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Terrified Afghan Civilians Flee NATO Bombings
KABUL - Jumakhan Said Muhammad was working on his land when he first heard the planes. "I looked up," the farmer from Musa Qala, in the southern Helmand province, says. "Suddenly a plane flew by and I saw smoke rising from my house, which was down the road.
"Muhammad ran towards his home, where dozens of villagers were shouting his name as they surrounded his house. "The house was split in half by the bomb," he recalls. "The walls were collapsed and crumbled. Blood was pouring from my nephew (seven-years-old) like it was water. He had shrapnel in his brain and stomach. I then saw my sister's headscarf peaking out from underneath the rubble and so we raced desperately to save her. When we pulled her out from the wreckage I saw her body -- she was cut completely in half. I started to scream."
Muhammad's sister and nephew are among a steady flow of civilian casualties caused by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) bombardment, residents say. When such casualties started to rise last year -- bombers destroyed Muhammad's house in November -- coalition forces pledged to change their tactics and ensure that civilians were not caught in such attacks.
But Helmand residents say that they are often still caught in the crossfire and that fighting has been particularly intense in March -- locals claim that aerial bombing killed over 40 civilians in the last two weeks alone.
Helmand residents allege that 13 civilians were killed two weeks ago in a NATO air-strike, and last week lawmaker Nasima Niyazi claimed that dozens of civilians were killed when coalition forces bombed a popular picnic spot in the Sangin district. U.S.-led forces recently admitted to killing six civilians in a house raid in eastern Afghanistan, including two children.
Last week, close to 400 demonstrators gathered near Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, to protest civilian killings. Protesters claim that NATO soldiers raided a house and killed two people, including a child. One protester asked a local news agency, "We are poor people with no links to militants. Why are troops killing us?"
Fighting has raged in Helmand province for more than two years and has produced a steady exodus of injured and terrified civilians.
Tauskhan Palwesha arrived in Kabul three days ago from the Sangin district, where last year a fire fight broke out between coalition forces and the Taliban. "Bullets were flying past our home," he recalls. "Suddenly a plane flew by and dropped a bomb - I heard a loud noise and everything around me burst into flames. I looked for my wife and saw that a beam had gone right through her head, spilling her brains onto the floor. My nine-year-old daughter had burns all over her body. When I picked her up I noticed that she was missing an arm."
A leading Afghan NGO reports that close to 2,000 civilians were killed by the fighting and estimates coalition air strikes are responsible for nearly a tenth of these. Analysts say possibly many more deaths go unreported because of the poor security conditions that prevail in the southern provinces. Overall, aid agencies estimate that more than 12,000 people, at least a quarter civilians, have been killed since the start of the war in 2001.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a coalition over 40,000 troops and 40 countries headed by NATO, maintains that it does not deliberately target civilians. "ISAF goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties, unlike the Taliban, who have no apparent regard for neither life nor truth," the coalition said recently in a statement.
However, observers say that whether civilians are deliberately targeted or not, the continued civilian killings threaten to alienate Afghans who previously stayed neutral in the fight between ISAF and the Taliban. "There's mounting anger against NATO and U.S. forces," journalist Hamed Asir says. "This will drive people into the hands of the Taliban."
"I never supported the Taliban before," Palwesha says, his face cherry red with anger. "But now I've lost everything. The foreign troops killed my family and destroyed my house."
Palwesha carries with him a wrapped blanket, speckled with faded maroon stains that he says are his daughter's dried blood. Unwrapping the cloth, he unveils a charred stump. "This was part of her bone," he says. "I'm going to take this and drop it on Karzai's (Afghan President Hamid Karzai) desk. He has to help me. If he ignores me, I will go to the Taliban. I am ready to die. I am ready to become a suicide bomber because I have nothing left to live for."
Sadeq Mudaber, a senior government official and policy director, says that Karzai recently met with top ISAF commanders to address the issue. Without a good-faith effort to avoid civilian casualties, he says, NATO and the U.S. run the risk of alienating large sections of the population.
"I'm so angry," Muhammad says. "I am angry at the world. NATO should be bringing peace and security. If they can't do that they should leave."
"Otherwise," he adds, "they will become just like the Russians."
© 2008 Inter Press Service
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9 Comments so far
Show AllDon't be alarmed, it's the good guys doing it!
That's a good thing right!
