The Afghan Civil War or Return Of The Taliban.

[icymist]

Beginning my day by reading the Blog 'Flogging The Simian' I discovered that Iraq is not the only country where American troops find themselves caught between two warring factions; Afghanistan is fighting a civil war! This is news to me for the American media is focusing on Iraq while Bush and Cheney are blaming the media for their failures.
http://www.floggingthesimian.com/?q=node/177
America's troops cannot afford to be caught in the middle of one civil war, let alone two. We can all thank our good friend Pakistan for hosting the enemy of our country, the Taliban, and giving them a state-like status through mujahedeen camps as well as a jump off point to raise troops.
“Young Afghans are coming to mujahedeen camps in large numbers to enroll their names for suicide attacks,” Omar purportedly said in the statement.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/March/subcontinent_March605.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=
Yes, that was Omar, still alive and active as leader of the Taliban. Bush and his cronies have gotten America into one really big mess that keeps growing. Apparently Omar has enough troops to viably attack coalition forces every two days, the latest being today.
http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1641284.php
Of course, the big news out of Afghanistan is about the poor Christian convert being persecuted in the Afghan courts.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060324/a_afghan24.art.htm
Apparently, even Karzai is powerless to anything about his own government. It's too bad about this guy, but hey.... storm clouds are gathering and not many people are watching.



on edit to fix a link and add another tidbit.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Christian Parenti in the nation - another good read on the mess there

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060327/parenti

Read it this morning. Yikes.

[icymist]

2. Thank you. From The Nation article:

Only ninety-eight US troops died in Afghanistan last year; but the ratio of US casualties to overall troop levels makes Afghanistan as dangerous as Iraq. While Iraq's violent disintegration dominates the headlines, Bush touts Afghanistan as a success. During his recent visit, the President told Afghans that their country was "inspiring others...to demand their freedom."


But many features of the political landscape here are not so inspiring--for example, the deteriorating security situation. Taliban attacks are up; their tactics have become more aggressive and nihilistic. They have detonated at least twenty-three suicide bombs in the past six months, killing foreign and Afghan troops, a Canadian diplomat, local police and in some cases crowds of civilians. Kidnapping is on the rise. American contractors are being targeted. Some 200 schools have been burned or closed down. And Lieut. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the senior American military officer here, expects the violence to get worse over the spring and summer.

[icymist]

3. The Nation article also show that the Taliban are alive and well.

As the empire drifts, the Taliban grow stronger. But who are the Taliban, and why are they placing bombs, attacking foreign troops, infiltrating ever deeper into Afghanistan and provoking a crisis for the international occupation? Some say the Taliban are fragmented beyond coherence and don't even exist. Others say they are controlled by Al Qaeda. Still others say both are controlled by the Pakistani intelligence service.


Western reporters rarely make contact with the insurgents. But my colleague and interpreter, Ajmal, thinks we can meet them. He and I hook up with an Afghan TV journalist who was in the Taliban's ministry of information and still maintains contact with the Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is a rogue and a lush with no real political beliefs. We'll call him Mr. TV.

Read this article and you will discover that Afghan aid from the US is being cut in half, the Afghan people are very impoverished and find little comfort especially since the US led invasion four years ago, and that the Taliban are on the rise, aligning with the drug-lords which are increasing opium production.

[icymist]

4. More proof that The Taliban are still able to attack coalition forces....

US soldier, 7 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
Sunday, March 26, 2006

KABUL: A US soldier was killed and another was wounded in a clash with militants which left seven Taliban fighters dead in southern Afghanistan, the American-led coalition said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\03\26\story_26-3-2006_pg7_9

The Taliban is the government that hosted the forces that successfully attack America, on American soil. The mere fact that Bush has directed attention away from these people show either extreme neglect in handling this war or a complicated allegiance with the perpetrators. Since I'm not much of a 'tin-hat' theorist, my beliefs lean toward the former.