Month: September 2021

America is out of Afghanistan. For now.

The timing of our exit was established, at least in part, on the desire of the Biden administration to leave 20 years to the day after 9/11, which would have been great optics. Unfortunately, insufficient consideration was given by the Biden administration to planning and coordination, with the result being a rushed evacuation that left thousands of people and billions of dollars in weapons behind. Our ill-conceived departure contributed to the near-immediate collapse of the Afghan government and military, and resulted in on outpouring of completely justified anger and frustration on the part of our allies.

Despite our past experience in Iraq, insufficient attention was paid by the Biden administration to anticipate what would come after we left. Clearly there was no overriding strategy in play, no Biden doctrine as it were. Not that there was ever a Trump doctrine either.

Due to the lack of situational awareness and the unwillingness to change strategy even in the face of failure, hundreds of lives have been lost. Thousands more lives will be lost in the near term as the Taliban consolidate their gains and exert their authority. Tragically, American lives will probably be among them.

Once the commitment had been made to withdraw from Afghanistan, there was going to be blood. It was not going to matter what administration was in power.

Only in the political world of 20/20 hindsight would a Trump administration withdrawal have been a beautiful withdrawal, possibly the most beautiful and perfect withdrawal ever. In reality, the timeframe for the withdrawal would have been even more rushed – May instead of August – and what evidence is there to conclude that it would not have been just as much of a disaster as the Biden withdrawal has been?

That being said, now we need to think about what comes next.

The overriding consideration must be to prevent future Islamic terrorism. It is unlikely that the Taliban will be willing or able to control the resurgence of Al Qaeda and ISIS, so constant vigilance on our part will be required.

It is tempting to return to the Bagram air base and re-establish a military/CIA presence. There is certainly going to be an ongoing cost involved, both financially and in American lives, but this would allow for the enhanced monitoring of militant Islamic activity and provide for an immediate response to eliminate identified threats. This means that again we would be intruders in a country where our presence is resented by many who live there, but it is likely to be required as a strategic measure to counter Islamic terrorism and to prevent another 9/11-type attack if the Taliban prove unable or unwilling to do so.

Our diplomatic efforts must now be focused on determining the intentions of the Taliban. Any continued reluctance on the part of the Taliban to facilitate the release of all remaining Americans and allied Afghans will be highly problematic, to say the least. Any reluctance on the part of the Taliban to control Al Qaeda and ISIS must be interpreted as confirmation that these terrorist groups will be allowed to operate freely within Afghanistan to plan and stage terror attacks against the U.S. and other western countries. The actions and the rhetoric of the Taliban since their ascension to power have not been reassuring.

The understanding of Islam in this country is superficial at best and has been negatively influenced by the tragic events of 9/11. There is a need for a much deeper understanding of the teachings of Islam and of Islamic societies. Respect and acceptance of Islamic cultures is paramount to our coexistence with Islam. Being uninvited intruders in an Islamic-based country is not the best way to move forward.

However, we must accept the stark reality of our situation if we are going to constructively change it. Another 9/11 event will be worse for our relationship with the Islamic world than our having a strategic outpost in Afghanistan. Whether the Bagram airbase is as defensible and impenetrable as we have been led to believe remains to be seen. A return to Bagram will be much more difficult and costly than it would have been if we had never left, but it is in the best interests of the world for us to do so.

It was an unfortunate mischaracterization to call our involvement in Afghanistan a war. It was never a war for us to win. Our involvement was in part an act of vengeance towards those responsible for 9/11, and in part a means of defending ourselves and the rest of the western world from future terrorist acts.

The Obama administration believed that the Afghan army could eventually be trained to defend Afghanistan from the Taliban and other Islamic terrorist groups. However, this did not materialize during their administration, and instead a surge of military personnel was required to address a terrorist insurgence.

The Trump administration wanted to believe that the Afghan army was a capable force, despite intelligence and military reports stating that the Afghan army could not defend Afghanistan without assistance from the U.S. and others. The Trump administration ignored these reports and entered into an ill-advised agreement with the Taliban to leave Afghanistan by a date certain, and ultimately reduced force levels to 2,500 military personnel before leaving office. These actions all but guaranteed disaster.

