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Thousands of Civilians Flee Afghan Region as Nato Plans Onslaught
Evacuation of most civilians will give commanders leeway to use air-to-ground missiles which have enraged Afghans
KABUL - Ten of thousands of Afghan civilians are abandoning an area of central Helmland where UK and US forces are set to launch one of the biggest operations of the year.
British troops during a firefight with Taliban forces in Helmand. Photograph: Major Paul Smyth/PA/MoD The evacuation of most civilians from the town of Marjah and surrounding areas will give commanders greater leeway to use mortars-and-air-to ground missiles which have enraged Afghans in the past when responsible for civilian deaths.
US generals have unusually made no secret of their plan for a major onslaught against the town close to Helmand's besieged provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force which will spearhead the fight, has said he is "not looking for a fair fight".
Marjah is regarded as a stronghold of both Taliban insurgents and drug trafficking networks which must be removed to "protect" the people who live there. But so far the warnings have only had the effect of encouraging civilians to flee.
Abdul Salam, who has an extended family of 14 in the Marjah area, said his village looked almost deserted as most of its families had left for the cities of Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat.
"They just picked up their jewellery and other small valuables and left everything behind," he said.
However, some civilians had remained because they could not afford to leave.
"People know they cannot protect everything, and they are more concerned about saving their lives than their houses. The people cannot protect their country from the infidels, so how can we protect our houses?"
The counterinsurgency plan pushed by Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of all Nato forces in Afghanistan, aims not to alienate the population. But a Marjah resident, an elder reached by phone, who was not prepared to give his name, said he had evacuated his family a week ago because he feared "the worst attack ever".
"Always when they storm a village the foreign troops never care about civilian casualties at all. And at the end of the day they report the deaths of women and children as the deaths of Taliban," he said.
A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, as the Nato troops are known, said that the main reason for publicity for the operation was to encourage insurgents to leave, but if civilians were also encouraged to evacuate that would be "helpful".
Most of the extra 30,000 US troops earmarked for the Afghan campaign will support Nato efforts in areas where the alliance has a presence, in a bid to keep insurgents out of villages. The battle for Marjah will therefore be a relatively rare push into an area not yet cleared of insurgents.
It is regarded as particularly important because an estimated 100,000 people live in the area - a relatively dense population for a largely desert province dotted with rural communities.
Marjah is also on the south-western doorstep of Lashkar Gah, home to the headquarters of the British military and civilian efforts in the province.
The fraught security in Lashkar Gah was highlighted yesterday when a motorbike packed with explosives detonated close to a crowd gathered on the city outskirts to watch a dog fight; it killed at least three people and injured at least 26, including seven children.
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Show AllWould someone please tell me why we are allowing our government to murder civilians? We got all up about the 3000 from 911 and have now murdered over a million because of it. Why? For the trillion dollars worth of oil and minerals under their land. That's why.
We are bullies. We aren't big brother anymore, we are bullies. And we won't stop until all the children are dead in this school yard.
Shame shame shame on America and the bastard countries that follow her over the cliff.
Why are we allowing our government to do this?
Because we are more interested in who survives Simon Cowell's insults on American Idol than we are in holding our President accountable for his actions. And we are more interested in wringing our hands in outrage than in holding ourselves accountable and taking direct action to promote a change in our insane policies.
Or, as Benjamin Franklin once observed, "As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence."
We can continue slaughtering innocent people on the other side of the world who have done us no harm or we can provide health care, a free college education and a nationwide green energy infrastructure to every American.
Only a complete psychopath would choose the former.
"Only a complete psychopath would choose the former."
Ooh, that's not nice, saying such a thing about Obama.
He can't help it: being a psychopath is a job-requirement for becoming President. That's not HIS fault. Shame on you for speaking ill of those who are meaner than you.
Jeevee
VERY good,Cygnus. WAR NEVER "PAYS".
Jeevee
VERY good,Cygnus. WAR NEVER "PAYS".
"War never pays."
Regrettably, that depends on what your produce is. When it's bombs and guns, war pays well.
Get real.
What we are talking about here are the deliberate and methodically planned war crimes of killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in an aggressive war and occupation. This has nothing to do with self defense; this is cold-blooded genocidal colonialism and collective punishment.
