But let the guns do the talking;
The Taliban’s much-vaunted spring offensive has stalled apparently due to lack of organisation after dozens of middle-ranking commanders were killed by British troops in the past year, according to military sources.
The death last week of the key Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah at the hands of American special forces has harmed the Taliban’s morale to the point that local commanders are having to tell their troops to “remain professional” despite the loss.
After suffering more than 1,000 dead in battles with the Parachute Regiment and Royal Marines in the last year, the Taliban retired to regroup and re-equip last winter.
A spring offensive was ordered by the Taliban leadership based in Quetta, Pakistan, and was meant to be launched in late March.
But a lack of mid-level commanders has meant that there has been little co-ordination to bring about the offensive.
“They are getting strategic guidance from Quetta but this is not translating on the ground,” a military source said.
“It’s a bit premature to discuss the Taliban as a spent force. I believe that they are struggling but still maintain a capability to carry out attacks on a daily basis. But I would suggest in the long term the Taliban may just peter out.”
Very good – may they “negotiate” them to the last man.
Though, expect our own Taliban Jack to be displeased about this setback for a “failing and futile mission”;
Afghanistan’s most famous woman MP has been thrown out of the country’s parliament for saying that her fellow parliamentarians are less competent than farmyard animals.
That’s right – she wasn’t dragged into a soccer stadium and shot.
Ehats bad news for the liberal left-wing news media becuase they cant make any bloody news stories
I like to give Piece a chance too…
..a chance of a piece of a Taliban here, a piece of a Taliban there…
I, like so many other good Canadians, believe in the moral equivalency of the Taliban as well..one dead one is just as good as another dead one..
Any facebook Jihadis reading this?
Read and know this is your end…
Enjoy the Prada and porn while it last kiddies!
We know the news in Canaduh is manipulated. Therefore it is up to us to seek alternative sources – Small Dead Animals is an excellent source, but (and hopefully Kate will not mind my mentioning a competing blog) if you want a clear view of what is happening in Afghanistan (particularly Kandahar) then may I suggest another Prairies blogger “the Black Rod”.
“That’s right – she wasn’t dragged into a soccer stadium and shot.”
No, she’s just been threatened with rape and death, and she has survived four assassination attempts.
http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/awmnews/index.php?articleID=68
…but please go on and tell us about what a great democracy Afghanistan has become.
The best way to deal with the Taliban is let them have it with an M249 SAW.
Iberia, are you saying that the 4 assassination attempts were by the Afghanistan government, not the Taliban? I’m confused, wasn’t it the Taliban that executed women?
She denounces the warlords in the Afghani gov’t…they don’t like being critizied by a woman.
Excerpts from http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1958707,00.html
She rose to fame at the end of 2003, when she made a speech attacking the warlords who still hold the balance of power in Afghanistan. On that occasion, one of the men she was attacking, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, rose and told her that her speech was a crime, announced that “Jihad is the basis of this nation” and asked for her microphone to be disconnected. The then speaker of the house, Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, a former mujahideen leader, called her an infidel, and said that if she did not apologise she could not attend the next session of parliament.
Since her historic speech, Joya has survived assassination attempts and constant denunciations.
“Here there is no democracy, no security, no women’s rights,” she says. “When I speak in parliament they threaten me. In May they beat me by throwing bottles of water at me and they shouted, ‘Take her and rape her.’ These men who are in power, never have they apologised for their crimes that they committed in the wars, and now, with the support of the US, they continue with their crimes in a different way. That is why there is no fundamental change in the situation of women.”
Though, expect our own Taliban Jack to be displeased about this setback for a “failing and futile mission”…That’s right – she wasn’t dragged into a soccer stadium and shot.
Interesting, arguing that Malalai Joya merely being violently kicked out of the Afghan parliament (rather than shot) for criticizing her colleagues is evidence of the growing liberation and democratization of Afghanistan, even though Malalai Joya has expressed support for Jack Layton and the NDP, and argued herself that liberation cannot be imported by foreign nation-states: http://www.ndp.ca/node/4329
Goods points by Iberia and A’dam that the Afgan democracy is not perfect.Not sure what the rest of your point is. Are you suggesting that we should not be involved in assisting Afganistan in its movement towards democracy because it is not perfect or below some threshold of what democracy should be? Please make your point clearly.
