Justice, Free Speech Still Lacking In Afghanistan

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

This country has not changed in the least for ever . Why should we continue to try and get then to do things diferently

Justice, Free Speech Still Lacking In Afghanistan



By: Our Opinion

Posted: 2/7/08

In the war in Afghanistan, one of the many fronts in the "War on Terror," America's goal is two-fold.
The first aim is to find and destroy the Taliban insurgency which, while in power, gave safe haven to those who wish to do harm to America.
The second goal is to spread the notion of peace and justice under democratic law to the Middle East, so that evil cannot take root once more. Mission accomplished? Well actually, no.

On Jan. 23, Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, a 23-year-old reporter, was sentenced to death for blasphemy for allegedly questioning the prophet Muhammad's stance on women's rights.
Though the sentence of death, likely by firing squad, is terrible for the supposed crime, the method by which Kaambakhsh was found guilty, hardly a method at all really - was worse.

In a sham trial akin to the days of the Supreme Soviet, Kaambakhsh was tried in closed court without the benefit of appropriate time to prepare a defense or the help of a lawyer.
He insists that his name was unknowingly added to the publication and that he had no part in its creation.
The court that condemned him insists he confessed to the crime and further suggested Kaambakhsh will still get three challenges to his sentence, as though three appeals would guarantee the court's nonchalance in trying the young journalist could be easily mitigated with what will hardly be a thorough review of fact.

All the while, journalists siding with Kaambakhsh are under threat of arrest. Conservative clerics are celebrating the idea of a bullet-laden death for the traitor of Islam.
The upper-house of the Afghan government has officially supported the decision.
President Hamid Karzai has expressed concern, but will sit on his hands like a chess player agonizing over his next move, afraid of touching the wrong piece, until the court process plays out.

But while Karzai attempts to appease the hard-liners in his country, Kaambakhsh waits, wondering how many days are left in his life.
Whether or not Karzai is just playing politics by allowing the court process to have its say, the international community overall is looking at Afghanistan with worry and scorn, hoping they have not built up a government which kills so casually, but knowledgeable of the fact that in recent years two journalists only narrowly escaped the firing squad by breaking out of jail.

In Afghanistan, blasphemy is a crime.
Its status as such is also backed by what appears to be popular sentiment and the international community has no rightful recourse to change it.
But the execution of a young man who can't even be proven to have placed pen to paper in this case is a far more sinister act.
This is what the international community should try to change - and is what Karzai would do well to avoid

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by rcooke

This country has not changed in the least for ever . Why should we continue to try and get them to do things diferently

Justice, Free Speech Still Lacking In Afghanistan



By: Our Opinion

Posted: 2/7/08

The second goal is to spread the notion of peace and justice under democratic law to the Middle East, so that evil cannot take root once more. Mission accomplished? Well actually, no.


In Afghanistan, blasphemy is a crime.
Its status as such is also backed by what appears to be popular sentiment and the international community has no rightful recourse to change it.
But the execution of a young man who can't even be proven to have placed pen to paper in this case is a far more sinister act.
This is what the international community should try to change - and is what Karzai would do well to avoid

Then, how many years will we be putting money and lives into that place?? Either we increase military presence there to really take control or get out and stop just pi$$ing around.

A CBC report is on TV as I type. The reporter's brother, also a reporter, was on and he believes his brother is persecuted due his reports on human rights, etc. He said women's rights are moving backwards. A women who started a radio station was assassinated last year. Another woman, banned from their Parliament for 3 years, has had 4 attempts on her life!!!

