DADT - Don't Ask Da Taliban

Now that Congress has repealed the military's DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) policy of the Clinton era, I'm left wondering, who's left to "come out of the closet"? Emboldened by the change in policy, what other category of shadow people are ready to emerge?

Let's see, aliens? I'm not talking about your run-of-the-mill illegals, (so blasé). No, I'm talkin' about real-deal aliens, you know, extraterrestrials...Naah! OK, If not aliens, how about pedophiles? Ouch!... well, maybe. Note: in the interest of PC run amok, I am not equating homosexuality to pedophilia; I am merely posing a question, so relax.

I pondered my original question, and recalled hearing about the PBS Frontline documentary, The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan. After watching it, the answer came to me - the Taliban are next to be outed! But shh... DADT, Don't Ask Da Taliban, because they certainly won't tell you, and they're likely to kill someone for that insinuation. I just hope it's not me!

Do I really believe the Taliban are righteously immune to the "bacha bazi" practice due to their feigned religious zealotry? Well, maybe as much as I believe that all clergy are immune to extra-marital peccadilloes because they believe in god. Think about it, what are these guys doing for fun in their caves, between planning horrific attacks, hmm?

Looking back, I recall seeing the stream of local Afghan workers, men only, walking to and from their jobs at Bagram, as they entered/exited the base. Sometimes, they were holding hands, but I didn't think anything of it, and wrote it off as a cultural trait, kind of like teen girls strolling innocently along holding hands, as girlfriends do in the US. When I asked about it, an Afghan interpreter told me that sometimes men, in the absence of their wives or women, relieve their "loneliness" with other men, and it is an accepted practice.

So, what do the Taliban think of our change in DADT policy? Outwardly, they are probably disgusted, decrying the decadence of "western culture". But inwardly, I envision them being as "thrilled" as Chris Matthews was about candidate Obama, when he was running for the presidency. But be careful, DADT, Don't Ask Da Taliban, for fear of what you might discover!

Taliban Goes Green

I'm not talking US dollar green, nor wearing St Patrick's Day green to avoid being pinched, or in the case of the Taliban, murdered. Murder being the extreme St Paddy's day version of being pinched. They haven't turned wacko environmentalist on us either, unless you consider opium exporters participants in the "green" movement.

No, the Taliban have gone green, as in... emerald green. Its a beautiful gemstone soldiers and contractors covet and purchase at the base bazaars, in large sized carats, lest they get whacked upside the head with a large skillet upon returning home, for not thinking of the Mrs.

Opium must not be as profitable as it once was. As political correctness goes, talibs must know they are viewed as pariahs for pushing dope to the masses, via Afghanistan. Their dilemma? We are good at eradicating their cash crop (wink, wink), but the writing's on the wall, narco-dollars are drying up slowly. They need an alternate cash crop.

Maybe we should consider paying them good ol' fashioned US corporate welfare subsidies to not grow poppies. It's the American way! Regardless, it costs us in the long run, either by continuing to fund various drug reduction programs, or paying those outrageous crop subsidies.

But emeralds! You can't mainline or snort them. They're not illegal, in fact they are a natural resource, beautiful in their raw and polished forms. Muslim Khan, the Taliban spokesman in Swat, told The Sunday Telegraph., “We know that all the minerals have been created by Allah, the mighty and the merciful, for the benefit of his creatures. We should avail the opportunity.” “We receive one third of the profit, the rest goes to the workers”. How generous!

What's the upside to all this? Cheaper emeralds? Or, the military might find that emeralds are highly visible through night-vision goggles. Visualize if you will, talibs who have taken to wearing the precious gem. I'd bet that ranking talib commanders sport upwards of 4 carat emerald rings, while their foot soldiers settle for the more paltry 1/2 carat rings, containing inclusions. Imagine the Talibans' luminous green carats radiating at night, thus allowing our forces to easily identify them, engage them, and uhh... kill them. Let's hope the Taliban like to wear the bling they produce.

We can only hope it comes to this! Go green!

