Reality Check

Don’t Change Canada’s Planned Exit From Afghanistan War in 2011!

Finally, some people are coming to their senses in regards to the ongoing war in Afghanistan- a war that has always been illegal because Afghanistan was never a threat to any foreign country, and therefore should never have been attacked and occupied.

Senator Colin Kenney, in a special article to the Ottawa Citizen dispels most of the myths that the public has been swallowing for the past 9 years, and urges an immediate withdrawal of Canadian forces, and by implication, all NATO troops from Afghanistan.

The Conservatives and their Liberal predecessors have made a colossal mistake in funding a war that will never be won, and have spent billions of taxpayer dollars in military spending including costly equipment and deployment.

One hundred and fifty Canadian families have lost their loved ones fighting overseas, and for what? The rallying cry of “Support our Troops” is the biggest propaganda stunt Canada has been involved in since WW2- a war funded by Wall Street and the Rockefellers.

War in Afghanistan: Canadian Soldiers Are Being Deceived

Editor's Note:

This is the best analysis of the war in Afghanistan that I have come across. It is straightforward, easy to understand and reinforces the fact that governments are completely corrupted, and never to be trusted. Article was written by Eric Margolis.

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The death last Sunday of six Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan reminds us of Santayana’s famous maxim that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it.

The soldiers were killed near Maiwand, a name meaning nothing to most westerners. But there, on 27 July, 1880, during the bloody Second Afghan War, the British Empire suffered one of the worst defeats in its colonial history.

Two years earlier the Raj (Britain’s Indian Empire) had invaded Afghanistan for a second time. The British put Afghan puppet rulers into power in Kabul and Kandahar.

Ayub Khan, son of Afghanistan’s former emir, rallied 12,000 Pashtun(or Pathan) tribal warriors to fight an advancing British force whose mission, was, in London’s words, to `liberate’ Afghan tribes and bring them `the light of Christian civilization.’ Today, the slogan is `promoting democracy.’

The fierce Afghan tribal warriors routed the imperial force, composed of British regulars, including the vaunted Grenadier Guards, and Indian Sepoy troops, after a ferocious battle. The British army doctor Conan Doyle used as his model for Sherlock Homes’ companion, Dr. Watson, fought at Maiwand.

I recall this epic Afghan victory against British colonialism because understanding today’s war in Afghanistan requires proper historical context. A century and a quarter after Maiwand, Pashtun warriors of southern Afghanistan continue to resist another mighty world power and its allies, who have been faithfully following the imperial strategy of the old British Raj.

The invasion of Afghanistan was marketed to Americans as an `anti-terrorist’ mission and effort to implant democracy. It was sold to Canadians as a noble campaign of `nation-building, reconstruction, and defending women’s rights.’ All nice-sounding, but mostly untrue.

What we are really seeing is a war by western powers seeking to dominate the strategic oil corridor of Afghanistan, directed against the Pashtun people who comprise half that nation’s population. Another 15 million live just across the border in Pakistan. What we call `Taliban’ is actually a loose alliance of Pashtun tribes and clans, joined by nationalist forces and former mujahidin from the 1980’s anti-Soviet struggle.

Last year, a leading authority on Afghanistan, the Brussels-based Senlis Institute, found Taliban and its allies control or influence half of the nation – roughly equivalent to Pashtun tribal territory. Its study flatly contradicted rosy reports of military success and `nation-building’ from Washington and NATO HQ.

This week, the same think tank issued a shocking new survey based on 17,000 interviews. `Afghanis in southern Afghanistan are increasingly prepared to admit their support for Taliban, and belief that the government and international community will not be able to defeat the Taliban is widespread..’

Senlis’ study concurs with my own findings in South Asia that Pakistan and India have independently concluded NATO will eventually be defeated in Afghanistan and withdraw. The US, however, may stay on and reinforce its 30,000 troops there because it cannot admit a second defeat after the Iraq debacle.

US and NATO are not fighting `terrorists’ in Afghanistan and they are certainly not wining hearts and minds. They are fighting the world’s largest tribal people. The longer the westerners stay and bomb villages, the more resistance will grow. Such is the inevitable pattern of every guerilla war I have ever covered.

Western troops stuck in this nasty, $2 billion daily guerrilla conflict will become increasingly brutalized, demoralized and violent. This is precisely what happened to Afghanistan’s second to latest invader, the Soviet Union.

Afghanistan’s figurehead Karzai regime controls only the capitol. The rest of the country is under Taliban, or warlords who run the surging narcotics trade that has made NATO the main defender of the world’s leading narco state.

