on US & NATO forces without introducing additional US military forces into the region.
2) Provide a long needed victory in The War on Drugs.
3) Free up funds currently utilized for investigation, interdiction and incarceration of addicts.
4) Remove the financial incentives for drug smugglers to continue their operations in the US.
5) Enable an envoy from the US to approach the illicit opium producers in Afghanistan with offers of support in the form of agricultural subsidies and assistance from the USDA to make a successful transition to another cash crop and solicit their cooperation against the Taliban in these regions for this support.

I realize that the conservative members of congress would do everything in their power to misinform the public as to the benefits of such a program. This is why, I believe, it would be very beneficial for you to further explore the question of these types of alternate options as opposed to our continuing down the path of an increased military build up in Afghanistan.

I agree with most all of your post.
Why not buy up the entire production of the Afghani poppy crop for medical use, that would take it away from drug smugglers and give farmers cash for other crops.
But this probably makes to much sense.

I appreciate the need to travel to Afghanistan, but fear that anything you might see/ hear will only be part of the truth...on those kinds of rapid evaluation jaunts it is like that.... so you must absolutely continue to really listen to those who have spent years in Afghanistan... maybe those who have spent MANY years. I have lived abroad most of my life and often do not recognize the context or think the analysis a good one when outsiders come in for short visits and pass judgement on the country I happen to be living in (permanent expatriate for 30 years). Difficult... difficult stuff. I do think such a trip might make it easier to put other sources of information into context and help you to put the puzzle pieces together. Good luck.

Thanks Kate! I'm speaking for Robert and everyone at Brave New Foundation when I say you're right, it's extremely difficult to understand an entire country in a week, especially one with such a rich and complicated history as Afghanistan. Robert's certainly not trying to tackle all of that or pass judgment on Afghanistan with this one trip. Instead, he wants to broaden his understanding of the war and reach out to various people and groups he hasn't been able to touch base with from here in the U.S. He wants to connect with experts who have varying viewpoints, gather resources, and network as much as possible so we can ultimately offer a deeper look at this war in our documentary and beyond.

lThe notion that a relatively small number of rag tag terrorists in sneakers, armed with no more than AK 47s and who might have a few old small pickup truck for transportation and live in caves or hovels in Afghanistan, but certainly have no war tanks, planes or ships, are a significant threat to the US security is beyond absurd hogwash. This outlandish, corrupt, illogical myth is perpetrated by the military industrial complex that Pres. Eisenhower tried to warn us about who benefit monetarily from creating and maintaining fear in the overstressed and therefore mostly unthinking US citizenry.
Don L. Miller

Washington decision-makers need to learn that they must either educate themselves or they will do more harm than good by inflicting American power on socially complex places like Afghanistan. Simplistically labeling our opponents as "evil" only means we are entering the contest with our eyes shut. We need to identify the actors, learn their goals, and figure out what they would settle for. The reality is an admittedly confusing "complex, adaptive system" (the good news: that spells "opportunity" for the thoughtful), but even an Excel spreadsheet of Actors x Goals would be a step forward in comparison to the approach followed in Washington since 9/11. Educating ourselves will facilitate moving from searching for "moderates" to cultivating moderates (http://shadowedforest.blogspot.com/2009/03/find... even to redefining what "moderation" means.

Hello,
I read and watched with interest the videos and your efforts to ask Congress to rethink Pres. Obama's military surge. I have been to Afghanistan (Kabul, Ghazni, Khost, Bamyan and Ghor provinces) as a teacher trainer for various Afghan and American education non-profits since 2004 (eight trips in all) and I'll be in Kabul at the beginning of April. I have been the guest of governors as well as well as educational leadership there and people both Afghan and internationals working for various organizations. I was the guest of the US Army stationed at Camp Salerno last summer and I am in sporadic contact with Sarah Chayes, who indeed, as someone suggested, knows a lot!. I am also Afghanistan country specialist for Amnesty International USA but do not represent myself as such while there. My role is strictly one of an educator while on the ground in Afghanistan. I don't see how we as westerners can help more effectively than by supporting the men and women who want an education, and I can assure you that many, including Pashtuns are begging for this! I'd be interested in talking to you personally about some of my personal concerns related to the issues. I am friends with some of the outspoken female MP's in government there. Please contact me if you are interested in a discussion. In the meantime, I urge you to take all precautions necessary to stay safe and to consider not endangering the people you meet. Best regards,
Elsie De Laere

IYour idea about education is very interesting. Have you written it up, with suggestions on how to proceed? Please make citations available, and you are invited to submit a contribution to my foreign policy blog on how this might work.

Have you read "Three Cups of Tea" about Greg Mortensen's effort to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan? This seems a most valuable resource and concept. Put the money into non-sectarian schools and water projects if you want to win the people's support. The Taliban and other "terrorists" cannot then proliferate. War there we can never "win" and would have to rebuild afterwards anyway (we did not formerly keep our promise to do that, so are not trusted). Why not just begin with the rebuilding? Ask them if they have heard of "Dr. Greg".

What are the possibilities of refining Afghanistan's opium into morphine, to provide pain relief to the sick and dying of the developing world?

Go with an open mind. Don't preach Western Morality to the Afghans. The Pushtin's are a Culture several Millenials old. For example, you will lose them if you preach womens' rights, because that is not in their culture. We must find common ground, not subjects that divide.

ask for their forgiveness.

Mr. Greenwald, with utmost respect, I submit my question for you to ask an Afghan.

Salaam aleichum to my fellow human. Which of these things should America do in your country?
Build Roads
Build Schools
Build Dams and Irrigate
Bring Food
Send More Soldiers
Go Home Now and Leave Us Alone
I know I am not the only American who wishes for your country and your people to prosper. Tell us how to help you.

I did not finish my prior comments. Somehow it was sent off before I finished.

In any event, attacking and bombing Afghanistan will become a worse affair than Iraq.
The reasons for changing our strategies include:
* Bombing the outlying villages doew nothing more than enrage the people which in turn produces recruits for the Taliban military effort and Al Qaesa. We become their best recruiters. They love it. There are better methods.

* The Taliban and Al Qaeda are different. The Taliban I believe want to be left alone to live their lives their way. They have no international aims, whereas Al Qaeda has it seems a larger plan. Regardless, we employ behavior modification strategies to produce productive change.

* Behavior modification - There are other modern day methods of producing useful change. For example, an individual is in Afghanistan helping farmers grow Pomagranites rather than Opium. Another, I believe Craig Mortenson, a mountain climber, has been successfully builing little schools for villages in the tribal areas with the single requirment that they include girls. And the people are cooperating. There are other similar methods we can apply to parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's a matter of thinking through ways to help them in a manner that causes them to want to change and cooperate. Another idea would be to transfer some of our military into the Peace Corps and have the Peace Corps act as an arm to Habitat for Humanity in building modest homes and the like. These kinds of strategies will unquestionably produce change in behaviour and their view toward us. This will not necessarily change their belief systems but what matters is that we find ways to produce working relationships rather than enemies. There are many similar ideas that can be generated by comining our intelligence with some bright minds and brain storming. Ara Bouloutian

Please include George A. Lopez, Professor of Peace Studies at Notre Dame in your list of "must speak withs" as you compile this documentary. I recently heard him speak at St. Michael's College in Vermont, and his understanding of the circumstances and a pathway to peace in Afghanistan is extraordinary. I cannot overestimate the contributions he could make.

Attacking Afghanistan is very similar to the attack on Iraq. If we continue it could easily be far worse than Iraq. The reasons for changing our approach to Afghanistan incllude these:
* By continuing to bomb the outlying areas, the taliban villages, we are simply creating more rage against us, which will produce more recruits for the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Indirectly we are the recruiters for finding talent for the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

* The Taliban is very different from Al Qaeda. They are not interested in any kind of world movement. They only want to be left alone to their lives their way. We may not like their social inclinations but we don't need to murder them to produce change. There are other ways.

