The Afghan Quarterback

The coach had put together the perfect team for the Chicago Bears. The only thing that was missing was a good quarterback. He had scouted all the colleges and even the Canadian and European Leagues, but he couldn't find a ringer who could ensure a Super Bowl win.

Then one night while watching CNN he saw a war-zone scene in Afghanistan. In one corner of the background, he spotted a young Afghan soldier with a truly incredible arm. He threw a hand-grenade straight into a 15th story window 100 yards away. -KABOOM!

He threw another hand-grenade 75 yards away, right into a chimney. -KA-BLOOEY!

Then he threw another at a passing car going 90 mph. -BULLS-EYE!

"I've got to get this guy!" Coach said to himself. "He has the perfect arm!"

So, he brings him to the States and teaches him the great game of football. And the Bears go on to win the Super Bowl.

The young Afghan is hailed as the great hero of football, and when the coach asks him what he wants, all the young man wants is to call his mother.

"Mom," he says into the phone, "I just won the Super Bowl!"

"I don't want to talk to you, the old Muslim woman says. "You are not my son!"

"I don't think you understand, Mother," the young man pleads. "I've won the greatest sporting event in the world. I'm here among thousands of my adoring fans."

"No! Let me tell you!" his mother retorts. "At this very moment, there are gunshots all around us. The neighborhood is a pile of rubble. Your two brothers were beaten within an inch of their lives last week, and I have to keep your sister in the house so she doesn't get raped!" The old lady pauses, and then tearfully says,

"I will never forgive you for making us move to Chicago!

With thanks to TGIF-Jeff!

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The US and dirty wars

They say if you put a frog in water and slowly warm up the pot, the frog will not notice the increasing temperature and boil to death. A metaphor showing how often we get used to situations, as they gradually get worse and run out of control...

I watched the documentary movie "Dirty Wars" by Jeremy Scahill, an American investigative journalist who also exposed the "frog in boiling water" role of Blackwater in US wars and homeland security.

"Dirty Wars" exposes the increasing role of US covert operations to capture or (mostly) kill anyone, anywhere, without any due juridicial process or proper public oversight. "Dirty wars" takes the specific examples of the killing of civilians in Gardez (Afghanistan), women and children in Al Ma'jalah (Yemen) and of two US civilians in Yemen (cleric Anwar Awlaki and his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki). It focuses on the role of JSOC, the notorious US para-military branch which reports directly to the US President, bypassing the "normal" military chain of command.

I think this is a typical example of "a frog in boiling water"... We all sympathized with the US, and the victims of the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. There was a significant global consent of the US invasion of Afghanistan to eradicate the Taliban and kill Bin Laden. But as of then things have just turned for the worse and the US took the global sympathy of 9/11 to move on to abolish proper human rights, juridicial process, international law and public oversight. Be it the invasion of Iraq -now internationally recognized as based on fake evidence and subversive economic motives-, the capture and detention of civilians -Guantanamo-, to random drone attacks on the soil of sovereign countries -just about anywhere in the world-, to the use of private militia and obscure security firms to execute its own "private" wars, and intrusion of the privacy of citizens -the revelations of Edward Snowden on NSA practices-,....

As time went by, from 9/11 to now, I think it is time to jump out of the boiling water, and question the foreign politics of the US, with all of its related issues. How is it that a single country, which prouds itself to stand up for worldwide democracy, can get away with worldwide unilateral military action without being questioned?

The issue is not just the accountability, oversight, human rights, states' sovereignty, etc.. But the issue is also that it is getting worse. "Dirty wars" claims that the unilateral covert operations increased over time -more now under Obama than under Bush JR, for God's sake-. It gradually shaped the world's perception of the US, and how it turns the world more polarized "extremist" action against the US and its foreign policy. The issue is not just the foreign policy actions themselves, but how they clearly don't work. Proof in case is that the initial feeling of sympathy for the US in Afghanistan and even Iraq, turned completely against the US, and how they polarized the world so much "with us or against us". With a growing sense of "against us".

