Afghanistan: Slipping out of control
US to send in 17,000 extra troops as Karzai loses grip
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Independent Minds
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The 'surge', with the extra US forces in Afghanistan expected to rise to 30,000, was required to 'stabilise a deteriorating situation' said Barack Obama
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A grim picture of spiralling violence and a disintegrating society has emerged in Afghanistan in a confidential Nato report, just as Barack Obama vowed to send 17,000 extra American troops to the country in an attempt to stem a tide of insurgency.
Direct attacks on the increasingly precarious Afghan government more than doubled last year, while there was a 50 per cent increase in kidnappings and assassinations. Fatalities among Western forces, including British, went up by 35 per cent while the civilian death toll climbed by 46 per cent, more than the UN had estimated. Violent attacks were up by a third and roadside bombings, the most lethal source of Western casualties, by a quarter. There was also a 67 per cent rise in attacks on aircraft from the ground, a source of concern to Nato which depends hugely on air power in the conflict.
The document, prepared by the Pentagon on behalf of the US-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan and seen by The Independent, also reveal how swathes of the country have slipped out of the control of President Hamid Karzai’s government. According to a poll taken towards the end of last year, a third of the population stated that the Taliban had more influence in their locality.
The growing unpopularity of Mr Karzai, along with accusations of corruption against figures associated with his government, has led the new US administration to repeatedly warn the Afghan President he will lose Washington’s support in the coming national elections unless there are drastic changes. The military “surge”, say US officials, must be accompanied by significant improvement in governance with Mr Obama describing the Karzai government of being “detached” from what was going on in his own country.
Mr Obama acknowledged that the reinforcements, with the total numbers of extra forces expected to rise to 30,000, had been sent because “urgent and swift action” was required “to stabilise a deteriorating situation … in which the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan and al-Qa’ida threatens America from its safe haven along the Pakistani border.”
Mr Karzai was informed of the new deployments in a telephone call on Tuesday. The Afghan leader had complained publicly at the weekend that he had not heard from the US leader since the inauguration almost a month ago.
The new US administration had indicated that it was prepared to talk to Iran about the Afghan situation and yesterday, Italy, which assumes the presidency of the G8 this year, said that Tehran would be invited to participate in a summit on Afghanistan. The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said: “We want to consider how to involve Iran, not whether to involve Iran.”
Nato has accused the Iranian regime of allowing weapons to be smuggled into Afghanistan while drugs go in the other direction, with some of the profits pumped back in to funding the insurgency. The UN’s International Narcotics Control Board said in its annual report that due to overproduction of opium there has been a rise in the production of cannabis in Afghanistan. Many provinces which had been declared by the Afghan government and Nato to be free of poppy cultivation have switched to cannabis. The report stated: “The lack of security in Afghanistan has severely hampered government efforts to eradicate illicit opium poppy; a total of 78 persons involved in the eradication efforts lost their lives in 2008, a six-fold increase over the previous year. The increase in illicit cultivation of cannabis in Afghanistan is also a worrying development.”
Meanwhile, eight years after “liberation” and the fall of the Taliban, many Afghan people still lack basic amenities. Across the country 38 per cent of the population did not have access to medical facilities with the figure rising to 44 per cent in rural areas.
The Taliban has also carried out a violent campaign against education for children in many parts of the country, claiming it was being used for Western indoctrination, and targeting girls’ schools in particular as being against Islam. The Nato report states that “access to schools for both girls and boys varies across the country and is tightly linked to security. Degree of access to girls’ schools is also an ethno-geographic factor”.
Whereas 74 per cent of Uzbek, 73 per cent of Tajik and 72 per cent of Hazara girls are in a position to receive an education, it falls to 44 per cent among the Pashtuns and, in the conservative deep south of the country, in provinces like Helmand where British troops are based, no more than 24 per cent attend schools.
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Comments
Ex President Bush used these people as an excuse for the 9/11 attacks saying that they receive their training their. Which is bogus, the training they received to fly the planes into the trade towers, came from right there in the United States. That's where they learned to fly.
And let's not forget that most of the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, where they also have extreme religious fanatics, but we aren't bombing of them. We're not killing their women and children.
Before 9/11 the United States was trying to make a pipe line deal with the Taliban. We didn't see them as evil then. In fact there is a film and many photos of Taliban leaders at a party with congressional members. It's interesting that when the United States realize the Taliban was not going to make a pipeline deal with us, they suddenly become terrorists.
Explain why we are murdering and killing these people?
It all seems to be going according to plan then. I'm sure the weapons manufaturers absolutely love it and hope to keep the confilct going for another 7 years.... maybe even for another 60 years, like the Palestine 'problem'.
The only real question for America and NATO is: 'Who is going to finance this insanity beyond 2009, now that most western economies are collapsing?
Are these things something we really should be fighting a war of occupation for? Because, funnily enough, more and more often it's these aspects of Afganistan are being mentioned as part and parcel of the reason we're killing people over there. The ridiculous claim that we're fighting terrorism over there is just that, ridiculous. We're creating terrorism over there, state sponsored terrorism by US and UK forces as our troops engage in their bombing and shooting sprees, and US and UK state generated terrorism, as more and more Afgans reject and react to our killing activites over there.
The basic facts are we shouldn't be there, our presence is quite rightly being resisted by the Afgan people, and the consequence is a spiralling upwards of deaths, mainly innocent, but also some involving military personnel. The war is unwinnable for many many reasons, one of them being it's morally wrong for the West to be waging war against the Afgan people in the first place.
