It's The Burka And No Books

It hasn't been a year since we pulled our forces out of Kabul, and the Taliban rulers are ordering women to cover themselves up from head to toe, with only an opening for their eyes. Their reactionary turn to oppress Afghan women dashes any slim hopes of both moderation and acceptance by the international community. It reinstates the dress code for women that existed during the Taliban's last reign from 1996 to 2001. The decree went out from the Orwellian-named Ministry of Vice and Virtue, which also added that women should stay at home unless they had "important" work outside the home.

There's a large measure of cruel hypocrisy involved, too, when it comes to the Taliban's broken promise to the international community not to close schools to girls past the 6th grade:

"Infuriating many Afghans is the knowledge that many of the Taliban of the younger generation, like Sirajuddin Haqqani, are educating their girls in Pakistan, while in Afghanistan women and girls have been targeted by their repressive edicts since taking power.

Girls have been banned from school beyond grade 6 in most of the country since the Taliban’s return. Universities opened earlier this year in much of the country, but since taking power the Taliban edicts have been erratic. While a handful of provinces continued to provide education to all, most provinces closed educational institutions for girls and women. [snip]

In the capital of Kabul private schools and universities have operated uninterrupted."  (our emphasis)

There was a time when Americans looked upon these medieval religious zealots abroad and were grateful that we lived in another place (and century). With the surge of the "American Taliban" represented by book-banning extremist evangelicals and white Christian nationalists here, and the attack on women's reproductive rights and more by the right-wing Republican Supreme Court and Republican- controlled State legislatures, we may not be so grateful after all.

(photo: A. Majeed / AFP)

 

QOTD - Afghan Seeds

 

"So I think in that sense, the seeds of what we're seeing today were before President Biden took office. The seeds were a peace deal that was [effectively] rushed, that wasn't done in collaboration properly with the international community and then a dividend taken out incredibly quickly."

"The die was cast when the deal was done by Donald Trump, if you want my observation."

"President Biden inherited a momentum, a momentum that had been given to the Taliban because they felt they had now won. He'd also inherited a momentum of troop withdrawal from the international community, the US." -- UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace on "BBC Breakfast" this morning.  Trump apparatchiks in the GQP are already memory- holing the timetable and "peace deal" negotiated in 2020 by Mr. Shart of the Deal himself. 

QOTD -- President Biden On Afghanistan

 

"Over our country’s 20 years at war in Afghanistan, America has sent its finest young men and women, invested nearly $1 trillion dollars, trained over 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, equipped them with state-of-the-art military equipment, and maintained their air force as part of the longest war in U.S. history. One more year, or five more years, of U.S. military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me." -- part of President Biden's statement on Afghanistan yesterday.  You can read the full text here.

As we noted yesterday, our obligation remains to "secure the immediate evacuation of those Afghans who served us as translators, clerks, embassy staff and more."  The "stab in the back" chorus that's featured every night on the national news and in other media should direct its fire to the corrupt government and inept military and security forces who, on paper, far outnumber and outgun the Taliban, but who are unwilling or unable to protect themselves or their wives, daughters and sisters. That's the harsh truth.

Murders in Afghanistan

The shocking murder of 16 Afghan civilians, 9 of them children, by a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant this weekend is just the latest setback for American efforts to show the Muslim world we're not its enemy and to extricate itself from Afghanistan in such a way that it doesn't revert to being a safe haven for a resurgent Taliban. Following the recent unintentional desecration of the Quran by U.S. military personnel, this latest horror illustrates how challenging those efforts will be.

It's still unknown why the killer did what he did. Following the killing spree, the shooter returned to the base and turned himself in. Whatever the motivation, it was a sick and immoral act, and justice needs to be as swift and merciless as the crime.

Chickenhawk Cheney At It Again

If anyone symbolizes the foreign and military policy disasters of the Bushit Assministration, it's the evil one himself: former (Vice) President The Dick, who is weighing in again about President Obama's Afghanistan policy. "You know, if you're out there on the line day in and day out," said the draft-dodging Veep, whose experience with "lines" was with the brunch buffet during the Vietnam War. The Dick was critical that the President's caution "may in part be inexperience on Obama's part."

I mean, really. That old turd wants us to imagine that he knows the horrors of war, and that he speaks "from the perspective of the troops." He sent thousands to be killed and wounded in Iraq, a country that wasn't involved in 9-11 and that posed no national security threat to us and he talks about "experience?" We don't need more of his "experience."

Critical Meetings Today

This is a critical time for President Obama to meet with Afghan President Karzai and Pakistani President Zardari today in the White House. The situation in these neighboring nations is ominous, especially in Pakistan, where the Taliban and al Qaeda have made significant gains since the Iraq war began. Of significant concern is the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, with Taliban forces within 60 miles of Pakistan's capital Islamabad. This is one "war" we have to succeed in.

Meanwhile, In Af-going-istan. . .

Sen. Obama delivered an important foreign policy speech today in which he pointed to the worsening situation in Afghanistan (where the Taliban/al Qaeda is growing in strength). Speaking of Dumbya's Iraq adventure, Obama said:

"This war distracts us from every threat that we face and so many opportunities we could seize. This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our ecomomy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century."