If 160,000 Soviet troops and 240,000 Afghan Communist soldiers could not defeat the Pashtuns in ten years, how can 50,000 US and NATO troops do better?

Those generals and politicians who claim this war will be won in a few short years ought to study Maiwand.

Note: Visit Eric's site for excellent analyses of world politics.

War in Afghanistan: Time for Canadian Soldiers to Leave this Narco-State

Editor's Note

The following letter to the editor was sent to the Cornwall Standard Freeholder to provide some background information about the current situation in Afghanistan, and reasons why Canadian troops should be sent home.
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After reading Pierre Roy’s critique of my letter to the editor(7/11/06) regarding Canada’s role in Afghanistan, I found his response to both theoretical and superficial. His letter reads like a directive from a military bureaucrat. At the end of his letter, besides criticizing what I had said, I don’t know what else he wanted the readers to conclude.

I prefer to analyze the events leading up to the war in Afghanistan, explain the effect of oil and drugs on the situation, and to show that this is not our war, and does not reflect Canada’s traditional peacekeeping values.

Mr. Roy must be dreaming when he says, “The war is not about oil, gas and pipelines.” Give your head a shake. If it were not for Afghanistan’s strategic location and its vast production of narcotics, it would be ignored just like so many poor countries of the world.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 90’s, the United States had been working to get undeveloped gas and oil deposits from the Caspian Sea. The plan has always been to transport these resources via pipeline from Turkmenistan, through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea.

The United States supported the Taliban during those years because the feeling was it was the only political force that could create a national government. However, when Osama bin Laden was accused of complicity in the bombing the USS Cole in October 2000, the Taliban refused to give him up to the Americans without proof. No proof was ever produced.

When G.W. Bush came to power, his government met with the United Nations in July 2001 and 8 countries agreed that a 'regime change' was needed in Afghanistan before the pipeline project could continue. The Pakistani Foreign Minister reported after the meeting, that the United States threatened the Taliban, and told the Pakistani minister that “military action against the Taliban government would begin by the middle of October, 2001!”

Most people are not aware of this. The media has brainwashed people to think that the invasion of Afghanistan was because of the 9/ll attacks, but in fact, the war was planned ahead of time and some leaders of the world knew about it. The Americans planned the invasion three months earlier, in July 2001.

So, given these facts, how can anyone deny that the attacks on Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 by U.S. forces can be directly traced back to the failed oil policies of Unocal, Amoco, Chevron, Enron and Halliburton, all in league with the Pentagon. These companies wanted that pipeline built, and it wasn't going to happen with the Taliban in power.

Since Mr. Roy is informed about Afghanistan and I am not, I would ask him what he knows about the drug trade in that country, and to explain how, under the occupation of NATO forces, that 92% of the world’s opium crop in 2006 comes from this country, an increase of 49% over 2005!

This amount of opium is estimated to produce revenue in the amount of $2.7 billion for the Afghan economy. Instead of eliminating the drug trade, foreign military presence has assisted in restoring it.

In 2001, under Taliban rule, opium production fell to 185 tons. Currently, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the 2006 harvest to be 6,100 tons, 33 times more than in 2001. (Professor Chossudovsky, University of Ottawa)

Drug trafficking is the 3rd largest producer of wealth in the world (behind oil and arms trading), so we shouldn’t be surprised that countries like Afghanistan are heavily militarized, and a flourishing criminal economy exists. Worldwide turnover in narcotics is estimated by the UN to be a staggering $400-$500 billion dollars annually.

It is the people fighting over this wealth who start wars which will continue as long as the profits continue.

The U.S. government claims that the heroin business is filling the coffers of the Taliban, but the statistics tell a different story. U.S. foreign policy and the ‘war on terrorism’ support the workings of a thriving criminal economy. Most of this wealth is laundered through offshore banks in Switzerland and the Cayman islands and 50 other locations in the world. This is big business at work.

The Afghani people resent their corrupt government that they know is a puppet of Washington. The government is comprised of criminals and warlords in mockery of the NATO goal of democratization. The U.S. today largely ignores Afghanistan, and has not penetrated the Vietnam-style resistance. The Pentagon has passed the buck to Canada and NATO, who have inherited a complete disaster.

Here in Canada we must see the hopeless situation in Afghanistan for what it is, realize that military occupation is not the answer, and put pressure on our government leaders to find a solution that will work.

