In Honor of Martin Luther King Day, Reflections on his Nobel Acceptance Speech:

In Honor of Martin Luther King Day, Reflections on his Nobel Acceptance Speech: Today is Martin Luther King Day (formerly known in my adopted home state of Virginia as “Lee-Jackson-King Day” for Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Martin Luther King, a juxtaposition which I, as a transplanted northerner, always found morbidly amusing).  MLK Day is a banner day for the rule of law as we honor one of the great Americans who staked his life on the principles of human dignity, inherent worth, and justice for all.  

For most of us, when we recall the Reverend Dr. King’s message, we default to the famous “I have a Dream” speech that he gave during the March on Washington in August 1963.  Less familiar is the acceptance speech he gave when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.  It’s a shame, because King’s Nobel Acceptance Speech is no less compelling than “I have a dream,” and in light of current events, even more powerful and relevant.   In particular, as we consider the challenges to freedom of expression, religion, speech, and equality throughout the world, and the inherent problems of governmental corruption, oppression, and predation that lie at the heart of so many current conflicts, it is important to ponder these words (emphasis mine):

I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

He went on to proclaim:

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.  I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. "And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid." I still believe that We Shall overcome!

This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

On December 10, 1964, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King issued a call to action.  Today, as we celebrate his life, work, and legacy, I believe we owe it to ourselves to consider how each and every one of us intends to respond. 

Happy MLK Day!

*The full text of the Nobel Acceptance speech can be accessed at http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance_en.html.

**Lee-Jackson-King Day was celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1984-2000.

Remembering Auschwitz

St. Maximilian Kolbe's Cell at Auschwitz -- this was the only photo I could bring myself to take

Remembering Auschwitz – Today is the 70^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet military forces in 1945, so I thought it appropriate to take a few moments to reflect on genocide, history, human cost, and moral obligation. 

Auschwitz was the physical manifestation of the Third Reich’s so-called final solution, and it wasn't just one installation.  It was actually a network of concentration and extermination camps, established in Poland in 1940, that the Nazis kept building almost until the end of the war.  It’s pretty incredible when you think about it.  With everything else that was going on in the Reich, the Germans continued to pour their own blood and treasure into improving Auschwitz’s efficiency and expanding its reach.  The level of deliberation, calculation, and commitment to the horrific mission of the camps by so many otherwise rational, cultured, educated people is mind-boggling -- and a frightening testimony to the power of evil over the human heart.

I visited Auschwitz in 2003, not really knowing what to expect.  I knew its history.  But when you visit a concentration camp, or any other location where unspeakable horror has been perpetrated by or upon other human beings, you find yourself wondering what’s appropriate.  For example, I pulled my camera out to take a picture in front of the notorious “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign at the entrance to the camp.  Then I hastily put the camera back.  There were tours taking group photos and I was offended.  It just seemed disrespectful, even if it was intended to memorialize respectfully, so I ended up taking only two pictures during my entire visit.  Both were of the cell where the German Priest, Maximilian Kolbe starved to death in order to save a fellow prisoner.  I took the pictures because my church in Germany where I was living at the time, was the Parish of Saint Maximilian Kolbe.  It had been a bold move to name a German church after a modern saint who had died as a result of German atrocities.  My fellow parishioners (all German) wanted to see, from a pilgrim's perspective, the place where he died.      

The second thing that struck me was that Auschwitz was not just a crime against the Jews.  Yes, more than 1.1 million Jews are estimated to have died there.  But lost in that catastrophic quantity is that fact that tens of thousands of Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, Communists, Russian POW’s, and other Nazi-perceived sub-humans and enemies of the state perished there as well.  Their tragedy, however, is often reduced to a footnote.  I guess it’s a matter of scope and scale, but how is it that we get to the point where we process the murder of tens of thousands of people as being less significant?   