Right on, pilgrim.
That is it exactly, pilgrim. Applicable as well to all of Iraq, and the whole Afghanistan massacre.
Too true. Not funny. For being a tax-payer complicit in this I hate my self-loathing... Twisted out by this.
We will save the Afghans if we have to kill all of them.
Kill them or don't kill them. It doesn't seem to matter. No matter how hard we try to help foreign people, they just don't seem to realize that America invented goodness, justice, and freedom for all, and is only there to help them with no thought of reward for ourselves. I wish for once they would show some gratitude for all of our help and good intentions. I know that someday, when karma reverses our positions, we will remember to say thank you to the foreigners who come here to save our grandchildren.
The US-Israhell Fourth Reich will continue its bellicose assault on those less fortunate, because it's what they do best and it's all that they do. Who or what can stop them?
It's true, most americans do care more about american idol than what is going on with the real world. Some will respond with "I don't get involved with politics", never realizing that they already are, by living their american lifestlye-off the blodd of others...indluding myself... How do I extricate myself from this box? I've broken a hole in it by some of my actions, but I'm still scratchin' at the walls... trying to find a way to smash free... getting off the grid completely would be great...no more feeding from the tit of the empires ill gotten booty...
We humans have a long way to go... before we wake up from this delusion we are living...
initiate - excellent post. Pat yourself on the back because you woke up yourself, but be prepared for lots of frustration and even agony sometimes because the vast majority of those who allegedly lead us have bricks for brains and are deficient when it comes to the human feelngs necessary to want a world at peace with everyone living a reasonable, secure life.
It's all about money and control of other nations'/people's assets and resources and corporate profits. If ordinary people are in the way, so what. Mow 'em down without blinking an eye. Not a new story.
Educate yourself. Really become informed. It's all in the history books, but not the ones you were given at school. Howard Zinn's books are a good place to start.
Then you can wake up others who have been purposely put to sleep.
peace, cm
I'm sure MSM will be there to report the slaughter, destruction, and lack of reconstruction to the American public. (Not!)
I believe the NATO commanders are certifiably insane (maybe their only defense against war crime accountability) in the way this "mission" is described in this article. The clearing of civilians is presumably designed to reduce collateral damage when the notoriously non-precise "precision" bombs hit the area. The NATO spokesman says, though, that the main purpose of the warning is to "encourage" militants to leave, and,oh by the way, it would be "helpful" if civilians did as well. Because they are too attached to their possessions or can't afford to leave, many civilians won't leave and they will be the "free fire zone" for the assault. Because the militants are fighting a battle for their homeland and not a village in Helmand Province they will of course leave. So the "collateral damage" of a "necessary war" will be THE damage of this military operation. Somebody here please explain this to me and cc. Barack Obama because both of us really need to know.
Evacuate...how thoughtful we are. 'If you Afghans would all just go stand over THERE and watch while we blast the area where you USED to live, then you can all go back 'home' ...well at least to the half dozen bricks we have left standing where your home used to be. Then you'll be so thankful to us your hearts and minds will be so supportive to us the nasty bad boys will just go away. God help us, I've know insane people with greater personal ethics.
marlborough: Thanks for explaining that. Did you cc it to Barack as I requested?
Ah yes well since I don't have an email addy that ends in bigbank.com, or monsterpharma.con I don't think my email would get through!
Marlborough, you put it very succinctly.
Joe
And by the way, all you Afghans standing over there. We won't be staying around to help you rebuild your houses that we destroyed. They're just mud huts and we're far too technologically advanced to build things with mud. And about the land where you used to grow your crops? Well, it's contaminated with depleted uranium that has a half life of several billion years. So, for the next couple of generations, you'd better buy food that the U.S. (out of our overwhelming kindness) will import to you.
Sorry about those minor details. We've just been SO BUSY with all of these drones, you know.
Oh, and thanks again for your hearts and minds!!!!
" Not looking for a fair fight." ?
Is he speaking as the moron USA soldier who with his body armour, armoured vehicle, drones, missiles and satellites said of the pajama clad Pastun freedom fighter lying dead in a culvert clutching his Ak-47,
" They do not fight fair"
Or does he mean, We will obliviate everyone and "let god sort them out"? USA General Sheridan, Slaughterer of Native Americans.
