BUSCH ~ WE DO NOT TORTURE AND OTHER FOOLISHNESS

How did our society sink so low that now we discuss the "legality" of such an abomination as torture?

If it weren't tragic it would be a joke. The president of the United States tells the world, "We do not torture." Even as he spoke, the administration's flagrant embrace of torture was as hard to escape as political fallout from 911.

The vice president, not satisfied that the C.I.A. had already been implicated in four detainee deaths, was busy lobbying Congress to give the agency a green light to commit torture in the future.

Dana Priest of The Washington Post, having first uncovered secret C.I.A. prisons two years ago, was uncovering new "black sites" in Eastern Europe, where ghost detainees are subjected to unknown interrogation methods redolent of the region's Stalinist past.

Mr. Bush did his own bit for torture by threatening to cast the first veto of his presidency if Congress didn't scrap a spending bill amendment, written by John McCain and passed 90 to 9 by the Senate, banning the "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of prisoners.

So when you watch the president stand there with a straight face and say, "We do not torture" ~ after the first photos from Abu Ghraib ~ you have to wonder how we arrived at this ludicrous moment. The answer is not complicated.

When people in power get away with telling
bigger and bigger lies, they naturally think
they can keep getting away with it.
And for a long time, Mr. Bush and his cronies did.

Not anymore!!

In a speech, President Busch invoked the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 as an all-purpose justification for his prevailing on a series of issues now in dispute in Congress: the confirmation of Michael Mukasey as attorney general despite his refusal to disavow torture; the passage of legislation to give sweeping new domestic spying powers to the federal government; and the approval of yet another emergency spending bill providing nearly $200 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Busch’s address was less a speech than a semi-hysterical diatribe, combining scare-mongering, crackpot history and bullying of his opponents in Washington. As in all presidential speeches of the past several years, he spoke before a carefully vetted audience at the Heritage Foundation, one of the main right-wing think tanks.

The desperate character of the speech was signaled by his repeated references to the 9/11 attacks, as well as last year’s alleged Al Qaeda plot to blow up airliners flying across the Atlantic from Britain to the US, and ~ the ultimate bogeyman ~ a supposed Al Qaeda plot to “build a totalitarian Islamic empire ~ encompassing all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.”

Busch suggested that any opposition to his policies of torture, spying and war represented a capitulation to this existential terrorist threat. He declared, “I know that when I discuss the war on terror, some here in Washington, DC dismiss it as political rhetoric ~ an attempt to scare people into votes. Given the nature of the enemy and the words of its leaders, politicians who deny that we are at war are either being disingenuous or naive."

He denounced the Senate Judiciary Committee for holding up the nomination of Judge Mukasey as attorney general, with demands that he take a position on whether the waterboarding of suspected terrorists constitutes torture. In a lengthy letter to the committee Tuesday, Mukasey expressed personal “repugnance” for waterboarding, but refused to comment on whether it was torture, and hence illegal.

This flies in the face of both the Geneva Conventions and US laws, both of which classify waterboarding as torture and prohibit it completely, under any circumstances.

The Mukasey nomination is a conflict that the Democratic majority in the Senate clearly wanted to avoid. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York originally proposed the judge as a replacement for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and praised him in introducing him to the Judiciary Committee two weeks ago.

But when the issue of torture arose on the second day of his confirmation hearing, Mukasey’s refusal to condemn waterboarding as illegal became a political sticking point. Most Senate Democrats and several Republicans ~ including former Vietnam War POW John McCain ~ have called for an official ban on waterboarding and even enacted it into law in 2005, although this applied only to the military and not to the CIA.

The White House is adamantly opposed to such a ban, not only because it plans to continue waterboarding prisoners, but because numerous administration officials, from the CIA leadership up to Busch himself, could be held criminally liable for their actions over the past six years. Mukasey stated this concern explicitly in his October 30 letter, saying that any comment on the legality of waterboarding could arouse fears among executive branch officials about “personal legal jeopardy.”

Similarly, both House and Senate Democrats caved in to White House pressure and adopted the so-called Protect America Act last August ~ legislation that legalized, for a six-month period, more extensive spying on domestic telecommunications and Internet traffic by the CIA, NSA and other US intelligence agencies.

The Busch administration is now pressing for a bill that would make these expanded powers permanent, but the effort has encountered a significant obstacle, with resistance to the White House demand for a provision giving blanket immunity to telecommunications companies for collaborating in illegal surveillance of the private communications of American citizens.

