Afghan surge

[Magda Hassan]

Looks like the surge is just a cover to wipe out anti-Karzai resistance. There is a lot of resistance because it is one of the most corrupt governments around. and only exists because it is backed up by another corrupt criminal government.

Afghan Leaders Call Surge, "Imbecilic and Tragic"

By Gordon Duff

February 14, 2010 "Veterans Today" - - Last year a number of contractors were thrown out of Afghanistan over the infamous “but-crack” video showing nude imbeciles involved in an unsanitary ceremony. Little did we know that these must have been the people who planned the American “Surge” meant to stabilize Afghanistan, supplied the intelligence for General McChrystal, may actually have written his report. Top leaders of the Afghan people weighed in on our operation in Helmand province with American Marines and British troops. They call it “imbecilic” and “tragic,” faulting nearly every aspect as uninformed, misinformed or simply wrong.

Tribal “Jirgas” (councils) of the real government of Afghanistan, the actual rulers of that fractured state are behind one thing now, getting America out of Afghanistan and getting rid of Karzai, who they see is, not only an American puppet but one of the most useless human beings ever born. Why mince words. Actually, I am, their real words are much worse than anything that could be printed, their rage, their words and their tears.

A MASSIVE BLUNDER

Word has been pouring out of Afghanistan. Every move America makes is hitting blogs around the world through a network of Afghani ex-patriots who are in continual communication. The word is out: Our “invasion” that combined Afghani forces with American and British has not gone after Taliban strongholds at all but rather attacked areas controlled by Karzai opponents who were ready to negotiate a legitimate government.

To the people of Afghanistan, the Karzai government was put in place out of utter idiocy in the first place, a failure of the Bush administration to understand that Afghanistan was not going to be ruled by brutal warlords from the “Northern Alliance” who are the ethnic enemies of the majority of the population of Afghanistan. Placing weakling Mohammed Karzai in as president and supporting him thru a rigged election has only made things worse.

USING “COUNTER-INSURGENCY” TO RECRUIT TERRORSTS

American, Britain and the “Afghani Army” simply aren’t very good at many things, Afghanistan has proven this. We don’t seem to be able to tell a poppy plant from wheat, we can’t find Osama bin Laden, dead or alive, and we don’t know the Taliban from our own “butt-crack.” Reports on operations are clear. We are managing to frighten, brutalize and anger hundreds of thousands of people who have nothing to do with the Taliban, not before anyway.

Now, “they” are rethinking this. This is the message being received around the world.

Tribal leaders are saying:

We have millions of young men coming of age, America doesn’t realize this. Each one will become a fighter with one purpose in life, to free their country and drive out foreign invaders. Each child you see will be a trained soldier with a Kalashnikov. We will fight for a century if we have to. Ask Britain, ask Russia, they know.

Why did America have to come here, join with criminal elements, brutal drug lords, mass murderers, people whose only history is brutality toward their own, why was America so stupid as to think we would respect them when they and their stooges rain bombs down on our children?

THE FAILED SURGE IN IRAQ, THE REAL TRUTH

America calls it “the surge” or the “Sunni awakening.” Either way, it was all a con. General Petraeus paid millions in bribes to war lords, mostly Sunni and put the militia members who were fighting the United States on the payroll. The fighting died down, most American troops withdrew to safe areas and we claimed a victory. What did we really accomplish?

Well, years later, we are still there and Iraq is becoming less stable every day. The “leaders” we paid rebuilt the old Baathist party, now, without Saddam to lead it, it is simply a massive crime organization involved in daily murders, kidnappings and racketeering. We created a country plagued by a Mafia we built, now nobody is asking us to leave anymore, everyone is scared to death.

Thank you General Petraeus. As with General Westmoreland in Vietnam, we “managed the news” and “stayed on message” but our strategy was a sham, it was simply a way to admit failure and lie about it. We are planning the exact same thing in Afghanistan but it simply didn’t need to be that way.

WHAT A COMPETENT AND WELL INFORMED MILITARY LEADER MIGHT HAVE DONE

Sitting in Kabul or Washington, surrounded by drug dealers and thieves, even worse people in Kabul, it is hard to get good information and make good decisions. Everyone you talk to has an agenda, everyone is lying. Who are our advisors? Well, first of all, the entire world knows that Karzai’s family is helping run the largest drug cartel in the world. In fact, the biggest civil project America has done in Afghanistan was to repair a dam producing electricity for Kandahar, a dam that also provides irrigation for most of Afghanistan’s opium crop, one Americans are dying to keep secure today.

“Don’t worry, no poppy plants will be injured in the making of this picture.”

