World-News

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/12-2

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Funding corruption and waste in Afghanistan

Freedom's Phoenix
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

07/12/10

Last week, GOP chairman Michael Steele came under fire for daring to say what a lot of Americans already know — that our involvement in Afghanistan is an ill-advised quagmire with no end in sight. After nearly 10 years and approaching $1 trillion spent, the conflict is going nowhere because there is nowhere for it to go. After all, if victory is never really defined, defeat is inevitable. With our economy at home in serious trouble, this wasteful occupation is something we clearly cannot afford. Each soldier costs us $1 million per year, and yet most in Washington are only considering how many more soldiers to send...

http://tinyurl.com/36td9cq



Who owns General Petraeus?

AntiWar.Com
by Philip Giraldi

07/29/10

Petraeus’ apparent close relationship with the neoconservatives and the Israel Lobby is a matter of concern, particularly if he does aspire to be president. Some have plausibly identified him as the neocon candidate for 2012 though others note appreciatively that he initiated a long overdue national debate with his Senate testimony in March 2010, observing as he did that the failure to achieve peace in Israel-Palestine has endangered United States soldiers in the region. To be sure, Petraeus quickly did damage control for the statement in the Senate, helping in the orchestration of an article that described him as a friend to Israel who did not view the conflict with the Palestinians as a matter of great concern. In May 2010 Petraeus received the Irving Kristol award from the American Enterprise Institute, indicating clearly that the Israel Lobby and the neocon establishment regard him as a favorite son...

http://tinyurl.com/27um52e


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

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Despite 54 Percent for Afghan Exit, Petraeus Move Could Nix Peace Talks

Robert Naiman, Truthout: "The majority of Americans want the Obama administration to establish a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, CBS News reports. Fifty-Four percent think the US should set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, with 41% opposed. Among Democrats, 73% think the US should set a timetable, with 21% opposed; among independents, 54% support a withdrawal timetable, with 40% opposed; among Republicans, 32% support a withdrawal timetable, with 66% opposed."

http://www.truth-out.org/despite-54-afghan-exit-petraeus-move-could-nix-peace-talks-with-terror-naming61497



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Petraeus
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Steele
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=neocons
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=corruption
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Tom+Engelhardt
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Naiman
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Philip+Giraldi

By Simon Jenkins

Our leaders would rather avoid embarrassment than be honest about the horrific futility of the wars we are fighting.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25919.htm



In an Afghan Hole? Dig Deeper

By Joel Bleifuss

Americans deserve to know how fighting a futile war makes their country safer.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25922.htm



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=McChrystal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Simon+Jenkins
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Joel+Bleifuss

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/valentine9.1.1.html



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Central+Intelligence+Agency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Doug+Valentine
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=/valentine

By Eric Margolis

Sinking in debt and no closer to victory, heads may roll as the U.S. and NATO wrap up their pointless Afghan adventure.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25917.htm



US 'realises it cannot win' Afghan war

Some Pakistani officials are convinced that the United States' ongoing military surge against the Taliban in Afghanistan is doomed, and that the diminishing western appetite for the war will position it as the key to a future political settlement, Pakistani analysts said.

http://bit.ly/chfNbx



2010 deadliest year in Afghanistan

ARM's mid-year report "Civilian Casualties of Conflict" said Obama's policy of intensifying operations against the Taliban has not disrupted, dismantled or defeated the insurgents. On the contrary, it says, "the insurgency has become more resilient, multi-structured and deadly".

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=134425&sectionid=351020403



'Stressed troops' burning out in Afghanistan

The Australia Defence Association says the Federal Government may have to consider sending more soldiers to Afghanistan to relieve the stress on those serving there now.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/12/2950566.htm?section=justin



Top anti-war Democrat: Afghanistan war could 'destroy' Obama's presidency

"I think that this war, if it goes on and if it escalates, has the potential to destroy this presidency and to destroy the Democratic majorities in Congress," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) told Raw Story in an interview.