The congressional Democrats have agreed to immunity for future cooperation by the telecommunications firms, but not to immunity that is retroactive, covering the past transfer of vast amounts of telephone and Internet data to the NSA and other federal agencies without any legal authorization, simply on the basis of an executive order from Busch.

There is also a potential logjam over the Iraq-Afghanistan spending, although no leading Democrat in Congress has proposed to block the legislation, and the Democratic-controlled Congress approved the last such measure in May. But there have been suggestions that the latest emergency funding bill will not be taken up until the New Year, when it could well become the focus of public attention during the height of the presidential nominating contest. Busch is pressing for a vote before Christmas.

Busch sought to connect the war funding to the Mukasey nomination and domestic surveillance issues in order to bully his opponents with the threat that they would be accused of neglecting the troops.

BUSCH CONCLUDED WITH A MCCARTHY-STYLE SMEAR THAT MANAGED TO LINK ANTIWAR PROTESTERS WITH TERRORISM.

In other words, to live by your conscience
is now a crime against the government!

“When it comes to funding our troops,” he declared, “some in Washington should spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden and the requests of our commanders on the ground, and less time responding to the demands of MoveOn.org, bloggers, and Code Pink protesters.”

The CodePink ladies speak out once more against Mukasey in Congress.

The Mukasey nomination is the most immediate concern of Busch, Vice President Cheney and their inner circle, as a series of prominent Senate Democrats have come out in opposition to his confirmation, including, by late Thursday, Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, deputy leader Dick Durbin and presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Christopher Dodd and Joseph Biden. Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated that if the Judiciary Committee did not approve the nomination he would not permit a vote by the full Senate.

Cheney touched on the issue in a speech Thursday, traveling to Indianapolis to address a meeting of the American Legion, a reliably pro-war venue from which all critics could be excluded. The vice president went beyond Busch to explicitly defend the torture interrogations conducted by the CIA, claiming that they had produced information that had proven critical for forestalling hundreds of potential terrorist attacks. (Liar, liar, pants on fire!)

Dick’s contention did not jibe, however, with another piece of administration propaganda, a CIA leak to the New York Times claiming that the agency had only inflicted waterboarding on three prisoners, and none currently.

In arguing for the immediate confirmation of Mukasey, Busch claimed that it would be wrong to have any public discussion about what interrogation techniques were forbidden to US agencies because this would help Al Qaeda “train their operatives to resist questioning, and withhold vital information we need to stop attacks and save lives.” By that logic, however, it would be wrong to rule out in advance any method of interrogation, no matter how barbaric, including electrical shocks, the rack, drugs or even dismemberment.

Busch also claimed that Mukasey should not be asked to take a legal position on specific interrogation techniques because he has not yet been “read into the program,” i.e., because, as a retired federal judge, Mukasey does not yet have access to classified information.

The complete absurdity of this argument was demonstrated at the press briefing Thursday by White House press secretary Dana Perino. After reiterating Busch’s claim that it was “very unfair” to ask Mukasey to give an opinion on waterboarding, Perino added that it would be perfectly all right for the Senate to ask such questions after Mukasey had been “read into the program,” that is, after he took office. “If they want to ask him more questions about that,” Perino said, “they should confirm him and then they’d have the opportunity to do so.”

Moreover, Mukasey has not been asked whether specific acts of the CIA constitute torture. He has been asked whether, as a general principle, waterboarding is torture, to which he responded ~ in a transparent and provocative evasion ~ that he didn’t know what waterboarding was and therefore could not comment.

Despite this professed ignorance, however, there is no doubt that Judge Mukasey and every other politically literate American knows what waterboarding is and knows that it constitutes torture. Mukasey’s hometown newspaper, the New York Daily News, provided a graphic description of waterboarding in an op-ed column published Wednesday, written by Malcolm Nance, a former adviser on terrorism to the US departments of Homeland Security, Special Operations and Intelligence.

The column, entitled, “I know waterboarding is torture—because I did it myself,” is based on Nance’s experience as a master instructor and chief of training at the US Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School (SERE) in San Diego, where Navy Seals are trained both to perform and resist waterboarding.