America had the chance to sit down with Pakistan and other regional powers, some that we don’t talk to and come up with an economic solution that could provide lasting stability for the tribal regions which are primarily inside Pakistan. We failed to realize that 25 million Pashtuns live just the other side of the border in Pakistan. With the right help for Pakistan, the right economic programs and leadership, both countries could be helped and lives, perhaps millions, could be saved without pouring billions of useless dollars into the pockets of defense contractors infesting the halls of Congress, some with the arrogance and blatant insensibility of our actual elected leaders.

IMRAN KHAN OF PAKISTAN, THE REGION’S ONLY RESPECTED LEADER

Combine Michael Jordan, Antonio Banderas and John F. Kennedy and you have Imran Khan, or that is how many in Afghanistan and Pakistan see him. Cricket is “the” sport in Pakistan and he is the most famous player in the historyof that game. He is also a political leader, outspoken, charismatic and in a country where most other leaders are Punjabi or Sindhi, Khan is a Pashtun.

Khan is known for his outspoken commentaries warning the west of Islamic extremism and advocating economic development over military solutions that Khan says only fuel terrorism. Khan says:

My Generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was a similar to all elite schools in Pakistan, despite becoming independent, they were, and still are, producing replicas of public school boys rather than Pakistanis. I read Shakespeare which was fine, but no Alama Iqbal.
The Islamic class was not considered to be serious, and when I left the school I was considered amongst the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore western clothes. Despite periodically shouting Pakistan Zindabad at school functions, I considered my own culture backward and Islam an outdated religion.
Amongst our group if any one talked about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was immediately branded a Mullah. Because of the power of the Western Media, all our heroes were western movie or pop stars.
In University not just Islam but all religions were considered anachronism. Science had replaced religion and if something couldn’t be logically proved it did not exist. All supernatural stuff was confined to the movies…Moreover, the European history had an awful experience with religion, The horrors committed by the Christian clergy in the name of God during the Inquisition had left a powerful impact on the western mind.
To understand why the west is so keen on secularism, one should go to places like Cordoba in Spain and see torture apparatus used during Spanish Inquisition. Also the persecution of scientists as heretics by the clergy and convinced the Europeans that all religions are regressive.
However, the biggest factor that drove people like me away from religion was the selective Islam practised by most of its preachers. In other words, there was a huge difference between what they practised and what they preached. Also, rather than explaining the philosophy behind the religion, there was an over emphasis on rituals.
I feel that humans are different; to animals whereas the latter can be drilled, humans need to be intellectually convinced. That is why the Quran constantly appeals to reason. The worst of course, was the exploitation of Islam for political gains by various individuals or groups.
Hence, it was a miracle I did not become an atheist. The only reason why I did not was the powerful religious influence wielded by my mother on me since my childhood. It was not so much out of conviction but love for her that I stayed a Muslim.
Firstly, the inferiority complex that my generation had inherited, gradually went as I developed into a world class athlete. Secondly, I had the unique position of living between two cultures. I began to see the advantages and the disadvantages of both the societies.
In western societies, institutions were strong while they were collapsing in our country. However, there was an area where we were and still are superior, and that is our family life. I used to notice the loneliness of the old-age pensioners at Hove Cricket ground (during my Sussex years). Imagine sending your parents to Old Peoples’ Homes!
Even the children there never had the sort of love and warmth that we grew up with here. They completely miss out on the security blanket that a joint family system provides. However, I began to realise that the biggest loss to the western society and that in trying to free itself from the oppression of the clergy, they had removed both God and religion from their lives.
KHAN’S ROLE
With civil government in Pakistan collapsed under scandal and the Afghani government in Kabul ruling little of the country and mistrusted by the vast majority of its citizens, and NATO, led by the United States fearful of terrorism and Islamic extremism, Khan is the only well known individual with the trust and respect of Islam and the United States yet known for his outspoken independence. Khan has not been a friend to the United States, quite the opposite. He has been one of America’s greatest critics at a time known for America’s greatest failures.
His tough role of standing up to the west and to corrupt forces in his own country and his strong ties to Afghanistan make him the vital key to ending the cycle of terrorism and extremism in the region, a region whose potentials for conflict can be far more threatening than the current war in Afghanistan.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have been increasing daily with each accusing the other sponsoring terrorist group. Terror attacks, shootings, bombings, occur daily in Pakistan and India and are on the increase. The two regional nucear powers, both allies of the United States, are on a continual “war readiness” footing.
FINDING THE RIGHT ENEMY

Currently, no respected leader in Afghanistan will talk to any American, military leader or diplomat under any circumstances. America believes it is negotiating with the Taliban and is moving foward with a “plan” but is operating under a series of misconceptions. No non-Islamic forces will ever be allowed to operate in Afghanistan. They will only cause tribal uprisings, creating terrorism, not ending it. Why leaders like General McChrystal who knows this very well would purposefully ignore this fact is strange indeed.

