Peace, the Unattainable Necessity

On Saturday January 12, 2008, I held an interview with a man who just returned from living in Afghanistan for the past two years. His information was very insightful and as of present time I feel that I need to address the issues facing Afghanistan. The Taliban is still at large, especially in the East and the South, and they are wreaking havoc wherever they go. Killings and brutalities are not a forgotten method of torture, these people are destroying the lives of the innocent. The United States presence within the nation of Afghanistan is a positive force and with the help of the United Nations and NATO, they have put together ISAF, International Security Assistance Force, to devote time, energy, money and intelligence to the people of Afghanistan. The United States is a sign of hope to these people, refugees living in neighboring nations came back, voluntarily, to Afghanistan, because they forsaw peace, a peace that the United States is helping to bring.

Within the nation of Iraq, the United States has not received as welcome a response. The main goal right now is to help establish a democratic government within the nation, but the radicals have not made it easy. The sending back of refugees has not helping the economical stability, these people are forced into displacement, as they are in Afghanistan, lives that contain no stability, little money and food, no shelter and many other things that we, in America, take for granted on a daily basis. Iraq is constantly faced with car bombings, land mines and suicidal mass killings. Thousands of lives are being lost in the Middle East and not just American lives.

The United States presence, whether welcome or unwelcome, no matter what the American public decides to believe, is a positive presence, making a difference and saving lives. There's just so much more to do.

TWO MUST SEES

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_riverbend_archive.html , "Burning Baghdad," blog written by an Iraqi refugee living now living in Syria.

http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/index.html, a constantly updated website with current Afghan news.

Iraq: Get the Facts; Afghan: No More Taliban

As the research was limited with regard to the topic from my previous post, I'm going to be changing my topic a little bit. The focus will now switch to specifically Iraq and Afghanistan. Within those two countries the United States plays a major role as a cause to the refugee issue. These two nations are the most recently affected by United States Foreign Policy and because of that I will be looking into the impact the United States Foreign Policy has left on these nations. On the other end of the spectrum, Iraqi refugees and the way in which the surrounding countries are treating them will be a main theme in contrast to the way in which the Afghan refugees take, well, refuge. The lack of human rights these refugees have is atrocious; the impact of the United States on these countries is detrimental; the topic is now much more specific and much more intriguing.