Nance rejects the conventional description of waterboarding in the US media as “simulated drowning.” He writes: “that’s a misnomer. It does not simulate drowning, as the lungs are actually filling with water. There is no way to simulate that. The victim is drowning. Waterboarding is slow-motion suffocation with enough time to contemplate the inevitability of blackout and expiration. Usually the person goes into hysterics on the board. For the uninitiated, it is horrifying to watch. If it goes wrong, it can lead straight to terminal hypoxia ~ meaning, the loss of all oxygen to the cells.”

“The lack of physical scarring allows the victim to recover and be threatened with its use again and again,” he continues. “Call it ‘Chinese water torture,’ ‘the barrel,’ or ‘the waterfall.’ It is all the same. One has to overcome basic human decency to endure causing the effects. The brutality would force you into a personal moral dilemma between humanity and hatred. It would leave you questioning the meaning of what it is to be an American.”

The public embrace of this torture technique by the US government is a terrible sign of the decay of democratic rights in America, one which is increasingly recognized throughout the world. On the same day as Busch’s speech, Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on torture, declared in a speech in Australia that the US policy was undermining worldwide efforts against torture.

“I am very concerned about the undermining of the absolute prohibition of torture by interrogation methods themselves in Abu Ghraib, in Guantanamo Bay and others, but also by rendition and the whole CIA secret places of detention,” he said. “All that is really undermining the international rule of law in general and human rights but also the prohibition of torture,” said Nowak. “It has a negative effect because the US is a very powerful and important country and many other countries take the US as a model.”

Nowak concluded, “In my opinion, this ill-conceived, security-oriented counter terrorism strategy is having a very, very negative effect, not only on human rights in the USA, but for the first time I would say in a long period of time, the US is really engaging in systematic violation of human rights, but also a very negative effect on many other countries.”

BUSCH'S WORLD WAR 111

“Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government." ~ Thomas Jefferson

“I just want you to know that when we talk about war, we are really talking about peace.” - Bush

"We got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously."
~ George W. Busch, 17 October 2007.

Grin and Laugh: "Here's his expression while saying the words "World War Three"
~ Huffington Post, 17 October 2007

"I believe that. I believe that the revolt of passengers on
the hijacked flight 93 on September 11, 2001,
was the first counter-attack to World War III."
~George W. Busch, May 6, 2006

The eagle-eyed President of America surveys the future of "his realms".

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous;
having said that, all options are on the table."
~ George W. Busch, February 2005

We are not living in a sound and rational World, where far-reaching decisions by the US President are based on an understanding of their likely consequences.

WORLD WAR III IS NO LONGER A HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO.

During the Cold War, the concept of "mutual assured destruction" (MAD) was put forth. An understanding of the devastating consequences of nuclear war largely contributed to avoiding the outbreak of war between the US and the Soviet Union.

Today, in the post-Cold war era, no such understanding prevails.

The specter of a nuclear holocaust, which haunted the world for half a century has been relegated to the status of "collateral damage". Personally this specter has been part of my life, and the horror, since 1954 when I saw a tv film, still used today, to show the effects of a bomb. I never snuck out of bed to watch tv from the top of the stairs again it terrified me so much. All of my life this vision has haunted me. I remember my father saying to me, “And you act like this because of some silly mythical A-bomb?” He is dead for 20 years and I am sorry to have the last laugh.

US foreign policy under the Neocons is based on a diabolical and criminal agenda. The "war on terrorism" is a lie; Iran does not constitute a threat to global security as confirmed by a recent IAEA report. Iran does not constitute a threat to Israel.

The US president is a liar,
who believes his own lies.

While Iran's non existent nukes are said to constitute a lethal and deadly threat, so-called tactical nuclear weapons "Made in America" are described in Pentagon documents as "harmless to the surrounding civilian population".

In a bitter irony, those who decide on the use of nuclear weapons believe their own propaganda.
A preemptive nuclear attack on Iran is upheld as a bona fide humanitarian undertaking which contributes to global security.

And now the US Head of State, who has a limited understanding of geopolitics, let alone geography, AND AN AGENDA, ("I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves." ~ Bush) is hinting that if Iran does not give up its nonexistent nuclear weapons program, America might be reluctantly forced into in a World War III situation. Busch has insinuated that as Commander in Chief, he could decide to launch a war on Iran, which would result in World War III.

