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It will come down to this sooner or later. All the boots on the ground and drone strikes in the world will not magically solve the Afghanistan problem for the west. Unless we as the so called civilized nations of the West decide to turn Afghanistan into nuclear slag, achieving complete victory(?) will be impossible. A former British Commander in the Afghan theatre said:
“The head of the British Army says he believes talks with the Taliban should begin “pretty soon,” but that discussions shouldn’t lead insurgents to think they have an advantage.
Calling his position a “purely private view,” Gen. Sir David Richards told the BBC on Sunday that he didn’t know when talks could begin. But Richards, a former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, said, “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be looking at that sort of thing pretty soon.”
About time, in my opinion. Invading Afghanistan was pure folly in the first place, as any student of history can tell you. Even the general is getting cold feet.:
“He said in any counter-insurgency campaign, there comes “a point [at] which you start to negotiate with each other.”
Yet, we went ahead with visions of protecting democracy and fighting terrorism dancing in our heads. Yet another great imperial army has more than met its match in Afghanistan. The sooner we leave the better.
Aerial Death for you Evil Doers!
It is really crappy when the people you are killing decide to return the favour, Hillary Clinton is outraged at the audacity of people who are being bombed a couple of times a week that they might want to strike back, how dare they:
“We’ve made it very clear that, if, heaven forbid, an attack like this, if we can trace back to Pakistan, were to have been successful, there would be very serious consequences,” Clinton said on CBS News’ 60 Minutes programme last week.
Yeppers, watch out. It is the US who wields the stick, at all times. Or the US Proxy forces that must be eager to toss their people into the gapping bloody maw of the neo-imperialist war machine. Observe the pressure placed on Pakistan to get their people out there to die for US policy.
“And behind the scenes, the US is also reportedly pressuring Pakistan to launch a fresh military offensive in North Waziristan.”
Evil Doers are out there, and you need to go git’em!
“Many analysts say that recent history is not encouraging: Drone strikes and several major Pakistani army offensives have succeeded in inflaming public opinion, but they have failed to dislodge the Taliban or al-Qaeda.
Huh, accidentally killing innocent people inflames public opinion? Who would have guessed? Of course it just the opinion of the people who are being bombed, if they have not read the US Foreign Policy handout telling them that this murderous war is officially a “good thing” then they simply need to get with the pogrom program. Thankfully, the casualties are all foreigners, otherwise we would have a real problem stateside.
It is okay though, the US is consolidating the military gains made in Afghanistan securing large portions of the country as safe from harm. Or not.
“The Swat Valley offensive last year displaced more than two million people from their homes. Most have returned, according to the Pakistani government – but many of the returnees say the government is not providing basic services, notably security and housing.
“Widespread insecurity has also allowed the Taliban to return to previously-cleared areas in the Swat Valley.
Even if Pakistan launches an offensive there is no guarantee it will be able to hold and consolidate its gains – particularly if eastern Afghanistan, just across the border from North Waziristan, remains insecure.
“The Pakistanis acknowledge that they haven’t been able to do [counterinsurgency]. But the Nato failure on the other side of the border is just as obvious,” said Hassan Abbas, a professor at Columbia University and a former Pakistani government official.”
Whoops! Perhaps the US should begin establishing strategic hamlets so we can sort out who is good and who is evil. It has worked effectively in the past, so why not now?
Of course, intensifiying the conflict will only make things better:
“The US, meanwhile, has already accelerated its aerial bombing campaign in the tribal regions: Suspected drone strikes have already occurred 35 times this year, compared with 53 attacks in all of 2009, according to the Washington-based New America Foundation, which maintains a comprehensive database of the strikes.
“That seems to be the alternative plan: In case the Pakistani army refuses to go into North Waziristan, the US will intensify its drone strikes,” said Abdul Basit, a researcher at the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies in Islamabad.
But the drone strikes have not decapitated the TTP; the group continues to terrorise Pakistan, and some US officials
Your home and relatives destroyed, love the War on Terror
acknowledge that the drone strikes have made the Taliban more determined to strike targets in the US.”
The blowback is festering and growing in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“It is too early to tell what caused his radicalisation, but there are reports that he was motivated – at least in part – by anger over US drone strikes.
A larger US military presence in Pakistan could have a similarly negative effect on public opinion.
“I don’t see what more boots on the ground will do … in terms of bolstering the military’s capacity to fight the TTP,” said Sameer Lalwani, a research fellow at the New America Foundation.”
Afghanistan will be yet another untimely end to an imperialist power. The rails are greased and the US is already on the downward trajectory.
Man, what do I do after denial stops working?
The Canadian occupation of Afghanistan is an international shame. We are killing innocent people and torturing people. The Geneva Convention needs to be dusted off and read 100 times by our military leaders and political drones so they get the idea of human rights are not just for “us” but extend to everyone in the world.
“A parliamentary committee has heard stunning allegations from a former translator who claims the Canadian military tried to cover up the fatal shooting of an Afghan man in October 2007.
Ahmadshah Malgarai also alleged to MPs in Ottawa that the Canadian military “panicked” and rounded up a half a dozen Afghans between the age of 10 and 90 after the shooting of a man sleeping on the roof of a compound in southern Afghanistan.”
Fantastic, murder someone and then round up possible witnesses for intimidation interrogation.
Apparently though Mr.Malgarai did not actually witness the execution.
