Afghanistan

The Audacity of Hype

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:41:00 -0500

by Richard W. Behan

President Obama's West Point speech was a brutal disappointment. Arguing to escalate the Afghan war, the President simply parroted the exaggerations, deceptions, and lies George Bush used so effectively in launching it.

The AfPak Train Wreck

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:10:57 -0500

by Conn Hallinan

When President Barack Obama laid out his plan for winning the war in Afghanistan, behind him stood an army of ghosts: Greeks, Mongols, Buddhists, British, and Russians, all whom had almost the same illusions as the current resident of the Oval Office about Central Asia. The first four armies are dust. But there are Russian survivors of the 1979-89 war that ended up killing 15,000 Soviets and hundreds of thousands of Afghans as well as virtually wrecking Moscow's economy.

The Shame and Folly of Obama’s War in Afghanistan

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:37:08 -0500

by Dave Lindorff

There are so many things wrong with Obama's "New and Improved" Afghanistan War that it's hard to know where to begin, but I guess the place to start is with his premise.

If America needs to be fighting in Afghanistan because Al Qaeda planned and launched the 9-11 attacks from there back in 2001, as the president claimed in his lackluster address to the cadets at West Point last week, then we would have to assume either that Al Qaeda is still there, or that if we were not there fighting, that Al Qaeda would be back to plan more attacks.

We Need a Clean Vote Now on Afghanistan Escalation

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:16:17 -0500

by Robert Naiman

Under our constitutional democracy, Congress has the power and the responsibility to establish a policy on President Obama's plans to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, and, if Congress opposes sending more troops, to try to block or alter this policy. The question now is whether Congress will act before the policy is implemented, and whether it will do so in a "clean" vote - an up or down vote solely on the question of sending more troops, unentangled with unrelated issues like flood relief for farmers or extending unemployment benefits.

All-Too-Familiar Line on Afghanistan

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:18:57 -0500

by Laura Flanders

The President talked about America’s enduring values again at West Point Tuesday night, and then he laid them out, a whole lot of values one can only wish would endure a little less.

The President began his address to the nation on Afghanistan in the traditional style of his predecessor, setting the tone for troop deployments by recalling 9-11 and terror and fright. Then came the retelling of the traditional Al Qaeda story, the one that omits any mention of Saudi Arabia or Israeli occupation or post-Gulf War US bases — in fact any mention of politics.

The Afghan Quagmire

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:56:18 -0500

by Ralph Nader

Misusing professional cadets at West Point as a political prop, President Barack Obama delivered his speech on the Afghanistan war forcefully but with fearful undertones. He chose to escalate this undeclared war with at least 30,000 more soldiers plus an even larger number of corporate contractors.

He chose the path the military-industrial complex wanted. The “military” planners, whatever their earlier doubts about the quagmire, once in, want to prevail. The “industrial” barons because their sales and profits rise with larger military budgets.

Victory at Last!: Monty Python in Afghanistan

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:34:58 -0500

by Tom Engelhardt

Let others deal with the details of President Obama’s Afghan speech, with the on-ramps and off-ramps, those 30,000 U.S. troops going in and just where they will be deployed, the benchmarks for what’s called “good governance” in Afghanistan, the corruption of the Karzai regime, the viability of counterinsurgency warfare, the reliability of NATO allies, and so on. Let’s just skip to the most essential point which, in a nutshell, is this: Victory at Last!

UN: Rape in Afghanistan a Human Rights Problem of 'Profound Proportions'

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:49:12 -0500

by Yara Bayoumy

KABUL - Rape in Afghanistan is under-reported, concealed and a human rights problem of "profound proportions", the United Nations said on Monday.

Norah Niland, the United Nations' human rights representative in Afghanistan, said field research conducted late last year and early this year found rape affected all parts of Afghanistan, across all communities and social groups.

Democrats in Revolt Over Obama’s Troop Surge

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:05:47 -0500

by Christina Lamb in Washington

Barack Obama's much-vaunted eloquence faces the biggest test of his presidential career this week when he takes to the stage at West Point military academy to explain to a nation that thought it had elected an anti-war president why he is escalating the conflict in Afghanistan.

Afghan Teenagers Claim Abuse at US Military Prison

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:39:01 -0500

WASHINGTON - Two Afghan teenagers held in US detention north of Kabul this year said they were beaten by American guards, photographed naked, deprived of sleep and held in solitary confinement in concrete cells, The Washington Post reported late Friday.

The newspaper said the teenagers had been held in these cells for at least two weeks while undergoing daily interrogation about their alleged links to the Taliban.