Do we have a moral obligation to stay in Afghanistan?

[Perky]

If only to protect the women?

Can we ignore this? This is what the Taliban does. I don't have an easy answer to the quagmire this creates it certainly exited before we got there and it certainly exist today. but I am haunted by this and the story.



The Taliban pounded on the door just before midnight, demanding that Aisha, 18, be punished for running away from her husband's house. Her in-laws treated her like a slave, Aisha pleaded. They beat her. If she hadn't run away, she would have died. Her judge, a local Taliban commander, was unmoved. Aisha's brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007238,00.html#ixzz0vYjgOQ6G

[zipplewrath]

1. Long list

you wanna start protecting people who are victims of their own people, we've got just about an entire continent of Africa to consider. And currently we're killing alot of Afghans who've done nothing more than be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Where's that on the old moral compass?

[Perky]

5. I don't disagree. I just don't know what to do about it.

[zipplewrath]

11. Don't use war

I generally advise that people not use war to try to help people.
If we are going to help folks, it should predominately be handled through the State Department, not the DoD.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. you realize stuff like this and worse happens here, right.

[Perky]

4. Do you have a link?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. are you for real ??? Here you go...and plenty more where this comes from

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=wives+victims+of+abuse&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=wives+victims+of+abuse&gs_rfai=&fp=97efa91857cb74f0

[Perky]

13. I am talking about something that was equivalent to what the Taliban did to her

If you have a an example of something that horrific going one in the US I would like to see it.

[Oregone]

17. Ah, there is plenty of disfigurement in the Good Ol US of A

Often times accompanying rape.

Here is an example happening to our neighbor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Piper

In a little town next to me, this boy had his face burned while being raped with various objects

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/03/grisly_details_emerge_in_bruta.html

Hell, even in Iraq, a contract employee had her breasts disfigured during rape:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105153315

Another England case....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5548998.ece

Back in the red, white N` blue...

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100331_Olney_rape_victim_dies__family_asks_public_s_help_in_hunt__cops_post_video.html

[Perky]

21. Apples and oranges.

Rape is not a verdict handed down by clerics,

[jberryhill]

23. Why?

You didn't go to Afghanistan to do anything about the treatment of women there.

If you hear about it in the US, will you go intervene?

I'm beginning to suspect that you are not actually IN Afghanistan, so it's puzzling why you ask about having a moral obligation to "stay" there, if you aren't there already.

Or did you mean the "moral obligation" to make OTHER people stay in Afghanistan?

[treestar]

25. No. If it does it is against the law.

The point is that under the Taliban, and Saudi law, these things are allowed and not punished.

[SeattleVet]

3. They did this to her a year ago...

when we had a lot of troops throughout the country. If we weren't able to stop this then, why would staying make any difference?

We have enough of our OWN atrocities to worry about.

[Perky]

7. I just hate walking away from her.and women like her.

[jberryhill]

28. You never walked toward her

Are you IN Afghanistan?

[peacebird]

6. No.

[Vinnie From Indy]

8. What a beautiful piece of Military Industrial Complex propaganda

Make no mistake about it, TIME and several other media outlets are completely and fully on board with launching propaganda for powerful interests like the MIC and others. That is exactly what this cover is - pure, unadulterated propaganda.

It is not difficult to see when one ponders the selectivity of highlighting THIS horrific practice in Afghanistan. You will notice that TIME has never had a cover that showed the carnage of a drone attack on a group of civilians in Afghanistan. TIME has not showed Americans the body parts and blood spattered walls resulting from our activities in Afghanistan.

Further, it appears Time has no problem with the dozens of US ALLIES that routinely engage in these types of activities and have for centuries. Where is the picture of a Saudi woman with her face disfigured? Where is the cover that asks America if we should invade Saudi Arabia and liberate the women of that country?

In short, this is the "buy this car or we kill the puppy" bit of propaganda from the Military Industrial Complex using one of their favorite propaganda platforms called Time Magazine.

