Metanoia

Very dismayed re our elegant President Obama's speech outlining his decision about Afghanistan. More troops, harder war effort--but preparing to begin to leave in mid-2011. Got a "message" from Vice President Biden about it; "he" wrote, "It's a clean break from the failed Afghanistan policy of the Bush administration, and a new, focused strategy that can succeed." Really.

Really?

I think the only "clean break" could have been saying good-bye to Afghanistan and welcoming home our men and women who are currently engaged there. It's the most sensible solution. Matthew P. Hoh said it best--thoughtfully, with the perspective of both a Marine and a diplomat. Surely the President has read the lowly Hoh's letter. Surely, a huge portion of him agrees that this is the most sensible solution.

Watching him deliver his speech was unnerving. I don't think the cadets meant to nod off; they probably get up at 4 a.m. and the speech may have bled over into their bedtimes! I don't think it was a cynical thing, either, for the President to use this venue to outline what he had decided. (Yep, he's the decider now. With a Nobel Peace Prize.) And I don't think that Obama regards the military as his adversary. But I do think he's overwhelmingly ambivalent about this war. And the nation he leads is ambivalent. And if we're not wholly engaged (we're not--the "timetable" says so; we're not going to build the nation of Afghanistan; it is "beyond our responsibility, our means, and our interests")--if we're not going in wholeheartedly; if we ultimately just want to get out of there, well. . . then let's get out of there. Now.

A great many of the Afghan people are, uh, semi-pastoral nomads. This means that they're not interested in a strong national government. We in the United States do not understand them, and they do not understand us.

So here's what we can do. Instead of all that money pushed into Afghanistan through military engagement, we should surge money into our own Central Intelligence Agency.

We need a new spook shop. Something super duper secret. We're talking about the deepest cover imaginable. Deepest midnight-blue-with-that-hint-of-green-as-the-sun-rises ops. Something like the Agency for International Development (which was used by the CIA during the Vietnam conflict), but sneakier. Pour treasure into it; this is our security we're talking about, right? Pakistan is where we belong because Pakistan is where the bomb lives and cannot be consumed by the Taliban. (For me, listening to Obama pronounce "Pakistan" and "Taliban" was the best part of his speech.) Make it worldwide so we can recruit as many brown, blue-eyed people who need dental work as we can. Typical CIA field officer prepsters won't work for this. (But Cofer Black could come home to run it, maybe.) Make it worldwide so we can be everywhere--especially Europe and other shady places.

I don't think these people who hate us can be snuffed out. It's like trying to control the weather. The best we can do is try to be on top of it, everywhere. And raise up the women. Provide money for that, too, instead of military might. It's worth noting that there can be no "timetable" for this surge of intelligence. It will likely have to be a forever mission. But it's got elements of genuine humanitarianism. Worthwhile. Either that or resign to get attacked again and again 9/11-style--and we don't handle that sort of panic and death so well. It's hard to picture the U.S.A. "adjusting" to frequent acts of terrorism at home the way other nations have (Israel; the steely U.K.).

I am reminded of something a wise comrade texted to me: If something unkind is said about you, live as though no one will believe it. While I was listening to the President's speech, it occurred to me that maybe what he was describing--prescribing--was, actually, a new doctrine--the part (a teeny bit JFKish) about

not seek[ing] to occupy other nations and not claim[ing] another nation's resources or target[ing] other peoples because their faith or ethnicity is different from ours. What we have fought for — and what we continue to fight for — is a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and access opportunity.

So let's do it. We have the communications technology. Special ops can sweep in and clean up quickly and quietly--a small yet necessary part of the strategy.

Okay, I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. (getting really audacious and dare I say logorrheic here) But the President doesn't seem to, either. Afghanistan: We need to git gone.