I feel a response is necessary to the Chomsky-esque comment posted yesterday. I want to make the following very clear.
I did quite a bit of self-examination, soul searching, etc. before I decided to go ahead and work for the organization that I work for. Not only is the role and utility of development subject to arguments at every extreme, but Western interest in the third world should also be closely examined. As a citizen of the world's richest, most powerful, and most aggressive nation, I had to determine whether I was comfortable representing said force, and to what ends I would be doing so.
My organization goes out of its way from the very commencement of the application process to screen out individuals who have ever been/ever intend to be part of the intelligence community. As I recall, at least two pages of the 16 or so page application concerned personal and familial three-letter affiliations, and simply stated that, depending on the level of involvement, it is necessary to wait for anywhere between 10 years and eternity for acceptance. In addition to asking my recruiter why this was so (and receiving the expected answer of "because we don't want people to think that we're all a bunch of CIA hacks"), I discussed this once with a man who had been in army intelligence during Vietnam and had subsequently turned to aid work. He went through the application process twice but never ended up joining, and now works for Ashoka. He explained that there is likely some legitimacy to claims that individuals in my organization were involved in intelligence gathering during its infancy. Somewhere along the line, however, there was a very concrete decision to completely disconnect any ties between us and the three-letter community.
Budgetary information also indicates how ridiculous the suggestion of intelligence operations is. I'm too busy wondering why I have to pay for my own poor ass to join, literally, six other Mauritanians in a circa-1983 sedan for a five and a half hour drive to Nouakchott in early January to even take the time to report to my superiors at the CIA. The $344 million in budgetary resources available for FY 2006 (to the whole organization, not Mauritania) gets spread transparently thin just about as quickly as you'd imagine.
Hot topics in US intelligence gathering in Mauritania likely center around 1) the shifting government, and 2) Algerian terrorists, who have a tendency to leak across the border. 1: If anyone would like a copy of any of the various emails admonishing the volunteers to do everything in their power to stay away from polling stations, to refrain from all political and religious conversation with locals, and to by absolutely no means show any support for any of the parties operating in their locales (violators subject to termination), I will make it available. 2: NDB is the northernmost posting, hundreds of kilometers south of the more conservative and potentially volatile areas that would be of interest to the US intelligence community. Anything that smells of interest to the three-letter agencies generally smells like endangerment to my organization, and volunteers are yanked before they even discover a threat.
The organization does provide a reason to place US citizens into small communities it would not otherwise have a reason to "infiltrate." I know people who are convinced that there is a black helicopter following my every step, and that's fine. It probably keeps me safer anyway. But it's as far from the truth as one could get. The fact of the matter is, management is extremely laissez-faire, and as the administrative go-to guy for NDB, my rare conversations with the higher-ups consist entirely of me bitching at them to send us our mail.
There is a distrust of Western, and especially US, involvement in Africa. It's healthy, and completely understandable. First colonialism saw Europe raping the third world, and then we took our turn during the Cold War. Some of the people we supported (and subsequently, governments, policies, and actions) in an effort to stymie the spread of Communism were out and out criminals - thieves, murderers, and rapists - and people have every right to harbor reservations about our intentions. However, unsubstantiated rumor is also a way of life in the absence of credible sources of information. Having dinner with an educated neighbor the other night, he looked me level in the eyes and told me that eating the skin of a chicken will give you cancer. Right buddy, find that one in The Lancet?
But what disturbs me is that someone who does have access to the available information could actually make that statement in all seriousness.
I resent being in any way regarded as an ignorant pawn in some kind of global spygame. I spent (and still spend) a large amount of time considering my involvement here. Yes, anything is possible. Maybe the NSA planted bugs in all my clothes and listens to the political conversations I have with locals despite the emails, but I'm not willing to take such a cynical standpoint. I have all the tolerance in the world for cynical jocularity, but if I couldn't believe that some people were genuinely interested in the well-being of others, I would have killed myself years ago.
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Hm. It doesn't take much to guess that this post was in response to the ill-considered remark I previously left on your blog, John. Let me say that I was quite insensitive to how poorly the internet conveys a *wink wink* *nudge nudge*. I thought it was manifestly absurd that the American military would bother sending troops to Mauritania, and I assumed the joke would be shared.