References for this letter are included below:

1) Paul Richard Harris, "Canada losing Moral Authority in Afghanistan"

2) John W Warnock, "Why are Canadians Dying in Afghanistan"

3) Michel Chossudovsky, "Who Benefits from the Opium Drug Trade"

4) Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, "The War in Afghanistan: Drugs, Money Laundering and the Banking System"

5) John K. Cooley, "Just Say No to Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan"

6) Eric Margolis, "Afghanistan: Time for Truth"

Support for Cornwall Legion President and Call to Leave Afghanistan

I would like to thank the Cornwall Standard Freeholder, on behalf of the Coalition for Social Justice, for its coverage of the Peace Rally held on October 28, 2006 in front of MP Guy Lauzon’s office.

Mr. Lauzon was present at the Rally but declined to address our group at the end of the program. This reaction surprised and upset some of our members, who expected Mr. Lauzon to give his views on Canadian participation regarding the war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

On the same issue, I was pleased to read in “GO” that Cornwall Legion Branch President Bob MacDonald does not support the mission in Afghanistan, and supports bringing the troops home.

Even though Mr. MacDonald has served 35 years in a military career, and likely understands the politics of engagement much more than most of us, he realizes that the current situation in Afghanistan is untenable. The number of casualties is increasing, and the situation is getting worse, not better.

I agree with Mr. MacDonald that the mission has changed from a peacekeeping role in 2001 to a military occupation role in 2006, but the Conservative government should be organizing an exit strategy right now. Let’s not leave the decision making to President Karzai of Afghanistan, a George Bush puppet, who would have Canadians there for the next 5-10 years. The final solution will never be more war, and more killing.

To Mr. MacDonald, as president of the Cornwall Legion, I hope you will express some of these thoughts in the Remembrance Day service on November 11. While the message of remembering our late war veterans is essential and foremost, I hope you will talk about a preferred future for our children and grandchildren. We don’t want to send them to war, to die for causes such as oil and gas pipelines, and opium harvests to supply the world with heroin.

The living war veterans, who still recall the tragedies and horrors of war, should not be taken in by government propaganda and speeches about freedom and security. These are scare tactics which government has perfected and uses to manipulate us.

As Noam Chomsky said in his book, “Power and Terror”

“ Everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: Stop participating in it.”

We need to come to our senses and work towards a peaceful solution.

Peace Rally "Speech" in Cornwall

Editors Note: Here is a copy of the speech I delivered today on behalf of the SD & G Coalition for Social Justice.

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Peace Rally Speech
October 28, 2006
Organized by: SD & G Coalition for Social Justice

Intro
· Thank you to Lori and the members of the SD & G Coalition for Social Justice for organizing today’s event

· It is heartening to see so many people here in support of PEACE in Cornwall and surrounding area

· All of us here today have at least one thing in common, and that is the belief in PEACE in the world

· We have searched our consciences and cannot accept the fact that Canadian troops are being sent by our government on a mission of doom in Aghanistan

· We have been brought up to believe in peace, it is part of our morality and the feeling of peace and love comes straight from our hearts

· Canada has a reputation across the world as a country that believes in peace- many of our immigrants have come to this country to escape the ravages and humiliation of war- all of this is part of our heritage and our culture and can be traced back to Confederation

· But our country is on a slippery slope today because our beliefs in peace as a country- are literally under attack – and that is why we are here

· Today is a special day for us and for Canada

· Today marks the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan

· Today communities all across Canada will be having Peace Rallies just like this one

· And because of all these thousands and thousands of Canadians are against war and against killing, they will all be bringing the same message to Canadians, which is also our message:

· SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND BRING THEM HOME

Background to Iraq
· I want to turn the clock back 3 years to remember what happened about the time the United States began its war in Iraq

· In January, 2003 a group of people here in Cornwall had a Peace Rally in front of the former MP’s office- it was a cold winter day and several students from CCVS had organized the rally- demonstrations were happening worldwide

In March, 2003- only 2 months later war broke out in Iraq and thank God the Canadian government of the day said “NO” to the Bush government- we were not involved

· Since 2003 almost 3,000 American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq, and 100’s of thousands of Iraqis, mostly civilians have lost their lives

· In Baghdad freezer trucks take up to 300 corpses per week for burial in holy cities outside the city

· However, no Canadian soldiers have been sacrificed because we refused to fight in this war……where now the situation has gotten so much worse, not better, and Iraq is on the verge of a civil war

· Canada did the right thing in 2003 not to support the war in Iraq and we should have learned from that experience

· So, why is the Canadian government supporting the war in Afghanistan

Afghanistan
· The easy answer to that question is that Canadian foreign policy is being dictated by the Bush administration who wants to run oil pipelines through Afghanistan

· The American government want us there- so like lapdogs we have have followed them

· George Bush knew that Canadians would never accept his war mentality- so he sent President Karzai of Afghanistan who is backed by the U.S. – Karzai wants Canada to support this war for 5-10 years which would be absolute madness

· It is true that we started as peacekeepers and rebuilders in Afghanistan in 2001 but this is no longer the case

· No one seems know how many Afghanis have lost their lives and no one is talking about it- we do know in 2004- estimates were about 12,000- so how many more dead and dying would be found in this war torn country?

