Historie
1842, First Afghan War. Afghanerne udslettede en af det britiske imperiums største hære, ledet af general William Elphinstone. (Robert Fisk, 240905)
1893, Ebgland trækker Durand-linien, som grænse mellem Pakistan og Afghanistan, delvist for at dele Pashtunerne, der stadig gjorde oprør. (Rubin).
1919, uafhængighed, dog først de jure med Rawalpindi traktaten i 1921
170773, monarkiet styrtes ved Mohammad Daoud Kahns statskup. Udråbelse af replublikken. MDK er i slægt med kong Muhammad Zaher Chah, sidstnævnte går i eksil i Italien
270478 det kommunistiske partis statskup
251279 sovjetisk invasion og nyt statskup. Babrak Kamal.
1981, Reagan får saudisk hjælp i Afghanistan - det må være starten til al Qaida.
I 1984, sendte Ægypten tidligere fængslede islamister til kampen mod Sovjet i Afghanistan. ( Ayad, Christophe: Géopolitique de L'Egypte, p.123).
februar -marts 1989. Den røde hær trækker sig ud. Trods angreb fra islamisterne fortsætter den kommunistiske regering
160492, præsidenten siden 1986 Najibullah går af, det kommunistiske styre falder. Rabbani bliver præsident. Han bekæmpes af andre fraktioner af islamister.
sommer - efterår 1994, Talibanerne begynder, besætter Kandahar, bevæbnet af Pakistans ISI - finansieret af USA og Saudi Arabien.
270996 Talibanerne indtager Kabul
090901 kommandant Massoud myrdes (talibanmodstander i det nordøstlige hjørne - myrdet af al Qaeda ??? eller CIA ??? eller er det det samme ??)
071001 USA angriber Afghanistan. Talibanerne jages. Kabul falder 131101.
november 2001, FN (den 14.), Washington konferencen (den 20.) og det afghanske fællesmøde i Bonn (den 27.) organiserer landets "overgang til demokrati"
221201 Hamid Karzaï (gammel CIA kontakt, ansat hos UNOCAL olieselskabet) indsættes som interim præsident
040104 502 medlemmer af Loya Jirga vedtager en ny afghansk grundlov med en stærk præsidentpost
091004 præsidentvalg vundet af Karzaï, men voldsomt kritiseret af modkandidaterne
(historikken fra Le Monde Diplomatique, Octobre 2004).
Læs også Pierre Biarnès: Pour l'empire du monde, 'Les Américains aux frontières de la Russie et de la Chine
Afghanistan og Taleban og bin Laden gennemgås af Robert Fisk, 240905.
Chalmers Johnson anmelder Steve Coll: Ghost wars: The secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan and bin Laden from the soviet invasion to 10. september 2001. Penguin 2004.051104. Anmeldelsen indeholder et resume, med væsentlige oplysninger om CIA og islamisterne. Herunder at Pakistan, Saudi Arabien og USA, der som bekendt var islamisternes væsentligste støtter, havde hver sin dagsorden. Saudierne ville bare have fred for sine islamister ved at støtte dem i udlandet, USA ville underminere Sovjetunionen og Pakistan ville sikre sig mod Indien. USA overså tidlige tegn på Pakistans og ISIs særinteresser, bl.a. at Zias tropper bare så på, da islamister brændte den amrikanske ambassade i Islamabad ned i 1980.
140802, The Independent, Robert Fisk: "Afghanistan is on the brink of another disaster". UNICEF har beskæftiget 486 kvindelige lærere med 16674 piger i skolen.
"Det var rigtigt at de britiske tropper blev trukket ud. Amerikanerne er faktisk ikke interesserede i at bringe landet tilbage til lov og orden" citeres en engelsk hjælpearbejder for.
Mullah Omar har udnævnt et 10 mands råd til at organisere en modstandskamp, Reuters, 240603.
Center for Afghanistan Studies på University of Nebraska, Omaha, leverede skolebøger til Afghanistan i de tidlige 1980ere under en aftale med USAID.
I april 2004 dødsdømmer Karzai's regering Abdullah Shah, som var skyldig i adskillige mord, 1992 - 1996. Amnesty frygter, at det skete især for at fjerne et vidne, der kunne medføre anklager mod regionale ledere for alvorlige forbrydelser, The Independent, 280404.
Et vigtigt led i al Qaida's opståen var den pakistanske efterretningstjeneste, ISI. Derfor er Pakistans præsident, Musharraf, en central og udsat figur i krigen i Afghanistan. News Insight hos Indiareacts (hentet 030704) har i den forbindelse den væsentlige betragtning, at det, at islamiste har rettet et angreb mod Karachi's militære kommandant, Ahsan Saleem Hayat, udgør en formentlig bevidst provokation til åben krig mellem al Qaida's folk og det pakistanske militær. Det kan jo godt være rigtigt, selvom det anføres i en indisk avis. Den del af argumentationen, at de tror, de kan tillade sig det, fordi amerikanerne er optagne i Iraq, lyder jo ret plausibel.
Syed Saleem Shahzad skriver i Asia Times, (hentet 110904) at Taliban ledes i Afghanistan af Mullah Omar, Jalauddin Haqqani, Mullah Dadullah og Saifullah Mansoor. Og bin Laden og Zawahiri er ikke længere i Pakistan, men et sted i Afghanistan. Mullah Mehmood Yar har trænet Ansarul Islam kæmpere i det nordlige Iraq, er fornylig kommet tilbage til Afghanistan for at guide alle udenlandske kæmpere og de vigtigste ledere fra Pakistansk territorium til Afghanistan.
Talibans svaghed er kommunikationen. De vil lade de veltrænede arabiske kæmpere lede lokale styrker med sigte på at ødelægge det administrative system i nøglebyer.
Paul Watson skriver i Los Angeles Times, 230904, om USAs manipulationer omkring det afghanske præsidentvalg. Ambassdør Khalilzad forsøger bl.a. at få nogen af kandidaterne til at lade være med at stille op
Det viser sig, at det ikke bare er USA, der har svært ved at afholde rimelige valg - altså rent teknisk - Joint Electoral Management Body, der var ansvarlig for valget i Afghanistan, og hvor EU og OSCE er med, har leveret, hvad Spiegel - helt rimeligt - beskriver som "Millionenteurer Dilettantismus" (101004). Som mange andre steder med mange analfabeter og inkomplette folkeregistre, skulle en finger mærkes med en permanent farve. Der fik imidlertid lov at ligge i 2 måneder i et almindeligt varehus, så den tørrede ud og nødløsningen virkede ikke ! Jeg troede ellers at man måtte have mødt det problem ved andre valg i tørre lande !!?? - er meningen, at der skal kunne rejses tvivl om resultatet, hvis der nu blev valgt en forkert person - eller er de embedsmænd, der har stået for valget virkelig så inkompetente ?
180105, The Guardian. Torturen - billeder, sexuel, ydmygelse, etc. - startede hverken i Guantanamo eller i Abu Ghraib, men i Afghanistan, bl.a. i Bagram, viser tusinder af sider fra US Army, som ACLU har fået ved en FOIAsag.
070205, Cherif Bassiouni, FNs special rapporteur om menneskerettigheder i Afghanistan er dybt bekymret over koalitionens tiltagen sig ret til at tilbageholde og torturere folk. Fængselsforholdene er forfærdelige, volden mod kvinder består.
080405, Taipei Times. Taliban siger, at de skød en amerikansk helikopter ned (16 døde).
090405. Syed Saleem Shahzad i Asia Times. Taliban genopstår og uddannes af Zarqawi-folk fra Iraq under Mehmood Haq Yar. Man opererer med ad hoc grupper til enkeltaktioner. Dermed er man meget lidt sårbar for infiltration. Samtidig prøver ISI (Pakistans efterretningstjeneste) at genindføre "sine" "moderate" talibanfolk.
290405, Chicago Tribune, Cherif Bassiouni, amerikansk, ægyptisk født, professor. Indtil sidste uge FN special rapporteur om menneskerettigheder i Afghanistan - fik ikke sin periode forlænget efter amerikansk pres. Bassiouni fortæller om amerikanske planer om at overføre 200 Guantanamofanger til hemmelige fængsler i Afghanistan - for derefter at åbne Guantanamo for inspektion ! Han har 2 gange søgt adgang til emrikanske fængsler i Afghanistan, det blev nægtet begge gange.
I en kommentar siger en talsmand for hæren, at Røde Kors har adgang (men de rapporterer ikke, heller ikke til FN systemet !!!). Ansvaret for overvågning af menneskerettighedssituationen i Afghanistan ligger nu hos menneskerettighedskommissær Louise Arbour - som, hvis man ser på hendes fortid, kan forventes at gøre, som amerikanerne siger !
110505, Asia Times, Amin Tarzi. Talibanernes radio /Sharia Zhagh er i luften igen. Den skulle være begyndt 180405 og sender mellem 6 og 7; morgen og aften, på Dari og Pashtu. Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran interviewede 210405 prof. ved Kabul Universitet Nasir Ahmad, og spørger ham, hvorfor USA, som med sin tekniske udrustning nemt skulle kunne finde og uskadeliggøre en skjult radiosender, ikke gør det. Han svarer, at fordi USA har langsigtede strategiske intereeser i Afghanistan, har de måske behov for Talibanernes eksistens til at retfærdiggøre deres egen tilstedeværelse.
160505, The Independent. Præsident Karzai kræver ret til at nedlægge veto med amerikanske operationer. Dette efter de store demonstrationer i anledning af koran-toilet-sagen. Karzai henviser til "udefra kommende elementer" som iværksættere af demonstrationerne - hermed formodes han at mene pakistanske efterertningstjenester.
190505, Veterans for Common Sense: 85.000 veteraner fra Afghanistan og Iraq har allerede søgt lægehjælp fra Veterans Affairs. 360.000 er sendt hjem fra Iraq & Afghanistan.
220505, Scotland on Sunday. Ministrene er advaret om, at man står overfor et "komplet strategisk sammebrud" og at der kan blive behov for 5500 ekstra soldater. England har også overbebyrdet sit militær, så de kan kun skaffes fra Iraq. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar har slået sig sammen med talibaner i det sydlige Afghanistan.
220505, Reuters. Karzai afviser amerikansk kritik af hans indsats mod stoffer og kalder den internationale indsats på området "halvhjertet".
Han forlanger retfærdighed for mishandlede fanger. Han vil have de ansvarlige for en domstol [Et helt rimeligt krav, som vi alle må støtte, uanset hvad vi ellers synes om ham]. Han forlanger, at hans regering dels overtager alle fanger, dels får kontrol over amerikansk militær indsats i landet.
260505, CounterPunch, Jack Random. Vurderer Karzai som seriøs og ærlig. Citerer og støtter hans krav om kontrol over den amerikanske hærs operationer i Afghanistan. Afghanistan har brug for lov og orden, ikke hemmelige operationer nær den pakistanske grænse eller fangelejre. Opiumshandlen kan kun afskaffes, hvis man får andet at leve af.