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

February 10, 2008

Europeans see what America cannot

By ERIC MARGOLIS, TORONTO SUN
fctAdTag("bigbox",MyGenericTagVar,1);
At this week's NATO conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, an angry U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates accused some Europeans of not being prepared to "fight and die" in Afghanistan in the battle
against the Taliban.
The undiplomatic Gates is quite right.
Most Europeans regard the Afghan conflict as a. wrong and immoral;
b. America's war; c. all about oil; or d. probably lost.
To many Europeans, the NATO alliance was created to deter the
real threat of Soviet aggression, not to supply foot soldiers for
George Bush's wars in the Muslim world.
While Gates and the Harper government were pleading for more troops,
the commander of the 40,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan,
U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill, landed a bombshell.
If proper U.S. military counter-insurgency doctrine were followed,
McNeill admitted, the U.S. and NATO would need 400,000 troops to
defeat Pashtun tribal resistance in Afghanistan.
When the Soviets occupied Afghanistan, they deployed 160,000 troops
and about 200,000 Afghan Communist troops --
yet failed to crush the mostly Pashtun resistance.
Now, the U.S. and NATO are trying the same mission with only
66,000 troops, backed by local mercenaries grandly styled the
Afghan National Army.
Canada's calls for 1,000 more NATO troops, and the U.S. decision
to send 3,200 marines, will not alter the course of this war,
which is turning increasingly against the western occupiers.
In fact, the war is spreading into neighbouring Pakistan, a nation
of 165 million, stretching U.S. and NATO forces ever thinner.
A primary reason for Gates' recent call for U.S. troops to begin
attacking pro-Taliban Pashtun tribesmen inside Pakistan is due to
their growing attacks on allied supply lines to Afghanistan.
As this column has reported, over 70% of U.S./NATO supplies
come in by truck through Pakistan's tribal belt known as FATA,
including all of their oil and gas.
Attacks by pro-Taliban tribesmen against these vulnerable supply lines
are jeopardizing western military operations inside Afghanistan.
HUNTERS NOW HUNTED
The hunters are becoming the hunted.
Cutting off invaders' supply lines is a time-honoured Pashtun
military tactic.
They used it against Alexander the Great, the British, and Soviets,
and are at it again.
What angry Sec. Gates fails to see is that by pushing NATO into
a distant Asian war without political purpose or seeming end,
he is endangering the very alliance that is the bedrock of U.S. power
in Europe.
Europeans increasingly ask why they need the U.S.-dominated military
alliance, a Cold War relic, in which they continue to play foot soldiers
to America's atomic knights, to paraphrase the late German statesman,
Franz Josef Strauss.
Why does the rich, powerful European Union even need NATO any more?
The Soviet threat is gone -- at least for now.
Nuclear-armed France and Britain are quite capable of defending Europe a
gainst outside threats.
Why can't the new European Defence Force take over NATO's role
of defending Europe and protecting EU interests?
In short, most Europeans see no benefit in playing junior members
in an alliance whose historic time has passed and that serves primarily
as an instrument of U.S. power. Washington's sharpest geopolitical thinker,
Zbigniew Brzezinski, calls NATO a "stepping stone" the U.S. uses to
project power into Europe.
By pushing NATO towards a bridge too far, the Bush administration
may end up fatally undermining the alliance and encouraging anti-American
forces in Europe.
In fact, it's becoming evident that the cash-strapped U.S.
needs the EU more than the EU needs the U.S.
CONSCRIPTION
Final point. If impassioned claims by U.S. and Canadian politicians
that the little Afghanistan war must by won at all costs,
then why don't they stop orating, impose conscription,
and send 400,000 soldiers, including their own sons, to fight
in Afghanistan?
Of course they won't. They prefer to waste their own soldiers,
and grind up Afghanistan, rather than admit this war against 40 million
Pashtun tribesmen was a terrible mistake that will only get worse.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by rcooke

When the Soviets occupied Afghanistan, they deployed 160,000 troops
and about 200,000 Afghan Communist troops --
yet failed to crush the mostly Pashtun resistance.
Now, the U.S. and NATO are trying the same mission with only
66,000 troops, backed by local mercenaries grandly styled the
Afghan National Army.
Canada's calls for 1,000 more NATO troops, and the U.S. decision
to send 3,200 marines, will not alter the course of this war,
which is turning increasingly against the western occupiers.
In fact, the war is spreading into neighbouring Pakistan, a nation
of 165 million, stretching U.S. and NATO forces ever thinner.


