Children of the Taliban

Here is an analysis on the Pakistani Taliban:

1. Children join the taliban because the Taliban is perhaps the only chance of peace in the country. One teenager wanted to join the Taliban because the Pakistani army destroyed his village.

2. The war has seriously wounded the Pakistani youth. Schools are being destroyed and replaced by Madrassahs that teach nothing other than the Koran. Children whose innocence should be kept sacred are being taught war and violence. No matter who wins the war, the youth will never be the same.

3. The offensive by the pakistani army and the U.S. drones has not been as affective as hoped. Entire villages have been destroyed, and the Taliban are infiltrating major cities. Chaos has enveloped peaceful valleys that were previously untouched. The Taliban are expanding.

4. The Taliban are an organization that thrives in chaos. Pain and suffering only push members to their cause. Displaced and angry citizens are prime targets for recruitment.

Obama's Plan

I heard the Obama speech today on the radio and then the news. He was speaking about the war in Afghanistan. He outlined his plan of action for the next few years. He plans, in 2010, to add 33,000 more troops to the war effort. He intends to train the Afghan military so that we can withdraw from the area in eighteen months. He also wants to strengthen relations with Pakistan and invade the tribal areas. He has defined victory in Afghanistan as leaving no safe haven for the Taliban.

His plan is the best one that can be made by a politician who expects to be reelected. I am very happy that he has set a withdrawal date, so the war cannot go on indefinitely. It may or may not work, but it certainly will not work without the support of the Pakistani government. If they continue to refuse assistance from America, I fear that we will have to go in anyway, and that could lead to another war.

Our Brothers in Taliban Lands

It has been eight years since the tragedy of the twin towers, and we are still fighting a war. I have found recently that very few people on the homeland truly understand what is happening in the middle east. Here, I have outlined the four major problems that our troops face in Afghanistan.

1. The enemy has no face. The taliban do not wear a uniform, and they hide alongside the innocent civilians. We have no way of drawing first blood, as we have no way of knowing whose blood to draw.

2. Afghanistan is big. Afghanistan is a big place. We simply do not have the presence of troops to cover the entire area.

3. Afghan militia sucks. Our military is deadly on the offensive, and we can easily take every town in the country, but if we leave the land in the possession of the afghans, they are just as easily retaken by the taliban.

4. We have morals. The Taliban is not required to abide by the rules of war. They kill civilians, they bomb cities, and they employ child soldiers. We cannot do the same.

Theravada and Me

I checked out the Theravada Buddhists and what I found was very interesting. It appears that Theravada Buddhism is the oldest surrviving Buddhist school. Older even than Christianity as it was developed in the time of the Third Buddhist Council, around 250 B.C.. As most Buddhist sects, they believe in reincarnation based on karma, and follow the eight-fold path and the Four Noble Truths. They have no real deities other then Buddha, the fully enlightened one. Contrary to western belief Buddha is not a god. He is a man, but a man who has reached the ultimate objective of Theravada Buddhism, which is Nirhvana. As such he is admired and emulated, but not worshipped. The Theravada , translated literally into Elder Ones, agree with science in every respect. They do not have stories that explain things like the origin of the universe or the origin of life.

I agree with much of what they do. I do not believe in an ultimate deity, and I let science explain the origins of the universe. I do believe that Buddha was a great man, however I do not belief in a cycle of reincarnation as the Theravada do. Karma and the eightfold path are just society's way to control the populace. Much of this religions teachings do fit my worldveiw, but they are still just a system used to control the people. You wont find me hanging out at a monastery any time soon.

Spirituality

I took a few of the quizzes at beliefnet.com. I thought it was rather interesting, what they told me. They told me on the first quiz that I was a religious dabbler. I thought this was rather biased as it was a religious website. It would have been more accurate if they said that I avoid religious debates like anthrax. However, when I took they second quiz, I was much more pleased with the results. It gave me a few words for aethiest and then down 4 it told me that I was 85% similar to theravada buddhist. I checked them out and the quiz was right. My own personal beliefs are very similar to those of the Theravada Buddhists. I think I'll put another post about this farther down, so check it out later. Cheers!!

Cultural Bias In History

Based on the information I have collected throughout the years I've decided that it is important to get both sides of any story. A friend of mine was once speaking to his Japanese friend about WWII and he mentioned Pearl Harbor. His friend had never heard of the attack!!! Apparently it is glossed over in Japanese schools. Doesn't that make you wonder what isn't taught in American schools? When we study history, we need to make sure that our sources are cross-cultural, because even facts can become biased.

Asian Geography

I took the quiz at http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/asia3.html. It was actually very easy. I got 85%. The only ones I missed were a few of the stans.