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0712/nadler-afghan-war-destroy-obama-presidency-democratic-congress/


From Information Clearing House



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jerrold+Nadler
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=civilian+deaths
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=insurgen
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=margolis

The revelation that the number of opium-addicted Afghan children has reached new highs is a sad unintended consequence of that war. It dramatically illustrates how adult war games can doom generations of children to a miserable life.

http://www.theglobalist.com/printStoryId.aspx?StoryId=8472


From Information Clearing House

--------

US funds used to buy villas for wealthy Afghans

ABC News

07/06/10

Brigadier General Mohammed Asif Jabarkhel sits with folded arms in his office, just a few steps away from the security checkpoint at Kabul International Airport. ‘Of course I know what’s going on here,’ the 59-year-old head of the airport’s customs police grumbles from beneath his thick moustache as a fan whirs in the background. ‘But, in this country, who’s allowed to speak the truth?’ Jabarkhel is referring to the huge amounts of money regularly being secreted out of Afghanistan by plane in boxes and suitcases...

http://tinyurl.com/2dknnet


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

The Afghanistan War Funding Vote Was A Total Sham

When Michael Steele accidentally spoke the truth (while hypocritically trying to condemn President Obama for any possible reason) that "the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan", he was condemned by BOTH the Republican and Democratic leadership. Those in his own party demanded his resignation, while the DNC put out an especially snide press release accusing Steele of "rooting for failure" and other like chicken hawk talk.

Apparently he did not get the memo that BOTH major parties are now for endless, ruinous and vain foreign wars and occupations. But we need to tell our members of Congress that we DID get the memo and we are we not at all fooled or happy with yet other indefinite war bucks supplemental.

After The War Funding Vote Action Page: http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1051.php

You see, friends, when Congress does something good and votes in the interest of the people (which hasn't happened much lately) they need to hear from us after the vote to let them know we appreciate them. But where, as here, they disregard the wishes of their constituents and do the exact opposite, and we are mad and unhappy about it, they need to hear that too.

The snaky "rule" vote (to pass if ANY one amendment passed) was completely manipulated to itself barely pass, to let the Democrats who voted against it pretend they would have voted against the war funding regardless (when they knew it was going to pass anyway), and to let the rest pretend they were not actually voting for it (when in fact the amendment votes had already been fixed). To show you how shamefully rigged this whole thing was, Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) switched her vote on the rule from "Yes" to "No", ONLY after it was clear hers would not be the DECIDING vote. Some peacenik, casting the vote of conscience when she knows it won't count.

Not to be outmatched in the cynical cowardice department the Republicans voted lock step against funding the war they themselves had touted all along, because it did anything else but burn war money.

The fact is the senseless and counterproductive occupation of Afghanistan has never been about supporting the troops. Instead it is about supporting war profiteers and overpaid mercenaries, because that's where most of the money we are borrowing from China to pay for it is going. And a substantial part of the rest is going as bribes and payoffs directly into the pockets of the very terrorists we are supposed to be fighting, literally a vote in support of terrorism.

So what we are left with is a two "war party" system in America, neither with the courage, the wisdom, or the leadership to end this hideously doomed, bloody mess.

Now, what are we going to do about? Step one is to call these people in Congress out, ALL of them. Submit the action page, and tell them, "You are not fooling me one little bit."

After The War Funding Vote Action Page: http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1051.php

Because when you hear that 162 members of Congress voted for an amendment to set a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan that is just another total mirage, that dissipates the instant you try to approach it. In just the same way that they barely scraped up the votes to sneak this latest war funding vote through, they will always find a way to fall at least just a tad short on a vote to stop it, UNTIL WE all get an order of magnitude more vocal in our policy protests.

Notwithstanding the tens of thousands of you who have requested the free bumper stickers protesting the Supreme Court decision, that's still only about TEN percent of our distribution list.

That is simply unacceptable. The outrageous Supreme Court decision to turn our elections over to the corporations is opposed by at least
80% of Americans (if polls are to be believed), cutting across all party lines.

Are we doing to speak out or not? Are we going to demonstrate, and make our protest visible or not?

This week Ted Glick faced three years in prison for unfurling a banner in the Capitol protesting inaction by Congress on green climate legislation. That's what he did to make his protest visible. And if you must know the judge spared him any jail time today.

