Obama’s Good Wars
(Afghanistan/Pakistan) & Propping Up NATO
So as Obama “moves out” of Iraq, he
will be moving troops into Afghanistan where President
Karzai has become very unpopular. Upon election, Karzai
sent a message to Obama which pleaded with him that he
wanted a timetable for the removal of foreign troops and
he also addressed a U.N. delegation. Now he has suddenly
become unpopular. Karzai is considered a puppet authority
by the Afghan people. He has very little control as the
provinces are completely in the hands of former Taliban
commanders/tribal leaders and opium gangsters.
According to Human Rights Watch, the
majority of those elected to Parliament in 2005 were local
criminals and associates. Furthermore, they argue that
U.S. forces, local military, police and warlords are
responsible for human rights abuses – all willing partners
of the U.S. campaign which Obama seeks to continue. It is
obvious why Obama is concentrating on Afghanistan, it is
of geostrategic importance as the U.S. seeks to protect
energy-producing regions in and around it. This is the
very reason why Obama is propping up NATO, despite all the
rhetoric of observing international bodies, NATO will be
put forward as the authority over the United Nations.
NATO has been in the control of the
U.S. since its creation to protect the West from the
threat of Russia. Their control was further shown when the
U.S. escalated Serbian atrocities during NATO’s war over
Kosovo in the 1990’s. Then Prime Minister Blair even
explained that the reason why NATO had to bomb was to
maintain its credibility. It was not due to any
humanitarian reason as it is uncontroversial that the vast
majority of atrocities occurred after the NATO bombings as
their own General Clark warned beforehand. This is the
body that Obama is propping up as a counter to the United
Nations. This is no different from Clinton, Bush or any
other president that came beforehand.
Western-run polls show that about 75
percent of Afghans want negotiations to take place between
all relevant parties in the country, which means everyone
from the Taliban to interested players in Pakistan. The
Obama administration will have nothing to do with this and
most likely they will prop-up another puppet government
that will most likely fall out of favor again. Alliance
with brutal groups and individuals is the attractive
policy then and it remains so now.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, from
the looks of it the Obama administration will intensify
drone attacks in its tribal belt territory. According to
Agence France-Presse, since August 2008, there have been
over 360 people killed along Pakistan’s border due to
drone attacks. In addition to civilian deaths, these
attacks have sowed deep resentment among Pakistani
officials and militants that they have aligned themselves
with to fight the Taliban.
The influential English newspaper in
Pakistan, Dawn reports:
The sources said the US
officials were also told that continuing drone attacks
inside Pakistan's territory were counter-productive and
they were asked to shift the drone technology and
authority to the Pakistan Army.
The sources said that army
chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, during his meeting with Mr
Holbrooke and Admiral Mullen, also took a tough stance
over drone attacks. He voiced serious concern over the
tirade of allegations against Inter-Services Intelligence leveled by US generals and said that linking the ISI with
the Taliban was inappropriate.
Next:
"Mumbai Deserved Condolences, Gaza Deserved Israeli
Encouragement"
