The New Great Game

When historians look back at the two wars of George W. Bush, they'll almost undoubtedly see two failures. But they won't blame the troops or the generals. Instead, history will convict Bush and his people of careless planning and the lack of a historical context when they went to war. But they'll also talk more about Iraq because that country was more civilized - with its roads, bridges, schools, museums - than that other country where we are at war with, Afghanistan.

But Afghanistan is also on the verge of collapsing. An NPR report suggested that the Taliban and drug lords are again terrorizing villages and the stability of the country is deteriorating quickly.

There are many reasons to be concerned about losing control of Afghanistan. The most important might be because of its geography - its central location.

Here is a map of Afghanistan:

Notice it's location - Central Asia. Next to two countries the United States has had tensions with historically - Iran and Pakistan. To the east of Afghanistan is China and to the north are former Soviet republics. Also notice that on the upper left-hand corner of the map is the gas-rich Caspian Sea.

I point out geography because the country's location has been a major source of the tensions and wars that have occurred there over the centuries. But I'll spare that detail because I don't think you all want to read about a few millennia of conflict in this country.

But before I start, I think a brief history of that country from the late 19th century to the present is needed.

In the early 20th century, Britain was the great world power and had control over India. But to the north of India sat the ever-growing power Russia. Separating the two empires was the region known as Afghanistan. Both the British and the Russians knew that this region would be important for trade and commerce, so for almost 30 years they fought for control. British are eventually defeated.

In 1919, Afghanistan claimed independence.

1921, Third Afghan-Anglo War.

1933-1973, Afghanistan enjoys its longest period of stability. Schools, roads and museums are built.

1973, The Empire strikes back. Communists in Afghanistan begin to exert control and in 1978 lead a bloodless coup.

1979, unhappy with who was in charge in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin was assassinated. Soviet troops moved into the country.

1980s, the United States began to fund the mujahideen, Afghan freedom fighters. In addition to these freedom fighters, Arabs from neighboring countries began to join in the fight. Among these Arabs? Osama bin Laden.
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1989, after years of war against the mujahideen - and a new group called "Al Qaeda" - the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan.

Early 1990s, after the United States left Afghanistan mostly to its own doing - main purpose of driving out the USSR accomplished - several warlords gained power. And they abused their power.

1994-1995, under the leadership of Mullah Omar, the Taliban gained control of the country. The enforce strict Islamic law on the country.

1995-2001, Taliban rule Afghanistan. They destroy several historical objects, close schools and crack down on drug lords (however drug production actually increased after 1997).

1997, Taliban begin meeting with Unocal officials about a pipeline that would run through the country to the Indian Ocean. Taliban officials take a tour of Texas - including a trip to the Texas zoo. This site has a timeline of the pipeline plan. Unocal decides that the region was too unstable for the pipeline and the plan dies.

Sept. 11, 2001 - Terrorist attacks on the United States leads to the overthrow of the Taliban, who had sheltered accused leader Osama bin Laden.

2002, Hamid Karzai, a former oil executive, is elected president of Afghanistan.

OK, so there is the brief history. A country that has suffered from years of war because of its geographic situation appears to be on the verge of another large outbreak.

For strategic purposes, fighting in Afghanistan was the right thing to do. A regime that had been violating human rights was overthrown and replaced with a Democratic one. The pipeline would (and still may) have brought needed revenue to the country. But unless the country is brought under control, it will become a breeding ground for opium production and for terrorism.

Who/what is to blame? Well, that's easy. George Bush and his rush to go to war with Iraq. Afghanistan could've had a chance if the United States had moved in with a full force and secured it. But we didn't. We sent enough to overthrow the government, but not enough to ensure the success of a new government. That was the biggest mistake. Sure the United States has put in billions to help the country, but it's not enough. The success of Afghanistan should have been our goal since day 1. But obviously, the war in Afghanistan was just a stepping stone to get to a war in Iraq.

Defeats - withdrawals without victories - in Afghanistan were precursors for the downfall of two of the great 20th-Century empires. What would that say about this country if the United States is eventually driven out and defeated?

Al Gore in 2008

I can already hear people, "Dude, Al Gore was so 2000. He got beat." "Get over it. He lost, now move on." Well, for those people, predictably, I will say that a) Al Gore received a million more votes than the current president, b) if all of Florida was recounted, Al Gore would have carried the state, and c) I am over it-I'm looking forward to 2008.

I thought Gore should have ran in '04. But I understand why he didn't. He was busy teaching at Columbia, starting the viewer-based news channel Current TV, and was giving countless speeches not only about the state of the nation, but the state of the world.

Now, I'm not pulling Gore's name out of my butt. His name has been popping up in the media here and there.

U.S. News & World Report has mentioned rumors of a Gore comeback.

They See Al Gore by a Nose in 2008
Is Al Gore coming back? If allies we talked to have their way, the former veep will be the next president. "It's Gore Time," says a political strategist and fundraiser who is opening a bid to get Gore into the race.

It was also mentioned last night on CNN's "The Situation Room." Of course his name wasn't mentioned without some scoffing by the folks at the unbiased CNN. In a report about the Hollywood primary, Gore's name came up. Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender said this about Gore: "He's great on all the issues. He's - he's - and he's passionate. He's funny. He's grounded."

There is even a Web site that is pushing a Gore candidacy.

Gore got screwed by the media and a few unfounded myths, such as the "I invented the Internet" claim last time. But despite these issues, and a poorly run campaign, I believe Al Gore would've been one of the best presidents of our generation. He was tough on terrorism - ask Richard Clarke. Al Gore took a major role when the United States sent troops to Bosnia and Kosovo to stop the genocide that was taking place there. These became two of the most successful, albeit late, military campaigns in U.S. history. Finally, just using Current TV as an example, Gore has continually pushed for a free and diverse media - something this country is in dire need of.

See his movie. It might make you realize how big of an issue global warming is and how it will continually increase until we take some dramatic steps. Al Gore in 2008.

Disciplined Disciple

One thing I've really noticed about myself is my lack of unbreakable priorities. I told myself I'm going to write everyday. I don't. I told myself I'd read everyday. I don't. I told myself that I was going to formally pray every couple of hours. I don't.

Honestly, I don't know why I don't follow through with my priorities. Laziness maybe?

I had a discovery recently. I thought about Jesus' disciples (cue for all of my non-religious friends to stop reading). And then I thought of the Latin origin of the word in disciple: "Disciplina."

disciplina -ae f. [instruction , teaching; training, education]; esp. [military training]. Transf., [results of training, discipline, ordered way of life; that which is taught, learning, body of knowledge, science; a rhetorical or philosophical school or system].

For someone to be a disciple, they have to be disciplined, I discovered. Am I disciplined? I think the obvious answer is no. I'm very undisciplined. I need order. Luckily I have people who keep me in check. My (future) goddaughter especially. They remind me of the things I need to do. But without these people I wonder where I'd be, what I'd be doing, how much trouble I'd be getting into.

But am I alone in this? I doubt it. I think a lot of us, until we reach that level of discipline, struggle becoming disciples. Even Jesus' disciples had trouble being disciplined. They slept when He told them to stay awake. Peter denied Him three times. That's not discipline. But after various reminders, they were disciplined. And they followed and spread His Word across the globe.

So, the message of this blog is to listen to those reminders from the people who keep each and every one of us disciplined. Kill our pride and our desires and listen to those who, believe it or not, can see right from wrong easier than all of this. Thanks to all those who attempt to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Peace.