But all we are asking you to do is put a bumper sticker on your own car, and if you can, pick up a pack of 25 of the "Corporations Are NOT The People" bumper stickers so you can get all your like-minded friends to do the same thing.

Bulk Corporations Are Not The People bumper stickers: http://www.peaceteam.net/bumper_stickers_bulk.php

Please understand, we are on the inside of this activism process, and we STILL don't see the kind of numbers to persuade us that you folks COLLECTIVELY are serious about policy change. Those of you who are diehards need to keep up with what you are doing, and the rest need to get active more than once in a blue moon.

So unless you have a car registration problem, an outstanding warrant, or are fond of illegal turns, get a bumper sticker on your bumper and let's crank this thing up. When we run out of stock, we will know that real change is about to happen. Until then, not so much, as you can clearly see by recent events.

It's your call, folks. Do you really want policy change, or did you settle for a transitory rah-rah campaign slogan that never actually intended to deliver any such thing? It's time to demand delivery of what we were promised. Only BY demanding delivery will we ever get it.

And here is the Facebook link for the After The War Funding Vote action page further above.

[Facebook] Action Page: http://apps.facebook.com/fb_voices/action.php?qnum=pnum1051

And this is the Twitter reply for this same action

@cxs #p1051

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

usalone400b:320622



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=opium

By James Denselow

The precise compilation of western casualties contrasts with almost criminal neglect in tracking the numbers of Afghan civilians killed since 2001. If Afghanistan is the "good war" then why are we not demanding to be accurately told how many skeletons there are in the Afghan closet?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25872.htm



NATO occupation forces admits killing two civilians in Kandahar

NATO officials in southern Afghanistan are admitting that two civilians, including a woman, were accidentally killed in a military operation Friday night.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20100703/nato-civilian-deaths-100703/



The Charge of the Media Brigade

By John Pilger

The Associated Press, says the Pentagon, spends $4.7 billion on public relations: that is, winning the hearts and minds not of recalcitrant Afghan tribesmen but of Americans. This is known as "information dominance," and PR people are "information warriors."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25893.htm



Bipartisan Stupidity on Afghanistan

By Ted Rall

Even taking historical precedent into account, America's post-9/11 occupation of Afghanistan--its longest war ever--has been notably disastrous. Wonder why? Everything you need to know was contained in this week's war of words between the chairmen of the two major political parties.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25892.htm



NATO Blames Miscommunication For 6 Afghan Deaths

A NATO helicopter patrol mistook the Afghan soldiers for insurgents planting landmines in the eastern Ghazni province. Headquarters cleared the crew to open fire based on inaccurate information about the location of Afghan troops in the area. NATO officials have apologized for the deaths.

http://bit.ly/dgUv6q
[ http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1314658&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_world&cate_rss=WORLD_eng ]



US military build-up in Kandahar will bolster Taliban, warns security monitor

Nato's counterinsurgency tactic shows no signs of success, says Afghanistan NGO Security Office.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/kandahar-us-military-taliban-afghanistan



US military build-up in Kandahar will bolster Taliban, warns security monitor

Nato's counterinsurgency tactic shows no signs of success, says Afghanistan NGO Security Office.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/kandahar-us-military-taliban-afghanistan


From Information Clearing House

--------

U.S. Casualties to Mount as Afghan War Widens, General Says
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/07/08-3

On Afghanistan, the DNC Does Not Speak for Me
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/09-10

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Civilian deaths and vengeance in Afghanistan

Mind Hacks
by staff

Wired’s Danger Room reports on a new study finding that civilian causalities in Afghanistan lead to anti-coalition feelings and an increase in insurgent attacks. Although this would seem to be blindly obvious, the study adds some morbid detail to the picture and provides evidence for some in the US military who had suggested no such link existed. The study was completed by four economists and it reports its uncomfortable results in stark statistical terms. Interestingly, not all civilian casualties are created equal in terms of their backlash...