The Biden administration continued the Trump agreement except for extending the date certain by three months, despite additional intelligence and military reports stating that the Afghan army was not prepared to defend its own country for more than a few months, a year at most. Like the Trump administration before it, the Biden administration chose to ignore these reports when they had the opportunity to change course, and instead oversaw a disastrous withdrawal of our remaining military personnel.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations exhibited terrible judgement and are equally responsible for the outcome.

As is now tragically evident, our presence in Afghanistan was a stabilizing force and the only barrier to the establishment of an Islamic caliphate based upon a strict interpretation of the Koran and the future promulgation of terror and hatred throughout the world.

We have created a very bad situation for the world because of presidents Trump and Biden. Both men thought that they knew more than the generals, one out of conceit, one out of obstinance. Neither was right, both were wrong, and we will all suffer for it.

And to think that both men believe that they deserve a second term. Allah help us.

(Submitted August 25th to USA Today)

There is no other way to describe the Afghanistan situation than as a debacle of epic proportions. There is much blame to go around, and rightly so. A cursory Wikipedia study of the recent history of Afghanistan reveals that the CIA was involved during the time of the Russian occupation, providing material and monetary support through Pakistan to any group fighting against the Russians and the Marxist government the Russians established, and this included the Taliban.

The Taliban successfully drove Russia out of Afghanistan and established an Islamic-based government. Their error in judgement was to allow Al-Qaeda to establish a safe haven in Afghanistan, which led to the planning and execution of the 9/11 terrorist attack and brought U.S. retribution to Afghanistan.

Once U.S. forces forced the Taliban and Al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan, the U.S. established its own democratic government. It did not take long for the Taliban to harass and attack U.S. forces and the Afghan government. Ultimately, twenty years later, the U.S.-backed democratic experiment in Afghanistan failed due to government corruption and a lack of support from the Afghan people.

It should be clear by now that the Afghan people prefer to have an Islamic-based government instead of either a Marxist or democratic government. This is their right, although it may be a situation where they will find themselves in a more oppressive society than expected, particularly when it comes to women’s rights and freedoms, music, art, dance, freedom of worship, freedom of expression, and many other aspects of Afghan life that were permitted and practiced during the past twenty years.

Afghanistan is just one more in a long line of attempts by the U.S. to establish western democratic capitalistic systems in countries whose culture is not particularly receptive to such a system. Whether the rational is to stop the spread of communism, to protect U.S. business interests, or to achieve some other purpose, this just never seems to be successful. All we ever seem to accomplish is to create resentment and to lose opportunities to establish long-term alliances that benefit the people of both countries.

Limiting the blame for our Afghanistan debacle to the current Administration is all well and good, and clearly the Administration has had an extreme failure in timing and coordination, so criticism is warranted. But this does not acknowledge the fundamentally unsustainable basis for many of the foreign policy decisions the U.S has taken over the years. The current torrent of righteous indignation, dramatic handwringing, dire predictions, calls for impeachment – all of it – is an epic waste of time.

Right now, we need clearheaded thinking. We need to keep this debacle in context. History shows that Afghanistan is a wild country that cannot be controlled for very long by anyone. The Taliban are in control for now, but how long will their control last? The Afghan people have had a taste of freedom and will not forget how sweet it can be. The Afghan warlords may have made the deals necessary for their survival, but this does not make them Taliban.

The Taliban would be well advised to allow Afghan women to work and speak and study, and to allow the Afghan people some degree of personal freedom of expression. In this way the Taliban may be able to achieve a stable Islamic state. Otherwise, there will be no lasting peace in Afghanistan.

Our regional interest was, and is, to prevent the continuation of terrorist attacks on the U.S. and our allies. Our current interest in Afghanistan also concerns its natural resources, more specifically, rare earth minerals. In addition, it is in our best interest to minimize Russian and Chinese involvement in Afghanistan to the greatest extent possible so that the destiny of the Afghan people remains their own.