No matter how cynical it might be, but somewhere it is comforting to see how Russia bluntly and publicly put the US foreign policy with its back against the wall: in Syria - where Putin took the wind out of Obama's sails for an imminent assault on Syria through shrewd foreign diplomacy, and did so again in the Ukraine -by invading the country before the US could say "1-2-3"-. While the latter - the invasion of a sovereign country- can not be justified, it is reassuring that somewhere the world powers might be slightly more balanced than in 2001-2003, even it were by matching the US through employing the same foreign tactics.

It is time for us, frogs, the leap out of the boiling water, and call the US to justice. It would not only serve international political balance, but most of all serve the rights of us, the citizens of the world.

Photo courtesy J.Ronald Lee

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This is what winning looks like

John Allen, the US general in charge of NATO's troops in Afghanistan, handed over his command to his successor. But not without a farewell speech, in which he declared:

"This is victory, this is what winning looks like, and we should not shrink from using these words." (Full)

Dear General Allen, I have some news from you: you have not accomplished shit in Afghanistan. The Taliban have not been defeated, and are just waiting for you to leave. The living conditions of the Afghani people have not become better and certainly not safer.

Actually your intervention did make a difference. Nowadays, Afghanistan is once again, one of the largest exporters of heroin, while poppy growing was fully eradicated under the Taliban rule before your invasion.

If this is what US victory looks like, you can keep it.


Picture courtesy TheChive

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US, UN and the Taliban: An invitation to dance.

There are no coincidences in life. Certainly not if they concern politics. Once again, UN and US politics have only one letter of difference.

KABUL: The United States and other foreign powers are engaged in preliminary talks with the Taliban about a possible settlement to the near decade-long war in Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday. (Source)

and on the very same day:

The UN Security Council has split the international sanctions regime for the Taliban and al-Qaida to encourage the Taliban to join reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan. (Source)

So, all of a sudden, the Taliban is no longer the arch-rival of neither US, UN or the Afghan government anymore...? All of a sudden, they are not the harbour of terrorism anymore? Is it because the Taliban have become good boys? Starting to behave, and wear suits and ties as they are now become devoted Catholics?

Or might we just have another Vietnam and "Black Hawk Down"-Somalia scenario, where the US is trying everything possible, to bail out of Afghanistan, using no matter what means. After all, why not? "If you can't beat them, you might as well join them (again)", the US will be thinking. What the flip to they care what happens to the country after they leave?

So Mr.USA: after a decade of war in Afghanistan, what will you have accomplished? Did the threat of terrorism get any less? Was the Taliban or Al Qaeda eradicated? Any less threat for another 9/11?
What have you accomplished Mr.USA, apart from having plunged yet another country into disarray, pushed it further down into poverty and insecurity, killing tens of thousands along the way, and causing suffering to zillions more? Did the women's right flourish? Burqa's being massively exchanged for bikini's? Every child now goes to school, and is properly fed? Open freedom of speech? Drug fields completely eradicated? None of the above, Mr.USA, so shame on you.

Shame on you.


Picture courtesy Free Republic

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Three cups of tea. And a lot of bullshit?

Often I can't explain why I feel something about certain things. But there is not doubt I felt something strongly about "Three cups of tea". Now I might know why:

Greg Mortenson, the high-profile advocate of girls' education in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been forced to defend his best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time," against charges that key stories in it are false.

Mortenson shot to international fame with the book, which describes his getting lost in an effort to climb K2, the world's second-highest peak, being rescued by Pakistani villagers in the village of Korphe and vowing to return there to build a school for local girls.

He also claims to have been captured by the Taliban and held for several days before being released. (...) however -- Jon Krakauer of "Into Thin Air" fame -- told a CBS "60 Minutes" investigation that aired Sunday that the story is not true.(..)

Mortenson's record of charity and his tales of derring-do have helped fuel the Central Asia Institute. The organization recorded income of $14 million in 2009 (...) However, in 2009, less than half of that money -- 41 percent -- actually went to building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the institute's board of directors.(...)