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/07/civilian_deaths_and_.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Kandahar
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Pentagon
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=bipartisan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=9/11
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=information+dominance
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=insurgen
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=casualties
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=civilian+deaths
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=James+Denselow
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=John+Pilger
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Reid+Davenport
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Naiman

By Michael Scheuer

The bottom line is that the United States and NATO stand defeated in Afghanistan. Under McChrystal, Petraeus, or Obama himself the counterinsurgency strategy now being flogged has been intellectually bankrupt from its inception.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25858.htm



The Occupation Supplemental: A Rundown

Let's walk through just what happened last night in the House of Representatives on the war supplemental, and its multiple implications.

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/02/the-war-supplemental-a-rundown/



Afghanistan is "War of Obama's Choosing"

Republican National Committee Chairman: He can be heard suggesting that President Obama failed to understand that waging war in Afghanistan has been shown throughout history to be a losing proposition.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20009569-503544.html



Afghanistan: 90 killed as Petraeus takes command

'We must demonstrate to the people and to the Taliban that Afghan and ISAF forces are here to safeguard the Afghan people,' Petraeus said at the International Security Assistance Force headquarters.

http://tinyurl.com/26avnb9



McChrystal Probe of SOF Killings Excluded Key Eyewitnesses

The follow-up investigation of a botched Special Operations Forces (SOF) raid in Gardez Feb. 12 that killed two government officials and three women, ordered by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal Apr. 5, was ostensibly aimed at reconciling divergent Afghan and U.S. accounts of what happened during and after the raid.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52063



Study says Afghan graft worsening

Afghans paid nearly $1bn in bribes last year, and corruption has become far more widespread since 2006, according to a new survey from a Kabul-based NGO.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/201078124118415689.html



Only way to end the Afghanistan war

US peace deal with the Taliban: Nearly six months into the United States surge in Afghanistan and six months prior to the White House's review of the Afghan war strategy, it's clear our mission in Afghanistan is not only failing, but beyond repair.

http://bit.ly/aPm8Wm



Former US envoy calls for Afghanistan's partition

A former US ambassador to India, warns that the Obama administration's counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan "seems headed for failure" and the best option for Washington is to partition Afghanistan.

http://bit.ly/dnKqhA



Study says Afghan graft worsening

Survey finds Afghans paid nearly $1bn in bribes last year to avail government services.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/201078124118415689.html



Women and Suicide by Self-Immolation in Afghanistan

Images from photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair's Whitney Biennial exhibition: "Self-Immolation: A Cry for Help" can be seen at her website.

http://www.metafilter.com/93574/Women-and-Suicide-by-SelfImmolation-in-Afghanistan


From Information Clearing House

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Why Did It Take a Rock Magazine to Report the Military's Total Disaster in Afghanistan?

Peter Richardson, Alternet: "The controversial Rolling Stone profile of General Stanley McChrystal didn't just expose poor judgment on the part of the U.S. military's key leader in Afghanistan. It also illustrates one of the most persistent shortcomings of American corporate journalism."

http://www.truth-out.org/why-did-it-take-a-rock-magazine-report-militarys-total-disaster-afghanistan61052


Losing in Afghanistan

Marjorie Cohn, Truthout: "Last week, the House of Representatives voted 215-210 for $33 billion to fund Barack Obama's troop increase in Afghanistan. But there was considerable opposition to giving the president a blank check. One hundred sixty-two House members supported an amendment that would have tied the funding to a withdrawal timetable. One hundred members voted for another amendment that would have rejected the $33 billion for the 30,000 new troops already on their way to Afghanistan; that amendment would have required that the money be spent to redeploy our troops out of Afghanistan."

http://www.truth-out.org/losing-afghanistan61122

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Petraeus takes over Afghan fight, vows “to win” it

Fort Dodge Messenger News

07/05/10

‘We are in this to win,’ Gen. David Petraeus said as he took the reins of an Afghan war effort troubled by waning support, an emboldened enemy, government corruption and a looming commitment to withdraw troops — even with no sign of violence easing. Petraeus, who pioneered the counterinsurgency strategy he now oversees in Afghanistan, has just months to show progress in turning back insurgents and convince both the Afghan people and neighboring countries that the U.S. is committed to preventing the country from again becoming a haven for al-Qaida and its terrorist allies...