*

Robert needs to talk with Sarah Chayes, who has started a co-op business with Afghanis that makes and sells specialty soap and body products. She's been in the Khandar area since 2002, speaks Pashto and as "boots on the ground" knows more about what is going on than the academics who pontificate from their ivory towers.

will the taliban help us eliminate al qaeda and keep them out og afganistan and pakistan? will the taliban support our efforts to build their educational system? will they help in eliminating corruption? will they support alternate crops to poppies?

will iran and pakistan help control heroin traffic through their countries?

Ask " what can We do
to help " Listen
as Greg Mortenson
continues, too ...
Thank You so much

If the Afghan people were handed a blue sky, what would their vision for their country be? What sort of life do they want for their people, families and villages? As we Americans are always encouraged to imagine and pursue our dreams, how can America help support and achieve a vision that would support the Afghan people? Education is certainly one way as in Mortenson's efforts. Are their other components that we aren't aware of?

ask about Greg morgenson ( author of the book Three cups of tea) and his mission to create schools and inquire as to how they are doing especially in regards to the Taliban .Would Afgans/ taliban welcome $ from US govt for such projects?

How about connecting with Greg Mortenson and his efforts to build schools in that region?

You should also ask about Canada. I agree that oil & heroin are a real reason for being there at all.

Please interview Sarah Chayes along with all those male experts.

If the Soviets couldn't subdue the country with 200,00 troops why can we expect a different outcome with fewer troops. If there was never any connection between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda except that they occupied the same space why are they the prime target of the US military. Do we really think we can get the warlords to abandon their main cash crop, poppies for the heroin trade.

As I watched the World Trade Center burn and fall, I tried to image the best solution to fix what I saw happening. I could see that these people had nothing to live for, since they were suicidal. I thought they needed something that they wanted to protect as their sovereign nation and culture, not to be bombed again by another "world leader." Instead, I thought we should create hundreds of "Habitat-for-Humanity" organizations that would build infrastructure and communities to help the people prosper outside the Taliban rule. i would like to ask if this would have been a viable solution instead of dropping thousands of bombs that only profits the corporations that create them.

I think that you have had many great ideas over the years & this trip is a necessary, yet,
scary one. I have only one comment: JUST BE CAREFUL!! The world needs your voice so be careful & take someone with you who knows the language & lay of the land extremely well so you can come back & tell the truth @ Afghanistan.

Thanks for the concern, Lorna! We can assure you Robert's taking all possible precautions. And getting in touch with the right people in Afghanistan beforehand is definitely part of a safe trip.

I have sponsored two Afghan women through Women for Women Intl. (http://www.womenforwomen.org/global-initiatives...), and I am amazed that this program can function in the midst of war. It makes me wonder about the actual situation there. Maybe you could include some interviews with the women who participate in this program and also those who have organized it.

Excellent idea, thanks! The rights of women in Afghanistan is major concern of ours, and we're trying to make this topic a focus of our documentary.

I think asking congress anything would be a waste of time since most of congress are CFR members. There are a handful of honest congress people like you but the numbers are so small the odds of getting results from congress are remote. Just the fact that we are there shows the results you would get, i think.

Why do we need to be doing anything but leaving? Oil and Heroin to name a few.

You don't introduce peace with violence. You don't free a country with enslavement. You don't introduce democracy with bombs.

We don't belong there but the banksters have control over our military to act as pitbull enforcers around the world as a global agenda and police state are being put in place at our troops and country's expense. We are the invaders and they are protecting what is their's just as we would if they invaded us.

The banksters are stealing their resources as we all watch a phony war on terror take place. Order out of their chaos that they create is how the banksters operate. Problem, reaction, solution. Create the problem, get a reaction, and offer a solution to the problem they create. It's been working for them for centuries with most all the wars and skermishes being their creation for profit and control.

I like many don't like the fact that our troops are just cannon foder because there's no way to fight a war declared on a verb. The war on drugs should serve as a gauge of never ending, non-success in these declarations of war on verbs and nouns.

Please ask about the pipe-line and the heroin trade. Afganistan is simply a world bankster operation I believe, comprising of criminals like Rothschilds, Rockefellers, with Brezinski,and Kissinger as their ever faithful mascots of terror..............

I want to go with you. I was your doorman on West 57

In the long run, Do you think your people would be better served by a dictorial
leader or by leaders who would be selected by the people every 3 or 4 or 6 years ?
A dictator who has a set vision of what the country should look like in 20 years.
Or new ideas , for better or worse, every couple of years..................

I have this feeling that Pakistan will soon have a major revolution. We have helped the Islamic extremeist in the ISI stab us in the back for the last 30 years. We have funded them when they were suppose to be funding the cause with these funds to get Bin Laden. How can and were we so stupid? ALL I can say about that is we put more faith in what we wanted to see happen and what was really happening. OK in your travels my best advice is to plan your escape routes through India. We should have been planning everything with them for the past 30 years. Lets hope we still can. We are doing business with Persian Gulf countries that turn around and supply the Taliban and Bin Ladens forces. By the way can anyone tell me how many stinger missles were never recovered. Yeah the ones we gave the Taliban through the ISI. I believe there are some hundreds unaccounted for . I think maybe you are in the wrong country to find out about the Afghan war. Go to the western border where Pakistan gives haven to terrorist training camp activities so they will have Bin Ladens forces to help them on the Kashmere front. Every move we made for decades first went through the ISI. Hell how will we ever find out anything when our so called AL lie is turning around and telling our target our next move.

An overriding question for me pertains to the President's (and others') statements about preventing a 'safe haven in Afghanistan for terrorist to plan attacks on America'. It is not clear to me how and why Afghanistan should rank so high as a concern in this regard. It seems true that planning terriorist attacks, which can include a vast array of activities, is much more 'footloose' than is suggested by this heavy concentration of resources on the hills and valley of remote Afghanistan.

Is Afghanistan really central to America's security against terrorist attack? If yes, how? What are the particular facts that add-up to such a conclusion? If these particulars are real, substantial and documented, then crafting a response can become targeted and precise. And the military response can be measured. If Afghanistan is not central to America's security, then we can either depart or clarify alternative social, humanitarian and/or political objectives and resource them accordingly.

My statements obviously are too simply formulated, but I believe they identify a foundational question that needs to be answered. Your "rethinking" project would be most helpful if it successfully enlightens our Afghanistan policy discussions on this matter of security.

I am thinking that Afghanistan is but one among many places in the world where America's security will be served best by spreading understanding and partnership in creating education, health, nutrition, gainful employment and the like.

Whether or not Afghanistan poses a terrorist threat is a serious concern, considering Pakistan is far more dangerous at this point. This is something Congress ought to address in oversight hearings, which we're calling for in this petition:

http://rethinkafghanistan.com/#petition

I recently finished "Ghost Wars" by Steve Coll. One of the times we got involved was during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. From then on out it has all been down hill. Our funding back then went to Bin Laden himself. However most of his funds come from inside of Saudi Arabia itself. For Saudi to continue to say that they have no control over what Saudis send to other Saudis is BS. At one time Saudi was doubling what we were funding the freedom fighters of Afghanistan. Here is one of the main problems. Afghanistan Freedom Fighters are far out numbered by insurgents. I would say our current actions in Afghanistan are and have been stated as going after the people that planned the WTC attacks. Of course our last Commander in Chief proclaimed that mission a done deal. Like so many other things he does not, did not or ever will have a clue. I would say it serves our interest greatly to finally flush these two nuts out, Osama and Zawahari (sp) and hang em high. Yea I am for tracking down an individual that has publically stated " The only good American is a dead American". In more understandable terms, anyone who does not agree with me should die. I sort of feel like for every dollar we spread this education, health, nutrition, employment and the like there should be two spent at home. There are many reasons why we should go into Afghanistan, as a group of countries not just the US. If it takes 2 or 3 million troops for 5 years then so be it. fIn my opinion this would be better than another 30 years of the same. In fact if you let it go another 30 years you may be facing the sun five times a day like it or not. Yes I will fight to the death against religious police. I think and I know most people will say "Oh my God", we should start the draft again. I am very afraid of what is going on in South America. Lets start talking about how many individuals are there from these Central Asian countries training in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Columbia. Estimates are 75 to 100 thousand at the end of 2008. Then look at what is happening on the US-MEXICAN border. The real questions we should be asking our selves is why do we allow Elected officials to have Carte Blanche in international affairs when these affairs in my mind should always be public and out right. I mean we have people going around the world and saying this is what the American people want and then these same people will not tell the American public what they have told other world leaders or what kind of deals have been made. Sorry for going on. We need changes here that is for sure. Who the hell knows what went on in Iraq. Every thing was done in secret under the guise of the patriot act. I agree with talks again with the Taliban. Even if it is nothing more than AGREEING not to AGREE. At least we will understand that the Afghan people who want their freedom, rights and life back will have to also fight the criminals running their lives at present. I would seek every possible avenue. The sad fact is, we have tried. We have talked until we are blue in the face. First you have to get rid of the outsiders. We have a man named Osama Bin Laden. He had planned attacks on American embassies and Americans world wide. This is reason enough to attack any country that gives him shelter or aid. If an individual is living in country like Saudi Arabia and the government there iwll not do anyhing to that individual then we should take up the slack and impose freeuzing any and assests we can of said contributor. But we do not because of back room deals. THIS HAS TO STOP. Are you aware that we could of hit Bin Laden 6 years ago but did not because there was a Prince from the IAE in the immediate area. The IAE had just purchased 800 million from Boeing and other contractors in America, so we called off the strike. The incident was when the prince had flown to attend a Birds of Prey sporting event in the Western Pakistan region. This burns me up to know the guy was there with a C130 supplying our enemy and we would not do a strike because he brought a ton of stuff from an American company. We have world leaders telling us they are with us and then supplying the enemy at the same time. What is more important here? A business in America or the country that lets that business operate. Yeah we need to go in but lets not be stupid about it.

I've spent many years as a bouncer, bodyguard, paramedic, martial art instructor, full contact fighter, competitive shooter, and environmental scientist. would you like some company?

Hey you sound like a character from a book I just read, Drik Pitt or somebody like that. Hey why mess around? What was that last bounty figure I heard 150 Million? Go for it.

I beleive your initiative is commendable and that the USA shoudl Rethink Afghanistan. I will do everything to encourage President Obama and his administration to follow this line and look at other ways to help Afghansitan on the road to recovery and freedom. And yet, I cannot stop feeling that Americans should also be asking themselves if they are willing to allow other countries to live the lives of their choosing?When will we stop imposing our moral values on other countries? We must continue to encourage human rights, freedom to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, creed, etc. Are we willing to accept that as well? For instance, can we bear the sight of a woman wearing the chador or veil believing that perhaps she has chosen this for herself? We need to learn that not everyone agrees with our way of living. Are we ready to accept that?
In reply to your request for questions to ask Afghanis; we may turn the above around and ask them what is the lifestyle they wish to live; how do they want to dress; how do they need to worship; do they believe woman and men are able to live as equals...? And then, we must respect their responses by allowing them to live their lives.

You MUST know about TRUST IN EDUCATION, a grass roots, non-profit org. founded by Bud McKenzie. Bud has gone to Afghanistan several times & funded a $20,000 irrigation project; provided 22,481 fruit trees to over 250 farmers; provided seed, fertilizer & instructional courses to farmers; delivered over 12 tons of clothing, blankets, shoes, school & medical supplies donated by Americans.
www.trustineducation.org. TIE
Joanne Campbell

Another group on what sounds like the right track is Developments in Literacy. They are starting schools in Afganistan.

I've been watching with interest Margaret Warner's reports on PBS from Afghanistan. She seems to be doing well--you might get some tips from the organization that makes it possible--not sure what that is, possibly Independent News Network? virginia

I hope you will contact Dr. Mohammed Daud Miraki, PhD., who lives in Chicago but travels regularly to his home country, Afghanistan. He has a website, "AfghanistanAfterDemocracy.com," where he promotes his book, by the same name, in order to fund a medical project in his native country. His book documents the deleterious effects of the U.S. onslaught on Afghanistan, particularly the U.S. use of Depleted Uranium munitions, which are apparently related to horrific birth defects among Afghanistan's children, graphically depicted in his book, as well as widespread land and groundwater contamination with radioactivity and dramatic increases in cancer and leukemia rates.

Robert, this wonderful and hopefully effective trip needs to cover both men and the much more difficult to reach women's voices. I know you plan on finding women, but can you attempt finding equal numbers of men's and women's voices. The freedom seeking women of RAWA may be especially helpful in making those connections that are ignored in most MSM reporting in the Islamic world. We in the US need to know that their are women's peace movements. http://www.rawa.org/index.php
Be safe.

Robert, What I noticed is that all your "experts" are men. That might be one of many problems right there.

You're right, Judith, and we're making a concerted effort to include more female experts, in addition to focusing on the rights of women in Afghanistan. In part one of the documentary, we interviewed Shukria Barakzai about military escalation:

http://rethinkafghanistan.com/troop_full.php

Robert, if you have not already done so, read; A thousand Splendid Suns, by Khalid Hosseini.

It will help your team think outside the box. I came away from this touching novel realizing how much the Afghan people crave gardens, crave fertility, long for tricking streams, for fruit trees and laden vines.

As the book shows, these are and were the images of their dreams, those that kept them going, especially the women, in the horrific Taliban days of the past, and certainly now as well.

In the region, America is now seen as always grey , always weaponized. The Nato forces are the clumsy killers, the destroyers. No fertility or beauty in that image at all.

Think of ways The US and allies could turn this image on its head, by promoting places of fertility with all the latest water saving and solar technology, stunning oases of innovation. Places so beautiful, so marvellous, so respectful of the the great past of the Afghani poets, so seductive that even the Taliban would have trouble sabotaging them.

Go back to the hanging Gardens of Babylon for further inspiration.

Get a person like John Todd, of New Alchemy, Annals of the Earth, His address, Shanks pond road Falmouth, MA. to write this idea up in a way that's it comes across as a captivating new direction.

I have talked to some of my Aghan friends. They think it is a good think President Obama is sending in troops now because I was told the People of Afghanistan would kill each other if he did not.
If the troops can get the war undercontrol and also try and get rid of the Taliban this would be a good thing.
The Afghans tried to ask the U.S. for help before and the U.S. would do nothing.
My Afghan friends did not like it when U.S. troops were sent in during the Bush administration and said it only created more war in the area during that time. I am not really sure exactly why my Afghan friend think it is different when Presiden Obama is in office now.
I asked one of my Afghan friends if he thinks they could get the war under control if they would be able to mine Indicolite Blue and Rubelite Red Tourmaline Crystals again. My Afghan friend said if they pay the troops enough they will be able to mine again. Right now there is too much war in the area. The Tourmaline prices will then go down.
I told my X Northern Alliace Freedom Fighter friend that was in a war fighting off the Russians before coming to the U.S. that when I was done Afghanistan would belong to the Northern Alliance. For the 1st time Afghanistan will be owned by the Afghanistan people. So I was against sending Obama sending in more U.S. troops before but now I am not. The Northern Alliance also helps the U.S. troops. They have been telling me where Osama Bin Laden has been hiding out in the Northern Frontier Province of Pakistan since 2002. Osama Bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11/2001 - he is just the pasty fall guy - somebody to blame 911 on. I would like Osama Bin Laden captured alive so he can testify against the Bush administration for the cover-up of 911.
911 was done by the Bush administration / world bankers that signed and agreement with the Kurdistan Iraqi's to let them go in for oil.
They said they did not care if they die for oil. The said let them die - meaning U.S. troops.
The Bush administration is who we need to go after. The world bankers are the Rockfellers and the Rothchilds. The Rockefellers engineered the wars. All the wars were already planned out.