And now the US Head of State, who has a limited understanding of geopolitics, let alone geography, AND AN AGENDA, is hinting that if Iran does not give up its nonexistent nuclear weapons program, America might be reluctantly forced into in a World War III situation. Bush has insinuated that as Commander in Chief, he could decide to launch a war on Iran, which would result in World War III.

Dr. Strangelove rides again. In an utterly twisted logic, World War III is presented by the US President as a means to preventing collateral damage.

The war would be triggered by Iran, who has refused to abide by the reasonable demands of the international community.

Realities are twisted and turned upside down. Iran is being accused of wanting to start World War III.

Media Blackout

World public opinion has its eyes riveted on the cataclysm of "global warming". World War III on the other hand is not front page news. We are talking about the loss of tens of thousands of lives: the consequence of the US military agenda which includes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons in a very concrete way threatens the future of humanity.

At present US and coalition forces including NATO and Israel are in an advanced state of readiness to launch an attack on Iran. Leaders of the coalition fully understand that such an action will result in a World War III scenario.

ESCALATION SCENARIOS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ENVISAGED AND ANALYZED BY THE PENTAGON. US SPONSORED WAR GAMES HAVE EVEN FORESEEN THE POSSIBLE INTERVENTION OF RUSSIA AND CHINA.

World War III has been on the lips of NeoCon architects of US foreign policy from the outset of the Busch regime. It is contained in a document published in September 2000 by the Project of the New American Century (PNAC),

The PNAC's declared objectives imply a "long war", a global war without borders:

"defend the American homeland;

fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars;

perform the "constabulary" duties associated with shaping the security environment in critical regions;

transform U.S. forces to exploit the "revolution in military affairs;"

Former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney had commissioned the PNAC blueprint prior to the 2000 presidential elections. The PNAC outlines a roadmap of conquest.

The pre-emptive nuclear doctrine contained in the Nuclear Posture Review is supported by the Republican Party and Washington’s conservative think-tanks

George W. Busch is an instrument of powerful economic interests.

A PREEMPTIVE WAR ON IRAN HAS WIDESPREAD SUPPORT BY THE US CONGRESS, IT IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY AMERICA'S EUROPEAN PARTNERS AND ALLIES.

Leading Republicans have expressed their support for a preemptive World War III scenario. In a 2006 interview at the height of the Israeli bombing of Lebanon (July 16, 2007), former Republican leader of the House Newt Gingrich candidly acknowledged:

WE’RE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF

THE THIRD WORLD WAR

The Busch Administration has adopted a first strike "pre-emptive" nuclear policy, which has now received congressional approval. Nuclear weapons are no longer a weapon of last resort as during the Cold War era.

In a classified Pentagon document ~ The Nuclear Posture Review ~ presented to the US Senate in early 2002, the Busch Administration established so-called "contingency plans" for an offensive "first strike use" of nuclear weapons, not only against the "axis of evil" ~ Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria and North Korea, but also against Russia and China.

You will note I have spelled it BUSCH rather than BUSH. It seems this is one way to draw people's attention to his German lineage and connection between the European Busch cabal and the American Busch cabal. As with so many other war criminals of German origin, the name was Anglicized. This is on record with Rove and Rummy's ancestors. It is simply the Busch family did it a few decades earlier and records have either disappeared or changed over time.
You can do anything when you run the CIA.

AND FOR YOUR MUSICAL PLEASURE,

THIS COMPELLING, HAUNTING, AMAZING

PIECE OF MUSIC WITH A MESSAGE.

CANADIANS ~ 10 THINGS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN THAT THE MEDIA HAS NOT TOLD YOU

CANADA IN AFGHANISTAN: TOP TEN UNDER-REPORTED FACTS

The Canadian mainstream media has been promoting our role in Afghanistan, with almost no critical voices, despite polling that indicates between 48% to 62% of Canadians not only question but oppose our engagement of troops in this war-torn country. ~ Ipsos-Reid, Mar. 4/06; Strategic Counsel/Globe and Mail, Feb. 24/06.

The 'post-Harper trip' polling results have been misrepresented because Strategic Counsel found that, while views had shifted due to a heightened campaign by the military and the media, 69% of Canadians want a debate to decide if our troops should stay in Afghanistan beyond next year and 70% base their support on the misconception that our purpose is significantly more "peacekeeping than combat."

According to this polling, "52% of Canadians say they are against a 10-year mission.
~ Globe and Mail, Mar. 14/06.

