4 positions on the problems in the Middle-East

Position Papers

Paper 1: Trudy Rubins summarization of David Kilcullen. Kilkullen believes that the way to defeat the Taliban forces is to remain in Afghanistan. In doing this,we will keep the Taliban rule from expanding farther than it already has. Kilkullen Also believes that more U.S. troops are needed in addition to a well-developed counter-insurgency strategy. He also believes we need to work alongside and train the Afghan Army and Afghan Police to create a stronger counter-Taliban force. Though he explains many military based solutions to the Taliban problem, he knows the solution cannot be exclusively by the military.

Paper 2: Michael A. Cohen and Parag Khanna, the authors of “Where the Real Fight Is” argues “The real fight is in Pakistan, not Afghanistan…” They support this argument by stating the Taliban is too disliked in Afghanistan they have no chance in taking back the country. The authors argue that the best way to counter the Taliban is the majority of “U.S. political and military efforts to Pakistan” The paper goes on to point out many areas of our predicament in the Middle-East and how to effectively win this war against the Taliban, we need to shift our focus from Afghanistan to Pakistan, where the real problems are.

Paper 3: The author of this paper believes that since the Afghans have always resisted foreign occupations, we should not act as a stabilizing force in Afghanistan. The author also believes we should withdraw our troops from the area as a way of showing peace to the countries not only in the Middle-East, but also other countries who hear of this removal. He later goes on to say that the solution to this problem is political, not military. “…a withdrawal of all U.S. forces, either preceded or followed by a regional pact to guarantee Afghan stability for the next ten years.”

Position 4: This Writer believes that the objectives are “unattainable.” Due to this, we need to reduce the amount of troops in the area and modify our military strategy. He supports his resolution by stating, “the war already is nearly 50% larger than the combined U.S. involvements in two world wars.” This statistic shows just how large this war has become. We must pull out a number of troops. By doing so we can re strategize with a smaller, more controlled force.

Obama's Plan

The new military plan President Obama has put forth is to send 34,000 more troops into Afghanistan. Personally I don’t disagree with this decision, but in addition to this, we need more troops in Pakistan. Obama’s reasoning for sending in these troops is to build up the Afghan Army to counter the Taliban forces. He also said, “If conditions permit” the troops will be sent home in 18 months. I don’t think 18 months is enough. We can’t train the Afghan army in 18 months and trust that they can hold their own against the continuously growing Taliban. This will take much more than 18 months to finish, but I’m sure whatever Obama comes up with will work out in the end.

Why do Children Join the Taliban? How has it impacted them? and why do the Taliban continue to grow?

Children join the Taliban because they have no other choice. Their families have been wiped out for the most part, and when they are young, don’t know any better. In addition to this, they envy the weapons of the Taliban. These are two of many reasons they would join the Taliban.

The war has impacted the children of the area in many ways. For one, many of the children have lost their families. This forces them to either join the Taliban of live on their own. Also, the Taliban are destroying schools in the area. This is a very high danger to the children. After destroying and taking over schools, they turn them to Taliban training schools. This being the main way of education. These schools teach the Children how to fight and also about suicide bombing (which, by the way, many want to do).

The Taliban continue to grow mainly because of the children. Frontline briefly talks about how the children like the weapons of the Taliban. This could be one reason the Taliban continue to grow. Another reason the Taliban continue to expand is because they train children at such a small age that they don’t know any other way of living. Also as explained before, the Taliban are bombing houses schools, etc. and families are being killed. Children think the way to escape this is to join the Taliban. (And also it’s cool (to the people of the area)).

4 problems faced by the U.S./ NATO Forces

After watching the war briefing, I found four problems that are faced by the U.S./ N.A.T.O. Forces

1.) 1.) Fear: The main reason we are not so successful in communicating with the locals in Afghanistan is because the Taliban are making the locals fear them. We cannot get valuable information from the afghanis because they are told if they are to tell the Americans anything, they will be executed.

2.) 2.) We are fighting on their land: Since the land in Afghanistan is so mountainous and rocky (with very high desert temperatures), we are not used to it. Taliban, on the other hand, being born in these tyes of areas, are used to the land. This gives them a very large advantage over the U.S./ NATO forces.

3.) 3.) Another problem is that Obama doesn’t have very much support from the people of the United States. Because of this, it makes his military/ strategic decisions very hard to make

4.) 4.)Also, the Pakistani and Afghani government has been losing power over the people of the country. Because of this, the Taliban have taken advantage of the moment and become a very powerful power in the country.

