Who knew that opening fire on a busload of innocent civilians would be such a hot-button issue?
The US was quick to take responsbility today, and NATO was quick to express regrets, but the attack earlier today on a civilian bus, leaving five civilians dead and 18 others wounded, sparking protests and later riots.
Hundreds took to the streets, chanting “death to America,” burning tires, blocking the main road into town and generally causing a ruckus. Certainly such attacks have been a source of consternation for Afghans, but with their alarming regularity the US killing only five civilians in one go is for many just “another day in Afghanistan” and in many parts of the nation would’ve past barely acknowledged.
Rather the fury reflects not only the outrage at yet another civilian massacre, but also the serious resentment among residents of Kandahar, one of the most corrupt cities in the nation and one for which NATO is planning a massive invasion. It is exactly the same resentment which Karzai attempted to tap into in last weekend’s visit.
But it also spells disaster for the June invasion. The Pentagon has made tackling corruption and winning the “hearts and minds” in Kandahar the two centerpieces of the victory. They have already made it clear that ousting Wali Karzai, one of the driving forces behind the corruption, simply isn’t happening. Now it seems the “hearts and minds” portion isn’t going to happen either, as if the US can’t avoid killing civilians on the open highway they certainly won’t be able to avoid killing far more in a densely populated urban environment.
This isn't crazies or malcontents, this is Official Policy, if it moves shoot it as we saw in the Wiki Leak video.. If it isn't state terrorism, What is..??
I am afraid the official policy of the United States Armed Forces is government sponsored terrorism. Hitler as recently as this century and the US as well as all other despots going back thousands years used it (terrorism) to demoralize the civilian populace and to prove that the families and loved ones of the country's insurgents would be sacrificed in retaliation.
Caesar Augustus made sure that all the rebels that surrendered of the gladiator's uprising were crucified upside down and lined for miles the road that went to Rome as an object lesson.
Not much different than what we are doing today except we do the women and kids also.
Why is Kandahar "corrupt"?
"Corrupt" on the level of Blackwater (Xe), for example? Or Halliburton? Or Goldman Sachs? Or the for profit Health Insurers? Or the military industrial complex? Or US oil? Or what Angela Davis rightly calls the prison industrial complex?
Baksheesh is a cultural institution with its own rules that hypocritical, schizophrenic Americans of all stripes neither understand nor are able to translate into their own vast, systematically corrupt institutions, which includes the political parties, the financial establishment, and the war machine.
Amen Brother!
YOU are So right E. A. Costa.. Thank You…!!!
Afghan patriotic resistance to the occupiers and invaders is on the rise.
Corruption exists everywhere and it is not good. What is really irksome is to call oneself the beacon of the free world, the bearer of democracy, the land of the free and turn around and start killing, maiming and yes corrupting whole societies.
If you think about it, the US is one of the most corrupt societies in the world. Our government lies, deceives, assassinates, tortures…you get the picture. Of course, it's for the good of the world and one can only wonder how bad the world really would be if not for our all caring, noble leaders.
Kandahar would rank far behind Washington in any measure of corruption.
The amazing thing is that they are planning to go ahead with the invasion of Kandahar even though they've already lost the battle for "hearts and minds" which was supposed to be the point. You would think they would be looking for the exits about now, but no.
When you create a killing machine like the US military and can't control it you have problems. And as much as Gates tries to "white-wash" the video of American animals targeting and killing people for assembling in a town square, the crimes committed don't go away. "Out of context" or not, the enjoyment of the US soldiers in targeting and killing other human beings, from the safety of a helicopter, speaks to what these men have become. Just wait until they come home and are integrated back into "society". Bush, Cheney and now Obama have created this monster and should now deal with it. promptly Killing another person is a sin whether that person is deemed good or bad. I thought that the Western world had evolved to a higher level than what is currently pracitised and supported by the majority of Americans. They grow more like Israelis every day.
They have not yet adopted the mourning tradition of evening candle lighting that would make such nice pictures for Gates and State to distribute to the media – but perhaps they can't afford candles.