http://tinyurl.com/27flydy



Bill Kristol must resign

AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

07/05/10

Bill Kristol is demanding the head of GOP national chairman Michael Steele, who, in a moment of honesty, questioned the wisdom of invading and occupying Afghanistan. Yet Kristol has never been elected to anything: indeed, the pretentious little gremlin once threatened to quit the GOP, back in the 1990s, when the Republicans in Congress voted to deny funding to Bill Clinton’s Balkan adventure. Kristol, who had thrilled at the opportunity to ‘crush Serb skulls,’ as he put it, stamped his foot and declared his imminent defection. Too bad he never followed through on his promise. Now he’s assuming the mantle of Republican kingmaker: based on his atrocious record as the GOP’s grand strategist, it’s Kristol, not Steele, who should resign...

http://tinyurl.com/34xuc92



War, the fourth, and struggling Americans

Huffington Post
by Gary Hart

07/03/10

Virtually without exception, Americans supported the initial focused invasion of Afghanistan to crush al Qaeda and prevent its return to sanctuary in Afghanistan. We were a nation out for vengeance and right was on our side. In addition, the national economy was booming (that is, before the dot.com bubble burst). In that almost-decade’s time, things have changed. Mostly, around 2005, our mission changed. We decided to broaden the mission to include the creation of some kind of stable, self-sustaining democracy in that perpetually troubled land. History will show that was a big mistake. History will also show that the new President Obama would have been well-advised to adopt the original, not the replacement, mission...

http://tinyurl.com/366sb5y



The dark legacy of General McChrystal

AntiWar.Com
by Kelley B. Vlahos

07/13/10

Gen. Stanley McChrystal might have left town through the back door with his four stars barely intact, his 35-year career in the Army humiliatingly cut short by a lack of judgment with a counterculture magazine. But in reality, he got off easy...

http://tinyurl.com/2fnpyp7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=McChrystal
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Petraeus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kristol
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Steele
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Special+Operations+Forces
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=counterinsurgency
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=night+raids
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=war+supplemental
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=counterinsurgency
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=bribes
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=corporate+journalism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Scheuer
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=raimondo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Marjorie+Cohn
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Kelley+B.+Vlahos

30. Juni 2010

Die NATO befindet sich in Afghanistan in einem Krieg, den sie nicht gewinnen kann, und der täglich mehr Menschenleben kostet. Die neuen Einsatzregeln des neuen US-Oberbefehlshaber General David Petraeus werden zu mehr zivilen Opfern führen und den Krieg verschärfen, meint Christine Buchholz, Mitglied im Geschäftsführenden Parteivorstand der Partei DIE LINKE:

Mit bisher 100 toten Soldaten ist der Juni der mit Abstand verlustreichste Monat für die NATO. Petraeus rechnet mit härteren Gefechten in den kommenden Monaten. Um die eigenen Verluste niedrig zu halten, hat er eine Überarbeitung der Einsatzregeln angekündigt. General Stanley McChrystal hatte den Schutz von Zivilisten an oberste Stelle gesetzt. Das will Petraeus zurück nehmen. Die Folge werden mehr tote Afghanen sein - und ein Anwachsen des Widerstandes. Diese Politik ist verantwortungslos gegenüber den NATO-Soldaten wie gegenüber der afghanischen Bevölkerung. Nur ein sofortiger Abzug kann weitere Verluste verhindern. Stattdessen kündigt Petraeus an, noch über Jahre eine massiv Truppenpräsenz in Afghanistan behalten zu wollen. Die Abzugsperspektive, die US-Präsidenten Barack Obama angekündigt hatte, wird dadurch zur Farce.

http://www.die-linke.de/nc/presse/presseerklaerungen/detail/artikel/nato-general-petraeus-nimmt-mehr-tote-zivilisten-in-kauf/



19. Juli 2010

Abzug statt Durchhalteparolen!