And then there were the shoes.  They really got to me, those buildings full of shoes.  The hair, teeth, and personal effects were moving too, but I couldn't tear myself away from the shoes.  In photos, it’s the high heels and baby shoes that stand out – familiar artifacts from “civilized” lives interrupted.  In real life, however, what I noticed was that the piles of shoes were full of rough-hewn wooden clogs, tattered scraps of old leather, and felt slippers designed to be tied on with pieces of rope and string.  These were not the footwear of city dwellers, shopkeepers, doctors, schoolteachers, housewives, and their children.  They were the shoes of the most poor and the most vulnerable.  The people who left clogs and foot-rags behind were not the ones who kept journals, wrote memoirs (if they survived) or had portraits and certificates to memorialize lives and accomplishments.  Instead, they were likely illiterate, anonymous, and without resources or champions.  I remember thinking, as I looked at the shoes, about the stories that hadn't been written.  How many holocaust accounts are out there that document the experience of peasant farmers, beggars, and gypsies?  I couldn't recall any, and it saddened me that while we maintain that all human life has equal value, the narrative of genocide is still influenced by caste and education. 

These are only a few of my reflections, but what it all comes down to is this: We tell ourselves that we will never forget and that those of us in "civilized" nations will not allow it to happen again.  Yet it does, all the time.  Evil manifests itself in atrocities and we turn a blind eye.  We try to find ways to justify non-intervention.  We question sources.  We over-analyze.  We over-think.  We get distracted.  We get busy.  We become numb.  But for today at least, on the 70^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I ask you to take a moment and reflect on man’s inhumanity to man and our moral obligation to counter the same.  At least 1.1 million individuals were murdered on the outskirts of a small Polish town.  We owe it to them to remember; we owe it to them to protect.

A Few Odds and Ends: Rule of Law Stories that Matter, but No One is Talking About – Almost every day I cache a story or incident that makes me ponder the significance of the rule of law, but since I am not one of those full time bloggers, it’s tough to write about them all.  Today of course, everyone wants to comment on the Paris massacre and the significance of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and I do too – but as part of a larger conversation about how important journalism is to restoring, strengthening, and maintaining the rule of law.  I’m going to hold that thought for a series of posts in the very near future.  For now, I want to mention a few stories that I’m following because I think are more important than the attention they’re getting.

1.  The so-called “Silk Road Trial”:  This is a federal criminal case currently underway in New York against a man who is accused of using a web-page called “Mastermind,” to create an anonymous, online drug market.  He’s accused of running a narcotics, hacking and money laundering conspiracy, as well as a “kingpin” charge usually reserved for mafia dons and drug lords.  What’s interesting to me about the case is that it challenges state authority to regulate these emerging electronic black and gray markets, as well as government authority to use the same tools that hackers and criminals use to circumvent the law in the government’s own efforts to detect, deter, and investigate possible criminal activity.  The case is a cause célèbre for online libertarians who want to restrict the power of the state over the internet.  Ironically, it comes at a time when western governments are increasingly trying to strengthen their ability to control illicit networks and curtail terrorist financing that is empowered by the internet.  Read more here: http://www.wired.com/2015/01/why-silk-road-trial-matters/

2.  The ongoing tragedy of Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko:  If you recall, Savchenko, Ukraine’s first female fighter pilot and a celebrity in her native country, was kidnapped by the Russians in Eastern Ukraine and spirited across the border into a Russian prison.  She has been charged with the murder of two Russian journalists who were allegedly killed during bombing raids in separatist-controlled parts of Ukraine.  Savchenko is a Ukrainian citizen, and was executing lawful orders in the performance of her military mission at the time.  Let’s just call this what it is:  A show trial by the Russians that is a blatant violation of the Law of Armed Conflict; a clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and Savchenko’s rights as Ukrainian citizen; and a crime (kidnapping, in case you forgot that part).  You can read the latest here:  http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-russia-savchenko-solitary/26784896.html