Please interview religious leaders, Islamic scholars and imams, and film discussions among them, about the teachings and beliefs of Islam and the Qur'an, particularly on tolerance of other religions, jihad, and non-violence. Also, I think it is very important to interview people who were/are members of mujahideen, Taliban, and al-Qaeda, and film discussions among them, about the teachings and beliefs of Islam and the Qur'an, particularly on promoting Islamic law, how to co-exist with other religions, jihad, and the use of violence.

Great suggestion. And include both sides of discussion. There might a group of conservative anti-US religious group but you should also find a group of more liberal groups to counter their conservative interpretation of Islam. For example, a journalist was recently sentenced to 20 years of jail just for circulating something that was against Islam. There were those who said that that is exactly what laws should have done..but there were also clerics who said that his intention was not to be disrespectful, it was just circulating someone else's work.. The media and journalists in the country are terrified by this Supreme Court decision and have been pushing the president to do sth about it. But this also tells you about the extreme division over the degree of conservatism and liberalism in the same society.

It was not even against Islam, but suggested that Islam is not against women's equality. (If I am thinking of the same person) He was initially sentenced to death.

A good indication that we would be better off helping them with judicial training vs. bombing villages.

I agree that there is a large division in the conservative vs. more liberal in that country, despite what many assume.

I assume (maybe wrongly) that you understand that no one person has the same opinion on religion and that your post makes it sound as if you have already make up your mind about all Muslims, and not in a good light.

Is our President Obama fully informed about your "surge" strategy? Has he been filled in with truth and real facts? We are afraid to hear again the lies Bush asserted as true about nuclear material sent from Nigeria and weapons of mass destruction. Secretary Gates are you launching a new war under false pretence to capture Ben Laden in Afghanistan? The terrain there is such that for centuries armies have failed whatever the equipment. Have you studied past war adventures in order to have a winning strategy? Did you tell to our President every thing you really know?

bin Laden is most likely not in Afghanistan. And I am SURE the President is not only aware, but in charge of our strategy.

There is no new war, and Gates is not in charge.

As an American who is a volunteer with a small non-profit to help educate and reconstruct Afghan society I must ask you to go with an open mind. Many people compare our entry in Afghanistan with that of the Soviets. The two actions are very different, and the Afghans understood this and welcomed us in helping them remove al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Understandably they have grown impatient. This is not as simple to them as wanting us to stay or leave, they just want security and jobs. I believe most still want our help. They just could do without the bombs dropped on their villages (can you blame them?).

I am a staunch liberal, and not in agreement with many of the traditional 'customs' there. I hate the way women are sold and treated like property, have little or no judicial rights (they are sometimes jailed in order to keep their families from killing them!)

I have learned however that we cannot force our views on others. All we can do is help assure all are literate and educated on the world and let them choose. I have faith in the long run women in particular will be treated better, but having been there, I realize that we just do not have the ability to speed it up as much as I would like.

What I would like you to ask the Afghans is if they prefer to have us spend money on more security (we just sent some 3000 more to Kabul for example) or more on education, vocational training and training for their military and police. I think there has been some good things done by the US in training the Afghan military. The police on the other had have not been trained as well. Neither are paid enough. When the Taliban pays more than the police force, and one can be killed for joining the police, and they have 4 hungry kids. What choice do they have?

Our military should be training, not bombing wedding parties.

I am not surprised that Afghans see Americans as invaders. I am an American citizen originally from France. During the Second World War my country was occupied by Germans who committed incredible atrocities like burning alive in a church over a thousand people... We were "liberated" by magnificent young Americans whose bravery succeeded to overtake the Atlantic Wall and kick Germans out of France. Then we were so overwhelmed with gratitude that we opened our doors to welcome them. Unfortunately, they did not wish to have anything to do with us. They built on our land huge American Camps surrounded by barbwires and heavily protected by armed sentinels. Then we got inundated by American products which paralyzed the development of our own industries. After many years De Gaulle was able to ask American to close their camps and find another country to sit in.... This was very sad. Now in Afghanistan Americans are needed to build schools, to dig wells, to replace poppies by orchard...etc. They have tolisten to the people there. Americans must make everybody know that they are not moving in to rob the country of its treasures, but to help and then leave.

We do not need "Americans" to do work for Afghanistan; there are 10 million Afghanis out of work already! Put them to work for themselves but provide the framework.

exactly. One of the huge problems we have there is too many foreigners earning so much money that the aid is diluted and few locals earn anything from our development attempts.

They need help, but do not need workers and overpaid 'consultants'.

Dear Friend of Afghanistan,
Being an Afghan, I can surely say that we do need more vocational training, more education (not only primary but higher education..we dont have a masters-level education in our biggest university), more income-generating skills and jobs (as I mentioned in my previous comments and replies to others comments). I also believe that we do need a strong police force, even more vital and immediate than the army. Instead of wasting so much money on consultants and "technical assistance" which I think is need (but at the same time paid exorbitant pays), more has to be spent/given to public sector workers, especially to the police.

I strongly agree that 'consultants' are often overpaid and useless. I just read that some 40% of the aid money given to Afghanistan actually ended up outside of the country.

Teachers, cops and others in government are so underpaid that they often have to demand bribes etc. in order to feed their families. It is ridiculous when a teacher makes only $100 a month in Kabul when the rents have gone through the roof.

I have to say that I think at this point the best investment we can make in that country is for education. It is long term, but will eventually give both the Afghans and the world the best deal for the buck. I am focused on basic education and literacy programs for older girls (who cannot go to government schools) but agree that the lack of higher education there assures that the most educated Afghans likely leave their country. And that is a horrible fate for any nation.

I'd like to know what the Afghan Peace Movement is doing to protect women and girls.

I'd like to know who is in this peace movement he plans to meet with,.

Who are they?

We have been advised not to disclose any names prior to Robert's trip, for security reasons. We'll have more information about the Afghan peace movement once he returns. Thanks for understanding.

I understand and will look forward to learning more about this.

Be careful, and listen to your fixers if they tell you to not go somewhere.

I would like to know if they just want Americans to leave altogether, or if they feel there is something we can do to help them put their country back together.

they definitely want our help. Just not the kind Bush gave them. (little to none)

Dear Robert,

I think finally there is an increasing attention given to the Afghans, something that should have been done right when the talks began in 2001. We are time and again been ignored because of the perception that whether we do not know anything or we are too extremist or conservative to be listened to. Although there is a community of Afghan scholars both inside and outside Afghanistan, they have been constantly put outside the decision-making circles.

The Afghans in the governments begged for more aid through the government in order to increase its capacity and legitimacy, but they were ignored by making corruption and incapability an excuse of not cooperating with the Afghans. While that is true, bypassing government and using the private corporations has involved even more corruption and more low quality outputs.

We kept begging for more doctors, trainers, teachers, engineers, and other specialized workers, but what we get in return is a 17,000 troop surge which will not affect the development even marginally because they will not be able to feed the hungry and alleviate poverty. Again, we were asked to shut up because they said that "security" is more important in development hence military involvement has been given a priority while ignoring emphasis on economic and social development.

Although we still need to have more security and more of the aid which has been promised but never given, there is a much more pressing need for right policies. Focusing on quality should be given a much more importance than emphasizing on quantities. We might need more money and more troops, but we need to change policies to better use the resources already there. If we the Afghans are humiliated, discouraged, and asked to keep quiet by the international know-hows, then on whose perspectives and values you would build a nation that is so rooted in culture, religion, and customs.

To the answer of your question what to be asked from the government officials, I would want to know what do they think is their strength that the international community should give them the full authority to make decisions? How they are going to prove to the international community that they are capable of handling their development programs if they are given the responsibility, respect, and space?

