On October 2, 2002, Barack Obama, then an Illinois State Senator, gave a speech opposing going to war in Iraq. That speech, at that time, would prove crucial to his election, first as a US Senator two years later, and then as President, four years after that. Democrats who equivocated were a dime a dozen. Obama stood out, because he stood up when others did not, and said, “This is wrong.”
Obama did not oppose all the wars he said what I am oppose to is a DUMB WAR. On his third day in office he ordered two separate deadly strikes inside Pakistan which killed 23 innocent people including three children. Now President Obama has made it official. In addition to another 17,000 troops promised early, he made an additional pledge of 4,000 more on Friday, March 27. It was reportedly a ‘carefully calibrated’ decision; these would be trainers, not combat troops, we were told.
On March 31, 2009, Jon Stewart in his “Daily Show” announced Commander-in-Chief Obama’s mission of “Redefinition Accomplished” was in full swing. A new Orwellian vocabulary more soothing and politically correct has been invented in Afghanistan and marketed to the American citizenry by Obama. But as Peter Baker of the New York Times noted, “for all the shifting words, Mr. Obama has left the bulk of Bush’s national security infrastructure intact so far.” In the real world, average Pashtoons on both sides of the border experience this continuing brutality daily basis. Civilian casualties” is non-existent in Obama’s vocabulary as a search of Google reveals. Dead Afghan and Pashtoons civilians have simply been redefined as non-existent.
Majority of Afghans see no realistic prospect for peace as long as foreign soldiers remain in Afghanistan and the Taliban have no incentive to compromise when they are in a winning position. An additional 17-21,000 U.S troops – the Obama surge – means nothing in a country where military experts estimate that 4-500,000 foreign soldiers would be necessary to defeat the resistance. When asked by the New York Times aboard Air Force one as to whether the US was winning in Afghanistan, President Obama replied: 'No'. Short and sweet, but accurate. Later, the President elucidated that there may be some opportunities in the region with factions who are loathe to Al Qaeda to join the coalition's efforts in combating the extremists groups. That was based on assessments given by Petraeus who recounted minor successes in Iraq with a similar strategy. It was later revealed that much of that success was in fact due to bribing and paying huge sums of money to the enemy in order for them not to kill us. That revelation came by way of a well documented piece which talked about the disappearance of billions of dollars in Iraq during the reconstruction effort. Additionally, analysts are pointing to the fact that there are no 'moderate Taliban' in Afghanistan the continuity by Obama of Bush policies is striking, the soothing rhetoric notwithstanding. Obama continues the troop buildup begun under Bush during 2008. Drone attacks in Pakistan multiply. Foreign forces’ midnight raids upon Afghan homes continue. Look at the disastrous idea of trying to export American and British democracy to Iraq. Afghanistan is not Iraq; it is bigger, more difficult, has a long border with Pakistan which is also currently on fire, and the Taliban just won control of the Swat Valley , Bunair and are just two hours away from Islamabad. We must pay attention to history, there is a perfectly good reason that Afghanistan is called the graveyard for invaders. Sending more Americans and British troops to Afghanistan will only mean more deaths. In February CNN poll found the American people slightly opposed to the war there—51-47%, but with 64% of Democrats opposed. While Bush never listened to those who disagreed with him politically, Obama seems to have made a fetish of the opposite: he has listened almost exclusively to Bush holdovers in the military, from Defense Secretary Gates on down, while tuning out those whose diverse alternative approaches have much more support in his political base. Indeed, it is difficult to escape the feeling that if Barack Obama were still an Illinois State Senator, he would look at this latest push to escalate the war in Afghanistan, and conclude that it too, had to be opposed, because it is a “dumb war.”
This is Obama current Afghanistan where most of the rebuilding projects have been handed over to profit-driven private corporations. Most roads and buildings remain in tatters. Average life expectancy is 44 years. Between 53% and 80% of Afghan people live below the official poverty line (depending on which part of the country). Adult literacy is 29%. In some regions, less than 1% of the population is literate. One in five children dies before the age of five. If anything, the war is preventing progress being made. The other myth is that the war is making Afghanistan safer where 2008 was the bloodiest one since 2001.The Afghan government appears to have been run for the financial benefit of 20 families. From the allocation of mineral rights to the awarding of contracts, ministers frequently intervene to favour families and friends. Even more disturbing, the beneficiaries of this corruption are old-time warlords and faction leaders responsible for past atrocities. Today, they operate with impunity, even over acts of violence and attempted murder. Many public officials, from police chiefs to governors to ministers, have acquired multi-million dollar fortunes in office. AIHRC reported in September 2008 that civilians are killed in most US operations, and that 98% of civilian casualties caused by coalition forces in Afghanistan are “intentional”. “War criminals” is how it described the occupying forces.