3.  The conviction of Raif Badawi, a Saudi Arabian blogger:  Against the backdrop of the Charlie Hebdo massacre which was a stated attack on freedom of speech and freedom of the press by radical Islamic extremists, the Saudi government calmly began carrying out a sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail against Badawi, the co-founder of a now-banned website called the Liberal Saudi Network.  The website was designed to create political dialogue and debate.  Badawi was convicted of cybercrime and insulting Islam.  His defense attorney didn't come out of the process unscathed either.  He himself was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of a range of offenses in an anti-terrorism court that included “inciting public opinion,” “insulting the judiciary,” and “undermining the regime and officials.”  There are so many issues wrapped up in this case that it’s difficult to know where to begin, which is precisely why it should grab and hold our attention.  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/08/saudi-arabia-blogger-raif-badawi-public-flogging

4.  Finally, let’s not forget the ongoing Ebola crisis in West Africa.  The world’s attention is elsewhere, but thousands have died and more than 500 health care workers have contracted the terrible disease;  the governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia have yet to demonstrate the capacity to manage the situation; and international capacity building efforts predominately consist of sending in western advisers to substitute their capacity for that of the affected nations.   Is this a medical and humanitarian crisis?  Yes.  However, there is a long term health care governance development effort that is needed, and as the immediate catastrophe subsides, it’s important that we take the long view in our plans for future foreign assistance.

Federal Judge to Supreme Court: "STFU". Really?????

Federal Judge to Supreme Court: "STFU".  Really?????


It's a story that only a rule of law nerd would catch and pay attention to.  A sitting U.S. federal judge, angry about recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding Obama Care and the requirement for corporations to provide coverage for, shall we say, "controversial" women's contraceptive services, blogs that the Supreme Court is causing more harm than good and needs to, in this judge's words, "just stfu." 


The underlying cases and controversies aren't what caught my attention.  (You can read the story at http://cnn.it/1ojSYz7)  What troubled me is that like it or not, the United States Supreme Court represents the highest judicial decision-making body in the land, and this lower court judge's public and juvenile reaction is the kind of thing that casts doubt on the legitimacy of one of our three branches of government on which we depend for rule of law in this country. 


The fact is that courts often get decisions wrong.  I spent nine years as a trial lawyer in federal court with a 90% win-loss rate, which is darn good.  But I still spent an uncomfortable amount of time trying to explain to my clients why a seemingly rational judge could irrationally gut my client's legally meritorious case.  Judges have opinions, agendas, and emotions; laws are often ambiguous, contradictory, or so poorly written that no one quite knows what they mean.  Sometimes, the evidence in a case just doesn't come out the way you think it should.  It's an iterative, incredibly imperfect process (Japanese internment, anyone?) but it is a process that reflects the U.S. Constitutional, legal, and political structure.  Disrespect it and you throw the legitimacy of the entire government into question. 


In the end, the only thing that really makes a justice system work is if the people who participate in it -- lawmakers, judges, lawyers, law enforcement officials, and litigants -- believe that it is legitimate and worth resorting to.  Otherwise, you have Somalia, or Syria, or Russia -- places where there is little confidence that anyone in the government is willing or able to do the right thing.  The legitimacy of the judicial system is more important than the legitimacy of an individual decision, because it's the system that enables enforceability.    


This federal judge, the stfu guy, knows that very well.  His own canon of judicial ethics mandates that he keep his opinions to himself in order to protect the legitimacy of the higher courts' decisions, which he will now be bound to apply.  For whatever reason, however, he's decided that he is now above the rules.   It's wrong and it's dangerous, and frankly, this particular judge needs to stfu.

Citizenship, Independence, and the Centrality of the Rule of law

Citizenship, Independence, and the Centrality of the Rule of law:  I had the great honor yesterday of attending the naturalization ceremony of a close personal friend who, more than 12 years after leaving her native Russia, was finally able to become an American citizen. If you've never witnessed a naturalization ceremony before, I highly recommend it. Set in the beautiful neo-classical courtroom of our local federal courthouse, it was an emotional experience for all of us.

There were more than 100 soon-to-be citizens in the room, and by the time half of them had stated their country of origin, I had lost count of where they were from – Afghanistan to Ethiopia, Canada, to Thailand, New Zealand, Peru, and all parts in between -- their diversity was amazing.