Thank you again Robert for taking this initiative and I fully support you. I am an Afghan studying Intl. Relations and Economics in Simmons College, Boston, MA and would be traveling to Afghanistan this summer. So do let me know if I could be of any help to you.

find a way to talk with the women and get their perspective, tribal women, urban women and everyone in between.

what can the west do to help educate the girls

what can the west do to help farms and gardens and orchards going again.

thanks

I am unsure about you going to Afghanistan..but you must do what you must do. Please be careful. I am also unsure about what our President is doing...sending more troops there. I am behind him in most things, but, in this one thing...not so much. My question would be to President Obama...why are more troops necessary? What is our end game? When have we..in our own American way...WON? And, what have we won? We went there...ostensibly....to get the guy who hurt us. Not to hurt the Afghani people. We are hurting the Afghani people., and not getting the guy who hurt us. More troops...no matter how wonderful they are..will not make things better for those people.
Maybe you could ask the Afghans, how can we help you? Can we help you to fight the Taliban? Can we help you to come foward to the 21st Century? Can we bring you electricity, cable, phone, broadband? Clean water, medicines, vaccinations? Women's rights...birth control, education, jobs, education, education....

Ask them if they will continue to press for schools for girls, and in what way can we help? Please tell them that millions of Americans hate war too., and want to end it.

I hope you will take the time to talk with Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea about his experiences and insights on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I too enjoyed Greg Mortenson's book, "Three cups of tea" I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand more about these strong people . We must be able to communicate in order to have peace.

Dear Robert,

I'm a former Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan. I lived and taught in Bamiyan, Afghanistan from 1972-1974. What you see and hear in Kabul and Kandahar won't necessarily be a complete picture of the country. Afghanistan is an extremely diverse, multi-ethnic country. I encourage you to also visit other areas of Afghanistan such as Kunduz in the north, Herat in the west and Bamiyan in the center of the country. This will give you a broader perspective on the ethnic groups.

Now, here are a few tips to make your trip smoother. Never give or accept anything with your left hand, (very disrespectful!) Handshakes are very respectful! In the Dari greeting, after "salam aleikum", say, "Mond-o-nabashin" (may you not be tired) and "Zind-o-bashin" (may you have life). Always repeat those phrases a couple of times-it shows respect.

Above all- be careful! Have a safe trip.

Brad Jannelli

Its nice that you have learned the greeting, Brad. I also believe that if you are nice and make clear that you are not there to talk but to listen, people would be more responsive to you. Also, as popular, people in the villages and outskirts of Kabul are much more welcoming and hospitable. You wont see many women around in the villages (maybe except Bamyan) so do not make that confusion appearant and dont ask someone if you are not that close. You should have a female worker accompany you if you want to have women's perspective.

As Sally Aslan writes an hour ago, the complex reality we call Afghanistan seems to be beyond the understanding of western politicians. Just as the Bush mal-administration
ignored the "Arabists" and experienced professionals in the State Department, I fear this
new administration may make the same tragic error. Reading the most current tea leaves out of DC gives little hope.
The reality as I understand is that there are some four hundred tribal groups; major ones being Pashtuns (42%), Tajik (27%), Hazara and Uzbeks (9% each.) Apparently the Taleban are largely Pashtun, who wish to advance their own aims at the expense of all others; it seems impossible to reconcile the tribal rivalries with the idea of a central government; i.e., the mayor of Kabul.
This region is similar to the British-fabricated "country" of Iraq; there is little doubt in my mind that Iraq will deconstruct to three major zones or possibly a federation of states - Sunni, Shia and Kurd. Afghanistan similarly will resolve to a fractious region with perhaps four competing sub-regions.
Mr. Greenwald, please try to obtain an overview from the "locals," not the imported
experts. Many NGO's likely have a more objective view than those in the power elite there and from the West. Best wishes for a SAFE and successful voyage.

Thank you for this updates on your trip to Afghanistan, please watch your back while you are there filming and doing a fact finding mission.
Afghanistan must fight for the control of their homeland from terrorist's such as the Al-Queda, Talibans, and other offshoots terrorists in Pakistan/India borders. Afghanistan people must support their President Karzai to have truly a democratic country free from warring factions,terrorist's,suicide bombers, that sneeks in at night to do harm to the people of Afghanistan who wants peace, prosperity for their own good and for the good of their childrens to have a better life in the future.
At this time due to entities that's damaging the country of Agfhanistan their future remains bleak. The only thing or time that they can move forward when they have truly democratic country that's free from violence to their own people. Thank you...

Ask them this, please: what would you like to make sure Americans to understand about Afghans and Afghanistan?

Or this: they must understand that Americans are enraged at what Bin Laden did to the USA on 9/11, so is there anything they can recommend to us going forward to prevent another 9/11? How can we have peace in their country?

I would like you to try to locate Greg Mortensen or his staff and visit some of the schools he has built, mostly for girls. He speaks several of the languages, and knows his way around the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Thanks for all you do!

You could do a lot worse than solicit in depth the opinions of Sarah Chayes. She went to Afghanistan as a journalist, I believe, and stayed as an imaginative and effective humanitarian worker. In an appearance on the Bill Moyers Journal, she laid out everything we are doing wrong in Afghanistan . . . basically the same mistake that the fOREIGN pOLICY of the USA continues to make everywhere there is conflict arising out of extreme inequality and social injustice. Either out of ideological willful ignorance, or cynical commercial pressures, or some unholy combination of both, we ALWAYS wind up supporting the evil oppressors and working against the groups working to improve their country. The result is a polarization of the nation in question. We push the progressives in a direction we really don't want them to go (Ho Chi Minh at the League of Nations is a classic example) or bring to power the worst possible group (here the example has to be the mullahs of Iran). At great expense of blood and treasure, we continually shoot ourselves in the feet! My apologies, by the way, if I didn't realize you already are communicating with Sarah Chayes, and for those who read these comments and don't know her, check out the above-mentioned Bill Moyers episode, to realize what a practical clear-eyed humanitarian she is, and what a valuable perspective she brings to the developing quagmire of Afghanistan. I personally believe that bushiot's twin wars of Iraq and Afghanistan may yet prove the final trigger in the collapse of the once-great USA. Serves the attention -deficit disorder afflicted american public right, but the SCARY thing is that there is nothing better out there to replace it, and looming global warming and ocean acidification will be the final trigger in the collapse of the once-great human race! Have a nice day.

A little more about Sarah Chayz and someone I believe is doing more than a USAID contractor would do with billions of dollars. She has started a soap-making buisness for women in Kandahar and has set up the Arghand Cooperative where they make soaps. The different major thing is that she also creates the market for these soaps and has set up a website for those abroad to buy the products. For anyone interested here is the website: http://www.arghand.org/
I think this is what we need. Small scale, income generating projects that help women/men earn for themselves instead of begging or waiting for some kind of aid (which is not guaranteed at all)

Robert, I want to share this message I sent to Senator Russ Feingold 4 days ago in response to his request for feedback. I think it is important.
Dear Russ,
I expect the following book would give us a significant insight into Afghanistan and Pakistan. I listened on WPR to the author Greg Mortenson explaining his attempt to build his first promised school for a small town. Until he proverbially had his third cup of tea, and the leader of the village said, stop trying so hard and let us help you! Put away your plans, and thrashing around, and the school was built! I'm convinced this story contains important insight for us.
The Book from the Amazon site: "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time" (Paperback) by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
From Publishers Weekly:
"Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)

A better plan would be to have three cups of tea with each village leader, and learn what can be accomplished when the people are on our side. Talk to Greg Mortenson about how we should proceed in this region of the world. After building 50 schools there, I'm sure he has important insight. Has our army done the same anywhere? It is not about spending money, armaments, and loosing more lives. War on drugs can not be won any more than prohibition stopped alcohol from being consumed here. Or the War on Abortion can be won without teaching teen agers about sex, and putting condoms on trees. We need to stop using War as a modus operandi and start getting to the root of the problems. We are the root of the problem as long as we consume 20% of the worlds vanishing resources with 4% of it's population and pollute the hell out of it. We are like a bald headed barber selling hair restorer. We look just like Russia to the Taliban and Al Qaeda: An 800 lb gorilla on the rampage.

PS: I'm glad to see Rodney Cook highlighted Greg Mortenson 3 minutes ago!

