[Changleen]

Is quietly (or more acurately is being ignored) whilst it once again turns to ****. Somebody needs to talk to your administration about starting-a-task-and-seeing-it-through-to-completion. Or maybe actually picking legitimate tasks...

Pay Attention to Afghanistan

Afghanistan is experiencing the most violent and bloodiest clashes in recent years since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

At least 300 people have been killed in clashes between the Taliban forces and the US-led coalition forces, especially in the southern provinces of the country since May 16. In the meantime, about 3,000 Afghans fleeing the battle zones have taken refuge in Kandahar.

The Taliban militia forces who launched a series of attacks with the coming of spring have suffered more casualties in the country, however, Afghan civilians caught in the crossfire are also dying or being wounded. The ISAF-NATO coalition forces are suffering losses as well. For instance, four members of the French Special Forces were killed in fighting last week. By the way; today there are about 200 French Special Forces in Afghanistan fighting alongside US forces and French warplanes also give support to the Americans.

According to certain sources, these bloody developments, which outnumber the clashes and death toll in Iraq within the corresponding time period and demonstrate the strength and courage of the Taliban in Afghanistan, have made the US Command in Afghanistan, which used to underestimate the Taliban and tried to portray it as unimportant, very worried. Consequently, the spokesman of the command, Colonel Tim Collins, had to admit in his recent statement that the Taliban has become more powerful and has won over the population in Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces, adding, “That’s the reason we are after them.”

The Taliban has increased its attacks in the southern provinces in past month as Collins admitted and is implementing new tactics in these attacks.

Within this framework, the Taliban forces are conducting frontline operations in groups of 100-200 men rather than hit-and-run attacks with small groups. That’s the very reason the Afghan police and army, in particular, are suffering heavy losses. In short, Taliban forces are carrying out their attacks more professionally with more men and with sophisticated tactics, they are obtaining certain results and are even drawing battle lines.

Needless to say this is a new and efficient method of fighting, however, the Taliban forces are very vulnerable to air strikes while doing this. Taking advantage of this, the US does not hesitate carrying out heavy air bombardments in areas where Taliban forces are dominant.

On May 22, an American air strike on a village 30-40 kilometers from Kandahar killed as many as 80 Taliban militia forces, besides the 16 Afghan civilians who died and dozens of others who were wounded. A kind of apologetic statement came from the American military over the civilians losses, saying it was due to forceful attempts by the Taliban forces to take refuge in residential areas. When Afghan leader Hamid Karzai visited civilians at various hospitals several days ago, wounded civilians confirmed reports that Taliban forces are taking refuge in civilian areas by force, according to news agencies. The Afghan leader also said that he saw people who looked like foreign fighters among the wounded.

The Taliban is planning these new, organized and violent attacks to achieve three main goals. Firstly, it wants to get across a message to the ISAF-NATO forces, expected to deploy soon across the southern provinces, that difficult days lie ahead. Secondly, it wants to create a negative impression of the Afghan mission -- the one ISAF-NATO forces are undertaking –- because it is causing civilian casualties. Thirdly, it wants to make the coalition and the Afghan government get lesser support from the Afghan people as civilian losses grow…

The new Taliban attacks in Afghanistan also have repercussions for our own country because Turkey is part of the ISAF-NATO force striving to provide stability and security in Afghanistan. Therefore, we have to keep a close watch on the happenings in Afghanistan and also pay special attention to that country. That’s what we are trying to do.

May 27, 2006

 

[dan-o]

Out of curiosity and lack of will to search, do you consider the Afghanistan conflict to be legit?

 

[Changleen]

Out of curiosity and lack of will to search, do you consider the Afghanistan conflict to be legit?

Not really, or at least I think it was very stupid. The stated aim was to get Osama (1 guy), a job better suited to intelligence and secret services but once the Taliban refused to turn him over it somehow it turned into invasion, regeime change and deaths of thousands and thousands of completely innocent locals. Most of the Taliban are still around too. Way to escalate the conflicy unneccassarily...

 

[jaydee]

The Taliban needed to be removed from power anyway. They were well on the way to destroying the history and culture of the area, and likely well on their way to a genocidal regime. Getting rid of those furballs wasn't going to be done by a couple of secret service agents.

 

[Changleen]

And apparantly not by a whole army either.

I agree the Talban aren't exactly what we'd call 'benevolant' but even with all this bombing and loss of innocent life they have not been removed, and are apparantly back with avengeance.

Do you think you have the right to decide the govenance of another sovereign nation? Not very democratic...

 

[Changleen]

I think what both Afghanistan and Iraq have shown is that 'regeime change' as defined by the Neocons (achieved through pure military force) doesn't work in this day and age.

This sort of thing used to be done through long term politics, alliances, trade and diplomacy, and although it took a while it got the job done with generally a more permanent result and way less destruction and loss of life.

 

[DaveW]

A view of life in Afganistan now....

 

[jaydee]

Chang, I agree that we don't really have the right to decide how another nation is governed, but there are mitigating circumstances. Regimes like those of Idi Amin, Adolph Hitler, Robert Mugabe, Stalin, Pinochet, Noriega, Saddam Hussein, and probably the Taliban render their own people powerless to make choices as to who governs them. I don't know what the best answer is, but history has shown that it certainly takes some kind of external support to topple these gangsters from power. I think that the idea of eradicating the Taliban is correct, but the methods have been futile and misdirected. Got any better ideas? I don't.

 

[Changleen]

Chang, I agree that we don't really have the right to decide how another nation is governed, but there are mitigating circumstances. Regimes like those of Idi Amin, Adolph Hitler, Robert Mugabe, Stalin, Pinochet, Noriega, Saddam Hussein, and probably the Taliban render their own people powerless to make choices as to who governs them. I don't know what the best answer is, but history has shown that it certainly takes some kind of external support to topple these gangsters from power. I think that the idea of eradicating the Taliban is correct, but the methods have been futile and misdirected. Got any better ideas? I don't.

Yeah, like I said, the 'old' way. Make friends with their 'friends', and become more important to them than your enemy. That's how you beat the Soviet Union. Everything doesn't have to be 'now' - some things, like changing a how a whole country fundamentally works are better done slowly.

 

[Changleen]

Regimes like those of Idi Amin, Adolph Hitler, Robert Mugabe, Stalin, Pinochet, Noriega, Saddam Hussein, and probably the Taliban render their own people powerless to make choices as to who governs them.

I agree on the whole, but we must remember that in some cases people choose to be in those positions in the first place.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Daniel Ellsberg sees what you did there.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/

 

[SkaredShtles]

Has only been 13 years. Give it some time!

 

[Pesqueeb]

How do you say My Lai in Pashto?

Inside the U.S. military's raid against its own security guards that left dozens of Afghan children dead

G4S subsidiary ArmorGroup hired Afghan warlords who battled with U.S. Marines. It ended with one of the worst civilian casualty disasters of the war.

www.usatoday.com