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The Afghan people will win - NATO pulling out all advisors - part 26
February 25, 2012 - 5:42pm
I think it's getting dangerous around those parts...
Continued from here.
Withdrawal of all foreign advisers announced after killing of two US military officers in Kabul's interior ministry
When this is over the lesson will be not only that a people can liberate themselves from an imperial occupation, but also unfortunately that they must do this without any appreciable help from the citizenry of the aggressor nations. Why was there no significant anti-war efforts here?
Will Canada cut and run, too? Or will Harper wait until the Afghans we are "training" to be cops and soldiers finally decide to turn their weapons on their teachers?
The headline we've been waiting for:
We need to understand what went wrong in Afghanistan
I could quote more, but you could write the story yourselves...
I seem to remember my mom yelling at me to go to protests in Victoria that were going on all the time at the beginning of the MESS (middle east shit show) and I went to a couple but earning a living as a single mom came first for me. 'They' were going to do what they wanted no matter what the world said. That was obvious.
What should we have been doing? Just so we know what we should being feeling heavy with guilt over not doing.
I doubt very much that NDPP's comments were aimed at you personally, but thanks so much for sharing your details.
You have illustrated very nicely his point about how Canadian "progressives" (just like their US counterparts) mostly sat out the Afghanistan war, out of a misplaced sense of powerlessness and cynicism.
I thought it a pretty general guilt trip and wanted to indicate the guilt trip was not really working for me. And why.
Misplaced?
Box C or D would be more likely than the A or B choices you gave.
So when will the U.S.-led NATO be folding-up the phony war and abandoning Afghanistan? Next week? Next year? What are their plans for installing their former proxies, the Taliban, in power?
Qur'an Burning Heightens Risk For Canadian Troops in Afghanistan
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/02/27/quran-burning-heightens-risk-for-can...
"The Canadian military is taking extra precautions in Afghanistan following terror attacks and riots in response to the mistaken burning of a Qur'an last week at an air base under US command. 'The Canadian mentors have been taken out of the ministries that they were involved in until circumstances are resolved there to the satisfaction of (the International Security Assistance Force)and Canada', Lt. Gen Peter Devlin, the commander of Canada's land forces told QMI Agency.
Devlin said 'there's a lot of emphasis' on cultural awareness for Canadian soldiers training Afghan forces..."
eg. you can burn Afghans, but not their Qur'ans...
Qur'an Burning Heightens Risk For Canadian Troops in Afghanistan
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/02/27/quran-burning-heightens-risk-for-can...
"The Canadian military is taking extra precautions in Afghanistan following terror attacks and riots in response to the mistaken burning of a Qur'an last week at an air base under US command. 'The Canadian mentors have been taken out of the ministries that they were involved in until circumstances are resolved there to the satisfaction of (the International Security Assistance Force)and Canada', Lt. Gen Peter Devlin, the commander of Canada's land forces told QMI Agency.
Devlin said 'there's a lot of emphasis' on cultural awareness for Canadian soldiers training Afghan forces..."
eg. you can burn Afghans, but not their Qur'ans...
ps more on Gen Devl in
http://rabble.ca/comment/1136918
The Call of the Taliban
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-call-of-the-taliban-746...
"Afghans who severed their ties with the insurgency in return for promises of money and jobs are being tempted to drift back, disillusioned by poverty and fear..
'When we were living in the mountains, other fighters helped us,' says Hamida. 'They brought us food and provided us with shelter. Now that we have been accepted back by the government, we don't have anything...If the government helps us, we will keep with the peace process and never go back. But if in two to three months, we don't get any government help, we will have to go back.."
SOS From EMERGENCY in Afghanistan
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/03/27/sos-from-emergency-in-afghanistan/
"For several days the NATO warlords in Afghanistan have been heavily bombing the village of Mirbandao in the Helmand province of the south of Afghanistan. The Italian medical aid and anti-war group called EMERGENCY has a hospital for war casualities located in the Helmand province along with three locations for first aid and first response care. The hospital is in Lashkar-gah.
Neither the hospital nor the first location closest to the bombardment in Grishk have received any injured casualties. The Emergency staff have been informed by the local population that the area is completely surrounded and military checkpoints are stopping injured people and civilians from getting away from the combat zone.
All of this constitutes a violation of International Human Rights beyond representing an offense to our civil conscience.
Emergency is asking with utmost urgency that a humanitarian corridor is opened and a guarantee of the evacuation of civilians and transfer of injured.
The above is translated directly from the SOS sent out by EMERGENCY staff from Afghanistan to Italy and to the world.
