America came to stay. Accelerated
withdrawal claims reflect subterfuge. Washington officials and media scoundrels
don't explain. Misinformation and illusion substitute for reality.
Reuters headlined "Obama, Karzai accelerate end of US combat role in Afghanistan."
"Obama's determin(ed) to wind down a long, unpopular war."
The New York Times headlined 'Obama Accelerates Transition of Security
to Afghans."
Obama is "eager to turn a page after more than a decade of war."
"(B)eginning this spring American forces (will) play only a supporting
role in Afghanistan."
The Washington Post headlined "Obama announces reduced US role in Afghanistan
starting this spring."
Plans are "for a small troop presence in the country after the American
mission formally ends there in 2014."
On January 11, Obama and Karzai's joint press conference was more surreal
than honest. Duplicitous doublespeak substituted for truth.
"(T)ransition is well underway," said Obama. Plans are for Afghan forces
to replace Americans. By yearend 2014, they'll "have full responsibility
for their security, and this war will come to a responsible end."
At the same time, US forces will "continue to fight alongside (Afghans)
when necessary." Obama didn't say what troop strength will remain.
Drone wars continue daily. US Special Forces and CIA elements came to
stay. Search and destroy missions are prioritized.
By spring 2013, "our troops will have a different mission - training,
advising, assisting Afghan forces. It will be a historic moment and another
step toward full Afghan sovereignty."
"Afghanistan (has) a long-term partner in the United States of America."
It's Washington's longest war. Iraq and Afghanistan are its most costly
ones.
Iraq boils out of sight and mind. Afghanistan rages. Experts agree. The
war was lost years ago. It continues. Why US officials don't explain.
A previous article discussed Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis. He assessed conditions
accurately. His 84-page unclassified report called them disastrous.
"How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding,"
he asked? His report's opening comments said:
"Senior ranking U.S. military leaders have so distorted the truth when
communicating with the US Congress and American people in regards to conditions
on the ground in Afghanistan that the truth has become unrecognizable."
"This deception has damaged America’s credibility among both our allies
and enemies, severely limiting our ability to reach a political solution
to the war in Afghanistan."
His classified report was more explicit.
"If the public had access to these classified reports," he explained,
"they would see the dramatic gulf between what is often said in public
by our senior leaders and what is actually true behind the scenes."
"It would be illegal for me to discuss, use, or cite classified material
in an open venue, and thus I will not do so."
He traveled thousands of miles throughout the country. He spoke to US
commanders, subordinates, and low-ranking soldiers. He talked at length
with Afghan security officials, civilians and village elders.
What he learned bore no resemblance to rosy scenario official accounts.
Insurgent forces control "virtually every piece of land beyond eyeshot
of a US or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base."
Everywhere he visited, "the tactical situation was bad to abysmal."
Afghanistan's government can't "provide for the basic needs of the people."
At times, local security forces collude with insurgents.
Davis hoped to learn something positive. He "witnessed the absence of
success on virtually every level." One senior enlisted leader spoke for
others. He hoped to get out alive in one piece.
Why war continues remains for Obama to explain. He dissembles instead.
Afghanistan is strategically important. It straddles the Middle East,
South and Central Asia. It's in the heart of Eurasia.
Occupation projects America's military might. It targets Russia, China,
Iran, and other oil-rich Middle East States. It furthers Washington's
imperium. It prioritizes unchallenged global dominance.
China and Russia matter most. Allied they rival US superpower strength.
Beijing is economically robust. Russia's nuclear capability and military
pose the only threat to America's formidable might.
Russia is also resource rich. Its oil reserves are vast. Its natural gas
supply is the world's largest. Expect neither country to roll over for
Washington. They're a vital last line of defense.
More on Washington's plans below. A previous article discussed Afghanistan's
troubled history.
In his book titled, "Freedom Next Time: Resisting the Empire," John Pilger
addressed it, saying:
"Through all the humanitarian crises in living memory, no country has
been abused and suffered more, and none has been helped less than Afghanistan."
For centuries, Afghans endured what few can imagine. Marauding armies
besieged cities, slaughtered thousands, and caused vast destruction.
Great Game 19th century struggles followed. Wars, devastation, and deplorable
human misery reflect daily life for millions. America bears full responsibility
now.
