Get Afghanistan Right

Although it may come as no surprise to you, making the world better is more important now than ever before. Despite millennia of wars over land, political rule, class, race, and wealth, mankind has never had such a unique opportunity to make such a global change happy in one united spirit.

While that may seem like a completely ludicrous idea, take heart and know that if you start in small ways, soon your efforts can grow to immense size, and indeed envelop the whole world.

It sounds overly simple, and it is to a degree, but the first way that you can start making the world better is by giving. Obviously, this is true, but it doesn’t have to mean large amounts of money to an international charity organization. In fact, the best way to give is to do it within your community to people or organizations where you will see the greatest impact.

The more you see your change happen, the more you will believe that you have the power to make it happen. Whether it be a church, school, or youth center, you will feel good knowing that your small donation is working to improve people’s lives. If you can’t give money, you can always give your time, which is sometimes even more important.

Forgiveness is an act that when performed on a global scale will indeed begin making the world better for everyone. To some, this may sound ridiculous, but you choose the crop you grow by the seeds you sow.

If you want to find happiness in your life, you have to let go of the things that make you unhappy, even if it means being the humble one and not asking for apologies. Positivity radiates outwards and begins to change the way people see you, and then how they see themselves, and then how they see the world. That’s a big deal.

As United States diplomacy continues to spread across the globe, and the war in the Middle East finally subsides, Americans are becoming more interested in helping Afghanistan establish their new democracy. As a country that is at its earliest stages of new political and social growth, they will need all the help they can get. Not only are they rebuilding their identity in the eyes of the world, but they also need to rebuild their cities and work towards instituting a new order of government, economy, and industry.

This will take time, but with contributions from other non-partisan countries only interested in the well-being of the citizens, it will be time well spent.

Obviously, if you are interested in helping Afghanistan then you can make a monetary donation to any of the several charity organizations that have been established to aid in this cause.

For instance, ARYA sells semi-precious stone jewelry and embroidered shirts and bags and gives one hundred percent of their proceeds to the aid of orphans and widows in Afghanistan. Similarly, there is a non-profit organization called Help the Afghan Children which is aimed solely at empowering the children of the fledgling democracy through academic development.

JAHAN, which means universe, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-political, humanitarian organization that is also dedicated to helping save the women and children of this war-stricken nation. The name is also a acronym that stands for Join And Help Afghanistan Now.

Of course, you can always give food, clothing, and monetary donations to large, international charity organizations. The Red Cross immediately comes to mind, as does other health organizations like Partners in Health. You can also give to the United Way which is a volunteer-led, nonprofit organization that seeks to right issues at their roots. These are great avenues for helping Afghanistan become a nation created by the people.

The War in Afghanistan has cost U.S. Tax payers $172 billion to date, with a request for roughly $13.4 billion to fund the war through the remainder of Fiscal year 2009 expected in March or April. This brings the total cost through FY 2009 to $185.1 billion.

This figures reflect the budgetary cost alone.  Projected costs over the long term are likely to total more than half a trillion dollars when future occupation and veteran’s benefits are taken into account.  Interest payments could add another $200 billion to that figure.1 All told, this is more than the size of the recent bailout of Wall Street, and rivals the historic economic stimulus bill just passed by Congress.

Countries outside the United States have spent additional billions on the War in Afghanistan, with the UK contributing roughly £4.5billion2 and the cost to Canada totaling $7.7 billion to $10.5 billion in Canadian dollars through 2008.3

Consider that the US spends a mere $100 million per year, or less than one percent of the yearly cost of the Afghanistan war, to assist refu
Iraq War Costs

$656.1 Billion in budgetary costs so far

with another $53.6 expected by the end of FY 2009.

At least $2 trillion in future costs including Veteran’s benefits

Over 4200 US deaths

Hundreds of Thousands of Civilian Iraqi Deaths.

Will Afghanistan be the Next Iraq?

gees and returnees from Afghanistan through the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).4

Also consider that the cost of building a new school with twelve classrooms, one office, and a store in Kabul, Afghanistan, is roughly $128,000 in US dollars.  [That's 1.4 billion schools]. The cost of one set of science lab equipment is a mere $1500, and for $4000, 100 students can have chairs and desks.5

[An xx bed orthopedic hospital can be constructed and operated for $ per year.  The operating cost of the Malalai Clinic, which serves Afghan refugees, is $  per year.]

The War in Afghanistan has cost U.S. Tax payers $185.1 billion through FY 2009, and the projected costs are likely to total more than half a trillion dollars when future occupation and veteran’s benefits are taken into account.  This does not include interest on that money.  The following table shows the cost to each state of the budgetary costs to date, the number of goods and services that could have been provided with that money, and the number of US soldiers’ lives lost.

*Total number of soldiers killed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom from March 19, 2001, through February 7, 2009.  http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm  accessed February 16, 2009. Total includes 16 soldiers from US Territories.