The border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan are areas of lawlessness that can provide safe harbor foreign terrorists and have, in limited numbers, how limited, we will never know. The same region is also home to millions of people who can be armed insurgents and radicalized “Jihadists” or live in relative peace, largely depending on factors now controlled by the United States.

LIVING WITH THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST

In the 80s, when the pro-Soviet government in Kabul called for Russian help against tribal opposition, America weighed in, arming Mujahideen insurgents, the exact same people we are fighting today, same people, same leaders, same beliefs, only a generation later. When we had the chance to come into Afghanistan as a friend after the withdrawal of Russian forces and build a new economy there for pennies, we didn’t care. The Soviet Union had collapsed and we lost interest. We are now paying for those mistakes.

Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran, grunt and 100% disabled vet. He has been a UN Diplomat, defense contractor and is a widely published expert on military and defense issues. He is active in the financial industry and is a specialist on global trade. Gordon Duff acts as political and economic advisor to a number of governments in Africa and the Middle East.

[Peter Lemkin]

Ho Hum....US Forces admitted to 18 innocent persons bombed in their home yesterday....ho hom.....unjust war as usual.....the innocent die like flies, the guilty on both sides manage or prosper. War is the evil we all spoke of stopping after WW1 and again after WW2 - now America calls for Endless War against phantom armies, they themselves created and feed the 'fires' of hate for. Ho hum. This is the way the world ends, the world ends, this the way the world ends both with a bang and a whimper.......

[Magda Hassan]

So, they admit they target civilians?

Afghanistan missile that killed civilians 'hit target'



Operation Moshtarak 'progress good'

A missile that struck an Afghan house killing 12 people hit its intended target, the commander of British forces in the country's south says.
Maj Gen Nick Carter said the rocket had not malfunctioned, adding that the system responsible for firing the US missile was back in use.
Officials have said three Taliban, as well as civilians were in the house.
US forces have faced some resistance around the Taliban haven of Marjah as Operation Moshtarak continues.
The progress of US troops has been hampered by sniper fire and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in some areas.
British and Afghan troops are reported to be advancing more swiftly in the nearby district of Nad Ali.
A Nato spokesman said they had begun setting up joint patrol bases to provide a permanent security presence.
'Unacceptable casualties'
Six children were among those killed when two US missiles struck a house on the outskirts of Marjah on Sunday.
Initial Nato reports said the missiles had landed about 300 metres off their intended target. Gen Carter blamed these "conflicting" reports on "the fog of war".
"The missile arrived at the target that it was supposed to arrive at," he said.
Gen Carter said that protecting the local population remained at the heart of the operation and that coalition forces were being very careful with aerial-launched missiles.
ANALYSIS

By Caroline Wyatt
BBC News
The main military challenge now for coalition and Afghan forces in Marjah and Nad Ali now is dealing with the sheer number of IEDs or roadside bombs laid by the departing insurgents. Maj Gen Nick Carter admitted they had been surprised by the quantity of devices, which in some cases were sophisticated and networked, with a number of major junctions around Marjah lined with "nuisance mines".
The operation to clear them will take time, but is essential to protect both soldiers and civilians, as well as ensuring clear routes for reconstruction materials to travel down.
Gen Carter said that two-thirds of Marjah had now been cleared of insurgents and that the operation to clear the rest of the town would take a few days.

Civilian casualties are particularly sensitive during the joint Nato and Afghan Operation Moshtarak to force the Taliban out of their strongholds in Helmand.
Nato has stressed that the safety of civilians in the areas targeted is its highest priority.
Lt Gen Nick Parker, the most senior British officer in Afghanistan, told the BBC it was absolutely unacceptable to have civilian casualties, whatever the circumstances, and that announcing the offensive well in advance had helped save lives.
Dawud Ahmadi - a spokesman for Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal - said the Afghan National Army and Nato forces were clearing areas around Marjah of mines on the fourth day of the anti-Taliban operation.
"There is still sporadic Taliban firing from residential areas in the north of the town, but we are not using air power or heavy bombardments to dislodge them because we want to avoid civilian casualties," he said.
Mr Ahmadi said that 1,240 families had been displaced and evacuated from Marjah - and all had received aid in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
He said the aim of the operation was to rid Marjah of militancy and drugs traffickers and then hand it over to Afghan police before establishing a civil administration for the area.



