Speaking today on the situation in Afghanistan, outgoing UN Deputy Special Representative Robert Watkins reported that security in the nation is at its worst levels since the 2001 invasion, and that the situation is progressively getting worse.
Watkins, who has spent two years at his position, noted that NATO keeps insisting things are “getting better,” but that the UN operations in the country haven’t seen any improvements whatsoever in the ability to deliver aid.
Indeed, Watkins insists that roughly 40% of the nation, including much of the south and the major city of Kandahar are virtually “off limits” to UN personnel because it is just too dangerous to go there.
Watkins also warned that NATO’s role in aid distribution has put a target on other, non-military aid groups, by adding to the perception that humanitarian aid operations are part of the military occupation.
Five US soldiers have died in 5 successive days in Afghanistan from Feb. 17 to Feb. 21, 2011. Two of those combat deaths were from Helmand province where just a few days earlier a US general claimed the US had pushed the Taliban out to the fringes of the province. Not one of these deaths was reported at AntiWar even though this site recently reported the deaths of two soldiers from other Nato countries. Of course the main stream media has remained silent on these US casualties also. Why does AntiWar ignore US combat deaths in Afghanistan? There has not been one report of a US combat death at this site for several weeks. The credibility of this site is seriously in question when the writers at this site refuse to report on the most fundamental aspects of the secret war in Afghanistan. If you merely mimic the corporate media and hide these important statistics concerning the conduct of the war, the credibility and impact of this site are severely questioned. Justin Raimondo sent me an angry email several months ago on this subject stating "there are no credible sources for US combat deaths in Afghanistan". That statement is simply not true. The Department of Defense publishes a list of US combat fatalities each day following notification of kin. Those figures give valuable insight as to where the US is meeting the most resistance. For instance nearly 60 US soldiers have died in Helmand province since Sept.1, 2010.
That figure alone seriously erodes the claim of success in Helmand. The DOD figures also provide the name of the soldier, his home town, the cause of death, and the province in which he died. This information is invaluable in refuting the propaganda of US commanders in the field as to the alleged progress of US forces and building resistance of the public to this endless war.
These combat reports are brief but contain important stats that counter the propaganda regularly
It would appear that even Antiwar is not beyond the reach of the Whitehouse censors. I understand that every mainstream news outlet, and this may be one of them, receives daily a list of "talking points') from the Office of Whitehouse Communications. These guidelines or diktats obviously indicate what not to talk about also.
Last week Dianne Sawyer at ABC News was to give a week long special (expose) on the continuing BP Oil spill catastrophe and how it is much worse than we were led to believe. It was pulled without even a notice to viewers like myself that were anxiously waiting for some truth on the real extent of the damage. So if ABC NEWS can be manipulated (which it well known) than Antiwar ca be also. Why am I not surprised?
I don,t bother let the americans go to hell as they are used to kill civilians around the world.
NO invader – NOT from the time of Alexander the Great – has ever successfully invaded and occupied Afghanistan – which is why is it noted throughout History as "the graveyard of soldiers and of empires".
Sadly – the US is now run / controlled by war criminals!
Today the DOD reported the 6th US soldier to die in as many days. A US marine was killed on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011 in Helmand province. Three US soldiers have died in Helmand since a US general claimed last week the US was winning in Helmand and the Taliban had been pushed to the fringes of the province.