290505, Chicago Tribune, Douglass Cassel: "See no evil". Om hvorfor Bassiouni ikke fik forlænget sit job som menneskerettighedsrapportør i Afghanistan. Han har afleveret 2 rapporter, der begge skarpt kritiserede menneskerettighedssituationen i landet, inklusive - og det er der problemet ligger - de amerikanske troppers udskejelser med mord og tortur. FNs menneskerettighedskommission godkendte i en udtalelse de fleste af Bassiounis beskrivelser - men tog netop ikke kritikken af amerikanerne med. Bassiouni har amerikansk borgerret og er professor på DePaul University.
Talibanerne forbød opiumdyrkning i 2000 og i 2001 var den meget lav. Men i 2004 udgjorde opiumavl 60 % af Afghanistans økonomi og 90 % af verdensproduktionen - mens USA havde ansvaret for lov og orden. Bassiouni skrev, at stofhandel ikke alene gav brændsel til "vidtspredt korruption" men at den "har nået et punkt, hvor velbevæbnede gruppekommandanter, med store stofprofitter i ryggen, i stigende grad har fået karakter af forbryderorganisationer og udgør en betydelig trussel for den nye stat". "De fleste menneskerettighedovertrædelser udføres af krigsherrer, lokale kommandanter, stofhandlere" og andre med magtposition i provinsen. Og den afghanske stat mangler økonomiske og militære midler til at begrænse deres magt og magtmisbrug.
040605, Inthernational Herald Tribune. Talibanerne er stadig en livskraftig oprørsstyrke i Zabul, Kandahar og Uruzgan provinserne. Man får masser af nye rekrutter ind fra Pakistan og der synes heller ikke at mangle våben. [Det stemmer med stigende amerikanske tabstal fra Afghanistan - OJ].
100605, CounterPunch. Brian Cloughey. Da Karzai tillod sig at kritisere det amerikanske militærs behandling af afghanerne, så kom der hurtigt et lækket notat om, at han ikke havde gjort nok mod opiumavlen !! Nu er sagen jo bare den, at de krigsherrer, som styrer Afghanistan netop får deres penge fra opiumsavlen - og amerikanerne gør ikke noget mod dem. Når man behandler Karzai sådan, så ved krigsherrerne, at ham behøver de ikke at tage hensyn til. Som sædvanlig har USA en politik i munden og en helt anden i realiteten.
150605, Reuters alertnet. Chefen for politiet i Badghis' Qadis distriktet er tilbageholdt og sendt til Kabul til nærmere undersøgelser under mistanke for delagtighed i mordene på Medicins sans Frontieres 5 medarbejdere sidste år.
230605, NewsFromRussia. Et amerikansk U2 fly på vej hjem fra en opgave i Afghanistan faldt ned i De forenede arabiske Emorater.
050705, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): Rusland, Kina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan og Tajikistan. SCO ønsker at få fastsat en dato for tilbagetrækning af fremmede tropper fra sine medlemsstater - med henvisning til faldet i aktive krigshandlinger i Afghanistan.
060705, Ashraf Fahim i Asia Times, "The perils of colonial justice in Iraq". Gennemgår bl.a. fyringen af prof. ved Depaul University, Cherif Bassiouni som FNs Uafhængige Ekspert for Menneskerettigheder i Afghanistan. Manglen på Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) i Iraq og Afghanistan. Michael Ratner citeres for at meningen hermed er at terrorisere befolkningerne.
070705, HRW. "Afghanistan: Bring war criminals to justice". Link til rapport og andet materiale.
110705, The Guardian. 4 terrormistænkte er stukket af fra den amerikanske fangelejr ved Bagram basen i Afghanistan. Det har kostet 16 døde USsoldater at lede efter en forsvunden Navy Seal commandosoldat - der så blev fundet, død. Samme flugt beskrives af Reuter, 120705, med lidt flere detaljer.
140705, Expressindia. Talibanerne har skaffet sig antiluftskyts og er på vej til at skaffe sig noget endnu bedre, siger talsmand Abdul Latif Hakimi. USmilitærpersoner siger, at helikopteren blev skudt ned med en raketdrevet granat og at der ikke er tegn på anvendelse af noget mere avanceret.
230705, The Independent. Senior britiske embedsmænd konstaterer, at angrebene i sydvest er blevet mere målrettede og professionelle. Selv i Karzais hjemprovins Kandahar er modstandsbevægelsen på vej op. Karzai siger, at grænseoverskridende aktivitet fra Pakistan bidrager til uroen.
010805, Azadiradio har en lidt sjov korrespondance mellem forskellige nyhedsbureauer om den russiske udenrigsminister Ivanovs bemærkninger om at det meste af det afghanske territorium kun kontrolleres af neo Taliban - som 1979 - 1989, hvor russernes lakej kun regerede i Kabul. [Sammenligningen burde give anledning til bekymring i USA, NATO m.fl., OJ]
080805, K Gajendra Singh, fhv indisk ambassadør, på Information Clearing House: "Strategic chess moves across Eurasia". I april oplyste forsvarsminister Abdul Rahim Wardak at planerne var på plads for permanente amerikanske baser i landet.
090805, Xinhua. Den canadiske general Andrew siger at han forventer, at canadiske tropper vil befinde sig i Afghanistan i de næste 20 år. Man regner med at nå op på 1250 canadiske soldater i februar 2006.
200805, VOA News. USA havde 2 hemmelige møder med mulla Omar i 1998. Man diskuterede bl.a. måder til at slippe af med bin Laden. Samme sag omtales i Daily Times, 210805 her er det dog ikke mulla Omar men Wakil Ahmed og amerikaneren er Alan Eastham Jr. Wakil forklarede hvorfor taliban ikke bare kunne udlevere bin Laden. De officielle okumenter om USAs forhold til Taliban og Bin Laden findes på National Security Archive.
210805, Knight Ridder. Det nye taliban er er formidabel fjende, men stadig ikke så stor som før angrebet i 2001. Eksperter mener, at al Qaeda har åbnet en 2. front for at USA kan bløde både i Iraq og i Afghanistan.
140905, International Herald Tribune. "Big test for the Afghan elections: Turnout." Handler ikke mindst om kvinderne og valget.
160905, Foreign Policy in Focus. "Giving Democracy a Bad Name". USA formodes at have skabt nye "demokratier" i Afghanistan og Iraq, men disse bestræbelser giver demokratiet et dårligt ry.
200905, AP. Karzai fremturer med at
Han referer indirekte til støtten fra Pakistan.
250905, Newsday: "One prisoner's story", dr Mohammed Ali Shah, kæmper mod russerne, i exil under talibanerne, nu i Guantanamo.
290905, Al Jazira. Så fandt man endelig også en massegrav med regeringssoldater fra (kommunistiske) Najibullahs tid. Skudt efter at de havde overgivet sig.
171005, Daily Times, Pakistan: 50 valgembedsmænd fyret for snyd.
191005, Sydney Morning Herald, SBS om en episode, hvor amerikanske soldater brænder taliban lig - hvad der efter islam er ligskænding.
231005, PakTribune: Ali Mohaqiq Nasab redaktør af "Women's Rights" (Hoquq-e Zan) er arresteret for blasfemi. En af hans artikler satte spørgsmålstegn ved steningen af utro kvinder, en anden artikel fremførte det synspunkt, at det ikke var en forbrydelse at opgive islam. Arrestationen (1.okt) skete på foranledning af en af Karzais religiøse vejledere. Mediekommissionen, som legalt skulle have udtalt sig, inden sagen kunne rejses i Højesteret har udtalt, at man ikke finder, at han fornærmer islam i artiklerne.
041105, The Guardian. Der er problemer omkring kommandoen af ISAF. USA vil helst have flest mulig soldater fra andre lande - men alligevel bestemme. Der leges med en ide om en general med to kommandokæder. En amerikansk kæde for terroristbekæmpelsen og en britisk for de fredsskabende opgaver. Da de afghanske krigsherrer, som USA skal bruge i terroristbekæmpelsen, også dyrker opium, er USA ikke så interesseret i for megen aktivitet mod dyrkningen. Heroinen havner jo også bare i Europa. De øvrige europæiske lande, bortset fra Holland, er ikke særligt interesserede i at være med.
041205, International Herald Tribune/New York Times. Bringer detaljer om fangeflugten i juli.
010306, Washington Post. Defense Intelligence Agencys chef, Michael D. Maples, sagde til Senate Armed Services Committee at modstandsbevægelsen i Afghanistan udgør en større trussel nu end nogensinde siden sidst i 2001. Fra 2004 til 2005 steg antallet af angreb med 20 %, antallet selvmordsbombere næste firdobledes og antallet af improviserede bomber blev fordoblet.
210306, Sydney Morning Herald, David Williams: "Please don't come home, UN begs Afghan refugees". Tom Koenigs, chef for UN assistance mission in Afghanistan udtalte straks efter sin tiltræden, at Afghanistan ikke var i stand til at modtage flere hjemvendende. Han blev straks korrigeret af UNHCRs kontor i Geneve.
180406, WorldNetDaily: Real bad news in Afghanistan. Mullah Omar og hans talibaner kontrollerer hele det landlige Afghanistan og bjergene, inkl. provinserne Paktia, Paktika, Ghazni, Zabul, Helmand, og Oruzgan, samt dele af Kandahar. Hertil kommer South og North Qaziristan i Pakistan. Pakistanere i regeringskøretøjer kan ikke længere besøge Waziristan, Baluchistan, og andre stammeområder.
060506, Asia Times: The fall and fall of Afghanistan. De amerikanske firmaer, der "genopbygger" landet scorer kassen og laver elendigt arbejde, viser en rapport fra CorpWatch. Derudover har nogen af krigsherrerne vundet ny status ved at deltage i nogen af projekterne.
190506, Stratfor. En Talibanoffensiv er i gang. Taliban blev ikke besejret i 2001, de søgte ud i bjergene, nu kommer de igen. De har tålmodighed og regner med at amerikanerne går samme vej som russerne.
250506, Daily Times, Pakistan. Ahmed Rashid: "Er taliban tilbage ?" Forholdet mellem Musharraf og USA er dårligt.
020606, IRNA. Professor of Peace Studies Paul Rodgers, Bradford University, England forudser forværret sikkerhedssituation og andre fortrædeligheder for US/UK i Iraq og i Afghanistan.
060606, ICH, Mike Whitney: Afghanistan's Second Intifada: "George Bush has broken every promise he made to the people of Afghanistan. In 2001 he said he would remove the Taliban, establish order, and rebuild the country along the lines of the Marshall Plan. He lied on all accounts." Chefen for Pakistans efterretningstjenste, ISI, Hamid Gul forudsiger, at en massiv modstandsbevægelse er i gang.