The institute also says $1.7 million went to promote Mortenson's books in the form of advertising, events, film and professional fees, and some travel. It said the contributions generated by Mortenson's promotional events "far exceed the travel expenses." (Source)

Over the past years, several people recommended I should read Mortenson's book, "Three cups of tea". A Friend lent me the book, saying "You might not like it". And I didn't.

I read the first twenty pages and had to put it aside. I tried to continue reading it several times, but I could not. I can't say why exactly. There was a fake ring to the whole story. There was a fake smile on the guy's face. And I surely have an issue if anyone promoting girls' education, likes to pose with his wife and kid, and a couple of AK47's... And proudly publishes the picture in one of his books.

Above all, I smelled "CIA" all over. Winning the hearts and minds of people. With loads of American dollars.

Next!

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Give up, bail out or continue running?

Just read this on Itinerant and Indigent, one of the aidblogs I following. Phil, an aidworker in Afghanistan, writes about his struggle to continue believing in the "Cause". The "raison d'être" of an aidworker:

Why do we keep trying here? I am less and less sure that we achieve anything. I know, I know now that this work is not about us feeling good, or developing our CVs. And I am not an aid junkie, living on the high of the emergency, the thrill of saving lives. But I would like to see permanent progress here in some form, in my lifetime. I am less convinced that will happen, or at least less convinced that there is much I can do to expedite it.

It seems I follow a God of lost causes. I am not sure how I feel about that. As Nathan says, ‘I have joined the long defeat’.

I wonder how many of the long term aidworkers have this struggle. How many years does it take before we let our shoulders hang down, or bail out, or stop caring, or continue running with our eyes closed, or invent the famous "signs of improvement"..

How many years have we been in Afghanistan? In Pakistan? In Ethiopia? Niger? DRC?

Add on top of the lack of progress, the security risks every single aidworker runs in some of these places, and you wonder...

I think the only way to cope in the longer run is to check out for a while and come back with new hope. In a different country. Another project. And for the rest, continue holding on, in the faith that humanity is basically good.


PS: If you know where the picture is taken, I guess you can call yourself an "ancien"... Start counting the days The Doubt will come.

PPS: Phil.. Hang in there, buddy!

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Breaking news: What? We are not winning the war in Afghanistan?!?!

Here is some breaking news, fresh from the presses... It seems we are not winning the Holy War on Terror in Afghanistan. Surprise-surprise... And even worse: we have not been winning it since end 2001 neither.

The timelapse video above is based on the famous WikiLeaks documents, listing military incidents. The darker the red, the more incidents..

Is it just my impression, but are those dark red blobs just getting bigger and bigger as time went by?
Wanna make predictions for 2011?

Video discovered via ReadWriteWeb

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The state of the world on Mother's Day

Save the Children’s eleventh annual Mothers’ Index compares the well-being of mothers and children in 160 countries.

Norway, Australia, Iceland and Sweden top the rankings this year. The top 10 countries attain very high scores for mothers’ and children’s health, educational and economic status. Afghanistan ranks last among the surveyed countries. Seven from 10 bottom-ranked countries are from sub-Saharan Africa. The United States places 28th.

Conditions for mothers and their children in the bottom 10 countries are grim. On average, 1 in 23 mothers will die from pregnancy-related causes. One child in 6 dies before his or her fifth birthday, and 1 child in 3 suffers from malnutrition. Nearly 50 percent of the population lack access to safe water and only 4 girls for every 5 boys are enrolled in primary school.

The gap in availability of maternal and child health services is especially dramatic when comparing Norway and Afghanistan. Skilled health personnel are present at virtually every birth in Norway, while only 14 percent of births are attended in Afghanistan.
A typical Norwegian woman has more than 18 years of formal education and will live to be 83 years old. Eighty-two percent are using some modern method of contraception, and only 1 in 132 will lose a child before his or her fifth birthday.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, in Afghanistan, a typical woman has just over 4 years of education and will live to be only 44. Sixteen percent of women are using modern contraception, and more than 1 child in 4 dies before his or her fifth birthday. At this rate, every mother in Afghanistan is likely to suffer the loss of a child.

