Saturday, September 19, 2009
John Pilger: For Britons, the Party Game Is Over
"On the day Prime Minister Gordon Brown made his "major policy speech" on Afghanistan, repeating his surreal claim that if the British army did not fight Pashtun tribesmen over there, they would be over here, the stench of burnt flesh hung over the banks of the Kunduz River. NATO fighter planes had blown the poorest of the poor to bits. They were Afghan villagers who had rushed to siphon off fuel from two stalled tankers. Many were children with water buckets and cooking pots. "At least" 90 were killed, although NATO prefers not to count its civilian enemy. "It was a scene from hell," said Mohammed Daud, a witness. "Hands, legs and body parts were scattered everywhere." No parade for them along a Wiltshire high street."
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There are accusations that the German Colonel lied to authorize the air strike. He claimed that his troops were in contact is the accusation.
ReplyDeleteThe airstrike took place at 2 AM in the morning. It appears that an Afghan (who has not been identified) called the German Colonel and asked for the air strike. He claimed that all the people on the site were Taliban (many were foreign fighters.)
McChyrstal blew his top and went to the site ASAP. There he met local leaders and apologized. The locals cut him off. They said, that they needed more airstrikes like the one that just happened. The district leader, I believe, said something like three or four more like the last one and the problems here will be solved.
The locals then changed the topic to the Taliban and security. The complained vigorously that the ISAF and ANA were not protecting them; and were refusing to fight the Taliban. They were furiously angry about it. In Kunduz, there is a lot of anti Taliban anger; and the air strike was popular.
I asked someone in Jalalabad about how the air strike was being recieved by Pashtu there. He said the local Pashtu felt that civilians supporting the Taliban and stealing (pilfering) fuel at 2 AM in the morning don't deserve mercy.
It seems like Afghans distinguish between "dirty civilians" collaborating with the Taliban and other civilians were oppose the Taliban.
This said, McChrystal is said to be irate at the German Colonel. He is upset about the air strike (even though it was popular); and he is upset that the Germans are refusing to risk their own lives to help the ANP and ANA fight the Taliban. Many locals openly say that the want the Germans to get out, and want American troops to come in. {Kunduz locals think that American soldiers will help the ANA and ANP fight the Taliban, Uzbechs, Chechans, Pakistanis and other foreign fighters.}
Some mechanism must be put in place to authorize close air support for the ANA and ANP when the Taliban and her allies attack them.
ReplyDeleteMy view is that the ANAAC need to develop the red flag capability to direct and authorize each air strike. ANAAC = Afghan National Army Air Corps.
Four groups in my view should authorize each air strike by ISAF or ANAAC aircraft:
1) ANAAC
2) ISAF air command
3) Afghan provincial governor
4) Local ISAF ground air coordinator (which in time would include ANA as well)
This way, no one can blame anyone else if an air strike goes wrong.
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What a parcel of crap! Propaganda needs a germ of truth to be effective, Anal, you rodent.
ReplyDeleteWhere's my apology?