090606, Simon Jenkins i The Guardian: Kabul should have restored to it the dignity lost over the past 25 years. Der skal kun en lille del af krigsomkostningerne til for at redde historiske/arkitektoniske værdier. Jenkins advarer mod at gentage Coventrys fejltagelser med at vælte de sørgelige rester. Curzon blev rost af Nehru - og det var den ros, han var mest stolt af - for at have sikret bevarelsen af Taj Mahal og andre tilsvarende væsentlige bygningsværker.
090606 ?, Taliban shoot down US fighter plane. De avancerede våben CIA gav til talibanerne til deres kamp mod russerne ser ud til at finde hjem igen !!
120606, The Guardian. En 220 siders FN-rapport (fra UNHCR, menneskeretshøjkommissæren) har ligget i 18 måneder og er stadig ikke offentliggjort. Den beskriver de forskellige menneskerettighedskrænkelser begået af de forskellige krigsherrer gennem de sidste 23 år. [Da USA skal bruge nogen af d'herrer, er man ikke altfor interesseret i at få rapporten ud. Efter opløbene i Kabul for 2 uger siden har Karzai fundet behov for at udnævne 13 af de gamle krigsherrer til ledende poster i politiet.
150606, Sydney Morning Herald, West has been helping itself, not Afghanistan. "The aid flowing to Afghanistan is only a fraction, per capita, of what Kosovo and even East Timor received, and much of it has entirely bypassed the Afghan Government, leading to the emergence of what the World Bank has called a "second civil service" of UN agencies and private commercial contractors, receiving rewards that are astronomical by Afghan standards, but doing little to foster local capacity. Not enough is tricklinq down to ordinary Afqhans. All this has created space for the Taliban to surge back."
060706, The Guardian/Arab News, Simon Jenkins, The Dishonesty and Stupidity Behind Afghan Fiasco. Britiske tropper løber en risiko i Afghanistan og deres nærvær i det land har intet med britisk sikkerhed at gøre. De er der for at holde liv i NATO i Europa, en uværdig opgave. Forsvarsministrene lyttede ikke til de engelske generaler. "The impression was that cognitive dissonance (hiding what ministers do not want to hear) is still the order of the day in Blair's London...[I]f the West wants poor people to grow food instead of poppies, why does it refuse to curb its heroin consumption while dumping grain surpluses on the Afghan market ?" [Det sidste skulle det da være enkelt at undgå !!, OJ].
Septembre 2006, Syed Saleem Shahzad: "Cinq années de 'guerre au terrorisme', Comment les talibans ont repris l'offensive". Artiklen har et fint oversigtskort over Afghanistans provinser. Det er mullah Dadullah, som på vegne af mullah Omar har beordret standsning af kamphandlingerne mod den pakistanske hær i Waziristan. I marts besøgte en delegation fra al Zarqawi i Iraq Afghanistan og modtes med Bin Laden, al Zawahiri og mullah Omar. [Der er intet om, hvor Shahzad ved det fra]. 40.000 mand fra Waziristan kom ind som forstærkning til forårsoffensiven under kommando af veteranen Jalauddin Haqqani. Der anvendes en ny strategi. Man retirerer under de amerikanske flyangreb til en sikker zone. Når så koalitionen og dens afghanere kommer, så sætter man ind med skjulte bomber og selvmordsangreb, det giver større tab end koalitionen ellers har set siden 2001. Afghanistan har ikke anerkendt Durand-linien som grænse til Indien.
050906, Daily Ireland, Patrick Seale: "Four American allies in deep trouble" Det drejer sig om Islamabad, Kabul, Baghdad og Jerusalem, hvor regeringsledere har problemer p.g.a. deres nære alliance med USA. Taliban kan nu stille med battalioner op til 400 mand, trods USAs luftherredømme. (bekræftes delvist af at 700 talibaner er omringet i Panjwayee district of Kandahar province. http://tinyurl.com/o65yn )
060906, ICH nyhedsbrev: Full report: Afghanistan Five Years Later ¦ The Return of the Taliban: Five Years On, the US-led International Community has Failed Afghanistan http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/014_publication.
070906, The Independent, Kim Sengupta: "Afghanistan: Campaign against Taliban 'causes misery and hunger'". The Senlis Council og International Institute of Strategic Studies har, hver for sig, lavet rapporter om tilstanden i Afghanistan. Begge advarer mod forværring af sikkerhedssituationen. Og samtidig sulter afghanerne. USA har tabt kontrollen over landet og undermineret demokratiet.
090906, The Independent, Patrick Cockburn: Why 'victory' in first phase of war on terror unravelled. Nu er kampene i Afghanistan hæftigere end dem i Iraq. Inden længe kan de vestlige soldater ikke bevæge sig udenfor deres egne indhegninger.
120906, "Charge of the heavy brigade". Lord Guthrie, fhv. chief of the defence staff, har gentagne gange advaret ministre mod farerne ved at vildlede offentligheden og ved ikke at planlægge militære operationer ordentligt. General Sir Rupert Smith, en af Englands mest erfare generaler, kritiserer, at man har spillet modstanderens spil ved "'trampling' on the rule of law and human rights, and weakening alliances". Og International Institute for Strategic Studies siger, at de europæiske regeringer vurderer det derhen, at USA og dets allieredes indsats i Iraq har forstærket bin Ladens 'historie', at man tilstræber vestligt overherredømme over den arabiske og hele den muslimske verden for at stjæle Islams olie og støtte Israel i dets kamp mod sine, fortrinsvis muslimske, naboer.
150906, Telegraph. US outraged as Pakistan frees Taliban fighters. Det drejer sig om tusinder af fremmede kæmpere, som Pakistan satte fast, da de flygtede fra slagmarken i Afghanistan, som stille er sat fri og returneret til deres hjemlande.
150906, WSWS, "European powers refuse to send more troops to Afghanistan". Spanien, Frankrig, Tyskland, Italien og Tyrkiet har sagt nej. Polen sender 900 i februar. Et forsøg på at presse Serbien gav 5 specialister i lufthavnssikkerhed. Det hele truer NATOs fremtid. [Og det var også på tide, at den alliance blev nedlagt, OJ].
220906, The British 'Daily Mail reported on Sept. 22 that the number of British soldiers being wounded in Afghanistan is far higher than the public at home realize... There Iraq and Afghanistan... the British govemment publicizes some figures but they are incomplete, ignoring relatively minor battlefield wounds or injuries. Her citeret fra Folkets Dagblad.
230906, Globe and Mail, Graeme Smith: "Inspiring tale of triumph over Taliban not all it seems". Mange af de kæmpere, der blev dræbt, måske halvdelen, var ikke rigtige Taliban men lokale bønder, der gjorde op med et korrupt politi og en anden stamme. Installerer man nu de samme politifolk, vil det ske igen. Der henvises til en bestemt krigsherre, som gav anledning til en tidobling af antallet af oprørere. Taliban foretrækkes fordi de giver en vis orden og sikkerhed. Min erindring sider, at det var samme sag da Sovjetunionen forsøgte at bakke en afghansk regering op. Lokal korruption og tyveri er regeringens værste fjende.
280906, Reuters, NATO agrees early takeover of all Afghan peacekeeping. Det drejer sig om 12000 soldater, de fleste amerikanske.
280906, ICH, Stephen Lendman: Afghanistan: The Other Lost War. Referer Afghanistans modstandshistorie. Taliban holdt orden i 1990erne [det var også det de vandt på, OJ]. FNs antinarkotikachef forventer en opiumhøst på 6100 tons. I form af heroin "[i]t guarantees the crime bosses easy acces to the lucrative US market and the CIA a large and reliable revenue stream to augment its annual (heretofore secret) budget disclosed by Mary Margaret Graham, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Collection, to be $44 billion in 2005." Kun 1/4 af befolkningen har adgang til sikkert drikkevand og kloak. Genopbygningsmidler er gået til ca. 70 amerikanske firmaer, Bechtel, Fluor, Parsons, Shaw Group, SAIC, CH2M Hill, DynCorp, Blackwater, The Louis Berger Group, The Rendon Group nævnes. Hjemvendende afghanske flygtninge har også svært ved at genvinde land og ejendom, der er stjålet fra dem. Sidst i dokumentet er der en vurdering af Bush' mentale tilstand, der skulle bekymre farmand.
021006, Telegraph, UK, Paras almost retreated under Taliban assault.
051006, The Times of India, US set to cut deal with Taliban. "First signs of impending overtures to Taliban from Washington came last month when Bush and his aides gingerly supported Pakistan's agreement with Taliban in the Waziristan province, a deal which was panned in strategic circles as a sell-out to extremists at the expense of US and NATO ground troops in Afghanistan."
101006, National Security Archive, V[eterans ]A[administration] Takes Nine Months to Locate Data on Disability Claims by Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. En fjerdedel af de hjemkomne fra de 2 igangværende krige søger om en invaliditetsydelse ! [og det havde man ikke travlt med at få offentliggjort, OJ]
111006, DNA, Hamid Karzai worked for ISI, i øvrigt sammen med sin broder og far.
171006, Global Research, Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya: "The War in Afghanistan: Drugs, Money Laundering and the Banking System". Afghanistan er det ideelle sted at placere en kile mellem de væsentlige magter i Eurasien og at placere tropper til fremtidige operationer i Eurasien. En rørledningskorridor gennem Pakistan og Afghanistan fra olie og gasfelterne i Turkmenistan (og det øvrige Centralasien) har i flere år stået på de amerikanske olieselskabers ønskeseddel. På den måde kan kontrol med Afghanistan afgøre kontrollen med Eurasien. Og så er Afghanistan det væsentligste område for opiumproduktion. Narkotika er det tredie vigtigste handelsområde efter olie og våben ! Den politik England gennemførte med Opiumkrigen (1839 - 1842) fortsætter i dag. Narkomarkedet udgør 400 - 500 milliarder USD. Og Afghanistan står for produktionen af hovedparten af opiumen. [Opium og dets afledede Heroin, er kun en del af narkomarkedet, OJ]. NATOs tilstedeværelse har ikke mindsket opiumproduktionen. Tværtimod. Opium handles fra Afghanistan via et andet NATObesat område, Kosova og Albanien. Den afghanske modstandsbevægelse er ikke kun Taliban. NATO kalder den Anti-Coalition Militias. Militserne styrkes [som i Iraq, OJ] af NATOtroppernes og lejesoldaternes menneskerettighedskrænkelser. Taliban er skabt af CIA og ISI (Pakistans efterretningstjeneste) i kampen mod Sovjetunionen. Faktisk provokerede denne aktivitet til den sovjettiske besættelse i december 1979 (Brzezinski citeres for denne indrømmelse, i et interview i Nouvel Observateur). Det virker som om USA og NATO nu vil have Taliban tilbage !.
201006, The Guardian Jonathan Steele There is never going to be a Nato victory in Afghanistan. "In Washington and London the desire to eliminate al-Qaida was wrongly combined with seeking regime change in Kabul - a goal the security council never authorised."