We seem to like the ol' fish in a barrel kind of fighting don't we?
"Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force which will spearhead the fight, has said he is "not looking for a fair fight".
Our brave, honorable, sacrificing, heroic troops have been taken by conservative war profiteers, politicians and theocrats and turned into cowardly cold-blooded killers, imperial mercenaries of the oligarchy that bomb women, children and the poorest people from afar to steal their land and resources in efforts to destroy their conservative theocrat opponents and test the new MIC weaponry that makes the DOW go up.
Meanwhile, the tea partiers want to elect more conservatives when conservatives of both parties are wholly responsible for destroying America.
What could possibly be the point of this? Obviously if civilians are fleeing, any alleged drug dealers and Taliban can flee in their midst. Will we destroy empty houses and make the population homeless? This is berserk. I can see only two results:
1. Terrorize the population and make the Taliban look good in comparison with us.
2. Use up weapons so we have to buy more and feed the war profiteers.
Joe
Joe: #3, give some of the "surge" a mission to do; keeps up the morale you know; follows the military maxim, "if you've got 'em, smoke 'em".
Boo Yah, or however the hell you spell that.
Joe
"However, some civilians had remained because they could not afford to leave."
These will therefore be the terrorists.
Reminds me of when the Israeli's warned the people of Gaza with leaflets before using them as test subjects for US supplied DIME body shredders. The difference in Afghanistan is the people aren't caged in, though I'm sure McChrystal wishes otherwise.
Our military are Storm Troopers of the 21st century. An evil, brutal, organization that doesn't defend America. They hack up and blow apart innocent populations of men, women, and children all over the world for corporate interests. I'm discusted by the sadists in Washington who steal from us so they can carry out their crimes against humanity on a regular basis. They should all be convicted.
As far as our military goes, American troops must have lost their entire sense of decency for going along with this shit. Where is the revolt? I know how difficult it is in the military, but if they got their shit together, and enough of them refused to fight, this criminal war would fizzle out. I can only assume they are into it. That's not honorable, that's shameful. Just like Hitler's Storm Troopers, our troops feel justified in their cruelty. Our military has destroyed it's moral compass by eagerly participating in our decade long genocide of Muslims.
freepress: "Our military are Storm Troopers of the 21st century. An evil, brutal, organization that doesn't defend America. They hack up and blow apart innocent populations of men, women, and children all over the world for corporate interests. I'm discusted by the sadists in Washington who steal from us so they can carry out their crimes against humanity on a regular basis. They should all be convicted."
Very well said. Note, too, the Orwellian hypocrisy of name self-assigned by the Nazis of our time. As the article tells us, they are the "International Security Assistance Force, as the Nato troops are known..."
Pay close attention to that term "assistance" and the verbs "assist" and "help." I've seen a lot of these lately, particularly in articles talking about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and now Yemen. If you ask me, they're a dead giveaway for military goons writing the copy for our whorish scribes.
Good points, freepress and clovis I totally agree
Clovis: your last point reminded me of what the US military is doing in Haiti. It seems occupation and not "assistance" as usual. An article on globalresearch.ca claims that Haiti has vast reserves of oil/gas just offshore (toward Cuba) and that the presence of the US military is very suspicious.
Most of the troops are young kids who have been indoctrinated by recruiters, the school systems and parent to not fool with the status quo. It is Brainwashing 101.
It is embedded withing the culture.
Yippie! - Now we're finally gonna win that war with the wogs. This is the final push. Sure. We're gonna win those "hearts and minds" by putting guns to their heads and tell them to love US. Hallelujah! Now they're gonna renounce Allah and see that our Christian God of the guns are stronger. We are invincible! God and guns on our side. Now we're gonna kill'em all to stop them committing suicide on us again, those sneaky, dirty mountain-niggers. We'll get them now. No doubt. We're so bound for glory. Hurrah...
And if it fails, well, we'll just do it again. 'Cause we make money off this war whichever way it turns. And this time we won't quit like in Vietnam, 'cause now we've got new technology and a professional army, and we're close to winning already. Just a few battles more.
Be a blood donor, give blood: join the US army! Yeehaa...
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
Helplessly be led to a dead tree, then be nailed to it and left to die.
A.
"What would Jesus do?"