HERE ARE TEN VERIFIABLE FACTS THE MEDIA HAS AVOIDED

Brief Overview:

FACT #1: Jean Chretien & Canadian Corporations Involved in Trans-Afghan Pipeline

FACT #2: Gordon O'Connor, Defense Minister, Is Former Military Lobbyist

FACT #3: Current Afghan Parliament Includes Warlords and Drug Lords

FACT #4: Afghan Warlords Considered Bigger Threat than Taliban

FACT #5: Afghan Women Face Repression despite Removal of Taliban

FACT #6: Elected Afghan Woman Faces Death Threats for Speaking Out

FACT #7: Since the U.S.-led War, Afghanistan Is Increasingly Hooked on Heroin

FACT #8: U.S. And Coalition Forces Using Excessive Force & Arbitrary Detention

FACT #9: Canada Complicit In Violation of Human Rights for 'War on Terror'

FACT #10: U.S. Finds More Oil and Gas Reserves after 4-Year Search

FACT #1: FORMER PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRETIEN AND CANADIAN CORPORATIONS INVOLVED IN NATURAL GAS PIPELINE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH AFGHANISTAN, IN COOPERATION WITH REPRESSIVE GOVERNMENT

In 2002:
An agreement has been signed in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, paving the way for construction of a gas pipeline from the Central Asian republic through Afghanistan to Pakistan. The building of the trans-Afghanistan pipeline has been under discussion for some years but plans have been held up by Afghanistan's unstable political situation. ... With improved regional security after the fall of the Taliban [sic] about a year ago, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Pakistan have decided to push ahead with plans for the 1,500-kilometre- gas pipeline. ~ BBC News, Dec. 27, 2002.

And in 2004:
Jean Chretien is advisor to the Bennett Jones, a Calgary-based law firm specializing in energy issues. He is also consul in another law firm Heenan Blaikie. In addition, Chretien is international relations advisor to Petro Kazakhstan Inc., an energy firm based in Calgary with major interests in Kazakhstan and Caspian. ~ News Central Asia, Sept. 4, 2004.

During a meeting Friday, September 3, 2004, in Ashgabat, President Niyazov invited Oman and Canada to participate in oil and gas projects in Turkmenistan. He identified construction of Trans-Afghan Pipeline (TAP) and modernization of Seyidi refinery as two likely projects where Omani and Canadian firms could take part. A joint Omani-Canadian delegation including Yusuf bin Alavi, foreign minister of Oman and Jean Chretien, former prime minister of Canada, called on Niyazov to discuss cooperation in the energy and hydrocarbon sectors. TAP would transport Turkmen natural gas to Pakistan through Afghanistan. ~ News Central Asia, Sept. 4, 2004.

Headed by president-for-life Saparmurat Niazov, Turkmenistan remains one of the most repressive and closed countries in the world. Regressive government policies in education, culture, and health care caused increasing concern in the international community. The overall human rights situation in Turkmenistan remains dismal. ~ Human Rights Watch, Jan. 18, 2006

FACT #2: CANADA'S DEFENCE MINISTER, GORDON O'CONNOR, IS A FORMER LOBBYIST FOR MILITARY CONTRACTORS

The new defense minister is a retired general who once lobbied government on behalf of some big military contractors, a background which some find troubling. He went into business and in the 1990s became a senior associate at Hill and Knowlton, one of the world's largest public affairs firms. Up until February 2004 ~ when he left the firm to run in the June election - he was a registered lobbyist. He represented defense contractors such as Airbus Military, United Defense, General Dynamics Canada and BAE Systems as well as a variety of other, non-military clients. ~ Canadian Press, Feb. 5, 2006.

On General Dynamics:
On September 1, 2005, Defense Industry Daily noted that General Dynamics had just become a second-source prime for small-caliber ammunition to the US military, as a result of the Army's small-caliber ammunition shortage. That award may be having ripple effects now, as General Dynamics has just entered a definitive agreement to acquire Canadian ammunition system integrator SNC Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., for approximately $275 million (CDN$ 315 million). SNC Technologies supplies small, medium, and large-caliber ammunition and related products to armed forces and law enforcement agencies in North America. Products include its Simunition line, and customers include Canada and the U.S. Defense Department. The company generated USD$ 293 million in revenue in 2005, with EBITDA of approximately USD$ 39.5 million. ~ Defense Industry Daily, Feb. 27, 2006.

