Afghanistan is rich in history and culture, unfortunately the war continues.

Seven years have passed; the U.S.A. still has troops and contractors in Afghanistan.

What should the Obama administration do next?

 I returned to sources I had studied in 2001 in order to get a feeling for the progress or lack of progress the U.S.A. has made in Afghanistan with the U.S. government's decision to use military action rather than judicial action.

 Perhaps you will find some of these sources interesting, too.   Are you familiar with any of them?  What do you think about Afghanistan and the culture?  How should the U.S. proceed?

 I'm disappointed that I have not been able to find a discussion of peaceful actions that can be coupled with ‘military security.'  Also I had anticipated a discussion of the transitional period which will take place along the U.S.A. leaving Afghanistan.  Am I missing something?

 I've been learning more about where the American military bases are situated in Afghanistan and the neighboring countries.  The number ten was the first number of U.S.A. military bases proposed - are those finished? - is the number ten an accurate number?

 I have seen a documentary where an American contractor in Afghanistan building a military base was interviewed in June, 2003.  He talked about hiring unemployed Afghan professors, teachers and doctors.  The documentary showed these professionals clearing a minefield in the area.

 The U.S. government (from what I can tell) is not pursuing the purpose of bringing terrorists into a valid judicial system in order to bring justice to those who have attacked Americans. 

 So perhaps I should be researching the relationship of natural gas to the goal of the U.S. government goal.   I'm paying more attention to the maps of gas pipelines and proposed gas pipelines in the area.

 Can someone tell me the goal the U.S.A. troops are expected to reach in Afghanistan?

Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban

Larry P. Goodson

University of Washington Press

Professor Goodson writes from his experiences in Afghanistan with a great respect for the people of Afghanistan.

The Storyteller's Daughter

Saira Shah

Alfred A. Knopf

Journalist Saira Shah explores her roots, sometimes disguised as a young man for better access to information and in order to travel into Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Saira Shah Interview

The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU

http://wamu.org/programs/dr/03/09/23.php

The Carpet Wars:  From Kabul to Baghdad

A Ten-year Journey along Ancient Trade Routes

Christopher Kremmer

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Journalist Christopher Kremmer introduces us to the people of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Central Asia as we learn about the carpets they make, their lives and their families.

 Josiah the Great

 The True Story of The Man Who Would Be King

Ben Macintyre

HarperCollins Publishing

In 1838 the American adventurer, Josiah Harlan, placed the American flag on the summit of the Hindu Kush declaring himself Prince of Ghor.  Written based on the journals of Harlan we are offered insight into the culture of the Afghans in the period before the British invasion.

 The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini

Riverhead Books

Fictional and upsetting story of a man trying to come to terms with his responsibilities in order to be able to live with himself.   The relationship between the characters parallels the relationship between powerful countries and Afghanistan, the intentions, the promises and the reality.

("my own time, on the ground there this summer, the people really want America there, they are most afraid that we will pull out.  There are serious fears although Kahliazad and Bush have said we will ‘be staying the course.'  There are legitimate fears from the people in the region that as we've done in the past we will turn our attention elsewhere especially with Iraq beginning . . . should it in fact begin.  I think there are very serious needs for us to be providing security and reconstruction  . . ." Larry P. Goodson, Rethinking Afghanistan,

The Connection archives, WBUR, December 23, 2002)

The Sewing Circles of Heart

A Personal Voyage through Afghanistan

Christina Lamb

HarperCollins publishers

"'Peace is not sold anywhere in the world,

Otherwise I would have bought it for my country.'

Girl in Afghanistan, ‘Lost Chances' UNICEF Report, 2001"

To Afghanistan and Back: A Graphic Travelogue

Ted Rall

Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing

Ted Rall's experiences and insights told in text and graphic drawings.

He has published other books on Afghanistan and her neighbors since then which are also very interesting.

Rebuilding Afghanistan

(December 23, 2002)

The Connection archives, WBUR, Anthony Brooks host

http://www.theconnection.org/player/?fileUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bu.edu%2Fwbur%2Fstorage%2F2002%2F12%2Ftheconnection_1223_2.mp3&fileTitle=Rebuilding%20Afghanistan