It is my personal opinion that Afganistan is a better place for women and all Afgans now than it was under the Taliban. Are you suing the words of Malalai Joya to imply that we should not be in Afganistan? Perhaps her comment regarding liberation not being imported is to urge Afgans to work harder towards democracy and not leave it just to NATO. You seem to imply that she rejects NATO forces in her country, and therefore, we have no business being there.
I submit that perhaps you are misinterpreting her words.
I believe that Canada SHOULD be negotiating with the Taliban…we should be negotiating for their unconditional surrender. E.g. “Put the gun down or I’ll shoot”. It never hurts to talk, so talk to them…but from a position of power and rock-solid conviction. I’d be surprised if we aren’t already.
I think the government may have missed an opportunity…an opportunity to take the “supposed” high road and claim they ARE negotiating, but NOT conceding or compromising.
I work as a professional negotiator (no I’m not a real estate agent) and we have a saying, “in a negotiation, the nut always has the advantage”.
Canadian negotiator: “You Taliban have to allow your women access to medical care.”
Taliban negoatiator: “Allah says that women are not allowed to work as doctors, and a male doctor cannot touch or examine a woman who is not his immediate family.”
Canadian negotiator: “Nevertheless, your women must be able to receive necessary medical care.”
Taliban negoatiator: “BLASPHEMY!!! OFFENSIVE TO ALLAH!!! HOW DARE YOU SPIT UPON MY RELIGION!!!”
end of negotiation
Never negotiate with terrorists and never go to the surrender table first.
Chicken necks cannot be allowed to runin this victory….stay at these greasy Stalinist mutts intill they surrender or volunteer martyrdom.
We are winning the Afghan conflict…let generals run it not poltroons from the media.
Guerrilla wars end, when (1) the guerrillas win, (2) they are crushed militarily, which is usually a long slow process (several years). “Negotiation” generally consists of offering amnesty to surrendered as opposed to captured personnel, which is only meaningful when the guerrillas have obviously lost – that is their losses exceed recruits. I wouldn’t expect the Taliban to give up that easy with a secure base in Pakistan.
“All in favor of 5.56 mm “negotiations” with the Taliban, say ‘Aye’.”
“AYE!”
Outlast – Outperform – Outsmart – Out SHOOT!
That’s a strategy!
Look no farther than Israel’s history in how well negotiating with terrorists have worked. 60 years later and zilch, nada, nothing. There were many periods with well meaning attempts by Israel to stay the course for a negotiated peace settlement. The Oslo Accords wasn’t derailed by Israel.
Hamas, Arafat, time and again reneged on agreements and resorted to violence over decades. Who every time violated cease fires? Who was most recently firing missiles from southern Lebanon into Israel with impunity?
Israel is the perfect template on how useless it is to negotiate with terrorists. They finally figured it out and constructed the wall.
The Madrid train bombing to horrify and manipulate a public is a classic in how terrorists operate… their displeasure, the warning, then carnage. Lebanon hasn’t been able to negotiate with Hezbollah to get the hell out of their country and restore their autonomy.
There is no negotiating with terrorists, it’s not how they operate, any more than there is with an armed thug with a gun at your head in a parking garage.
“Afghanistan’s most famous woman MP has been thrown out of the country’s parliament for saying that her fellow parliamentarians are less competent than farmyard animals.”
And she has night vision “farmyard action” video to prove it.
Yes, yes, yes…negotiating will be useless if you expect them to give up. That’s not the point. The Israeli’s STILL TALK TO THEIR ENEMIES even though they know it isn’t going to work…if nothing else but for show.
Remember folks, the Conservative Government is fighting a war on two fronts: a ground war in Afghanistan against the Taliban; and a propaganda war in Canada against the MSM.
The death last week of the key Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah at the hands of American special forces
I sort of doubt that it was their hands, myself; it was probably some weapons. I’ve known some special forces guys, though, and it could possibly have been their hands, or feet, or some other parts of their bodies. Those guys would be scary if they weren’t on the right side.
MB: It is my personal opinion that Afganistan is a better place for women and all Afgans now than it was under the Taliban.
