Afghanistan Part 4

On January 9, 2012 an Afghan soldier killed an American and the Taliban released a US soldier in exchange for 3 at Guantanamo Bay; January 10 insurgents stormed an Afghan government building, 5 dead. On January 11 the 4 US troops shown in a video peeing on dead Taliban were identified; they’re charged with war crimes and discrediting the armed forces; in spite of the video the Taliban said they’re willing to talk about ending the war. On January 17 Afghan President Karzai urged the Taliban to allow vaccinations in the areas in their control; January 21 he met with insurgents for a peace talk. France threatened to pull troops after an Afghan soldier killed 4 French soldiers and we heard about a May 20, 2011 Crisis of Trust and Cultural Incompatibility study that said Americans say Afghan soldiers as cowardly, incompetent, pot smoking, murderous radicals; Afghans call Americans violent, reckless and arrogant bullies; it’s reported that 60 coalition troops have been killed by Afghan soldiers since 2007; the attacks may be unprecedented between allies in modern military history. The US said the problem is not systemic and the head of NATO said it’s terrible but isolated (the US is paying $12 billion this year to train the Afghans; the idea that they turn their weapons on Americans and our allies is horrifying). On January 30 we’re told Karzai is to meet with Taliban leaders in Saudi Arabia. On February 1 a military report said that the Taliban backed by Pakistan is ready to take control of Afghanistan when NATO troops pull out. On February 16 the US and Afghan governments began 3 way talks with the Taliban. On February 21 more than 2,000 Afghans set fires, throw rocks and shout hate in protest of the burning of outdated Qurans at the Bagram Air Field; a NATO investigation finds they were thrown out with the trash and burned in error as soldiers did not know they’re to be disposed of in a flowing river or buried; apologies were issued by NATO, the US State Department and the White House. Daily we hear the tension didn’t stop but instead spread; Afghans burned tires and set fuel trucks on fire outside US bases, the embassy was closed; the US tells its people to stay inside and is worried that the Taliban will capitalize on the situation. On February 23-2 US soldiers are killed by a man wearing an Afghan uniform; February 25-2 US officers are assassinated inside a secured compound (3 levels of security) and a 25 year old police intelligence officer is to blame; about a dozen Afghan Security Forces have been killed (total 30 dead). The Los Angeles Times article of February 25, 2012 said - Many worry that the US and its military allies are so eager to find a way out of this war that they will give their blessing to an accord with the Taliban that does not adequately safeguard women's rights or civil liberties. "This is not just about relations with the US" researcher Martine van Bijlert wrote on the website of the Afghanistan Analysts Network in the first days of the Quran burning protests. "This is part of a wider struggle over what kind of society Afghanistan is becoming, over who the custodians of religious power will be and what they will use it for."  Kabul, the capital, and a few other big Afghan cities have a cosmopolitan veneer of shopping malls, smart phones and gel-spiked hairdos. But in a society steeped in conservative Islam, a decade of US military engagement coupled with a massive development drive that has brought thousands of foreign civilians to Afghanistan has generated profound unease over outsiders' behavior as a polluting influence. The perceived insults are many: not only troops', sometimes heavy-handed treatment of ordinary Afghans or the video that surfaced last month of US Marines urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters but also men and women consorting freely in heavily guarded international compounds or the consumption of alcohol at restaurants with a mainly non-Afghan clientele. "I was personally offended by what happened," said a college-educated 30-year-old who described himself as a moderate Muslim. "But there are elements that want to take advantage of this irresponsible act; the whole issue has been manipulated." Some imams or preachers delivered fiery sermons that helped drive the protests forward, turning the week's events into a broader complaint about the Western entanglement in Afghanistan. Inayatullah Baleegh thundered from the pulpit of a Kabul mosque "Burning the Quran at Bagram is an unforgivable crime and sin but the presence of infidels in a Muslim country is an even bigger sin." On February 27 the Taliban via a suicide bomber killed at least 9 at the Jalalabad Airport; March 1-2 US soldiers were killed by an Afghan English teacher; March 7 a roadside bomb killed 6 British soldiers. The Afghanis said apologies weren’t enough, they wanted revenge for the burning of the Qurans and there was over 2 weeks of purposeful killing for a mistake. On March 9 the US transferred prison responsibility to the Afghan government; March 11 a US soldier walked a mile and killed 16 villagers (mostly women and children) while they slept; Karzai said it’s an assassination that cannot be forgiven; Taliban fired on Afghan officials, students protested, asylum applications rose 20% and March 14 a translator tried to run a truck into the US Secretary of Defense’s plane. On February 3 on ABC News a Marine’s letter to his parents was read (he served 4 tours in Afghanistan) it said in part – My death did not change the world – there is a greater meaning to it – there will be a child who will live, this child will learn in the new schools that have been built, he will walk his street not worried, he will grow into a fine man, he will have the gift of freedom - if my life buys the safety of a child who will one day change this world then I know that it was all worth it. Although the Afghan government has been trying to modernize the country for over 100 years there are too many who don’t want change; religious leaders don’t get along and there’s been no progress with Taliban or insurgent peace talks to calm any fires. I think we should’ve given up our soldier so the Afghanis would know our intent is not evil.