Quickhits
(ATimes) The US has completed a base on the Afghan/Pak border. "he new US base is expected to serve as the center of clandestine special forces' operations in the border region."
(Reuters) The struggle to find troops for Afghanistan between the US and NATO continues with "the Pentagon said it will not commit any more of its own forces there."
(WaPo) The US is increasing the number of "outposts" in Baghdad from 75 to 99.
(NYTimes) "White House officials" are hopping mad with their UN ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for sitting beside the Iranian Foreign Minister in Davos.
(USAToday) "Nearly five years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, allied countries have paid 16% of what they pledged to help rebuild the war-torn country.... The biggest shortfalls in pledges by 41 donor countries are from Iraq's oil-rich neighbors and U.S. allies: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."
(FT) The US is funding madrassas in eastern Afghanistan. (Probably a decent opportunity if the kids aren't Taleban targets.)
(Reuters) The US is spending $750 million in the Pakistani "tribal regions" to try and undermine the Taleban/Al Qaeda. (It's been floated that the US may try to repeat Iraq's "success" with the Sunni programs within the Pashtun trial structures.)
(Reuters) The struggle to find troops for Afghanistan between the US and NATO continues with "the Pentagon said it will not commit any more of its own forces there."
(WaPo) The US is increasing the number of "outposts" in Baghdad from 75 to 99.
(NYTimes) "White House officials" are hopping mad with their UN ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for sitting beside the Iranian Foreign Minister in Davos.
(USAToday) "Nearly five years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, allied countries have paid 16% of what they pledged to help rebuild the war-torn country.... The biggest shortfalls in pledges by 41 donor countries are from Iraq's oil-rich neighbors and U.S. allies: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."
(FT) The US is funding madrassas in eastern Afghanistan. (Probably a decent opportunity if the kids aren't Taleban targets.)
(Reuters) The US is spending $750 million in the Pakistani "tribal regions" to try and undermine the Taleban/Al Qaeda. (It's been floated that the US may try to repeat Iraq's "success" with the Sunni programs within the Pashtun trial structures.)
posted by mikevotes at
8:02 AM
8 Comments:
As a nation -- and this includes our leaders, military and otherwise -- we are intellectual vegetables when it comes to understanding the political, cultural, religious, and tribal complexities that exist in the Middle East. As such we continue to blunder our way backward, building a deeper and deeper divide between ourselves and the people of region.
By
-epm, at 9:14 AM
Two ways of looking at it -epm. Attempting to dominate using military and economic means. Or well-intentioned attempts to help poor misguided savages. Either way I think it's seen as clumsy interference.
By
Anonymous, at 9:49 AM
EPM, Broadly exculpating, I think the foreign policy establishment of the Bush admin which is built largely from Reagan and Bush I influence, still views everything through a simpler binary cold war filter. Not saying it's right, but I think that's alot of what's going on.
And the few realist Republicans who really even explored the ideas of a multipolar or apolar power structure were kept out of this administration.
They really work in the framework of "evil empire," with us or against us. They aren't capable of nuance and shades of influence.
.....
Anon, I think you hit it maybe better. It's British imperialist.
By
mikevotes, at 10:46 AM
I guess my point, or my concern, is that we make no attempt to understand other cultures or societies. Indeed, we (speaking nationalistically) pride ourselves on our disinterest in such things. Thus our foreign policies, whatever they are, are ineffective at best and dangerous at worst. It's this pride of ignorance, this self-assuredness within stupidity, that I find so maddening at times.
Yes, I think it's the imperialist mindset. That all foreign cultures are to be subverted and converted. And this, as time immemorial has shown, almost never ends well.
By
-epm, at 10:58 AM
Any kind of imperialism...not just British. Greek, Roman whatever it's always the same. What we have now is the American version. The only thing that changes is the way it's sold to the public.
By
Anonymous, at 11:05 AM
EPM I think the underlying conceit is that we assume they want to be like us.
....
Anon, I just used the British because we have the near history and language to make the similarities more apparent. (sub "freedom" for "christianize.")
In reality, we're probably more like the Romans in that we expect them to remake themselves economically and structurally in our image.
It's not just that we're there to exploit resources, we expect them to worship us for our cultural superiority.
By
mikevotes, at 2:53 PM
The sun never set on the British Empire. I'm in two minds about it. Elements of it make me cringe now but a hundred years ago I would probably have gone to India to make my fortune. And I have to admit to being a beneficiary. Off topic sorry.
By
Anonymous, at 4:32 PM
Same. I've thought about that alot.
I'm pretty sure I would've.
By
mikevotes, at 4:35 PM
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