Drone Wars…
May 14, 2010
Since Obama became President, drone attacks against targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan have reached levels far and above anything during the George ‘Dubya’ Bush administration.
I suppose this reality should not come as much of a shock. Push button warfare from afar, being the ultimate fantasy/wet dream of the U.S. What better way to project American power and without risking American lives.
American lives being the most precious & exceptional…’O’ to be born American.
And who ever said , you can’t have your cake and eat it to ?
To add insult to injury Obama thought it acceptable to joke about Predator Drone attacks .
Why Obama, why…? And here I thought things would be different.,such were my ‘naive’ hopes.
That said, it is worth remembering that the Democrats were not so much against war as a solution. Rather their beef with Dubya et al was more over issues of management and methods of prosecuting the war(s).
Who cares about the “collateral damage”…
Judging by past & current realities not the American government, whether Democrat,Republican, Obama or Bush.
Any honest assessment, by a caring human being that is, would quickly come to the conclusion that the supposed gains of these hundreds of drone attacks are few if any. Particularity when one factors in the number of innocent victims killed.
If anything these attacks anger and radicalize the very people that the U.S & NATO claim to be helping.
And on it goes, the politicians drone on,the war machine drones on-constantly re-inventing ways to kill & profit- the little people reap the whirlwind…
Also read ‘Of Drone wars and Buffalo Urine‘ @ Foreign Policy in Focus
Some of the designers of the current counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan, David Kilcullen and Andrew Exum, have denounced it as a “technology” fix that has alienated Pakistanis by chalking up a kill ratio of 50 civilians for every targeted Taliban or al-Qaeda leader. “Every one of these dead noncombatants represents an alienated family, a new desire for revenge, and more recruits for a militant movement,”
Blah,blah, yea I know they’re hero’s…
January 2, 2010
Don’t mean to be cynic, “a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be” but…
If you really want to help the suffering and the down-trodden, do not join the fucking military, particularly not the infantry. Armies do one thing kill ,soldiers care about two things, interchangeably,the guy(s) next to them & surviving.
Armies are not made up of a bunch of gun toting Mother Teresa’s in search of a group hug, nor are they looking to build schools .
Thing is when you talk to some of the older ex-soldiers who have survived war and have had a bit of time to digest and reflect . Many have similar things to say e.g, war is not a solution it foretells nothing but misery,for both the soldiers and civilians. Although the burden placed on the civilian population,mostly women & children, is by far the greatest
So who’s fault is it that we as peoples and nations never seem to learn the lessons ?
I do feel for the families who have lost sons and daughters in Afghanistan. Indeed what could be worse than losing a son or daughter.
But I have to say I distrust the motives of the media ,politicians and blogger’s. Who feel they must re-print the last letters & words ,seems to be a trend these days, of some of the soldiers killed in this pointless war .
I believe those that do, do for reasons having more to do with themselves & their particular opinions than any respect they might have for the dead.
Crocodile tears,come to mind…
Notice they never talk about the soldiers or families who publicly come out as being critical of this stupid pointless war.
No those soldiers and families are ignored or their words are dismissed as being part of the grieving process,particular to them.
Might muddy up all those simplistic ego stroking narratives of supposed good wars and the predictable balderdash about freedom & bringing democracy etc,etc…
In-fact there is nothing quite as repulsive and pathetic as the predictable crowing of the pro-war crowd. Particularly that which emanates from the living rooms of the well off, living lives of total safety & privilege ,here in the so called developed/civilized West.
Onward Christian Soldiers…
May 13, 2009
… marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!
U.S soldiers in Afghanistan seem to be distributing of all things Bibles,translated in Pashtun and Dari.
The following video caused quite a stir around the Pentagon today after al Jazeera reporter asked Adm. Michael Mullen about it at a press conference. It shows soldiers at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan collecting Bibles translated in Pashtun and Dari to distribute to the local population…[@]
Some how this doesn’t seem to be such a good idea.Indeed the optics are just downright troubling, like really who thinks up this stuff ?