On BAE Systems:
BAE Systems Land & Armaments in York, PA has received a delivery order amount of $187.3 million as part of a $227.3 million firm-fixed-price contract for repair of desert damaged vehicles. Defense Industry Daily has discussed the maintenance overhang facing US equipment as a result of use in Iraq and Afghanistan, and this is one small piece of that. Relevant systems manufactured by BAE Systems include M2/M3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and the derivative M270 MLRS rocket artillery vehicles; M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicles, M019 self-propelled howitzers, and the US Marines' AAV7 Amtracs amphibious armored vehicles. ~ Defense Industry Daily, Mar. 14, 2006.

On the record:

Having worked in an industry in the past does not constitute a conflict of interest in the present.
~ Prime Minister Steven Harper;
Canadian Press, Feb. 5, 2006.

(What has Hapless Harper been smoking to say such a thing?!)

FACT #3: CURRENT AFGHAN PARLIAMENT (ELECTED SEPTEMBER 2005) INCLUDES WARLORDS AND DRUG LORDS

Human Rights Watch estimates that 60 percent of the new legislators have links to warlords. The New York-based rights group singled out Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a powerful militia commander whose guns ravaged Kabul residents in the 1990s, and Mohammed Fahim, a former defense minister, who has been accused of war crimes. ... A European diplomat, who asked not to be named, reckoned that about 20 legislators still have active private militias and that at least 20 more have been involved in drug smuggling. ~ San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 19, 2005.

U.S. President George W. Bush's official White House response to the elected Parliament: "I congratulate the Afghan people and Afghan Government for today's successful parliamentary elections, which are a major step forward in Afghanistan's development as a democratic state governed by the rule of law." ~ Office of the Press Secretary, Sept. 18, 2005.

Commenting on the elections, Mark Schneider, Senior Vice President of International Crisis Group, had stated: "It's not merely about drug money financing candidates. Drug lords are candidates." ~ Boston Globe, Oct. 20/04.

Abdul Karim Brahowie, Afghanistan's minister of tribal and frontier affairs, says that the government is so full of drug smugglers that cabinet meetings have become a farce.” Sometimes the people who complain the loudest about theft are thieves themselves,” he says. ~ Christian Science Monitor, May 13, 2005.

Canada's role in the Elections:
Canada will contribute through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) an additional $5 million to support Afghanistan's 2005 parliamentary elections. This increase brings the total amount of CIDA funding for the election to $13 million. ~ Canadian International Development Agency, Sept. 14, 2005.

FACT #4: AFGHAN WARLORDS CONSIDERED A BIGGER THREAT TO AFGHANISTAN'S SECURITY THAN THE TALIBAN

The warlords and private militias who were once regarded as the west's staunchest allies in Afghanistan are now a greater threat to the country's security than the Taliban, according to the interim president, Hamid Karzai. ~ The Guardian, July 13, 2004.

(The dream!)

FACT #5: AFGHAN WOMEN FACING OPEN REPRESSION DESPITE THE SUPPOSED REMOVAL OF THE TALIBAN AND PRESENCE OF FOREIGN TROOPS

An Afghan province has banned women from performing on television and radio, declaring female entertainers un-Islamic, a provincial official said on Saturday. The ban in Nangahar, a southeastern province heavily patrolled by U.S.-led troops hunting for Islamic militants, took effect from Friday and also covers women presenters of news and other information, the official said. ~ Reuters, Apr. 17, 2004.

Afghan farmers prevented from growing poppies under a British-led eradication programme have been forced to hand over their daughters to drug traffickers to settle their debts, according to reports from Afghanistan. The claim is the latest in a series to dog the British effort to curb Afghanistan's opium industry. Opium dominates Afghanistan's economy, accounting for 60 per cent of its income. Critics say the country is turning into a narco-state under the noses of NATO peacekeeping forces, and of the Western governments involved in reconstruction. The Independent London, Oct. 3, 2005.

Amnesty International states in 2005:
Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan is pervasive; few women are exempt from the reality or threat of violence. Afghan women and girls live with the risk of: abduction and rape by armed individuals; forced marriage; being traded for settling disputes and debts; and face daily discrimination from all segments of society as well as by state officials. Strict societal codes, invoked in the name of tradition and religion, are used as justification for denying women the ability to enjoy their fundamental rights, and have led to the imprisonment of some women, and even to killings. Should they protest by running away, the authorities may imprison them. ~ Afghanistan: Women still under attack ~ a systematic failure to protect, May 30, 2005.