NATO-Generalsekretär Anders Rasmussen hat nun zugegeben, dass die NATO die Lage in Afghanistan von Anfang an falsch eingeschätzt hat. Leider ist seine Konsequenz ein weiter so, nur mit noch mehr von Allem, kritisiert Christine Buchholz, Mitglied im Geschäftsführenden Parteivorstand der LINKEN:

Rasmussen hat das Offensichtliche erkannt: Die Erwartung der NATO, die Afghanen würden über die Besatzung und das vom Westen eingesetzte Marionettenregime jubeln, waren verfehlt. Im zehnten Jahr der Besatzung hat das durch Kriegsflüchtlinge von 500.000 auf fünf Millionen Menschen angewachsene Kabul immer noch kein Abwassersystem. Die Landwirtschaft liegt dank hochsubventionierter europäischer und US-Agrarimporte am Boden. Die von der NATO aufgezwungene Politik der Privatisierungen hat alle sozialen Sicherungssysteme zerstört. Armut und Arbeitslosigkeit bereiten den Boden für Korruption und Drogenwirtschaft. Aber anstatt die militärische Logik in Frage zu stellen, setzt Rasmussen seine Hoffnungen auf eine weitere militärische Eskalation, nach dem Motto: Augen zu und durch. Wie Rasmussen selbst zugibt, "wird es mehr Opfer geben". Unter Afghanen und unter NATO-Soldaten. Aber das wird die Probleme der Afghanen nicht lösen - dafür wäre ein Truppen-Abzug die notwendige und überfällige Voraussetzung.

http://www.die-linke.de/nc/presse/presseerklaerungen/detail/artikel/abzug-statt-durchhalteparolen/



20. Juli 2010

In Kabul nichts Neues!

In Kabul findet heute eine weitere Afghanistan-Konferenz statt, die den Afghaninnen und Afghanen weder Frieden, noch soziale Verbesserungen oder mehr Demokratie bringen wird. Dazu erklärt Christine Buchholz, Mitglied im Geschäftsführenden Parteivorstand der LINKEN:

Eine Reihe von Studien und Berichten haben in den letzten Wochen deutlich gemacht, welche Situation die NATO in Afghanistan in den letzten neun Jahren produziert haben: Rund zwei Milliarden Dollar an Hilfsgeldern wurden auf Auslandskonten der Karsai-Clique umgeleitet, die privaten Logistikdienstleister der Armee finanzieren durch Bestechungsgelder an die Aufständischen die Taliban, die afghanischen Sicherheitskräfte Kosten drei mal so viel, wie die Regierung Steuereinnahmen hat, und die Offensiven der NATO in den Regionen Mardja und Kandahar stoßen auf ungebrochenen Widerstand. Vor diesem Hintergrund kochen alle Beteiligte ihr eigenes Süppchen: Die NATO fordert den Präsidenten Hamid Karsai auf, die Korruption seiner Familie und Freunde zu bekämpfen, Karsai hingegen möchte, dass noch mehr Hilfsgelder durch deren Kanäle fließen. Der Truppenabzug soll
2011 beginnen, aber nur ein bisschen. Die NATO kündigt an, auch über
2014 hinaus im Land bleiben zu wollen, Karsai will spätestens dann die komplette Kontrolle über alle Sicherheitsoperationen übernehmen. Unterm Strich bleibt, dass die Menschen in Afghanistan weiterhin sowohl unter der NATO-Besatzung als auch unter der korrupten und kriminellen Regierung Karsai zu leiden haben wird. Die Voraussetzung für die Lösung der Probleme ist und bleibt der sofortige und bedingungslose Abzug der internationalen Truppen.

http://www.die-linke.de/nc/presse/presseerklaerungen/detail/artikel/in-kabul-nichts-neues/

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"Einer kam heim aus Afghanistan". Das Trauerspiel des Horst Köhlers und die Privatisierung deutscher Kriege

IMI-Standpunkt 2010/024 von Kevin Gurka vom 1.7.2010 http://www.imi-online.de/2010.php?id=2145


Embedded in Strausberg

Bundeswehrkonferenz bei Berlin: Truppe will ihr Image verbessern und verstärkt um Jugendliche werben. Eingebunden werden auch Journalisten, Wissenschaftler und IT-Experten. Artikel von Frank Brunner in junge Welt vom 03.07.2010 http://www.jungewelt.de/2010/07-03/062.php


Feuer frei!

