Category: Afghanistan

SPIEGEL: The West Is at a Loss in Afghanistan

Muhammedans, regardless whether they reside in Riyadh, Algiers or Timbuktu, heed the call for jihad and head to Iraq or Afghanistan to kill unbelievers. Their mandate is clear: the moment the ummah, the nation of believers, is being attacked, the believers must defend the Islamic nation. As long as they kill and die for Allah, the 72 virgins (don’t forget the 28 boyz) are a guaranteed reward.

Americans, or the allies if you will,  are on a mission to ‘win hearts and minds’ of Muhammedans, a bizarre, utopic undertaking that couldn’t be more absurd. While we built mosques and madrassas, dams and roads, in the hope that some ‘moderate’ Islam might come along that counters the teachings of the Koran and the hadith, the soldiers of Allah lie in wait to blow every thing to  bits. No wonder the West ‘is at a loss in Afghanistan’- Once again: you go to war to destroy the enemy, not to ‘win hearts and minds’.

More and more military and civilian leaders are voicing pessimism when it comes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. As the fight continues, ideas for how to break through the ongoing stalemate are few. Some are beginning to think that victory — for either side — is impossible.

It is one of the last mild summer evenings in Kabul. A group of Western diplomats and military officials is meeting for a private dinner in one of the embassies in Wazir Akbar Khan, an upscale residential neighborhood. Almost all of the 12 envoys and generals represent countries that have troops stationed in southern Afghanistan and the mood is somber. “Nothing is moving forward anymore, and yet we are no longer able to extricate ourselves,” one of the ambassadors says over dessert, a light apple pastry. He gives voice to that which many here are already thinking: “We are trapped.”

By Susanne Koelbl/Spiegel Online

Continue reading SPIEGEL: The West Is at a Loss in Afghanistan

Pakistan has been fooling us much too long

Pakistan Pretends to Fight Taliban, for U.S. Cash

By Noah Shachtman EmailSeptember 08, 2008 | 7:32:48 AMCategories: Agony Of A-Stan, Perils Of Pakistan  

_43999842_swatone

Perhaps, despite all the evidence, you still believe that Pakistan is an authentic American ally, against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Dexter Filkins’ remarkable story in this week’s New York Times Magazine ought to cure you of any such notions:

So here was Namdar — Taliban chieftain, enforcer of Islamic law, usurper of the Pakistani government and trainer and facilitator of suicide bombers in Afghanistan — sitting at home, not three miles from Peshawar, untouched by the Pakistani military operation that was supposedly unfolding around us.

What’s going on? I asked the warlord. Why aren’t they coming for you?

“I cannot lie to you,” Namdar said, smiling at last. “The army comes in, and they fire at empty buildings. It is a drama — it is just to entertain.”

Entertain whom? I asked.

“America,” he said.

Which means, despite the billions in aid Washington gives Islamabad, the job of fighting extremists in Pakistan has fallen on the shoulders of the American military. Hence this morning’s report: “Five missiles fired from an American pilotless drone aircraft Monday hit a large compound in North Waziristan belonging to one of Pakistan’s most prominent Taliban leaders.”

[Photo: AP / BBC]

Continue reading Pakistan has been fooling us much too long

Beggar Jihad kills 21 in Afghanistan

* From the ‘poverty creates terrorism’ department:

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — A Taliban suicide bomber dressed as a beggar blew up an Afghan government building Saturday, killing six people, as two NATO soldiers and a dozen other people died in more unrest, officials said.

More on P 2

U.S. forces and Afghan police kill over 20 Taliban

Reuters

U.S.-led soldiers, backed by air support, and Afghan police killed more than 20 Taliban fighters in two separate clashes, officials said on Sunday.

A U.S. military statement said its forces killed more than 10 insurgents during an operation in the southeast province of Khost on Saturday, and did not mention any casualties on its side.

Continued P2

Hamid knows who is to blame: the Brits!

President Karzai

Hamid Karzai blames Britain for Taliban resurgence

 Security analysts in Afghanistan say the situation has become ’even more dire’

Dean Nelson, South Asia Correspondent/Times Online

The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has blamed Britain for the resurgence of the Taliban and its growing activity in large tracts of the country.

His remarks, made to Afghan MPs, follow a clash with Gordon Brown over the Kabul regime’s links with warlords and drugs barons.

 continued

Continue reading Beggar Jihad kills 21 in Afghanistan

Talib to Denmark: "Allah willing, we will wipe you from the face of the earth."

Allah is always willing. The slaves of Allah do the killing.

Al-Qaeda threatens to wipe the “worshippers of the cross” from the face of the earth

Of course the term “worshippers of the cross” goes back to the earliest texts of Islam, and was synonymous with the hated Byzantines. At the Battle of Yarmuk (636), one Muslim complained to Caliph Omar by saying, “Know O Omar that that dog of the Romans [Emperor Heraclius] has frustrated our efforts by the ubiquitous presence of the cross.” Two years ago, al-Qaeda threatened to slit the throats of worshippers of the cross. More on this story.