CONSCRIPTION
Final point. If impassioned claims by U.S. and Canadian politicians
that the little Afghanistan war must by won at all costs,
then why don't they stop orating, impose conscription,
and send 400,000 soldiers, including their own sons, to fight
in Afghanistan?
Of course they won't. They prefer to waste their own soldiers,
and grind up Afghanistan, rather than admit this war against 40 million
Pashtun tribesmen was a terrible mistake that will only get worse.

If the writer's figures are correct, just about sums it up, doesn't it? Get the hell out!! Let them decide how to run their country rather than trying to impose western style democracy backed by threads of support.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Iran

Wars affecting Afghanistan 945-1258
962
997-1030
999
1029
1040
1042
1150
1175
1192-1193
1215
1221

begin of Ghaznavid Dynasty in Afghanistan
Ghaznavid invasion of India
Ghaznavids took Khorasan from Samanids
Rayy (near Tehran) fell to the Ghaznavids (previously Buyid)
Seljuk Turks defeated Ghaznavids, annexed Khorasan
Seljuk Turks conquered Rayy area from Ghaznavids
Ghurids destroyed Ghazna
Ghurid invasion of India
Ghurid Invasion of India, established Sultanate of Delhi
Khwarizm Shah conquered Ghurid possessions in Afghanistan, eastern Iran
Mongol conquest of Khorasan and Afghanistan


Wars affecting Afghanistan 1258-1501
1381
1398-1399
1451
1458

Sarbardar State in Eastern Iran, centered on Sabzavar, conquered by Tamerlane
Tamerlane raided Northern India, sacked Delhi
Qara Qoyunlu temporarily occupied Timurid capital of Herat
Afghan Buhlul Lodhi established himself as Sultan of Delhi, ousting the Sayyid Dynasty


Wars of Afghanistan, 1501-1747
1504
1507-1508
1510
1522
1524-1537
1526
1545
1591
1598
1622
1638
1648
1709
1716
1722
1729
1732

Timuruid Babur conquered Kabul
Uzbeks conquered Herat, Khorasan
Safavids conquered Herat, Khorasan from Uzbeks
Timurid Babur conquered Qandahar
Repulsion of 5 Uzbek invasions into Khorasan
Timurid Babur conquered Delhi, established Moghul Empire
Safavid conquest of Qandahar, from Mughal Empire
Safavids lost Qandahar to Mughal Empire
Victory over Uzbeks; Herat regained
Safavids gained Qandahar from Mughal Empire
Safavids lost Qandahar to Mughal Empire
Qandahar regained from Mughal Empire
Safavids lost Qandahar to the Ghilzay Afghans
Herat rebelled against Safavid rule
Afghan conquest of Isfahan; Safavid Dynasty terminated
Expulsion of the Afghans from Persia by Nadir Shah
Persian ruler Nadir Shah took Herat


Wars of Afghanistan, 1747-1919
1738-1739
1740
1748
1751
1756-1757
1759
1761
1767
(1793-1800)
1809
1816
1816-1826
1819
1834
1836
1836-1838
1839-1842
1848-1849
1850-1855
1856-1857
1863
1863-1879
1878-1880
1884
1885
1896
1919
1919

