"To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate." - Article 55 of the Geneva Convention

Yesterday I called for action by Congress and the President to head off the kind of winter starvation in Afghanistan which has already happened in previous years, with solid reports from Samangan in 2008, in Tulak in 2005, and less well-documented but nevertheless entirely plausible, and frequent, reports from other provinces.  

Now that we know that the UN is asking for about what we spend in two weeks on combat operations to head off winter starvation  in the south and south-east, a question arises: are we in violation of international law, the Geneva Conventions, which requires a power which has occupied a country to at the very least "bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate"?  

Hunger and chronic malnutrition are one thing, but rapid starvation unto death, of this kind, are another:

Kandahar 2008

This is not just any old Third World country, where people sometimes starve to death, and that's that.  This is one we have occupied with soon to be over 100,000 of our troops, billions of dollars worth of military aircraft and resources, and the fastest reaction forces in the world.

Congress is aware.  We've made sure of that, buy direct appeals to specific staff at the following offices. They are not responsible, but their bosses, and the president, certainly are.   So the question comes down to the wording in Article 55, "To the fullest extent of the means available to it." Since overland travel is becoming impossible into remote regions, due to both snow and insecurity, we are talking about airdrops of food, blankets, and supplies to the vulnerable areas detailed by the UN.  

According to my friends at the local VFW post, in clear flying weather, cargo planes can drop pallet loads by parachure within a target of a couple of football fields, better if the pilot is a hotshot, or lucky.  We can put a bomb down any chimney in Afghanistan if we think there is one of them Taliban there.  Anyone who says the Air Force is not capable of this mission, given the right resources, is going to be arguing with an Air Force brat.  You bet they can.

The loads are marked bright colors so they can be seen from a distance, proximate to any village.  I'd say the question of whether it is possible is pretty much settled, given clear flying weather.  Which means, we do it now, not wait for a blizzard.  Pilots can weigh in here.  Given a GPS coordinate, and clear skies, is this do-able, within a few hundred yards of any village?  Historians may want to know.  Please continue your calls to the following good staffers who have told their bosses of the impending crisis, so they can tell their bosses that this is not going away.  That the American people now know what the Congress and the President are about to preside over. Forward this post to them or refer them to JobsForAfghans.org In previous years plausible deniability could perhaps be maintained.  We didn't do anything, because we didn't know.  Not this time.  

Best of all, as an Air Force brat I can assure you that there is not a flyer in the Force who would not eagerly jump at this mission, and say "CAN DO!" I know these guys.  Announcing: Operation Enduring Friendship.  

Sent to the following members:

Dear Congress Member,

We demand that a likely food crisis looming in parts of Afghanistan this winter be averted.  If the Congress can pass $100 billion package for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, it can pass a $870 million emergency assistance package to head off starvation.  

The person to initiate contact with at the UN Assistance Mission in Kabul in order to coordinate accounts toward which the funding should go is:

Dominic Medley
Tel: 93 0790 00 6292; 39 0831 24 6292; 1 212 963 2668 ext: 6292
Email: medleyd-AT-un.org

In addition, we ask that a true civilian solution which targets the poorest of Afghans through the National Solidarity Program be implemented, as the crisis in Afghanistan is driven largely by economic conditions.  We detail our proposed legislation HERE, the Afghan Stabilization Through a Cash-for-Work Initiative Act.

It has happened all too often in past winters that Afghan were allowed to starve.  This is unacceptable in a country which we have occupied now going on 9 years.  We ask that Congress immediately turn its attention to this matter, so that planning an airlift of food and supplies can begin.  We want Afghans to see America going the last mile in giving help when it is needed most.  We do not want to be remembered only for bombs and bullets.

Thank you.
Ralph Lopez
Jobs for Afghans
List of co-signers at website.