Alliances within Afghanistan seem to be fluid, always changing in pragmatic ways. In this spirit, why not continue to pursue our interests by developing an alliance with the Taliban?  The Taliban is now effectively the government of Afghanistan, supported or at least accepted by a majority of the Afghan people.

We have only to look at our experience with Vietnam as an example of how a successful alliance can be created between countries following years of conflict. Vietnam is an increasingly important trading partner of the U.S. and is now accepted by the American public as such. Past differences have been put aside.

The Taliban will soon be faced with a great deal of difficulty in continuing to provide the services that Afghans have become used to, such as the availability of fresh water, food, electricity, medicine, etc. Unlike other countries who have had to live through conflict, the basic infrastructure in Afghanistan remains intact. Who better to assist in the continuation of these services than the people who paid for and installed them, namely the U.S.?

It is understood that the U.S controls Afghanistan’s monetary reserves, and that Afghanistan is no longer receiving financial support from foreign benefactors. The Taliban has limited financial resources itself. Having the U.S. recognize a new Taliban-based Afghan government and allowing the new government a measure of access to Afghanistan’s monetary reserves would be of great benefit to the Taliban.

Initially distasteful though it would be to both the U.S. and the Taliban to form an alliance, this could be of great benefit to both parties. 

The U.S. has a tradition of religious freedom, and in principle this extends to Islam as well. Islam does not have a very well-received presence in the U.S., primarily due to Islamic terrorism, but that can certainly change. If Islamic terrorism is no longer a concern, Muslims would be accepted more warmly into this country and become part of its melting pot culture.

Instead of expecting other countries to change their government and customs to match our own, the U.S. needs to learn to accept countries for who and what they are.  This whole focus on nation-building has been an epic failure and has done nothing but cause discord and resentment wherever it has been attempted. Even assuming that this was always a noble cause and never an attempt to protect the interests of American companies, it has proven to be an unsuccessful policy long-term. Leading by example instead of by force is likely to be a much more successful strategy.

There is much to evaluate regarding the debacle in Afghanistan. The intelligence community and the Pentagon appear to have been misleading several administrations regarding the actual conditions in Afghanistan. Independent military contractors responsible for various support services have been financially exploiting the American people for years. Politicians have ignored problematic questions so that they could continue to receive dark money PAC donations in exchange for appropriating billions of dollars to the Afghanistan war effort. God only knows how much of the appropriated money was wasted on unnecessary materials and equipment, or just disappeared into unknown pockets and bank accounts.

How many years ago did Afghanistan become more about the business of war than about the principles of war?

Instead of blaming the current and/or previous administrations for this ongoing debacle, we should be asking what comes next? The ongoing withdrawal is going to play itself out over the next few weeks, a month at most, hopefully without too many horrific acts being committed by undisciplined Taliban religious zealots. There is little that the U.S. can do to prevent this should it occur.

At this point, regardless of what President Biden says or does, his administration will be blamed for losing the war in Afghanistan, even though history will provide him with some vindication. Previous administrations continued to support a corrupt Afghan central government that did not have the support of the Afghan people or the military. In the end, the Afghans did not believe that there was anything worth fighting for, which is why the government collapsed so quickly. The U.S. should have left Afghanistan years ago.

Extending an olive branch to the Taliban and negotiating an agreement that leads to a new alliance within the Islamic world seems like a worthwhile effort. This may prove to be the best means of preventing future terrorism directed towards the U.S.   

Would the Taliban agree? It is certainly possible. The Taliban needs access to Afghanistan’s finances, expertise in running the country’s infrastructure, a stable economy, and legitimacy as the new Afghanistan government. In addition, the U.S. would be a wealthier and less-threatening partner to either Russia or China, both of whom have a long history of mistreating Muslims and of exerting a heavy controlling hand on those countries that align with them.

This is an alliance that would benefit both sides. It is certainly something to consider.

(Submitted to “The Root” August 7, 2021)

I recently read an article from “The Root” where the black writer stated that every decision white people have made since the founding of this country has been wrong. That was my understanding at least.

It got me to wondering – just how many readers of “The Root” would agree? I understand how this statement is an appealing affirmation of black anger, bitterness, and resentment towards historical injustices endured by black people over the years, primarily at the hands of white people. But to what end? Where does such a statement lead, if not to further a sense of distrust and separation between people at a time when just the opposite is needed?  