As a rule of law practitioner, I was struck by how central the rule of law is to the process. The materials on which our new citizens are examined before the process even began required them to learn the values that underpin the Constitution, our system of government accountability, the responsibilities that we, the governed and the governing, all share under the law, and the major decisions of the Supreme Court. The proceeding itself was a demonstration of the rule of law in the way it was conducted -- according to the law, with all of the reverence we accord to a court proceeding and under the watchful eye of a sitting federal judge and a certifying US attorney. Prospective citizens, having been fully vetted according to law, then swore their personal allegiance to the law not once, but five times in the Oath of Citizenship; “justice” as the underpinning to our liberty and freedom, was cited throughout. 

Afterwards, over celebratory glasses of wine and the last, local softshell crabs of the season, we talked about what it all meant, and how easy it is for those of us born into a society that values the rule of law to take it for granted. My friend’s husband remarked that in Russia during the Soviet times, they had a beautiful Constitution that guaranteed individual rights and liberties. But, he reflected, it was rarely followed and never enforced. We discussed the guarantee of religious freedom, and what a rare and important commodity that is. We talked about the opportunity that the law provides, when evenly enforced, for everyone to realize their individuality and potential. The pursuit of happiness, as the Judge had noted during the ceremony, is not some abstract good idea – it is a concept that can only be achieved when it is supported by law.

It was a beautiful reminder of why the rule of law matters so much to each and every one of us. So with that in mind, I want to wish everyone a happy 4th of July. We are so fortunate to live in a land where individual patriots were, and are, willing to sacrifice their lives and their fortunes for equality, justice, and the rule of law. It makes freedom possible and we need to value it more.

Branding “God” and Other Judicial Decisions – The flip side of the rule of law

Branding “God” and Other Judicial Decisions – The flip side of the rule of law:  Last week, I participated in a high level round table on strengthening national rule of law capacity.  It was an initiative of the Rule of Law for Development program run by Loyola University Chicago’s School of Law, and was hosted at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.  The participants were fantastic – a select group representing Open Society, the World Bank, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Oxfam and the Council on Foreign Relations, among others. 

Everyone was in violent agreement on the importance of strengthening the rule of law in developing and transitioning States.  But they expressed increasing concern over the way in which nations are using “rule of law” to justify suppressing dissent, limiting transparency, and restricting individual freedoms such as free speech and freedom of religion. 

So it was in light of that discussion that I did my usual morning news scan, and the one that really caught my attention was a decision by the highest court in Malaysia that Christians cannot use the word, “Allah.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/06/top-malaysian-court-dismisses-allah-case-20146232448487953.html.  Had I not been thinking about the roundtable, I probably would have missed this story as it wasn't widely reported in the U.S.  But the more I read, the more it concerned me.

Basically, what happened is this: Christians in Malaysia have been using “Allah,” the Arabic word for God, in their Malay-language Bibles and other publications for basically as far back as anyone can remember.  And then in 2007, citing concerns about public order, the Malaysian Home Ministry threatened to revoke a Catholic newspaper’s license unless it stopped using the word.    An appeals court later decided that the newspaper had a constitutional right to use the word, and anti-Christian violence ensued.  The high court reversed the ruling.  Apparently, there is a risk of, for want of a better term, brand confusion when talking about God that might cause Muslims to think they can convert.  So Christians are prohibited from using it. 

To be fair to the ruling, the court is trying to clarify that the ban only applies to the newspaper, but the basis for that distinction is really unclear.  It’s arbitrary and has the effect of limiting freedom of the press in addition to limiting free speech -- and belief.  And (potentially) interfaith dialogue that may be important to conflict resolution in a religiously-pluralistic Muslim country that is, like so many others, experiencing increasing tension between religious groups.  Because how do you search for common ground if you aren't allowed to speak the same language or share the same words?

