Go Karen!

In high school, I was a proud tuba player in the band. We had a great low brass section with numerous members of the various all-state bands. One of the best parts of playing the tuba was how much fun our section always had. A girl who was a year younger than me, Karen Chandler, was responsible for much of that.

Now, if you saw Karen walking down the street and speculated about what instrument she might play, the tuba would absolutely be your last guess. The piccolo? Maybe. The clarinet? Sure. Little Karen playing the tuba? Never! Not only was she vertically challenged, but she probably didn't weigh too much more than the tuba itself.

Karen was one tough senorita, though. We started practicing for marching season in the middle of August when temps routinely stayed in the upper 90's, and despite grumbling from everyone else, I don't ever remember hearing her complain. And she had to be, um, diplomatic to put up with the macho posturing of all the low brass band geeks with whom she had to spend a lot of time (not to mention dealing with me as her section leader!)

But Karen did more than simply put up with us, she contributed a sweet, cheerful attitude to the goofiest section in the band. She also made incredible mint chocolate chip brownies that would show up in the tuba closet every so often. She knew how much I loved those brownies and was thoughtful enough to write the recipe for them in my senior yearbook.

I was reminded of all of this yesterday when I picked up the front page of the Sunday Kansas City Star. The lead story is about how Karen is using her toughness, tact, and optimism in the western province of Farah, Afghanistan. She works for the State Department as a representative on one of 25 Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

Last year, the reconstruction team on which Chandler serves built five high schools, including a $1.2 million “School of Excellence” offering higher-level secular and religious education to more than 1,000 students. The PRT also developed about 120 wells and spent nearly $4 million on bridges and roads.

Chandler’s role is to serve as liaison between the people and their young government.

Sitting down on rocks recently with a wrinkled tribal elder, she was buoyed by the man’s request for an American flag that a village wished to fly in appreciation for its new bridge.

Still, she noted, “the most important thing is not that they trust in us, the PRT. We’ve earned their trust. But we want them to eventually trust their own government.”

Karen is involved in the most important part of the task of helping the Afghans achieve stability in their country. Until small, local institutions are built, and the local population not only learns to trust but also participate in local government, democracy and stability will never come to that country.

Based on his rhetoric, on his shifting attention away from Afghanistan towards Iraq, and on the complete failure of planning in Iraq, Karen's boss in the White House does not seem to understand the significance of what she is doing. Bush acts as if the military is the most important tool the US has at its disposal to curb terrorism and promote democracy abroad. The military certainly as its role; I know that Karen would not be able to do her job in Afghanistan if the Taliban was still in power and she is currently being protected by members of the Arizona National Guard.

The most significant tool we have, however, is Karen and her colleagues who are listening and building relationships and helping to build local institutions. That's how we will win the so-called war on terror. A batch of mint chocolate chip brownies probably wouldn't hurt, either!