World-News

By Marc W. Herold

Eight Years of Horror Perpetrated against the people of Afghanistan.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23746.htm



War Next Door Creates Havoc in Pakistan

By Eric Margolis

Pakistan, increasingly destabilized by the U.S.-led war in neighbouring Afghanistan, is getting closer to blowing apart.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23744.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pakistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=civilian+deaths
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Marc+W.+Herold
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Eric+Margolis

Angeblich zahlt Italien Taliban-Kommandeuren viel Geld für einen Nichtangriffspakt, der die militärische ISAF-Mission ad absurdum führen würde.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/31/31319/1.html



Pakistan im Guerillakrieg

Jüngste Anschläge zeigen, dass die Taliban sich mit militanten Gruppen aus dem Punjab verbünden.

http://www.heise.de/tp/blogs/8/146355



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pakistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ISAF
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban

The NATO-led force said the woman and a school-aged girl were killed by foreign occupation forces and Afghan troops in an attack on suspected militants in the southeastern Ghazni province.

http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=18495



Veteran Army Officer Urges Afghan Troop Drawdown

A veteran Army officer who has served in both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars warns in an analysis now circulating in Washington that the counterinsurgency strategy urged by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal is likely to strengthen the Afghan insurgency, and calls for withdrawal of the bulk of U.S. combat forces from the country over 18 months.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48875



US pays $400 per gallon for gas in Afghanistan

Last year, the price of gasoline in the United States topped the $4 per gallon mark. This year in Afghanistan, the price has topped $400.

http://rawstory.com/2009/10/us-pays-400-per-gallon-for-gas-in-afghanistan/


From Information Clearing House

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Code Pink Delivers Afghan Petition To President
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/10/16-3



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McChrystal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=insurgency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=counterinsurgency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gareth+Porter

Robert Naiman, Truthout: "General McChrystal says that if President Obama does not approve 40,000 more US troops for Afghanistan, and approve them right away, 'our mission' - whatever that is - will likely 'fail' - whatever that is. But even if President Obama were to approve General McChrystal's request, the 40,000 troops wouldn't arrive in time to significantly affect the 12-month window McChrystal says will be decisive."

http://www.truthout.org/10150912

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45,000 More U.S. Troops To Afghanistan

By BBC Newsnight

The Obama administration had told the British government that it will soon announce a substantial boost to its Afghanistan force and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that Britain will send a further 500 soldiers.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23727.htm



Fighting the Taliban

What, Exactly, is Being Fought in Afghanistan?

By M. Reza Pirbhai

Washington insiders do not mention that the Taliban's "harsh form of oppression on women and others," which everyone from Madeleine Albright to Hillary Clinton have argued provides cause for war, is not a concern when relations with 'Wahhabi' Saudi Arabia are pursued.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23728.htm



'I'm here to understand what you mean by Taliban'

When we say we must fight the Taliban or must defeat them, what does it mean? I'm here to understand what you mean when you say Taliban. Do you mean a militant? Do you mean an ideology? Exactly what is it that is being fought?

http://snipurl.com/sj4l2


From Information Clearing House

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Five facts about Afghanistan

Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

10/14/09

The corridors of power in the nation’s capital are abuzz with the complexities of the situation in Afghanistan. If only we send 40,000 more troops, say the military brass, the U.S. could have some hope of turning the situation around and preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists yet again. Vice President Joe Biden has apparently suggested keeping the number of forces the same but shifting the U.S. mission more toward training the Afghan security forces and conducting Special Forces raids and drone attacks against al-Qaeda. Instead, a few simple facts on the ground in Afghanistan point to a third alternative...

