DISPATCHES FROM AFGHANISTAN
BY JA K E K LONOSKI
Building in
a Battered
Country
KABUL RESIDENTS PROTEST THE BOMBING OF THE
LEBANESE TAVERNA LAST WEEK
SMALLSCALE INITIATIVES
MAY BE THE BEST BET
A
t the beginning of this series, I planned a
fi nal column for May with the revelation
that in all my work with Afghanistan,
my proudest service has not been in
uniform but as a civilian, working with
the American University in Afghanistan (AUAF). The
message was to be something like “No one hates war
more than those who have lived it. As this war ends for
the U.S. military, we can all seek ways to assist a country
that remains so badly in need of peace, in the interest of
Afghans as well as our own.”
The writing is on the wall for this fi ght, which now
has less American support than the Iraq War, less support
than Vietnam ever did. Only 17 percent of Americans
back military efforts here. Even former secretary of
defense Robert Gates published a primal scream about
the diffi culties of the ongoing confl ict. Troops continue
to fl ow out — 68,000 here in January 2013 will become
approximately 32,000 by the end of next month. By the
end of this year, there will either be 10,000 troops or none
at all.
Most tellingly, the Green Bean coffee shop serving our
nearest base closed. Time to push on.
As the military fi ght winds down, the work to build
Afghanistan continues. Dedicated men and women
working for NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, and
with the Afghan government and private sector continue
to give up comfortable lives to pour sweat and tears in
the hope that the people of this nation can avoid another
generation of bloodshed. They work in cooperation with
Afghans willing to put their lives on the line for their
nation’s future.
Americans disagree about the wisdom of fi ghting here,
but surely we can agree on the value of peaceful endeavors
to build Afghanistan. I found supporting the AUAF
during two years of writing and editing legal texts with
the Afghanistan Legal Education Project (ALEP) while in
law school more fulfi lling than anything I accomplished
carrying a weapon.
The military loves focused, unceasing effort toward a
pre-set goal, effort that climbs over, goes around or blasts
through any obstacle, even as the goal’s importance fades.
Alternatively, ALEP’s cooperative energy and purposeful
consideration among students and professors in America and
Afghanistan convinced me that a long community meal can
advance an Afghan cause more than a military campaign.
In 2012 ALEP won a $7.2 million grant to expand
legal studies in Afghanistan in the hopes that confl icts
could be resolved in the courtroom rather than by bullets
in the street. There are many peaceful programs one can
support that will make a difference for Afghanistan, the
last Dispatch would highlight.
Like so many Afghan plans, my intentions for that
piece were wiped out by an explosion, one that echoed
across our Kabul neighborhood two weeks ago. On Jan.
17 a suicide bomber blew apart the doors of the Lebanese
Taverna, a Rick’s Café-type favorite a few blocks away.
Following the blast, two gunmen entered the restaurant.
Their homicidal undertaking rattled above the sound of a
quiet night, ending the lives of 21 men and women — an
Afghan couple married only fi ve months, two UNICEF
employees, the International Monetary Fund’s Afghanistan
director, two employees of the AUAF and 14 others —
citizens of nine nations. Kamel Hamade, the Taverna’s
owner, had vowed to defend his restaurant to the death.
He died, pistol in hand, rushing to protect his patrons, his
much-loved dog, Jeff, shot feet away.
Through the night Mona Hamade, his daughter, pleaded
for information over Twitter.
Lexie Kamerman and Alexandros Petersen, two
American employees of AUAF killed in the attack, were
the kind of tireless, globally minded individuals I planned
to encourage readers to emulate and support. One was a
student development specialist from Chicago dedicated
to helping women get an education and take their rightful
place as Afghan leaders. The other was a new political
science professor, prolifi c policy writer and a man without
a hint of pretension, according to friends. They were the
type of people with whom I was proud to work while in
ALEP. I implore readers to fi nd ways to support peaceful
efforts in Afghanistan in their honor and in memory of the
19 others lost.
The future here is up in the air. Perhaps with international
military operations ending, the Taliban will stop such
despicable attacks. Their statement after the Taverna
slaughter claimed civilian casualties during airstrikes in
Parwan’s Ghorband Valley provoked the attack, though the
timeline of events makes that claim implausible.
Civilian deaths in coalition airstrikes are appalling. Far
from Kabul, with only Afghan victims, they rarely get the
attention they deserve, serving instead as talking points.
The names of the dead are rarely noted, in contrast with
reporting on foreign victims at the Taverna.
I have received emails from surviving Afghan
relatives pleading for information following an airstrike,
and the heartbreak of those pleas were without doubt as
devastating as Mona Hamade’s messages. Though the
deliberate shooting of teachers and newlyweds hiding
under tables is legally different from accidental deaths
among civilians — often intentionally exposed to fi re by
the Taliban — Afghanistan deserves support in memory of
all victims of this war.
After 2014 I expect the Taliban will double-down
on violence, attempting to drive apart the international
community and the Afghan people, cowing the latter into
submission. Attacks such as the Lebanese Taverna point in
that direction.
Simply because the American military ends efforts here
does not mean the Afghan people must stand alone. Where
generous men and women overseas assist, in person or at
a distance, courageous Afghans will join forces and work
tirelessly. With the U.S. government cutting development
assistance in half this year, individual initiative is vital.
After all, if such initiative can save Eugene’s Civic
Stadium and build a YMCA, perhaps in countless
small ways it can make the difference here. That is how
communities are grown and secured.
Many Afgha ns will continue the struggle. A few days
after the attack hundreds of young men and women marched
outside the Lebanese Taverna to denounce terrorism and the
actions of the Taliban, and to reclaim their future. I hope
Americans will fi nd ways to stand with them.
Jake Klonoski is from Eugene and has been a U.S. Navy submarine of-
fi cer since 2002, serving in Italy, Bahrain, Japan, Kosovo, Afghanistan and
plenty of time at sea. He left active duty in 2010 and was mobilized after
graduating Stanford Law School in June 2013 for service in Kabul assisting
in economic development and stability operations.
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eugeneweekly.com • January 30, 2014
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