On the children’s well-being portion of the Mothers’ Index, Sweden finishes first and Afghanistan is last out of 166 countries. While nearly every Swedish child – girl and boy alike – enjoys good health and education, children in Afghanistan face a 1 in 4 risk of dying before age 5. Thirty-nine percent of Afghan children are malnourished and 78 percent lack access to safe water. Only 2 girls for every 3 boys are enrolled in primary school. (Full report)

Picture courtesy Logan Abassi(MINUSTAH)

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Afghanistan: 6 mothers die for every 100 births

In Badakshan, the Northeast of Afghanistan, 6 women die in labour for every 100 babies born. That is almost four times the national average, in a country with the world's second highest maternal mortality rate...

Let's use Mother's Day weekend to think of those mothers in less fortunate countries. Maternal health continues to be a challenge for many in remote areas, where access to clinics or even primary care is non-existent. Or only exists only through WHO (the UN's World Health Organisation)mobile clinics as shown in this video. (More)

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Ending the year on a sad note: lost two more colleagues.

2007 was bad. 2008 was worse. 2009 topped them all. And the last week of the year was no exception to a very disturbing trend: the aid community lost two colleagues again. Ali Farah Amey was shot dead in Beledweyn (Somalia) and a 24 year national UN staff member was killed in a suicide bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Aidworkers become part of a free-for-all turkey shoot. I can't put it more blunt than that.

In a post reminding everyone on the plight of his two colleagues taken hostage in Darfur, fellow blogger Paul Conneally states:

There is another aspect which niggles slightly and that is the deafening silence that generally meets the news of aid workers being killed or taken hostage. There is not only a relative silence from governments, media or the public but even from the humanitarian sector itself. Compare the death in Afghanistan of aid workers to that of soldiers who, by and large, are armed to the teeth and sent to Afghanistan to kill or be killed. I don't dispute military interventions - not my business - but it is quiet incredible that the media is so keen to eulogize the military as 'fallen heroes' and ignore those who risk (and give) their lives desperately trying to make a difference on the human level without resorting to state of the art munitions and military occupation.

But I want to make it even more black and white: We, the aid community are left clueless what to do with this increased risk we face. The only thing we seem to be doing is piling up those sandbags even higher. Buying more bomb-blast film, bullet-proof jackets and mine-resistant Kevlar layers for our vehicles. Measures which should be taken, but proven to be insufficient.

I will make a prediction for 2010: there will be no end to the killing of aidworkers. And unless the aid community drastically changes its approach toward the risks now inherent to aidwork, one year from now, we will be looking back at the year 2010 and say "This was a bad year....".

My suggestions to any aid organisation who is concerned about security for their staff:

1. Make it compulsive for all aid staff to follow a two-three days security awareness course. The course is to be re-done, as a refresher, every two years.
2. Everyone going into high risk area, should get a separate and customized security briefing.
3. Every agency and NGO should comply with the MOSS (Minimum Operational Security Standards), and ensure the MOSS guidelines are strictly adhered to. MOSS compliance is to be verified by an independent external team.
4. Security compliance should become part of the normal audit cycle. Complaints about security deficiencies should be handled with the same priority as theft, harassment or embezzlement.
   
5. Every agency and NGO should employ a "Dirty Harry" team, with one and only one task: to try and bypass the security systems in order to expose deficiencies.
6. And most importantly: as you can not reduce the thread, but can only decrease the risk to your staff members: reduce the amount of people we employ in security-risky areas. Resist donor pressure and the aidwork-inherent-testosterone-craze by wanting to rush into any emergency operation, without thinking "are we really needed there?".

Picture discovered via War and Peace

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The US plan for Afghanistan. Page 22

It's officially called "COIN" abbreviation for "COunter INtelligence".

Should probably be called WIN: "Without INtelligence".
Or HOTOSOFET: "HOw TO Stimulate Our Failing Economy Through foreign wars".