Well done Mr. President Obama for bringing us change, peace, security and stability which you promised us while running for your OVAL office?????????????????????????? Keep the George Bush’s mission alive and kicking. Afghans will never forgive you.
Mohammad N Asif
Exiled Afghan Journalist and
President, Scottish Afghan Exiles
nmasif@hotmail.com
Thursday 23 April 2009
Saturday 11 April 2009
What Obama means for Afghanistan
The world was watching the American election and the victory of Barack Obama whilst the illegal occupiers in Afghanistan killed yet another 50 innocent Afghans in yet another wedding party. Those who were killed did not have access to television to watch the American election and never heard of Barack Obama but they were still killed by their occupying forces for no reason other then being Afghans. "We cannot win the fight against terrorism with air strikes," Mr. Karzai said in comments directed at US President-elect Barack Obama.While seven million Afghans face famine and starvation this winter Barack Obama and Mr. Karzai, who is backed by the US and NATO and does not even have control of Kabul, are planning more US and NATO troops to go to Afghanistan. The Russians had 114,000 troops there but were defeated and I am sure the US and its allies will meet the same fate as the resistance to the occupation has now moved to a national level.I do not know why the world is so pleased with the victory of Barack Obama. It is as if Obama had solved all the problems of the world overnight.Like many of you I am optimistic for a good and peaceful future for my home land. But such a future will not come from a man who has wants to send more troops in. More troops for Afghanistan can only lead to more innocent deaths, and further destabilise Pakistan which is a nuclear power.The Taliban and Hezb-e-Islami are back and stronger and more popular than ever. NATO and the United States have no choice but to negotiate with them. That's the impression one gets from Afghan officials in Afghanistan and also from the occupying forces there. The Afghan people have lost confidence in NATO and the United States. The majority of the Afghan people do not accept the current illegal occupation of Afghanistan and also do not accept a government that is linked to the occupation. Most Afghans do not see any difference between the Russian occupations and the current one. The Afghan government had met in Saudi Arabia the representatives of Taliban and Gulbudeen Hekmatyar the former Prime Minister and was once a very close friend of the west.The best option for Mr. Barack Obama is to leave Afghanistan to Afghans and put his own house in order. If he is going to restore any credibility to the American reputation he should immediately announce the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is not in need of foreign occupation, soldiers, mercenaries, and secret services. Afghanistan needs physicians' hospitals, teachers, schools, universities and the prerequisites for a free and just Afghan society are first of all Bread, water, health, education, and housing and NOT B52, Bombers, illegal occupation and the unjust killing of thousands of innocent Afghans. If Barack Obama can stop all this in Afghanistan I am sure all the resistance to the occupation will cease and most of the Afghans will embrace the Western concept of Democracy.
Mohammad N Asif
Exiled Afghan Journalist
President, Scottish Afghan Exiles
Hamid Karzai - The Most expensive Mayor of the world
One hundred and fifty two British lives lost in Afghanistan - a grim milestone that will lead many in Britain to ask: is the mission worth this cost in lives? The answer is very simple and it is a big NO.
The illegal occupation of Afghanistan is in its eight year, and resistance to the occupation has not abated. The US and UK puppet regime of Hamid Karzai exerts control over no more than 30 per cent of the country. Senior US commanders in Afghanistan have requested at least 10,000 more troops and the UK has about 8000 in Helmand Province alone to deal with increasing violence and attacks. It�s almost seven years after the fall of Taliban and thousands of innocent lives lost but the Mayor of Kabul (Karzai) is hardly able to go out of the Kabul city. Afghanistan continues to struggle as a state due to the many contending ethnic, religious and regional rivalries. Regional commanders, the illegal drug trade and the continuing Taliban insurgency hamper the rule of law, development and aid efforts. Taliban are ever stronger than before, not only in their stronghold but in other parts of Afghanistan too. Hekmatyar the former good friend of the American and British is a strong force in the east of Afghanistan and Karzai is secretly trying to negotiate with him. Afghan and British relation is at its lowest. Mr. Karzai blamed the British for all the problems in Helmand Province, which is true.
The British were secretly dealing with low level Taliban and provided them with weapons and gave them 200,000 pounds in the recent past and in return the Taliban will not have to attack the British, but sadly the British plan was exposed and the Mayor of Kabul (Hamid Karzai) expelled two high ranking officers from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan will never be secured and stable until the British and American change their policies. Look at their stupid and crazy policies in Afghanistan for example one of the Warlords, Abdul Rashid Doustom become chief of staff to Karzai and the other one, Hekmatyar is labeled as a terrorist whilst the latter one commands more support in Afghanistan. The British and American have to give up their pick and choose policies.