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2637



Why the Taliban has tripled in size

CounterPunch
by Brian Downing

10/15/09

The Afghan insurgency, we are repeatedly told, is based on intimidation and violence. This is true in parts of the country, but dubious in others. Indeed, seeing any insurgency as resting mainly on force is wrong and it will lead to wrong responses. Insurgencies develop when a non-government group builds rapport with at least parts of the populace. This was the case in Malaya, the Philippines, Algeria, and South Vietnam. And it is the case in Afghanistan...

http://counterpunch.org/downing10152009.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Joe+Biden
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Hillary
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Madeleine+Albright
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gordon+Brown
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McChrystal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vietnam
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=insurgency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=drone
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Naiman
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Reza+Pirbhai
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Arundhati+Roy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ivan+Eland
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Brian+Downing

Robert Scheer, Truthout: "There is no indication that any of the contending forces in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, are interested in bringing al-Qaeda back. On the contrary, all the available evidence indicates that the Arab fighters are unwelcome and that it is their isolation from their former patrons that has led to their demise. Every once in a while, a statistic just jumps out at you in a way that makes everything else you hear on a subject seem beside the point, if not downright absurd."

http://www.truthout.org/1014094

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General Mcmoreland in Vietistan
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/10/14-6

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Saving Face in Afghanistan

By Ron Paul

We overthrew the Taliban government in 2001 with less than 10,000 American troops. Why does it now seem that the more troops we send, the worse things get? If the Soviets bankrupted themselves in Afghanistan with troop levels of 100,000 and were eventually forced to leave in humiliating defeat, why are we determined to follow their example?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23722.htm



The Wrong House

Ask Awal Khan About Obama's Prize

By Brendan Cooney

Khan was serving as an artillery commander in the Afghan National Army away from his home in the eastern province of Khost on April 8, when U.S. forces came knocking. In a case of "wrong house," they killed his 17-year-old daughter, Nadia, and his 15-year-old son, Aimal. They also killed his wife, a schoolteacher who taught villagers for free. They killed his brother and wounded another daughter.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23724.htm



Obama's War

Video - This program contains graphic language and violent imagery. Viewer discretion is advised.

Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counterinsurgency plan that builds on the lessons of Iraq. But can U.S. forces succeed in a land long known as the "graveyard of empires"? And can the U.S. stop the Taliban in neighboring Pakistan, where U.S. troops are not allowed and the government is weak?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23726.htm

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Byrd: “How much American blood?”

ABC News

10/14/09

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., isn’t seen much in public anymore. At 91, he rarely votes and almost never gives speeches. But today he dramatically appeared on the Senator floor to denounce the idea of sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. ‘How much more will all this cost?’ Byrd demanded. ‘How much in dollars; how much in terms of American blood?’ Speaking slowly and forcefully from his wheelchair, Byrd directly challenged counter-insurgency strategy proposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command...

http://tinyurl.com/yggm278


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Nobel+laureate
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Byrd
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McChrystal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Petraeus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pakistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=counterinsurgency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Scheer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Saul+Landau
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Brendan+Cooney

ABC News

10/13/09

Among three different troop options currently before the President and his national security team, General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, as first reported here, favors the middle option, which recommends an increase of some 40,000 more troops. A source familiar with the document says that’s the minimum McChrystal believes is needed for a chance for success in Afghanistan. Although the debate is really about the middle option, there is a much higher number included in the McChrystal options. Other sources who have seen the request say the highest number of troops requested is 80,000...

http://tinyurl.com/yhv4hmc



Backdoor escalation

AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

10/14/09

If the Nobel committee was attempting to preemptively block a further escalation of the Afghan war by giving the prize in anticipation of future actions — actions they hoped would be motivated by a desire to live up to the award — they were too late, and their efforts too little. Because Obama — in addition to the 21,000 combat troops he has already announced he’s sending to the Afghan front — has quietly added 13,000 more ’support’ troops to the mix, and there are plenty more where that came from. For an administration in which virtually every public announcement and initiative involves a careful manipulation of language, this kind of craftiness is a key tool in keeping the public hazy about what exactly is going on in Afghanistan...

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/10/13/backdoor-escalation/



Pity the imperialists

Campaign For Liberty
by Jacob G. Hornberger

10/13/09

Pity the imperialists. What do they do? They must realize that the longer they continue occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, the more they weaken the Empire. Hey, they don’t call Afghanistan the ‘graveyard of empires’ for nothing. America’s imperialists are discovering what imperialists throughout history have discovered: empires are costly. This one is no exception. Military spending on Afghanistan and Iraq and the rest of the Empire all over the world continues to soar out of control...

