Still Thinking About Afghanistan

Thanks to Andrew Tobias for pointing to two interesting, unrelated items.

In An Open Letter to President Obama, Middle East specialist William R. Polk gives a five minute course in Afghan history and demographics, and a warning about seeking a military solution. It is well worth the read, even if your inclination is in the other direction.

The second item from Tobias is so off-the-wall it might actually work.

This is a Bo-Go Light. It is a solar-powered flashlight that will give several hours of light with each charge. In parts of the world where there is no electricity, the day ends when the sun goes down. A man named Mark Bent, who founded the company that makes them, established a project called Light Haiti, which aims to provide these flashlights to families in that country, where 85% of the population does not have electricity.

Tobias says Bent sees a possibility in Afghanistan, too:

Ninety percent of Afghans have no electricity and the Number One thing they want, he says, is light at night. What if our troops could clip half a dozen of Bogo Lights to their belts each morning and hand them, personally, to families that need them.

On one side is the solar panel. On the other, in Afghan, could be a message: “Please help us leave your country and get home to our families. We miss them terribly. But we can’t leave until you are more safe. In the meantime, and long after were [sic] gone, we hope this gift from the American people helps light up your life.”

With 50,000 troops handing out half a dozen lights each day it would take just weeks to touch the hearts and minds of millions. And maybe even demonstrate the potential of modern technology, versus the appeal of Seventh Century fundamentalism.

At less than $10 in such quantity, we could cover the whole country for $50 million. Nothing, in the scheme of things.

We are spending $65 billion a year (!) in Afghanistan, and things are moving backward. There's probably some way this could blow up in our face, but couldn't we spend a million on these things and see if it really does make an appreciable difference in people's lives, and whether that makes them better disposed to these foreign troops? It sure beats chewing gum and chocolate. What have we got to lose?