I am interested in the mechanics of infrastructure?
a) Is there a source of potable water? Is it tested for contaminants? What can be done about the water pollution due to the war ?
b)how successful has been the transition from a drug growing, arms dealing culture to other crops and industries?
c)how much of Afghaniston still has mines from the Soviet Occupation? The Taliban? The Americans? Nato?
c)In what way does the peace movement see the changing of women's roles?
d)do they believe that a women may still not leave the house if she is not escorted by a male in the family? Just because you are for peace does not mean you are for women's rights or a change from a patriarchial theorcracy;.
e)how secular is the peace movement?
f)where will the money come from to rebuild the nation?
g0what will be the punishment for bribes or protection money?
h) what type of judicial system do they envision?
i)will there be a constitution that all people will know about and know their rights under it?

I was impressed with the diplomatic results that Greg Mortenson had in Afghanistan and Pakistan, described in Three Cups of Tea. I believe this is the correct approach for our country to take -- not our troops.

Agreed 100%

Our propaganda media has led us to believe that Reagan brought down the Soviet Union. Reagan didn't bring down the Soviet Union. Afghanistan brought down the Soviet Union. I hate it that our young men are over there fightiung an impossible war.

How does one become a member of the peace movement and support it actively abroad aside from money. also what would the people of afghanistan like from
the people outside that situation, how do they want the mind and the heart of the
world to respond. D. Dillon

The first and most important question, I think, is:
"What do you think the U.S. should do to help the people of Afghanistan? Is there a military role for the U.S. to play, and what would that be?"

Another question which intrigues me:
"Why has opium production increased (I've seen 5x cited) so dramatically since the U.S. has become involved in military operations there? And what is the relationship, if any, between the opium producers and the Taliban or other political forces?"

And "Should we go after Bin Ladin? If so, how should we approach that challenge?"

Since the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is porrous, how can we expect to quell extremism and terrorism without a more reliable partner in Pakistan? We can build up the troops in Afghanistan only to have the Taliban re-group in the tribal areas of Pakistan and continue to de-stabilize Afghanistan from there. Unless we can strengthen our non-extremist and pro-democratic allies in Pakistan, and unless we can hope for lawfulness in the tribal areas, then we won't be able to win against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

I would love for there to be a way to communicate with people in Afghanistan; I would love this to be part of the documentary; for them to answer questions of Americans, and for us to answer their questions. I would like them to know that so many of us want peace for them.

Being a veteran and the father of 2 Marines it does concern me that the U.S. is being sucked into another "Vietnam like" scenario that will lead to the loss of thousands of lives on both sides of the war in Afghanistan.

Both sons have done tours in Iraq. One is currently preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. My sons have seen and conveyed to me that they "doubt" the war in Iraq has made the kind of significant permanent change that our leaders would have us believe is taking place. When our troops are gone and we no longer have a presence there, it will revert to the way it was, before the British and after Saddam, with more AL qaeda infiltrating and stirring feuding tribal factions and religious extremist into further chaos.

The same scenario is written on "the wall" for Afghanistan. The Russians learned a bitter lesson attempting to take control of the region in the 80's. I think the same outcome is in our future if we proceed with current military solutions. The only way the Taliban can be dealt with is through some sort of negotiation. In other words letting them resume control and us withdrawing.

The Taliban knows they defeated Russia, and they know the North Vietnamese defeated the U.S. Time is on their side. For them it is a radical religious war and thus unwinnable buy coalition forces regardless of how many troops are put on the ground there. Every Taliban that our troops capture or kill will be replaced by another 2 or three radically indoctrinated replacements.Three things they have been very successful in doing there is , growing opium poppies, growing more Taliban replacements, and driving out the technologically superior "infidels"in the name of Allah.

For all it's "commitment" I don't think the U.S has the kind of "mental fortitude" for, or willingness to sacrifice the numbers of young men and women this war will or could potentially take, not to mention the further financial drain on our already weakened economy.

Have a good safe trip.

I want to know how long you are going for- how long is your trip?before I give more money I want to know if this trip is long enough to know what is going on

Sir:
We must look at and understand the culture,religion, and the complex tribal makeup
of this country. We must also learn about the history-especially what HAPPENS when
foreign countries come in and try to impose their ideas and control on this beautiful
country.-ie the British-the Russians. By our ie American interference -and trying to "throw out the Russians" by recruiting young men from Saudi Arabia etc to go into this country
as mercenaries-we helped to create the Taliban. !! What do these young men do when
the "war" is over?? Go to Iraq-Iran----!
I traveled in Afghanistan before the Russians came in. One village was an entity.
One valley was a different from the next. President Obama must be informed to the
realities of this situation. PLEASE do what YOU can.
Sally Aslan

Dear Mr. Greenwald:
Please think about asking these questions (or any other versions of it): If you (An Afghani) were the supreme leader of the entire world what would you tell the United States to do to help secure peace in your country? What would you tell America you would doto make that happen? Who is your worst enemy and why?

I'm a student filmmaker at UMKC and if I had the money to donate I would but I will offer my time if you need any crew although I live in KC. Good Luck in the making of this documentary and bravo for getting to the truth in Afghanistan. Safe travels.

In the U.S., all children are required to attend school from kindergarten through the 12th grade (or age 18). Education allows children to become individuals who have the opportunity to think for themselves--beyond the prejudices of their families. How do you understand this issue in Afghanistan? How soon do you think a broad education will be available in rural Afghanistan in a significant way?

I would like to know what the average Afghani would: 1. Think what he or she would like to do for a job? 2. What do you want from the US and allies? 3. Do you think you are better off now than you were say five years ago? 4. Are you happy with the way your country is now and can you imagine how it could be a happy place for you?

You should contact: Dr. Sakena Yacoobi of the Afghan institute of Learning, sakenay@aol.com.
She is a very intelligent, highly articulate Afghan woman, a leader of the movement for the improvement of women's rights in the country. She was interviewed last year on "Democracy Now." She speaks perfect English. She is based in her home country, but could be at any given time elsewhere--in the U.S. or U.K.

Have you read the book Land of the High Fl;ags? Roseanne Klass. She wrote it in the 70s but updated a piece for republication in 2007 Odyssey books. Af/n has some minerals and used to grow fruit trees. I'd guess the climate has changed but one wonders if they could not grow some crops of high nutritional value like millet or winter wheat.
I have also wondered if the borders are in the wrong place - should the NE area really be part of Pakistan - if the Pashtuns are in both regions!
Does repression of women relate inversely to male employment? If women were allowed to run businesses might they be allowed to be educated even if they still wore the hajib.
Is the country short of building materials eg to build houses, clinics and schools? Is anyone in the USA poised to sell solar panels et al to Afghanistan- if not they are missing a much needed export opportunity
Who is selling trucks to Af/an- Africa is full of Toyota pickup trucks. Is anyone teaching the guys to fix cars?
Democracy is a long term aim - what matters more is employment and training!! as per Tom Friedman.
Safe journey Sonia Ettinger Iowa City

Ask them, as Obama has suggested, if they are willing to entertain the possibility of another, less expensive, way of dealing with the differences. Ask them if they are willing to entertain the possibility of creating collaboration instead of killing, of heartful connection (perhaps through the arts, among other things) rather than fearful retribution. Ask them if they are willing to heal their own pain (beneath the fear and anger) if their "enemies" are willing to do the same.

Dear Robert,
I am very concerned about your travelling into this war zone. . . you are a very important voice and it is very frightening to think about the risks involved. I applaud your courage, and at the same time want to remind you- WE NEED YOU. . . I am an American intellectual with years of service in the education field and can share with you that it has been lonely going, that your voice has been and is very important. . .
Please take every precaution and then some, and may the force of truth and light be with you.
I have long thought that we lost a great chance at healing the world when Bush and co. responded with warfare to the questionnable incidents of "9/11". Surely there are ways Americans can speak to the immediate needs, and minds and hearts of the Afghani people. If only we had sent "bread, not bombs". . . as some of us pleaded. How can we now bridge the huge gap which grows larger each day as civilian casualties increase? What is the most effgectoive way now for Americans to demonstrate "good faith" and solidarity with the human beings over there?
Thank you for carrying the torch of love and humanity in the world, Robert, and may you be blessed and protected. I am very grateful for your courage and integrity.
Eva Johanos

Ask the Afghanis: In what ways has war affected your country and your life?
Isn't it high time to expose the puppeteers who promote war and destruction for greed. Im speaking of 99% of governments/politicians/policy makers who should be exiled to their own planet. Leave ours alone.

