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Re: Monday, September 24, 2001 - Marks Plan
This note is in reply to Scott’s Marshall Plan idea posted 9/24/2001. I have heard some discussion of ideas like this. We could really use more people in this world like Scott thinking of solutions that don’t include death and destruction. In case anyone thinks Scott’s idea won’t work, I would like to adjust it a bit to see if it could make more sense for them. But first a caveat: I am in no way an expert in any of this stuff. Banking type solutions to economic problems are proving to be successful alternatives to charitable donations to this day. I know of a few in the works in Haiti right now. They make the economy more independent and give the Haitians more pride. As Scott mentions, the Marshall Plan idea has holes. The biggest hole is the cultural differences between the Japanese, Germans, and Afghanis. Although the Japanese and German cultures are quite different from ours, they are still similar enough for us to make some accurate judgements. Like us, the Germans and Japanese were well educated. Like ours, both cultures were well connected to their economies. And like ours, both economies were dependant oil and other resources. (For both, control over the supply of oil effected the timing of decisions at the very least.) It was reasonable for us to assume that something like the Marshall Plan would work. (With a stretch, you might be able to find enough historical similarities between Germany and Afghanistan. They were both crushed by war within a 20 year period.) Afghanis, on the other hand, are generally uneducated by Western standards. The young population in control there knows little more than how to fight. And, like us, they do what they do best. So fight it is. As for their economy, it barely exists let alone depends on imports. If you think I am making too strong a point, good. I don’t mean to shoot down the idea altogether. It just needs to be adjusted by those more familiar with Afghani culture than myself. I’m sure Scott feels the same way. I have heard a few times that Afghanis hate the US because we abandoned them after the Russians finally pulled out. That might have been the best time to do something like what Scott suggests. With that said, here’s an idea that Scott can mull over and combine with his own: Propaganda. That word comes with a bad connotation but it leads to some interesting ideas. How about Radio Free Afghanistan? (Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/opinion/20SAFI.html if you can.) I have heard of what has been called the Iron Clad Rule of Antiterrorism. It generally states that terrorism must be undermined by removing the support of their people. I have only heard a couple references to this and I can find no reference to it on the web. But you must agree it makes a lot of sense. From what I understand, this is a very hard thing to achieve given the cultural divide that exists. With what little I know, it’s not enough to give them food or a self-sustaining economy. It is not enough to point out all the bad things the terrorists have done. They must clearly understand and accept our position in the fight. That cannot be achieved by simply translating our documents into their language. For example, can anyone give me a good definition of Terrorism? The definition must make a clear distinction between a human bomb walking into a mall and lobbing an expensive missile over the border. Afghanis think we are terrorists!
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