“Al-Qaeda threatens new punishment to Denmark,” from the Malaysia Sun, 

A video grab showing the Saudi suicide bomber involved in the attack on Danish Embassy in Islamabad

 

DUBAI (AFP) — Al-Qaeda has released a video featuring a senior commander who was rumoured to have been killed in Pakistan in July, threatening more attacks after a suicide bombing on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, according to the SITE group which monitors Islamist websites.

More on P 2

Fitzgerald: Questions for the Danes

“AL-Qaeda has released a video featuring a senior commander who was rumoured to have been killed in Pakistan in July, threatening more attacks against Denmark after a suicide bombing on its embassy in Islamabad, according to the SITE group which monitors Islamist websites.” — from this news article

Continue reading Talib to Denmark: "Allah willing, we will wipe you from the face of the earth."

Karzai farts and stinks

…and bites the hand that feeds him:

Afghan leader vows ‘punishment’ for deadly US raid

* U.S. shifts tactics in hunt for Osama bin Laden/Dead Talib’s give Karzai the creeps

By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press 

The Afghan president said a deadly raid on a village by American and Afghan commandos has put new strain on relations with the United States and promised Thursday to punish those responsible.

* Paks go apeshit, tell U.S.: “you are not allowed to roast Talibs on our side of the fence..”

* Taliban threaten to kill remaining French troops

* Taliban trophy photos shock France

U.S. officials have said that at least 30 militants, including a Taliban commander, and no more than seven civilians were killed during the Aug. 22 raid. Afghan officials, backed by the United Nations mission, insist that more than 90 civilians died, including dozens of children.

Continue reading Karzai farts and stinks

German Troops Kill First 'Person' in Afghanistan

* Of course the poor, innocent fella was no Talib at all, he was an ‘unarmed shepherd..’

Six years into its Afghanistan mission, the German army has killed a person there for the first time. Reports, though, are conflicting. While some speak of a firefight, others say it was an unarmed shepherd. The incident is part of a wider flare-up of violence in the country.

Roasted Talibs are 'Civilians', Afghan Ministry Says

Couriermail.com

*  Yep,  they always say that. When they’re dead they’re ‘civilians’- but as long as they’re alive they burn girl-schools, kill infidels, crusaders and Jews for the glory of Allah and the 72 houris in Muhammads bordello:

Update: US coalition: 100 militants killed in Afghanistan

By JASON STRAZIUSO

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A four-day battle that began with an ambush on a joint U.S-Afghan patrol in southern Afghanistan has killed more than 100 militants, the coalition said Thursday.

Militants wielding rocket-propelled grenades, guns and mortars attacked the joint patrol in the southern province of Helmand multiple times starting Monday, the coalition said. The combined force called in fighter aircraft for support. 

More here

  • Interior ministry: dozens killed in coalition strike
  • 50 children, 19 women among the dead, it says
  • Other ministries, US military dispute toll

 

 

A US-LED coalition military operation in western Afghanistan has killed 76 civilians, including 50 children and 19 women, the Afghan interior ministry said.

The coalition confirmed it carried out an operation that included air strikes in the western province of Herat but said 30 Taliban rebels were killed only and said it knew of no civilian deaths.

Continue reading Roasted Talibs are 'Civilians', Afghan Ministry Says

Afghanistan: Karzai in your pocket

Afghanistan seeks $50 billion in aid

* Not millions: billions!

* Give generously: because Afghanistan is a bottomless pit

The slow pace of development is hobbling public support for Karzai’s Western-backed government as Afghans grapple with food shortages and the sharply rising cost of living. Official corruption is endemic.

“We are building a state, and that is a costly exercise,” Nadiri said. “The country had lost its human, physical and social capital … the collapse of Afghanistan was total.”

Read more by FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer

Afghan teacher shot dead after speech condemning suicide bombings

Why Islamic reform is about as likely as an attack by men from Mars, part 65320: “Afghan teacher killed after speech condemning suicide bombings,” from The Associated Press, May 14 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

KABUL, Afghanistan: A teacher was shot to death in northern Afghanistan after he gave a speech condemning suicide bombings, officials said Wednesday.
Abdul Hadi criticized such attacks as un-Islamic and un-Afghan during a speech Tuesday in the Archi district of Kunduz province, said Khair Mohammad Subat, the provincial education department director.

Source

Jamaat-e-Islami Leader: U.S. Is Eternal Enemy Of Islam And Pakistan

* ‘Light upon the Muslim Nations’- they really love us…

* From the Islamic hearts and minds department:

The Deputy Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province Maulana Muhammad Shah Mengal has said that the United States is the eternal enemy of Islam and Pakistan. According to a report in the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jasarat, Maulana Mengal criticized Pakistani leaders for allowing the U.S. to mediate in the country’s internal affairs.

MEMRI

*