Ask them honestly and open-mindedly what they hope will happen in Afganistan in its future, and whether they think it's possible, with or without assistance from other countries.

What is NEVER discussed is what our occupation and war is doing to the wildlife and animals and habitat in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a time of massive species' extinction when we should all be pulling together to save our wild brethren and free the farm animals that are contributing more global warming than ALL TRANSPORTATION - forced by us - we are a DISASTER! What about the ecosystem we are destroying? In a hundred years, it won't be the economic recession or this or that war - it will be that we destroyed half the species on earth. How crazy and homocentric and myopic are we?

Will we never, ever learn that an American military presents in other countries is a terrible idea? We should bring every last one of our troups home from everywhere and stop being the world's bully and sucker to those who try to promote empire.

Let me add my voice to the other respondents supporting going in with less agenda, and spending the time to dig deep into Afghani's lives, and get a clearer picture of their needs, wants, visions, and even dreams. I also appreciate some of the questions being raised about how the West might better address specific issues, such as education, status of women, (re)building infrastructure, and transparent and less-corrupt governance.

The only other major topic I'd like to see explored is whether enough non-Taliban Afghanis are sufficiently sick and tired (if not furious) with the Taliban to form a People's Counterterror Army, possibly with US funding. It worked with the Mujahedeen when Russia was on their murderous rampage there, it could well work again: given the growing concensus that we can't "win" this war, it appears pretty clear to me that giving the locals comfort, aid, support, guns, and butter might be the best if not the only feasible option for achieving the kind of gradual democratization and withering of extremism we seek.

I have been out of work for three months or I would send you something. I hope you stay safe and come back with a film to help enlighten minds concerning the situation.
Please tell the people you meet they have a friend in me. Many of us care deeply but are powerless to stop our government. Explain to them that evil men of all nations profit from war, they are the enemy. Our common enemy, the enemy of all mankind, is greed. Greed is what has caused all this pain and sorrow, we must all learn to share!
Peace unto you brother, may you go with the grace of the goddess to guide you.

In order to avoid a war that we cannot win, we must look at history. The tribes that now control the mountains of Afghanistan have done so for centuries. When Alexander the Great went out to conquer the world, he stopped at the mountains at what is now the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. A friend of mine who is a Pakistani by birth told me that the tribes will never give up and want their people to not be disturbed. They will do anything to stop anyone who gets in the way. However, the tribal leaders will negotiate. They are reasonable as long as their people are protected. It would be a good idea to identify the tribal leaders, ask for a meeting with each. After meetings with all leaders are completed, then an offer could be developed and presented to each leader for their review. Then agreements could be put in place thereby avoiding any conflict. The tribal leaders do not like the radicals any more that we do. Putting this all together we could have a negotiated peace agreement.

If the decision is to go to war, we will lose, many of our soldiers will die and the American public's support will stop.

Some people will say that we need a war to get our economy back on track (like WWII and the great depression).

Given this scenario the tribal leaders may even help us to get rid of the radicals.

You should ask them if they want a return of a regime that doesn't allow women to be educated, that disfigures young girls who try to learn to read and write and that denies its citizens the most fundamental freedoms embodied in the U.N. Declarationn on Human Rights.

First of all, I want to thank you as an Afghan for your efforts.


Most importantly: Although it is unsafe, try to go to Kandahar (you'll enjoy it...it's often similar to LA weather). When you get there, speak to the Great Ayatollah Mohammed Assef Mohseni. HE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE MOST ACCURATE RESPONSES TO YOUR QUESTIONS regarding the situation in Afghanistan. I am asking you to please remember his name and do ANYTHING you can to try to get an interview with him.
To the Afghan Peace Movement: Who is involved? Are all the ethnic groups of Afghanistan participating equally? Pashtuns, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Turkmans? What about the two major Islamic groups? Shi'as and Sunnis?

If not, please try your best to ask them why they feel that one group is superior to another.

To the Afghan officials: Is there a reasonable compromise between upholding traditional Islamic values and Western ideas of democracy? Why is it that it's always one extreme or the other?

Good luck.

See how wide spread Karzai's effort to have King Abdula of Saudi Arabia organize peace negotiations with all parties is know, and then, oif they do know aboutit, what do they think?

What do the Afghanis think about Pakistan's interests and intentions? Also Iran's interests and intentions and, while you are at it, what do they think are the Chinese intentions.

If you can talk with some of the development contractors - health education, Drug substitution, try to get their candid opinion about progress.

On the constitution there. Is it a cultural fit?

I would like to see you go in with NO AGENDA - not pro-war, not anti-war, just there to learn and listen. What do they need & want? Start from a blank canvas with the native people providing the expert guidance to paint their vision for their country. That's how we can learn the truth and formulate the best ways to provide sujpport to their nation.

"WAR is CRAPPY"!

Aside from being a "funnyman", I'm a "vet".

Recently at a local "airshow" I was horrified by fighter jets. I've seen them many times before, but on this day all I could think of was injured and murdered CHILDREN. Those jets drop bombs that do not discriminate.

Our media are BITCHES and don't show the "collateral damage" they inflict.

Why do so many people think that our government has changed from the early days of this country. We want to control the "ENERGY and PROFITS" in this world! (And with it it's impoverished people.)

URGE your friends to learn more about this! I do.

I'm glad you contacted me. I'm a new daddy of a pretty little girl. I know Arabs and Muslims and Jews, etc. all have the same love of there kids that I do!

I'm afraid we are all doomed. This is an uphill battle, but to do nothing is surrender.

With a new baby we have little money, But I'll charge up on my VISA another $20 to be a part of this effort! It won't kill me...doing nothing might!

I know that's pretty deep from a comedian/ "big mean clown" but it's sincere.

Best Regards,

Jerry H**** (AKA "Crappy The Clown")

How are the U.S. troops going to contribute to protecting China's Copper Mining Deal?

One question to sum it all up I think.

Do you think your community is happier after being freed from the Taliban regime and have a new ' American regime' in place instead?

Be sure to talk to Rangina Hamidi who spoke on Democracy Now this week-March 10. OUTSTANDING!

There is so much history that we do not know about Afghanistan and the Frontier Province area of Pakistan. We don't know how similar our attacks in that area are to the way the British acted in the late 19th and early 20th century in the same area, and how much the people equate our actions with the whole long history of colonialism by the West in their region. We don't know their cultural heritage. And we don't know their heroic history of non-violent (yes, non-violent!) resistance to the British during the fall of the Raj. I am reading an amazing book by the late Eknath Easwaran about a Pathan (Pashtun) tribal leader who lead a heroic non-violent resistance against the British in the Frontier Province of what now is Pakistan. It is called: A Man to Match His Mountains: Badshah Khan, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam (1984, but available through Amazon books). As I read about the tribes and the traditions and the geography (all of which we are dealing with today), I realize how little we actually know about the people we are making war on, or how futile warmaking in this region has always been for the West. The nonviolent Muslim organization which Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Badshah Khan) founded, the Khudai Khidmatgars, played an important role in the liberation of Indian and Pakistan and lost the struggle after partition to create a separate Pashtun autonomous region in the Frontier Province. There is still a political party in Pakistan, the Alawi National Party, that traces its origins to Badshah Khan and his son Wali. This is not to pick sides in the many faceted political conflicts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. But this is a tribal-based movement with a non-violent Islamic history and we Americans stumble into the place knowing nothing about it. We impose humiliations and death in the way the British did and the Russians did. How can we expect the Afghans and the frontier tribes to see us as anything different? I hope you will learn some of the indigenous stories of the Frontier area of Pakistan and of Afghanistan and bring those stories home to American and European audiences. We do no one any good by acting out of massive military force and massive historical/cultural ignorance.

