Obama loves his rhetoric, and his speech on the Afghan surge was topped by a rhetorical flourish:
“Our cause is just, our resolve unshaken”.
He is of course wrong on both counts.
The occupation of Afghanistan by the US and its allies is there to prop up the government of President Karzai. Karzai’s has always been an ultra-corrupt government of vicious warlords and drugs barons. I have been pointing this out for years,
The CIA is up to its usual tricks again supporting the drug running of key warlords loyal to them. They are also setting up death squads on the Central American model, in cooperation with Blackwater.
Fortunately Karzai’s rigging of his re-election was so blatant that the scales have fallen from the eys of the public and even the mainstream media. Politicians no longer pretend we are promoting democracy in Afghanistan.
Karzai comes directly from the Bush camp and was put in place because of his role with Unocal in developing the Trans Afghanistan Gas Pipeline project. That remains a chief strategic goal. The Asian Development Bank has agreed finance to start construction in Spring 2011. It is of course a total coincidence that 30,000 extra US troops will arrive six months before, and that the US (as opposed to other NATO forces) deployment area corresponds with the pipeline route.
Obama’s claim that “Our cause is just” ultimately rests on the extraordinary claim that, eight years after the invasion, we are still there in self-defence. In both the UK and US, governments are relying on the mantra that the occupation of Afghanistan protects us from terrorism at home.
This is utter nonsense. The large majority of post 9/11 terror incidents have been by Western Muslims outraged by our invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Put bluntly, if we keep invading Muslim countries, of course we will face a violent backlash. The idea that because we occupy Afghanistan a Muslim from Dewsbury or Detroit disenchanted with the West would not be able to manufacture a bomb is patent nonsense. It would be an infinitely better strategy to make out theoretical Muslim less disenchanted by not attacking and killing huge numbers of his civilian co-religionists.
Our cause is unjust.
We are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and for the further of radicalisation of Muslim communities worldwide. That threatens a perpetual war – which is of course just what the military-industrial complex and the security industry want. They have captured Obama.
Fortunately, our resolve is shaken.
The ordinary people of the UK and US have begun in sufficient numbers to see through this perpetual war confidence trick; they realise there is nothing in it for them but dead youngsters and high taxes. That is why Obama made a very vague promise – which I believe in its vagueness and caveats to be deliberate deceit – that troops will start to leave in 2011.
Today’s promises of 5,000 additional NATO troops are, incidentally, empty rhetoric. I gather from friends in the FCO that firm pledges to date amount to 670.
A well-placed source close to the Taliban in Pakistan tells me that the Afghan Taliban and their tribal allies have a plan. As the US seeks massively to expand the Afghan forces, they are feeding in large numbers of volunteers. I suspect that while we may see the odd attack on their trainers, the vast majority will get trained, fed, paid and equipped and bide their time before turning en masse. This is nothing new; it is precisely the history of foreign occupations in the region and the purchase of tribal auxiliaries and alliances.
Just a couple of comments on the above:
@greengorilla
I don’t think there’s anything implausible about ‘home-grown terrorism’. I am very angry at what’s happening to Muslims in the Middle east, and I’m no Muslim. If I am angry, it seems to me a reasonable inference that at least some Muslims here must be considering how they can most effectively express similar dismay, and at least some of those will be considering violence as a response to violence. After all, the grievances motivating the IRA of the 60s – while perfectly real – were of much lesser weight. I expect that as you say there will be many opportunities for entrapment and agent provocateurs arising from this, but on the whole I am surprised at the restraint of Muslims, here and elsewhere.
@tony
As a child (aged 11/12 in the early 60s) I knew how to make pipe bombs, and I made them and detonated them – there was quite a craze for them at one time. I won’t detail the recipe, but with two readily available (then) ingredients and a piece of 22mm copper pipe you could make a very dangerous explosion. Local shopkeepers must have been warned against selling one of the ingredients to children, as one of them once asked me why I wanted it. ‘For the garden’ I said, and he handed it over.