Member                          Foreign Policy Staff Member      Phone
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)             Ann Vaughan                   202-225-6506
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-OH)       Drew Simon                   202-224-2152
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL)       David Gillies                   202-225-5661
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)        Mary Yoshioko                   202-224-3934
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)             Nathaniel Milazzo           202-225-3021
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)         Michael Ryan                    202-225-3335
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)             Fatima Sumar                   202-224-2742
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)        Jake Sciandra                    202-224-5344
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)     Andy Friedman               202-224-3224
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)             Derrick Nayo                    202-224-5641
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)     Charles Dujon                    202-225-0773
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)             Scott Exner                    202-225-2661
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)     Amy Vossbrinck                    202-225-5871
Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY)     Jennifer Prather            202-225-4706
Rep. Adam Schiff ((D-CA)     Timothy Bergreen            202-225-4176
Rep. David Obey (D-WI)             Anne Georges                    202-225-3365
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)     Ross Nodurft                    202-224-5824
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)     Brian Chelcun                    202-224-5323
Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA)     Christina Tsafoulias            202-225-5111
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)             Marta McLellan Ross            202-228-5243
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)     Peter Frosch                    202-225-6631
Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID)      Adam Elias                    202-225-6611
Rep. Steven Rothman (D-NJ)     Jonathan Moore                    202-225-5061
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)     Tim Riser                    202-224-4242

There's more...

This time of year is always bad in Afghanistan.  It's when the passes get snowed in and people starve.  Rapidly.  

This is in contrast to the norm.  According to the UN, 35% of Afghans do not meet the daily caloric intake requirement required to avoid malnutrition.  Translation, this many Afghans are pretty much starving slowly.  This could help account for the average lifespan, the shortest in the world, of 43.  We're talking about a speed-up in the process, which, combined with unimaginable cold at these mountain altitudes, makes people drop like flies.  Especially children.  It happened in Samangan in 2008, in Tulak in 2005, and many other provinces where the world's fourth-poorest people expire without note by the wider world.  

It is disgusting that our government would rather talk about "offensive military operations" than this.  But then, people might catch on to why there is an insurgency, fix it, and their nice little war would be over.

At a UN press conference this week it was revealed that it is in danger of happening again, this time in the southern and south-east provinces.  Twenty percent of food aid has not reached it's target.  The financial shortage amounts to about US$ 870 million, what we spend on military operations 2 weeks.  This is the time we can show Afghans we are for real, and will never let another single child starve and freeze if we can help it.  Congress must pass emergency legislation as fast as it passed the legislation funding bullets and bombs.  Otherwise we are damned, and deserve it.

The UN office with knowledge of the specific valleys and villages at risk will be put into contact with the following congressional offices, selected for appropriations powers, foreign policy seats, or other factors.  We can never now say that the world did not know. OCHA, the humanitarian relief arm of the UN, estimates that on non-food assistance, i.e. things like blankets, tents, and first aid kits, "We're about 3,800 kits short of what we anticipate we need." 

Security is an issue when considering overland travel in some areas, and so are impassable roads. But in the winter, fighting always slows down as snows arrive, and travel grinds down to only the most necessary. In 2005 in Taluk, the problem was, too-little, too-late.  The food and supplies should be immediately airdropped. For once the food should arrive before people begin to starve, before a blizzard sets in which prevents flying.  In the above-linked report on Tulak:

Some private aid workers privately have expressed frustration at the slow response to what they believe would have been an avoidable situation if the airlifted food had been made available earlier.

In addition, our demand to congressmen will include the passage of the kind of civilian aid package for the entire country which would make a difference, which would amount to about what we spend in one month on combat operations.  The mechanism would be the National Solidarity Program run by Afghan community development councils (more than 22,000 at the local level) and the World Bank.  World Bank President Richard Zoellick said:

"The National Solidarity Program...empowers more than 22,000 elected, village-level councils to decide on their development priorities -- from building a school to irrigation to electrification. So far, the program has reached more than 19 million Afghans in 34 provinces, with grants averaging $33,000. Development owned by the community can survive amid conflict: When an NSP-funded school was attacked in August 2006, the villagers defended it."

It's time to start anew with Afghans.  The Berlin Airlift in 1948 saved hundreds of thousands of Germans from freezing and starvation.  Of course there was a political element, as two superpowers, the US and the USSR, jockeyed to shape the map after WWII.  But it worked, and the fact remains that decades later this is still what many Europeans remember about America.  Let the help in the winter of 2010 be what many young Afghans years from now remember about America, not a surge in troops. Listed below are the congressmembers' foreign policy staffers who have received this letter, with a request that they forward it to their members, in their email in-box this morning.  Please call to reiterate the importance of acting on this immediately. The subject line reads: "Emergency Legislation: Stop Starvation in Afghanistan This Winter Now." Let's get into the real American Christmas spirit, and show that the generals do not represent all of us.