Eastern Religion.... Báha'í

	Belief in Deity One personal God Almighty, creator, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent--incorporeal spirit.
	Incarnations The prophets of many religions, e.g. Jesus Christ, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, are revered as Manifestations and Messengers of God, pre-existent spirits (with individual souls) sent to reveal God's message. Each of the Manifestations is considered equal in stature as the perfect reflection, the infallible word, and the divine spirit of God. Bah'u'llh was the latest but not final Messenger, bringing Gods revelation to the modern world, and is considered to be the fulfillment of the promised return of Christ. The Messengers are not worshipped as equal or identical to God but are considered an intermediate level of existence between human and God.
	Origin of Universe and Life God created all from nothing and controls all phenomena that modern science reveals about the origins of the universe and life. They support scientific study and education, as they believe science serves to reveal rather than dispute God's awesome creative powers.
	After Death Literal interpretations of resurrection, heaven, and hell are regarded as figments of imagination. Resurrection is the spiritual awakening that occurs upon the appearance of a new Manifestation. Heaven is the indescribable bliss of closeness to God, harmony with God's will as revealed by the Manifestations--eternal spiritual life. The closer one is to knowing and loving God, the greater the joy of paradise. Hell is the self-made torture of isolation from God--spiritual death. Unlimited spiritual growth toward perfection continues after death.
	Why Evil? No original sin or Satan. The human nature that God created is all good, including both animal and spiritual aspects. God also gave people free will, and some will choose to express their inherently good nature in imperfect ways. The concept of Satan in the scriptures is symbolic for humans' choice to express the lower or animal side of their nature in ways that separate them from God. Those farthest from God are most prone to wrongdoing.
	Salvation Salvation lies in the search for truth as revealed by the Manifestations of God--the achievement of spiritual perfection and closeness to God, deliverance from one's imperfection or base nature. This is achieved by faith in God and strict obedience to the commands of God; turning to the latest Manifestation of God, Bah'u'llh, for spiritual guidance; study of the scriptures of the Manifestations; required daily private prayer; meditation; active participation in service work (tantamount to worship). No sacraments, e.g., baptism.
	Undeserved Suffering All suffering, including that caused by natural disasters, are God's will as a punitive, educational, or remedial response to individual or to humanity's denial of God and disobedience to the Divine Commands. All of humanity suffer when one commits wrong, and all benefit when one does good. The best often suffer the most for humanity's misdeeds. Nonpunitive suffering is part of God's plan to challenge the soul with adversity. Suffering educates the sufferer and aids spiritual growth toward perfection. Suffering helps people to remember God in their grief. The suffering of innocents will be greatly rewarded in the world to come.
	Contemporary Issues Devoted to world unity--one world government and religion, peaceful conflict resolution (but opposes disobedience to one's government), gender equality and women's rights (which does not include promotion of abortion rights), anti-poverty, and anti-discrimination. Service to others is considered a form of worship. Discourages divorce but doesnt punish or condemn; disapproves of homosexuality.

SPIRITUAL STRADDLER

Sooo... I took this test and found out im a "spiritual straddler." COOL.

50 - 59

Spiritual Straddler � One foot in traditional religion, one foot in free-form spirituality

BELIEF-O-MATIC

Based on the "Belief-O-Matic" Quiz, i found that I am:

- 100% Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestant

- 93% Liberal Quaker

- 90% Baha'i Faith

- 89% Mahayana Buddhist

- 87% Unitarian Universalist

Here is the description of Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants:

Also sometimes referred to as secular, modern, or humanistic. This is an umbrella term for Protestant denominations, or churches within denominations, that view the

Bible

as the witness of God rather than the word of God, to be interpreted in its historical context through critical analysis. Examples include some churches within Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and United Church of Christ. There are more than 2,000 Protestant denominations offering a wide range of beliefs from extremely liberal to mainline to ultra-conservative and those that include characteristics on both ends.

•	Belief in Deity Trinity of the Father (God), the Son (Christ), and the Holy Spirit that comprises one God Almighty. Many believe God is incorporeal.
•	Incarnations Beliefs vary from the literal to the symbolic belief in Jesus Christ as God's incarnation. Some believe we are all sons and daughters of God and that Christ was exemplary, but not God.
•	Origin of Universe and Life The Bible's account is symbolic. God created and controls the processes that account for the universe and life (e.g. evolution), as continually revealed by modern science.
•	After Death Goodness will somehow be rewarded and evil punished after death, but what is most important is how you show your faith and conduct your life on earth.
•	Why Evil? Most do not believe that humanity inherited original sin from Adam and Eve or that Satan actually exists. Most believe that God is good and made people inherently good, but also with free will and imperfect nature, which leads some to immoral behavior.
•	Salvation Various beliefs: Some believe all will go to heaven, as God is loving and forgiving. Others believe salvation lies in doing good works and no harm to others, regardless of faith. Some believe baptism is important. Some believe the concept of salvation after death is symbolic or nonexistent.
•	Undeserved Suffering Most Liberal Christians do not believe that Satan causes suffering. Some believe suffering is part of God's plan, will, or design, even if we don't immediately understand it. Some don't believe in any spiritual reasons for suffering, and most take a humanistic approach to helping those in need.
•	Contemporary Issues Most churches teach that abortion is morally wrong, but many ultimately support a woman's right to choose, usually accompanied by policies to provide counseling on alternatives. Many are accepting of homosexuality and gay rights.