"Helplessly be led to a dead tree, then be nailed to it and left to die."
While hanging there thinking: "Sh**, that non-violence thing wasn't all that great a strategy after all...". (Exhales, with no one getting to know this last thought).
B.
"What would Jesus do?"
Dunno.
- Change bottled water into wine?
And guns into loaves of bread, US soldiers into fish?
- Then look around at Taliban's produce, thinking:
"We've met the enemy and he is high"?
C.
"What would Jesus do?"
Nuke 'em? Bless 'em?
Run?
Work the miracle of the US army turning peaceloving hippies (it more or less happened before, which is why it's not a draft army anymore, yes?)?
Change the climate so much the NATO army becomes immediately unsustainable?
We have to teach those savages the superior ways of our glorious Western Civilisation you know.
They will thank us one day for liberating their lands and building a nice shiny new pipeline. If many should die in the process, it is for their own good you know.
Think about what people might do if they weren't addicted to TV - and its abominable propaganda. The addicts simply can't turn off the source of their fix - it's worst than crack, heroin, or any other addictive substance (such as religion, alcohol, etc).
The Teaching Company has many beautiful CDs and DVDs that can turn our vision upward and our hearts & minds purer. You guys might want to see for yourselves; they're on the web.
Excellent strategy, US Military - I'm sure the 'enemy' will be just hanging out, waiting to engage in an 'unfair fight' when you finally arrive.
Hate to say it, but it would appear the real reason for announcing military strategy to the 'enemy' is to ensure a no-fight, not an unfair fight.
You know, sorta like in 2003, when 'we' invaded Iraq and were 'surprised' the 'enemy' wasn't waiting around to be annihilated unfairly?
Isn't there a 'laws of war' or some shit that mentions 'proportionality'? "We're not looking for a fair fight" would seem to run counter to that, yes?
I'm sure that would be the US military's preference.
But it seems that a thousand "Taliban" are prepared to fight to the finish in Marjah.
The air attack Operation Obliteration will not eliminate the need for ground action, so the Afghan Resistance will inflict casualties on the aggressor forces.
How do you propose we get them to actually listen?
I guess the poppy growers refused to join the CIA heroin cartel.
Stanley McDeathsquad is going to burn down all the villagers houses in the dead of winter.
That should really break their hearts and blow their minds. Heckuva job, Obama!
Is it time for My Lai again?
No My Lai this time. Reporters will be taken out if they report any wrong-doings. Cover ups are us.
During the Vietnam invasion, much of the press acted like stenographers or parrots, uncritically printing the press releases of generals and government officials. But there were pockets of candid photography and first-person reporting. You rarely see casualties reported on the TV or in newspapers. The control is more thorough. The press is more gutless. And people seem to be more immunized against caring.
Joe
Nothing says 'we love ya' like turning people and their kids out into a winter storm.
Smells of motzaball planning,here.
"Marjah is regarded as a stronghold of both Taliban insurgents and drug trafficking networks which must be removed to "protect" the people who live there."
This sentence -and especially the quotes around "protect"- show that this writer or their editor KNOW that this whole thing -or at least the story the Army is using to explain it- is Batsh!t Crazy.
The actual buildings of the town must be leveled to prevent the people in the town from trafficking opium?
That's nuts!
That's like finding a tunnel under a border used for smuggling, letting the smugglers go, but shooting up the tunnel itself to "punish" it for the smuggling that it -the inanimate object- let itself be used for.
This is just Falujah, Iraq all over again.
1. Find a center of resistance.
2. Let it be known that you are gonna demolish the place.
3. Let everyone who wants out, out.
4. Pretend everyone left is "enemy combatants" and off them.
5. When everyone that fled tries to come back -because it IS THEIR HOME, after all- tag'em so they can be tracked.
6. Surround the place.
7. Resistance center crushed.
Always be concerned when a "counter-insurgency" strategy is adopted, because this is what it takes for such a strategy to be successful.
Basic rule is that insurgencies consist of a few actual guerilla-style fighters backed by a huge percentage of the civilian population in support roles. Wanna defeat the insurgency? Gotta control the movements and actions of the civilian population.
This is what the Nazis would have done in France if they had had the means.
Nasty. Nasty. Nasty.
-matti.