In the run-up to the first anniversary of September 11th, we are again drawn to that Summit taking place in Johannesburg which features members of the Professional Kvetching Class (hereinafter known as PKCs) whining about what the United States IS doing:
Producing too many things for too many people to buy, using too many natural resources, while putting out too much pollution;
And what the United States is NOT doing:
Giving away too little money, too few free medicines, too little food, and too little technology;
All while the PKCs wring their hands over our intractable positions of:
Defending Israel, and
capturing or killing known terrorists.
Yesterday's USA Today had a front page story headed: "Hope Returns to Afghanistan" which led me to this thought:
If there is to be but one superpower on the planet, the United States of America is a pretty good choice for the job.
The captions under the photographs by Ami Vitale in the USA Today piece tell a large part of the story:
- "More than 100 families have returned [to the village of Ambar Somuch] after the fall of the Taliban which looted and burned the village ... Smoke rises from chimneys as women bake bread."
- "Children attend a newly rebuilt school ... more than 600 children from area villages attend school six days a week."
- "A villager uses a donkey to carry wood that will be used to rebuild a destroyed home. Taliban fighters stole most of the animals."
- "Girls learn sewing in a school which was rebuilt ... [by] UNICEF. For some students, especially the girls, this is their first time in school."
- "A villager harvests wheat for use as animal feed."
All because the US and the Brits sent OUR children to fight the Taliban thus providing the people of Afghanistan a fighting chance at survival.
The piece, written by Mark Memmott, makes it clear that the people of this village have not been transported to a paradise. Another harsh Afghan winter is only weeks away. It is also clear that without the United States, at least one US-based charity and the largely US-supported United Nations, these people would die.
And make no mistake: It IS the United States which is leading this effort. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently complained that our allies have only provided about 30 percent of the goods and services they had promised after the Taliban was smashed.
Remember how the PKCs wailed, when we first went into Afghanistan, that we were precipitating an unimaginable tragedy as tens of thousands of refugees would starve to death running from our indiscriminate bombs?
They left. They - the overwhelming number of them - lived. Now, they're coming home.
CHF International of - guess where? - the United States, is giving each family the equivalent of fifty dollars as a reward for rebuilding their own homes with donated materials. The average Afghan's annual income is only about $300 per year, so this is serious money.
Contrast that with Iraq paying Palestinians to have their children blow themselves up. Yet, if the PKCs in Johannesburg were polled they would overwhelmingly support Palestinians and oppose any US action against Saddam Hussein.
Memmott, ends his piece with a quote from a returning refugee:
"We are thankful to the US and its allies for kicking out the Taliban. We have freedom and security. We are living peacefully."
This article should be distributed to every school child in America on September 11th with the simple message:
This is what we do.
This is what Americans do.
It should also be distributed to all 40,000 PKCs at that Summit in Johannesburg with THIS message:
The Afghan people got their nation back;
That is within the capability of the Earth's only superpower.
Nothing was asked in return;
Because the Earth's only superpower is the United States of America.
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to that USA Today piece including some fascinating photos, plus a link to the Travelogue!
If you are working at a lobbying firm, a government affairs office, a coalition, or a PAC you should take a
look at this page to see how advertising in Mullings might serve your organization very well:
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