GORDON BROWN NEEDS TO SHOW BRAVE MORAL LEADERSHIP AND PULL OUR TROOPS OUT NOW. There is no national interest at stake, and although it will undoubtedly upset the USA and Obama, it is the morally right thing to do. Go on Gordon, you can do it!
which leaves from your narrative..... nothing
did you "think" the same about Iraqis? Not able to be free and united? Did you call in Iraq for withdrawal like ytou do today in Afghanistan knowing it would lead to civil war and trhen enslavement under an Iraqi strongman, Taliban or Iranian "puppet"
Why are we fighting in Afghnaistan? because people have a right to be free. In the autumn Afghans will vote. For that we fight.
http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Wikileaks_sla
February 16, 2009
WIKILEAKS PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release.
Wikileaks releases NATO report on civilian deaths
A confidential NATO report from January reveals that civilian deaths from the war in Afghanistan have increased by 46% over the past year.
The 12 page report was authenticated and released in full today by Wikileaks.
ISAF Security Summary 2008
ISAF Security Summary 2008
The report shows a dramatic escalation of the war and civil disorder. Coalition deaths increased by 35%, assassinations and kidnappings by 50% and attacks on the Kabul based Government of Hamid Karzai also more than doubled, rising a massive 119%.
The report highlights huge increases on attacks aimed at Coalition forces, including a 27 % increase in IED attacks, a 40%. rise in rifle and rocket fire and an increase in surface to air fire of 67%.
According to the report, outside of the capital Kabul only one in two families had access to even the most basic health care, and only one in two children had access to a school....
Lloyd Hart
Iraq is a young free nation. Despite you it seems. Watch it succeed and try and work out how to dig yourself out of your recreationalk hole.
I see Alawi said he bore no grudge to Germany and France as they came sniffing for oil now their is no danger of any cost in doing so. Yeah, no grudge I bet.
Astonishingly those openly bribing ordinary citizens enjoy full impunity. As an example, Ministry of Finance, which has now turned into a private venture, whose regular employees salary range from $100 to $400 a month drive in high value cars that cost $15,000-20,000 and stay in luxurious flats that cost more than $100,000. To the surprise of many, the cars obtained through illegal means are being parked at the parking lot of ministry to the very well notice of the big bosses, who despite not asking for the source of money, congratulate them for having these costly vehicles.
The Office of Adminsitrative Affairs, which is the right arm of the President Karzai, has plunged into corruption. This office is occupied by national consultants who have been making huge amounts through illegal means. They have established a network of crooks who charge commissions on different deals ranging from procurement to recruitment to transfer. Most national consultants and regular employees have acquired flats at the costly areas of the city as Macrorayan and Golding Housing by names of their next of kin in order to avoid future investigation on the source of money.
The above are just some examples. The President is well aware of widespread corruption but has not done anything significant to curb it. Therefore, if he is imposed again on Afghans, it will be a disaster.
Any morality in there at all?
The TAliban CAN be beaten. 90% of Afghans, when free and feeling safe to say so, hate and despise them. That is the truth. But today the reality is that insufficient troops and support from evryone but mostly Europeans has created the situation where moany are afraid to criticise the Taliban.
Soon according to you we will hear non Afghan voices. What on earth are you arguing for? The Afghans are a race. Humans like you and me. what is your destiny barneyson?
The reality is that the invasion of Afhanistan has only stirred up a hornet's nest for which, more than the West, the countries of that region, including India, will be paying a heavy price in the not so distant future.
Now some sections of the Indian mainstream media are asking the Indian government to apply apple sauce to the American envoy for the region, Mr. Richard Holbrooke, in order to allow some sort of military role for Indians. Already, the Taliban are the de jure rulers of nearly half of Pakistan including FATA and the NWFP
The Indian government would be well advised to take a leaf from France and the UK and encourage its
lawmakers to begin back channel talks with the Taliban instead of embroiling the whole country in an asymmetrical warfare which will without individual truncate individual freedoms of which Indians are rightly proud.
Most Afghans were quite content with their way of life until first the Russians and now the Americans invaded their country. Whether Osama bin Laden is still holed up in that area or whether that is just a phantom a la Hussein's WMDs is still a matter of conjecture. In the meanwhile the innocents of Af-Pak have to live in misery for something they had nothing to do with.
At the time people had a choice. Proclaim defeat and abandin Iraqis to likely civil war, do nothing to help but constantly slate the USA by telling shallow lies that they were stealing oil or colonising Iraq (almost exclusively a European habit), or pitching in and facing down the insurgent.
As we saw most so called "civilised" people chose the middle option, the cowards option.
As we saw the US and UK and a handful of others stood almost alone and faced dowen the insurgents and emancipated Iraqis who now, for better or worse, are free and masters of their own destiny's
I wonder whta civlised people will choose in Afghanistan today. Sadly I expect many to declare (not in a racist way you understand) how Afghans cannot be free so we cannot help. Lets see. Can Europe stand up? Obama was always going to be "tricky", theres no simple (not racist you understand) excuse of GWB any more is there. How you must miss him!
Think how our brave boys must be feeling after all that killing Afghans and ordering their villages bombed. Now with more American troops even more bombings and killing will occur, emphasising that we mean business. They'll soon see sense. Well maybe not soon but sometime in the next 50 or 60 years. Our brave boys need to know that doing their job is well worth every dead and maimed British soldier.
Heaven forbid if they ever realise it's all for nothing.
US has to be smarter then this. All the borders around afghanistan is surraunded by countries that doesnt like US very much. WAKE UP AMERICA, YOU ARE BEING SET-UP IN AFGHANISTAN!
Saifullah Jan, Cairo
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and yet the people who are meant to take care of us are spending OUR money to clean out their moats. I feel we need to shake up the cabinet and get out of Afganistan and leave them to develop justice on their own.