Afghans Have Two Faces

I recently took pictures of some of the Local National (LN) workers as a favor to them. LNs are workers hired from the neighboring villages, brought onto the base daily to do a variety of jobs. They typically work as a unit, and are supervised by either military escorts or civilian contractors who supervise their daily duties.

They saw me taking a picture with my digital camera, and asked if I would take one of them. It was an interesting situation because the way they asked was as if children pleading with a parent for a new toy, eyes serious with anticipation. Before obliging, I asked their military escorts if taking a picture would be breaking any rules. I was told it would be all right.

I took each worker's picture, printed them out on some card stock, and handed them out the next day. I was amazed, because they looked at the pictures as if they had each just received a $50 dollar bill. To say they were appreciative and grateful is an understatement.

At the time, one of my translator friends was having a smoke. He saw that I had given them the pictures. After being shown the pics and complimenting them on their newly acquired prizes, he went to his office. I followed. He proceeded to tell me something that burst my bubble. He told me that he advised the LNs to put their pictures in a safe place and to be careful with them. Why?

Seems once the LNs are back in their own environment, they need to be careful of Taliban who may question them about possessing anything "Western". The translator explained that Afghans have two faces; one for the westerners, and one for the Taliban. This made sense to me. I saw how the LNs were thrilled to have their picture taken, even though they know it's something the Taliban strongly discourages. In their homes, or among fellow villagers, they must be ready to wear the Taliban face, not that they are believers in Taliban tenets, but rather, out of fear for their lives. Some Afghans understand that having two faces is a prudent coping mechanism.

I understand now, and am sad for them. I saw, and briefly shared their joy over the pictures. Yet, something so simple and common in my world, is potentially complicated, and dangerous, in theirs.

Teachers: Talk to your students and ask them if they have ever used a "second face". Are they one way in front of their friends, but another at home/work/school? This discussion could lead to an art project, or a recollected example of a character they've seen in a movie or book they've read.

Future Taliban addiction?

Would like to add something to what I shared previously concerning Viagra as a way to fight the war. Seems an ex-Taliban member was interviewed by a reporter recently and admitted that he was "addicted" to his iPhone. Hmmm!

Lets see, we are considering Viagra for certain members of the Afghan population, which I'm all for (see prior post). So that covers the middle aged (and above) testosterone laden, violent males. But how about iPhones? A whole other segment of the population could be blanketed and introduced to its wonderful capabilities. Can you say "Afghan stimulus"?

Like many countries, we could wire up the cities and countrysides using those ubiquitous cell-phone towers via satellites, and could easily help make a country dependent on iPhones. Talk about being distracted from the war! As in the US, we could cleverly disguise the towers as trees or other "natural" looking edifices so they wouldn't even know they were there.

I can see it now, the Taliban learning to write apps for their propaganda machines, frantically Twittering - "Here's the plan Karim...", or reciting their PDF'd holy scriptures - all online! Don't like what some nut is spewing, (or trying to sell you), just block them! It beats murder.

Granted, they would probably have to step out of their caves to do so, to get better reception, i.e. "Can you hear me now?". That should flush them out into the open! Wonder if Oh Bin Laden has one? How about donating one to him Apple? You get credited for his capture, and your stock goes through the roof! Ahh, the wonders of technology.

As for the ex Taliban leader referenced above - isn't it just a little bit hypocritical that what you impose on others, doesn't apply to you? Now where have I seen that concept before? (Hint - think Global Warming)

Ban the Taliban (Mentality) Part 2

A co-worker sent me a NY Times story today regarding the Taliban. At first I wondered why he deemed the item important. Fact is, I read about death every day. Fortunately, it usually concerns dead bad guys.

Here's what happened - Taliban insurgents, warriors, terrorist low-lifes (Am I being too mean?) decided to kill a political official from a provincial village, which they did. Thing is, the villagers found the killer, detained them, tied them to a tree (must have been a dead tree, cause I don't see many round these parts), then beat them to death! Can't tell you if it was an equal opportunity beating, as the news item did not say if there were any women, competing religious sects, or diverse ethnicities involved in the revenge killing. Inhumane savagery, or justice? Comments?

