No man is an island, and each man’s death diminishes me. But some more than others and the loss of Ahmed Wali Karzai, Governor of Kandahar, monster of corruption, second largest heroin dealer in the world, is not particularly saddening. It is, however, a tremedous reminder of the absolute futility of the war in Afghanistan.
NATO have killed uncounted thousands, many of them civilians, precisely to put Ahmed Wali Karzai and his like into power. Ahmed Wali and his counterparts have stolen many billions of Western taxpayers’ money, intended for aid and reconstruction. They have flooded the world with more and cheaper heroin than ever seen before. Somehow this has all been a great victory for the West.
The difference between Karzai and his brother is one of style, not substance. The idea that Ahmed Wali was up to his ears in drugs and corruption, but elder brother Ahmed is clean, is absolute nonsense. It is however part of the myth we are supposed to absorb to justify this war, which has been extremely profitable for weapons manufacturers and other military suppliers, and boosted the funding and standing of the military themselves, mercenaries and the whole shady “security industry”. What it has not done is improve the lives of the people of Afghanistan.
Ahmed Wali Karzai, by getting killed by his bodyguard, has done us a favour. Otherwise the media could have ignored him and all he stands for about the Afghanistan which NATO has created, and just continued to sell us the lies about improved security, wise governance and girls going to school – none of which are true.
Something which the allies always tried to spread was the false information about Taliban and Heroin trade.. They were vile group which were backed by USA, CIA when it suited them. During Taliban time in fact cultivation of poppy and heroin production was greatly reduced (according to some reports about 80%)
http://www.copvcia.com/free/ww3/10_10_01_heroin.html
then the western puppets two Karazais were put in place and the production of heroin went through the roof. In Iran, neighbour of Afghanistan price of a heroin fix is far less than a pack of fags….. same in Pakistan.. Pakistan , Iran and good old England have the highest number of heroin addicts in the world. The world should rejoice at the demise of a monster, not that there are not many out there to step right in his shoes.
Taliban were vile, but read this and many other reports similar to this, poppy cultivation was at lowest when Taliban ruled…
http://www.copvcia.com/free/ww3/10_10_01_heroin.html
Mary, never mind Angrysoba, he’s just being a philosopher looting a small town:
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http://www.killick1.plus.com/philosophers.png
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Angrysoba, Mary isn’t “gloating” over anything. She’s clearly torn between Frazer’s obvious bravery and service, versus his occasional bellicose remarks. Are you always in complete internal agreement over everything? If you think you are, you can’t know yourself very well.
The former, I stress…
Glenn, I didn’t understand exactly what Mary was saying, and more or less agree with Angrysoba.
Mark, what exactly do you think the Brits are up to in Iran, apart from arming dissident groups? I didn’t understand your implication.
We need the “reply” function to work again!
“Are you always in complete internal agreement over everything?”
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Yes and no.
It has always been clear to me Deepgreenpuddock that Saudi financed the terrorists involved in the September 11 attacks in what I call the weapons/mission ‘merry go round’ that exists within the relationship. The plan was of course tri-state with Israeli intelligence on the ground with the US back government to handle military intervention, hence the large number of exercises that painted a confusing picture on FAA and NORAD screens. And yes we are on the circumference of the central inner circle and I believe top American brass are poised to expose Dov Zakheim et al. They are sworn to the Constitution of the United States not to a corrupt Bush regime.
Oh, and Mary, I lived and worked in Afghanistan for 2 years and made many friends among the Afghan peolpe. I am not in favour of what is going on over there and that is why I do what I do..Karzai’s brother was a drug dealing thief whom only supported the regieme because it turned a blind eye to his export of raw heroin, mainly through Uzbekistan.
I know, because I met his American bodyguards when staying in Kabul…they were disgusted by what he was doing and that is why the majority of them did not sign contract extensions.
As for the arrogant bit, try spending a few hours in full blast gear in the middle of a minefield. It tends to give one a certain sense of humility and mortality.
I am quite happy that the world is a better place without him.
Apologies for off-topic, but important. Israel passed a law yesterday that opens up Israelis supporting boycotts against the country to lawsuits. More anti-democratic control for a country that likes to call itself democratic – hot on the heels of the race-specific laws that Craig mentioned recently.
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“Israel’s ban on boycotts faces legal challenge from civil rights groups”
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/12/israel-ban-boycott-legal-challenge
Only just read the above. Excellent stuff. Britain badly needs more ambassadors like Craig Murray.
Mary: In her ‘travelogue’ Lyse Doucet gazed longingly at the empty niches of the Buddhas that the Taliban destroyed and made great play of this but did not mention the thousands upon thousands of Afghan civilians and their little ones who have been maimed, burned and shredded by coalition weapons, many of which are propelled’ from drones.
Since the message of the program (the third in a series so you also need to take it in the context of the whole series) was that despite the violence in some parts of the country life goes on as normal in other parts (not that that normal is necessarily very nice, either) it’s not too surprising that it she didn’t spend much time on the violence which we all know about anyway.
She cosied up nicely to Ahmed Wali Karzai I thought and seemed impressed by the quantity of armed goons in his compound.
I saw it in quite the opposite way: she questioned him in ways designed to make it quite obvious what he wasn’t saying and she pointed out the security to let us draw our own conclusions from its necessity.
The main purpose of the Kandahar segment of the program was to contrast the conditions there with other parts of the country so it’s not surprising that it only paints a partial picture.
@Ed Davies I trust that by now you have digested that large chunk of propaganda Doucet offered. You have obviously not followed her words from the theatres of war created by the neocon criminals over the years.
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Karzai was weeping buckets as he climbed into his half brother’s grave at the funeral. There was an explosion in the procession. I think he should order the helicopter now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14133518 It’s a wonder Doucet wasn’t doing the ‘reporting’.
I still find it very strange that many US media outlets (including Fox and CNN) seem to have forgotten 1. that they reported on bin Laden’s death and funeral in December 2001, 2. that prior to that date bin Laden consistently denied involvement in 9/11 because it violated his religious beliefs to kill women, children and innocent civilians and 3. none of the bin Laden tapes released after Dec 2001 have been independently authenticated (and are most likely forgeries). I blog about this at http://stuartbramhall.aegauthorblogs.com/2011/06/01/osama-bin-laden-dead-or-alive/
Last Tango in Kabul…? There seem to have been so many last tangos there over the past four decades. But to re-state matters, the really deep disintegration began with the rise of the US-supported goons known as the ‘Mujaheddin’. Yes, the USSR was wrong to invade to prop up the Communist revolution and yes, doing so helped to destroy the USSR which, it has been argued, was the intention all along (to give them their very own ‘Vietnam’; though the Vietnam War did not destroy the USA, it had knock-on negative economic effects which were enormous and long-lasting). Both superpowers had been playing the usual games with the previous, Daoud regime, vying for dominance. The Daoud regime was too left-wing for the USA and so they set about destabilising it. The Saur Revolution didn’t come out of nowhere; it largely was a reaction to this ongoing project of destabilisation. Yes, the USSR committed atrocities in Afghanistan. But you know, the disintegration of the country, of the people as a whole, the beginning of the utter systemic mess we see today, was the direct result of the construction of the Islamist forces undertaken by the USA and its two whores, the ‘Milbus’ (Military Business) of Pakistan and the regime of Saudi Arabia. The ‘Mujaheddin’ and their ofshoots, the ‘Taliban’, the ‘Northern Alliance’, etc. have brought nothing but death and destruction to Afghanistan.