Afghanistan -- CRS viewpoint

The other day I signed up to be a part of a CRS webcast about Afghanistan.

I have a lot of respect for CRS. CRS stands for Catholic Relief Services, and it is a program developed by the US Catholic Bishops, representing their efforts to develop a global dimension for its social justice efforts. The fine organization is active in nearly every poor country in the world, and is trusted in many areas where the US government is NOT trusted. Contrary to its name, it is NOT primarily about relief (which is does supply, very admirably); it is primarily about development.

I have been connected with CRS for several years, and in 2006 went to Tanzania and Kenya as part of an "immersion trip" with a dozen others from Seattle, a delegation put together by Friends of CRS, a grass-roots organization in Seattle that I helped found, with a couple of others in the area. We saw first-hand both the grass-roots works that CRS was involved with, and the top-level professionalism and organization that makes it one of the best NGOs in existence.

Because of this, I was VERY interested when I heard about the webcast on Afghanistan. I should first disclose that I have a long history in peace/nonviolence. I was a "conscientious objector" during the Vietnam War, and have been arrested for peaceful civil disobedience in actions opposing the Trident missle base at Bangar, on the Kitsap peninsula, not far from Seattle. My wife Joan and I have both been involved, though not recently; one of my prized possessions is a framed picture of my daughter Janice, about 4 years old, carrying a cross during a Good Friday Stations of the Cross action at the base, with Archbishop Hunthausen standing right behind her -- it hangs in my office at the church.

I must say, though, that while I never, ever, would have allowed myself to be used as an instrument of war through military service in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or anywhere else, I have been quiet about our government's involvement in Afghanistan. The US moved into that country for the purpose of disrupting or destroying terrorist base camps, and in so doing we removed the Taliban, a notoriously militant violator of human rights, from power, and succeeded. President Obama stressed during his campaign for the presidency that our country had stressed the wrong war, that our focus should have been on finding all of those responsible for 9-11 and the international terrorism that they espoused.

But now...I have really questioned what in the world we're doing there, and why. That's why I looked forward with great interest to hearing what CRS had to say about Afghanistan. CRS has 400 field people at work in the country -- 95% of them Muslims hired from within the country -- operating a variety of programs centered on relief and development. They're trying to make an important, moral difference, and they see it all.

The webcast lasts an hour, but you can check out about the first 20-25 minutes and get a good feel for what they're saying. The last part is devoted to answering questions (for once, I didn't ask any). I have a link to this posted on the St. Bridget parish web site -- check it out. Or, either check out or download the PDF files that provide a summary of their presentation. I'd be interested in knowing what you think.