After months of meetings, President Barack Obama is expected to announce a decision to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan. There is some speculation as to how many troops he will add, but according to a senior military official quoted by the Wall Street Journal, a likely number is 30,000-35,000 extra US troops. Ten thousand of those troops could be used to train the Afghan National Army with the idea of transferring military control to them eventually. However, the recent election debacle in Afghanistan has called into serious question the legitimacy of the central government and President Hamid Karzai who has been implicated in serious counts of fraud. Further, Karzai’s brother is a suspected druglord, and according to the New York Times, receiving millions of dollars from the CIA. US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry has reportedly urged Obama not to send any more troops until the central government regains credibility, according to news reports of a leaked cable transmission this morning. Matthew Hoh, a former Marine Corps captain, recently became the first known US official to resign over his opposition to the Afghan war. In stepping down from his Foreign Service position in Zabul province, Hoh publicly expressed his frustrations that the war was viewed by most Afghans as an unwelcome occupation. Hoh’s statements are reminiscent of a man who most famously went public over his opposition to a similar war more than 35 years ago.
This is an idea that is gaining traction and is whizzing around the electronic ether in London. A US Senator is demanding that Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, identify which banks are “too big to fail” and break them up. Bernie Sander, an independent from Vermont, has a record for populist rhetoric. He puts out a weekly video on YouTube, “Senator Sanders Unfiltered”, on which he claims: “The middle class today in this country is in desperate shape and the gap between the very, very wealthy and everyone else is going to grow wider.” He has now brought the “Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist Act”, which requires Geithner to say within 90 days which banks fall into this category and to break them up within a year.
He says that the disappearance of various rivals means the four biggest banks — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — now issue one in two mortgages, two out of three credit cards and hold $4 in every $10 on deposit. “No single financial institution should have holdings so extensive that its failure could send the world economy into crisis.”
President Obama is reviewing the way forward in Afghanistan. His decision will define his presidency much as Vietnam defined the legacy of President Johnson’s presidency in the 1960s.
At a time when so much opportunity and necessity for change is at stake from health care reform to climate change legislation, education and nuclear weapons policy and the economy, the war and its costs will trump all.
The president would be well served to reflect on the words of Iraq veteran, Marine Corps Capt. and Afghanistan Foreign Service officer Matthew Hoh. As the senior US civilian in Zabul province, he became the first US official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war. On September 10, in a letter to his department head he wrote:
“I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan. I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end.”
His frustration and realization that the war effort itself fuels the insurgency and continues the cycle of violence speaks to the truth that there is no military solution in Afghanistan. There is only a political and diplomatic solution.
Dropping bombs and killing civilians angers whole populations and creates ill will. Respected international mediator John Paul Lederach has said that bombing to vanquish the al-Qaeda network is like hitting a mature dandelion with a golf club. It just ensures another generation of al-Qaeda.
There are many examples of alternatives to war that are far less costly and yield far greater results. Among these are:
1) Diplomacy and nonviolent conflict resolution.
This includes efforts like the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission that resulted in the peaceful end to apartheid in South Africa. In Afghanistan, there exists Loya Jirgas or grand councils where tribal leaders come together and political issues are debated and resolved. On October 22, 2009, a peace Jirga was launched by governors of three eastern provinces of Afghanistan to step up peace, reconciliation and development efforts in their areas. The governors also approved an eight-point draft strategy of the Jirga. The Jirga will initially have more than 300 tribal leaders as members from four provinces of the eastern region.
2) Appropriate foreign aid.
Among the best examples of this is the building of schools for girls done by Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute. Author of “Three Cups of Tea,” his “books not bombs” approach has now built 39 schools in Afghanistan and 92 in Pakistan, in Taliban areas with the strong support of the local communities. Countries where girls are educated move beyond the cycle of poverty and violence for a fraction of the cost of war.
3) Respect of and adherence to international law.
The United States should endorse the International Criminal Court that tries individuals for international crimes. Bosnian Serb wartime President Karadzic is currently on trial there for war crimes. Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda leaders could be tried there.
4) Cooperate and collaborate with other nations.
The US must work to strengthen UN peacekeeping forces to provide the security necessary for the previously mentioned steps to be successful. This international effort must include all of the regional players who have a stake, so as not to be viewed as a solution imposed from the West. Without the safeguarding of local populations in their work of self-determination and reconciliation, there will never be peace.
Now is indeed the time to rethink Afghanistan. The decisions made will indeed determine our future. A new documentary “Rethink Afghanistan,” by Brave New Foundation, can be viewed at http://rethinkafghanistan.com. This film is mandatory viewing for anyone concerned about this decision. Our collective voices must be heard to help the president in the way forward.