Wherever US forces show up, mass killings, destruction and incalculable
human misery follow. After over 11 years of war and occupation, Afghans
perhaps suffer most of all.
Living conditions are deplorable. Millions remain displaced. Makeshift
dwellings substitute for real ones. Little protection from harsh Afghan
weather is afforded. People freeze to death in winter.
Dozens of children die daily. Millions have little or no access to clean
water. Life expectancy is one of the world's lowest. Infant mortality
is one of the highest. So is pre-age five mortality. Electricity is scarce.
Extreme poverty, unemployment, human misery, and constant fear reflect
daily life. Afghans worry about surviving. Many don't get enough food.
Forced evictions affect them. They lack healthcare, education, and other
vital services.
Occupation related violence harms innocent men, women, children and infants.
Civilians always suffer most. Washington prioritizes conquest, colonization,
plunder and dominance. War without end rages. Human needs go begging.
Displaced Afghans lack virtually everything necessary to survive. Included
are proper housing, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, education, employment,
enough income, and sufficient food to avoid starvation.
America and Afghanistan's puppet government don't help. Karzai is
a pathetic stooge. He's a caricature of a leader. He wasn't elected. He
was installed. He's a former CIA asset/UNOCAL Oil consultant.
He's little more than Kabul's mayor. He's despised. He wouldn't last five
minutes unprotected anywhere.
Afghanistan is the world's leading opium producer. During the 1990s, Taliban
officials largely eradicated it. Washington reintroduced it.
Crime bosses and CIA profit hugely. So do major banks. Money laundering
is a major profit center. An estimated $1.5 trillion is laundered annually.
Around $500 billion reflects elicit drug money.
Obama lied about ending combat operations by 2014. America came to stay.
Permanent occupation is planned. Washington's empire of bases reflect
it.
During WW II, Brits complained that Americans were "overpaid, overfed,
oversexed, and over here." They virtually everywhere now. Planet earth
is Washington occupied territory. Bases vary in size.
They include large main operating bases to medium and smaller-sized ones.
Covert ones supplement them. US Special Forces operate in over 120 countries.
CIA elements are everywhere.
National sovereignty rights are violated. America's malevolent agenda
is hostile. Public land is expropriated.
Toxic pollution, environmental damage, intolerable noise, violence, occupation
related criminality, and unaccountability reflect Washington's presence.
It's hugely destructive. Afghanistan's dystopian hell reflects it. Status
of forces (SOFA) agreements establish a framework under which US forces
operate abroad.
They provide an illusion of legitimacy. Nations are pressured and bullied
to accept what harms their national interest.
In his book, "The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End
of the Republic," Chalmers Johnson explained SOFAs as follows:
"America's foreign military enclaves, though structurally, legally, and
conceptually different from colonies, are themselves something like microcolonies
in that they are completely beyond the jurisdiction of the occupied nation."
"The US virtually always negotiates a 'status of forces agreement' (SOFA)
with the ostensibly independent 'host' nation."
They're a modern day version of 19th century China's extraterritoriality
agreements. They granted foreigners charged with crimes the right to be
tried by his (or her) own government under his (or her) own national law.
SOFAs prevent local courts from exercising legal jurisdiction over American
personnel. Murder and rape go unpunished unless US officials yield to
local authorities. Offenders are usually whisked out of countries before
they ask.
America's total number of SOFAs is unknown. Most are secret. Some are
too embarrassing to reveal. America has hundreds of known, shared, and
secret bases in over 150 countries.
Johnson said they "usurp, distort, or subvert whatever institutions of
democratic (or other form of) government may exist with the host society."
Their presence is troubling. Locals lose control of their lives. They
have no say. There's virtually no chance for redress. Permanent occupations
harm most.
America built city-sized Iraq and Afghanistan super bases. They weren't
established to be abandoned. Washington came to stay. Both countries are
US occupied territory.
Tens of thousands of private military contractors supplement military
forces. Their skills range from technical to hired guns.
Obama suppressed Washington's agenda. Permanent occupation is planned.
America came to stay. Abandoning what's strategically important won't
happen. How much longer Americans will tolerate war without end, they'll
have to explain.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour
on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
http://www.dailycensored.com/permanent-afghanistan-occupation-planned-2/
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