The American bombing of Afghanistan is much more insidious than the bombing done by the Russians during their occupation. The American military, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, has dropped depleted uranium munitions throughout Afghanistan which leave radioactive "dust" behind that can affect civilians until the end of time, or at least billions of years.
From: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0809-33.htm
" The U.S. has illegally conducted four nuclear wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and twice in Iraq since 1991, calling DU "conventional" weapons when in fact they are nuclear weapons."
" Depleted uranium (DU) weaponry meets the definition of weapon of mass destruction in two out of three categories under U.S. Federal Code Title 50 Chapter 40 Section 2302."
"DU weaponry violates all international treaties and agreements, Hague and Geneva war conventions, the 1925 Geneva gas protocol, U.S. laws and U.S. military law."
And why ? They are after more than "terrorists" hiding in caves. Both Russia and now America have coveted pipeline routes to the Arabian sea and or India to market the oil and gas of Central Asia.
From: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MEN20050429&articleId=181
" For a clearer understanding of why America really invaded Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of September 11th 2001, one need look no further than - oil - keeping in mind that, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, she (America) had wasted no time buying into Russian oil and gas fields, many of which closely bordered Afghanistan - a country which, itself, held significant oil and gas deposits."
" In conclusion: this eastward-and-onward march of militarised global capitalism - under the guidance of America - must be seen for what it is: a threat to global peace and stability."
And Bush found guilty of war crimes in Afghanistan:
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/GWBguiltyAWC.html
I reserve the possiblity that the purpose of the American bombing is not to kill Afghan civilians standing in the way. Perhaps they are trying to level the mountains of Afghanistan for oil and gas pipeline routes.
"I am ready to become a suicide bomber because I have nothing left to live for," said palwesha, the father of a murdered child.
it's a strange kind of a war that creates more enemies than it kills.
The following url is from the World Uranium Weapons Conference, 2003, and has many links.
http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de/speakers.htm
One article on Afghanistan is:
"The Silent Genocide from America", June 2003 by Prof. Mohammed Daud Miraki, Afghanistan
Additional information exploring the use of other radioactive weapons in Afghanistan at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/VISIE/du-afghanistan2.html
"...in recent days there have been numerous reports about the birth of many disabled and deformed children in Afghanistan. A large number of health specialists in Afghanistan as well as international observers, including one of the officials of a local hospital, regard the increased number of birth defects in Afghanistan to be the direct result of
the U.S. dropping DU bombs on Afghanistan."
And the original King of DU use is Cheney !
from: http://www.notinkansas.us/du_1.html
"In 1991, then Secretary of Defense Cheney authorized the first massive use of depleted uranium munitions by United States forces. As a consequence the lives of almost 2/3rds of the men and women who served in the Gulf War have been destroyed."
"it's a strange kind of a war that creates more enemies than it kills."
Unfortunately, I suspect all wars fit into this category.
25 to 30 years ago, the US military had the acronym IFFN, Identification Friend, Foe, or Neutral. I've done metasearches on IFFN Iraq and come up almost empty, just 1 or 2 references to the Gulf War phase. The difference may be due to the fact that in the previous time, the context of war was central and western Europe, and US military presence in NATO lands required the cooperation of the locals.
"JConrad March 26th, 2008 10:43 am
...
And why ? They are after more than "terrorists" hiding in caves. Both Russia and now America have coveted pipeline routes to the Arabian sea and or India to market the oil and gas of Central Asia.
..."
YES, THERE'S THE OIL PIPELINE, and surely for natural gas, given there's evidently a lot of it in some neighbouring countries; I believe countries the U.S. is aiming to get the oil from, but maybe also some others.
But, what I mainly wanted to add is that it appears that a considerable oil reserve has been discovered in (I believe to recall) southern Afghanistan, in addition to the country being [rich] in mining resources; several, including semi-precious gems.
"The country's natural resources include gold, silver, copper, zinc and iron ore in southeastern areas; precious and semi-precious stones such as lapis, emerald and azure in the north-east; and potentially significant petroleum and natural gas reserves in the north. The country also has uranium, coal, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, and salt.[1][22][23][24] However, these significant mineral and energy resources remain largely untapped due to the effects of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent civil war. Plans are underway to begin extracting them in the near future.[25][26]"
That's quoted from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan#Geography
#25 is:
"AFGHANISTAN'S ENERGY FUTURE AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS
Stephen Blank 8/03/06
A EurasiaNet Commentary"
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090306.shtml
QUOTE:
The release of new estimates showing that Afghanistan may possess substantial reserves of oil and gas may shake up Central Asia's increasingly competitive energy contest and alter the region's geopolitical balance.