Ms. Joya would appear to disagree with you. In her own words [emphasis mine]:
“[The US government] brought back the ‘Northern Alliance’ to power who are brothers-in-creed of the Taliban and as brutal and anti-democracy as Taliban and even worse…I must tell you that unfortunately there has been NO fundamental change in the plight of Afghan people. When the entire nation is living under the shadow of gun and warlordism, how can its women enjoy very basic freedoms? Unlike the propaganda raised by certain Western media, Afghan women and man are not “liberated” at all.”
Perhaps her comment regarding liberation not being imported is to urge Afgans to work harder towards democracy and not leave it just to NATO.
Actually, I think her comment regarding liberation not being importable refers to the perception that the US is more interested in installing a pro-US government in Afghanistan than a pro-democratic one. This has led, in her view, to the US endorsing an Afghan parliament populated largely by corrupt and oppressive, but nevertheless “pro-American fundementalists.” What exactly do you mean by “work harder towards democracy,” anyway?
You seem to imply that she rejects NATO forces in her country, and therefore, we have no business being there. I submit that perhaps you are misinterpreting her words.”
In my view, Ms. Joya is arguing that a military victory that successful wipes out the Taliban will be futile in the long-term if the subsequent Afghan leadership is equally uncommitted to fundamental democratic reforms.
Also, neither Ms. Joya nor the NDP have ever stated that Canadian Forces have “no business” being in Afghanistan. Ms. Joya notes that Afghanistan “needs much reconstruction efforts.” The NDP position, meanwhile, is that a Canadian presence is warranted, but that personnel and resources (including tax dollars) should be directed towards ground-level humanitarian aid and reconstruction projects rather than a military offensive (similar to Italy, Germany, and several others within the ISAF). That is, both are advocating for a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach to empowerment and democratization.
there has been NO fundamental change in the plight of Afghan people.
I don’t know what Ms Joya’s criteria for change and liberation is, but, perhaps she needs to review just how bad things were under the Taliban and the fact that she would still be a mute inside her burqa had they not been routed.
Women are back in school and receiving medical care aqain, two basic human services that stopped under the Taliban. Let’s not forget the executions and stonings that were systematic. Poverty as expected still exists and so do some abusive Muslim husband’s(US/Canadian troops can’t stop that).
Corruption in the Afghan parliment!!, please, what part of the world are we talking about. Accept it for what it is, it’s still a safer more human place than it was.
With her outrageous hyperbole and attempt at throwing the stark reality of the Taliban down the memory hole, Joya is a perfect fit with the west’s feminist harpies.
(BANG)
Ok, anybody else wanna negotiate?
— The Fifth Element
Penny: I don’t know what Ms Joya’s criteria for change and liberation is, but, perhaps she needs to review just how bad things were under the Taliban and the fact that she would still be a mute inside her burqa had they not been routed.
I’m inclined to think that she’s still aware, having actually lived under Taliban rule herself.
Penny, you seem to be implying that you have a more accurate take on the current civil and human rights situation in Afghanistan than does Ms. Joya. That would be a pretty brazen position to take. Ms. Joya is, after all, a woman who is native to Afghanistan; has lived there since 1998; is well-positioned to observe, analyze, and report on the reality of the power dynamics in Afghan society; and appears to be willing to lay down her life to speak out against the continued oppression of voiceless women and men in her country. On what basis do you so easily dismiss her claims?
A’dam, if you haven’t yet, you will soon realize the futility of using facts when trying to discuss things with right wingers.
lavrenti Beria…not one of us needs to take any lessons from the left, nor any from a man whose screen name is one of the lefts “heroes” (and greatest shame) fixer.
A’dam..Ms. Joya can say whatever she likes, and yes, the situation is not perfect..however..
She is allowed to say what she likes, dress how she likes, travels wherever she likes, because Canadian soldiers are the guarantors.
You are deluded if you think that without Nato killing scores of Taliban, any reconstruction would be possible.If we stopped fighting them tomorrow, do you think they would stop the killing, the burning down of schools, the executions etc?
I think not.
That Ms. Joya and the NDP use each other, each for their own partisan advantage, says more about the human condition to be able to be wrong when given the opportunity (and freedom to be..) more than anything else..
we seem to be ignoring the fact that the taliban are merely practicing islamic jihad.
