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Peter Mansoor, History

April 21, 2010

What is the US plan in Afghanistan?
The most important goal that the Obama administration has set is to create enough stability in Afghanistan that Al-Qaida can never again use it as a base of operations. To achieve this goal, the administration strategy is to increase the number of forces in order to reverse recent Taliban gains by protecting the Afghan people from insurgent violence and intimidation. As the Taliban comes to see they cannot win the conflict militarily, the organization will be more amenable to negotiating a political solution to end the violence. It remains to be seen whether or not the strategy will be effective, but I think it is clear that the only viable way to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table in good faith is to give them a setback on the field of battle. By securing the Afghan people, Afghan and multinational forces can make it difficult for the insurgents to find support among the populace. Another important component of the strategy is to form a strategic relationship with Pakistan to convince that nation to eliminate the sanctuaries enjoyed by the Taliban in Waziristan and in the Federally Administered Tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

What is the progress of the current conflict?
US and Afghan forces have conducted operations in Helmand Province in order to reverse Taliban gains there and to limit Taliban access to money coming out of the opium trade. The latest battle was in Marjah, which was a Taliban stronghold for a number of years. US Marines and Afghan troops have now brought Marjah under the control of the Afghan government. The next major operation will be this summer in Kandahar, the spiritual heart of the Taliban movement. As US and Afghan forces challenge the Taliban in their sanctuaries, the fighting will become more difficult and bloody. Success in Kandahar will be a significant blow to the Taliban, which is why the insurgents are reinforcing the area. Casualties are likely to rise this summer, but that’s the price required to erase Taliban gains and force them to the negotiating table.

Some of the lower-tier Taliban groups have entered into negotiations with the Karzai government, but the main groups haven’t yet reached out other than to say they would be willing to negotiate once foreign forces give a timeline for their departure from the country. This is a propaganda ploy rather than a viable negotiating strategy to end the conflict. If foreign forces left Afghanistan, the Taliban would have no incentive to come to terms with the government in Kabul. A viable peace deal has to be inked while multinational forces are still in the country.

How much longer do you see conflict?
Years. The conflict has been ongoing for more than three decades now and is unlikely to end anytime soon. When the Communists staged a coup in 1978 that overturned the monarchy that had traditionally ruled Afghanistan, they upset a carefully balanced social and political structure. The result was civil war and chaos, an internecine conflict that has been truly horrific for the Afghan people and which continues to play out to this day. I think it’s too early to tell what kind of Afghanistan will emerge from the violence. There are many actors that have a role in ending the war, most importantly the Pakistani government. As long as the Taliban enjoy sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan, it will be difficult to convince the insurgents to end their struggle. As soon as Pakistan becomes a full partner in this regard, the Taliban will have little choice but to enter into a political arrangement if they want a share of power in Afghanistan.

Register now for Take a Child to Work Day

April 20, 2010

There is still time to register for Ohio State’s Take a Child to Work Day events, which take place April 22.

Sign-ups will continue through April 21 online at hr.osu.edu/special/childtowork.aspx. The event opens with an 8:30 a.m. kickoff at the US Bank Conference Theater at the Ohio Union, where Sarah Blouch, a mother of one and OSU’s Parking and Transportation director, will give the keynote speech, “How to End Up in the Perfect Career.” Attendees can receive a lunch tour of the union in addition to all their other activities but must sign up at the Web site, where the schedule of morning and afternoon workshops to choose from also can be found.

For more information, contact mbondurant@hr.osu.edu

Staff conversation with President Gee on April 22

April 20, 2010

Join USAC for the Spring Staff Conversation with President Gee on April 22nd, 12-1 pm, at the Drake Performance & Event Center.

Jeff Kaplan, Senior Vice President for Administration & Planning and Special Assistant to the President, will join the President to discuss the long-term planning for our physical campus including ideas about the academic core and Olentangy River corridor.