I wholeheartedly agree that white people have made a lot of wrong decisions over the years – some made with bad intentions, some made from ignorance, and some made out of arrogance. But this dismissive and condemning statement is intellectually lazy and entirely unfair to all of us white people who are trying to do the right thing.

The reality is that life in this country is better than in most others. Of course there are changes that could be made that would improve our lives – there always will be – but exaggerating and then blaming the country’s troubles on white people is not going to make things better for anyone.

I am fortunate to be able to say that I have not personally witnessed much of the racism, whether overt or subtle, that remains in this country, although I have seen some. Most people I know object to racism and all other forms of discrimination, at least that is what they say, but I know that this is not true for everyone. Hopefully at some point we will all believe that our differences are to be celebrated, not denigrated. In the meantime, each of us remains responsible for our own actions and treatment of others, and we all have the opportunity to lead by example if we so choose.

Vestiges of racism notwithstanding, our most pressing shared challenge is not one of race, it is one of economic and social class differences: the haves versus the have nots.

If this country were an airplane, many but not all of the seats in Economy Plus would be taken by white people, while most of the white people along with most of the people of color would be in the Economy seats further back, but none of us are going to be welcome in First Class, not even to use the bathroom. First Class is reserved for the elites, the people with power, wealth, and prestige.

That is the fundamental reality of living in this country.

We need to start working together if we are going to make things better. The ongoing Black Lives Matter/White Privilege/Critical Race Theory/Reparations movement is not helping to bring about the level of trust that we need to successfully bring about the societal changes that will bring about fairness, opportunity, and equity for us all.

What I am suggesting is that, instead of being so resentful of and focused on white people, you consider the following.

Appreciate How Far We Have Come as a Society

When I was born in 1957 segregation was still the law of the land in many states. I was too young to know, but if I had been older and travelling in certain parts of the country, I would have seen the segregated buses, water fountains, hotels, restaurants, bathrooms – the “No Colored Allowed” signs.

Then we all went through the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s, including Martin Luther King, forced school busing, George Wallace, Rosa Parks, lynching and beating, anger and hatred.

Then we all lived through the well-intentioned but flawed public housing and welfare programs, the war on crime, redlining and fear and distrust.

Notice that I say “we” and not “you”. This is a shared experience, abet one with differing perspectives. This is not the black experience; this is our experience. The importance of this perspective cannot be overemphasized.

Now we are at a point where it is generally accepted that discrimination of any sort is wrong, to the point of us being painfully hyper-sensitive about it. By and large, we want to trust each other and be more inclusive, and to move past our past so that we can all be in a better place.

I am asking you to stop saying that white people are against you. We have our second black Supreme Court Justice, our first black Vice-President, a black ex-President, black mayors of many of our largest cities, black Congressmen, black millionaires and billionaires, black CEOs of major corporations, a black Secretary of Defense, and countless numbers of interracial couples to the point that it has become an advertising cliché.

To me this is a profound and positive change and is clear evidence of how far we have come as a society. Is this not worth celebrating?

Black History Is Our Country’s Shared History

The history of this country includes the story of a blending of many cultures and peoples that came from everywhere. The telling of our country’s history will be the richest and most accurate when it includes the experiences of all its people.

This country’s history cannot be properly told without including the experiences of the African people who came to this country as slaves instead of by their own free will.

The evolution of slavery in this country from being an accepted practice, to a practice that took a civil war to legally end it, through the struggle to extend the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness to former slaves and their descendants – this is our shared history, not just the history of black people.

This history is made up of tragedy, cruelty, perseverance, denial, shame, defiance, hatred, and pain. It has taken a long time for this country to really begin to acknowledge the extent of the unjust treatment of our black people.

The Tulsa massacre is just one example of such treatment. The massacre was borne of jealousy and hatred, and then hidden from history because of shame and denial. All but forgotten, as if it never happened, this is a story that must be told so that this part of our history can be acknowledged and understood by all.

