H10035
Headlines : "War on Terror"Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general
The government admits that Helmand province is about to produce a bumper poppy crop and is now probably the biggest single source of heroin in the world. Ministers are concerned about criticism the government will face if planting over the next few months for next year’s crop – in an area patrolled by British troops – is not significantly reduced.
[Posted By Judy]Republished from The Guardian
The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan today described the situation in the country as “close to anarchy” with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption.
The stark warning came from Lieutenant General David Richards, head of Nato’s international security force in Afghanistan, who warned that western forces there were short of equipment and were “running out of time” if they were going to meet the expectations of the Afghan people.
The assumption within Nato countries had been that the environment in Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban in 2002 would be benign, Gen Richards said. “That is clearly not the case,” he said today. He referred to disputes between tribes crossing the border with Pakistan, and divisions between religious and secular factions cynically manipulated by “anarcho-warlords”.
Posted by Judy
Born and raised in Toronto, I'm now heading over to the UK to pursue an MA in Russian Politics, Security and Integration. I'm crazy about feminism, multilateralism, peacekeeping, the Toronto Maple Leafs and puppies.
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Related article on the Globe regarding the results of a recent poll done in Canada about the mission. Didn’t know the Dutch were there…
It seems to me that Bush’s demeanor is unusually giddy these days. Arianna Huffington outlines the disconnect btw reality and the administration’s attitude in a recent column
She bases it on the UN Report on Iraq
The UN cites the case of an Iraqi tennis coach and two of his players who were gunned down in Baghdad because… they were wearing shorts! Forget the fashion police; we’re talking fashion assassins. Others were targeted because their hair styles or facial hair didn’t conform to the rules of the extremists now in control on both sides of the sectarian divide.
And according to the report, women have lost many of the freedoms they used to enjoy. In parts of Baghdad, they “are now prevented from going to the markets alone.” They’ve also been warned not to drive cars and have been harassed for wearing pants. What’s more, a new regulation dictates that women wishing to apply for a passport or travel abroad must be accompanied by their husbands or another male member of their family. And not wearing a headscarf can now mean being targeted for attack — all the more troubling for the tens of thousands of non-Muslim Iraqi women.
The report also details kidnappings and acts of violence directed at children, including the chilling tale of a 12 year old boy named Osama who was kidnapped, raped, and grotesquely murdered — hanged by his own clothing — even though his family paid a $30,000 ransom.
But you won’t see a trace of concern about any of this from George or Laura. Remember when these wars were going to liberate Iraqi and Afghani women? Forget all that. We’re nearing the big payoff for all of the neo-cons’ hard-sold foreign policy, a regional war stretching from Israel to Afghanistan.
edit – no more typing before i have coffee