According to a recent figures, one gallon oil costs the invading troops $400. The annual expenditure of one soldier is almost one million US dollar. Yearly, the presence of US troops in Afghanistan costs $103 bn, including the troop surge recently announced by Obama.

According to the Sept 21 2009 Congressional Research Service Report, there are 73,968 private contractors working for the US military in Afghanistan. (Full)

Picture courtesy Incredimazing, discovered via Aidwatchers

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Why that damned war in Afghanistan is so complex

No explanation needed.

Source: Ari Rusila

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2009 in pictures

It's that time of the year again, where we have "Top Ten's of the year" and "2009 in review" flying left, right and center.

Some good stuff, though: the Boston Globe released an excellent series "2009 in Photos", like this picture showing US troops receiving a "Good Morning, America" wake-up call from Taliban positions in Afghanistan's Kunar province.

Picture courtesy AP Photo/David Guttenfelder

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MSF: Top 10 humanitarian crisis of 2009

Just like Christmas carols, pennies in the Salvation Army collection tin, loads of booze, turkey experiments in the oven, and presents you never asked for, MSF (or "Doctors without Borders" for the Anglophones) has its annual traditions too: Every year-end, them release theirs "Top Ten Humanitarian Crisis of 2009".

On The Road, we have the tradition of summarizing this Top 10 of "world shame" (see our 2008 and 2007 posts).

MSF began with the "Top Ten" list in 1998, when a famine in southern Sudan went largely unreported in the US media. Maybe due to the CNN effect ("no media attention, no aid pesos"), MSF went a more commercial course last year, converting "the most Underreported Crisis" list, to "the Top 10 Humanitarian Crisis".

This year, MSF reports in their top 10:

• Unrelenting Violence Stalks Civilians Throughout Eastern DR Congo (Tell me something new, DRC tops the list every year)
• Somalis Endure Violence and Lack of Access to Health Care (been in the top list since.. well, since for ever)
• Precarious Situation for People in Southern Sudan and Darfur (tell me something new)
• Thousands Injured during the Final Stage of Sri Lanka's Decades-long War (ok, the Sri Lanka government topped themselves this year, I have to admit. They deserved a special mention for nearing genocide this year.)
• Civilians Suffer From Violence & Neglect in Pakistan (Mjah... More than last year, I agree. But mostly over-reported news this year.)
• Politics of Aid Leaves many Afghans Cut off from Humanitarian Assistance (On the hit list since the 70's, but US violence in Afghanistan definitively increased, I agree. Hardly underreported news, though).
• Civilians Trapped in Violent War in Northern Yemen ("North, South, Left, Right:Yemen is always in the Fight. North, South, Left, Right...." Now that the US and Saudis start bombing Yemen rebels, all will be over soon. Rrright.)
• Woefully Inadequate Funding Undermines Gains in Childhood Malnutrition Treatment (True. No change.)
• Funding for AIDS Treatment Stagnating Despite Millions Still in Need (True. No change)
• Lack of R&D and Scale Up of Treatment Plagues Patients with Neglected Diseases (True. No change).
  

For as far as I am concerned, the 2009 list could just have been a cut and paste from the 2008 list. Except that for one reason or the other, Zimbabwe was dropped from "The List". Maybe it was considered a hopeless case anyway. How about including violence in South Africa, tribal turbulence in Kenya, sexual violence and child labour in many parts of Africa, increased hunger and malnutrition in the US, large scale displaced people in Colombia, the increase of urban poverty, inaccessibility to food rather than unavailability of food....

Guess MSF might have been a bit short of inspiration and imagination this year. But then again, in all due fairness, their "Top 10 List of Shame" is a must-read. Check out the excellent pictures list which goes with the Top 10.

How about this, why don't we start our own "2009 Humanity's Shame Top 10" list? Stay tuned, will announce it soon.

Update:
1. We kicked off our "Humanity's Shame Top 1o". Accepting nominations on this post.
2. Nominations are closed. You can vote for your "Humanity's Shame" on this post.
3. The poll results are out. Check out this post for our "Humanity's Shame Top 10"

Picture courtesy Jobi Bieber/MSF

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US troops winning the hearts and minds of Afghans. Foxnews reports...