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=268



Stalemate

The New Republic
by AJ Rossmiller

10/13/09

The situation in Afghanistan increasingly looks like Iraq did not too long ago. Not the actual political or military circumstances, of course, but the analysis and commentary. Phrases like ‘We’re entering a decisive period’ and ‘It’s now or never’ are being tossed around ominously as the debate over troop increases rages. One can hardly read an op-ed without being told that the situation is dire and that this is a critical time, perhaps even our Last Chance to Get It Right. Most notably, the report produced by General Stanley McChrystal announced that ‘the short-term fight will be decisive.’ There is not a single Afghanistan myth more prevalent or more specious than this one. To be at a ‘critical juncture’ implies that one side or the other is poised to decisively gain the upper hand and therefore to win. But the situation in Afghanistan is almost the exact opposite of that...

http://www.tnr.com/article/world/stalemate



Obama fails to win Nobel prize in economics

MarketWatch
by Tom Bemis

10/12/09

In a decision as shocking as Friday’s surprise peace prize win, President Obama failed to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Monday. While few observers think Obama has done anything for world peace in the nearly nine months he’s been in office, the same clearly can’t be said for economics. The president has worked tirelessly since even before his inauguration to wrest control of the U.S. economy from failed free markets, and the evil CEOs who profit from them, and to turn it over to wise, fair and benevolent bureaucrats... [satire]

http://tinyurl.com/yjx3qg7



The Prince of Peace

Strike the Root
by B.R. Merrick

10/13/09

What is clear to me is that we mustn’t wait for prizes. We must walk away from these people, and throw their trophies in the trash. The only way to effectively bring about a revolution for the betterment of mankind is to reach the individual. The message is simple: You are freedom. You are peace. You are love. You are truth. You mustn’t wait for anyone else. You mustn’t be afraid. You mustn’t worry that mass murderers are continually lauded as bringers of peace. It will continue. But we needn’t continue along with it. They’ve set the table, but what they’re serving is rancid leftovers. Walk away. It will feel better when you do it in your own way, not the way some charismatic leader tells you to. If you are willing, you are The Prince of Peace’...

http://www.strike-the-root.com/92/merrick/merrick4.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Nobel+laureate
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McChrystal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=imperial
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=military+spending
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=U.S.+Economy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=raimondo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jacob+G.+Hornberger
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=B.R.+Merrick
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=AJ+Rossmiller

NATO is facing defeat in Afghanistan, and Russia and the states of Central Asia must be ready to pick up the pieces, Russia's ambassador to NATO said Tuesday.

http://snipurl.com/shzi0



40% of Afghan aid 'never arrives'

The United Nations was presiding over an unco-ordinated and unmanaged mess, said Dr Cordesman, who has advised the Obama Administration and the US military extensively on Afghanistan and Pakistan as they plan a new strategy to defeat the insurgency. ''This is a major problem,'' he said.

http://snipurl.com/shzi9


From Information Clearing House

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Pro-War Officials Play Up Taliban-al Qaeda Ties
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/10/13-11



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gareth+Porter

MSNBC

10/12/09

President Obama announced in March that he would be sending 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. But in an unannounced move, the White House has also authorized — and the Pentagon is deploying — at least 13,000 troops beyond that number, according to defense officials. The additional troops are primarily support forces, including engineers, medical personnel, intelligence experts and military police...

http://tinyurl.com/ykv9632


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

As generals, politicians and pundits in Washington debate the next best step for America's eight-year war in Afghanistan, the Taliban takes new territory by the day, despite the record 64,000 U.S. troops here.

http://snipurl.com/sh8fo


From Information Clearing House



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

What Lies Beneath the War in Afghanistan
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/10/11-4

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Afghanistan: A War of Lies
http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis165.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Eric+Margolis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/margolis