241006, Travelling with the Taleban. BBC's David Loyn rejste med Taliban allerede i midten af 1990erne. De rejser i Toyota pick-ups uden anden bagage end deres våben. På den måde er de ekstraordinært mobile. Som det er nu, er der en del vejkontroller bemandet med regeringens soldater - og de opkræver penge for at lade folk passere. Loyn citerer Taleban talsmanden Mohammed Anif: "We rose up and saved almost the whole country from the evils of corruption and corrupt commanders... that's why people are supporting the Taleban again now". NATO har svært ved at være troværdig som en humanitær indsats. Det kan ikke forenes med, at man skyder folk og ødelægger deres huse.
Det afghanske folk har erindring om briternes nederlag 1842 og 1880 og russernes i 1980erne.
251006, New York Times, ELIZABETH RUBIN, In the Land of the Taliban. Det virker som en førstehåndsskildring - men allerede nogle måneder gammel. Hun beskriver Quetta (Pakistansk Baluchistan) som rekreationsområde for Taliban, hvor man mødes åbent. Taliban er dannet i 1994 af Mullah Omar, for at få lidt orden og retfærdighed i Afghanistan og få de gridske krigsherrer på porten. (En af dem Amir Dado og hans død beskrives). Amerikanerne genindsatte netop disse krigsherrer, da de fordrev Taliban i 2001. Hun beskriver at selv Kabuls overklasse er trætte af korruptionen. Fra Lashkar Gah beretter hun om politiets voldtægt - som "ikke ville have kunnet finde sted under Taliban, deres sikkerhed var fremragende". Denne gang bekæmper Taliban ikke opiumdyrkningen. Det fjerner et af befolkningens (specielt i provinsen Helmand) klagepunkter over dem. FN vurderer årets høst til rekorden 6100 tons. Opiummen smugles via Pakistan, Iran og Tyrkiet til Europa. Efter Rubins beskrivelse med Iran-delen som den vanskeligste. Hun beskriver ogs, hvordan det pakistanske militær samler en flok landsbyboere, når de ikke kan fange Talibanere. Der er udsat en dusør på 1 million USD til den, der dræber Jyllandspestens Mohammad-karikaturtegner. I 1990erne støttede Pakistans premierminister Nawaz Sharif Rabbanis regering i Afghanistan, men ISI (Pakistans efterretningstjeneste) støttede Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, den islamistiske krigsherre. Det samme gjorde USA, som også drev Mujahedin-lejre i Waziristan. En af Rubins kilder, talibanen A., kalder ISI "slanger", der arbejder p at få en leder, de kan kontrollere. Mullah Omar er for uafhængig. Megen ødelæggelse (af skoler og veje) udført af Taliban er sket på ISIs ordrer. De vil ikke se nogen modernisering. Den pakistanske hær føler sig brugt af USA (som et kondom). Siden Musharrafs våbenhvile med de militante sidste måned er antallet af angreb fra Waziristan steget med 300 %, siger NATO. General Mirza Aslam Beg, var central i skabelsen af de jihadis, der drev Sovjet ud. Han var generalstabschef 1988 - 1991. Han trænedes i 1950erne af CIA til del af en "stay-behind organization", der skulle starte modstand, hvis Pakistan blev overtaget af Sovjetunionen. Madrasas i Pakistan styres af Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, en alliance af religiøse partier og Musharraf til bekæmpelse af Bhuttos og Sharifs ikke-religiøse partier.
281006, Zaman, Turkey Refuses NATO Request to Go Outside Kabul. General James Jones ville gerne have tyrkerne ud andre steder. Kun USA, Holland, Rumænien og Canada har ikke restriktioner på, hvor deres soldater må indsættes.
291006, Observer, Afghanistan war is 'cuckoo', says Blair's favourite general. General the Lord Guthrie kom med udtalelsen i et Observer-interview. Han siger også at Blairs løfte om at give hæren alt, hvad den ønsker sig er urealistisk.
291006, Observer, Taliban plan to fight through winter to throttle Kabul. Hidtil har de holdt vinterferie. Nu planlægges en offensiv. Specielt vil Taliban sikre sig kontrollen over vejen til Jalalabad. Karzai har lagt op til forhandlinger, men Mullah Omar afviser. 'The aim is clear,' said the source. 'Force the international representatives of the crusader Zionist alliance out, and finish with their puppet government.' I det sydlige Afghanistan - hvor de britiske styrker står - følger Taliban de opskrifter, der virkede mod Sovjetunionen: undgå store voldseksplosioner, men udøv et stadig pres, der nedslider fjendens ressourcer, vilje og tålmodighed.
131106, Guardian As Taliban Insurgency gains strength and sophistication, suspicion falls on Pakistan. Uanset mistanker mod Pakistans ISI, så har interne forhold en stor rolle i Afghanistans mangel på stabilitet. Korruption, magtfulde krigsherrer og narkobosser har ødelagt Karzais autoritet. Pakistan og Indien konkurrerer også i forholdet til Karzais regering.
131106, BBC, Afghan conflict deaths quadruple. Der er mere end 3700 døde i år. BBC regner - af uforklarlige årsager - kun med 1000 heraf civile.
hentet hos Rawa.org, 041206, How US dollars disappear in Afghanistan: quickly and thoroughly. Noget af hjælpen er fup, fantom hjælp. Modtageren skal købe dyr amerikansk eksperthjælp for pengene o.l. Hvad den type hjælp angår overgås USA kun af Frankrig. Louis Berger Group fik ordren på hovedvejen fra Kabul til Kandahar til en pris på 700.000 USD/km, selvom der forelå alternative tilbud på 250.000 USD/km.
101206, The Independent, CIA Is Undermining British War Effort, Say Military Chiefs. CIA har presset Karzai til at fyre briternes hovedsamarbejdspartner, Mohammed Daud som guvenør i Helmand. De vidste det, og der er stigede uoverensstemmelser også i Iraq-provinserne Maysan og Basra.
121206, ICH, K Gajendra Singh, Iraqi Quagmire Haunts NATO Riga Summit. Medlemslandene var ikke parate til at stille de 2200 ekstra soldater, generalerne forlangte til Afghanistan. Den tyske offentlighed havde næppe villet købe, at tyske soldater blev involveret i kamp i Afghanistan. Derfor los Angela Merkel bare kritik fra de allierede passere. Før mødet understregede den russiske forsvarsminister Sergej Lavrov at situationen i Afghanistan meget ligner den i 1980erne, hvor Sovjetunionen med 110.000 elitesoldater ikke kunne skaffe sig overherredømme. "On the eve of the Riga summit, Lt Gen David Richards, the British General and | Nato's force commander in Afghanistan, and the Dutch Ambassador Daan Everts, its chief envoy there, who were in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad ,urging the Pakistani military to do more to reign in the Taliban, were told by Pakistani Foreign Minister, Khurshid Kasuri in private briefings that the Taliban were winning the war in Afghanistan and Nato was bound to fail. He advised against sending more troops. Stunned Western interlocutors said that "Kasuri is basically asking Nato to surrender and to negotiate with the Taliban."
" Gen Orakzai, a Pashtun himself ,maintains that the Talebans represent the ethnic Pashtun population, which straddles Afghanistan's and Pakistan border provinces and they now lead a "national resistance" to expel Western occupation forces from Afghanistan (as in Iraq.)....Ahmed Rashid an expert on the region ,wrote recently that," In southern Afghanistan, the Taliban have learned to avoid U.S. and NATO surveillanee satellites and drones ,collect up to 400 guerrillas at a time to attack Afghan police stations and army posts and then disperse before U.S airpower arrives, hide their weapons and merge into the local population. "In North and South Waziristan, the tribal regions along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, an alliance of extremist groups that includes al Qaeda, Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, Central Asians, and Chechens has won a significant victory against the army of Pakistan."
"In 'Afghanistan after democracy' Dr. Mohammed Daud Miraki, an Afghan says that ,5 years on, the Afghan population is still devastated by relentless poverty ,one in four children born in Afghanistan cannot expect to live to age 5, close to 50% of the population cannot expect to live to age 40 with the lowest life expectancy in the world. More than 70% of the population is chronically malnourished, less than a quarter of the population has access to safe drinking water, the electricity supply is accessible by only 10% of the people. Fifty to seventy mothers die every day from birth complications according to the 2006 World Health Report."
[Det er dybt besynderligt - måske racisrisk begrundet - at det USA, der forstod at bekæmpe kommunismen i Europa med Marshallhjælp, har så svært ved at se, at en smule udviklingshjælp kunne skaffe dem mange venner, og en billig sejr. Men på den anden side, så sælger man jo ingen våben].
211206, Asia Times, Syed Saleem Shahzad, Taliban line up the heavy artillery. Taliban planlægger en storoffensiv til foråret. NATO håber at have klaret dem inden. Instil nu har Taliban ikke massemobiliseret. Alle toplederne er gemt i Pakistans grænseområder. Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani, deres chef for militære operationer i Afghanistan, befinder sig i Nordwaziristan. Mullah Dadullah er også i Pakistan. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar har sin egen dagsorden [det har han haft i årevis, OJ] og Karzai håber at kunne bruge ham. Han kan tænkes at satse på at kunne hjælpe de fremmede styrker sikkert ud af landet mod at få en væsentlig politisk rolle. [Hekmatyar er pashtun (af Kharrut-stammen) fra Baghlan; læste til ingeniør, Olivier Roy, L'Afghanistan, Seuil, 1985, p. 104; han støtter sig ikke på ulema, de gejstliges råd; han satte den islamistiske bevægelse over kampen mod Sovjet - og ligner heri det revolutionære Iran (som i øvrigt ikke støttede ham væsentligt, derimod har han et fortrinligt forhold til Jama'at i Pakistan); han fastholdt et mindre, disciplineret eliteparti, Hezb-i-islami, som altid gik sine egne veje. "Comme toujours l'interprétation de la politique de Gulbuddin reste problématique", p. 148]. Taliban har en væsentlig svaghed. De satser ikke på erfaring, sætter ofte unge, uerfarne ind udfra hensyn til/respekt for den madrasa, hvor vedkommende er uddannet. Shahzads personlige erfaringer, som de beskrives i artiklens slutning illustrerer brydninger mellem stammesamfundet og taliban.
220107, Xinhua, De amerikanskledede koalitionsstyrker har bombet den pakistanske hær i nærheden af Shawal, North Waziristan Agency, og dræbt en pakistansk soldat og såret 2. Pakistan har protesteret.
210207, ocregister.com, The New York Times, Italian premier quits over Afghan vote. Prodi går af fordi 2 medlemmer af koalitionen undlod at stemme - og dermed bragte forslaget til fald - om fortsat italiensk deltagelse i USAs krig i Afghanistan og udvidelse af USAs base i Vicenza.