[Please forward this message on to your MPs. Canada still has 1000 soldiers in Afghanistan and although there is nothing being reported, this is no reason to let our complicit politicians off the hook. Demand they raise this humanitarian emergency]
The warcrimes in Afghanistan are a hidden regularity that the mainstream media is either ignoring or failing to report. NATO is committing continous warcrimes on the civilian population in this war devastated country.
The NATO crimes against humanity, whether in Libya or in Afghanistan and wherever else, are ample reason for Americans [and Canadians] to converge on Chicago this May 20. The little dictator Rahm Emmanuel is doing all in his power to pre-emptively squelch free speech and protest in the windy city.
Let us hope that Occupy and Peace movements can rise to the occasion after the coming historic May Day and take the streets of Chicago in staunch opposition to NATO's continued criminality. The whole world will be watching.
For more info visit : http://cang8.wordpress.com/
Layton Changes Course on NDP's NATO Policy
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20040530/ndp_nato_040529
"Layton went a step further Saturday, saying it would be better to change NATO than to abandon it...'so we would work to transform it...People are already transforming it themselves..'
NATO Army Base To Appear in Vladmir Lenin's Birthplace
http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/13-03-2012/120758-nato_russia_u...
"Russia's Foreign Ministry prepares suggestions to elaborate the normative base for the transit of NATO cargoes from Afghanistan via the airport in the city of Ulyanovsk. The idea of NATO's presence in Ulyanovsk is popular among local officials, particularly the governor, 'We have been working on this project for a long time already,' regional governor Sergei Morozov said. 'Cooperation with NATO is a wonderful opportunity to develop our airport. It would confirm the international status of the airport, the governor said.
Is Mr Morozov concerned about the increase of traffic of Afghan heroine in not-to-be-inspected cargoes? 'This is out of the question. The Americans watch drug channels closely,' the official stated..."
US Obstructing Kandahar Massacre?
http://rt.com/news/afghan-us-lawyer-bales-907/
"The defence lawyer for Robert Bates, who is accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians, is blaming the US for blocking his team's fact-finding mission into the Kandahar incident. He says he can't interview witnesses and prosecutors won't cooperate. The lawyer complained of an 'almost complete information blackout from the government, which is having a devastating effect on our ability to investigate the changes preferred against our client..
John Henry Brown's statements raise even more suspicion about whether the US really wants to punish the guilty to the fullest exent of the law, or if the government is concealing some ugly truth about the Kandahar massacre. An independent Afghan probe into the killings alleges that up to 20 US soldiers were involved.."
The official, trauma-victim-single-shooter story looks, well... like a story.
My guess is his lawyer figures the prosecution/state will strike a sweet deal if there is a threat of evidence being presented that will spill the beans.
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/03/30/us-blocking-investigation-of-afghan-m...
http://news.yahoo.com/lawyer-says-u-blocks-investigation-afghan-massacre...
Taliban offer online questions and answers
Imperialist Qatar and other friends of western empire reaching out to ordinary Afghans.
SBS Dateline Examines US Kandahar Massacre: Grieving Survivors Describe Mass Murder And Coverup (and vid)
http://alhittin.com/2012/03/31/video-kandahar-massacre-grieving-survivor...
SBS Dateline traveled to Kandahar to interview surviving victims
Now that was a good post... thanks NDPP.
glad you liked it Bec.
Pakistani Protesters Condemn Islamabad-Washington Alliance (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/234162.html
"Tribal people in their thousands staged a demonstration in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal agency bordering Afghanistan to protest a possible reopening of the supply routes for US-led forces in Afghanistan. The protesters also called for an immediate end to the US assassination drone strikes in the country's tribal belt that has killed many Pakistanis. They demanded the government quit the US-led coalition and adopt an independent foreign policy.."
and there should be demos for the same thing here...
Ottawa Quietly Puts Rosy Spin On Afghanistan - by Scott Taylor
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/80208-ottawa-quietly-puts-rosy-spin...
"...In the foreward to the formal report on Canada's mission in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote: 'This provides an occasion for all Canadians to pause and reflect on what Canada has achieved.' For the sake of the 158 soldiers killed, 2000 - plus wounded adn injured and a price tag to taxpayers of close to $20 Billion, I hope they not only study what little we achieved, but also realize the tremendous costs."
not least the costs to Afghans and Afghanistan. And what did our official Opposition have to say to this...? Or is it all just water under the bridge? The perfect crime.
Canada's Engagement in Afghanistan - 14th and Final Report to Parliament
http://www.afghanistan.gc.ca/canada-afghanistan/documents/r06_12/index.a...
Afghans Give Lantern to Us as Gift/Protest Lack of Electricity
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/235930.html
"The US has failed to keep its promises. Over ten years on, we strill don't have electricity. By presenting this lantern as a gift to Obama, we want to raise our voice,' Hosaini Madani, a civil activist told Press TV. They also condemned the indifference of the government and of the international community to the plight of the people.."