Day-by-day report and map
Civilians die in Kandahar strike

Earlier, Afghan Gen Ghulam Mahaiuddin told Reuters news agency that many Taliban militants had "escaped" and that his forces were now searching houses for weapons and ammunition.
They were encouraging those villagers who had left the area before the military operation to return, he said.
But despite Afghan government claims that the insurgents were on the run, small teams of insurgents repeatedly attacked troops and mine-clearing vehicles with rocket, rifle and rocket-propelled grenade fire.
US Marines have twice unsuccessfully tried to clear a bazaar area in Marjah of enemy positions.
Lt Josh Diddams told AFP that in some pockets in Marjah, Taliban militants were standing their ground and fighting, or were firing on US and Afghan forces from homes and mosques.
Marjah resident Haji Mohammed Jan told the BBC the Taliban had tried to stop people leaving, but he and others had managed to escape.
'Surge' strategy
Operation Moshtarak, meaning "together" in the Dari language, is the biggest coalition attack since the Taliban fell in 2001.
The operation is also considered the first big test of US President Barack Obama's new "surge" strategy for Afghanistan.
Allied officials have reported only two coalition deaths so far - one American and one Briton killed on Saturday.
Two other Nato soldiers died on Monday in unrelated bomb strikes in Helmand, military spokesman Sgt Kevin Bell said.
Afghan officials said at least 27 insurgents had been killed so far in the offensive.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8518885.stm

[Peter Lemkin]

...by the military's and Permanent War Machine's twisted logic it is six less children who will grow up to hate the US and UK and try to seek revenge for what is being done to their friends, family and nation. Preemptive war and targeting of civilians was banned in the Geneva Accords and again in the Nuremburg Principles. We have met the enemy and they are U.S.!

[David Guyatt]

Extracted from post No. 1

The word is out: Our “invasion” that combined Afghani forces with American and British has not gone after Taliban strongholds at all but rather attacked areas controlled by Karzai opponents who were ready to negotiate a legitimate government.

Why oh why does this have the ring of truth about it?

Politics as usual....

[Keith Millea]

From the bravest woman in the world today,Malalai Joya

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/02/16-6


Published on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 by The Independent/UK Joya Condemns 'Ridiculous' Military Strategy

by Glyn Strong

Afghanistan's "most famous woman" has voiced deep scepticism about Operation Moshtarak's aims and its impact on Afghan civilians.

Joya: believes that corruption is endemic, citing uranium deposits and opium as incentives for Nato and Afghan officials to retain a presence in Helmand. (GETTY)
"It is ridiculous," said Malalai Joya, an elected member of the Afghan parliament. "On the one hand they call on Mullah Omar to join the puppet regime. On another hand they launch this attack in which defenceless and poor people will be the prime victims. Like before, they will be killed in the Nato bombings and used as human shields by the Taliban. Helmand's people have suffered for years and thousands of innocent people have been killed so far." Her fears were confirmed when Nato reported yesterday that a rocket that missed its target had killed 12 civilians at a house in Marjah.
Dismissing Allied claims that Nato forces won't abandon Afghan civilians after the surge, she said: "They have launched such offensives a number of times in the past, but each time after clearing the area, they leave it and [the] Taliban retake it. This is just a military manoeuvre and removal of Taliban is not the prime objective."
Ms Joya believes that corruption is endemic, citing uranium deposits and opium as incentives for Nato and Afghan officials to retain a presence in Helmand. Operation Moshtarak is described as an inclusive offensive, depending for its longer-term success on involvement of Afghan forces. But Ms Joya said: "The Afghan police force is the most corrupt institution in Afghanistan. Bribery is common and if you have money, by bribing police from top to bottom you can do almost anything. In many parts of Afghanistan, people hate the police more than the Taliban. In Helmand, for instance, people are afraid of police who commit violence against people and make trouble. The majority of the police force in this province are addicted to opium and cannabis."
The suspended MP was not invited to the recent London Conference that discussed her country's future, but she is pessimistic about its outcome. Politicians regard Joya as a loose cannon: quick to criticise but slow to suggest solutions.
Her uncompromising position has, however, earned her legions of supporters. It has also gained her enemies and, after allegedly insulting her fellow parliamentarians in 2007, she was suspended from operating as an MP.
Reflecting on the London Conference, Joya said: "Ordinary Afghan people say it was like a meeting of vultures coming together to discuss how to deal with the prey which is Afghanistan." Joya sees moves towards any reconciliation with the Taliban - an exclusively male and cruelly anti-female group - as a betrayal.
© 2010 The Independent