Or to put it this way…
I would take 10 Russian Kids and 10 English Kids Trained To Fight Against 1000 Afghan Soldiers in Their Home Territory and The Afghans Whould Kill Them All…
I would take 10 Russian Kids and 10 English Kids Trained to Fight Against 1000 American Rich Fat Slobs…
And They Would be Eating Them for Breakfast.
The Afghans Have So Far Attacked only With RPG’s at Bagram Airbase
I’m about 90 Minutes Into The Film. I have to take it in small doses. Much Heavier Than Lost or Flashforward – That’s Puppy Soap
This Film 9 ???? (Russia) is Better than Dr Zhivago and Goes On For Even Longer or so it seems. I saw Dr Zhivago in 1965 in the Largest Cinema in Manchester sat NEAR THE FRONT
Tony
writerman
Obama and Brown are focussed on a new world order and when they talk world politics they are in a dream fantasy. They have been completely bought, blackmailed and bludgeoned into obedience. Like kids they don white sheets pretending to be ghosts for their spooky role play. Then they expect to be taken seriously empathising with bereaved army mums and the medically uninsured. It is difficult to know if they are men who have been brainwashed into a Masonic cult, or Zombies who have been cross-bred with humanity. The oil pipe is just an excuse for their Satanity.
Either way I agree with Craig that the outcome of their plans will be humiliating failure, having achieved nothing but chaos and terror in the world. We have no choice but to shout out our condemnation as strongly as we can so that future generations cannot accuse us of condoning their crimes.
@Vronsky, the ‘War on Terror’ was a fake scare started by the Us and adopted by its side-kick the UK in order to justify imperialist wars abroad and the implementation of domestic repression. The concept of home-grown Islamic terrorism is as much part of that fake war as is the idea that Afpak is at the heart of terrorism against the West.
The Islamic community is a large and disparate thing. The idea that it has at its heart a group of hard-core militants hell-bent on destroying the West and the Great Satan is merely part of that nonsensical US ‘War on Terror’, just as nonsensical as Reds under the Bed ever was.
Muslims may rightfully feel angry and insulted at the racism meted out on them by the stupid white man but that doesn’t mean that there are preparing to wage war in a Twenty First century crusade.
The only crusaders around are those of the US-led Military-Industrial Complex with their deathly doctrine of Endless War.
Craig, in the context of your article above please see The Obama Puppet by Paul Craig Roberts at http://www.counterpunch.com/roberts12022009.html
“Let us not abandon complexity in the midst of our justifiable anger, for the world is complex and that delicate sense of humanity is all we have”.
Yes. Thank you for the reminder, Suhayl.
It’s often said that “Truth is the first casualty of war”. but I’m beginning to suspect it’s ‘just’ collateral damage, complexity was the real target.
A US SOLDIER WRITES AND SAYS IT ALL…
” Anonymous said…
How many people do we intend to kill to obtain whatever is our objective in Afghanistan? The Soviet Union killed a million before leaving… the flight schools in Florida were the training camps that made the tragedy for 9/11 possible. And the individuals responsible were not even from Afghanistan?”17 of the hijackers were Saudi Arabians! What threat are these Afghanistans? That is one of the poorest nations in the world. They don’t have missiles, they don’t have nuclear weapons, no air force, they don’t even have a helicopter. What kind of threat do they pose to the U.S. that justifies killing them?”
All for what? Answer: nothing–save making a lot of money for a few corporate heads that invest in the military industrial complex. Iraq and Afghanistan continue as purposeless wars fought by a few American young men and women while the rest of Americans eat pizza, drink beer and cheer their favorite NFL teams.
The disconnect remains SO obscene after eight years as to set the benchmark for immorality, financial debauchery and spiritual obscenity. How can 535 men and women along with two presidents of the United States kill SO many people without purpose? For how much longer? To what end?