There are many such stories from our past that could also be told.  We need to learn from our history so that we do not repeat it. However, making such stories the focus of our history and assigning blame today for acts committed 50 or 100 or 200 years ago is counterproductive if what we want to achieve is an inclusive society.

Blacks Are Not the Only Group of Mistreated Americans

Based upon the ongoing dialog about the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory, White Privilege, etc., one might conclude that blacks are the only group of mistreated Americans whose history and contributions to our society have been shortchanged.

Unfortunately, our country’s history includes mistreatment of several other groups of Americans as well. Blacks may have their own unique history of mistreatment, but so do Native Americans, Chinese laborers, U.S. citizens of Japanese descent, Mexican laborers, and even the Irish and the Italians.

As much as slavery was the historical basis for black people to become part of our society, consider the history of Native Americans. The native American people were displaced from their homeland, just like black slaves were displaced from theirs. The native American people were forced in many instances to endure a long and arduous journey to an unfamiliar country, similar in some ways to the journey black people made on slave ships from Africa.

In addition to the loss of their land, native American people died in the hundreds of thousands from foreign diseases inadvertently brought to this country by white settlers. Many native American people now live on reservations where they have limited employment opportunities, poor schools and healthcare, high levels of drug use and alcoholism, and no practical means to improve their lives. This should sound familiar.

Now consider the Chinese laborers brought over to this country to build the transcontinental railroad. Countless numbers of Chinese laborers died working on the railroad due to accident or illness, bodies hastily buried while work continued. When the transcontinental railroad was completed, the Chinese laborers were scorned and then forgotten, a thankless end to years of backbreaking labor.

Next, consider the U.S. citizens of Japanese descent, rounded up after our country went to war with Japan and forced to live for years in what were essentially prison camps because they were all considered to be potential spies. Once the war was over, the U.S. citizens of Japanese descent found that their property had been confiscated, their homes seized, and their businesses closed. Despite their loyalty and love for this country, the U.S. citizens of Japanese descent were essentially jailed for the duration of the war and lost everything, simply for having Japanese heritage.

And then there are the Mexican laborers, working in the agricultural fields and food processing plants, or working in the shadows as housekeepers, nannies, landscapers, day laborers, dishwashers, and busboys. Poorly paid, often cheated, working excessive hours in unsafe conditions, without legal protections, doing the jobs that U.S. citizens would never do, trying to be invisible so that they will not be deported. Needed for their labor, but unwanted as people and resented for their work ethic.

Finally, consider the Irish and the Italians, white people who immigrated from Europe to this country and were treated so poorly by the white people of English and German descent that many resorted to criminal activity to survive and take care of their families. Where was their white privilege?

The point is that black people have a lot of company when it comes to historical mistreatment in this country. In this regard, it is not all about you.

The Problem Is Economic Inequality Not Race

It is very tiring to hear over and over that white people have conspired to prevent black people from succeeding in life.

That there is a history of discrimination in this country is undeniable. However, over the past several decades there has been a concerted effort throughout our institutions to address discriminatory practices and to attempt to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans.  

Black people are succeeding everywhere throughout our society, proving that it is possible to be a black person and to succeed. These successful black people should be role models for all of us, but this message is lost in the ongoing preoccupation with white privilege and white blame.

We all agree that law officers should not be shooting, choking, and killing unarmed people and then claiming that they were afraid for their lives or only following accepted practices. When this happens to a black man it is often headline news, accompanied by protests in the streets, a reminder of all the injustices that black people have endured over the years at the hands of law officers. When this happens to a white man, and according to the statistics it happens more often than to black men, no one pays any attention.

By the total numbers, more unarmed white men than black men are killed by law officers; by percentage of population more black men than white men are killed. Is this really such an important distinction? We should just agree that law officers should never kill an unarmed person.

Most people shot and killed by law enforcement are armed and are criminals. White or black, it is likely that in an overwhelming majority of instances these are justified shootings.

The real issue is black men killing black men and innocent victims with illegal handguns. It has been reported that this is the number one cause of death for black men up to the age of 45. This is a tragedy that has nothing to do with law enforcement or race. This is a societal problem occurring within predominantly black neighborhoods, encouraged by our powerful gun lobby that protects our domestic arms dealers.