· Afghanistan is a multi billion dollar NARCO state- opium and heroin leave the country and weapons are purchased and brought back in which escalates the violence

· The drug trade supplies 92% of the world’s heroin- rose 40% in one year- all under the noses of NATO’s troops- let’s face it- the drug industry controls Afghanistan at the present time and will do so for years to come

· Last month a European think tank- Senlis- reported that the Taliban movement is……and I quote……”taking back Afghanistan and now controls the nation’s southern half.”

· This same report also said…and I quote….

· “U.S. policies in Afghanistan have re-created the safe haven for terrorism that the 2001 invasion aimed to destroy”………. end of quote- It’s pretty obvious which country is promoting terrorism in Afghanistan

· And we also learned last weekend that Peter McKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, is pleading with NATO to supply more troops to the south…and why?…..because a lot of our Canadian troops are there in a very risky situation….and more deaths could occur….so why are Canadian troops being left there short handed

· To date 42 Canadian soldiers have already been killed since 2002

· Enough is enough- too many families have suffered already- too many soldiers have given their lives needlessly- too many soldiers are dying in a war with no exit strategy

· I say it’s time to SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND BRING THEM HOME

Local Implications

· In the final analysis we need to focus on the importance of the PEACE message…and continue to ensure that our voices are heard

The government of Canada is deceiving the Canadian people by using the slogan “SUPPORT OUR TROOPS” without hardly a mention about the war and why Canadian troops are there

· I believe the Canadian public are being manipulated by the federal government to put up signs and offer support for troops….WHILE DISCRETELY HOPING TO GET MORE CANADIANS TO SUPPORT THE WAR

· Everyone of us supports our troops and we wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t

· But that’s not the real issue……the real issue is the lives of those troops, and being forced to fight in a war that goes against our Canadian values

· I worry about young people…and how they might want to join the forces and go to Afghanistan….with all of the hype about fighting for one’s country

· But let’s make no mistake

· Wars do not lead to peace

· Wars lead to: more hatred, more resentment, more distrust, more poverty, more anguish, more destruction, more hopelessness, more torment,……and finally….more deaths

· Peace is the only answer

· So, to Mr. Lauzon, my question is: do you approve of this war? Tell us where you stand on this issue.

· And finally, our message

· “Support our Troops and Bring them Home”…… is the message I would ask that Mr. Lauzon take to the House of Commons on behalf of all of us here today.

Peace Rally Planned for October 28 in Cornwall

THE SD&G COALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

...invites you to join the

Pan-Canada Day of Action

on the fifth anniversary of

the invasion of Afghanistan........

PEACE RALLY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1:00 PM

·Outside the Cornwall office of Guy Lauzon, MP, 900 Pitt Street

· Be part of a nationwide action, standing together for peace

· Protest Stephen Harper’s support for George W. Bush’s disastrous foreign policy

· Support our troops by bringing them home now

You are invited to wear black in memory of our fallen soldiers

Israel-Lebanon Conflict: Cornwall Speaks

I recently read with interest two letters to the editor in the Cornwall Standard Freeholder that deal with the ongoing war in the Middle East. I think it is excellent that readers are expressing their opinions. The purpose of this letter is to discuss only the Lebanon situation, since to delve into the history of Israel since 1948, the treatment of Palestinians, etc. is beyond the scope of a letter and only distorts the message.

Firstly, one of Mr. Thompson’s main points is that the conflict is very complex and that Israel had ever right to defend itself against Lebanon. Unfortunately, he fails to look beyond the border incident that precipitated the war between Lebanon and Israel, and by doing so omits some crucial facts.

Those facts are revealed in Barbara Holm’s article entitled, “Fighting for Moral Ground,” which states, “the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a cross border raid prior to the capture of Israeli soldiers.” Also, a UN observer reports that Israel averages 10 times more cross border infractions than Lebanon. Furthermore, she points out that senior Israeli officials had prepared plans to invade Lebanon and had discussed those plans with the United States a year ago!