Persian Invasion of Afghanistan, Punjab, sack of Delhi
Persian Expedition against the Uzbeks
Afghan Invasion of India
Afghan Invasion of India
Afghan Invasion of India
Afghan Invasion of India, conquest of the Punjab
Afghan Invasion of India, victorious over Maratha Confederation in Battle of Panipat
Afghan Invasion of India
Internal Strife; ruler of Herat conquered Qandahar, Kabul, ousted Shah
Internal Strife; Shah ousted
War with Persia
Internal Strife (Succession Struggle)
Kashmir lost to the Sikhs
Peshawar lost to the Sikhs
Afghan-Sikh War
War with Persia
First Anglo-Afghan War
Second Anglo-Sikh War; Afghan forces, allied to the Sikhs, defeated
Internal Strife
Persian occupation of Herat
Herat regained from the Persians
Internal Strife
Second Anglo-Afghan War
Afghan conquest of Khanate of Maymana
Russo-Afghan War
Conquest of Kafiristan
Palace Coup, followed by brief Internal Strife
Third Anglo-Afghan War


Wars of Afghanistan 1919-1979
1924-1925
1928-1929
1953
1955-1957
1961-1963
1973
1978

Khost Rebellion
Afghan Civil War
Coup d'Etat
Pakhtunistan Crisis
Pakhtunistan Crisis; Border Conflict with Pakistan
Coup d'Etat; Abolition of Monarchy
Coup d'Etat


Wars of Afghanistan since 1979
1979-1991
1991-1995
1995
2001
2001-

Soviet Occupation, Afghan Resistance
Civil War, country partitioned mong a number of warlords
Taliban brought most of Afghanistan under their control; warlords held out in the north
International coalition, Afghan allies ousted Taliban
Resistance against Occupation forces, Democratic Regime

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[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by rcooke

This country has not changed in the least for ever . Why should we continue to try and get then to do things diferently

Justice, Free Speech Still Lacking In Afghanistan



By: Our Opinion

Posted: 2/7/08

In the war in Afghanistan, one of the many fronts in the "War on Terror," America's goal is two-fold.
The first aim is to find and destroy the Taliban insurgency which, while in power, gave safe haven to those who wish to do harm to America.
The second goal is to spread the notion of peace and justice under democratic law to the Middle East, so that evil cannot take root once more. Mission accomplished? Well actually, no.

On Jan. 23, Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, a 23-year-old reporter, was sentenced to death for blasphemy for allegedly questioning the prophet Muhammad's stance on women's rights.
Though the sentence of death, likely by firing squad, is terrible for the supposed crime, the method by which Kaambakhsh was found guilty, hardly a method at all really - was worse.

In a sham trial akin to the days of the Supreme Soviet, Kaambakhsh was tried in closed court without the benefit of appropriate time to prepare a defense or the help of a lawyer.
He insists that his name was unknowingly added to the publication and that he had no part in its creation.
The court that condemned him insists he confessed to the crime and further suggested Kaambakhsh will still get three challenges to his sentence, as though three appeals would guarantee the court's nonchalance in trying the young journalist could be easily mitigated with what will hardly be a thorough review of fact.

All the while, journalists siding with Kaambakhsh are under threat of arrest. Conservative clerics are celebrating the idea of a bullet-laden death for the traitor of Islam.
The upper-house of the Afghan government has officially supported the decision.
President Hamid Karzai has expressed concern, but will sit on his hands like a chess player agonizing over his next move, afraid of touching the wrong piece, until the court process plays out.

But while Karzai attempts to appease the hard-liners in his country, Kaambakhsh waits, wondering how many days are left in his life.
Whether or not Karzai is just playing politics by allowing the court process to have its say, the international community overall is looking at Afghanistan with worry and scorn, hoping they have not built up a government which kills so casually, but knowledgeable of the fact that in recent years two journalists only narrowly escaped the firing squad by breaking out of jail.

In Afghanistan, blasphemy is a crime.
Its status as such is also backed by what appears to be popular sentiment and the international community has no rightful recourse to change it.
But the execution of a young man who can't even be proven to have placed pen to paper in this case is a far more sinister act.
This is what the international community should try to change - and is what Karzai would do well to avoid

Don't be suckered in.

This is a story written by journalists....journalists who are portraying their spin on something they think is unfairly imposed upon one of their fellow journalists.