The Vietnam War proved a complete waste of money, time and 58,300 American lives along with 350,000 horribly wounded. Subsequently, studies show between 150,000 to 200,000 American veterans eventually committed suicide from their war traumas. Additionally, Vietnam caused countless divorces and fatherless children as well as drug and alcohol abuse that ravaged hundreds of thousands of veterans. Several million Vietnamese died. After 10 years, we vacated Vietnam while accomplishing nothing.
President Lyndon Baines Johnson started the war with his contrived “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution” that created his ‘reason’ for waging war against North Vietnam. In reality, that country suffered a civil war with no threat to the United States whatsoever. I remember my drill sergeant at Fort Benning barking at us, “We pledge our lives to Father Johnson for freedom. Now move out!” Johnson proved one of the most corrupt presidents in U.S. history. When he absorbed the enormity of his mistake, it broke him and he died a deeply depressed human being.Bush will do likewise.
28 September 2009 03:26 ”
And Sure Us Brits Did Carmageddon. We Even Had Bruce 666 Fame of Iron Maiden and Commerical Pilot Who Brings Stranded Holidaymakers Home Doing The MUSIC…
And The Americans Respond With This…
So This is How American & British Kids Are Now Programmed For War
I hadn’t played a War Game in years, but a week ago my Son Bought “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”
This game was developed by a company called Infinity Ward, and Call of Duty has sold Millions of Copies Worldwide…
Robert “fourzerotwo” Bowling (Infinity Ward’s creative strategist) was a U.S. Marine for a few years…
Now sure, I am aware that Computer War Games can be exceedingly violent, but even my Son was “surprised” with this…
This is a Youtube video of part of the Game. It starts after about 20 seconds. Warning Prepare to be shocked if you click on this…
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Airport Mission
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa5d3UhTmAg
Tony
Look, I Know Video Games. Of Course I am not Nearly as Talented as Jeff Minter, but he didn’t have the Hardware To Play On That I Did…
He just had a Pong Machine, and I Had a Distributed Array Processor to Test…
Not that I did any video games on that…
But I did when They Fired Me and Bought a Commodore VIC with 16K Expansion and 6502 Hardware Assembler…
The Weirdest Thing is That on One of Minter’s Websites is a Picture Of Someone who Looks Exactly Like Me…
Now Whilst I have been to loads of Games Events and Met Lemmy from Motorhead, I have Absolutely No Recollection Whatsoever of that Picture Being Taken.
I am almost Certain I Wasn’t There, and it is not a picture of Me…
I have Never Met Jeff Minter, though I have met some of his Friends.
He Did Revenge of The Mutant Camels
Sure I had an Amiga as well.
Tony
I can’t watch it all now I am crying my heart out
Tony
Stinking Jew SHIT,
I have absolutely No Hereditary Connection whatsoever to ANY Stinking Jew SHIT
Some of My Fathers and Grand Fathers Might Have Fucked Anglo Saxons
But Most Of My Genes Are From The Western Coast Of The British Islands and France
I am CELTIC
And Jews are Pussies We Eat For BREAKFAST
Tony
I don’t understand why usenet is dying, it works so much better than this web-based stuff – everybody has their own killfile. Decide somebody’s a robotic nuisance and you can make them be invisible.
“Just sayin'”.
Really, this blog deserves a higher SNR in its comments.
This probably doesn’t help it there, either. Ho hum, such is life.
I admit I have shagged a Girl who was from Eastern European Descent.
But I Didn’t ask what her Religion was or that of Her Parents…
And I Did Fall In Love With a Manchester Girl Who Was of Pakistani Descent
But I Din’t Notice What Colour She Was, Nor If She Was a Muslim
It Never Ocurred To Me To ask Such Questions and Sure I Wanted To Shag Her, But The Moment I Told Her I Was in Love With Her, Her Parents Made Her Disappear From Me…
They Were Being Incredibly Racist Towards Me in My Own Country
They Sent Her To an Arranged Marriage in Pakistan
Pakistan was a Complete Alien Country To Her…
She had Never Been There and Grew Up Wit White English Kids Like Me. We Totally Accepted Her as One Of Us.
