I recently was referred to a series of essays written by Elizabeth Rabia Roberts, a long-time Quaker peace activist who has done what many peace activists have not: travelled to countries at war to see the situation for herself.
In 2002, she and her partner Elias Amidon began writing and posting “Letters from the Road” about their experiences in the lands they have visited.
They also co-founded the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit in 1994, which works to promote peace through citizen diplomacy. Roberts and Amidon now direct the Institute’s “Path of the Friend” project dedicated to environmental education, social justice, and peace building in places of conflict around the world. The project also gives out development micro-grants in some of the places they visit.
Several recent Letters from the Road (#37, #38, and #40) concern Afghanistan and the ongoing war there. Since many PeacePundit posts have been about the war in Afghanistan, a peace-activist friend thought I should read some of Roberts’ letters. I did, and recommend that others read them as well. They are well-informed, thoughtful, and reflect a deep dedication to working towards a peaceful world.
Some readers may not agree with all of Roberts’ conclusions. I certainly have concerns about some of her recommendations about Afghanistan. For example, she recommends that the US remain in Afghanistan until we have helped put it on firm footing. While I agree with her that we should not repeat our past mistake of abandoning Afghanistan (as we did after we helped them oust the Soviets), I would like Roberts to address the distinction between military forces and some combination of peacekeeping forces and infrastructure-building forces. I think that we should replace Army combat troops with the Army Corps of Engineers, plus some U.N. peacekeepers to protect them. My conviction is that military action, even training Afghan military personnel, will not achieve peace there. I also am distressed by the amount of civilian casualties US and NATO forces have caused and continue to cause in Afghanistan, and want that to end.
Nonetheless, I am in awe of the courage and strength Roberts has shown going to Afghanistan to see with her own eyes what is happening, and am impressed by her ability to sort through and try to explain a complex situation.
Excerpt from Letters from the Road #37: Confessons of a Peace Activist
Kabul: armed guards, machine guns and sand bags at every intersection and at the door to my guest house — open sewers and fecal dust — traffic jams of SUVs, military convoys, bicycles and pedestrians — six-story buildings amidst crumbling houses and filthy refugee encampments — men, lots of men everywhere, and street children. The women on the streets are conservatively dressed (no skin showing) with big scarves. About a quarter of them wear the signature blue head-to-toe burqa.
I have come to Kabul because I want to experience for myself what is happening here, eight years after the U.S. ousted the Taliban. I have spent the past 40 years of my life protesting war and working for peace in conflict areas. I don’t believe that killing leads to peace.
I came here as part of a small peace delegation of mostly women who share my conviction that President Obama must not send more troops and should set a timeline for withdrawal of the 60,000 that are here.
But now — after seven intense days and nights of interviews and meetings in Kabul — I no longer have that conviction.
The best path to peace may not be the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops. And since the troops here now are not able to provide enough security for the Afghans to rebuild their country, it is possible more troops may be needed.
It shocks me to admit this. …
[Read entire Letter #37]
Excerpt from Letters from the Road #40: Afghanistan: Glimmers of Light
Most of my liberal friends are discouraged about Afghanistan. They are convinced the Afghans don’t want us there, that the military is not capable of doing anything right, and that we have to admit the Taliban are the default leaders of so backward and misogynist a country.
When this discouragement is coupled with news media dishing out the standard fare of war coverage — IEDs, suicide bombings, civilian casualties, and acid-throwing Taliban — then where can we find hope for a better future for Afghanistan?
…
I would like to suggest that to recognize light in the surrounding darkness is our most crucial responsibility. …
I have written in previous Letters from the Road (#37 and #38) about the role the US has played in the past 30 years of war Afghanistan has endured. To summarize: we armed and supported the most fundamentalist Mujahedeen warlords to fight the Soviets for 10 years, then walked away in 1989 when the Soviets left. Without reconstruction and even a modicum of international security, the Mujahedeen then fought among themselves for power, throwing the country into five more years of a terrible civil war that ended when the Taliban entered Kabul.
The people of Afghanistan will tell you the Taliban rule was “a living horror,” “a blanket of fear,” and it became a natural home to anti-Western fundamentalist terrorists. In 2002, after bombing the country and chasing the Taliban into Pakistan, we turned our misguided attention to Iraq and once again abandoned the people of Afghanistan, leaving them undefended against the returning Taliban, growing corruption of the government, and the build up of a criminal drug economy. Now we have the perfect storm.
Each time we have ignored our role in helping the Afghans help themselves rebuild, the situation has returned worse than it was before. This is not only bad for Afghans, it is bad for regional and U.S. national security. If we walk away once again we risk decades more of blowback. We need to leave behind some stability and security and a workable process — a process of development in which we partner with all Afghans and with the international community for the well-being of Afghanistan, the region, and ultimately for all of us.
…
[Read entire Letter #40]
[Letters from the Road Archive]
Related Previous PeacePundit Posts
- Afghan Civilian Deaths Continue Despite Rule Changes
- Afghan Civilian Deaths Increase 14% from 2008 to 2009
- Ten Reasons a Troop Surge in Afghanistan is a Mistake
- Update on May 4-5 Afghan Airstrike Incident
- Memo to Obama, Clinton, and Gates: Stop Digging!
- Don’t Call It “Collateral Damage”
- Child Casualties Are Not Acceptable
April 21, 2010 at 4:17 pm |
I agree that Roberts has done something brave and important, by seeing for herself the situation in Afghanistan. She’s gutsier than I, and I have to agree with her that we must leave a tolerable, operable situation which is stable and secure. OR we have to admit we can’t (or won’t) do that, and make plans for the consequences of quitting.