FACT #6: ELECTED AFGHAN WOMAN FACES ONGOING DEATH THREATS FOR SPEAKING OUT AGAINST WARLORDS AND DRUG LORDS IN CURRENT GOVERNMENT

As a new parliament opens in the Afghan capital, all eyes are on Malalai Joya, a 27-year-old woman, who has emerged as a fearless critic of the warlords that control the country. In 2003, Joya, then a women's literacy and health worker, had stood up at a public meeting to discuss the new constitution and denounced the factional leaders as criminals who should be taken to the world court. Her speech earned her powerful enemies.

Despite her immense popularity, which led to her winning the September election from the border province of Farah on her own steam, she rarely travels alone. She employs at least 12 security guards ~ there have been at least four assassination attempts ~ and is always seen in public wearing a burqa. ~ Inter Press Service News Agency, Dec. 18, 2005.

Malalai Joya with two Afghani warlords

Women's activist turned politician Malalai Joya picked up where she left off two years ago, condemning Afghanistan's warlords, some of who now sit with her in the Parliament that convened Monday after three decades. 'I can see them sitting here in this House,' said Joya, who earned an international reputation when she spoke against warlords and drug smugglers in the Loya Jirga national meeting to discuss the country's constitution in late 2003. ~ Inter Press Service News Agency/Pajhwok Afghan News, Dec. 20, 2005.

For more information:

BBC News: "Afghan rights advocate expects death"
Defense Committee for Malalai Joya

FACT #7: SINCE THE U.S.-LED WAR BEGAN, AFGHANISTAN HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY DEPENDENT ON OPIUM POPPIES AND HEROIN FOR ITS ECONOMIC SURVIVAL

The hard-line Taliban regime, which ruled Afghanistan until 2001, greatly reduced opium poppy cultivation. However, under the rule of the new democratically elected president, Hamid Karzai, opium production is approaching record highs, with poppies now being grown in all of Afghanistan's 32 provinces. ~ CBC News, Nov. 18, 2004.

Afghanistan has re-emerged since the U.S.-led war as the world's leading source country for opium and heroin ~ rapidly returning to levels of the 1990s, when it produced about 70 percent of the world's illicit opium supply, a U.N. report says. The said a half-million people are involved in Afghanistan's trafficking chain and estimated an annual income at $25 billion, despite a ban on opium production put in place by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. ~ The Washington Times, Aug. 11, 2003.

The United Nations estimated that 323,700 acres in Afghanistan were dedicated to opium in 2004. That marks a 64% increase over the figure for 2003. The U.S. government’s estimate was even higher: 5.1 million acres, a 239% increase over its 2003 figure. The United Nations says Afghanistan produced nearly 90% of the world’s opium and the drug accounted for more than 60% of the country’s gross domestic product. ~ Associate Press / MSNBC.com, Jan. 25, 2005.

To call Afghanistan a third world country exaggerates its wealth. A stunning 70% of its people are undernourished: in a typical developing country this is 25%. Infant mortality is almost twice the third world average. Today, some two million Afghans rely on opium poppies for their livelihood, generating $2.7bn of illegal wealth. They will not give this up readily, nor will the farmers whose desire to feed their families is stronger than their desire to placate NATO. ~ The Scotsman National, Jan. 29, 2006.

'There is a danger that all the stabilization and reconstruction efforts will be neutralized unless the narco trafficking problem is addressed,' says Ursula Müller, political counselor at the German Embassy in Washington. 'We have to fight this corruption. Those guys involved in the drug business are in all levels of Afghanistan's government,' adds Ms. Müller, who has been actively involved in rebuilding Afghanistan since the US toppled the Taliban in late 2001. But the opium trade is deeply rooted in Afghan society. Many regional warlords and opponents of the Taliban are now top officials in the Karzai government. One of the most complicated ~ and delicate ~ tasks is to get corrupt officials to turn away from the drug trade as a source of personal income. ~ Christian Science Monitor, May 13, 2005.