In cases like this one, upholding the rule of law means that the State protects individual rights, with even greater vigor than before, to make a demonstration that they matter.    The non-rule of law approach, disguised as "upholding the rule of law" because it comes out of a court, is to restrict individual rights because there is risk.  It's a balancing act, and Malaysia got it wrong.

The Power of Poetry -- Culture and the Rule of Law

Discovering the beautiful legal documents at the National Archives of Afghanistan

The Power of Poetry -- Culture and the Rule of Law: When I was in Afghanistan as the rule of law adviser to the NATO police development mission, I had the opportunity to embed in Afghan police units as their senior commanders crisscrossed the country, inspecting checkpoints and police stations, and meeting with governors and community leaders. These trips were fraught with danger and discomfort. Being an American civilian woman embedded in an Afghan formation was not exactly normal, even for Afghanistan, but it was revealing.

I did it because in order to connect policing to governance, we had to understand what that relationship looked like: not to us, but to the Afghans.

What was surprising to me was how important history and culture were to the Afghan vision of the role of a modern police force. Hardened veterans of brutal wars and semi-literate in most cases, these were not men I thought would be concerned with the fine arts. But I was wrong. Their generals took great risks in order to introduce young police officers to historic sites, illuminated manuscripts, music, and the lore of the Silk Road. The Minister of Interior spent almost an hour inspecting rose gardens with me at a training center near Herat, asking my opinion of the landscaping and personally directing the planting of a particular flowering vine. The generals told me that it was important for their future leaders to understand the land and its people – they could not fairly enforce the law if they did not understand its cultural context and the values that lay behind it.  These were especially reflected, they explained, in their poetry, and in private conversations amongst themselves, they quoted both modern and ancient Persian poets, a lot.

Three years later, while in Kabul this past January, I had the privilege of visiting the National Archives of Afghanistan. The beauty of the miniature paintings depicting Persian fairy tales, illuminated texts, and gorgeous legal documents left me amazed and mystified. I had always been told by my rule of law development colleagues that the Afghans had no national legal tradition – that their law was all derived from the Holy Koran, and there was little else to build upon. But there in the archives and open to visitors, was evidence not only of 200 years of written law, but treasured, valued, embellished, poetic law. It was law as art and culture, just as the culture was embedded in the meaning behind it. The Afghans valued it. That was clear. But I and most of my colleagues had apparently missed that point.

So it was with great interest that I read about “I am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan.” This recently-published book contains the poetry of approximately 20 Afghan Pashtun women and promises to be a revelation. We in the international community have spent a lot of time talking about the legal status of women in Afghanistan and we've certainly spent a lot of time and resources talking TO them. But as a rule, we haven’t been reading their poems. We haven’t been looking at the way they perceive their own experience, as expressed in their art and culture. Now we can. We probably should have been doing so all along. http://www.amazon.com/Am-Beggar-World-Contemporary-Afghanistan/dp/0374191875?tag=vglnkc4576-20

Kidnapping in Nigeria and #bringbackourgirls – Are we missing the point? (Part 3)

Kidnapping in Nigeria and #bringbackourgirls – Are we missing the point? (Part 3):  

Now more than a month after the kidnapping, the crisis continues and so does the debate over the Nigerian response. Having conducted a “security summit” this weekend, western powers, Nigeria, and its neighbors are coordinating an intelligence-led, military response, and appear to be on the verge of declaring Boko Haram as an international terrorist organization. The Nigerian President has declared that the entire incident was an "al Qaeda-led operation.”

Is all this cooperation and attention a bad thing? No . . . unless it continues to divert attention from the underlying problem that empowers groups like Boko Haram – governance, or in this case, the lack thereof and Nigerian inability to enforce the rule of law.

The fact is that regardless how good the military is, when a country suffers from unabated crime, corruption, inequality, and governmental ineptitude, just to name a few of Nigeria’s shortcomings, then escalating insecurity will persist. This is not a problem with a military solution. Nigeria has credible military forces that are reasonably well trained and equipped (for the region) with a decent reputation as peacekeepers – outside of Nigeria. Within their own country, however, both the army and the police are routinely accused of major human rights violations; they are poorly and corruptly managed; and they are unresponsive to the security needs of the population. In sum, they are inadequately governed. No wonder they can’t mount a credible response.