A’dam, Ms Joya is ONE person. I can name a lot of individuals that say stuff and are dead wrong or motivated by a politcal agenda.
You really think that things in Afghanistan (well documented at wikipedia) aren’t better than THESE nightmares from the past???:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban_treatment_of_women
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban#Life_under_the_Taliban_regime
Jose, who has never provided a fact that I can recall when asked to do so, has a point, you’ll learn with conservatives that for opinions to have merit they do require supportive facts.
One more time, Joya’s ridiculous statements “there has been NO fundamental change in the plight of Afghan people” and “Afghan women and man are not “liberated” at all” are disingenuous and not supported with the facts. So, when you can come back with other sources to support Ms Joya’s statements, after a careful review of the horrific situation before liberation from the Taliban and how the country is the same, I’ll consider she is less then a liar. Just because she has an Afghanistan address means nothing. How naive.
Don’t bother replying without verifiable facts to support Joya’s statements.
Jack – if you’re going to be talking to the Taliban, maybe you can straighten this 12 year old out – maybe he needs a hug?
(WNG: HUGELY GRAPHIC BEHEADING VISUALS)
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/188003.php
Talk to the Taliban – riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…
“(WNG: HUGELY GRAPHIC BEHEADING VISUALS)”
Hugely graphic isn’t a harsh enough warning for those frames Tony. More like, “watch and have nightmares” or “watch and feel your rage explode”.
I don’t know that Joya “lived under taliban rule”. I seem to recall from her own notes when she was here propping up Tal-Jack that she abandoned Afgh’stan to flee to England to make noise from there. It was only after the Americans went in that she was able to take her seat in the Afghan parliament at all. Frankly I find her blindingly obtuse, screaming for dessert before the rest of the adults have even had a chance to plan the main course. She’s managed to marginalize herself in an environment where she might gained strength with the right diplomacy.
Fact is, under the taliban Ms. Joya would already be dead! she wouldn’t have a voice to say anything because she’d be dead, so what she says doesn’t matter.
I think Penny is right on.
Penny: “One more time, Joya’s ridiculous statements ‘there has been NO fundamental change in the plight of Afghan people’ and ‘Afghan women and man are not ‘liberated’ at all’ are disingenuous and not supported with the facts. So, when you can come back with other sources to support Ms Joya’s statements, after a careful review of the horrific situation before liberation from the Taliban and how the country is the same, I’ll consider she is less then a liar.
Gladly. First, the argument that “Joya would already be dead under the Taliban” (not uttered by you specifically, Penny) isn’t very compelling given the numerous assassination attempts and death threats leveled against her (some by her fellow MPs, no less!).
Have conditions improved for women in Afghanistan since removing the Taliban from rule? Yes — in some areas, in some ways. Have things fundamentally changed? No, as documented below. The point is that power still resides with an oppressive, patriarchal elite, only now this new ruling authority carries the imprimatur of Western support (hence the point about the average Afghan not being truly ‘liberated’). This poses a great danger for women’s rights in Afghanistan especially, since it allows for relatively superficial improvements while the world is watching — schools re-opening, parliamentarians NOT killing Ms. Joya, female football leagues, etc. — without having to address the deeper power imbalances and oppressive belief systems that will perpetuate structural and physical violence against women. The metaphor of “pulling out weeds by the stem but not the root” is particularly apt here.
AIHRC: http://www.afghan-web.com/woman/equality_fades.html
Amnesty International: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa110072005
Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/doc/?t=asia&c=afghan
OXFAM: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/education/bp93_afghanistan.htm
RAWA (http://www.rawa.org/women.html) states that “‘War on terrorism’ has removed the Taliban, but it has not removed religious fundamentalism which is the main cause of all our miseries. It will require a very different approach indeed for those evils to be eliminated, which is RAWA’s point. And in fact, by reinstalling the warlords in power in Afghanistan, the US is ultimately replacing one fundamentalist regime with another.
