STORY
Guardian Unlimited
Bloody evidence of US blunder
Rory Carroll in Qalaye Niazi (if given)
January 7, 2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,628666,00.html
COMMENT
Now that we have won our glorious victory in Afghanistan, the real fun has
begun. Remember, historically Afghanistan has been one of the most chaotic
countries in the world. It is full of different tribes, clans, and factions
that continually compete with each other.
Traditionally, almost all is fair in this perpetual rivalry. These guys
just don't play by the traditional Western rules of warfare. Alliances are
forged and then betrayed, and warlords are always looking for a leg up on
their neighbors. They change sides all the time, depending on who seems to
be winning, or who offers more booty or bribes. There seems to be little
hard feelings towards former enemies; in fact, the Afghans still talk about
their former enemies the British with affection because (1) they were good
fighters, and (2) when the fighting was over they could sit down, have tea
with the other side, and let bygones be bygones. Of course, during the
three Afghan wars, the British didn't do a whole lot of damage to
noncombatants. If they had, their reputation might be a little different.
This cavalier approach to warfare has already resulted in some
embarrassing moments for the Empire, when a large number of evil Taliban
and al-Qaeda fighters, cornered like rats in Tora Bora and other hideouts
by the virtuous Northern Alliance, managed somehow to escape the ruthless
hand of U.S. justice. Over the protests of U.S. officials, many Taliban
fighters were allowed to change sides. On top of that, apparently leaders
of the Northern Alliance were bribed, or made deals with higher-ranking
enemies. This may be the reason that both the Evil Fiend, Osama bin Laden,
and the head of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, seem to have slipped through the
net, along with a number of other high-ranking Al Qaeda and Taliban
officials.
The latest reports are that the decrepit, one-eyed Omar escaped Tora Bora
on a motorcycle, with three or four associates. The report didn't specify
whether they were all riding the same motorcycle, but, in any case, there's
more than a hint of Keystone Kops about the whole affair. I can just imagine
the U.S. advisors shouting, "Hey, wait a minute!" as Northern Alliance
warlords welcome defecting Taliban troops into their ranks.
Unfortunately, such shenanigans are not all that's happening. The United
State is continuing to bomb, and civilian casualties, already estimated to
be more than those resulting from the September 11 attacks, continue. And
now the difficulty of nation-building in Afghanistan is beginning to reveal
itself after a U.S. bombing raid on a village:
> The war on terrorism came no cleaner and Commander Matthew
> Klee, a spokesman at the US central command in Tampa,
> Florida, had reassuring news: "Follow-on reporting indicates that
> there was no collateral damage."
>
> Some of the things his follow-on reporters missed: bloodied
> children's shoes and skirts, bloodied school books, the scalp of
> a woman with braided grey hair, butter toffees in red wrappers,
> wedding decorations.
>
> The charred meat sticking to rubble in black lumps could have
> been Osama bin Laden's henchmen but survivors said it was the
> remains of farmers, their wives and children, and wedding
> guests.
>
> They said more than 100 civilians died at this village in eastern
> Afghanistan.
Oops! Well, who cares; they're only dromedary jockies, after all. But
here's the kicker:
> Survivors lacked the bewilderment common to those who have
> been bombed, because they had an explanation: a tribal rival
> had manipulated the Americans into attacking Qalaye Niazi to
> further his political ambitions in Paktia province.
How many times has this happened before? How many times have the Empire's
best and brightest been played for fools by crafty Afghans? And how many
other surprises will our forces find in a place they don't understand? It
will be entertaining to watch how our rulers try to spin the mounting
number of screw-ups:
> Tribal politics tend to confuse even Afghans and one US official
> in Kabul admitted it was impenetrable to outsiders, no matter
> how well briefed. "So sure, mistakes happen."
Oh, well. That's all right then.
The U.S. doesn't have bin Laden, our ostensible reason for going into
Afghanistan in the first place. Even so, although the Afghans had nothing
to do with the actual September 11 attacks, the United State killed more
innocent civilians there than Osama killed here. And now our rulers are
finding out that trying to keep their allies in line is like herding
weasels. It's just getting better all the time.
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