As a direct answer to the OP, of course the US has a moral obligation to speak out and do whatever is possible to end these types of horrific practices WHEREVER they happen. It does not mean that we have the moral obligation to end these centuries old practices at the point of a gun and at such a staggering cost to us.

[Blue Owl]

14. No shit

I can't stand the fuckin' shitstream media and their macho head games.


:mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr:

[bluethruandthru]

18. +1000

[dkf]

10. We can't stop murders in our own country.

And being at war with these thugs probably increases their propensity to violence and cruelty.

[Jennicut]

12. Some of our own "allies" treat women badly. Start with Saudia Arabia.

This is being used to keep us there. However, we don't seem able to "win" anyways...

[craigmatic]

15. As bad as this sounds I don't think we do. I think we should pull out focus on drone attacks on

al quida and the taliban while letting the UN take over peace keeping in Afganistan.

[Oregone]

16. No

We can't stop that shit while there. But we are sure promoting its spreading into a destabilized Pakistan

[NorthCarolina]

19. No. But we do have a moral obligation to take care of our own. eom

[vaberella]

30. Take care of our own? Aren't humans in essence one of our own? n/t

[jberryhill]

20. I'll Leave It Up To Individual Conscience

I am not in Afghanistan, so I really don't have to ponder the moral obligation to stay there.

From your post, I assume that you are in Afghanistan doing something for women. First, let me congratulate you on your action. It must have taken an awful lot of dedication for you to go there and do that.

But, I look at it this way. Since you are the one who followed your conscience to Afghanistan in the first place, I will leave it up to you whether you should stay. It is your moral choice to make, and I won't think badly of you either way.

Does that work for you?

[bigwillq]

22. No (nt)

[Beacool]

24. I too cringe at the thought of what will happen to women and girls once we leave.

Afghanistan is a backward nation, ruled by corrupt men, where only a few people are literate. We all know how it went once we abandoned them in the 80s. I fear for the female population.

:(

[vaberella]

29. For the first time I agree with something you have said. n/t

[Beacool]

32. Well, there's a first time for everything............

:D

[sixstrings75]

26. Who's this "we" you're talking about?

I see someone behind a computer screen asking other people to fight for what they believe in.

If you feel so strongly about the Afghan women then why don't you enlist and help out the cause? Go to Afghanistan yourself and kick some Taliban ass.

We need to see the awful truth here people...

This, and other society's similar to it, need to EVOLVE. They are stuck in the stone age. No amount of weapons, soldiers, propoganda etc. will change this ugly fact. The people of Afghanistan must change their ways - we cannot do it for them.

Like Bill Hicks used to say: "There are some people screaming 'Revolution, Revolution' and there are some people screaming "Evolution, Evolution - we want our thumbs!". Their problems cannot be fixed by an outside influence. Just my opinion of course.

[jberryhill]

27. That's what I find puzzling about the OP

I assume the OP is directed to people who are in Afghanistan, and trying to decide whether or not they should stay there.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

31. nobody cared about Rwanda or other places

people are being abused especailly women many places in the world. We don't have the resources to 'police' everywhere.

[Enrique]

33. if it were in "our" interest to torture that woman to death, we would do it

the human rights organizations would report on the woman being tortured to death, but Time Magazine would ignore the story and our government would suppress the story and possibly retaliate against people that reported it.

We are in Afghanistan for certain narrow interests that don't include that woman.

[truth2power]

34. Sums it up nicely. As others have said...

why don't we go intercede in Saudi Arabia? The OPer should ask himself that question. The answer says everything he needs to know about the value we really place on women's rights.

More propaganda from the Ministry of Truth.

[flpoljunkie]

35. Not when our being there makes things worse

[Forkboy]

36. I pity the people stupid enough to not see this for what it is.

[ZombieHorde]

37. I understand your concern, but war does not seem to be making the situation better. nt