She used to Drink a Pint of Shandy in West Gorton Working Mens Club Right Opposite To ICL where She Helped To Test Computers With Me.
She Disappeared and My Dad Died and I was Heartbroken
Its been mostly Blonde Lancashire and Yorkshire Girls since then
Tony
Thanks. It is a rare occasion, particularly over the past ten to fifteen years, to hear some truth.
I am almost but not completely certain that any of my Ex-Girlfriends Had Children That Were Fathered By Me… Sure I know their Kids Before and After – I was sometimes their temporary Dad…and Yes I know…
But I would be Completely Amazed If Any Of These Kids – If They Actually Went There – Weren’t Bring Food and Material To The Palestinians…
There is absolutely NO WAY they Would Shoot Innocent Kids
That is Not What ANYONE In My Life Would Ever Do Regardless Of Their Culture, Religion or Colour Of Their Skin
Only NAZIS in Israel and America Do That.
Tony
The party first and Constitution last crowd will easily except the ” New Normal ” and I hate that term the new normal , its kind of Orwellian .
Liberals will except the MYTH , he’s just doin it to clean up Bush’s mess ” DAMN , he’s gotta be telling the truth , Bush Bad … Obama Good . When they BOTH are continuing the Pentagon’s long , long long term goal of OCCUPATION of the region .
Phase 1. Bush Phase 2. Obama … Phase 3. the next Republican Pres. ” to clean up his mess ” and on and on and on and on and on and on and on .
Thanks Craig! Tonight we “took over” downtown Minneapolis to demonstrate against Obama’s escalation of war on Afghanistan: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/Anti-War-Protesters-Downtown-dec-02-2009
I don’t think Obombya leveled at all with the American people.
Just a few recent examples of Obama’s other ‘wrongs’ that illustrate the true direction of his ‘reforming’, and ‘peace-loving’ administration.
First the Whitehouse refuses to sign up to an international treaty banning anti-personel landmines.
Second, the Whitehouse, covertly supports the coup in Honduras, where their mildly reformist president is removed by the military. The Whitehouse then quickly recognises the result of the undemocratic election that follows the coup, bestowing legitimacy on it.
US begins massive project to ‘re-colonize’ Colombia, constructing bases that give them potential ‘control’ over entire continent, and at the same time they refuse to deny that nuclear weapons are part of their contingency plans for regional ‘stability.’
The countries of Latin America that had hoped to see Obama publically renounce the odious ‘Monrow Doctrine’, instead see the pious, peace candidate, actually vastly expanding the US military presence in their region.
Obama is a corporate shill spokesmodel and a total disgrace, just like every U.S. president since LBJ.
Surely TAP is a dead duck for the forseeable future. Anyway, the stated purpose is to take gas to India – not our problem!
By the time Afghanistan is peaceful the Tukmenistan gasfield will have emptied into Russia and China. So a pipe from Quetta to Karachi looks a poor option.
So surely TAP is not a reason to be there, so what is the reason? Apart from giving armies something to do I can see no useful purpose in being there.
rogerh
thanks for that Craig.
It will make for more insurgency, more dead soldiers and more heroin, the CIA must be really doing well these days, Gates needs the chop, he is underminging OBOMBYA (what a brilliant term thank you)with by listening too much to his ex republican pals.
Uzbekistan has just announced that it is to to cut off Turkmenistan and Kyrgysistan from the old Russian energy network as it goes through their country. They have now modernised their grid and are using the pressure to argue the toss about water with its neighbours as they are dependent on it for the cotton fields.
rogerh
Depends who has the contract to lift the gas and sell it to India. Enron used to have it, then another Texan company whose name I have forgotten, which is rude of me as they once gave me an excellent dinner. Then it was lost to Gazprom. It will move around again a bit as the Breat Game chunters on.