What can be done to address this? What concrete steps should our society be taking? What do black communities want to see done? These are your friends and your families, your businesses and your future. Our leaders and policymakers may not be asking you these questions, but they should be. You know your needs and your reality better than anyone else.

Questionable policing practices, violence within black neighborhoods – these are important issues to be addressed. However, they are also symptoms of the underlying problem within our society, which is not one of race.

The real problem is a lack of economic opportunity, particularly but not exclusively for undereducated black men. If everyone were able to have a job that paid a living wage, there would be dramatically less crime and violence. It all starts with income inequality and a crushingly low minimum wage, along with inadequate skills training and employment opportunities in black neighborhoods. This same issue affects the undereducated of all races, both men and women, but black men appear to be suffering the most.

Class privilege, not white privilege, is the real problem.  The longer black leaders insist on focusing on the concept of white privilege, the worse the problem is going to become because we are not addressing the real issue.

This country has spent 40 years letting the rich get richer. A rising tide lifts all boats, the rich still like to say as they sip champagne on their yachts while they swamp our dinghies. The theory of trickle-down economics promised that the rich would invest their wealth to create more wealth, some of which was to eventually trickle down to the workers. However, the evidence over the past 40 years is very conclusive: the haves refuse to share with the have nots.

There is real inequity in our system to be sure, but not every white person is a millionaire. There are a great many white people who have worked their entire lives and have nothing to show for it. Being white no more assures economic success any more than being black assures economic failure.

The Biggest Racists Are Black Elitists and White Apologists

There is big money to be made from oppression and assigning blame.

It is no coincidence that so many self-proclaimed black spokespeople are financially well off and unaffected by the oppression they speak about. What a luxury it must be to have made millions of dollars as an athlete, an actor, a musician, a preacher, or a business CEO, and then be able to use your success as a platform from which to proclaim that the system that gave you the opportunity to succeed is racist and prevents people of color from succeeding.

How many of these outspoken leaders who talk the talk also walk the walk and actively help the less fortunate members of your communities improve their lives?

Many black spokespeople that come from academic backgrounds bear impressive credentials that justify their speaking with a sense of authority as they promote social theories condemning the white European-based social/economic/political order, the same system that educated them and gave them the luxury and freedom to express their anger and resentment, a lucrative platform that leads to speaking engagements, tenure, research grants, foundations, book sales, and other opportunities.

Again, how many of these outspoken leaders who talk the talk also walk the walk and actively help the less fortunate members of your communities improve their lives?

These black elitists see nothing racist in their demonization of white people, but is this not the very definition of racism?

Moreover, what is even more depressing to me as a white man is to listen to these white apologists who have taken it upon themselves to accept, on behalf of all white people, the historical responsibility for all the injustice, all the mistreatment, all the lack of opportunity, all the segregation, all the cultural appropriation, etc. that we white people are being blamed for. As if this were not bad enough, they then express their shame at being white – how pathetic.

This is self-directed racism of a very strange and different sort, based in part on appeasement and in part on a sense of politically correct guilt, a sort of masochistic balance to the thinly veiled racist condemnation offered by black elitists.

An Unsatisfying Conclusion

It would be wonderful if my words resulted in some moderation of this anti-white rhetoric. We all need to be working together to make this society better, but how can we work together when so much is being said that is angry, resentful, and divisive?

Unfortunately, my expectation is that my words will be unwelcome, will be received with anger, and will make no difference to the readers of “The Root.” You will continue in your insular black intellectual community thinking that you are victims, at the same time believing in your righteousness and superiority.

I expect that you will continue to ignore all the black rioters, the black shoplifters, the black men and women who punch out Asian people, the young black men who shoot other young black men and unfortunate black innocents, the black fathers who abandon their children, the rampant drug use in black communities, etc., etc., etc., and will instead continue to focus on the illusion that it is all the fault of white people.

You are making it harder on the rest of us to move on from the past and work towards a truly equitable future. Your passion and commitment are admirable but try leading and inspiring without all the blaming and shaming. We are all God’s children, after all.