240207, ICH, M K Bhadrakumar, Foreign devils in the Iranian mountains. "All the same, the commentary gave a candid Iranian insight into the state of play in Afghanistan. It estimated that without a comprehensive rethink of strategy aimed at addressing the problems of weak political institutions, misgovernance, corruption, warlordism, tardy reconstruction, drug trafficking and attendant mafia, and excesses by the coalition forces, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) couldn't possibly hope to get anywhere near on top of the crisis in Afghanistan. The commentary pointed a finger at Pakistan's training the Taliban and providing them with "logistical and political support"...: Washington's priority - ... the "new cold war" objective of NATO is to establish a long-term presence in the region - can be realized only with Musharraf s cooperation... Iranian cooperation at a practical level went a long way in facilitating the US vasion of Afghanistan in 2001"
250207, Skånskan, "Kända svenskar, som förre försvarsministern Thage G Peterson och f redsdebattören Maj Britt Theorin, har skrivit under ett upprop med kravet att svenska soldater ska lämna Afghanistan. - Svenskarna dras in i USA:s krigföring, säger Gösta Hultén, Afghanistankännare...Gösta Hultén säger att svenskarna som ingår i den Natoledda Isaf-styrkan stjälper mer än de hjälper. - Så som situationen har i utvecklats idag liknar det mer en ockupation än en fredsinsats. Situationen påminner allt mer om hur det såg ut när Sovjet ockuperadt andet... Även fredagens utspel om att svenska JAS-plan eventuellt kan komma att sättas in i Afghanistan ser han som ännu ett tecken till att svenskarna anpassar sig till amerikanerna.... - Den svenska styrkan är underställd en amerikansk general som anklagas för människorättsbrott."
010307 ? Asia Times, Syed Saleem Shahzad, Pakistan makes a deal with the Taliban. Det sker gennem Mullah Dadullah. Shahzad skriver også, at al Qaeda ikke vil have noget at gøre med Islamabad. Men der består stadig gensidig respekt mellem Taliban og al Qaeda. Pakistan skal have leveret sensorer, der opfanger de vildledningssignaler, som fly udsender mod antiluftraketter. Sensorerne skal være kopierede fra ueksploderede krydsermissiler, sendt mod Afghanistan/bin Laden i 1998.
260307, Telegraph, Taliban 'invite' 10,000 Uzbeks to Helmand. De kommer fra Islamic Movement Union of Uzbekistan, under ledelse af Tahir Yuldashev. De har tidligere kæmpet i Pakistans stammeområde ved grænsen til Afghanistan.
290307, Asia Times, THE WEAPONS NO ONE CAN STOP. Om selvmordsbombere i stærkt stigende tal.
090507, The Economist, No way to win hearts and minds. America apologises for killing civilians. Drabene sker på grund af manglende disciplin og overdreven anvendelse af luftangreb. OG: "Since the killings in Afghanistan in March, American troops in that country - mostly from a counter-terrorism contingent that is operating outside the main American-led NATO peacekeepinq force - are alleged to have killed civilians on atleast five occasions." [min kursiv, OJ]. F.eks refereres, at det kostede 137 dræbte at jage Mullah Akhtar (dog ingen civile, siger artiklen). [De der anti-guerilla-grupper sælges jo ellers på, at de de kan "tage ud" den enkelte "skidte knægt" i en stor menneskemasse. OJ]
180507, Earthtimes.org, NATO stumped by air strike on Taiiban in western Afghanistan. Der er 14 dræbte og NATO vil ikke kendes ved flyangrebet - hvem ellers har krigsfly i Afghanistan ??
240507, International Herald Tribune, Afghan deaths caused by US Special Forces stir unease. Afghanere, inkl. præsident Karzai, men også USAs allierede er bekymrede over de mange civile ofre. "The deaths involved troops from a 12,000-member U.S.-led coalition, which operates separately from NATO's 37,000-strong International Security Assistance Force. But NATO officials fear that Afghans and others don't understand the distinction." Hvad er nu det for styrker ?
Syed Saleem Shahzad, Al-Qaida contre les talibans, Le Monde Diplomatique, juillet 2007. Skriver i min spontane oversættelse: "Ben Laden kom tilbage fra Sudan i 1996 og "ægypterne" forsøgte at omvende ham til et takfiristisk* syn selvom hans tankegang indtil da helt havde rettet sig mod kampen mod amerikansk dominans i Mellemøsten." Den udtalelse virker helt barok, når man ser på bin Ladens aktivitet mod Sovjet i Afghanistan. OJ. *takfiristisk syn: man ser årsagen til den islamiske ummas problemer i manglende fromhed hos muslimer, især shiiter. Man koncentrerer sig om den indre fjende. Det er Shahzads opfattelse, at de militante i stammeområderne i Pakistan hellere vil bekæmpe den pakistanske hær, end kæmpe mod USAs besættelse af Afghanistan.
Le Monde diplomatique, JUILLET 2007. Hernando Calvo Ospina, Quand une respectable fondation prend le relais de la CIA. I 2003 oprettede NED et kontor i Afghanistan.
100607, Nejtilkrig brochure. Der er ialt ca 43000 soldater i ISAF. USA stiller de 20.000. (Og hvor mange af dem er indkøbte 2.rangs mennesker ?) Det betyder altså at over halvdelen er lakejstyrker, som ikke engang skal betales af verdensherskeren. Tænk at Rumænien stiller 764 besættere. For at sikre USAs olierørledninger.
170607, BBC, Can the war in Afghanistan be won? "The Taleban have new confidence and new tactics, and their campaign against the government and its Nato bacikers has been increasingly successful since the beginning of this year....The new al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan, Mustafa bin Yazid, has himself had combat experience in Iraq."
010707, The Independent, Robert Fisk, 'Abu Henry' and the mysterious silence. ""Abu Henry" says we may have to remain in Afghanistan for decades to protect Afghans from the Taliban. Our ambassador in Kabul - Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, KCMG, LVO, to be precise - apparently sees no contradiction in this extraordinary prediction. The Taliban are themselves mostly Afghans, and the idea that the British Army is in Afghanistan to protect the locals from each other is a truly colonial proposition....the Saudi Arabian... "They've shrunk the pool of support for terrorism...No word, of course, of the Saudis' habit of chopping off the heads of "criminals" after grotesquely unfair trials. In an unprecedented year for executions, the kingdom's swordsmen - the job is sometimes passed on father to son as was onee the case in Britain - managed to hack off 100 heads by the middle of this month.... in Riyadh "we've been proud of our visa policy, where 95 per cent of Saudis applying for a visa before 9am on a workday obtain their visas by 2pm the same working day"...The Saudis, you may remember, provided 14 of the 19 killers of 11 September, 2001....And no word from Abu Henry, of course, about that other little matter of the alleged bribery of Saudi officials by the British BAE Systems arms group. Here, however, there is much more to say - courtesy, I admit at once, of a delightfully written article by Michael Peel in the Financial Times last February. In the paper, Peel describes how Robert Wardle, director of the Serious Fraud Office, had "much to ponder" after three London meetings with Cowper-Coles, "Britain's urbane ambassador to Saudi Arabia". Mr Wardle, it seems, was "coming around to the view" that he might have to scrap his enquiry since it could damage "national security"....Indeed, I remember way back in the late 1970s - when I was Middle East correspondent for The Times - how a British diplomat in Cairo tried to persuade me to fire my local "stringer", an Egyptian Coptic woman who also worked as a correspondent for the Associated Press and who provided a competent coverage of the country when I was in Beirut. "She isn't much good," he said, and suggested I hire a young Englishwoman whom he knew and who - so I later heard - had close contacts in the Foreign Office. ...And the name of that young British diplomat in Cairo back in the late 970s? Why, Sherard Cowper-Coles, of course."
200707, ICH, Johan Galtung ,What Comes After The U.S. Empire? "The 5 points that would give a solution to Afghanistan would be the following from the TRANSCEND mediation in Peshawar in February 2001. [detailed in the paper over 2 pp].
1. Make a Coalition Government with the Taliban.
2. Afghanistan is the material from which a Federation is made.
3. A Central Asian Community surrounding Afghanistan with the Pashtuns from Pakistan, the Tadjiks from Tadjikistan and the Dari-speaking from Iran, and so on.
4. Make Basic Needs the leading line of the Government policy.
5. Security, provided by cooperation between the UN Security Council and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The UN Security Council has a veto nucleus of 4 Christian powers, and one Confucian. It has no legitimacy whatsoever in the Muslim world....To believe that one can organize a UNSC-sponsored security operation in a country that hates the UN, not only because of the composition of the Security Council, but for having killed 1 million through the Iraq sanctions, is naive.
....a former Cabinet Member said "This is the best I've ever seen, the only problem is it has no chance... Why, because," he added, "the Americans will attack us in October 2001, because they want to control pipelines, and they want bases.".. You will of course remember that this was to be exact seven months before 9/11."
010807, Newsweek, Taliban Commander: Why We Took the Koreans. Bygger angiveligt på et interview med "several Taliban commanders". Det handler om frigivelse af Commander Daro Khan, som amerikanerne har taget.
060807, The Nation - Bush to Karzai: Will You Just Shut Up About Iran ? "In a CNN interview broadcast Sunday, the Afghan president said terrorism in Afghanistan is getting worse, that the hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is at a standstill and, then, he described Iran as a positive player -- "a helper and a solution" -- in the region...All of those statements, made by Karzai in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on the eve of his trip to Camp David, vere corrected by Bush upon the Afghan president's arrival."
070807, BBC, Taleban in rare frontal assault.
100807, Dawn, Call to oust foreign troops at Kabul jirga. Det store stammefredsmøde (700 deltagere fra Pakistan og Afghanistan) forventes at vedtage, at man kan undvære de udenlandske tropper. En pakistansk stammeældste opfordrede til at genoplive den jihad, der drev de (sovjetiske) fremmede ud sidst.
100807, Japan Focus, M K Bhadrakumar, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Primed and Ready to Fire: Toward a Regional and Global Realignment ? "Indeed, NATO's credibility is at stake, too. As things stand, NATO's "transformation" isn't progressing smoothly, Afghanistan has become a lump in NATO's throat, NATO can't spit it out, nor can it swallow. It is disfiguring NATO. No amount of propaganda can hide the reality that Afghan people increasingly view NATO as an occupation force. Apart from insufficient troop strength, NATO commanders are in desperate need of intelligence." Rusland og Kina, SCO og CSTO vil måske være med i spillet.
080807, Simon Jenkins, It takes inane optimism to see victory in Afghanistan. "This war against the Taliban is part of a post-imperial spasm. The longer it is waged, the graver the consequences. ..The British ambassador, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, is building himself an embassy to compare with America's in Baghdad and has forecast a British military presence of 30 years. Brigadier John Lorimer in Helmand says he can suppress insurgency in 10 years but will need "longer than 30" to establish good governance...and almost none [of the aid workers] able to leave the capital by land...while the British heroically re-enact the Zulu wars down in Helmand...Consider hree policies now being pursued in Kabul. The first concerns drugs. There are 15 separate organisations devoting their time (and £200m of British money) to eradicating Afghanistan's one indigenous source of income, opium. In that time, the opium harvest has broken every record, while trying to suppress it has alienated fanners and fuelled insurgency. Then there is the bombing of Pashtun villages for sheltering the Taliban. Thousands of civilians have died as a result, inducing hostility to occupying forces and a desire for revenge. A third policy is the most overhyped in British military history, that of "winning hearts andminds"... the money usually ending up with warlords or the Taliban...The Ion can win a war against the Taliban, the more it risks tearing Pakistan apart and sucking Iran intc the conflict."
