Eric Margolis, The Huffington Post, Dec 20, 2010
After nine years of war in Afghanistan, costing over $100 billion in taxpayer money and 700 American lives, the full truth about this murky conflict remains elusive.
The government and media have colluded to paint the picture of a noble, heroic, flag-waving American enterprise in Afghanistan that is, alas, very far from reality. As the cynic Ambrose Bierce pointedly observed of patriots — “the dupe of statesmen; the tool of conquerors.”
Three interesting reports about Afghanistan emerged in Washington last week.
First, a political whitewash issued by the Obama White House claiming the war was going well and some US troops might be withdrawn next year. This ‘don’t worry be happy’ summary was trumpeted by the pro-war New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other members of the government-friendly US media.
US generals spoke of “progress” in Afghanistan, whatever that means, as US forces conducted a brutal campaign around Kandahar to crush resistance to the occupation and punish communities that supported Taliban.
Second, the Red Cross issued a grim report showing that Afghans were suffering widespread malnutrition and serious health problems after nearly a decade of Western occupation. So much for US-led nation-building.
Third, there were leaks about a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), the combined findings of all 16 US intelligence agencies. This key intelligence report is explosive and may not be fully revealed.
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2 comments:
Indian T.v Serials, wrote:
I think the secret to the whole story is in the last sentence, “How can a bunch of lightly armed mountain tribesmen in turbans fighting only part time battle the world’s most powerful armed forces to a standstill?” The answer: the Taliban are in the right and America’s army is full of idiotic wannabes who fight under a false conviction or worse no conviction at all.
Hello Indian T.V. serial! (Is yours a product ad? If so, you are at the wrong place!)
I can add to what you say in a slightly different way. The first thing we need to be clear about is who is fighting whom and for what.
The Afghan tribesmen have been fighting the greatest military and political power on the planet Earth for the last 9 years because the U.S. government had invaded and occupied their land and installed a puppet regime in Kabul. We don’t need an Aristotle to tell us what this imperial war folly is all about and which corporate interests it serves.
American generals and their fighting men are not idiots. Oh, no, far from it! They are professional people and they are doing what the U.S. government, controlled by corporate interests (read: war profiteers and money-makers), orders them to do. They are an effective killing-machine, in every sense of the term.
Is this a war between the American people and the Afghans? The answer is : No, not at all.
Contrary to what the official propaganda says, this war is not between the American and Afghan Taliban. This war is more about asserting by the imperial power of the ruling elites and the corporate interests of the United States of America over Afghanistan for its unclear and hazy objectives. In brief, that is the essence of the matter. In concretet terms: for the American weapon industry, the continuation of this long war is a lucrative business that adds billions of dollars to its ‘patriotic’ role and its services!
But, at the same time, we should be clear about the people who are destroyed, killed, maimed or injured, whether they are ‘American men and women in the uniform’ and their NATO allies or the ordinary Afghans, matter little in the imperial strategy of the warmongers. However, in this war, it is obvious the greatest military power can kill and destroy more than those who oppose the occupation and control of their land, Afghanistan. On such matters, any information what the ordinary U.S. citizens or other people around the world get, is, the U.S. official version, which the main stream media pick up, publicise and support.
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