The PAD will feature a lunch special of any slice of pizza, side salad and a fountain beverage for $4.50 between 11:00am and 2:00pm. Campus Loop (North and South) buses run every 8 minutes from the Drake.

Contact Amy Ehrlich for more information.

Have ‘Dinner for a Difference’ to help Operation Feed

April 20, 2010

By Adam King

Ending hunger in central Ohio is not a one-shot deal. It takes constant effort to ensure there is enough food available for those who desperately need it.

To that end, the Multicultural Center’s Social Justice Cohort is giving the campus community another way to support the Mid-Ohio Foodbank at the same time Ohio State launches its annual Operation Feed campaign.

The SJC’s “Dinner for a Difference: Are You Hungry for Change?” is in Ohio Union’s Great Hall Meeting Rooms 1 and 2 at 6:30 p.m. April 22 and is open to students, faculty and staff.

A canned good is required for admission to the “hunger banquet,” where diners will draw cards to determine what “income level” meal they will be served.

Based on global incomes, 15 percent of the diners will be placed in the high-income group, 30 percent in the middle-income group and 55 percent in the lower-income group. The meals served will represent what those groups generally could afford to eat.

“It shows how real the disparities are among the groups and how skewed the poverty level is in the world,” said Rachel Gibson, a graduate administrative associate at the Multicultural Center who worked closely with SJC to plan the dinner.

Once the banquet is finished, Gibson said nobody will be left hungry and other edible options will be available.

Also, attendees will be asked to donate $5 to the Foodbank via text donation. As both the dinner planners and Operation Feed note, the Mid-Ohio Foodbank can turn $5 into $40 worth of food, so its purchasing power goes further than the general public.

This is a critical year for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, which is aiming to raise 6 million meals.

“Why do we in America who have so many resources still have pockets of hunger?” asked Rebecca Nelson, director of the Multicultural Center. “It’s not some separate, removed issue in our society. Some individuals might not be starving, but they don’t have the money to do all their grocery shopping needs for the month. Other families are living one paycheck away from this.”

The SJC is hoping to attract 150 people to the dinner, and because it knows not everyone attending will be able to donate money, the Mid-Ohio Foodbank will have representatives there to talk about how people can donate their time to support the cause.

Operation Feed, meanwhile, is hoping to be a big help in driving the Foodbank to its goal. The campaign took in 106,355 meals in 2009, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. OSU’s Operation Feed Campaign Manager Michele Bondurant is setting a reachable yet aggressive goal of 125,000 meals this year. “It has been apparent year to year that Ohio State faculty and staff have the desire to give back to the community in meaningful ways and at record levels, so it’s not a stretch to be bold with our 2010 goal,” she said.

And giving is even easier now with an online option. In fact, any department may contact Bondurant at mbondurant@hr.osu.edu to have a Web URL set up solely to collect virtual gifts from its employees. With more than 40,000 people in central Ohio going to a food pantry, soup kitchen or shelter each week for emergency food assistance, no amount of giving is too small.

Every OSU unit or department has an Operation Feed coordinator available to answer questions or take donations, or visit midohiofoodbank.org. For more information about “Dinner for a Difference,” contact Gibson at rgibson@studentlife.osu.edu or 688-8449.

Hunger by the numbers

• More than 248,000 people every year in central and eastern Ohio seek out emergency food assistance.

• The Mid-Ohio Foodbank distributed nearly 34 million pounds of food in 2009.

President Gee on Issue 1 and the renewal of Third Frontier Funding

April 8, 2010

Brutus brings home the bronze

April 7, 2010

By Adam King

Brutus Buckeye is Ohio State’s iconic harbinger of spirit and pride, so it is only fitting that a life-size bronze replica of the university’s mascot is in the Great Hall to greet visitors to the new Ohio Union.

