war in afghanistanSyndicate content

Columnists

Tallying the costs of Obama's war in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama signed a slew of bills into law during the lame-duck session of Congress and was dubbed the "Comeback Kid" amid a flurry of fawning press reports. In the hail of this surprise bipartisanship, though, the one issue over which Democrats and Republicans always agree, war, was completely ignored. The war in Afghanistan is now the longest war in U.S. history, and 2010 has seen the highest number of U.S. and NATO soldiers killed.

Tags:
anti-war occupation war in afghanistan afghan war obama administration U.S. military
rabble interview

'Ask Afghans what would help them, don't ask Karzai'

Mike Skinner, co-founder of the Afghanistan-Canadian Research Group and a researcher at the York Centre for International and Security Studies in Toronto, believes a simple question is being left out the debate about Canada's continued military involvement in Afghanistan.

"Why are we there?" It is a no-brainer to ask this but there are no easy answers it appears.

embedded_video

Tags:
Afghanistan war in afghanistan

Afghanistan and Canada: The 'disconnect' on both sides of the wire

An American Chinook helicopter crewman looks out over the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2008, where the heaviest fighting occurred at that time. NATO forces have little presence in areas between major bases. Photo: Graham Lavery
'While in Kandahar, I sensed little in terms of a common goal, a unity of effort, or even recognition of context by those there.'

Related rabble.ca story:

Afghanistan and Canada: The 'disconnect' on both sides of the wire
Tags:
Afghanistan war on terror war in afghanistan kandahar canadian military
in his own words

Afghanistan and Canada: The 'disconnect' on both sides of the wire

An American Chinook helicopter crewman looks out over the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2008, where the heaviest fighting occurred at that time. NATO forces have little presence in areas between major bases. Photo: Graham Lavery

"Disconnect" is the term that keeps popping into my mind when I think about Afghanistan and the events unfolding here.

We all talk about this term. We can apply it to almost everything at times, from the relationship with our food, or lack thereof, to the goods we buy and where they come from, our political system and our involvement in it, and the consequences of our lifestyle on the planet as a whole to name but a few.

The term is also incredibly descriptive of the happenings here in Afghanistan, unfortunately.

embedded_video

Tags:
media Afghanistan Corruption Harper government war in afghanistan canadian military afghan war US in afghanistan

Not Rex: Welcome back Khadr!

Omar Khadr, the Canadian child soldier detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in July 2002, during a session of interrogation at Guantanamo Bay prison, Cuba.
The curtain has come down on the piece of political theatre.

Related rabble.ca story:

Not Rex: Welcome back Khadr!
Tags:
Afghanistan omar khadr war in afghanistan child soldiers

Joya rejects the NATO coalition, Harper, and the excuses for war

Former Afghan MP Malalai Joya in 2007. Photo: AfghanKabul
Former Afghan MP Malalai Joya spoke in Vancouver.

Related rabble.ca story:

Joya rejects the NATO coalition, Harper and the excuses for war
Tags:
Stephen Harper Afghanistan Canadian politics war in afghanistan
in her own words

Joya rejects the NATO coalition, Harper and the excuses for war

Malalai Joya visits a girls school in Farah province in Afghanistan. Photo: AfghanKabul

In the United States, many looked to the ballot box and hoped for real change when Barack Obama was elected President in 2008.

To be honest, I never expected that he would be any different for Afghanistan than President George W. Bush. The truth is that Obama's war policies have turned out to be even more of a nightmare than most people expected. Obama talked a lot about hope and change, but for Afghanistan the only change has been for the worse.

After almost two years of Obama, the number of U.S. troops occupying Afghanistan has more than doubled. And the number of drone attacks in Pakistan has increased. Obama's so-called surge of troops has resulted in increased Afghan civilian deaths.

embedded_video

Tags:
Stephen Harper Afghanistan war in afghanistan
rabble interview

Conscientious objectors given a lifeline by private member's bill

An Iraq War protest in San Fransisco in 2008. Photo: Alex Robinson/Flickr

When "Kevin" joined the U.S. army nine years ago, he never imagined he'd be living as a fugitive in Canada today. In 2006, the U.S. Iraq war resister drove halfway across the United States, boarded a plane for Calgary and convinced a border agent to let him in. He's been hiding ever since.

"I don't go out to places and hang out and just strike up conversations with strangers," he says, sitting on his living-room couch. "There's too much on the line."

If caught, Kevin -- not his real name -- could be deported to the U.S. and face jail time for deserting a war he considers to be immoral.

"I'm not the only one who thinks the war is illegal," he says.

embedded_video

Tags:
US Iraq war resisters war in afghanistan war resisters support campaign war in Iraq
Columnists

Let's make September 11 a day without war

The ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States should serve as a moment to reflect on tolerance. It should be a day of peace. Yet the rising anti-Muslim fervour here, together with the continuing U.S. military occupation of Iraq and the escalating war in Afghanistan (and Pakistan), all fuel the belief that the U.S. really is at war with Islam.

September 11, 2001, united the world against terrorism. Everyone, it seemed, was with the United States, standing in solidarity with the victims, with the families who lost loved ones. The day will be remembered for generations to come, for the notorious act of coordinated mass murder. But that was not the first Sept. 11 to be associated with terror:

Tags:
war anti-war iraq war terrorism September 11 9-11 war in afghanistan muslim issues Discrimination

Climate change, capitalism and war produce disaster in Pakistan

Aug. 9, 2010: People wade through flooded streets in Charsadda, Pakistan. Photo: U.K. Department of International Development/Flickr
The massive floods in Pakistan that affect 20 million people are far from a random 'natural disaster.' Rather, they are a predictable result of human negligence and strife.

Related rabble.ca story:

Climate change, capitalism and war produce disaster in Pakistan
Tags:
Climate Change Capitalism Pakistan war in afghanistan Pakistan flood
Syndicate content