The House is nearing a vote on health care legislation that is expected to be very close. At this critical juncture, a former Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesperson is doing what he can to help pass reform.
Actor and comedian Andy Cobb, who used to be the spokesman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, has teamed up with Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films project “Sick for Profit” to produce a new ad in favor of health care reform. In the ad, Cobb calls himself a former “spokesjerk” for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, and says that his job was to “sell you the worst product in American history: private health insurance.” Cobb calls attention to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) for his signficant contributions from the health care industry, and asks him to vote in favor of health care legislation with a public option. Watch it:
This morning, Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman interviewed Cobb. He told her, echoing remarks from Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), “This is the time when we have to say, ‘Which side are you on? The insurance companies or the American people?’ And for too long I’ve been on the wrong side of that.”
Senator Bernard Sanders, the Vermont independent, is taking aim at banks that are considered too big to fail. He introduced legislation on Friday that would force the Treasury Department to break up all financial institutions whose failure could cause a major disruption to the nation’s financial system.
“If an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement. “We should end the concentration of ownership that has resulted in just four huge financial institutions holding half the mortgages in America, controlling two-thirds of the credit cards and amassing 40 percent of all deposits.”
The four banks cited by Mr. Sanders are Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. Three of those banks have made major acquisitions as a result of the financial crisis. But Citigroup, which received a $45 billion government bailout, is in the process of selling off nonbanking assets.
Mr. Sanders’s legislation would give Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner 90 days to compile a list of commercial banks, investment banks, hedge funds and insurance companies that he deems too big to fail or “any entity that has grown so large that its failure would have a catastrophic effect on the stability of either the financial system or the United States economy without substantial government assistance.”
Within one year after the legislation became law, the Treasury Department would be required to break up those banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions identified by the secretary.
The bill has no co-sponsors, but Mr. Sanders told DealBook that support would be coming. “I have talked to a number of senators and I think that there will be support,” he said.
But Mr. Sanders acknowledged that he had yet to talk to Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and set to introduce the Senate’s version of the financial overhaul bill next week.
American banks have argued that they need to be large to compete with other big banks overseas. They contend that the larger the bank, the greater its ability to back major projects around the world. But Mr. Sanders is no longer buying that argument.
“I have heard that lie for 16 years,” Mr. Sanders said. “They were wrong. We deregulated them, and they caused the greatest financial crisis in the modern history of America.”
Mr. Sanders, who has described himself as a socialist, sees a need to go after investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, as well as commercial banks.
“Goldman Sachs has done irreparable harm to this economy,” Mr. Sanders said. “Let them gamble without any support from the federal government. That they are getting insured” — through implicit government assurances — “is beyond comprehension.”
Teaming with the liberal Brave New Films, a former Blue Cross pitchman is now pitching against Blue Cross.
Andy Cobb, who once tried to sell Floridians on a Blue Cross health insurance plan, says he’s fed up with the industry.
“I was a spokesman for BlueCross and Blueshield of Florida,” Cobb says. “Call me a spokesjerk. People who make money for buying things you don’t need. And we’re telling you lies.”
“They, by which I mean I, make money by standing in the way of reform,” Cobb says in the ad, which appears as a spoof of something like a freecreditreport.com ad. “It’s time for change.”
“That’s why I’m calling on leaders from the spokesjerk industry,” Cobb continues. “The freecreditreport.com guy. The Shamwow dude. And Senator Bill Nelson, recipient of big money from insurance companies — to lead us. To walk away from their cash cows and tell American people the truth.
“And us spokesjerks, we’ll be fine,” Cobb adds. “There’s plenty of room in entertainment for people who tried to sell you the worst product in American history. Private health insurance.”
After months of meetings, President Barack Obama is expected to announce a decision to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan. There is some speculation as to how many troops he will add, but according to a senior military official quoted by the Wall Street Journal, a likely number is 30,000-35,000 extra US troops. Ten thousand of those troops could be used to train the Afghan National Army with the idea of transferring military control to them eventually. However, the recent election debacle in Afghanistan has called into serious question the legitimacy of the central government and President Hamid Karzai who has been implicated in serious counts of fraud. Further, Karzai’s brother is a suspected druglord, and according to the New York Times, receiving millions of dollars from the CIA. US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry has reportedly urged Obama not to send any more troops until the central government regains credibility, according to news reports of a leaked cable transmission this morning. Matthew Hoh, a former Marine Corps captain, recently became the first known US official to resign over his opposition to the Afghan war. In stepping down from his Foreign Service position in Zabul province, Hoh publicly expressed his frustrations that the war was viewed by most Afghans as an unwelcome occupation. Hoh’s statements are reminiscent of a man who most famously went public over his opposition to a similar war more than 35 years ago.