The reason my colleague sent out the news was because this seems to be a possible significant turn of events. This type of justice is considered unusual, considering villagers killed a Taliban member. Usually, it is the other way around, and villagers live in fear of antagonizing the Taliban . Significance? Is this a small sign that some Afghans are ready and willing to stand up to the hated aggressors, or did they just happen to be some of the first in Afghanistan to watch the revenge fantasy movie, Taken? Will keep you informed as I find out more. I have to admit, my translator friends were very happy with the news - they HATE the Taliban.

Teachers: Especially History and Social Science teachers - have your students consider wars where the populace stood up to their aggressors/invaders. Brainstorm on the board then have groups research the results and post-out to the class. Any similarities between the rebelling populaces? What was their "last straw" to have them join the fight?

Ban the Taliban (Mentality) Part 1

OK, this will be a quick one but had to get it into a post while fresh in my mind:

Was with the translators this afternoon and they shared a news item that was local, not in the Western press. A barber had a grenade thrown into his shop by a Talib (Taliban is plural). Why? Because the barber was accused of shaving mens' beards! Fortunately, the barber was not killed, but he was injured. Seems not having a beard is a no-no in the Taliban's eyes. Have you read The Kite Runner or Michener's Caravans? Makes more sense now.

Another story the translators shared - seems a man was not able to grow facial hair. People can relate to that, right? It's just not in their genes. Under the Taliban, he was in constant fear for his life. He was beaten because he was regularly asked when approached, "Where is your beard?" Guess he could not explain why to the satisfaction of the Taliban.

Just needed to share these examples with you. We are comfortable back in the US and could not imagine fearing for our lives on a daily basis (unless driving through rush-hour traffic to get to work).

Local justice, as you get farther away from civilization, is meted out with a swift brutality, away from the eyes of Human Rights groups. It is accepted/reviled and serves as a warning to others, an eye for an eye...

Education News links

I've attached three links to news articles for this post - the first article deals with a supply convoy mishap. I can't say I'm surprised by news of death and destruction in a war zone but what was interesting to me were the comments from readers. What do you think?

The other two linked articles deal with the education dilemma in Afghanistan. I had the privilege of being invited to a telephone conference-call with the Ministry of Education's representative dealing with the effort to get textbooks out (safely) to the provinces. It was a very interesting meeting with the different players present, speaking to the Afghan representative and a US-AID rep (who was allocating money to help make this all happen).
What a fascinating process to observe! It is not part of my military job, but getting to know people here, I've shared that I am in education and therefore was invited to unofficially participate. Afghanistan is literally starting from the ground up in getting their school system up and running. From the variety of Ed newsletters I receive, I share relevant education articles with the Education officer - who is not an educator. He is grateful for the heads-up and I am appreciative for the opportunity to watch history take place for the budding education system in Afghanistan. Nice trade-off!

Teachers: Read the above linked articles, then facilitate a discussion with your students concerning the state of education in Afghanistan. Compare it to our education system. Do we take education for granted as opposed to those who would put their lives in danger for the opportunity to attend school and better their plights. Share your comments with us.

Quote n' query

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction” – Blaise Pascal

And so opens Chapter 12 of the book The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. How interesting a quote! This book, recommended to me well before I deployed, is having quite an impact on me. Would reading it stateside have had the same impact on me as it does now? I’ll never know. But, I do know that things happen for a reason in their own curious time. Without going into too much detail, I whole-heartedly recommend The Shack to you. Now, to the quote. How opportune! In this environment, in this war, is a quote never more appropriate?

Teachers and students: Research wars, conflicts, genocides, etc. that were started to justify a religious conviction? Recently, there was an incident where two girls on their way to school (a newly accepted concept in Afghanistan) were doused with acid by the Taliban for doing something we in the US take for granted daily - attend school. Read the CNN article here.

Consider a discussion about peoples' beliefs and the ramifications on others because of those beliefs. Ask students to find out what happened to the Afghani schoolgirls; follow their story. Are there other current event articles that reflect stories such as the one above? Getting back to the quote by Pascal, research who he was and why you think he believed what he said. What is he most famous for?