In March, the US Geological Survey and the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Industry reported that Afghanistan's resource base was much greater than previously believed. ...
If accurate, the news could mark the turning point in Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts. Energy exports could generate the revenue that Afghan officials need to modernize the country's infrastructure and expand economic opportunities for the beleaguered and fractious population. ...
Today, there are two pipeline projects involving Afghanistan that would connect Central Asian exporters and South Asian markets. One is a projected Iran-Pakistan-India line (IPI) and the other is a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India line (TAP). Naturally, these contrasting plans have helped spur geopolitical maneuvering in the region. ...
...
END QUOTE.
The #26 article link doesn't work for me; while the page shows the right title, there's some formatdatetime error and the article's text doesn't load. Doing a search of the website, pajhwok.com, and using the article title shown in the initial page provides a few article links though.
"Khak-i-Jabar residents seek share in mine project proceeds
Danish Karokhel - Jan 15, 2008 - 20:33"
http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=48653
QUOTE:
KABUL, Jan 15 (PAN): Promising to help the government maintain security, residents of the Khak-i-Jabar district of Kabul have asked the Ministry of Mines for their share in income from the Ainak copper project.
The demand came as 50 tribal elders from the district met the minister concerned in the presence of legislators and provincial council members. Haji Muhammad Rafiq, speaking on behalf of the elders, said they were very disappointed to learn of development plans - to be financed with proceeds from the mine - for the central Logar province.
Regretting the denial of similar facilities for Khak-i-Jabar, he argued two-thirds of the Ainak copper mine was located in the district. Darband, Jauhar, Tangi and Jalghozi areas had vast copper reserves, the elder explained. ...
...
The mine - one of the biggest in the world - is estimated to contain over 12 million tonnes of copper, and the government will have $400 million in annual revenue from it.
END QUOTE.
I tried checking other articles at that site, but they're all returning this formatdatetime error and not loading the article texts; except for this above article.
When I first came across this information on mine reserves in Afghanistan, and which was last year, I also checked a CIA factbook link and it listed several mining resources, as well as oil.
Lastly, ALL OF THIS profitability, and then, for extra and big bonus, major poppy production; hence major black-market money from derived heroine. Maybe also morphine, but I haven't heard of it being a black market drug; and if that's true, then it's not as fun, for it'd be taxable, in the official, govt sense of taxation, that is.
They are NOT going to be leaving Afghanistan anytime soon. Too much PROFIT to make there.
Ooops, got my geo. a little off, above; it's not in southern, but in northern Afghanistan where oil, and apparently natural gas, reserves have been discovered. The wikipedia page linked in my above post says, "potentially significant petroleum and natural gas reserves", and I'm not sure how current that is, for I believe to have read elsewhere that it's not just 'potentially'; it's more like a certainty. It's been many months and I only read the articles once, so perhaps I'm not recalling what they said fully accurately.
"JConrad March 26th, 2008 10:43 am
...
I reserve the possiblity that the purpose of the American bombing is not to kill Afghan civilians standing in the way. Perhaps they are trying to level the mountains of Afghanistan for oil and gas pipeline routes."
WAKE UP JCONFRAD. THAT last word of yours spoiled an otherwise fine post. If they were doing as quote just above, then they'd relocate the civilian Afghans. Perhaps they are bombing to somehow clear space for pipelines, but they clearly do not care about massacring civilians, en masse. They KNOW there are people where the bombings are committed; and they know that many of these people are civilians, just like they knew and know the same thing in Iraq!!
There's plenty more for relevant articles at www.globalresearch.ca and the 'Oil and Energy' index is surely the best suggestion to make for people who want to check the site on this topic. There are many articles in that index.
It is hard to justify ongoing 'liberation er...occupation theology' unless you create more and more enemies to kill.
No these are not bombings - these are freedom poofs from the beneficent coalition of the willing.
Only terrorists bomb people. Same thing with torture from terrorists, called freedom quizzes with enhanced phrasing when the CIA or their civilian associates do it.