„Die Bundeswehr will sogenannte Social-Media-Internetdienste wie Facebook oder Twitter stärker als bisher für ihre Propaganda nutzen. Jüngster Ausdruck dieser Entwicklung ist ein mehrtägiger Kongress, der an diesem Dienstag beginnt und von der "Akademie für Information und Kommunikation" der deutschen Streitkräfte in Strausberg bei Berlin veranstaltet wird. Chefredakteure verschiedener privater und öffentlich-rechtlicher Medien werden dabei Auskunft über das Verhalten von Internetnutzern geben und den anwesenden Militärs entsprechende Einflussmöglichkeiten aufzeigen…“ Bericht von und bei german-foreign-policy vom 28.06.2010 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/de/fulltext/57844?PHPSESSID=97frjgl0rkrmb7rt1o6707bjl0


Frisches Blut - Bundeswehr im Klassenzimmer

"...vereinbaren wir eine Intensivierung der Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen der politischen Bildung im Bereich der Sicherheitspolitik"

Kooperationsvereinbarung vom 8. Juni 2010 zwischen dem Bayerischen Kultusministerium und dem Wehrbereichskommando IV der Bundeswehr, dokumentiert beim Friedensratschlag (pdf) http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb5/frieden/themen/Schule/bayern.pdf


Gewalt als Privatsache

Daniel Robert Kramer und Allison Stanger warnen vor der Renaissance des Söldnertums im Westen. Buchbesprechung von Thomas Speckmann im Tagesspiegel vom 04.07.2010 http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/gewalt-als-privatsache/1875404.html

Aus dem Text: „… Um wenigstens die schlimmsten Auswüchse der ungehemmten Privatisierung eindämmen zu können, fordert Stanger eine nationale Aufsicht, deren Mitglieder ähnlich dem Obersten Gerichtshof auf Lebenszeit ernannt werden – um die Aufträge zu überwachen, die Stanger auf das Notwendigste reduziert sehen will, verbunden mit einer Demilitarisierung der US-Außenpolitik. Ein erster Schritt wäre das Einsatzverbot von Söldnern in Konfliktgebieten, in denen die USA mit eigenen Truppen involviert sind. Denn dort, wo Krieg kein Geschäft mehr ist, endet er meist schneller. Das hat bereits die koloniale Ära der Handelskompanien gelehrt.“


Diskrete Gewalt

„Die Sicherheitsbranche ist ein boomender Wachstumsmarkt. Auch auf ihr Leistungsspektrum im militärischen Bereich sind die Vertreter der Zunft stolz…“ Artikel von Peer Heinelt in der Jungle World vom 24. Juni 2010 http://jungle-world.com/artikel/2010/25/41178.html


Aus: LabourNet, 6. Juli 2010



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http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9772/

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US to blame for Afghan slaughter

Villagers in Baghran district of Helmand province reported that children and women were killed by the foreign troops.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=132920&sectionid=351020403



A defining vote on Afghanistan

The Nation
by Katrina vanden Heuvel

07/01/10

More than six months after the implementation of the Obama/McChrystal strategy, and with one year to go before the beginning withdrawal of US forces, it’s clear that the strategy in Afghanistan is failing on nearly all fronts. It’s critical that we now turn to a more fundamental exit debate: How do we change course and craft a responsible strategy to end the war? Tonight the House will have an opportunity to do just that with two votes — on the $33 billion Afghanistan war supplemental and an amendment introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern that would require, at long last, an exit strategy including a timetable for the completion of the redeployment of US troops...

http://www.thenation.com/blog/36950/defining-vote-afghanistan



US-led forces kill three Afghan civilians

The civilians, including a woman, were killed in a NATO operation in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133194&sectionid=351020403


From Information Clearing House

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Boehner proposes raising retirement age to pay for Afghanistan
occupation

USA Today

06/29/10

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today that he would support raising the Social Security retirement age to 70 to help pay for the war in Afghanistan. ‘If you have substantial non-Social Security income while you’re retired, why are we paying you at a time when we’re broke?’ he said to the paper in an interview...

http://tinyurl.com/374watn


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

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Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone on the Story that Brought Down Gen. McChrystal and Exposed Widening Disputes Behind the U.S. Debacle in Afghanistan

http://act.commondreams.org/go/1292?akid=98.124981.zreQqR&t=16

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NO more money, NO more surges, NO more lives for war
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4189

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Stop The Afghanistan Occupation, We Must Stop The Corporations, And THEN The Wars Will End

At what point are we going to admit that Afghanistan, now at nine years being called the longest war in American history, is just an endless and permanently unwelcome occupation? It's never, ever going to end until we the people finally cry out to put an end to it.