No matter what the angle,there is a very real possibility here for some serious misunderstandings & grief. The last things needed particularly in a place which already has more than it’s share of both.
I suggest these guys re-read their bibles very carefully,a gun in one hand and a bible in the other ,is the total antithesis of everything Jesus stood for ?
NATO To Assist Taliban Recruitment
February 9, 2009
It would seem that NATO has learned nothing,and are now proposing a “strategy” to alienate the Afghan population at an even higher rate than they have managed to date.
This widened mandate ,…. would authorize NATO troops “to attack directly drug producers and facilities throughout Afghanistan.”
According to Canada’s top general, Chief of Defense Staff Walter Natynczyk,that would be a good thing…
“Most times that we have operations, our soldiers, sailors and airmen have found drugs right there with the Taliban, so the nexus between drugs and terror is very, very strong,” Natynczyk was quoted as saying.
Good one General,but you neglected to mention that many Afghans have no other options or means by which to support their families other than poppy production.Furthermore when 33-50% of the Afghan economy is directly tied to and dependent on the drug trade,of course you are going to find the shit ever where.
So your solution is to target even more Afghans other than just Taliban fighters.The only likely outcome of that will be even more dead civilians,interesting thought process,defeat the Taliban by alienating even more Afghans.
Not all Afghan drug dealers support the Taliban, but by declaring war on them collectively NATO will only guarantee that, if only for self-preservation, the traffickers will be forced to throw in their lot with the insurgents.
NATO has come full circle,first they helped to create the problem in the first place…
The Afghan drug trade has exploded since the U.S. toppled the Taliban in 2001, and this black market is estimated to represent somewhere between 33 and 50 per cent of the Afghan economy.
Now they propose to “fix” it.
But their initial intentions were good so who can really blame them. After all one can not make an omelet without cracking a few eggs heads.
The people of Afghanistan,well they will “understand”.
And Just like that…
December 26, 2008
Obama’s plan to deploy 30,000 more American soldiers to Afghanistan just became that much more meaningless.
While the regional dimensions/contradictions rear their,”without us your fucked”, heads…
The good news is that Pakistan is sending 20,000 troops to the border. The bad news, as you’ve heard, is that if you’re preoccupied with keeping bad guys out of Afghanistan, it’s the wrong border. Here’s an AP story that does a good concise job of explaining all the problems that will ensue if the Pak army leaves the border with Afghanistan to head east toward India.
Read more Paul Wells;The Cavalry leaves
The clusterfuck that is Afghanistan just gets “better” with ever passing year, 7 years on and billions spent…
Change is what Afghans hoped would come after the international force removed the Taliban and promised to rebuild the country. However, benefits have been lacking in most sectors. ‘For God’s sake,’ the man continued, ‘we have had the most powerful and wealthy nations of the world here for the past seven years talking about reconstruction and development and yet we have less electricity now than we had under the Taliban.’
Read more,”Where Has The Money Gone”
But then again should anyone really be surprised, when more than half the Afghan Parliament consists of…
war criminals and people who have been involved in gross human rights abuses from 1978 to the present day. After the 2005 parliamentary elections many cases of bribery, fraud and coercion, involving candidates and electoral officials alike, emerged. None of the MPs involved were disqualified and their identities were concealed.
Read more,”The Blight of Impunity”
Pretty sad reading ,which begs the question why are Canadian soldiers still dying and more specifically for what ?
Deja-vu and I raise you a,deja-double vu
November 25, 2008
There is a saying,”everything we do has already been done before”…
Sounds kinda right, after all there are only so many narratives to go around,particularly narratives of the political kind.Indeed after a point,they all become but variations on a handful of basic themes.
One need only look to Afghanistan to witness the basic truth of the saying.