FACT #8: U.S. AND COALITION FORCES ARE USING EXCESSIVE FORCE AND ARBITRARY DETENTION IN AFGHANISTAN

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, which recommended additional troops in Afghanistan in July 2003, admits the following about conditions in 2005: "U.S. and coalition forces active in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom since November 2001, continue to arbitrarily detain civilians and use excessive force during arrests of non-combatants. Ordinary civilians arrested in military operations are unable to challenge the legal basis for their detention or obtain hearings before an adjudicative body. They have no access to legal counsel. Generally, the United States does not comply with legal standards applicable to its operations in Afghanistan, including the Geneva Conventions and other applicable standards of international human rights law. At least six detainees in U.S. custody in Afghanistan have been killed since 2002. U.S. Department of Defense documents show that five of the six deaths were homicides. ~ Human Rights Watch World Report 2006, p. 226.

From 2002 to 2004,
Human Rights Watch estimates that at least one thousand Afghans and other nationals have been arrested and detained by U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. There are numerous reports that U.S. forces have used excessive or indiscriminate force when conducting arrests in residential areas in Afghanistan. As shown in this report, U.S. military forces have repeatedly used deadly force from helicopter gunships and small and heavy arms fire, including undirected suppressing fire, during what are essentially law-enforcement operations to arrest persons in uncontested locales. The use of these tactics has resulted in avoidable civilian deaths and injuries, and in individual cases may amount to violations of international humanitarian law. Human Rights Watch has also documented that Afghan soldiers deployed alongside U.S. forces have beaten and otherwise mistreated people during arrest operations and looted homes or seized the land of those being detained. ~ Human Rights Watch Report, Mar. 8, 2004.

Recent Examples: In early May 2005, sixteen Afghan protesters were killed by police and army troops during violent demonstrations in several cities in response to reports of U.S. interrogators desecrating a copy of the Koran during interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. ~ Human Rights Watch World Report 2006, p. 220.

A US air raid in Afghanistan's rugged eastern mountains killed 17 civilians, including women and children, an Afghan official said yesterday. The US military confirmed civilian deaths but said the numbers were unclear. ~ The Toronto Star/Associated Press, July 5, 2005.

FACT #9: CANADA COMPLICIT IN THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS FOR THE 'WAR ON TERROR'

U.S. partners such as Britain and Canada compounded the lack of human rights leadership by trying to undermine critical international protections. Britain sought to send suspects to governments likely to torture them based on meaningless assurances of good treatment. Canada sought to dilute a new treaty outlawing enforced disappearances. ~ Human Rights Watch, Jan. 18, 2006

FACT #10: U.S. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SPENT NEARLY FOUR YEARS ASSESSING AFGHANISTAN'S OIL AND GAS RESERVES AND FOUND MORE THAN EXPECTED IN 2006

Two geological basins in northern Afghanistan hold 18 times the oil and triple the natural gas resources previously thought, scientists reported as part of a U.S. assessment aimed at enticing energy development in the war-torn country. Nearly 1.6 billion barrels of oil, mostly in the Afghan-Tajik Basin, and about 15.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, mainly in the Amu Darya Basin, could be tapped, said the U.S. Geological Survey and Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines and Industry.

The $2-million US assessment, paid for by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, was nearly four years in the making, said Daniel Stein, the agency's regional director for Europe and Eurasia. The total area assessed was only about one-sixth of the two basins' 518,000 square kilometers that lie within Afghanistan. ~ Associated Press, March 14, 2006.

A NEED FOR INDEPENDENT FACTS AND MEDIA

This post was originally inspired by the fact that the Toronto Star, one of Canada's largest, most respected, and 'liberal' newspapers, has decided to only have one external link from its 'Special Report' section on Afghanistan ~ to the Department of National Defense. When the mainstream media only provide government information and rely on government links and officials for the whole story, they are no longer objective, independent, or critical. That is why the public must respond with facts and action.

Some good alternative sources for the truth in reporting. Although, always keep your eyes open for disinformation at times... or what is NOT being said. Take nothing for granted and do your homework.

Global Research presents unbiased reporting on just about everything if you take time to look about.

AlterNet is also excellent.

70 Free, Alternative and Independent Online News Sources

IF YOU WISH TO ACT:

Please forward this message to friends, family, concerned citizens, groups and media contacts.

Those critical of our role in Afghanistan, and those dedicated to non-military solutions to global conflict, must make our voices collectively heard. Write letters to the editors. They may be cut, may be ignored, but this tells the media what you want. And they listen. Even if they are controlled by an outside force.