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."
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.
posted by Steve Lendman @ 3:24
AM
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian 
Uprooted Palestinian 