But governance, to include security sector governance, can be improved if there is political will and a focused, comprehensive approach backed by internal and external oversight and robust public engagement. This kind of approach is difficult, complex, and long term, so unfortunately, it is not the direction in which things are going. Instead, the dialogue is defaulting to what we know and what we’re comfortable with –declaring war on Boko Haram and formulating a rapid military train, advise, and assist response. It won’t address the governance gap in the north; it won’t address the government’s disconnection with its own people; it won’t strengthen the Nigerians’ ability to criminalize the insurgency and enforce the law; and it doesn’t improve governance and accountability of Nigerian security forces. But it generates a lot of action, and that’s apparently going to have to be enough.

The Afghan National Police – Finding Their Way in 2015 and Beyond

The Afghan National Police – Finding Their Way in 2015 and Beyond: In honor of the publication of my Report for the US Institute for Peace on the Future of the Afghan National Police, (http://www.usip.org/publications/the-afghan-national-police-in-2015-and-beyond) I’m digressing a bit from Boko Haram and lessons not learned in Nigerian Security Sector Reform.

Anyone who’s ever heard me speak or worked with me on Afghanistan knows that I am somewhat bullish on the Afghans. Once, after traveling for several days through Taliban-controlled territory with a senior Afghan police commander, I reported that I thought he was as good a leader as any of our own NATO coalition generals. I recall the reaction from some in my organization was something along the lines of: “what would she know; she’s just some female civilian.” Well, as a former senior Army officer who has also worked as a civilian special advisor to more than 100 US and NATO flag and general officers, I think I know what strong leadership under great stress looks like. This particular Afghan police commander had all the right stuff and was doing all the right things. And he wasn’t the only one.

So I read with great interest this week that the Kabul Chief of Police announced a crackdown on tinted windows. http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/14872-kabul-police-push-ahead-with-tinted-window-ban. (We need to do this in my own city, btw – as a former prosecutor, I unfortunately know where all the open air drug markets are, and it’s amazing how the prevalence of dark tinted windows increases as you’re passing some of these areas.) Anyway, the Afghan Ministry of Interior has ordered the crackdown for security reasons, so of course, the politicians, whose vehicles tend to be deeply tinted, are the ones complaining. The Kabul police tried to enforce the ban once before without success. Now, however, the Afghan National Police have an Interior Minister who has shown considerable resolve; an order from the President himself to make it happen; and a growing confidence and pride among the police that I hadn’t seen in the past but observed during my latest trip to Kabul in January.  Because of these factors and others, the Kabul police may actually be able to pull this one off with minimal abuse of authority and some degree of effectiveness. If they do, it will be another small victory for the Afghan National Police and another step in the march toward Afghan-style rule of law. I’m pulling for them.

Kidnapping in Nigeria and #bringbackourgirls – Are we missing the point? (Part 2)

Kidnapping in Nigeria and #bringbackourgirls – Are we missing the point? (Part 2):

I said I was going to come back to this topic and talk about a few issues that struck me as a Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform practitioner. In the meantime, I've watched a lot of prominent politicians and policy makers comment on the situation, and the U.S. has now sent military and law enforcement assistance to Nigeria to help find the girls. Which is great, but it still doesn't get to the longer term issues of how to keep this from happening again.

So here’s the first question that arose in my mind when the story broke: You’re a government fighting an insurgency and one of the insurgents’ core ideas, embodied in their name (!), is, “western education is a sin.” Why then, aren't your security forces operating in the contested areas treating schools as critical governance infrastructure? Surely, from a messaging standpoint alone, the war of ideas makes schools a strategic asset. This in turn makes them a strategic target. And since you’re fighting an organization that has negatively extremist views on the value of women that run counter to those of the law of Nigeria, then shouldn't protecting girls’ schools be even more important to affirming governmental authority? Viewed through this lens, the question isn't, why didn't the Nigerian military respond to the calls for help. It should be: Why weren't they already near the school, providing heightened protection in the first place?