In countries like Afghanistan, the name of the game is democracy prevention! Never let them get ahead and wanting for more. Kill hope, and keep them down and out and ruled by right wing extremists. It's worked perfectly for the last 30 years and counting.
The people of Afghanistan want peace. There can be no civil society let alone a democracy without peace. After 30 years of foreign interference they deserve a respite. Democracy might come later.
Our parliament however seems to want to destroy other nations peace and order. Afghanistan, Libya and Syria have all been attacked with the approval of our and other NATO countries democratically elected parliamentarians. You can say that over the last three decades Western democracy has brought millions of people death and destruction not freedom.
Ask the millions of people displaced from Iraq how they feel about being liberated. Of course we don't dare ask what the outcome in Libya is after our RCAF bravely bombed them into freedom. Maybe the Ottawa parliamentarians can to a nice fact finding junket to find out how well our "liberation" has helped the people. You would think that since the parliament is going down the same road in Syria maybe one or two of them might look into the legacy they are leaving.
Taliban Commanders Say Kabul Attacks Show New Strategy
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/15/taliban-commanders-say-...
"A senior Taliban commander in Kabul boasts to The Daily Beast that Sunday's strikes against military and diplomatic targets in the Afghan capital and three eastern provinces were just a preview of the fighting season we planned,' says Qari Talha. 'This is only the start of what's in store this year and next for Americans and Karzai. We will show them our ability.'
Perhaps the most disturbing surprise of Sunday's attacks were the seeming ease with which the Taliban were able to infiltrate fighters, suicide bombers, explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons into the capital and the main towns of the three surrounding provinces.."
The US,[Canada] and the Afghan Train Wreck - by Conn Hallinan
http://dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/the-u-s-the-af...
"...In short, after a decade of war and the expenditure of over $450 Billion, Afghanistan is a less secure place than it was after the 2001 invasion.
It may be too late, and in the end, NATO may tuck its tail between its legs and slink out of Afghanistan. But the deep divisions the war has created will continue, and civil war is a real possibility.
The goal should be to prevent that, not to pursue an illusory dream of controlling the crossroads to Asia, a chimera that has drawn would be conquerors to that poor, ravaged land for a millenium."
More Democracy-Pics from 'The Mission':
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/236882.html
"The emergence of a series of new photos showing American troops in Afghanistan smiling while they pose with the dead bodies of suspected militants have brought the Afghan war in focus.."
more than a decade of your tax dollars went into this...
Malalai Joya: ‘My country needs you to get the troops out'
Brave and wonderful people all across Afghanistan!
30+ years later western taxpayers are still propping-up vicious Afghan warlords and even the Taliban. The hot war on democracy in Central Asia continues...
If Ratified Deal with US Would Steal Afghan Independence
http://presstv.com/detail/240576.html
"Political experts say the deal robs the Asian nation of its independence, Press TV reports.."
As if imperialists care what Afghans think.
Exactly. We are led to believe that 130,000 troops from 50 foreign countries are losing "the war" against 20k-40,000 Taliban. It's a lie.
They are propping-up the Taliban the same as they propped-up the Khmer Rouge to takeover Cambodia in the 1970s and 80s.
It's about democracy prevention and maintaining military outposts over the long term. At some point their old and bosom friends, the right wing extremist Taliban, will be signing rubberstamps of approval for U.S. bases in Pipelinistan and with regular elections marred by ultra violence as per the plan in the stan. Mark my words.
The thread title, although optimistic, continues to be a bald-faced lie and betrayal of the truth. The situation in Afghanistan is appalling with basic human rights violations a permanent way of life for millions.
Afghans have not won anything for the past three decades and counting. Afghans as a whole will continue not winning against imperialist colder war meddling in their country. An incredible decades-long streak for Afghans losing out on life and democracy is now inter-generational for tens of millions living in despair with grinding poverty and violence permanent features of the landscape in Afghanistan since U.S. meddling began.
Afghans need a real anti-war movement in North America to help them win way over there on the other side of the world.
no such thing here.
US Military School Taught Soldiers to Wage 'Total War' Against Islam
http://rt.com/usa/news/us-students-war-islam-930/
"The Pentagon was paying a US Army lieutenant-colonel to indoctrinate servicemen with the notion that the entire Islam religion should be eradicated worldwide.."
The Pork-Eating Crusader Patch is a Huge Hit with Troops in Afghanistan
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-16/news/31199395_1_gear-kora...
"With tensions at an all time high in Afghanistan following the koran burnings, the urination video, and the killing of 16 civilians, attention is now falling on a line of 'Infidel apparel and gear.."