OBAMA RHETORIC PROLONGS U.S. ROLE IN CIVIL WAR

"President Obama (said)... “We did not choose this war. This is the region where the perpetrators of that crime, al Qaeda, still base their leadership"... That’s clever phrasing, to use the word “region” and not “country,” since Al Qaeda’s forces are no longer in Afghanistan. They’re in Pakistan. So the U.S. is not waging a war against Al Qaeda anymore—and hasn’t been for years. It’s taking sides in a civil war, with the Pashtuns and the Taliban squaring off against warlords from the north and Karzai’s government. But that’s a harder sell, so Obama didn’t make it..."

"Sixteen months from now, the odds are that the civil war in Afghanistan will look much the way it does today. And because Obama asserted that the outcome in Afghanistan is “absolutely necessary, absolutely essential to America’s safety and security,” then there is no way the U.S. will be able to leave. So prepare for a longer war. Obama’s rhetoric guarantees it."

http://www.progressive.org/wx032910.html

KARZIA FLOUTS U.S. INFLUENCE

"... Karzai is putting distance between himself and his American sponsors... Even as Mr. Obama pours tens of thousands of additional American troops into the country to help defend Mr. Karzai’s government, Mr. Karzai now often voices the view that his interests and the United States’ no longer coincide.... Karzai recently told lunch guests at the presidential palace that he believes the Americans are in Afghanistan because they want to dominate his country and the region, and that they pose an obstacle to striking a peace deal with the Taliban... The American goal, he said, was to keep the Afghan conflict going, and thereby allow American troops to stay in the country... The recent visit by Mr. Ahmadinejad seemed designed to generate as much attention as possible... With Mr. Karzai standing at his side in Kabul, Mr. Ahmadinejad accused the United States of promoting terrorism."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/world/asia/30karzai.html?sudsredirect=true

2/3 OF BOYS IN AFGHAN JAILS BRUTALIZED

"Nearly two of every three male juveniles arrested in Afghanistan are physically abused... (by) a justice system that subjects juveniles, many of whom are already innocent victims, to torture, forced confessions and blatant violation of their rights in court..."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50843

U.S. CONSIDERING GUANTANAMO #2 IN AFGHANISTAN

"The White House is considering housing international terrorism suspects at Bagram air base, as is done at Guantanamo Bay... Gen. Stanley A. McCrystal, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and other senior officials strongly oppose it, fearing that expansion of the U.S. detention facility at Bagram air base could make the job of stabilizing the country even tougher..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-prison21-2010mar21,0,2058216.story

INNOCENT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES UP

"American and NATO troops firing from passing convoys and military checkpoints have killed 30 Afghans and wounded 80 others since last summer, but in no instance did the victims prove to be a danger to troops, according to military officials in Kabul. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the senior American and NATO military commander in Afghanistan, is trying to cut civilian deaths, saying, “We have shot an amazing number of people, but to my knowledge, none has ever proven to be a threat."

"... There are stories after stories about how these people are turned into insurgents... Every time there is an escalation of force we are finding that innocents are being killed.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27afghan.html?ref=world

THEN AND NOW

"... many parallels between what the Soviets were doing eight years into their occupation of Afghanistan... and what the United States and its allies are doing today. In the late '80s, the Soviets were trying to strike at cross-border sanctuaries in Pakistan, pursue reconciliation with insurgents, strengthen Afghan security forces and control population centers. It was a good strategy... and the Soviets lost... we're losing in Afghanistan."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/world/afghanistan-experts-at-usf-symposium-agree-on-one-thing-things-dont-look/1082567

TALIBAN ARRESTS STOP PEACE TALKS

"... recent arrests of high-ranking Taliban figures by Pakistan had severed important secret communications between the Taliban and the West meant to foster peace negotiations.... the United Nations had been quietly involved in early discussions with the Taliban in Dubai. He said those talks were upended by the arrests of senior Taliban leaders, including the group’s second in command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar... "
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/world/asia/20afghan.html?sudsredirect=true

PROBLEM WITH KANDAHAR OFFENSIVE

"... General Stanley McChrystal's plan to reconquer the key Afghan city of Kandahar this summer could fail... because of deep resentment against the local face of the Afghan government — President Hamid Karzai's troublesome half brother Ahmed Wali Karzai.... Afghan politicians, international analysts, diplomats, military officers and some tribal elders blame much of the chaos in Kandahar on pervasive influence peddling by President Karzai's half brother... As a former NATO official with years of experience in Kandahar puts it, "You have essentially a criminal enterprise in the guise of government, using us [NATO forces] as its enforcing arm. The people are turning to the Taliban as the only means of protection and outlet for their anger."
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1973240,00.html?xid=rss-topstories-polar

BOTCHED RAID

"A night raid carried out by US and Afghan gunmen led to the deaths of two pregnant women, a teenage girl and two local officials in an atrocity which Nato then tried to cover up...

"The first person to die in the assault was Commander Dawood, 43, a long-serving, popular and highly-trained policeman who had recently been promoted to head of intelligence in one of Paktia’s most volatile districts... Three women crouching in a hallway behind him were hit by the same volley of fire. Bibi Shirin, 22, had four children under the age of 5. Bibi Saleha, 37, had 11 children. Both of them, according to their relatives, were pregnant. They were killed instantly. The men’s mother, Bibi Sabsparie, said that Shirin was four months pregnant and Saleha was five months. The other victim, Gulalai, 18, was engaged. She was wounded and later died...

"The family were offered, through local elders, American compensation — $2,000 (£1,300) for each of the victims..."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7060395.ece

U.S. RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST DEATHS IN MARJAH ATTACK

According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, U.S. and Allied forces have killed and injured more civilians than have the insurgents during Operation Moshtarak. Incredibly, the Pentagon continues to insist that this operation “protects the people.”
http://rethinkafghanistan.com/hp/us-allies-responsible-for-most-marjah-civilian-casualties/

REPORT ON U.S. KABUL EMBASSY

"The State Department is failing to properly oversee nearly $2 billion in contracts to battle the drug trade, build infrastructure and train police in Afghanistan... Other key criticisms:
• Frequent visits by senior officials and members of Congress divert diplomats from crucial counterinsurgency tasks.
• The embassy doesn't have enough people to carry out anti-corruption and outreach initiatives.
• No one on the public affairs and website staff speaks Pashto, the language of the areas being contested in the counterinsurgency..."
>http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-09-embassy_N.htm?csp=usat.me


"... the U.S. Embassy staff in Afghanistan suffers from morale problems, overwork and the constant demands of visiting VIPs, which the report calls "war tourism"... Morale at Embassy Kabul has been challenged by the stresses of an almost 100 percent personnel turnover, a massive civilian buildup at a frenetic pace, the redesign of development assistance programs, the continuing high volume of official visitors, and the need to support an extended presidential strategy review... the ambassador and top aides often must work through the night on video conferences with Washington...
"Some describe the incredible volume of visitors from all branches of the federal and even state governments as 'war tourism"... As of October 1, 2009, the embassy had supported approximately 100 groups of visitors, totaling over 700 individuals, and accounting for over 30,000 bed nights..."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/05/afghanistan.embassy.morale/index.html