¥ UltraMan ¥ wrote:
We want the Taliban back, say ordinary Afghans
At least we felt safe under the extremists, say Kandahar residents too
afraid to go out after dark
By Chris Sands in Kandahar
Published: 08 April 2007
Faiz Mohammed Karigar, a father of two, fled Kandahar when the Taliban held
power in Afghanistan because he was against their restrictions on education.
Now he wants the fundamentalists back.

"When the Taliban were here, I escaped to the border with Iran, but I was
never worried about my family," he said. "Every single minute of the last
three years I have been very worried. Maybe tonight the Americans will come
to my house, molest my wife and children and arrest me."

Last week, President Hamid Karzai acknowledged for the first time that he
had held talks with the Taliban in an attempt to reach a peace deal and
avert a bloody struggle for control in the south and east of the country,
where the movement has enjoyed a resurgence in the past year.

The failure of Nato forces to deliver security and development and rising
civilian casualties inflicted by Western forces in clashes with the Taliban
have led to a loss of support in Kandahar. "How can we forgive the
Americans?" asked Mr Karigar, who like most people here does not distinguish
among the different elements in Nato. "I will fight them any way I can."

The majority of forces in Kandahar province are Canadian, with a British
commander, Major-General "Jacko" Page, about to assume responsibility for
the whole of southern Afghanistan at a time when a renewed Taliban offensive
is thought to be imminent. British troops have been based mainly in
neighbouring Helmand province so far, but the fresh forces now arriving will
operate across the region.

The Taliban failed last year to carry out its threat to seize back Kandahar,
its former stronghold, and Nato insists the movement can never win a
military victory against it, even if many Afghans believe it possible. But
the occupiers have lost crucial support in the city, which has become one of
the most dangerous places in Afghanistan.

Political and criminal violence has spread fear among the population, and
most try to avoid going out after dark, when the only sounds are the
helicopters flying overhead and the odd burst of gunfire in the streets.
Suicide attacks are common, and on several occasions in recent months
nervous Nato troops have shot civilians they mistakenly believed were about
to blow themselves up.

Whatever the cause of the bloodshed, the local population almost always
blames the foreign soldiers in their midst. Even moderate Afghans are openly
declaring they will join the insurgency.

The British Government calls the Taliban "terrorists" and "extremists", but
people in Kandahar associate it with security. Before the 2001 invasion,
they say, they could walk the streets safely as long as they complied with
the movement's strict interpretation of Islamic law. Now even a simple
outing to the local market is seen as a risk, and the Taliban, established
as a response to lawlessness in the 1990s, is gaining fresh strength.

"I think life under the Taliban was very good," said Maria Farah, a mother
of five. "If we did not have a full stomach, we could at least get some food
and go to sleep, and if we went out somewhere there were no problems. How
about now? If we go out, we don't know if we will arrive home or not. If
there is an explosion and the Americans are passing, they will just open
fire on everyone. The security problems are too much here."

Foreign attempts at development were waved aside by Haji Abdul Rahman, a
tribal elder, who demanded: "If a road has been built and you are killed,
what good is it? Everyone is a robber. I guarantee if you sit in my car and
we go for a drive, no Taliban will take you away. But I cannot guarantee
that about the police. If they stop you they will steal your money and your
camera."

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force denies the insurgency
is gaining strength. "Most polling data shows only about 5 per cent of the
people actually support the Taliban extremists," said a spokesman, who
insisted that fighting in Kandahar province was a result of foreign and
local troops "extending the reach of the legitimate government" into
militant strongholds.

But a recent poll of several thousand men in Kandahar and Helmand by the
Senlis Council, a Brussels-based thinktank, found that Taliban support among
civilians had jumped to nearly 27 per cent. Only 19 per cent in the two
provinces felt that international troops were helping them personally.

In southern Afghanistan, said the report, people "are increasingly prepared
to admit their support for the Taliban, and the belief that the government
and the international community will not be able to defeat the Taliban is
widespread".

In the Panjwayi district west of Kandahar city, which saw heavy fighting
last year, Mawlawi Abdul Hadid said 18 members of his family died in an air
strike last May against suspected insurgents. "In the beginning you had only
one enemy. Then you made two, then three, and now I also stand against you,"
he declared.

Bush hasn't had any failures yet. Time to pull your head out of your
ass.

David Eduardo wrote:

¥ UltraMan ¥ wrote:
We want the Taliban back, say ordinary Afghans
At least we felt safe under the extremists, say Kandahar residents too
afraid to go out after dark
By Chris Sands in Kandahar
Published: 08 April 2007
Faiz Mohammed Karigar, a father of two, fled Kandahar when the Taliban held
power in Afghanistan because he was against their restrictions on education.
Now he wants the fundamentalists back.

"When the Taliban were here, I escaped to the border with Iran, but I was
never worried about my family," he said. "Every single minute of the last
three years I have been very worried. Maybe tonight the Americans will come
to my house, molest my wife and children and arrest me."

