Michael Lerner on Obama and Afghanistan

Michael Lerner has a great editorial on Obama and Afghanistan in Tikkun: 
http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/jan10_lerner_editorial_afghanistan

Lerner disputes Obama's speech accepting Nobel prize.   Evil is not a religious/metaphysical phenomenon unto itself.   Evil acts happen, but that does make the argument of an intrinsic evil human nature.  Evil acts are rooted in poverty, starvation, oppression, self interest, etc.

In his Nobel speech, Obama forthrightly takes on non violence and specifically Martin Luther King and Gahndhi in arguing the necessity of war to fight evil.  His example is stopping Hitler's invasions.   Lerner  notes that while MLK and Gandhi continenced occasions in which pacifism would not work, non violent action might have stopped or preempted Hitler if economic justice had been implemented in Europe in the 1920's or 1030's.

Lerner notes that, "at the core of our approach is a recognition that 'the enemy' is often a projection of our own worst fantasies on others, who in turn are projecting their worst fantasies on us.   American leaders, like most political leaders on the planet, seem incapable of imagining how the world looks from the perspective of the hungry, the relatively powerless, or those who have been subjected to outsiders trying to impose their rgimes, economic systems and world views."

Or put more simply by Senator Russ Feingold, "I think (our presence) is increasing the extremism and increasing the resentment toward the United States."

Lerner also makes the important point that our demonization of groups like the Taliban is usually connected to our view of worldwide economic interest.and that demonization provides the moral gloss for these cruel and self interested actions.

What to do?   First recognize that according to some observers in Afghanistan, only 10-15% of Taliban are ideologically morviated.   The rest are "a combination of poor villagers angry at US bombing, out of work youth, former milita, drug smugglers, plain thugs, and those from the coutrside who distrust any national government, no matter whose it is.  MOst of these people would put down their weapons if offered money, land, jobs, and personal security.  And of course recognize that though the Taliban are not our cup of tea, it was Al Quaida who took action against the US, not the Taliban.

Lerner suggests the US go to the United Nations and seek an international force that would:
a) hold honest elections with the Taliban paraticiating
b) protect institutions of civil society
c) create safety in major cities

At the same time US should launch a Global Marshall Plan with first focus on the Middle Easte (Gaza through Afghanistan.) 
US should also support regional negotiations  that aim to settle disputes between India and Pakistan, Israel and Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria etc.

With Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan, relgious and spiritual progressives are dismayed and discouraged.  They wish Obama would absorb the "the path to peace must be a path of peace.  You can not bomb and kill your way to security.

Lerner argues for the continuing advocacy for concrete alternatives such as the ones above.  This is not a time for despair but for hope and determination.