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen has recently said that additional combat brigades are needed in Afghanistan to counter a resurgent Taliban and their al Qaeda allies. The needed combat brigades are tied down in Iraq - - and are suffering from fatigue after multiple "stop loss" tours of duty. Chimpy's brilliant strategery in operation.

(photo: Undercover Chimpy: "They caught me when ah asked for some bacon on mah pulao, heh heh. I jes did what Dick told me to do")

Deja Boom

Another day, another massive bombing in Afghanistan, this time near the Indian Embassy in Kabul. The NY Times is reporting at least 40 killed and 140 injured in the blast. This follows the attack in Islamabad, Pakistan the day earlier, which targeted the Danish Embassy. It's beginning to look like Baghdad, 2007.

In last week's press conference, a very concerned Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mullen said that more troops were needed in Afghanistan to address the Taliban insurgency. With our combat brigades tied down in Iraq, that will be a tall order, as the Pentagon has informed Dumbya. . . .who is probably busy thinking about an attack on Iran.

The Neglected Enemy In Afghanistan

For the second month in a row, U.S. and allied troop deaths in Afghanistan have surpassed those in Iraq. The recent Pentagon report on the situation in Afghanistan calls the situation in much of the country "fragile" and indicates that the Taliban has become a "resilient insurgency." The Taliban were the hosts and protectors of the al Qaeda leadership and core fighters, from whose ranks came the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11.

You won't be hearing McSame or Joe Lieberliar or wingnut cheerleaders for the Iraq war mention this, because to point to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan would be to remind the public that the people who attacked us are still at large, and are gaining strength in both Afghanistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan. Meanwhile, our fighting forces are committed to keeping Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites from each others' throats.

The Bungled War on Terrorism

Ever since the attacks on 9/11, the conventional wisdom has been that the Rethuglicans have the political advantage when discussing national security. Dems, it is thought, should stick to health care, education, and the economy. Luckily, Sen. Obama hasn't bought into the conventional wisdom and - - along with Sen. Joe Biden - - is going on offense when it comes to the war on terrorism. Obama's point is that when the Bush Assministration decided to attack Iraq, it took its eye off of the battle with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the northwest frontier of Pakistan. Bin Laden and his high command are still at large after seven years.

The lengths to which the Bush Assministration went to in falsifying, manipulating or disregarding intelligence concerning WMDs in Iraq is a sign that 9/11 provided needed cover for them to take care of unfinished business from Bush 41's administration: the toppling of Saddam Hussein. The unfinished business of 9/11 remains, and that's nothing that the Rethugs should be proud of.

More Trouble In Afghanistan

There are increasing signs that the Taliban and al Qaeda are on the rise in Afghanistan. Last week, hundreds of militants escaped from jail in southern Afghanistan, and are overrunning several districts there. One of their most influental leaders, Maulavi Haqqani, is closely tied to Pakistan's intelligence service and has been active in providing training and sanctuary to al Qaeda and other foreign militants.

When the Bush Assministration took their eye of the ball in Afghanistan and decided to throw our military power against Iraq, they gave the Taliban and al Qaeda - - the ones who actually attacked us - - time to regroup, rearm and rebuild in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's the Bushit national security legacy. Whatever attacks come, they were made possible on Dumbya's watch.

Now, McSame and the Bushies are itching to fight on a third front: Iran. It's hard to see how we could have a more dangerous and bankrupt a national security policy than this.

Divorced From Reality

By now, the vast majority of Americans have written Dumbya off as either a dunce, or delusional, especially when it comes to his failed efforts to defeat al Qaeda. In Tuesday's press conference, the Presidunce's scripted message on the economy was interrupted by a question on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Dumbya insisted that we were winning the conflict in Afghanistan, despite the recent assassination attempt on Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and stepped up attacks.

If the Presidunce only knew what his own State Department was going to say the day after his statement: their annual country report on the situation in Afghanistan saying that al Qaeda was getting stronger, had gained back some of its pre-9/11 operational effectiveness, and had greater mobility in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.

Af-gone-istan: All Is Not Well

The assassination attempt on Afghan President Karzai in Kabul should remind everyone just how tenuous the situation is in Afghanistan, and for that matter in neighboring Pakistan. It comes only a few months after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan by extremists.

In the nearly seven years after 9/11, the Taliban and al Qaeda have mobilized and reestablished themselves in Afghanistan and nuclear Pakistan. The bulk of our forces remain trapped in Iraq, acting as armed referees for their sectarian conflicts. The ragtag group known as "al Qaeda in Iraq" was always a minor presence, and can now be seen as al Qaeda's diversion to draw our attention and resources away from Afghanistan/Pakistan. It worked. Our occupation of Iraq became al Qaeda's recruiting poster in the Muslim world, and Dumbya happily peddled the lie that Iraq was the war on terror's "central front," as the group that attacked us on 9/11 gathered strength on the true central front: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghani-gone

In yesterday's hearing, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Biden asked Ambassador Ryan Crocker if al Qaeda in Iraq or al Qaeda on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border was more of a threat. Crocker's response? al Qaeda in Afghanistan/Pakistan. Even Ohio Rethug Senator Voinovich noted that al Qaeda must be celebrating that they are helping to bankrupt the U.S., as Dumbya foolishly pursues the endless occupation of a country that wasn't an al Qaeda stronghold to begin with.

