Just Who Are We Fighting

The impression one gets of the Taliban is of a fanatical band of fighters who want to turn all women into slaves, make men grow beards and take us all back to feudal times replacing the Barons with religious leaders. Its something of a surprise then when they use a bit of clever PR work to make quite a few people stop and think if the Afghan war is even more pointless than we originally thought.

Having announced that they have no involvement with Al-Qaida and thus pose no threat to the west they have raised the question as to whether this was already known to the UN, and like the WMD dossier we have been misled into thinking the terrorist threat was real and not just imagined but a few warmongers who, knowing they cannot do anything directly to help Pakistan used Afghanistan as a back door to get at Al-Qaida.

The announcement will be derided by the West and the UN as any substance in it would be an inconvenience. It will be interesting to see if Obama will increase the number of American troops or seek another way to take the war directly to Al-Qaida in the Pakistan borderlands with Afghanistan.

Making the West Safe At The Cost Of Women’s Rights

Afghanistan is classed as the fourth poorest country in the world but one of the biggest opium poppy growing countries in the world. Since 1978 a civil war has raged in Afghanistan almost continuously, even the intervention of Russia for the first ten years failed to solve the problem, they withdrew defeated in 1989. The Taliban in Afghanistan are continuing to fight for an Islamic state against the biggest and most powerful nations in the world with home made bombs.

Afghanistan is a study in the problems that occur when the East meets the West, the extremist view of Islam dose not fit with free thinking democratic western views. Its a clash to which there is no answer other than total separation. In light of the increasing deaths among British solders we are told by Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth the Afghan war is one we can and are winning. It will bring security to the west and democracy to the Afghan people.

If that is what we are sacrificing our solders for why has the Afghan government introduced a law that allows Shia men in Afghanistan can legally rape their wives and starve them if they to not respond to their sexual advances at least four times a week. How is that democratic? Where are the government ministers shouting disgust at the Afghan president. Could it be a case where so long as the west gets its security we don’t care what happens to the women of this troubled nation.

World Wide Reach Of Local Terrorists

The current military campaign in Afghanistan is a full on, almost a hand to hand combat mission that is brining UK troops into constant contact with the Taliban. The growing deaths of our solders is increasing concerns over the validity and relevance of the war. How we in the seemingly safe UK can be at risk from some fanatical individuals in a remote and underdeveloped part of the world?

George Bush was convinced of the threat and Tony Blair seemingly agreed to the need to tackle the problem, Gordon Brown has continued to actively support the war and Barack Obama has made his commitment clear. With so many political leaders convinced of the threat from the terrorist based in the area you would have thought we would all be giving our support.

However, there are many people who take a different view, they think we were misled by Bush and the ruse has continued because it supports the need to keep us all under the illusion we are under a real threat and all the actions and draconian laws, regulations and reductions in our freedoms are essential for our safety. Knowing how our politicians like to manipulate everything about our lives I’m not surprised the sceptics are now raising their voices even higher. I’m inclined to join them particularly as nothing seems to be happening to eliminate the huge opium poppy crops.