080807, IGN - Adnkronos.com, Pakistan: Musharraf pulls out of jirga with Afghanistan.Up to 700 tribal elders, Islamic clerics and leaders from Afghanistan and Pakistan have been invited the Jirga or tribal meeting which will discuss terrorism.... On the eve of the US-backed Pakistan-Afghanistan peaqe jirga or tribal council to discuss terrorism, Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf has decided that he will not attend the event in Afghanistan on Thursday due to security reasons...Following his decision, Pakistan's minister for religious affairs, Ejazul Haq told reporters that Pakistan should review its role in the US-led fight on terror and should also review its relationship with the US....Although the tribal meeting was meant to bring peace between the Pashtun populations of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the atmosphere between the two countries is tense...The National Intelligence Estimate report released by the Bush administration in July criticised Pakistan's alleged failure to deal with al-Qaeda in its tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. This was followed by statements made by American officials about striking suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda bases in Pakistan, all of which led to a sharp retaliation from Islamabad...Afghan president Hamid Karzai's recent statement saying he does not have any mandate to validate the Durand line as a border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has also further strained ties...The Durand Line is an imaginary ceasefire line signed between British India and the Emir of Afghanistan in 1893 for a hundred years. [Så den er altså udløbet !! OJ]. Afghanistan did not accept Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947 as it always claimed all Pakistani Pashtun areas, including the cities of Peshawar and Quetta, were parts of Afghanistan."
160807, the times of india, US records confirm Pakistan aided Taliban. "The National Security Archives of the George Washington University has published details of American concerns over Pakistan's relationship with the Taliban during the seven-year period leading up to the 9/11 attacks...Clearly illustrate that the Taliban was directly funded, armed and advised by Islamabad itself, the National Security Archives said."
190807, Observer, Shock toll of British injured in Afghan war • Half of frontline troops 'patched-up' • Senior officers fear exodus.
080208, Countercurrents, Dr Gideon Polya, Top US Lawyer And UNICEF Data Reveal Afghan Genocide . In the light of as many as 6.6 million post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Afghanistan as of February 2008....6. However, further to point #5, the extremely eminent former 7-year President of Italy, law professor, senator for life and long-term Western intelligence intimate Francesco Cossiga recently (November 2007) told one of Italy's top newspapers that (a) the US CIA and Israeli Mossad committed the 9/11 outrage in order to further US and Zionist aims and that (b) major Western intelligence agencies are well aware of this (for details and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/18569/26/). As of February 2008, analysis of UNICEF data (see UNICEF statistics on Occupied Afghanistan http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/afghanistan_statistics.html ) allows the following estimate of 3.3-6.6 million post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths tha should not have happened) in Occupied Afghanistan: What is happening in Afghanistan is an Afghan Holocaust. One sees that post-invasion under-5 infant deaths in Occupied Afghanistan (2.3 million) vastly exceeds the number of Jewish children murdered by the "Nazis in World War 2 (1.5 million)..."It may, therefore, be safely concluded that NATO combat troops and NATO commanders are engaged in murdering the Taliban, a protected group under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to physically and mentally destroy the group in whole or in part. This is the crime of genocide."
120109, Washington Post, Pamela Constable, Inexplicable Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness
230109. Asia Times, M K Bhadrakumar. Kabul's rift with the US widens. The floodgates have opened in the simmering tussle between the international community represented in Afghanistan and the Kabul government headed by President Hamid Karzai. The rift may.be reaching a point of no return. There may be no way out for either side unless better sense prevails very soon. On Tuesday, Karzai utilized the opening of the Afghan parliament's winter session in Kabul to criticize the United States-led coalition for its conduct of the war, its manner of bypassing his government as if it was inconsequential as a source of Afghan authority, its patronage of "warlords", the corruption and waste in its aid programs and its condoning of drug trafficking. ... Meanwhile, Karzai is making it clear to Washington that he will be no easy walkover. In an extraordinary statement last Wednesday at a specially convened United Nations Security Council debate on the "Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts", Afghan ambassador Zahir Tanin expressed "grave concern" over the killings of civilians by the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan and called for drawing up a "workable framework" to address the issue in "a spirit of open dialogue and cooperation". .... conduct operations only in consultation with the Afghan government; and, three, operate with "cultural sensitivity", that is, "in conducting searches and arrests, avoid heavy handed tactics and operate with respect and minimal force. ... Prior to the UN Security Council debate, Karzai had reportedly dispatched to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels a draft agreement which stipulates that Kabul should have control over the alliance's deployments in Afghanistan. ... It specifically forbids the US-led forces from conducting searches of Afghan homes. ....Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Party presented a package of proposals this week to the Bundestag calling for a new "political strategy" to end the conflict in Afghanistan. It calls for constituting a "contact group" on Afghanistan comprising the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus the European Union, Iran and Pakistan, which will be mandated by the UN to work out a settlement. ...That proposal appears at first glance to be a resuscitation of the move by former French presidemt Jacques Chirac at the NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, in November 2006, which took the US by surprise. Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice had a tough time in Riga battling the French idea, which appeared exceptionally reasonable. ...After all, there is enormous money in the war.
240109, TruthDig, Scott Ritter, The Wrong Man for the Job, Holbrooke. Not only has he demonstrated a lack of comprehension when it comes to the complex reality of Afghanistan (not to mention Pakistan), Holbrooke has a history of choosing the military solution over the finesse of diplomacy. ... Reinforcing failure is never a sound solution.
250109, quqnoos.com - Karzai Warns the US, Lack of Support May Bring New Patron. President Karzai warned if the U.S doesn't increase military aid, he will ask other countries for support, President Karzai has already emphasized better ties with Russia, and the Russian government has expressed readiness for military cooperation with Afghanistan. (id 2460)
140209, aljazeera, Karzai admits tensions with US. Karzai also admitted that he has not heard from the US president since Barack Obama moved into the White House last month. "There is tension between us and the US government on issues of civilian casualties. arrests of Afghans, nightly raids on homes and the casualties they cause," Karzai said.
nov. 2009 Reform needed after Afghan leader's flawed win: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VVOS-7XEL84?OpenDocument
nov 2009Will the war in Afghanistan bring down NATO?: http://snipurl.com/t0z35
061109, [http://www.jamestown.org/] Publication; Terrorism Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 33 Karzai Claims Mystery Helicopters Ferrying Taliban to North Afghanistan. Kunduz governor Muhammad Omar claimed the fighters being brought to his province at night were members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a group that recently lost its longtime leader Tahir Yuldash and is now hard pressed by the Pakistani government in South Wazlristan, their home since 2001. ... Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's former rival for the presidency, accuses the Afghan government of being behind the transfer of Taliban fighters to the northern provinces. "They have sent to the north of the country the most evil people, the most notorious and criminal people who are involved in killing the people of Afghanistan and crime against the people of Afghanistan. ... The death of Afghan interpreter Sultan Munadi in a September British Special Forces raid that freed a New York Times reporter from Taliban captivity, has already been a controversial issue in Afghanistan, with repeated calls for an inquiry into the circumstances of his death. Press TV claimed Munadi was killed during the raid by a British sniper because he had documents and photographs verifying the British role in the alleged airlift.
TRANSCEND Media Service, Jake Lynch, ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN: AND A PATHWAY TO PEACE. The day-long assault by 300 paramilitary fighters, which killed eight US troops and wounded many more, was blamed on the Taliban and al Qaida, but that, Rogers [Bradford peace professor Paul Rogers] points out, was a hastily amended assessment from the original: that this was the work of 'Nuristani tribal militia' and that "the sources of the conflict in the area involve complex tribal, religious and economic dynamics'. ... Hamid Karzai, a former Unocal oil executive, was Washington's favourite to take over, and he repeatedly attempted to short-circuit objections to the excessive concentration of presidential power by threatening not to stand, in the country's first election scheduled to take place six months later, if he did not get his way. ... . The US and UK were quick to instrumentalise their ally, forcing the adoption of an anti-narcotics law (that's really worked, then) the day before the new parliament was sworn in, lest the people's representatives raise inconvenient objections. ... This is why it goes against the instincts of many Afghans to award all the power to one centre - contrary to the consensual principles of traditional decision-making structures like jirgas and shuras. Those instincts were manifest in the results of a rare opinion poll among Afghans conducted by the International Republican Institute In May of this year. "Sixty-eight percent of respondents feel that the government should reconcile with the Taliban, 14 percent do not". Citater fra the Fire Brigade Employees' Unions repræsentants tale. ... 1, A framework for withdrawal of foreign troops should be announced. 2. An interim government or a transition government [should] under a specific time frame impartially work for general election. 3. If some people worry who should take the security of Afghanistan, Peace keeping forces from Afghanistan should come from Islamic countries, not from Iran and Pakistan but from Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and Egypt, to be invited to take charge of security. Their job to be to take security of polling station and civilians. 4. The new government established should be recognized by all countries and be helped.
081109, The Independent Patrick Cockburrn, Afghanistan: Time to leave. To more and more Afghans, this looks like imperial occupation. With regard to disputes in Washington and London about sending more troops, it is seldom mentioned that Afghans are against the deployment. Contrary to Western plans, just 18 per cent of Afghans want more US and Nato/Isaf forces in Afghanistan, according to an opinion poll carried out earlier this year by the BBC, ABC News and ARD of Germany. A much greater number of Afghans - 44 per cent - want a decrease in foreign forces. ... Throughout history, generals have believed they are a few thousand troops short of victory. [!!!!] ... 'Sadly, the government of Afghanistan has become a byword for corruption," said Mr Brown. "And I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption." Taken at face value. this means Britain will withdraw its troops since it is a certainty in Afghanistan that a government so viscerally crooked is not going to reform. "Cronies and warlords should have no place in the future of Afghanistan," continued the Prime Minister, but Mr Karzai's election victory was attained by allying himself with the most blood-stained warlords in the country. Presumably, Mr Brown's pledge is no more than rhetoric.
091109, Adnkronos International, (AKI). Syed Saleem Shahzad, Afghanistan: Karzai Rival 'Withdrew Under US Pressure'. Sources said the American pressure was part of a deal struck last week with the Pakistani military, which in exchange agreed to establish direct contact with the Taliban and obtain peace with Taliban-led insurgents in Afghanistan. ... As part of the deal, the US ended negotiations with Abdullah ... The Pakistani military was opposed to Abdullah arguing that his participation in a new Afghan government would have been detrimental to dialogue with the Taliban. It also considered Abdullah as pro-India. Abdullah said his withdrawal from the Afghan presidential run-off on Monday was in protest at the failure of key poll officials to resign.