I’m dead serious about this. In security system analysis, experience tells you to look first at the threat, then at whether security and justice institutions are postured to address it. It would appear to me that in the case of the Nigerian security system, this fundamental analysis hasn't been done, or if it has, it was ignored. Security force preparation and posturing is about more than train and equip. It is about creating organizations and assets that can assess needs and vulnerabilities, and position themselves to address them accordingly. Clearly that didn't happen here, and hasn't happened in previous, less-publicized attacks on Nigerian schools and the women who attend them.

Targeting Peacemakers in Afghanistan: Can the Afghans turn Tragedy into Victory for the Rule of Law?

Targeting Peacemakers in Afghanistan: Can the Afghans turn Tragedy into Victory for the Rule of Law? 

I had intended to close out the week by talking about the meaning of “community” and why it matters to rule of law developmental approaches, but my ideas were overtaken by yesterday’s events.  To summarize, three American medical personnel were killed outside of the hospital in Kabul where they were educating and assisting Afghans in general surgery, and child and maternal health.  http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/three-americans-slain-cure-hospital-kabul-n88376.

The story was breaking news when it was first reported, but by this morning, it was hard to find.  I had first seen it on NBC so I started there.  But I had to work my way through the human interest reporting from the local affiliate where one of the doctors was from to find the main story.  To see the Washington Post reporting, I had to type “Afghanistan” into the search engine because I could not find the story by clicking through any of the usual links.  I never did find it on cnn.com.  But enough about my internet woes.

The bottom line is that attacks on medical personnel, teachers, journalists, and other assorted aid workers have a huge impact on public perceptions about the rule of law in Afghanistan.  There are the obvious conclusions that everyone who works in conflict stabilization and counterinsurgency draws –attacks like these demonstrate that the government is not fully in control; they undermine public confidence and freedom of movement; they scare away international donors and foreign aid; they represent the conflict of ideas between factions and power structures, etc., etc.  All of these are important points and important discussions.  I get that.

There is a more human and less tangible dimension to the problem, however, and it is the one that always hits me hardest when I’m in an unstable environment working with people who are putting everything on the line to restore the rule of law.  These types of attacks are attacks on the peacemakers – and specifically the ones who serve as role models for ordinary people in extraordinary situations.  If governance is going to succeed, you need so-called “ordinary” people to buy into the possibility that rule of law is possible.  Why else would they try to play by the rules?  Role models, like the doctors who were killed yesterday, or Kimberly Motley, the high profile American female lawyer who has been litigating cases in the Afghan Court system since 2008 are really important; unlike many who are happy to comment from the sidelines of the green zone, these people get right in there with their Afghan counterparts.  Their participation and commitment demonstrates that Afghan systems can work.

If you think it’s difficult to measure the impact of that one person -- one peacemaker – can have, just stop for a moment and consider the web of relationships that are involved.  Knowing how things work in Kabul, I can make an educated guess that the Chicago doctor who was killed yesterday had daily influence on the following:  hospital security personal and his personal protection team; drivers, expediters and translators; hospital administrators; civil servants in the Ministry of Health and the nascent health care infrastructure of Afghanistan; medical students; fellow Afghan medical professionals; patients; and of course, patients’ families – which can be pretty extended in Afghanistan.  When you think about it in these terms, this one guy was an example of hope, progress and eventual normality to hundreds of people every single day he was there.  His presence and persistence said: “You can do this; you can build this; you will come through this difficult time and things will get better if you just stay the course and don’t give up.”

So what should happen next?  Is there a way to turn tragedy to triumph for the rule of law?  Being a glass-half-full kind of gal, I would say yes.  The Afghan government can, if it is committed to the rule of law, demonstrate clearly and unequivocally that attacks on peacemakers will not be tolerated.  This is a fairly straightforward criminal case (to the extent that murder cases are ever straightforward) so it presents an opportunity for the government to show that its criminal justice system can work.  To do so, the case needs to be treated as a murder, and not be allowed to be hijacked by the politics and jurisdictional minefields of insurgency. 