“Malgarai testified he was not at the compound during the alleged incident, although he was allowed to see the intelligence report and took part in the interrogation of the detained men. He alleged a member of the military personally described it to him as “murder.”
Of course Conservative MP Laurie Hawn was there sowing confusion. Best to muddy the waters in defence of aberrant government policy.
“When Hawn then asked if Malgarai was calling Hillier a liar, Ahmadshad became agitated and accused the Tory MP of trying to put words in his mouth.”
What did happen that night? Something significant, the ripples are to big just to be a false allegation in my opinion.
Alfred Mccoy was right in his book A Question about Torture: using torture as official policy has serious corrosive effects on both the victims and the abusers. The effect is evident already in Afghanistan as the Canadian Armed Forces torture scandal continues to unfold.
The southern offensive against the Taliban in the town of Marjah continues. The cost so far has been twelve civilians from an errant rocket attack.
“But the offensive, known as Operation Moshtarak, was overshadowed on Sunday by the death of 12 Afghan civilians killed when two rockets missed their target and landed on homes in Nad Ali district, where Marjah is located. Nato acknowledged responsibility for the deaths.”
I guess you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. But we are sorry:
“General Stanley McChrystal, the head of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, called the loss of life “regrettable” and said the operation was being conducted with “the protection of Afghan people in mind”.
“We extend our heartfelt sympathies and will ensure we do all we can to avoid future incidents,” he said in a statement on Sunday.”
What I wonder is if those 12 people’s families really understand what is going on? I mean do they really fathom the strategic importance of what Western forces are doing in their country? Do they think the Taliban is evil and must be banished by force of arms from their area? Or are they just devastated that they have lost family members and will blame whomever caused their deaths?
The fighting has been raging across Afghanistan for years, what guarantee is there that this will not happen again? Why of course let us put our faith in government in a box…and other nifty statements that do not address the endemic problems of Afghanistan.
“Afghan officials say they have a “government-in-a-box” ready to sweep in and set up institutional services and security that will ensure the Taliban do not return to areas captured by US-led forces.”
Somehow I get the feeling this is the same old rhetoric repackaged for this media cycle.
“Afghan President Hamid Karzai suffered another political setback Saturday when his country’s parliament rejected most of the candidates in his second attempt to form a cabinet.
Ten of the 17 nominees were rejected by Afghanistan’s lawmakers. The seven given parliamentary approval included Karzai’s longtime national security adviser, Zalmay Rasoul, who will be foreign minister.”
Are we even surprised anymore about how the farce we call a democracy in Afghanistan? We went to bed with the Warlords and now they want their slice of the rewards. The CIA puppet Kharzi is deadlocked between his ‘international obligations’ and the fact that he needs to punch the tickets of the miscreants that keep in power.
“As well, parliament approved a new justice minister and a new minister — a woman — charged with the Work and Social Affairs/Martyred and Disabled portfolio.”
Well, look some hand-waving and gestures of ‘equal opportunity’ to appease the Western media. The colonial government we are trying to establish in Afghanistan is not even credible right now, will this change anytime soon?
Most likely, not.
Majority of Karzai cabinet nominees rejected
The Associated Press
Afghanistan’s parliament has dealt a stinging rebuke to President Hamid Karzai by rejecting 70 per cent of his nominees for a new cabinet.
The Saturday voting in which 17 of 24 nominees were turned down confronts Karzai with a severe challenge as he tries to get his second term in office into full swing.
Not really surprising, but the first comment I saw on the post was near perfect. Here it is, thank you ‘appraiser from Ontario’:
“Karzai is widely viewed within Afghanistan as an American puppet. It should be no surprise that most of his choices for cabinet have been rejected.
There should be riots in the streets over the blatant corruption and ballot-box stuffing that has ocurred. But having hundreds of thousands of NATO troops and various other U.S. friendly foreign mercenaries on Afghan soil tends to dampen dissent. The entire situation is a complete fraud, propped up by the imperial war machine that is America.”
I don’t think I could have said it better myself.
The Conservative government is handling our alleged abuse of Afghan detainees with an sublime air of stupidity that George Bush made (in)famous. It seems that outright lying has not worked. We are now own to indignant posturing and appeals to patriotism. Allow me to illustrate.
Richard Colvin, a senior intelligence officer brought to light Canadian misdeeds:
“According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured,” Colvin told a parliamentary committee on Nov. 18.
Canadian Defence Minister War Propagandist Peter Mackay said:
“The member is suggesting by implication that the military did something wrong, that somehow they did not do the right thing. That is what is so despicable,” MacKay said on Dec. 10.”
What? How dare anyone question the character of our troops and our mission in Afghanistan! Especially when their allegations are false…
“The documents reveal that in 2008, military police launched six separate investigations into allegations of abuse involving Canadian troops.”
Errr….whoops! It seems like something is going on over there. However, so far we’re clean according to our military:
“The military police determined that the allegations were unfounded in five of the six cases, and the remaining investigation is ongoing,” said Maj. Paule Poulin, a spokesperson for the Canadian Forces Provost Marshall.
One can always trust the military to police itself.
And now the sour flourish:
“However, MacKay apparently never told the House there were allegations against Canadian troops, at least one of which is still being investigated.”
We can always trust politicians to act unethically. It is nice that Mr.Mackay provides such a clear example (via his briefing notes) of his dedication to the service and maintenance of power, justice be damned.
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