They are objecting to how Afghans are applying a law against one of their own Afghan citizens. How can they, on one hand, say that the country should be allowed to run itself....then be critical and want to step in when they run themselves in a manner that the journalists do not deem "fair".

In friendly Saudi Arabia, a citizen will be decapitated if he is found to posess a Christian bible or wearing a cross around his neck. Should we bomb them?

Another ludicrous part of this story is...why should we care who or why they kill their own citizens? We are there to kill some of their citizens, too, for crimes that we care about (and they obviously don't).

What is right...what is fair....what is within their religious laws and outside of these laws....are matters between them and their god. Our job, as a wise man once said, is to arrange the meeting.

We are at war with an enemy devoted to our anhialation. Let the journalists bury their dead like everyone else has had to do, and move on.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Thanks John
Unfortunately I think American Public news is severely filtered.
It does not get much of the news posted in the rest of the world.
I too have a son-in-law over seas and two grand children who have been rotating between Canada and Afghanistan.

Don't be suckered in. I am not.
...Cookie

[George A. H. Luck]

How many women and children should we let the taliban ( and Sadam for that matter) butcher before we do anything? Can we as 'christian' western democracies stand by and do nothing while millions are murdered by their own governments in the name of some stone age religion? Can we make brave declarations about human rights while little girls are stoned to death because they had the gall to read a book and do nothing but make more brave declarations?

I am sure that some deep thinker will write in soon and say well if that is the reason we are in Afghanistan and Iraq then why do we not apply the same principle to _____________ ( fill in the blank) Well we cannot go everywhere and save everyone. We have to apply our efforts where we can. But clearly, to do nothing makes us just as guilty as the sub-human who stones a woman to death because she appeared in public with her ankles showing.

God Bless our troops for willingly putting their lives on the line. The fight for freedom is never easy; is always costly; is rarely popular; but is always necessary. Thank God we have a government in Canada and the United States that will stand tall when others won't.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by gluck

How many women and children should we let the taliban ( and Sadam for that matter) butcher before we do anything? Can we as 'christian' western democracies stand by and do nothing while millions are murdered by their own governments in the name of some stone age religion? Can we make brave declarations about human rights while little girls are stoned to death because they had the gall to read a book?

I am sure that some deep thinker will write in soon and say well if that is the reason we are in Afghanistan and Iraq then why do we not apply the same principle to _____________ ( fill in the blank) Well we cannot go everywhere and save everyone. We have to apply our efforts where we can. But clearly, to do nothing makes us just as guilty as the sub-human who stones a woman to death because she appeared in public with her ankles showing.

God Bless* our troops for willingly pouting their lives on the line**. The fight for freedom is never easy; is always costly; is rarely popular; but is always necessary. Thank God we have a government in Canada and the United States that will stand tall when others won't.

* Doesn't their God do that too?
** If people feel so strongly, why don't you volunteer your life. Our armed forces #'s are actually quite low. I'm seeing recruiting campaign ads fairly often.

If we can't get the #'s really neeeded to do the job, get out!!

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by Brian A. MacNeish

* Doesn't their God do that too?
** If people feel so strongly, why don't you volunteer your life. Our armed forces #'s are actually quite low. I'm seeing recruiting campaign ads fairly often.

If we can't get the #'s really neeeded to do the job, get out!!

Sorry numbers will never do any thing in that country.
It has been that way since before Marco Polo .
When a reporter is visiting a family and the five year old boy says when he gets older he will wear a bomb as Allah wants him too, we have no chance.

...Cookie

[George A. H. Luck]

"why don't you volunteer your life"

How do you know that I haven't? (These days I am too old and fat!)

"If we can't get the #'s really neeeded to do the job, get out!!"

Agreed! Canada has suffered the most losses / number of deployed troops of any nation. Canada has carried NATO's water long enough. It is time for those bloody Europeans ( they would be the ones that our Fathers and Mothers fought to liberate a life time ago) got off their fat back sides and realized that this is their fight too. The first place that the rockets will land on is Europe.