Talking to the Taliban - Part 2 - Forced to Fight

Air strikes and drug eradication


KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
March 24, 2008

Air strikes and drug eradication are feeding the insurgency in southern Afghanistan, as those actions convince some villagers that their lives and livelihoods are under attack.

In a unique survey, The Globe and Mail interviewed 42 ordinary Taliban foot-soldiers in Kandahar and discovered 12 fighters who said their family members had died in air strikes, and 21 who said their poppy fields had been targeted for destruction by anti-drug teams.

The results suggest an unusual concentration of first-hand experience with bombing deaths and opium eradication among the insurgents, analysts say. Despite the violence and expensive counter-narcotics campaigns in Afghanistan, most villagers have not been touched by these events themselves, and their prevalence among the Taliban highlights two important motives for the insurgency.

"This is very interesting," said Sarah Chayes, an American author who lives in Kandahar.

The Taliban may exaggerate their claims of civilians killed in air strikes, Ms. Chayes said, "but I do think civilian deaths, and the cultivated impression of civilian deaths, is playing an increasing role."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Interview
• Taliban
• Afghanistan
• Terrorist
• Canada
• Muslim
• Mujahideen
• Suicide
• Bombings
• Kandahar

[666mee]

you are a fucking peace of shit ur distroing our country

[TuzesViz]

What did I do to your country? I feel sorry for you Afghans, but don't make insane accusations, please. I haven't done anything to yourself or your country.

[infiltratorr]

dont u want unity or wat? if not than why u dont fight in front line? talking from ur bedroom miles away.............aiaiai

[TuzesViz]

What are you talking about? All I did was upload an informative video.

Please use some sense in your comments.

[gazzalli]

we muslims have the right to sharia just like u have right to democracy.

[killkill416]

this will be another situation were afghanistan will destroy another superpower. do not underestimate the power of the ummah and the heart of the afghan fighters

[junkrat1]

lol its funny most of your comments are complete bs.

So you afghans commenting don't want democracy?

So what you are saying is you would pefer to have strict rules on how you live and that you can't speak up to the 'officials'(Goverment or taliban)???

You guys can be rediculous at times, when tribal elders and civilians speak to the americans in all these videos all you do is ask for things and say what needs to be changed. That points to democracy.. Yet you don't want it?

lol......

[CatIcarus]

@bohemianwriter1 Well those aren't war crimes........just buddy-buddy government stuff........

[bohemianwriter1]

@gazzalli

You have no right to impose laws that is directly suppressing 50% of the population. Religous delusions will soon be of the past.

Trust me on this. Desert dogmas has done nothing but carnege, raping, pillaging, genocide, and self righteous, egocentric power abuse since the days of the 1st Synode in 325. Islam is nothing but a bastard spinoff of Judaism and Christianity using a moon god as an idol. Sharia is inhumane and deserves not to exist!

[bohemianwriter1]

@CatIcarus

He lied about WMDs. He lied about his knowledge about an imminent attack. He or at least Cheney ousted a CIA agent. Which is in judicial terms treason by definition. Scooter Libby served 3 months in a country club before his sentence was commuted. In comparrison, Bradley Manning is being treated like a terrorist for exposing war crime committed by U.S. troops in Iraq.

[CatIcarus]

@bohemianwriter1 ......yeah this is soo far off what we started talking about from the 1st comment that i'm just done after this but out of curiosity, what are these alleged "war crimes" that President Bush committed? and did u mean to say "Do a proper investigation in 2001"?

[bohemianwriter1]

Is there any reason for the so- called Patriot Act to still be in place then? Is there any reason not to be able to bring a bottle of water through security? Is there any reason to be patted down like a bloody criminal?

What you should have done was to do a proper investigation in 2011 instead of going all insane. You should have exposed Bush and indicted him for criminal negligence. Since the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, he should be tried for war crimes & treason. Ever seen War Inc?

[CatIcarus]

@bohemianwriter1 but then again, since bin laden is dead, there is no more reason for us to be over there. If Washington wants to conduct counter insurgency operations with UAV's and spec ops that's fine. But get the soldiers out. OR instead of doing what we're doing tactically, we can become more aggressive and and actually start fighting this more total war style and stop fighting with one hand behind our back...you know what I mean? Either of those two would make me happy.

[CatIcarus]

@bohemianwriter1 How come you can't seem to understand that IT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF WHY THE TALIBAN ARE FIGHTING US???? Because we are over there imposing our interests on them. Ok make sure u read that carefully and the first few commments and understand it is an example!!!!! Now then, I don't support what we're doing over there. I want to be brutally hunting down these Taliban who did 911. Obviously the guys who did it r dead but I want to fight them not help build their country up.

[bohemianwriter1]

@CatIcarus

You are a victim of RW fascist scare tactics. Whom the hell in the ME wants to impose Sharia Laws in America?

And you are seemingly scared of your own shadow. That's why you support what you do over in Afghanistan. Installing a corrupt imposter, focring your socalled democray there, thinking you are doing anyting good. You already have Sharia Law followers in America! They are called the GOP and the Teaparty! Just listen to your GOP candidates and their war on privacy!

[bohemianwriter1]

Why should I have any respect for proffessional snake oil salesmen, war criminals and corporate whores, eh?

There are plenty of the same in Ireland! But at least here, one doesn't start illegal wars based on lies. Ireland has had it's share of bloody history. Maybe you Americans want some more bloodshed before you decide enough is enough? And when is enough? When you have bombed Iran back to the stone age? Given Israel half the Middle East and taken all its oil?