101109, Bloomberg P: Chris Burns and Patrick Donahue, Gorbachev Says Obama Should Start Afghan Withdrawal. Afghanistan .... is too fragmented between clans to be controlled militarily, Gorbachev, 78, said in an interview today in Berlin. ... he said President Barack Obama would be unlikely to take his advice.
101109, AL JAZEERA, Karzai hits back against critics. Afghanistan's president has come out fighting against calls by the US to crack down on corruption, arguing that his government is not solely to blame and saying that the West is in his country only for its own ends. ... Karzai said that many multi-million dollar projects often end up under-funded, while a great deal of the money awarded in the original contract goes missing. ...."For that sort of corruption, it is the international community also that shares responsibility with us, and that is what I hope we can correct together." ... The United Nations recently ordered the temporary withdrawal of two-thirds of its staff amid fears that they would face a string of attacks by Taliban fighters, but Karzai said that the UN's move would have "no impact" on the country. "They may or may not return. Afghanistan won't notice it. We wish them well wherever they are," he said.
111109, Nita Bhalla (Reuters AlertNet) Afghan Red Crescent angry after NATO-led forces storm compound. [Føj NAziTo !!!] The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) expressed anger on Tuesday at NATO-led troops who used explosives to storm a Red Crescent compound and temporarily detain two aid workers. ... The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan reported that on Sept.2, security personnel forcefully entered a hospital in Wardekprovince, where they brolke equipment, tied up employees and forced staff and patients from their beds during an operation. In August, Afghanistan's health ministry said a clinic in Paktika province was attacked by NATO-led forces, who believed members of the Taliban were there seeking medical assistance. [Klar overtrædelse af Geneve-konventionerne !!!]
111109, Malalai Joya, US Is Doing No Good in Afghanistan. Eight years ago, women's rights were used as one of the excuses to start this war. But today, Afghanistan is still facing a women's rights catastrophe. ... In 2001, the U.S. helped return to power the worst misogynist criminals, such as the Northern Mliance warlords and druglords. These men ought to be considered a photocopy of the Taliban. ... A man who was near the top of the list of most-wanted terrorists eight years ago, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, has been invited to join the government.
041209, Guardian, US welcomes Europe's offer of 7,000 extra troops to join Afghan surge.
• No commitment from France or Germany
• Number expected to rise over next few weeks
Artiklen prydes af et billede af den nu ansvarlige for krigsforbrydelserne (drone bombningerne m.m.) Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Interessant også, at Tyskland og Frankrig er trætte af at levere gurkhas.
051209, OpEd News - Ralph Lopez, Taliban Did Not Refuse to Hand Over Bin Laden. They tried three times to open negotiations for this, but Bush refused each time. He wanted to bomb people so bad it hurt. Guardian citeres for følgende: "Now they have agreed to hand him over to a third country without the evidence being presented in advance," the source close to the military said."
061209, ICH, A Message From The Taliban, By Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Who Is Responsible for the Anarchy in Afghanistan? . In fact, Americans are responsible for the chaotic situation. They handed over power to notorious warlords, venal officials and mafia-linked governors; ... their convoys of logistics are escorted by some murderous militias involved in kidnapping and extortion of arbitrary taxes. ... General Khudaidad, Minister of the Narcotic Campaign of the Kabul Administration has acknowledged in a press conference that US military officers had hands in drug trafficking. ... Inidependent analysts around the world believe that USA wants to keep a corrupt government installed in Kabul because this will provide a justification to maintain American military presence in the country. ... Thus under the ploy of negotiation, the White House wants to find a pretext to continue their occupation of Afghanistan. The Afghans, particularly the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has no agenda of meddling in he internal affairs of other countries and is ready to give legal guarantee if the foreign forces withdraw trom Afghanistan.
151209, IPS, Gareth Porter U.S. Silent About Taliban Guarantee Offer on al Qaeda. - The Barack Obama administration is refusing to acknowledge an. offer by the leadership of the Taliban in early December to give "legal guarantees" that it will not allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries. ... It suggested that the Taliban is interested in negotiating an agreement with the United States involving a public Taliban renunciation of ties with al Qaeda, along with some undefined arrangements to enforce a ban al Qaeda presence in Afghanistan in return for a commitment to a timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.
181209, ICH, A Word From The Taliban Regarding the Invaders Recent Brutalities. Remarks of Z. Mujahid, Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
181209, RebelReports, Jeremy Scahill, Stunning Statistics About the War Every American Should Know. Overall, contractors now comprise a whopping 69 % of the Department of Defense's total workforce, "the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel in US history." That's not in one war zone - that's the Pentagon in its entirety.'... The US has spent more than $23 billion on contracts in Afghanistan since 2002. ... as many as 362 positions for Contracting Officer's Representatives (CORs) in Afghanistan were currently vacant." ... The Obama administration is continuing the Bush-era policy of hiring contractors to oversee contractors. ... As for waste and abuse, the subcommittee says that the Defense Contract Audit Agency identified more than $950 million in questioned and unsupported costs submitted by Defense Department contracts for work in Afghanistan. That's 16% of the total contract dollars reviewed.
0101110, WSJ.com, Suicide Bombing in Afghanistan Devastates Critical Hub for CIA Activities Among the casualties was the agency's base chief, ... was carried out by suicide bomber wearing an Afghan National Army unifom. ... it's all the more damaging because those lost represented so much collective experience. ... It could also sow mistrust between CIA officers and the Afghan operatives with whom they work closely, another former agency officer said. "This is a huge blow to the agency. It's a close-knit group," the former officer said. "They're not going to know who to trust now." The base was located in Khost province, a hotbed of militant activity and a stronghold of the Haqqani Network, one of the most hardened and dangerous militant groups, which fought for a decade to wrest the area back from the Russians.
010110, Press TV, UN slams US over killing of Afghan civilians. The UN special envoy in Afghanistan has said he is concerned about the mounting civilian death toll in the war-ravaged country. Kai Eide warned against nighttime actions by coalition forces "given that they often result in lethal outcomes for civilians." ... Eide's comments come as the Afghan government has called on NATO to hand over the foreign troops responsible for Sunday's killings.
010110, The Times, CIA caught in dirty and secretive war against al-Qaeda on Afghan border. Forward Operating Base Chapman. and others like it along the border, are the forward edge of American military and intelligence counter-terrorism operations, aimed principally at hunting down senior figures in al-Qaeda and their allies in the Taleban hiding in the lawless tribal belt. ... Professor Alston complained that many raids were "composed of Afghans but with a handful, at most, of international people directing it" and were "not accountable to any international military authority"
010110, AP, RASOOL DAWAR„ Pakistan Taliban Claims It Carried Out CIA. Attack 7 American CIA Employees Killed In Bombing. MIR ALI, Pakistan. The suicide bomber struck the CIA's operation at Camp Chapman in eastern Khost province on Wednesday. The base was used to direct and coordinate CIA operanons and intelligence gathering in Khost, a hotbed of insurgent activity because of its proximity lo Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, former CIA officials said. Among fhe seven killed was the chief of the operation.
120110, yahoo, Afghans say Western troops fired on demonstration. A NATO spokesman said troops were aware of demonstrations which had followed a raid in Garmsir, a town in southern Helmand provines patrolied by U.S. Marines, but was not immediately able to comment on reports of firing at demonstrators. Ahmadullah, a doctor at the main hospital in Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah, said 11 wounded men had been brought to the hospital from Garmsir, all of them with bullet wounds. A Haji Jan Gul, who described himseif as one of the demonstrators, said that his son had been killed in the mele? The villagers said the demonstrations were triggered by reports the foreign troops had desecrated a Koran during a raid. A spokesman for the NATO-led force, Lieutenant Nico Melendez, denied that any desecration of holy books had taken place.
For afsmitning af Afghanistan-krigens metoder på politiets virksomhed i andre lande se (under 150610).
160610, ICH, James Petras Afghanistan: The Longest Lost War. ... The US Strategy: The Making of an Afghan Neocolony: ... During the past 18 months of the Obama regime more soldiers were killed or wounded than in the previous eight years. [Jeg tror faktisk, han kun tæller ISAFs]. ... On the military front, the Pentagon launches one "offensive" after another, announcing one success after another, followed by a retreat and return of the Resistance fighters. ... The reason for the high percentage of civilian killings is clear to everyone except the US Generals: there are no distinctions between "militants" and millions of Afghan civilians since the former are an integral part of their communities. ... Under threat of force, people fake cooperation and then provide assistance to their fathers, brothers and sons in the Resistance. .... The Resistance appeals to the people in the name of a return to law and order in everyday life, which preceded the disruptive invasion. ... The US backed Israeli assault of Lebanon and the humanitarian ship destined for Palestine and the highly visible presence of Zionist militants in the US government, repels the more politically aware opinion leaders in Afghanistan. ... The Afghan Resistance does not normally kill civilians in combat missions since the US troops and NATO are clearly identified. ... A US govemment audit published in late June of this year demolished the Obama regime's claims that it is succeeding in building an effective Afghan mercenary army and police. ... The White House has requested $1.9 billion - double the 2009 level under Bush - for military construction of new bases and installations for a "long term presence" (which the con-man Obama claims does not mean a "permanent presence"). ... Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff now argue that Obama's campaign promise of beginning the retirement of troops in July 2010 really means "a day we start transitioning ... not a date we're leaving". ... Increased US "aid" has led to greater corruption, more unfulfilled promises and greater animosity from the would be popular recipients. ... the reality that the imperial occupations is the source of the resistance of almost the whole people.
170610, Wikileaks Soldier Reveals Orders for "360 Rotational Fire" Against Civilians in Iraq. Om den amerikanske hærs kampstil.
180610, Creators Syndicate; Pat Buchanan, What Price Afghanistan? And how optimistic can Americans be when, last month, in the ninth year of our longest war, the U.S. field commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, said the Taliban have fought us to a draw. Eight years ago, the Taliban seemed finished. Since then, we have poured in scores of thousands of troops, spent $300 billion, lost 1,000 loldiers and seen thousands more wounded. ... The people of Kandahar apparently do not want U.S. protection any more than they want a battle for the city. .... Both men [intelligence chief, og interior minister] lad strong ties to the Americans, and Kharzi is said to have suspected that their first loyalty was to the Americans. ... reported ... ; that Pakistani Intelligence is now fully collaborating with the Taliban. ... For the United States and NATO, however, casualties are rising to the highest levels of the A'ar. June is shaping up as the bloodiest month ever. ... To succeed in creating in Afghanistan a country where the Taliban have been driven permanently from power and there is no chance of al-Qaida's returns, we need a government in Kabul and an Afghan army and police that can follow up U.S. military gains by taking control, protecting the population and providing social reforms.