I would probably contribute if you knew enough about the country to include Sarah Chayes in the list of people to consult. She's lived there for five years and SPEAKS PASHTUN!!!. She is absolutely brilliant--I've heard her speak on TV and in person, and her book "The Punishment of Virtue" is indispensable for anyone who wants to understand the country, Did you leave for off your list because you don't want to chance going to Kandahar? She LIVES there so you could probably manage a quick visit.

I am happy that you added the wise women because I am positive that no solution is meaningful without vast changes to the lives of women. Their wisdom and participation is a necessity for change.

I just want to know what the Afghani people want for their country - what do they need from us and other people in the world to achieve stability? I am also very concerned about helping the Afghani's develop alternatives to the opium economy - how can we help farmers grow other crops and make a living wage? Do the people of Afghanistan want us there at all?

Ask them if they've had enough of war and foreign interference !

Please put in your report how impossible it is to beat the Afghanis in their own home territory -
it is their land - no one has ever mastered it - neither the British, Russians or the current "allies".

Let them be, expect for helping them raise education for all and basic freedoms.

What is America and Nato doing there anyway ?

It is simply a quagmire, worse than Vietnam -

And try to get help from the Iranian Makhmalbaf family who have often filmed there.

Dear Robert:

I will gladly donate to help with the cost of your latest project. Right now, I don't see an end to this faisco the George Bush has put us in. Please keep in mind two things:

1) Please, for God's sake, BE careful over there. It's still a war zone and you are putting yourself at geat risk. Between the Taliban, Al Queada, the opium gangs and the corrupt authorities who all bully the locals; it's a real danger zone over there.

2) Seek out Sarah Chayes. She is a former NPR reporter who has "gone native"; living and working with the people in Afghanistan. She has been interviewed recently by both Bill Moyers and Rachel Maddow; telling her story as she sees it "on the ground". She can probably give you a lot of good information that will help you with project. Look up this site: www.SarahChayes.net

Take care.

I'd like to reiterate what a lot of people said about talking to the everyday people as much as possible. The peace activists are great to speak with, but if they don't represent the views of the majority, we need to know that as well. Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, has a unique perspective - he is helping educating women and young people there, but only when asked to - nothing is being imposed, and he understands the process of bringing about change. There is also a man who walked across Afghanistan - Rory Stewart - who talks about the lack of education, which seems to fuel a lot of extremism.
I don't think there is a simple solution, but asking people what they want, and opening up dialogue and bringing awareness is part of the solution. It's time we treated the Afghan people with respect, people equal to our own. If you can do that, it would be great.

If we "get" Osama Bin Laden, is our work done in Afghanistan?

"Ditto" on interviewing Sarah Chayes. Thank you for doing this.

I think it would be wonderful to know what the Afghan people want. If the United States were to "stay out of their way" (assuming a best case scenario of no military occupation with maintained peace, or at least no direct US involvement with their political affairs), what is it that they would want to do with their own country? What do they want to accomplish and, with the situation as it stands, whether it be considered opportunity or response, what they feel should be different about the organization and ideals of their country.

I applaud you for going to Afghanistan. We need more truthful information about that chaotic country. I hope that you will be able to talk with THE PEOPLE without officials around, in order to hear their opinions, especially about their feelings about troops in their country. I am sure you will do a great job and your reports should go out to the media, uncensored. Thank you.

Pres Obama said he is considering negotiating with the Taliban. I am dead set against this and I wonder what Afghans think of it? After all, we just spent a war tossing them out of government. I would obliterate every last one of them. Obama has been accused of being pro-Muslim. I am afraid this act would prove it.

Many experts in the US and Afghanistan favor negotiating with some moderate elements of the Taliban, not just the President. There are a lot of aspects to a negotiated reconciliation, just as there are many different factions of the Taliban. Check out "Talking with the Taliban" by The Nation's Robert Dreyfuss for a better understanding:

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/415576/...

Afghanistan isn't Iraq. We have to be there in strength to negotiate from a position of strength. I wish we weren't involved in any wars, but there is a legitimate time and place to deploy our military and Afghanistan is that place.
There will be no peace in Afghanistan without an American military presence, and our strategy in Afghanistan must dovetail with our strategy towards Pakistan--and the situation there changes day-by-day.

Jeff C

Peace and military escalation never mix. How can we negotiate diplomatically if we are committing tens of thousands more troops for a long-term occupation? How many more troops will it take to achieve the peace you're talking about, and at what cost? These are some of the questions we're trying to figure out.

Robert Greenwald,

Be sure to talk to Sarah Chayes. She is doing incredible community work in Afghanistan, and knows the local situation like no other American. See: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/afgha... and
http://www.afghansforcivilsociety.org/

And thanks for all the great work you are doing.

Bob Coats

You may want to contact the women of RAWA. The Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan.

http://www.rawa.org/index.php

When I visited Afghanistan via a Global Exchange Reality Tour in the autumn of 2006, I found that many of the people we met with had mixed emotions about the Taliban. These were human rights lawyers, "moderate" mullahs, educated returnees, doctors, and others. Occasionally the Taliban were referred to/excused in terms of "students who are just confused" or "students who just need to learn more". Women who still wore burqas were explained (by men we met) as "just more comfortable"; not ready to give them up yet, because they felt safer wearing them...because of the abuse non-wearers suffered during the time of the morality police...from which they were not yet recovered, emotionally). It was hard to understand or buy some of this, as we were only speaking to men, in the main. The few women we met - - who included the head of a micro-lending agency, a head doctor at the women's hospital, a woman in charge of the Women's Garden in Kabul, and a non-Afghan NGO worker and a non-Afghan co-head of a place helping street kids - - did not defend the Taliban or express comfort in the anonymity of the burqua. So, please further pursue these questions, if you will. Thanks.

My client who is at Guantanamo was married to an afghan woman and has a young daugher whom he has not seen since she was a few months old. We have not been able to locate them. I do not suppose you want to take on that additional task?

Dear Robert,
your recorded voices of suffered people of Afghanistan will have positive effect in USA for rethinking the issue of Afghanistan.

I am suggesting just few to ask the common people:

1. What do you think about the present of USA, EU and an other supported countries in your home country?
2. Why do not have the common people trust to the present government and parliament and what is wrong with them?
3. Do you think, that the election will cary out in honest way and how was the last elections?
4. What kind of changing do you have in your life during the last seven years?
5. Why Taliban have success in many areas against the present government and foreigner soldiers?
6. Do you believe, if the foreigner soldiers leave your country, is it positive for your country or negative?
if it will be positive, how can be possible to arrange among warlords, communists, Taliban and an other group a government, which can get acceptance from the nation?
7. Do you have trust to political parties in your country, if not, why?

8. What should do the supported countries to get the trust of common people? Or do you think, they are here for occuping your country?
9. Do you think, that Pakistan, Iran and Russian are supporting the disaster in your home country, if yes, why?
10. You will have soon election, do you think, that the announced people for election will be the right people to solve the present problem in your country?
11. Do you think, that the decision of Bonn in year 2001 was right one for Afghanistan?
12. Taliban will never succeed in country, if the common people would not support them, why it is so?
13. Do you think, that the provisional government with cooperation of UN will be better for the country than the government of any political group and Why?
14. What do you think about the reconstruction money, are they used for reconstruction of country or not?
Do you think, that it will come peace into country, if Taliban join the present government?
15. What do you think about Mr. Khalilzad activities in Afghanistan in the past? Did he carried out his job in honest way for the country?
16. What do you think, what should change, that your country get peace and security?
17. Are you agree, when WAHABISM come to your country and replace the HANIFI?
18. Do you think, that Mr. Obama will be able to find a way to find a peaceful solution for Afghanistan?