Enduring Freedom until 2050By Pepe Escobar - September 13, 2009
- After eight long years, now more than ever, the United States invasion and (partial) occupation of Afghanistan is on a roll, courtesy of US President Barack Obama's "new strategy". This - which Pentagon supremo Robert Gates insists is "working" - includes US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) staging mini-Guernicas, al la the bombing of Guernica, Spain, by German and Italian warplanes in 1937, as painted by Pablo Picasso. It also includes General Stanley McChrystal - the former number one hit man for General David Petraeus in Iraq - assaulting Washington to demand (what else is new?) an extra 45,000 US boots on the ground...
Cholera outbreaks in 10 Afghan provinces - 13 September 2009
Private contractors bring infection
The Sham Debate Over Obama's Af-Pak WarA Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
September 13, 2009 - With the help of cooperative corporate media, President Obama attempts to create the impression of a vigorous internal debate within his administration over how much bigger the so-called Af-Pak theater of war is going to get. The charade is designed to demonstrate that, unlike the "dumb wars" that Obama opposes, this one is being transformed into a smart war, intelligently escalated. That U.S. troop levels will increase, even as reluctant European allies move towards downsizing their commitments, is a foregone conclusion, since the president has already characterized the conflict as a "war of necessity." If a war is necessary, then by definition, the national commitment must be open-ended and beyond question. So what is there to debate? The president has framed the issue as one of inevitability...
Tears of Fire: Mourning in the Macabre Killing Fields of AfghanistanChris Floyd - September 12, 2009
- The NATO airstrike that killed more than 70 civilians near Kunduz earlier this month was a deadly confluence of two primary elements that characterize the living hell of Afghanistan: relentless violence and crushing poverty. The villagers were slaughtered while trying to siphon gasoline from two fuel tankers that the Taliban had hijacked from the occupation forces... Jan Mohammad, an old man with a white beard and green eyes, said angrily: "I ran, I ran to find my son because nobody would give me a lift. I couldn't find him." He dropped his head on his palm that was resting on the table, and started banging his head against his white mottled hand. When he raised his head his eyes were red and tears were rolling down his cheek: "I couldn't find my son, so I took a piece of flesh with me home and I called it my son. I told my wife we had him, but I didn't let his children or anyone see. We buried the flesh as it if was my son"...
Taliban raid Afghan intelligence HQ
Aljazeera.net - September 12, 2009
- The intelligence service headquarters in Afghanistan's second city have been attacked by suspected Taliban bombers. Al Jazeera correspondent James Bays reports the attack on the central Kandahar complex on Saturday appeared to be highly co-ordinated. He said: "A car drew up at the front of the offices, opening fire with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, clearing a path through the front gate to the intelligence department, killing a guard...
5 US Troops Killed in Afghan Attacks
Wave of Attacks Engulfs AfghanistanBy RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and SANGAR RAHIMI -September 12, 2009
— Five Americans were killed on Saturday amid a wave of bombings, ambushes and killings that swept across Afghanistan and seemed to emphasize the ability of the Taliban and other insurgents to carry out attacks in most parts of the country...
Three American service members were killed in western Afghanistan when they were attacked with a roadside bomb and then came under small-arms fire, said Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo, a press officer for the United States military command in Kabul. He said two more American service members were killed in eastern Afghanistan, also by a roadside bomb. The military will not disclose the branch of service of the five who died or the provinces where the attacks took place until next of kin have been notified, he said...
Afghan challenger warns of unrest over poll fraudJerome Starkey in Kabul and Christina Lamb in Washington - September 13, 2009
- Afghanistan’s opposition leader Dr Abdullah Abdullah warned yesterday that he might not be able to restrain angry supporters from taking to the streets as it emerged that more than one in five votes cast in last month’s election were fraudulent. I have urged them strongly not to do that," he told The Sunday Times as his followers called for demonstrations. "They are aware of the fragility of the situation." He added: "If you are asking for a guarantee, 100%, will you be able to control everyone in this country, the answer is no, n ... o." Even before the August 20 poll, Abdullah’s supporters were predicting Iran-style protests "with Kalashnikovs" if President Hamid Karzai won in the first round, insisting he could do so only by cheating...
Karzai Heads For Single-round VictoryIslamOnline.net - September 12, 2009
— Afghan President Hamid Karzai headed Saturday, September 12, for a single-round victory over his challengers in last month's fraud-tainted presidential elections. "There are no winners in this election yet," Aleem Siddique, UN spokesman in Kabul, said. With 92.8 percent of votes counted, Karzai secured 54.3 percent against 28.1 percent for his main rival Abdullah Abdullah, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced at a press conference, reported Reuters. Of 5,800,000 valid votes, Karzai had 3,009,559 against Abdullah's 1,558,591...