010710, Guardian, commentisfree, William Dalrymple, This is no Nato game but Pakistan's proxy war with its brother in the south. [Indien]. The Taliban's refusal to talk underlines the west's irrelevance in Afghanistan: only the regional players can deliver lasting peace. [Paradokset, at USA har skabt Taliban (til brug mod Rusland i Afghanistan), med hjælp fra Pakistans efterretningstjeneste (ISI) og samtidig bekæmper Taliban og prøver at forbedre forholdet til Indien - illustrerer - at det for USA mest handler om, at holde en krig igang - formentlig mest militær keynesianisme, men også med en kolonialistisk bagtanke. Jeg så Armadillo i går. Den var meget tydelig på et punkt. Afghanerne siger til os: TAG HJEM ! OJ, 2010]. ... Amrullah Saleh, who at that time was President Hamid Karzai's security chief. Saleh is a tough, burly and intimidating Tajik ... who rose to prominence as a mujahideen protege of Ahmed Shah Massood. ... It is a measure of how little the west still understands the conflict in Afghanistan that news of Saleh's sacking last month merited so much less attention than last week's sacking.of General Stanley McChrystal. .... but the sacking of Saleh gave notice of a major and ominous change of direction by Karzai. ... Karzai is already planning for a post-American Afghanistan." [ellers havde han da også været åndssvag] ... head of the ISI, Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, has secretly been visiting Karzai; on Monday General Kayani, the head of the Pakistani army, will arrive in Kabul, presumably to confirm whatever deal has been agreed. It seems the Pakistanis are encouraging an accommodation between Karzai and the ISI-sponsored jihadi network of Sirajuddin Haqqani, which would give over much of the Pashtun south to Haqqani but preserve Karzai in power in Kabul. ... Internally, the war is viewed primarily as a Pashtun rebellion against a Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara-dominated regime, which has only a fig leaf of Pashtun window-dressing in the person of Karzai. For although Karzai is a Pashtun, under his watch Nato installed the Northern Alliance [en bande "warlords af værste skuffe] in Kabul and drove out of power Afghanistan's Pashtun majority. In this way we unwittingly took sides in the Afghan civil war that began in the 1970s - siding with the north against the south, the town against the country, secularism against Islam, and the Tajiks against the Pashtuns. ... Externally the war has now turned, like Kashmir, into an Indo-Pak proxy war in which Nato is really a bit player. Under Karzai, India has established increasing political and economic influence in Afghanistan, opened four regional consulates and provided reconstruction assistance amounting to about $662m. ... the ISI "orchestrates, sustains and strongly influences" the Taliban, and ... the ISI are even "represented as participants or observers on the Taliban supreme leadership council, the Quetta Shura". ... The stage is now open for a deal whereby India could agree to minimise its presence in Afghanistan - which it could accept as Pakistan's sphere of influence - in return for Pakistan withdrawing its longstanding sponsorship of the Kashmir jihad, which it could ccept as India's domain. [En både moralsk rigtigere og mere holdbar løsning ville være, at lade de berørte befolkninger bestemme ! OJ]. ... The truth is that a Nato diplomatic offensive aimed at selling this solution is likely to have a far more positive effect than any amount of counterproductive military surges and drone strikes. For in calming the dangerous paranoia of the Pakistan military lies the only realistic chance of regional peace - and the war is likely to continue until the ISI can be persuaded that its own jihadis are a far bigger threat to Pakistan than that posed by India, its South Asian big brother over its border.
050710, Spiegel, Susanne Koelbl, Corruption in Afghanistan, US Cuts Aid After Millions Siphoned Off to Dubai. ... The people benefiting are often those who enjoy extremely close business ties with the donor countrles. [og så får afghanerne skylden !! OJ].
060710, IPS Inter Press Service, Gareth Porter and Ahmad Walid Fazly, McChrystal Probe of SOF Killings Excluded Key Eyewitnesses. ... The target of the raid was a young man who had been at the celebration at the compound but had not even been detained, according to Mohammed Saber, who was shown pictures of the target while being held in detention for four days. The man turned himself in for questioning a few days later but was then released without charge, according to Saber. [targets broder]. ... When Jerome Starkey of The Times of London reported Mar. 13 that more than a dozen people interviewed at or near the scene of the attack had said the three women were killed by the U.S.-NATO gunmen, McChrystal's spokesman, Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, tried to challenge the accuracy of Starkey's reporting. On Apr. 4, ISAF admitted for the first time that the woman had been killed as a result of the SOF raiders firing on the two men. However, the ISAF statement suggested that the U.S. and Afghan investigators had conducted a "thorough joint investigation" and maintained that there was no evidence of a cover-up. It explained the earlier statement about the women being found bound and gagged as the result of "an initial report by the international members of the joint force who were not familiar with Islamic burial customs". But the head of the Afghan Interior Ministry's Criminal Investigation Department, Mirza Mohammed Yarmand, publidy contradicted to the ISAF statement, telling the New York Times Apr, 4 that his investigators had gotten eyewitness accounts from survivors of tampering with the bodies of the dead.
070710, ICH, Ted Rall Bipartisan Stupidity on Afghanistan. .... Why are we losing? .... The short answer is simple: Afghan resistance forces live there. We don't. Sooner or later, U.S. troops will depart. ... Would-be conquerors have had trouble with Afghanistan not for over 1,000 years, but for 2,000 years. .... True, Obama made the Afghan war his own by sending in more troops. But Bush started this mess. Doesn't Steele remember that? Or - this thought is even more frightening - does he really think WE forgot? ... Not to be outdone in the moronitude department, Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse retorted that "we are there because we were attacked by terrorists on 9-11." Um...We were attacked by Saudis and Egyptians. Who were trained and funded by Pakistanis. None of the major figures linked to 9/11 - including Osama bin Laden - were in Afghanistan on 9/11. (Bin Laden was in a Pakistani military hospital in Islamabad.). ... Afghanistan had nothing to do with 9/11. ... No wonder we're losing. The parties have forgotten what they stand for - and they never learned the history of the countries they invade.
080710, Daily Telegraph, General who said it was 'fun to shoot people' takes over US Central Command. Det bekræfter kun det indtryk, at der er noget galt med kulturen i imperiets militær !!!
hentet 100710, Daily Times - Pakistan to welcome NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pakistan, as a neighbouring country, wlll welcome the NATO forces' decision to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan because it has suffered a lot due to the ongoing conflict in the neighbouring country, the Foreign Office (FO) spokesman said on Thursday. ... "We are keenly looklng forward to the Kabul Conference on Juiy 20. We hope that the conference will take up and consider the proposals of the Peace Jirga which was held from June 2 to June 4 in Kabul," the FO spokesman said.
130710, Toronto Sun - Eric Margolis, Saving Face in Unwinnable War. ... Mo one can define hat winning really means. .... By 2011, Canadians will have spent an estimated $18.1 billion on Afghanistan, $1,500 per household. ... Many of Steele's most hawkish Republican critics had, like Bush and Dick Cheney, dodged real military service during the Vietnam War. ... After nine years of war, the immense military might of the U.S., its dragooned NATO allies. and armies of mercenaries have been unable to defeat resistance to western occupation or create a popular, legitimate government in Kabul. Drug production has reached new heights. ... They are widely seen abroad as waging yet another pitiless colonial war against a small, backward people for resource domination and strategic geography. ... Afghanistan's Communist-dominated Tajik Northern Alliance.
190710, New Statesman - Another official report says "things just getting worse" in Afghanistan. Mehdi Hasan's polemical take on politics, economics and foreign affairs. ... That's the verdict of a report from the respected think tank the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, which monitors trends in violence in Afghanistan on behalf of aid organisations, as reported in today's Guardian. The ANSO report also reveals that June brought a record number of Taliban attacks ~ up 51 per cent on the previous year to 1.319 operations.
190710, Independent, Jonathan Owen and Brian Brady, UK Official - Troops out of Afglianistan by 2014. A leaked communiqué ... reveals how President Hamid Karzai will announce the timetable for a "conditions-based and phased transition" at the International Conference on Afghanistan to be held in Kabul on Tuesday. ... An agreed version of the document, marked "not for circulation", was sent to senior diplomats yesterday by Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations Special Representative in Afghanistan. ... five-year Afghan peace and reintegration programme that "aims to reintegrate in five years up to 36,000 ex-combatants and to reach 4,000 communities in 220 districts of 22 provinces". ... "The British government has been talking in terms of a 2014 withdrawal, but nobody has been able to produce a timetable identifying how and when hings would happen. This document demonstrates that there is a will in the international community to have it done by then. "I cannot stress too much the importance of them having a strategy to do that. In the past, the international community has come up with dates by which they wanted something to happen, but because they had no plans to back them up, many deadlines were allowed to slip." [og hvad er forskellen nu ???] ... Last month was the deadliest for coalition soldiers since the war began in 2001, with 103 killed. The killing of three UK soldiers by a rogue Afghan recruit in Helmand on Tuesday highlighted the scale of the task of building up a local security force capable of maintaining security, and has raised tensions between coalition soldiers and their Afghan allies.
270710, Washington Wire - WSJ, Kucinich, Paul Force Afghanistan Debate. The two congressmen offered a resolution ordering President Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. military personnel from Pakistan, saying their presence violates the War Powers Act since it was not approved by Congress.
280710, Xinhua, Taliban capture a NATO plane in northern Afghan province - ... A reconnaissance UAD plane ... This is the first time that Taliban insurgents captured a NATO plane over the past nine years. The militants on Friday captured two U.S. soldiers in Logar province 60 km south of Afghan capital Kabul.
280710, Yahoo News, John Cook, Leaked files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories. Radio Ghaznawiyaan was established and funded by the Agency for International Development, but USAID has described it in the past as a success story for local independent journalism launched with American help. So its listeners may be surprised to learn that it is an outlet for paid US "PSYOP radio content." [se også NED - amerikanere er stort set skønt uvidende og godtroende overfor deres regering. OJ].
280710, SPIEGEL, Christoph Schwennicke, A Plea for Common Sense, Why NATO Should Withdraw from Afghanistan. The German government, NATO and the West shouldn't wait that long. Together they should realize -- and admit -- that the war in Afghanistan is not going to end in success. ... And little that the West has imported to Afghanistan since then has put down such deep roots that it would survive a pullout for long. Girls' schools, wells and newly paved roads are pleasant side effects of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. As a justification, however, they are not enough.
hentet 290710, USA today, Democrats abandon Obama on Afghan war - There were 102 Democrats voting against the $33 billion in war funding. That's more than three times the number of Democrats (32) who voted against a similar funding bill in June 2009. (This year's war funding bill passed, 308-114.)
290710, Al Jazeera, Leaks reveal 'friendly fire' deaths ... four Canadian soldlers who died in 2006.
290710, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Taliban congratulates Dutch on Afghan withdrawal
040810, Huffington Post, Afghanistan Civilian Deaths: NATO Data Shows Sharp Increase In Attacks After Civi[lians were killed]. The report examines data from the International Security Assistance Force or ISAF from January 2009 through March 2010. These data cover 4,077 civilian casualties from 2,118 incidents. The study found that the link between civilian casualties and insurgent attacks also works in reverse. If ISAF forces can avoid two incidents in which they kill or injure civilians, they can expect one fewer violent incident over the next six weeks, the report found.
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