Afghanistan
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Media Disinformation regarding America’s Afghan War By Prof. Marc Herold
In the U.S. mainstream media, complete silence reigned once again. Chagoti Ghar (Chergotah) simply does not exist. The deaths of an Afghan woman, an 8-yr old Afghan girl and a teenaged couple are unworthy of mention in America. Another immaculate deception, or conception in which a teenaged couple was first transformed into two Taliban sub-commanders.… Continue reading
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Victor KORGUN: The Afghan dilemma
The development of the situation in Afghanistan over the last 12 months has been influenced by the new US strategy approved by President Barack Obama in April 2009. As opposed to the strategy of George Bush the strategy of Obama’s government implies not only strengthening US and NATO military presence in the country but also… Continue reading
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Civil War Certain as “Afghan National Army” Now Over 60% Tajik By Craig Murray
There has been a consistent parroting by the Western media of the line that NATO troops operate ‘in support of’ the Afghan National Army, and that this is a genuine force reflecting the whole nation. This propaganda has gone as far as releasing falsified figures of the ethnic composition of the Afghan National Army. Continue reading
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The London Conference on Afghanistan: Rebranding an Unpopular War Derrick O’Keefe
The “deny Al-Qaeda a safe heaven” justification opens up nearly infinite new potential fronts in the global “war on terror,” a term that has been dropped from White House press releases while its aggressive and counter-productive mentality remains in place. Continue reading
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Taliban Assault on Kabul Updated
A major Taliban attack began on Kabul Jan. 18. The fighting is being reported by both American and Taliban sources. According to one American source, reports of an imminent attack began circulating Jan. 17. Continue reading
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War Ravages Afghan Environment By Joshua Frank
Shipping off 30,000 more troops to the land of the Taliban may be infuriating to devoted antiwar activists, but the toll the Afghanistan war is having on the environment should also force nature lovers into the streets in protest. Continue reading
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The Psychological Implosion of Our Soldiers By Dahr Jamail
US Army Specialist Lateef Al-Saraji, a decorated combat veteran, came back from the occupation of Iraq with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Saraji joined the military because he wanted to serve his country. He served well as a linguist and translator working under secret clearance with military intelligence, according to a letter of recommendation written… Continue reading
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Afghanistan: The Hollow Politics of Escalation By Norman Solomon
An underlying conceit of the new spin about benchmarks and timetables for Afghanistan is the notion that pivotal events there can be choreographed from Washington. So, a day ahead of the president’s Tuesday night speech, the New York Times quoted an unnamed top administration official saying: “He wants to give a clear sense of both… Continue reading
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CentCom planners study massive move of equipment to Afghanistan
How do you marshal billions of dollars in equipment to escalate one war in Afghanistan while scaling back another in Iraq? Continue reading
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U.S. Army Underreporting Suicides, Says GI Advocacy Group By Dahr Jamail
Chuck Luther served 12 years in the military and is a veteran of two deployments to Iraq, where he was a reconnaissance scout in the 1st Cavalry Division. The former sergeant was based at Fort Hood, where he lives today. “I see the ugly,” Luther told IPS. “I see soldiers beating their wives and trying… Continue reading
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A Morally Bankrupt Military: When Soldiers and Their Families Become Expendable By Dahr Jamail
The military operates through indoctrination. Soldiers are programmed to develop a mindset that resists any acknowledgment of injury and sickness, be it physical or psychological. As a consequence, tens of thousands of soldiers continue to serve, even being deployed to combat zones like Iraq and/or Afghanistan, despite persistent injuries. According to military records, over 43,000… Continue reading
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Reaction to Fort Hood – Stupidity Beyond Belief by Richard C. Cook
Last week a psychiatrist who had been ordered to Afghanistan went berserk and shot up the place. So happens he was a Muslim, a loner, deeply conflicted, subject to abuse from other soldiers who had been taught by our politicians and media that ‘Allah’ is a dirty word. Continue reading
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UK: Action stations over Afghanistan
The war effort in Afghanistan is starting to fall apart at the seams. We will shortly reach the hundredth British soldier’s death this year, and there is talk in military circles of withdrawing British troops from the frontline. Continue reading
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MidEast Dispatches: Where Will They Get the Troops? Preparing Undeployables for the Afghan Front
After eight years of two major counterinsurgency wars (and various minor encounters in what used to be called the Global War on Terror), with many soldiers experiencing multiple tours of duty, with approximately 120,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq and almost 70,000 in Afghanistan, with the Afghan War clearly in an escalatory phase, commanders in… Continue reading
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PAUL MCGEOUGH IN KABUL: US fed up with troops dying to prop up Karzai
When Hamid Karzai breasted the microphone at the presidential palace on October 20, to make an oblique admission that he attempted to steal the election and would go along with the second poll which he had resisted for weeks, he was flanked by a high-powered international posse – lest he depart from the agreed script Continue reading
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Mass Shooting Indicates Breakdown of Military By Dahr Jamail
The soldier says that the mood on the base is “very grim,” and that even before this incident, troop morale has been very low. “I’d say it’s at an all-time low – mostly because of Afghanistan now,” he explained. “Nobody knows why we are at either place, and I believe the troops need to know… Continue reading
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Reports state CIA “extraordinary rendition” flights landed in UK By Robert Stevens
A US registered plane named in a 2007 European Parliament report into alleged Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ‘extraordinary rendition’ flights was observed to land at Birmingham Airport in England on October 2 of this year. Continue reading
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Ashley Smith, “A War of Terror in Pakistan: Interview with Saadia Toor”
The Pakistani Intelligence, with the full knowledge of the U.S., helped create and sustain the Taliban for years. Only after al-Qaeda’s attack on September 11 did the U.S. begin to oppose the Taliban, and once it did, this upset the longstanding relationship between the Pakistani state and the Taliban. Continue reading
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America’s Phoney War in Afghanistan By F. William Engdahl
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Obama Presidential agenda is how little anyone has questioned in the media or elsewhere why at all the United States Pentagon is committed to a military occupation of Afghanistan. There are two basic reasons, neither one of which can be admitted openly to the public at large. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 