Now that General McChrystal has been fired for being too publicly frank about a lot of stuff, including the fact that there is no hope of "victory" in Afghanistan, his replacement by General Petraeus offers little hope of an exit any time soon either. Instead, he warns things there are going to get worse, at a time when casualties are already setting records.

Tell Congress to End The Afghanistan Occupation

Action Page: http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1050.php

We have NO national security interest in occupying so many countries in the Middle East. Quite the contrary, it just makes us more insecure and unsafe by breeding hatred and revenge for America's military arrogance all over the world. If the Cheney/Bush administration had not been so indifferently asleep at the switch the 9/11 attacks could have easily been prevented. By their own admission all they had to do was "connect the dots". Occupying Afghanistan does nothing to advance that mission.

The founders of our country in their wisdom sought to preclude a "king" from having the power to launch wars for the enlargement of their own power, to the detriment of the interests of the people. But today we have a new class of kings, corporate monoliths in the military and energy sectors, that are driving the bus whoever sits in the White House. And it does not help that to do their bidding the Cheney/Bush administration usurped every power they could get their hands on, none of which have been repudiated by President Obama.

That is why we must recognize that war is nothing but a perpetual profit center for corporations acting only in their own interests, and it is only by confronting the encroaching domination of corporations that we can ever actually put an end to war.

Help us get this message out by picking up a 25 pack of the "Corporations Are NOT The People" bumper stickers to give to your friends and neighbors, just as hundreds and hundreds of your fellow progressive policy activists already have.

Bulk Corporations Are Not The People bumper stickers: http://www.peaceteam.net/bumper_stickers_bulk.php

Your donations are making it possible for us to continue to distribute as many of the single bumper stickers as we can for no charge, not even shipping, for those who cannot make a donation of any amount right now. Here is the page for single bumper sticker requests, including the "Impeach The Supreme Court 5" bumper stickers.

Free Single Bumper Stickers: http://www.peaceteam.net/bumper_stickers.php

They tell us we must be in Afghanistan to defeat Al Qaeda. But Al Qaeda is not in Afghanistan, they long ago fled to Pakistan and other more friendly territories. Our own military estimates there are less than 100 Al Qaeda actually in Afghanistan. That means we are spending a billion dollars a year chasing each one of these phantoms, and just making more enemies in the process.

Worse yet, if General Petraeus is to emulate in Afghanistan his bribe the militants strategy to temporarily reduce the violence (otherwise known as the "surge"), that means even more of our tax dollars going directly into the pockets of warlord, insurgents and worse, on top of the millions already going to them already.

This is utter lunacy. Nine billion dollars on shrink wrapped pallets went missing in Iraq in one gulp. Our own treasury may now be the primary source of financing (a grave federal crime) for the terrorists we were told we were there to take out. But the corporations love that. It just means a "war on terror" for all eternity and a permanent boom business for the corporate death and destruction merchants.

Please take action now by speaking out. Only your voice can make a difference. Only your voice has ever made a difference.

And here is the Facebook link for the Green Jobs Energy And Climate Bill action page further above.

[Facebook] Action Page: http://apps.facebook.com/fb_voices/action.php?qnum=pnum1050

And this is the Twitter reply for this same action

@cxs #p1050

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

usalone399b:320622



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
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http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9768/

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Corruption Suspected in Airlift of Billions in Cash From Kabul

By Matthew Rosenberg

U.S. investigators believe top Afghan officials and their associates are sending billions of diverted U.S. aid and logistics dollars and drug money to financial safe havens abroad.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25828.htm



http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Matthew+Rosenberg