Like automated birds, the kites swoop over the rooftops. Yes, the kite-runners of Kabul, minus Hollywood. At night, the thump of American Sikorsky helicopters and the whisper of high-altitude F-18s invade my room. The United States of America is settling George Bush’s scores with the “terrorists” trying to overthrow Hamid Karzai’s corrupt government
Back in the “olden days”…
At night, the thump of Hind choppers and the whisper of high-altitude MiGs invade my room. The Soviet Union is settling Leonid Brezhnev’s scores with the “terrorists” trying to overthrow Barbrak Karmal’s corrupt government.
Fast forward to the “future”,Bagram airbase,(2001)…
just seven years ago – and an American general told us of the imminent victory over the “terrorists” in the mountains, the all but conquered Taliban who were being supported by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Back in the “olden days”,Bagram airbase…
a Soviet general told us of the imminent victory over the “terrorists” in the mountains, imperialist “remnants” – the phrase Kabul communist radio always used – who were being supported by America and Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Back in the “olden days”…
the Afghan “mujahedin” began a campaign to end the mixed schooling of boys and girls in the remote mountain passes, legislation pushed through by successive communist governments. Schools were burned down. Outside Jalalabad, I found a headmaster and his headmistress wife burned to death.
Fast forward to the “future”…
the Afghan Taliban are campaigning to end the mixed schooling of boys and girls – indeed the very education of young women – across the great deserts of Kandahar and Helmand. Schools have been burned down. Teachers have been executed.
Back in the “olden days”…
As the Soviets began to suffer more and more casualties, their officers boasted of the increasing prowess of the Afghan National Army, the ANA. Infiltrated though they were by the “mujahedin”, Moscow gave them newer tanks and helped to train new battalions to take on the guerrillas outside the capital [..] in 2001, I could take a bus from Kabul to Kandahar. Now, seven years later, the highway – rebuilt on the express instructions of George W but already cracked and swamped with sand – is haunted by Taliban fighters and bandits and the only safe way to travel to Kandahar is by air.
Fast forward to the “future”…
As the Americans and British suffer ever greater casualties, their officers boast of the increasing prowess of the ANA. Infiltrated though they are by the Taliban, America and other Nato states are providing them with newer equipment and training new battalions to take on the guerrillas outside the capital. Back in January of 1980, I could take a bus from Kabul to Kandahar. Seven years later, the broken highway was haunted by “mujahedin” fighters and bandits and the only safe way to travel to Kandahar was by air.
By now I imagine you are starting to get the point of the article ,but then again you’re probably not a politician.
Speaking of politics I’m reminded of a quote by George Orwell,back in the day…
Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable,and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind
No more War
October 12, 2008
Was the chant at an NDP rally in Quebec…
As articulated by the NDP and many other critics of the war. Until a serious effort is made to engage the “Taliban” politically rather than militarily,stabilizing Afghanistan will continue to be as frustratingly elusive as it has to date.
The Taliban,contrary to many perceptions,are not a homogeneous group nor is the insurgency all about terrorism there are legitimate social,religious & nationalistic grievances driving the insurgency.
It’s just to bad that it has taken 7 years,many deaths and billions of dollars to drive that irrefutable fact home.
President Karzai has offered Taliban the possibility of positions in his government if they agree to a peace deal which could bring fighting to an end…[@]
But then again,when the government itself is basically a collection of “former” warlords more concerned with their own power and bank accounts,rather than their fellow Afghans,should anyone be surprised.
with its two million dollar mansions,menacing armed guards,and landcrusiers with blacked-out windows,the Kabul distract of Shirpur has become an ironic symbol of a new Afghanistan for the city’s long suffering residents….[@)]
It’s time to bring our boys home,the lives of our young men and women are to precious to be wasted defending a bunch of money grubbing,self serving crooks.
Freedom and liberation is a process that arises from within the people,when the circumstances & contradictions of their daily lives proves to be intolerable.
The rest of the world can help,morally & financially,but the Afghan people/government must take the lead.
T-minus 1 days until the only poll that counts
Terry Glavin,A one trick pony
October 7, 2008
Count on Terry Glavin to twist Jack Layton’s latest comments on Afghanistan,NDP bashing being a common theme of his.
