Taliban Take the Fight to the Country--ATimes (detailed)

[Gloria]

From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

Summaries in my Journal


2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong June 9, 2006

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HF09Df02.html



TALIBAN TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE COUNTRY

By Syed Saleem Shahzad

PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN border areas - The Taliban movement has evolved beyond its guerrilla struggle into an organized widespread rebellion. It has fully matured in southern Afghanistan and is heading north toward Kabul and beyond, all the way drawing on growing popular support.

"Don't consider the present movement as Taliban only. This is a mass mutiny against the foreign presence, and all common Afghans are solely responsible for that," Gul Mohammed, a Taliban commander, explained to Asia Times Online in an interview in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province in Afghanistan.

Gul Mohammed's views are not exaggerated. They confirm exhaustive ATol on-the-ground-investigations and reports over the past few months. And this week, the Senlis Council, a London-based international security and policy advisory think-tank, reached a similar conclusion.

"Helmand is an early warning of what the whole of Afghanistan could become if a radically different approach is not taken in the coming months," the Senlis Council, an independent group actively engaged in work in Afghanistan, said in its report.

"The United States unilaterally bombing Kandahar undermined the civilian population's support for the Karzai government," the council said. "The recent riots in Kabul were also an example of the increasing hostility of the Afghan people towards the international community."

Gul Mohammed picked up the point: "Americans crashed our gates and the sanctity of our houses. They disrespected our traditions and gave Christian missionaries a free hand to operate in Afghanistan. We just explained these features to the masses, who are our brothers and sisters."

MUCH MORE

[Oversea Visitor]

1. Unwinnable war

What is it for anyway?

Democracy, freedom, liberty ??????

Gee go away and let the people there decide

What is the point if they decide to fight you

They fighting for their liberty and freedom too

And who the hell is the custodian of Democracy in the world ....... US

Surely there are ways for Democracy to grow then using guns and bombs to enforce it

After all can one truly call it a democracy if enforce by guns bombs and senseless killing

What a bloody sham.

[msongs]

2. shows their true respect for other "people of the book", eh? nt

[Barrett808]

3. "they released gases which [put] many of us in an unconscious-like state"

"Initially they released gases which many of us in an unconscious-like condition, and then they bombed the area. It looked like aircraft were static in the air for hours, and they showered bombs," Merajuddin said.

Now, that's an interesting story.

[sweetheart]

4. The drugs war is causing this

"<snip>
.
Contributing to the deep unease about security, and even more insideous, is
the existence of a criminal mafia largely funded by the multi-billion dollar
drugs trade, whose activities are makde easy by endemic corruption. The fact
that in many cases the drugs barons hold senor public offic discredits the
government and its international backers
.
.
<snip>"

"The taliban resurgent" from today's "the economist"

The drugs war is a deliberate ploy to destablize governments all over the
earth by the massive drugs demand of the US overpowering all legitimate
institutions of government for decades now in mexico and centra/south america,
and afganistan as well... aint democracy swell.

What a stupid bunch of losers in washington, who waste teh goodwill of
the people and piss it away through bad policy, over and over and over,
that all we can expect is stupid actions with massive subsequent costs
and collateral damage. The giant godzilla is crushing cars with every
footstep. But he's trying to catch a terrorist somewhere, let him at it.