Dear Congress Member,

We at Jobs for Afghans demand that a likely food crisis looming in parts of Afghanistan this winter be averted.  If the Congress can pass $100 billion package for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, it can pass a $870 million emergency assistance package to head off starvation.  

The person to initiate contact with at the UN Assistance Mission in Kabul in order to coordinate accounts toward which the funding should go is:

Dominic Medley
Tel: 93 0790 00 6292; 39 0831 24 6292; 1 212 963 2668 ext: 6292
Email: medleyd-AT-un.org

In addition, we ask that a true civilian solution which targets the poorest of Afghans through the National Solidarity Program be implemented, as the crisis in Afghanistan is driven largely by economic conditions.  We detail our proposed legislation HERE, the Afghan Stabilization Through a Cash-for-Work Initiative Act.

It has happened all too often in past winters that Afghan were allowed to starve.  This is unacceptable in a country which we have occupied now going on 9 years.  We ask that Congress immediately turn its attention to this matter, so that planning an airlift of food and supplies can begin.  We want Afghans to see America going the last mile in giving help when it is needed most.  We do not want to be remembered only for bombs and bullets.

Thank you.
Ralph Lopez
Jobs for Afghans

Member                          Foreign Policy Staff Member      Phone
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)             Ann Vaughan                   202-225-6506
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-OH)       Drew Simon                   202-224-2152
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL)       David Gillies                   202-225-5661
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)        Mary Yoshioko                   202-224-3934
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)             Nathaniel Milazzo           202-225-3021
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)         Michael Ryan                    202-225-3335
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)             Fatima Sumar                   202-224-2742
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)        Jake Sciandra                    202-224-5344
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)     Andy Friedman               202-224-3224
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)             Derrick Nayo                    202-224-5641
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)     Charles Dujon                    202-225-0773
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)             Scott Exner                    202-225-2661
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)     Amy Vossbrinck                    202-225-5871
Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY)     Jennifer Prather            202-225-4706
Rep. Adam Schiff ((D-CA)     Timothy Bergreen            202-225-4176
Rep. David Obey (D-WI)             Anne Georges                    202-225-3365
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)     Ross Nodurft                    202-224-5824
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)     Brian Chelcun                    202-224-5323
Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA)     Christina Tsafoulias            202-225-5111
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)             Marta McLellan Ross            202-228-5243
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)     Peter Frosch                    202-225-6631
Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID)      Adam Elias                    202-225-6611
Rep. Steven Rothman (D-NJ)     Jonathan Moore                    202-225-5061
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)     Tim Riser                    202-224-4242

Starvation in Kandahar Province, 2008, video evidence

WHERE DO YOUR CONGRESSMAN'S MILITARY CONTRACTOR CAMPAIGN DOLLARS COME FROM? Go to Maplight.org ("Defense") 

There's more...

This unpublished UN document has come into my possession as director of the Afghan Marshall Plan Exit Strategy Project, dated June of this year.  I can only say it was leaked to us through our contacts in Kabul.  In it, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has in great detail marked the way for a civilian solution in Afghanistan, as President Obama considers throwing more military at the problem.  UNAMA is the cream of the international development corps, with depth and range of expertise in both war zones and peaceful environments.  In this paper the Mission staff clearly delineates the goal of "reduc[ing] support to the insurgency."

The Afghan New Deal will be a mass employment programme concentrating on regenerating rural infrastructure, particularly irrigation systems but its raison d'etre will be to build stability and reduce support to the insurgency.

The programme will focus on fighting age males (a wide age range) during the fighting season (which has been getting longer) and should last not less than three years.

Here is the answer to the terrible choice the president faces in deciding whether or not to send in more troops. The cost would be small fraction of military operations.  It is based on the considered opinion of the world's foremost development experts, representing combined decades of working in combat zones.  Please forward this post and the link to this document to the White House.  Sometimes war is the answer.   But this time it is not.

Contact the White House

Full document "The Afghan New Deal"posted here.

The Afghan New Deal (excerpted)

UNAMA SER is of the view that one of the best means of tackling the growing insurgency in the southeast is to put in place a massive public works programme, employing tens of thousands of fighting age males during the fighting season. For want of a better title, we are calling it the `Afghan New Deal' programme at this point.