I certainly didn't mean the remark to be personal in any manner, nor did I mean to imply that any American volunteers are unwitting pawns. I have nothing but respect for your organization and the people who run it, and I have defended it numerous times to cynics.
Still, I think your exposition above is quite interesting, and I'd like to hear more. To what extent do you really "represent" the American government? How can you do this comfortably? What does this say about the potential role for America in the world? Bring on the informed and reflective commentary -- it's obvious that you've got some moral fire in your belly and it's nice to see it coming to the surface.
But I'm sorry for having been inadvertently provocative in a way that may have appeared to challenge your motivations and objectives. If I'd ever held them in question, I wouldn't have written your reference letter =)
lovn
geoff.
I probably should have paired that with a personal email saying "thanks for the comment." I appreciated the opportunity to address something that I had yet to really put into words. Of course I didn't actually think that you stood behind the idea of the American "liberation" of Mauritania; I don't think I'd even bother arguing with someone who held that belief. The "wink wink, nudge nudge" was also assumed, though I felt acknowledging it wasn't pertinent to my point.
Anyway, it should be obvious that I take exception to people questioning my motives. I would, however, never want it to be said that I lack a sense of humor. So my peace being stated, all winks and nudges are categorically assumed.
Interesting set of posts and comments. The points of view and my special knowledge of the two writers made it even more intriguing. The two of you are lifelong friends, both idealists wanting to make the world a better place. What a team!
Our country and its motives are sometimes suspiciously related only to self interest. Those suspicions exist in the minds of citizens as well as the rest of the world. But I rejoice that on a individual level there are people willing to go without a political agenda to places that need development help. They are people with a personal committment to sharing their gifts be they teaching, medical care giving, agricultural teaching, computer networking or whatever. I am proud that there is an organization, a government program, that facilitates the way these people can go where their talents can be shared with people who need help the most.
The budget granted the program is small. Perhaps if our citizens encouraged more money to be allocated to this program more Peace Corps volunteers could be trained and sent to serve in other places struggling to improve the life of the inhabitants. Programs like these would do far more to show the world what Americans are really like than tactics used in the past.
I think Mom's/Carolyn's comment really hit the right notes. Having moved from Pennsylvania several years ago, and since then lived in almost half a dozen countries, I have realized that Americans are quite special. Their distinctive qualities of personal conviction, persistent idealism, and driving ambition are exceptional -- they really are (generally speaking, that is). And the principles that the nation inculcates into its citizens are of the highest order. I suppose that's where irony sets in -- that the current political trajectory of the administration is so contrary to its founding, and enduring, political culture. John's organization is really from another era, where the glorious principles of the Constitution really took on a universal commitment and aspiration. It is indeed encouraging to see capable and smart American youth take these national imperatives to be international, in a spirit of generosity and self-sacrifice. If there is to be anything that will redeem (and update) the extraordinary vision of the authors of the American constitution, it will be the actions of those who dare to look through the eyes of the other -- half way around the world.
There -- that is my paean to American exceptionalism, to compliment comments above. Onwards and upwards!
geoff.
It is truly amazing to think that many of the local populations assume that PC workers are involved in proprietary espionage. Is that the result of ear-to-ear propaganda? Skepticism?
I know I'm not in Africa; I'm about as far removed from the country as can be. It certainly doesn't seem as though the US advocates this position there. I don't think it is our government's intention to use the 'threat' of clandestine peace corps workers to keep the locals in a state of fear over the 'imminent' subjegation to Western ideas and culture. Although the specter of the failure (are we ready to call it that yet?) in Iraq and Afghanistan, coupled with other unsuccessful attempts in Vietnam could be to blame.
Just something I was thinking about.
John, I voiced my timid nature to you when asked why I don't respond on your blog much, and you said that anything will do, even a *poopy* joke. So here comes the timeless classic, the one that I tell everyone and you undoubtedly have heard many a time.
A bear and a rabbit are taking a *poop* in the woods. The bear turns to the rabbit and demands, "Excuse me for asking, but do you have trouble with *poop* sticking to your fur?" The rabbit, somewhat stunned and confused by the odd nature of the question offers a simple "No."
So the bear wipes his *butt* with the rabbit.
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