So, who’s kidding whom here? The invasion of Lebanon is a planned event like all wars. Countries like Israel and the United States plan wars well in advance, and then dream up reasons to trigger them. It’s happened countless times since the end of WW2. That’s why some pretense is always trumped up, something that the public will swallow.

This means that everything that has happened since Israel invaded Lebanon approximately five weeks ago is based on a falsehood, a deception! That means that any arguments based on this assumption( that this war was instantly created) are also false.

Mr. Thompson refuses to recognize the legitimacy of Hezbollah, a political party with widespread regional support in Lebanon, negotiating for years with Israel for its withdrawal from Lebanon, as reported by Ms Helms. The prospect of Israel encroaching further into Lebanon has increased the support for Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a legitimate entity and has party members in a democratically elected government.

Perhaps a simple example will illustrate the point further. Suppose another country invaded Canada and we, the people, were under attack. Would we lie down and accept the invasion or would we try to defend ourselves? And would we deserve to be called terrorists because we tried to defend our families? I think the point is easily understood.

Ms Holms raises the issue of morality in her article and I agree that in a perfect world our leaders would act according to their consciences. War would not exist in that case. However, the truth is that most world leaders do not have a conscience and to expect a sense of morality and integrity in modern governments of the world is hopelessly naïve. Soldiers and civilians are being sacrificed in wars as they always have been. Many journalists have written that WW3 is part of the overall global plan; in fact, documents going back to the last century mention that a third world war is needed to make the people accept one world government, or a New World Order, as George H.W. Bush highlighted in a speech in 1991.

Unfortunately, the only constants in the world are that money and power will prevail; however, we, the people still have the power in Canada to elect our government to follow our wishes, not their global aims. In 2003, I believe it was only because of the will of the Canadian people that former Prime Minister Martin refused to support the U.S. in the hopelessly failed, fateful and illegal war in Iraq.

We must put pressure on our government by sending e-mails, letters and by phoning our federal representatives to tell them that more wars will not lead to freedom and peace in the future. Tens of thousands of people across the world are demonstrating against the Israeli invasion. Canada needs to do the same.

Canada's Agenda of Peace Under Attack

In an interview to discuss the Israeli invasion of Lebanon on British television last week, MP George Galloway explained to the world the terrible sham that is being played out.

He questioned why the media and many world leaders are supporting Israel in light of a long history of Israeli occupation of Lebanon. For the past 24 years Israel has occupied Lebanon and has captured thousands of Lebanese soldiers and civilians who are currently rotting in Israeli jails. Even though most Israelis withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, there were still some who were stationed in southern Lebanon until recently.

Galloway indicated that Hezbollah has been democratically elected in the Lebanese parliament, and its roots go back to 1982, when it was formed to protect the Lebanese people against Israeli attacks. It is not a terrorist organization he claimed; Israel is a terrorist state. It is Israel that is attacking Lebanon, not Lebanon that is attacking Israel.

The border incident five weeks ago which precipitated the Israeli invasion, was an attempt by Hezbollah to pressure the Israelis to release their fellow citizens being kept in Israeli jails.

Of course, here in Canada, Prime Minister Harper and the Conservatives would support Israeli actions no matter how many innocent civilians were murdered in the process. As women and children were being picked out of the rubble and the Beirut airport was bombed, power and water cut off in the capital, Harper stated that Israel’s action was a “measured response.” This is the most callous thing that a Canadian prime minister has ever uttered. In one sentence he has reversed the peaceful image of our country with this total disregard for human life. It was a dark day in Canadian history when Harper made this statement.

Israel, as always, is immune to criticism for its actions. As Galloway pointed out, should an Israeli life be worth more than a Lebanese or a Palestinian life?

The point is, Israel more than any other country in the world, has spoken out for decades against the evils of fascism and the evils of war. The twisted irony of the current situation is that Israel is showing the world that it has no more conscience than its enemies of the past, and that the lessons of history have been lost upon them.

It is a sad situation when a small, relatively benign country like Lebanon is being pummeled daily by Israel, which has yet to reveal to the world the extent of its nuclear weaponry.

Prime Minister Harper says that Israel has a right to defend itself. I have no problem with that if Israel was the country under attack.

But what about Lebanon? It can’t defend itself with homemade rockets and primitive weaponry compared to the American subsidized Israeli arsenal.

Canada must come to its senses, say no to Bush and his Israeli Neocons, appeal for worldwide sanity and at least try to stop the blood letting in Lebanon.

If under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, we refuse as a nation to adhere to our decades long philosophy of being a peace promoting nation, we will be swallowed up by the corruption of war, and eventually it will be our Canadian soldiers who will pay with their lives.