Now that Netroots Nation has solved the countries problems I’d like to address Senator Obama.
If at the end of this seemingly infinite election you are victorious and decide to go finish the job we left undone in Afghanistan — as you alluded to recently in your meeting with President Hamid Karzai, pledging “steadfast aid” and all
(source) ( Obama meets Afghan president Karzai) — consider doing it right differently than Bushy did, finish what you start, and don’t use it as some kind of photo op publicity stunt.
Watch MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN in which Afghan American filmmaker Sedika Mojadidi follows her father (Dr. Qudrat Mojadidi) on his tragic trip to Afghanistan, a trip he was invited on by the U.S. government to help rehabilitate the largest women’s hospital in the country, Rabia Balkhi, a hospital which at the time was put under U.S. Sponsorship with a newly re-named Laura Bush maternity ward.
With maternal health and both infant and maternal mortality so high in Afghanistan the goal was to train and treat and to help promote proper and efficient care for these women.
His arrival to this “Laura Bush Maternity Ward” reveals horrific conditions, sewage back-up and no supplies, which despite continuing pleas from Dr Quadrat never arrive. Though he does get letters from his superiors congratulating him on what a good job is doing.….like WTF.
He eventually left in frustration but went back later with privately funded organization, to a different hospital and though still a very tough road the place was at clean and had supplies. Something the U.S. promised but for some reason couldn’t manage to do in their great publicity op Laura Bush Maternity Ward.
Don’t be afraid to ask the people of the countries you are trying to help what they need, believe it or not they usually know better than we what they need and how things work in their countries. Do not name a ward of a hospital after your wife if you intend to leave floating in shit. Better yet, if you do carry something like this out properly name the wards after Afghani’s, after all they have suffered more, it is their country, and in the end it will be them who makes it work no matter how much help we give them.
Thank You.
The Film: Motherland Afghanistan
The film, criticized over a year ago by the NYT when is first came on Independent Lens as a film which would not change your view on foreign policy. Wrongly criticized in in my opinion. The first thing it made me see as faulty was the policy which promotes this kind of worthless effort by the bureaucracy of The Department of Health Human Services. So this film is worth more than a look see, and is still playing on Independent Lens.
Peace and Happy Birthday Miss Savage. Please go prevent her from shagging herself to oblivion.
Tags: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, news and opinion, Politics
[…] Original post by Wonderland or Not […]
As always, I learn something from reading your blog. Not always a shock that we do little but photo-ops “across the pond” or “over there” in “that country” for “those people.“
It is a bleeping tragedy that we have all the money to spend to kill but so little to save.
We can only hope anyone will heed your call…
The call of the wild.
Hopefully Laura + Georgie Poo allow Sex Education to be taught there + perhaps even Condoms to be handed out to prevent Sexually transmitted Diseases*
I also agree it’s outrageous the Billions Wasted on Weapsons of War that could be more wisely spent on Food + Clean Water + Medicine + Housing + Clothing*
Peace*
p.s. I wish I could get Shagged into Oblivion!! ;))
Unfortunately we have to complete what wee started but never finished because our government choose oil over national security.
Thank you for this post. Sometimes that is all I have to say.
I suspect billy read pia’s post, with that shag coming out of nowhere.
lol
I bet billy can shag too.
Cooper…I always heard that It Ain’t Me Babe was really Dylan’s kiss-off to all the people that looked to him as the “voice of a generation” and all that. He wrote it right when his stuff stopped being “topical” (it’s on the Another Side of Bob Dylan album). He didn’t want to be that voice anymore. But it can be seen as a break up song, too…for sure.
Yes, but I envision Baez’s interpretation which is definitely saying “It Ain’t You Babe”. ;)
Personally I view Obama’s promise to focus on Afghanistan with an air of foreboding. Imperalism is at work here. It is arrogance of the US to nation build in any form. They need financial AID and the country should be turned over to Afghanis to run as they see fit. Western nations need to leave the Middle East, we have no right to force our way of life on other groups of people for the purposes of economic gain.
Indeed if we were truly as we want to appear we would offer up only aid and allow them to do with it as they please. As the film above clearly shows their is something to be said for doing that.
In truth the best thing we could do is help the women in that country get an education, and get better health care so their mortality rate is not so high. That we really did not do that to me signifies that we really do not give a crap. We could best do that by asking the women what they want us to do and then do it. We don’t.
Imperialism doesn’t happen any longer the way we view it historically, it happens rather subversively , “diplomatically, and depends on who is paying for any given countries resources and what is given in return. It’s more a barter these days.