Powder kegs Obama must deal with

Obama has inherited a hornet's nest. Unfortunately, current economic volatility has pushed most foreign policy issues out of sight and out of mind for the time being. If it weren't for these foreclosures, bank bailouts, massive job cuts, and automakers begging on their knees, Obama would have to pay a bit more attention to the world around him.

By the way, major kudos to Barack for not immediately telling the military what to do. He has no clue what to do with all of it, and it's doubtful he'll be able to make any real decisions for a little while-- at least until he takes an International Relations class and learns the extent of our military capabilities. Luckily, we continue to target terrorists in Pakistan, which is absolutely imperative. The following are just a few of the international issues that Obama must deal with, and deal with soon.




Afghanistan



The Taliban has slowly but surely been making inroads in previously liberated areas of this hellhole. They're employing suicide bombers in cities like Kabul (an Arab al-Qaeda style form of attack), and are taking more and more land. They are exerting influence in the South and in Pakistan. Pretty much anywhere soldiers are not.

Obama has two choices right now. He can act swiftly and send tens of thousands of badly needed troops into this region to quell this increase of Taliban control (which sounds inevitable based conversations I've had with two people I know in the military), or he can withdraw everyone and declare it a loss. The current stalemate is not acceptable. Losing is unacceptable as well.

We are losing ground there because it is too vast a country with too many geographic obstacles. The borders mean nothing. Lines on a map are not keeping the flow of guns, opium, and terrorists from doing whatever they damn well please.

As I see it, there are three steps here:

1) Kill the Taliban (or at least drive them into Pakistan for the time being), and create security for Afghans as well as commerce.

2) Promote new sustainable farming techniques and alternatives to growing opium poppies. Encourage NGO's and relief organizations like Roots of Peace (nice plug, huh, Tuck?) to set up shop in the country until some semblance of legitimate economy blossoms. When people have opportunities, it's less likely that they will choose terrorist or dope grower as their profession. In turn, radical Islam becomes less attractive. Stop the dope, stop the Taliban's income. Stop the Taliban.

3) Utilize the international community's undying love for Obama to acquire more peackeepers for the region. Then, sustain a fledging Afghan state until it can take off the training wheels. Democracy is not going to work there but for God's sake, just keep them from killing each other or killing us.


Pakistan


Few realize that Pakistan, not Iran, is the next front in the War on Terror. Dubya might be having a Lonestar or Shiner down in Crawford right now, but these battles are going to have to be waged sooner or later.

Pakistan is especially difficult to deal with because of it's unsettled political situation. Historically, they have been a wary ally of America, but since the ouster of Pervez Musharraf, things are less rosy.

Osama is hiding there, the Taliban controls vast swaths of Pakistan's tribal areas, and fundamentalism is spreading by the day. Also compounding issues is our strengthening relationship with Pakistan's loathed enemy, India.

Of course the Pakistanis want us to stop shooting missiles into Waziristan... but what country wouldn't? Islamabad has no control over this region, and that is the main reason that we're able to get away with this.

The current situation is not sustainable though and something must be done to keep this from getting out of hand. It is a delicate balancing act for the time being.


Somalia



Somalia is not exactly a priority for most people. It is basically unimportant in every way. At least it was...

This lawless country hasn't had a real government in nearly 20 years. Islamic warlords and pirates now rule this horrible place. The UN-backed provisional government controls about 20 blocks worth of the country. Recently, Ethiopia, the only country in Africa's horn with a real military and a US ally, withdrew its troops.

Same old, same old, right?

Not with these pirates on the high seas. These guys are capturing Supertankers and actually getting paid ransom money. In turn, these ransom payments are funding the land-based militias that terrorize the population. The Gulf of Aden is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and is the lone obstacle in the way of the Middle Eastern continent.

With Islamic fundamentalists set to nurture the dysfunction, what's stopping them from hosting al-Qaeda training facilities, and acting as a go between between radicals in Yemen or Saudi Arabia? This creates an unholy triangle of geographic hell. At the very least, a coalition of international warships need to be positioned all along international shipping lanes. This should not all be footed by the US either. The Russians, Chinese, Saudis, and the EU pansies all have a stake in this. Somalia has basically been quarantined since 1991, and this needs to continue. Its population is a lost cause unfortunately, with multiple generations only knowing squalor, starvation and war as a way of life. The best the world can hope is to contain them and hope they do not destabilize the region around them.

Let's hope Obama keeps this mind as he moves forward.

Other issues: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Darfur, Socialism in South America, Russia's bullying of former republics and Putin consolidating power

Thanks for reading, and for you old timers, remember all those blue underlined words are hyperlinks. Check them out... that's why they're there.

Poverty is holding India back

As India recovers from the recent Mumbai attacks, it has slowly begun to slip from the front page. Now, all we'll hear about is outsourcing, eternal pissing contests with Pakistan, and our friends griping about calling Symantec or Dell only to find they're calling some Indian guy in Hyderabad, remarkably named Phil.

They have indeed experienced exponential growth in many sectors, notably technology. They churn out millions of college graduates each year. I hear and read things about them becoming a world power almost ad nauseum.It's just not true. They could be something really special and powerful. They do have one-point-whatever billion people, and in general, Indians have an extremely strong work ethic. But with every new Honda dealership or Starbucks that comes to Mumbai or Delhi, another few million people go hungry or pick through garbage piles to survive.

Unfortunately, there is not enough to go around, and according to the World Bank, over one third of the world's poor live in India.

That is simply staggering. And disgusting.

I refuse to recognize any country in a positive light if so many people are being left behind.

There are an infinite amount of factors that contribute to this. Much of the population lives in rural areas that lack almost any infrastructure. Large scale irrigation systems and roads are unheard of in many places. Extreme climates also contribute to the problem. Monsoons flood many areas of the South and facilitate the spread of disease and as well as the destruction of crops. A lack of rain in the North makes it difficult for many to eek out a living-- most being subsistence farmers. Urban sprawl, widespread pollution, and environmental degradation is off the charts. The population is straining to sustain itself off a poorly run country. Then of course there is the urban poverty... the ugliest looking of all.

There are also social issues that abound. A legacy of British rule and colonialism seems to have reinforced the Indian Caste system, which unfortunately, still exists to a certain extent. These class divides have never fully dissolved.

I am just so appalled by the large scale destitution that plagues India, and the lack of effort by its government to do anything about it. For a country that has had a an average of a 7% annual economic growth rate since 1997 (CIA Factbook), little of it has benefited the millions and millions of starving, uneducated poor who struggle daily.

In addition, a currently flagging global economy will not help matters. India's pride and joy is its technology sector, which is primarily a tertiary industry. In fact, much of India's new found economic expansion is service-based.

As less Americans and/or Europeans require their services, there will be less need for massive call centers and IT engineers. These folks certainly won't end up picking through garbage, but it certainly does not help matters.

This leads us to the video below. I found it particularly well-done and it struck a chord with me. Here is the original article that went with it. It's five minutes long. Watch it if you get a chance.