When alumna and artist Renate Burgyan-Fackler found out OSU wanted her to create it, her connection as a Buckeye came rushing back to her. Continue reading ‘Brutus brings home the bronze’

Model for the statue is a Buckeye since birth

April 7, 2010

It really was just pure luck that fifth-year senior Brian Bunting was the one who got to pose as Brutus for the bronze sculpture in the Ohio Union. Of the four students who don the Brutus costume, he was the only one who didn’t have class at the time.

But, Bunting reasons, nobody could have picked a more dedicated Buckeye than him.

“I grew up a Buckeye and bled scarlet and gray from the moment I was born,” he said. “My mom until this past year was the cheerleading coach at Ohio State, and she got the job when she was pregnant with me. So if you want to put my hometown down as the campus, you can. Not everyone has a story of being so connected to the university like me.”

As a freshman, Bunting tried out for Brutus when a friend, Andrew Aten, convinced Bunting to try out with him. They both made the cut and shared time as Brutus the last three years. This year is Bunting’s fourth as the mascot, and he’s come to understand just how much Brutus is the face of Ohio State.

Every year football coach Jim Tressel hosts a Christmas party for his coaches and their families, and he always asks Brutus and Santa Claus to make an appearance.

“We had to stagger our arrival times because Brutus upstages Santa with the kids, even though Santa is the one bringing presents,” Bunting said.

Last fall during a break between classes, Bunting’s mom called him and told him to be dressed as Brutus in 15 minutes and she would be coming by to pick him up. Bunting was a bit miffed since he hadn’t eaten yet and knew by going he wouldn’t eat for hours to come.

“People think Brutus is a full-time mascot first and part-time student second, when it’s the reverse of that,” he said.

But the reason for the haste was the family of an alumnus, who was a patient at The James Cancer Hospital and had just been told he had cancer with a small chance of survival, had asked if Brutus could pay a visit.

“This was the single greatest picture I’ve taken,” Bunting said. “This guy has a big smile on his face, and one of his family members started crying. To think half an hour before I was complaining about doing this and now here I am trying to hold back my own tears.

“That’s the power of Ohio State and the power Brutus has. It’s nothing really tangible, but when people smile, it makes you feel good about what you’re doing and what you’re representing.”

That’s why Bunting was happy to see Brutus make a home in the union. Bunting got to be in costume for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 29, but he returned hours later as himself and was amazed that visitors were still taking pictures with his bronze likeness.

“There isn’t a better spot for a picture than standing with or around Brutus in the union,” said Bunting, who graduates this spring and will take a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers. “But just the level of detail the artist put into the statue made me realize it’s more than a photo op and that it’s going to be here for a while. It’s a special thing not many people get to have and it gives me a way to connect with everybody who loves Ohio State like I do.”

Decisions, decisions…

April 7, 2010

Prospective retirees are finding the process of retiring is nearly as complicated as planning the retirement in the first place

Ah, if only retiring were as easy as walking out the door at the end of one’s final workday and driving off into the sunset.

As Roz Meisel found out, there are a few more things she has to do before leaving Ohio State to enjoy a life where she sets the agenda every day. Continue reading ‘Decisions, decisions…’

A new library exhibit celebrates the science, art and history of the Byrd Polar Research Center

April 7, 2010

By Julia Harris

Admiral Richard Byrd, intrepid explorer of both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, was an archivist’s dream come true: At his death in 1957, he had amassed hundreds of boxes worth of correspondence, notebooks, reports, newspaper clippings and other documents from his long career. Continue reading ‘A new library exhibit celebrates the science, art and history of the Byrd Polar Research Center’

New ombudsman eager to give back to university

April 7, 2010

By Jeff McCallister

Jack Rall has served as sort of an unofficial ombudsman within his department in the College of Medicine for more than three decades.

So when the University Senate created the position of faculty ombudsman last May as a way to head off potential conflict among colleagues university-wide, he was a natural fit. Continue reading ‘New ombudsman eager to give back to university’

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