A matter of sternness

It has been a decently long time since I last posted anything related to politics, so I suppose I'll get back on track with that and keep myself in practice. This will be about military strategy in Afghanistan.

I won't be presumptuous and say that this is the best strategy for the United States to follow, but it is the one that would likely foster the most ideal results.

Part 1 (of however many parts)
Current predicaments:
Currently in Afghanistan, the United States is fielding near 70,000 troops on the ground. As of recently, they have been working to isolate the Taliban (and subsequently, al Qaeda) to the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan and have been waging successful campaign against al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds in Waziristan, a mountainous region in northern Pakistan. The United States fields the vast majority of troops in Afghanistan, with Canada fielding around 3,000 and Germany around 1,000. Recently, Pakistani intelligence (ISI) has captured two top-tier Taliban leaders; however, there are several problems that go along with this.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the ISI have been working with a tenuous relationship to further secure Afghanistan. The two agencies are distrustful of each other, as many in the American government have the view that Pakistan wants to keep some of the Taliban tangible in order to exert a greater influence in Afghanistan after American forces leave. There has also been suspicion on the side of the ISI that several anti-Pakistani militants who have been killed of late (according to the ISI) may have been American spies. Along with this is the ever-prevalent Pakistani fear that the Americans are secretly working with the Indian government to somehow undermine Pakistan. At this time, the relationship is professional and far from intimate.
This war is also relatively unpopular at home, as with its counterpart war in Iraq. As of January 12th, according to a CBS poll, only 46% of respondents approved of his handling of Afghanistan, opposed to upwards of 60% in the late summer of 2009. This is typical in any war, however, as popular opinion for a war typically wanes with an increase in troop deaths. Obama's announcement of a troop surge did not help his poll numbers, as is typical with an engagement of this length. Many people attribute the two wars as having some part in the current economic downturn (though the current proposed budget has $159.3 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq out of a total $3.8 trillion).
This war (both wars, in my opinion) has been poorly handled since former president Bush authorized military operations in Afghanistan. There are a plethora of different, less-lethal strategies that the United States could have pursued and could still pursue, many of which would reduce the number of American and Afghani deaths and foster cooperation and give a positive view of America in the Muslim world. I will go in-depth into one of these strategies in my next segment, Part II.

That's all for now,
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In Memoriam

Celebrity deaths seem to be the biggest trend lately. Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Billy Mays, Bernie Mac, that guy from the movie commercials, they all died within the last year. However, one death has gone relatively unnoticed by the general populace, and he was more important than any of those celebrities. He was a major influence in American history and modern political philosophy, and yet his death has been shoved to the wayside by the mainstream media like he never existed. I am talking, of course, about Howard Zinn.

Zinn actually died about 3 weeks ago when I was in Montreal, so I was unable to write about it at the time. I remember seeing his name as a ticker mention on CNN, and then going around to my friends and saying "Did you know that Howard Zinn died?" Sadly, no one knew who he was. Perhaps that shows this country's priorities, perhaps not; either way, it is a sad fact when a great thinker dies and few people even care.

I won't eulogize Mr. Zinn because I am not his biggest follower nor am I his most personal friend; I am simply a person who respects his impact upon the understanding of American history. While he may go relatively unrecognized by the hoi polloi of the world, I have some hope that his works will survive to the future, where they will be accorded the respect that they deserve. A man of his intellect is a man that should never be forgotten by his contemporaries; to be forgotten almost makes his monumental contributions meaningless.

Here's to you, Howard. I first read your work in 8th grade, and it was certainly the most verbose work that I had read up to that point. Maybe if the world were different, maybe if people payed attention to modern philosophy and understanding history, you would have a grand ceremony worthy of your contributions.

You will be remembered. I promise you that.

Howard Zinn, August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010
May his magnanimity flourish into the future.

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Valentine

Oh, Saint Valentine, how you grace us with your presence today. I find that surprising, since there is even speculation over whether or not you even existed-but I digress. I find that your death by stoning was the most romantic act since Adam defrocked Eve behind that apple tree. Of course, your holiday might have been created to supersede the Pagan holiday of Lupercalia, or your legends might have even been fabricated by Geoffrey Chaucer, but again, I digress.

Saint Valentine, your gracefulness has been an anathema to men everywhere. Now, on one particular, arbitrary day, we are forced to spend valuable time and money on our girlfriends. We could have used that money and time to do other more important things, such as...uh...reading?

Damn you, Saint Valentine, for forcing men to recognize for one day (aside from their birthdays, anniversaries, the occasional 4th of July, and Hanukkah) that women are important in our lives. Damn you.

This one's for you, Saint Valentine. You gave Barry White a job; you should listen to him too.



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Handle With Care

First off, I'd like to introduce you (yes, you, my only reader) to a classic rock supergroup that formed in the late 1980's. It's called the Traveling Wilburys, and it is a supergroup because its members were George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Jon Lynne. It's too bad that they only made 2 albums since Orbison died about a year after they formed, but they made some good music. Here is their most famous song, Handle With Care:



Montreal: home to French Canadians, two-dollar coins, and intolerable cold. No, seriously, it was 8 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday. I was there attending the McGill University Model UN Conference which, honestly, could have been organized better. There were several ineptitudes which plagued the conference, the largest of which was the McParte. McParte was the typical Model UN conference delegate party, which takes place usually in a large nightclub in the host city. To make a long story short, the club was too small, many people were waiting outside in the cold, the bouncers were abusing some people, and the people who organized the entire thing were sitting in the VIP section of the club, likely sipping on their ales and smoking their cigars while their rotund stomachs jiggled with maniacal laughter. This was, however, just a blemish on the weekend.

I became friends with some great people, got to know some good friends even better than I had known them before, and hope to see everyone at the next conference in April. Who knows, maybe next time we'll actually get something done in committee.

That's all for now.

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