Afghanistan At The Crossroads of History

I will teach a course titled "Afghanistan: At The Crossroads of History" this Spring at the OSHER adult learning program at the University of Denver. Here is the syllabus, for your interest. There are a lot of links to good reading material, so be sure to click on "Read More", below. Anyone in the Denver area interested in attending the class can register at 
http://www.universitycollege.du.edu/learning/viva/index.cfm

University College, University of Denver

Osher Lifetime Learning Institute

COURSE TITLE: AFGHANISTAN: At The Crossroads of History

Spring, 2011

Thursday, 1:00 to 3:00

Course description:

From the time of the “Silk Road”, Afghanistan has been at the crossroads of commerce and power between Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and India. In the late 19^th century the geopolitics of the British and Russian Empires crossed paths in Afghanistan. During the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, Afghanistan once again was at the crossroads. And now at the beginning of the 21^st Century Afghanistan is again in the cross hairs of geopolitics, further demonstrating the importance of the “prime real estate” it occupies.

Course Objective:

To learn about Afghanistan’s history and its importance in today’s world of geopolitics and ideology.

Guest presenters:

I have invited guest experts to participate in some of the sessions. They include Afghan and American experts on political geography; religion and culture; drugs, international criminal gangs and security; and international economic aid and development.

Suggested Class Reading Materials:

Everyone will get the most from each class if they stay abreast of current events in Afghanistan:

Afghanistan News Service:www.afgghanistannewscenter.com

Prof. Barnet Rubin’s blog and news services at New York University: http://icga.blogspot.com/

Sessions:

Session 1: Thursday, March 31, 2011: Basic “Situation Analysis” of Afghanistan: Political, Social, Security, and Economic. Overview presentation about contemporary Afghanistan and discussion about Afghanistan’s struggle to emerge from 30 years of conflict as a responsible member of the world community of nations.

Session 1 Suggested Class Reading Material:

- “Pashtunwali, Islam, and Democracy in Afghanistan: What’s Our Commitment?”, James Frasche’, 2009:http://www.mufticforum.com/james_frasche_on_afghanistan

- “Afghanistan in 2010: A Survey of The Afghan People”, Asia Foundation, 2010:http://asiafoundation.org/country/afghanistan/2010-poll.php

Do The right Thing In Afghanistan

Do The Right Thing In Afghanistan

The adage “War is hell” is generally attributed to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman during his retributive destruction of Atlanta and much of the “Old South” during our own Civil War.

It is a particularly apt phrase when considering the 30+ year conflict in Afghanistan. This war is repulsive -- crushing to the human spirit, and exhausting first to the Afghan nation, and now to our own.

The Afghan conflict exhibits all the horror of the usual violence of war and its impact on the innocent bystander, the “collateral damage,” a desensitizing euphemism for women, children, and the elderly.

The Afghan conflict has been a vehicle for the as yet un-reconciled perversity of massive crimes against humanity (because simply killing people is not enough), ethnic cleansing, and regional opportunism fueled by money from regional manipulators, weapons dealers and drug gangs. That is the way it has been there for a long time.

It is particularly horrific to me because it is so transparently fueled by petty politics and greed.

What is it about this apparently remote, destitute corner in the middle of nowhere that makes Afghanistan so compelling, attractive, and necessary to first draw us in, and then become the “graveyard of empires”? Why do we continue to beat our heads against the wall, and for what advantage or gain?