The Afghan New Deal will involve all entities of sub-national governance and tribal authorities, thus strengthening linkages between them on the basis of interdependence.

The Afghan New Deal should focus on technologically simple infrastructure projects employing large numbers of fighting age men. The obvious types of projects include restoring irrigation systems, building flood mitigation infrastructure, gravel roads and forestry management.

Planning and preparation for such a programme should take place during the winter so that it commence in spring, before the fighting season starts. The process underlying this programme is in itself tremendously important.

Unemployment and under-employment are very high in the southeast region. This is a major cause of dissatisfaction with the Government and international community and consequent support for the insurgency and also a cause of criminality. Insurgents can pay young unemployed men to carry out attacks for them.

Many parts of the region have enjoyed only minimal development during the past seven years. Development has been patchy. Although there may be no proven causal link between development and security, the districts which are the most insecure (southern and eastern Ghazni, Zurmat and much of Paktika) have also enjoyed little development. However, it is possible that insecurity has dissuaded civilian organisations and even PRTs from operating there. There is a general disillusionment with the international community on the basis of what is seen as failed promises.

There is widespread poverty and the ability of communities to respond to shocks such as the food price rises or natural disasters is limited.

The southeast relies predominately on agriculture. Much of the region is mountainous and has little arable land. Overgrazing is a real problem in the mountains. In the plains areas, there is ample arable land but insufficient irrigation.

Nationally, it is estimated that only a third as much land is irrigated as was the case in 1979. The Soviets targeted the irrigation infrastructure in an attempt to depopulate areas and to prevent mujahidin fighters from using the underground irrigation channels known as karezes to move around. These systems have never been properly restored.

Consequently the lack of irrigation water and irrigation systems is the greatest constraint on agricultural yields and by extension on improving the economic status of people in the southeast.

The Afghan New Deal will be a mass employment programme concentrating on regenerating rural infrastructure, particularly irrigation systems but its raison d'être will be to build stability and reduce support to the insurgency.

The programme will focus on fighting age males (a wide age range) during the fighting season (which has been getting longer) and should last not less than three years.

Each unskilled worker should be paid around $6 per full day of work.

The programme offers a holistic and comprehensive approach, not piecemeal, and should aim for blanket coverage of the region, covering all communities and not pockets here and there.

A Provincial Management Team will be established to manage the Afghan New Deal within the province. This will be headed by the Provincial Governor and comprise the heads of relevant departments (DoRRD, DAIL, DoPW), the Chief of Police and include donor representatives and UNAMA.

The programme will depend on the Community Development Committees (or village shuras where the NSP has not been implemented, but called CDCs within this paper), and will involve all entities of sub-national governance.

All participating CDCs will continually implement discrete projects for the entirety of the fighting season. The scope of the projects will be defined from the outset, as is the case for the NSP, and may include: rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure, gravel road construction, construction of flood retaining walls, reforestation projects and construction of micro-hydro and/or hybrid electrical general schemes.

Another important criteria for Afghan New Deal projects is that the budget is at least 60% local labour costs and that the asset created requires no operational tashkeel or takhsis from the Government.

A District Engineering Team will be established in each district, attached to the district administration, but also under the overall management of the provincial Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. The purpose of the District Engineering Team is to provide technical assistance and oversight of the projects implemented by the CDCs. The District Engineering Team could be a commercial firm or an NGO under contract to the DoRRD, but will comprise around ten Afghan engineers and construction specialists and ten less skilled staff.

CDCs will identify appropriate projects and outline a basic proposal which they will submit to the District Development Assembly.

The Afghan New Deal could employ 40,000 people in Paktya (perhaps as much as 7% of the population) for a little over $72 million per year.

A programme of this magnitude would require the support of the highest levels of the Afghan Government, ISAF and major donors and would therefore require extensive discussion and consultation.

Reliable and adequate funding will be necessary for at least three years. Donors would have to make firm commitments.

If there is to be any chance of putting in place this programme before the next fighting season, there is a lot of work to be done. Political outreach with CDCs and tribal shuras so that they understand the programme and undertake to support it.

Forward to your congressmember with your comments

The Afghan Marshall Plan Exit Strategy Project

There's more...