Warlords and drug lords who are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity are part of the Afghan government and are given prominent posts. Corruption and drug trafficking is at it highest and it includes ministers, security commanders and the brother of Hamid Karzai who is heavily involved. Corruption among police and local authorities is worst where the British forces are based and where the drug profits are highest. Despite his repeated public denials, Karzai's half-brother Wali, head of Kandahar's provincial council, continues to be accused by senior government sources, as well as foreign analysts and officials, as having a key role in orchestrating the movement of heroin from Kandahar eastward through Helmand and out across the Iranian border.
The lawmen say they categories Afghanistans 34 provinces as A, B or C states. 'A' denotes those with the highest potential profits for drug-running; 'C' states are the least remunerative. The bribes to buy a position in an A-grade province can be vast, up to $300,000. The rewards are even bigger. One of the police commanders in the eastern part of Afghanistan was estimated by counter-narcotic officials to take home $400,000 a month from heroin smuggling. Even the lowlier posts in provinces free of poppy traffic have a price. To buy a position as a detective in any province you pay $10, 000, you have to pay your superior a cut of the money you make through bribes or trafficking. I do not know if the British public knows this that; the district appointments in Helmand Province where British soldiers are dying are there just to protect drug routes. Mayor (Karzai) is regarded by most of the Afghans and outside world a weak, isolated and a disabled figure. The American spent more than 110 billion dollars in Afghanistan and the British are spending around two billions pounds a year in Helmand Province alone. The British claimed to have achieved success but trust me they have done very little or nothing at all. The British so far have not built a single factory or re-constructed a road or a hospital. All they are doing is to kill and lose young British soldiers who are there for no reason and the soldiers are deceived by the MOD. The British and NATO have killed more innocent Afghans in the South of Afghanistan than the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
The Paris donor's conference is taking place at a time when the Afghan government is increasingly unpopular because of abuses, corruption and lack of security. Afghanistan is no better off. In reading the 2007 Afghanistan Human Development Report we can see some catastrophic development indicators: access to water is at 31 per cent of households; life expectancy is 43.1 years; adult literacy is 23.5 per cent; 50 per cent of Afghan children under five are malnourished; while 6.6 million Afghans do not meet their minimum daily food requirements. Poverty is the real problem in Afghanistan where one particular woman sold her two children for 250 dollars only and on the other hand government ministers, warlords and drug lords are filling their foreign accounts with billions from aid money which supposed to help the ordinary Afghans but sadly it is not reaching ordinary Afghans and Mr. Karzai is part of the gang who are robbing the poor citizens of the country. Infant (IMR) and maternal mortality rates (MMR) have worsened since 2001. IMR is 135 per 1,000 live births; MMR is estimated at 1,600 per 100,000 live births, while in the remote rural area of Badakshtan MMR is 6,500 per 100,000 live births. 100,000 children are disabled and otherwise severely affected physically due to prolonged conflict in the country. To bring real peace, stability and security to Afghanistan the British should allow Mr. Karzai to negotiate with the Taliban and with Mr. Hekmatyar. Both of them are a force to be recognized and it will be very difficult to have security in the country unless big changes in Afghan policies can happen. I do not understand why the British are in Afghanistan. According to Mr. Karzai the British are part of the problem and not the solution. Mr. Karzai repeatedly said that the South of Afghanistan is destabilized because of the secret dealing between the British and the Taliban. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are freely allowed to move around thanks to the British he said.
The most expensive Mayor of the world (Karzai) is too weak and, it is about time to remove him and leave Afghanistan to Afghans to decide their future. The British and American must and should leave Afghanistan and leave the Afghans alone to decide for them selves and choose their own future. America and Britain are part of the problems and 90 percent of the Afghans want them to leave immediately. More than 80 percent of the population wants the brutal Taliban back in power because of the failure of the west and it alliance. They believe that during the Taliban, corruption was not existed, Drug trafficking was almost Zero and they brought some sort of security to the country. Afghans are fed up with current corrupt regime, war criminals and the drug lords. Like the Afghans who do not tell you how to run your country, and how to live and lead your life, you should also not interfere in the life of Afghans and leave their country to them to run their own affairs. Terrorism was never existed in Afghanistan until you guys brought Bin Laden and his friends to Afghanistan and gave them billions in cash and latest weapons including Stinger Missiles, because they were fighting your war and you called them the Holly Warriors but now you call them terrorist and we all know why. Whatever money in aid goes to Afghanistan it will end up in the pockets of Karzai and his co and the poor will remain poor and Afghanistan will be more insecure, unstable and you guys will kill more innocent Afghans and of course more young British soldiers will lose their lives. So please the British Tax payers force the disabled man (Mr. Gordon Brown) to leave Afghanistan and stop killing my brothers and sisters.