Do not get me wrong I am no party hack,the NDP is definitly not beyond criticisms,but there’s legitimate criticism and there’s bashing.
In this instance Mr Layton’s comments in response to a statement made by,Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith [Britain's most senior military Commander],who was quoted as saying…
that the Afghanistan war cannot be won and may only be resolved through peace talks involving the Taliban
To which Mr Layton had this to say…
Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith’s assessment echoes the view of his party and many voters who want Canada’s troops out of the war-ravaged country. “I’m heartened by the words of this senior military commander who is adding his voice to those many, many Canadians and others around the world who believe that the prosecution of the continued war effort has got to be changed,” Mr. Layton said
Mr Glavin in his never ending near daily diatribes against the NDP & Mr Layton,as if the NDP is only defined by it’s stance on Afghanistan, writes…..
NDP leader Jack Layton say’s he is “heartened” that a British Commander believes the war in Afghanistan is not winnable and that there should be a dialogue with the Taliban
Setting aside the moral vacuum one would have to inhabit to be “heartened” to hear that the Afghan struggle is not winnable, there are two immediate problems with that sentence. The first is that the British commander in question, Brig.-Gen. Carleton-Smith, did not say the war is not winnable. The second is that he did not say, as the sentence necessarily implies, that we should leave off the “war” stuff and just negotiate with the Taliban
Moral vacuum wtf ? Well let’s see what Mr Layton really said….
By reading his statement in full,rather than cherry picking one word, “heartened” and twisting it to imply that somehow Mr Layton is over joyed that the suffering of the Afghan peoples will continue…
Mr. Layton, campaigning Sunday in St. John’s, said Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith’s assessment echoes the view of his party and many voters who want Canada’s troops out of the war-ravaged country.
“I’m heartened by the words of this senior military commander who is adding his voice to those many, many Canadians and others around the world who believe that the prosecution of the continued war effort has got to be changed,” Mr. Layton said.
Seems to me Mr Layton is just reiterating what he and the NDP have been saying since day one of the ill conceived and ill planned Afghan adventure.
Mr Layton is “heartened”,not because the the war is not winnable….
But rather,because finally a top military commander is stating publicly & unambiguously that if there is to be any hope of solving Afghanistan’s many problems it will be accomplished through a political/peace process,rather than militarily.
Again much as Mr Layton the NDP and many,many critics of the Afghan adventure have been stating since day one. Again “moral vacuum” ?
Given the “results” to date,after 7 years,many deaths(the vast majority being innocent Afghans) billions upon billions spent it’s quite obvious what ever NATO is doing it’s not working. Indeed one could say Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith is a slow study.
Terry Glavin then goes on to interpret for his readers what Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith “really meant”.
Next,Terry Glavin goes after the messenger…
As is evident from the second paragraph of the Times of London article where Carleton-Smith’s comments first appeared, what’s happening here is that the Times is trying to extricate itself from the embarrassment of having taken seriously a “parody” of a second-hand report from a French diplomat about an opinion a British diplomat denies he ever expressed in a rumpus that originally appeared in an obscure French satirical weekly, Le Canard Enchaîné.
Obscure wtf…?
Anyway what can one say,Glavin supports the mission war and nothing is going to change his mind.Stories like this , this , this ,and this well he ignores,indeed he ignores all stories that suggests things are not going quite as anticipated.
But then it’s easy to support war if one has nothing to lose,i.e a son a daughter a relative a family.Who care that in war the vast majority of those killed are always the innocent,i.e children,women the elder etc.
Say what you will about Afghanistan a couple facts can not be ignored,times is on the side of the insurgency,the Taliban are stronger now than ever,again despite 7 years of war and billions spent.
The writing is on the wall,it was a mistake to go in (other than perhaps to take Bin Laden out), and that truth seems to be more and more undeniable with every passing year.
And least we forget the majority of Canadians,also want our troops out of Afghanistan.Not because they are heartless and uncaring but like the NDP,they understand the futility of continuing this war.
Read Glavin’s article in full here
