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Tom Trail asked that this message from his friend John Barbee be
forwarded to V2020:<br>
BL<br>
<br>
---<br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">OPINION
&
COMMENTARY<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Dear
Peace Corps
colleagues and friends:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Since
the terrorist
attacks of 9/11 and especially now, in the run-up to the November
Presidential
election, it is increasingly difficult for US citizens to judge what is
fact
and what is fiction (or political hyperbole) in regard to US security,
the war
in Iraq and the war on terrorism.<span style="">
</span>Everyone seems to be confused and unable to interpret what they
have
heard or seen on TV about the situation we are in, how we got there and
what to
do about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Despite
my experience
working in civil society development in Afghanistan,<span style=""> </span>Iraq
and other countries impacted by
conflict, I also have been confused and highly concerned by what I have
seen on
the ground, the reported actions taken and contentions made by our
nation’s
elected and appointed leaders in the Bush Administration and Congress.
Until
recently I was very frustrated also with my unsuccessful efforts to
find out
what principles, logic and processes have been driving our foreign and
domestic
anti-terrorism policies and dominating their very questionable
implementation.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">But
in the last three
months, I finally came across some excellent detailed Information
resources
that have helped me to understand and appreciate what has been going on
at the
highest levels in our government, both since the first Gulf War and
especially
in the last three years.<span style=""> </span>I think these
resource books will be very useful and informative for readers who, as
in my
case, want to become better informed on these very serious and
critically
important issues for our country.<span style=""> </span>The
resources I am recommending are non-partisan and seek to inform and
point out
both the errors of our recent past and present, and some specific
constructive
courses of action that we should implement to deal with these important
and
complex problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">The
two books I
recommend are:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style=""><i style=""><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">“Against
All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terrorism,</span></i></b><i
style=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">”</span></i><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> by Richard Clarke, a
Senior Executive Service civil servant
for nearly thirty years, who worked for the current and last three
presidents
and who was the National Security Council’s Counter-terrorism
Coordinator in
the White House during the terrorist attacks of 9/11.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span
style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><b style=""><i
style="">“Plan of Attack,</i></b>”<span style=""> </span>by Bob
Woodward, reporter and editor at the <i style="">Washington Post</i>
for 33 years, and a nationally
and internationally respected writer.<span style="">
</span>Along with Carl Bernstein, he did the investigation and
reportage that
brought the facts of the Watergate affair to public attention and
action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Both
Clarke and
Woodward are highly respected and well known in their fields for their
honesty
and forthrightness in their work and their dealings.<span style=""> </span>Neither
of them is seeking public office nor
is involved directly in political campaigns.<span style="">
</span>Clearly, their books were written and published for the primary
purpose
of helping to enlighten Americans and to help us as citizens to better
understand the issues and to make better choices in exercising our
privileges
and carrying out our responsibilities as citizens in the most advanced
democracy in the world.<span style=""> </span>They can be
found in libraries, bookstores and also on the web in both text and
audio
format.<span style=""> </span>If your local library does not
have copies, or if they are over-demanded and unavailable, I am sure
that
libraries would gladly receive additional copies after you have bought
and read
them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">After
you have read
the books, a really good and useful follow-up might be to convene
special
issue-related discussion groups that lead to development of strategies
and
action, e.g.<span style=""> </span>the war in Iraq, democracy
and peacebuilding in Iraq, How to best help Afghanistan, what is needed
for
more appropriate foreign policies and practices, etc.<span style=""> </span>This
is critically important to security in
the US and abroad and the overall interests in democracy and civil
society
worldwide.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Most
sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">John
W. Barbee<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">[John
Barbee has been
a lifelong resident of the mountain west and has served in humanitarian
assistance and the development of civil society in Central Asia,
Afghanistan
Africa and, most recently, Iraq. He is also a former Volunteer and
staff
officer with Peace Corps in Afghanistan and Africa.] </span><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br>
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