The international community should quietly, but forcefully put its support behind the Afghan criminal investigation, prosecution, and hopefully, incarceration.  The Minister of Interior needs to ensure that key personnel, to include the prosecutor and judges assigned to the case, are protected throughout.  The rights of the Afghan security guard who was arrested for the crime should be vigorously protected by the Afghan defense bar, and the Afghan government should publicize its compliance with its own constitutional protections.  

Afghan media reporting during the entire investigative and judicial process should also be protected and incentivized.   I still remember attending the first public criminal trial in Kuz Kunar District, in Eastern Afghanistan in 2011.  The actual case was a only minor stabbing that arose out of a dispute at the local bazaar, but 14 Afghan media outlets filmed the entire proceeding live and later re-broadcast it across the country to great impact.  That same kind of attention should be lavished on this incident and the message of national intolerance for these types of crimes should be clear.  I want to point out also that all of my recommendations are Afghan tasks.  This is not merely “putting an Afghan face” on a course of action.  It means that we as outsiders are firmly behind the Afghans’ own decisions and supportive of the Afghan's own activities.

Targeting peacemakers is a standard tactic when someone it trying to take down a government or weaken its influence and control.  Key to restoring trust, confidence, and hope, and neutralizing the impact, is how that government responds.  Out of this terrible tragedy, an opportunity exists for the government of Afghanistan to demonstrate that accountability matters, and peacemakers do as well.    Let’s hope it rises to the occasion. And in the meantime remember, in honor of those who gave all: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”

If You Want Peace, Work for Justice: From Words into Action

If You Want Peace, Work for Justice: From Words into Action – I was struggling to decide what kind of rule of law theme I wanted to discuss during Easter because it seemed important to say something on one of the highest Holy Days of the year for Christians.  And then I thought about Pope John Paul’s message:  “If you want peace, work for justice,” or, as I used to hear when I was working in Colombia, “Si quieras la Paz; trabaja por la Justicia.”  (beautiful in Spanish!)

I have tried to live out my professional life according to this saying.  I learned early on that the desire for fundamental fairness is written on our hearts.  Even in the worst conflict environments, or amongst the most incorrigible individuals, when you peel back the layers, there is a sense of grievance and injustice that hasn’t been addressed.  All of the world’s great religions contain justice as one of their core themes, and throughout human history, we have struggled to balance our baser instincts with the knowledge that without justice, there is no peace.  And in my world, without the rule of law, there is not justice.

So I want to challenge us all – what are we each doing to foster justice in our own communities and work?  How are we addressing the grievances of those around us?  Are we demonstrating mercy, compassion, empathy, or are we just assuming injustice away and dismissing the hurts of some as less important than others?   Are we actively working to make peace, or are we satisfied with mere words?

If you want peace, work for justice -- make these more than words.

Sometimes it's Tough to Watch People Trying to do the Right Thing

Sometimes it's Tough to Watch People Trying to do the Right Thing --

After following the (scant) news on the elections in Afghanistan that took place a couple of weeks ago, I decided to reach out to my Afghan Facebook friends to see how they were doing.  Had the violence been bad at their polling places?  Had they been scared/nervous?  Had security forces treated them well?  I didn't know what to expect, but I wanted something -- some indication that the Afghan people, for whom my family and I had sacrificed so much, were committed to a transition of power within the rule of law.

So what answers did I get?  That the elections were hard, but worth it.  That they want their nation to succeed.  That they want responsible leadership that will take them from violence and conflict, to peace and stability. And that they want everything we want -- a chance to live ordinary lives with hope and security.

To get this, my Afghan friends were willing to risk it all.  They voted.  They put their trust in the rule of law and in the end, they tried to do the right thing.  This picture says a thousand words.