Last week, President Hamid Karzai acknowledged for the first time that he
had held talks with the Taliban in an attempt to reach a peace deal and
avert a bloody struggle for control in the south and east of the country,
where the movement has enjoyed a resurgence in the past year.

The failure of Nato forces to deliver security and development and rising
civilian casualties inflicted by Western forces in clashes with the Taliban
have led to a loss of support in Kandahar. "How can we forgive the
Americans?" asked Mr Karigar, who like most people here does not distinguish
among the different elements in Nato. "I will fight them any way I can."

The majority of forces in Kandahar province are Canadian, with a British
commander, Major-General "Jacko" Page, about to assume responsibility for
the whole of southern Afghanistan at a time when a renewed Taliban offensive
is thought to be imminent. British troops have been based mainly in
neighbouring Helmand province so far, but the fresh forces now arriving will
operate across the region.

The Taliban failed last year to carry out its threat to seize back Kandahar,
its former stronghold, and Nato insists the movement can never win a
military victory against it, even if many Afghans believe it possible. But
the occupiers have lost crucial support in the city, which has become one of
the most dangerous places in Afghanistan.

Political and criminal violence has spread fear among the population, and
most try to avoid going out after dark, when the only sounds are the
helicopters flying overhead and the odd burst of gunfire in the streets.
Suicide attacks are common, and on several occasions in recent months
nervous Nato troops have shot civilians they mistakenly believed were about
to blow themselves up.

Whatever the cause of the bloodshed, the local population almost always
blames the foreign soldiers in their midst. Even moderate Afghans are openly
declaring they will join the insurgency.

The British Government calls the Taliban "terrorists" and "extremists", but
people in Kandahar associate it with security. Before the 2001 invasion,
they say, they could walk the streets safely as long as they complied with
the movement's strict interpretation of Islamic law. Now even a simple
outing to the local market is seen as a risk, and the Taliban, established
as a response to lawlessness in the 1990s, is gaining fresh strength.

"I think life under the Taliban was very good," said Maria Farah, a mother
of five. "If we did not have a full stomach, we could at least get some food
and go to sleep, and if we went out somewhere there were no problems. How
about now? If we go out, we don't know if we will arrive home or not. If
there is an explosion and the Americans are passing, they will just open
fire on everyone. The security problems are too much here."

Foreign attempts at development were waved aside by Haji Abdul Rahman, a
tribal elder, who demanded: "If a road has been built and you are killed,
what good is it? Everyone is a robber. I guarantee if you sit in my car and
we go for a drive, no Taliban will take you away. But I cannot guarantee
that about the police. If they stop you they will steal your money and your
camera."

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force denies the insurgency
is gaining strength. "Most polling data shows only about 5 per cent of the
people actually support the Taliban extremists," said a spokesman, who
insisted that fighting in Kandahar province was a result of foreign and
local troops "extending the reach of the legitimate government" into
militant strongholds.

But a recent poll of several thousand men in Kandahar and Helmand by the
Senlis Council, a Brussels-based thinktank, found that Taliban support among
civilians had jumped to nearly 27 per cent. Only 19 per cent in the two
provinces felt that international troops were helping them personally.

In southern Afghanistan, said the report, people "are increasingly prepared
to admit their support for the Taliban, and the belief that the government
and the international community will not be able to defeat the Taliban is
widespread".

In the Panjwayi district west of Kandahar city, which saw heavy fighting
last year, Mawlawi Abdul Hadid said 18 members of his family died in an air
strike last May against suspected insurgents. "In the beginning you had only
one enemy. Then you made two, then three, and now I also stand against you,"
he declared.

Bush hasn't had any failures yet. Time to pull your head out of your
ass.

We only wish that the Lion of Panjshir was still with us.

Tommy Tootles wrote:
[the FAKE] David Eduardo wrote:

Bush hasn't had any failures yet. Time to pull your head out of your
ass.

If you don't think Iraq is a [major] failure*, it's time to pull YOUR
head out of *your* ass.

* "Shock and awe", "mission accomplished", a perpetually rising body
count. And we are starting our FIFTH year there? Yeah, right...if
that's NOT a failure, I don't know what is.


NEW YORK (CNN) -- The founder of the U.S. Christian Coalition said
Tuesday he told President George W. Bush before the invasion of Iraq
that he should prepare Americans for the likelihood of casualties, but
the president told him, "We're not going to have any casualties."

Pat Robertson, an ardent Bush supporter, said he had that conversation
with the president in Nashville, Tennessee, before the March 2003
invasion U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He described Bush in the meeting
as "the most self-assured man I've ever met in my life."

"You remember Mark Twain said, 'He looks like a contented Christian
with four aces.' I mean he was just sitting there like, 'I'm on top of
the world,' " Robertson said on the CNN show, "Paula Zahn Now."

"And I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this
war, deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, 'Mr. President, you had
better prepare the American people for casualties.' "

Robertson said the president then told him, "Oh, no, we're not going
to have any casualties."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/...raq/index.html