But the pipeline plan also includes an LNG plant in Pakistan on the Arabian Sea. The quantities of Turkmen fas are so huge not even India could absorb it.
Actually, in a sane world the pipeline would run to China.
I agree with a previous cemmentor that the posts from ‘tony_opmoc’ seem to be directed towards scaring off new-comers to the site. ‘tony_opmoc’s babbling nonsense is a distraction to the many articulate comments on craig’s erudite posts.
A post on medialens. I remember the EDP being mentioned when Craig was standing in the Norwich North by-election. BTW how is young Chloe doing?
Propaganda alert: Eastern Daily Press video report from Afghanistan
Posted by IanS on December 3, 2009, 12:19 pm
Check out this video report from the Eastern Daily Press (the largest circulation regional daily newspaper) about British soldiers seizing a weapons cache in Afghanistan:
http://tiny.cc/FzvP9
I use the word ‘weapons’ loosely – most look like antiques. Note how the reporter says they could be used against “our” troops. Basically a MoD promotions video…
Ian
the more I think about Obama’s speech the worse I feel. At least Bush had his wings clipped for the last two years of his presidency, by the powers that be; but Obama is still able to do a collosal ammount of damage as he’s only started his turn at playing emperor.
I’m starting to miss Bush, as he never really sounded like he took his role that seriously, coming from his background, and knowing how the political system worked, having seen it from the inside precluded that. Obama on the other hand has necessarily internalised the dogma and myths of his country to a frightening degree. Is he really as ignorant and crdulous as he appears to be?
Luckily, or perhaps not, his novelty value seems to be wearing off at extraordinary speed, and he’s revealed as just another politician on the make pretending to wield power, in a system were real power isn’t really in the Whitehouse and never has been.
Writerman,
Chief “Laughing Bull” might comment this way on your post:-
“…and he’s revealed as just another politician on the make pretending to wield power, in a system were real power isn’t really in the Whitehouse and never has been.”
And the Chief said:-
” Black man in White House speak like White man with forked touunge…..only better.”
“The large majority of post 9/11 terror incidents have been by Western Muslims outraged by our invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.”
On the other hand, the large majority of pre-911 terror incidents have been by Eastern Muslims outraged by the fact that we are not all Muslims.
“outraged by the fact that we are not all Muslims”
Cock and bull, but believed by an amazing number of Americans.
Many of the above-mentioned concerns seem very familiar; years ago, I read the briefest mention in a book about Vietnam that some U.S. geologists thought VIETNAM had offshore oil….(-guess that ended up as an error!)
Humanity “needs work”, always has, will, for, regrettably, eons more. It is tragic and funny that so many are willing to believe in the intimately interested few, namely the “bosses”: politicians, corporate heads, military and financial leaders, etc. “Benign” dictators are equally regrettably, FEW.
Say, as a former proofreader, I will level some minor criticisms here:
(1) Author Craig Murray, in his rush to reveal Mr. Obama’s errors, made a few of his own in the above-quoted piece; he’s a research fellow? –Hmmn. Then there are certain of the comments!-Whew. Spelling and grammar STILL matter, even in the electronic age….when those smaller matters are attended to, credibility is enhanced.
I think I will have do do MUCH MORE research MYSELF just to substantiate
the numerous claims put forth here.
Happy Holidays anyway
amberladeira.blogspot.com
writerman
You are missing Bush? He had as much morality in the destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan as an abattoir worker who, seeing a human being in amongst the cattle, slaughters him and sends him down the production line. Obama and Brown have even less to stand on. Seeing that their meat pie factory has been delivered a human carcase instead of a cow’s, they send it on down the line to be made into meat pies.