So, since we were attacked by al Qaeda operating out of Afghanistan on 9/11, and not by anyone operating out of Iraq, why hasn't the Afghanistan/Pakistan region been our major front in the war in these past 5 years? In fact, al Qaeda forces were only in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, drawn there in their zeal to fight Americans. Perhaps Dumbya's Freudian need to one-up his father by toppling Hussein, along with the promise of cheap oil, might be a good place to begin with the answer.

"When Will It End?"

Joe Galloway's editorial for the McClatchy Newspapers is well worth reading. The McClatchy group is the third largest newspaper group in the U.S., and has won awards for its groundbreaking coverage of the Bushit Assministration's attempted use of U.S. attorneys as a political weapon.

The gist of the editorial is that Dumbya the Decider squandered the opportunity to knock out al Qaeda in the Afghanistan/Pakistan frontier; now nuclear-armed Pakistan is teetering on the brink of chaos, with al Qaeda recruiting more soldiers daily. Petraeus is admitting that the political part of the surge in Iraq - - national reconcilliation - - is not succeeding. What Dumbya has left for his successor is an impossible situation, where we've chosen the wrong battlefield against our most dangerous enemy.

(h/t to Rising Hegemon)

Surging In Afghanistan?

Last year was the deadliest year for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since 2002. Now, the Pentagon is close to sending an additional 3,000 troops there to counter an expected Taliban spring offensive.

The detoriating situation in neighboring Pakistan, with the growth of the al Qaeda/Taliban there, should clearly demonstrate that the Iraq debacle was the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. But at least Poppy Bush is happy that his idiot son got rid of Saddam Hussein.

Af-gone-istan: Dumbya's Legacy

There are reports in today's WaPo that the military is urging a more rapid redeployment of troops from Iraq to the worsening situation in Afghanistan. According to the article, "senior Administration officials now believe that Afghanistan may pose a greater longer-term challenge than Iraq." Now believe? Dumbya pulled critical resources out of the legitimate fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan to start a war of choice in Iraq based on bogus reasons. Now Afghanistan is drifting back into instability as a haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda. It's as if Roosevelt had suspended the war against Nazi Germany to go after, oh say, Brazil.

The dangerous mess caused by Dumbya's extreme arrogance, dishonesty and incompetence will be the unfortunate legacy passed on to his successor.

Talibanistan

One of the direct consequences of the Decider's decision to go after Saddam Hussein ("He tried to kill my daddy") was to decrease pressure on the core of al Qaeda - - you remember, the ones that actually attacked us - - in Afghanistan and the northwest frontier of Pakistan. Reports are now indicating that the Taliban has a permanent presence in over 50% of Afghanistan, with the frontlines approaching Kabul, despite NATO efforts to root them out. The expressed aim of the Taliban is to retake Kabul in 2008. So as the Bushies are pointing to the surge in Iraq as evidence of the Preznit's profound wisdom, we should also ask them to point to the deteriorating state of Afghanistan and ask why al Qaeda and their Taliban allies are growing in strength.

UPDATE: Apparently the National Security Council has taken note of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Wide ranging strategic goals for 2007 have not been met, and there is deep concern about the political situation in neighboring, nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Afghanistan Unraveling

The Sunday New York Times has a penetrating article on how we lost the initiative in the war in Afghanistan against al Qaeda - - the al Qaeda that attacked us on 9/11, not the phony al Qaeda in Iraq that Bushit is trying to paint as the major insurgent force there.

Presuming that al Qaeda and its allies the Taliban were a spent force, major intelligence and special forces resources were shifted to the attack on Iraq by the Bush Assministration. Now, the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating fast, and the Karzai government is in fragile shape. Karzai was recently praising Iran for being "a helper" in Afghanistan, a clear sign that they're hedging their bets. Additionally, the U.S. doesn't have the reserve units or National Guard troops to assign to Afghanistan, with the Army and Marines stretched to the breaking point, so there's little to be done.

Heckuva job, Dumbya.

(h/t Rising Hegemon)

Guess Karzai Didn't Get The Talking Points

Apparently, Dumbya didn't especially like something he heard from Afghan President Karzai yesterday during Karzai's visit. Karzai said that Iran "has been a helper" in Afghanistan, a point of view that the Preznit disputed since it conflicts with the script that Iran (used to be Iraq) is the regional menace. As far as who's supplying arms to the insurgents, Dumbya's own Assministration can claim credit for that, since 190,000 U.S.-issued assault weapons and pistols have disappeared in Iraq since 2004 and are presumed to have gone to the insurgents.

But who can argue with a foreign policy expert like Dumbya?

"This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." President Dumbya, April 23, 2002