Mohammad N Asif
Exiled Journalist and
President,of Scottish Afghan Exiles
BARACK OBAMA AND THREE & HALF PASHTOONS
The UK and US operation in Afghanistan is "worthless" and akin to the start of the Vietnam War, former SAS commander Maj Sebastian Morley has said. Now we have President Barack Obama who said that the US must have an "exit strategy" in Afghanistan, even as Washington sends more troops to fight Taliban militants.
Mr. Obama - who last month ordered the deployment of an additional 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan - acknowledged that military force alone would not be enough to achieve Washington's objectives, which included the defeat of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. This clearly demonstrates the defeat for America, Britain and NATO who now try to negotiate with the so called good Taliban. This is clearly another western policy which is to divide and rule. Here we go again; America openly interfering in the internal affairs of another country, masterminding the toppling of a president, setting up faction against faction, tribe against tribe, arming one group to fight another and undoubtedly enflaming the country further and bringing anarchy to its streets. How disappointing! In just few days in office Mr. Obama is following the disastrous Bush line and is showing signs that the only change we are going to see is a new face making the same mistakes. If it is corruption Mr. Obama is worried about I suggest he looks to Kenya, the land of his father and witness the rampant blatant corruption that is bringing that lovely country to its knees.
Obama recently met with four and half Pashtoons who are running for Afghan presidency.
The challengers: Who might replace Karzai?
Gul Agha Sherzai
A veteran of the wars against the Soviets, Mr. Sherzai who is the current governor of Nangarhar is a human rights abuser and is not educated but has achieved some success in the east of the country.
Dr Abdullah Abdullah
Although half Pashtun, he is considered a leader of Afghanistan's Tajik population is amongst a bunch of warlords, Thugs, Thieves, Murderers, Rapists and most of them are wanted for war crimes and genocide against the innocent Afghans. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2001 and served until 2006. He contributed nothing to Afghanistan apart from being an Interpreter to the former Warlord Ahmad Shah Masoud.
Ali Ahmad Jalali
An ethnic Pashtun and former colonel, Jalali joined the anti-Soviet resistance after the Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1979. He took US citizenship and spent 20 years broadcasting for Voice of America. He is a poppet of Mr. Zalmy Khalilzad who is responsible for the killing of many innocent Afghans.
Dr Ashraf Ghani
An ethnic Pashtun, he studied in America, at Colombia University. He worked at the World Bank from 1991 to 2001, when he returned to Afghanistan for the first time in 24 years and was appointed s a Finance Minister from 2002-04. He is an American citizen and should not be allowed to run for Presidency unless he renounces the American citizenship. He stayed away for a very long time from Afghanistan and is not in touch with the people of the land.
If Obama is going to remove Mr. Karzai who is going to replace him? The above four are just the same as Karzai if not worse. At least Hamid Karzai has more links to Afghanistan than the above. The current regime is a bunch of thieves and is corrupt to the highest level. Karzai officials had hoped Hillary Clinton, now the US Secretary of State, would prove their ally in White House. But those hopes were dashed when she branded Afghanistan a "Norco-state" with a government "plagued by limited capacity and widespread corruption"
Afghanistan belongs to Afghans and the American, British and NATO have no rights to involve foreign countries to bring peace to our country. A recent report which said that, Iran would consider a US invitation to a conference on Afghanistan later this month. Tehran declared that it was ready to review any approach from Western powers, as it would offer any help to its eastern neighbour.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Brussels that Iran should be included in the Afghanistan summit. Why not invite the Afghan opposition groups such as the Taliban and Hezb-e- Islami to the summit? Why invite Iran and other neighbouring countries? The Taliban and Hezb-e- Islami are Afghans and they should be included in this month summit. I do not think that by inviting others than Afghans will bring peace and stability to our country. The days of the occupiers are numbered in Afghanistan and I am certain that the illegal occupation is soon to be ended and the resistance clearly works and that is why Mr. Obama is looking for an exit strategy. There are no bad or good Taliban but they are all Taliban and they should all be part of any future government. I am not a supporter of the Taliban but they are a force to be reckoned and any peace deal on Afghanistan should and must include them, otherwise Afghanistan will be another Vietnam for the illegal occupiers.
The only solution to the Afghan conflict is that the American, British and NATO leave Afghanistan to Afghans to decide their future. The best option for the west is to withdraw their troops immediately otherwise they will face the same fate as the Russian did. Almost eighty thousands innocent Afghans have been killed in Afghanistan by the illegal occupiers. War does not solve the problem or bring peace to a country but it is the ultimate terror. There are no winners in war but only survivors and I am sure the surviving side in Afghanistan will be the resistance to the foreign occupation.
Mohammad N Asif
Exiled Afghan Journalist
President, Scottish Afghan Exiles
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