Penny: “One more time, Joya’s ridiculous statements ‘there has been NO fundamental change in the plight of Afghan people’ and ‘Afghan women and man are not ‘liberated’ at all’ are disingenuous and not supported with the facts. So, when you can come back with other sources to support Ms Joya’s statements, after a careful review of the horrific situation before liberation from the Taliban and how the country is the same, I’ll consider she is less then a liar.
Gladly. First, the argument that “Joya would already be dead under the Taliban” (not uttered by you specifically, Penny) isn’t very compelling given the numerous assassination attempts and death threats leveled against her (some by her fellow MPs, no less!).
Have conditions improved for women in Afghanistan since removing the Taliban from rule? Yes — in some areas, in some ways. Have things fundamentally changed? No, as documented below. The point is that power still resides with an oppressive, patriarchal elite, only now this new ruling authority carries the imprimatur of Western support (hence the point about the average Afghan not being truly ‘liberated’). This poses a great danger for women’s rights in Afghanistan especially, since it allows for relatively superficial improvements while the world is watching — schools re-opening, parliamentarians NOT killing Ms. Joya, female football leagues, etc. — without having to address the deeper power imbalances and oppressive belief systems that will perpetuate structural and physical violence against women. The metaphor of “pulling out weeds by the stem but not the root” is particularly apt here.
AIHRC: 3w.afghan-web.com/woman/equality_fades.html
Amnesty Int’l: web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa110072005
Human Rights Watch: hrw.org/doc/?t=asia&c=afghan
OXFAM: 3w.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/education/bp93_afghanistan.htm
RAWA (3w.rawa.org/women.html) states: “‘War on terrorism’ has removed the Taliban, but it has not removed religious fundamentalism which is the main cause of all our miseries. It will require a very different approach indeed for those evils to be eliminated, which is RAWA’s point. And in fact, by reinstalling the warlords in power in Afghanistan, the US is ultimately replacing one fundamentalist regime with another.
A’dam – you need to go there. See for yourself. Quoting agendized organizations with their own peculiar filters on the world gives no credibility to your case. You forget – some of the people who participate on this blog have actually been there.
Skip, so “being there” is now the only acceptable credential for commenting on an issue? Oh reeeeally? Have you been there? Has Penny? Has MB? Has Kate? I don’t hear you admonishing any of them for opining either way about the state of Afghanistan.
Amnesty Int’l, HRW, Oxfam, and RAWA have all been there, but they’re mere “agendized organizations, so I guess all they produce are deceits and half-truths. And if Penny replied with, I dunno, a Heritage Foundation or AEI report about how everything in Afghanistan is hunky-dory, you’d be equally skeptical, since they’re just more “agendized organizations,” right?
AIHRC is there right now, but apparently serving as the official independent human rights monitoring agency for the country (established by presidential decree, constitutionally recognized, endorsed by the UN and coalition forces, etc.) burdens them with an irredeemably biased “filter.”
Malalai Joya is there too, but according to Penny, she’s just “one person.” Plus, she probably has, you know, an agenda, or a filter, or both. Michael Yon’s been there, and as far I can tell, he’s just one person too, but nobody here seems to mind that. It goes without saying that he’s agenda-less and without filter.
How about this, Skip: everyone’s got an “agenda.” I’ve got one; you’ve got one. The latest entry on the Editorial Times (‘Coal Man’, 19 May) is a reprint of a WSJ article. Guess what — they’ve got an agenda too! Having one doesn’t automatically discredit what one says, though it requires the audience to analyze both what’s being said and who’s saying it, and make a judgment accordingly.
Penny asked for other sources that support Ms. Joya’s statements; I provided some for her. Now you’re saying that they don’t count because only first-person accounts are acceptable sources of information. Well, if one can’t legitimately comment without first-hand experience, then SDA’s gonna get real quiet, real quick. I can very likely count with one hand the percentage of folks here who’ve spent any decent amount of time inside, say, a mosque, the home of a same-sex couple, Liberal Party headquarters, or Jack Layton’s head, but that hasn’t stopped them yet from making statements, both fair and rash, on these issues.
And just so I’m clear, if I go to Afghanistan, have a look-see, and come back, then what? You’ll believe everything I say, since I’ve gone there and seen for myself? Or maybe, you’ll just find some other excuse to dismiss whatever information you don’t want to hear.