I love the scene where they use helicopters to stop guys on a motorbike. I guess its one way to deal with traffic congestion in the Afghanistan country side. Sigh.

Discovered via Transitionland and Wired

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Picture of the Day: Shot and Charred

A charred bulletproof vest lays in the burnt-out UN Kabul guesthouse, which was attacked last week. (Full)

More Pictures of the Day on The Road.

Picture courtesy Peter Nicholls/The Times

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Attack us where we work, attack us where we sleep.

After the devastating suicide bomb in our office in Islamabad three weeks ago, I knew it was going to be bad day when the first Twitter message I saw this morning was: "UN guesthouse in Kabul attacked, 5 staff dead".

From the NY Times:

The guests were still sleeping when the gunmen, dressed in police uniforms, arrived early Wednesday. In the dark, they shot the guards, scaled the front gate of the guest house and began firing grenades, the beginning of a terrifying two-hour siege that showed just how little it takes for the Taliban to trap foreigners in central Kabul.

By the end of the siege, at least five United Nations employees, two Afghan security officials and the brother-in-law of a prominent Afghan politician were dead, as were their three attackers. (Full)

2008 was a record year in terms of casualties amongst aid workers. 2009 promises to be even worse. I keep track of most of these attacks on The Road Daily.

It is only weeks ago I wrote:

It is strange.. It is only after the hours go by that the cruelty and the reality of the act today really seeps through... And the consciousness that if we are to work in a higher risk environment, there actually is not one place, where one is totally safe. Where would that be? In the office? They drive a truck through the gates and blow it up. In the guesthouse or the hotel? Same thing...(Full)

This is the dilemma we, aidworkers, face today: We are nowhere safe anymore. Terrorism, banditry, sheer violence. And we can not isolate ourselves from the communities we are suppose to serve. We can not lock ourselves up in fortresses, as the US did with their embassies worldwide after the bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. We need to be "there", we need to be where the aid is required. We need to do the assessments, we need to monitor to ensure the aid goes where it is supposed to go. But slowly, the violence makes it impossible to do our work properly. And who suffers? Those in need. As always.

Picture courtesy Altaf Qadri/Associated Press

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Afghan Women: The struggle goes on...

I worked in Afghanistan before the war, and went back into the country right after the Taliban left Kabul.

All in all, I spent quite a few months working with Afghan men and women, and got to appreciate them as people. They had been through hell in the decennia before the war, and when Western forces "liberated them from the Taliban", their hopes were high to have peace at last.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Today, the insecurity and repression of individuals is probably even more precarious than during the Taliban times. Even more so for the women.

When I flew into Kabul two days after the Taliban left, I saw on Western TV station how news bulletins were announcing that the women finally threw off their burkas, I looked out of the window and saw no changes.

I left Afghanistan late 2002, and according to this video, things only got worse for Afghan women...




Discovered via One Peaceful World

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The story of Iran - Part III

In view of the recent happenings in Iran, here is the third series of BBC videos on the history of Iran's political relationship with the West.

This series of videos is a BBC documentary the marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. Inside stories are told by two ex-presidents of Iran, Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, by two founders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and by leading westerners including Secretaries of State George Shultz, Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright..

Iran and the West - Part I:



Here is the rest of the documentary:
Iran and the West - Part II
Iran and the West - Part III
Iran and the West - Part IV
Iran and the West - Part V
Iran and the West - Part VI

The war in Afghanistan, the invastion of Iraq and the mixture of the Western press and politics. Enjoy...

Videos posted by Ali Sanaei

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Picture of the day: Humanitarian space

Every Red Cross vehicle in the world is emblazoned with a logo of a Kalashnikov with a red line through it - No Guns on Board. The Red Cross symbol alone should - but alas is not - be the only protection aid workers need, as the Red Cross (or Crescent) symbol is enshrined in international law signifying that the bearer takes no part in hostilities. (Full)

More Pictures of the Day on The Road.

Picture courtesy Paul Conneally, a fellow aid worker and blogger

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