History and Future

America is history, Karzai is history, the Taliban are the future

Former ISI head Gen Hamid Gul

In the wake of the current US-led surge in Afghanistan, is the cat finally out of the bag? Is Pakistan admitting its intent? There are voices similar to Hamid Gul's, despite government policy being outwardly pro-American and many who hope that the Americans go away and leave the region alone. Pakistan, typically is self interested. When we consider the repeat blunders made by NATO allies, including those since the recent step-up in operations in Afghanistan under the banner of Operation Moshtarak, then the Taleban sympathisers in the Pakistan ISI are having it handed to them.

Yesterday's air-strike in Urūzgān is one of many, many errors by NATO. There is no such thing as collateral damage. Dead civilians whether men, women or children, are dead. They don't come back. Consider this the tip of the ice-berg:

• July 2008: Raid in Nangarhar mistakenly kills about 50 civilians at a wedding party
• Aug 2008: Up to 90 people, including 60 children, killed in Herat province, UN says
• Nov 2008: Raid on a Kandahar village destroys a housing complex leaving nearly 40 civilians dead
• May 2009: US says 26 civilians died in raid in Farah province; Afghan officials say 140 died
• Sep 2009: Up to 142 civilians die in Kunduz province when hijacked fuel tankers are bombed

Source: various reports from the BBC over the past few days