Central London Stop The War: Draft Copy - Not For Release
Central London Stop The War: Draft Copy - Not For Release
Central London Stop The War: Draft Copy - Not For Release
Contents:
1) Maps
2) Kandahar: Summary
3) History of Afghanistan
4) History of Kandahar
5) Invasion of Marjah
6) Role of Nato
7) International Security Assistance Force
8) Press Clippings: Corruption & Fear
9) Press Clippings: Proposed Schedule of the Offensive
10) Press Clippings: Local Reaction
11) Press Clippings: Propaganda & US Strategy
Maps & Pictures
Source: Google
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Kandahar: Summary
“The inhabitants are estimated at 500 000 and the region is known for its agricultural potential.
The economic basis of Kandahar is made up of agriculture, such as pomegranates, apple, grapes
and mango, which allows for agro-processing products. Also, cotton production plays a
substantial part in the local region. However, Kanadahar is known locally and internationally for its
handicraft, specifically the old tradition of embroidered shirts and scarves, which are already
History of Afghanistan
Early History
The Achaemenid Empire (550 B.C.E. - 330 B.C.E) marks the beginning of the recorded history of
Afghanistan. In 330 BC, Alexander the Great arrived en route to conquering Persia. The land of
Afghanistan began to be known as ‘the Central Asian Roundabout’ since routes converged from
the Tigris-Euphrates Basin via the Iranian Plateau, from India through the passes over the Hindu
Kush, from the Far East via the Tarim Basin, and from the adjacent Eurasian Steppe. Aryans
arriving in Afghanistan brought the languages Pashto and Persian, with the Middle Eastern
influence defining the culture of modern Afghanistan. Heterogeneous groups make up the
Afghan identity: Pashtuns predominant in the southern areas and Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks,
Turkmen in the north. These tribes were united in the mid-18th century by Ahmad Shah Durrani
when forming the last Afghan Empire that became the modern state of Afghanistan. In the
nineteenth century, Afghanistan was in the hands of the Russian and British empires. In 1919, the
state finally declared full independence over its foreign affairs. The attempts of King Amanullah
at reducing power from the country's religious leaders and the increasing freedom of women
provoked opposition that led to his deposition in 1929. Amanullah’s cousin King Nadir Shah took
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http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/kandahar.htm
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over and pursued cautious modernization efforts until he was assassinated in 1933. His son
Muhammad Zahir Shah succeeded him. Afghanistan was neutral in World War II and it joined the
United Nations in 1946. When British India was partitioned in 1947, Afghanistan wanted the
Pathans of the North-West Frontier Province to be able to choose whether to join Afghanistan,
Pakistan, or be independent. The Pathans were only offered the choice of joining Pakistan or
joining India and they chose the former. In 1955, Afghanistan urged the creation of an
Cold War
Afghanistan was neutral until the late 1970s, receiving aid from both the United States and the
Soviet Union. In the early 1970s, the country encountered serious economic problems,
particularly a severe long-term drought in the center and north. King Muhammad Zahir Shah
mishandled the economic crisis, a group of young military officers deposed the king and
proclaimed a republic in 1973. Lt. Gen. Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan, the king's cousin,
became president and prime minister. In 1978, Daud was deposed by a group led by Noor
Mohammed Taraki, who instituted Marxist reforms and aligned the country more closely with the
Soviet Union. In Sept., 1979, Taraki was killed and Hafizullah Amin took power. Shortly
thereafter, the USSR sent troops into Afghanistan, Amin was executed, and the Soviet-supported
Babrak Karmal became president. In the late 1970s the government faced increasing popular
opposition to its social policies. By 1979 guerrilla opposition forces, popularly called mujahidin
(i.e. ‘Islamic warriors’), were active in much of the country, fighting both Soviet forces and the
Soviet-backed Afghan government. In 1986, Karmal resigned and was replaced by Mohammad
Najibullah.
The country was devastated by the Afghanistan War (1979–89), which took an enormous human
and economic toll. After the Soviet withdrawal, the government steadily lost ground to the guerrilla
forces. In early 1992, Kabul was captured and the guerrilla alliance set up a new government
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consisting of a 50-member ruling council. Burhanuddin Rabbani was named interim president.
The victorious guerrillas proved unable to unite, however, and the forces of guerrilla leader
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar launched attacks on the new government. As fighting among various
factions continued, Afghanistan was in effect divided into several independent zones, each with
its own ruler. Beginning in late 1994 a militia of Pashtun Islamic fundamentalist students, the
Taliban, emerged as an increasingly powerful force. In early 1996, as the Taliban continued its
attempt to gain control of Afghanistan, Rabbani and Hekmatyar signed a power-sharing accord
that made Hekmatyar premier. In September the Taliban captured Kabul and declared
themselves the legitimate government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan; they imposed a
particularly puritanical form of Islamic law in the two thirds of the country they controlled. In 1998
the Taliban appeared on the verge of taking over the whole country. U.S. missiles destroyed what
was described by the Pentagon as an extensive terrorist training complex near Kabul run by
Osama bin Laden, accused of masterminding the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania. In 1999, a UN-brokered peace agreement was reached between the
Taliban and their major remaining foe, the forces of the Northern Alliance, led by Ahmed Shah
Massoud, an ethnic Tajik and former mujahidin leader, but fighting broke out again in July. In
November, the United Nations imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan; this action and the
1998 U.S. missile attacks were related to the Afghani refusal to turn over bin Laden.
Additional UN sanctions, including a ban on arms sales to Taliban forces, were imposed in
December 2000. The Taliban controlled some 90% of the country, but their government was not
generally recognized by the international community (the United Nations recognized President
Burhanuddin Rabbani and the Northern Alliance). Continued warfare had caused over a million
deaths, while 3 million Afghans remained in Pakistan and Iran as refugees. Adding to the nation's
woe, a drought in West and Central Asia that began in the late 1990s was most severe in
Afghanistan. In early 2001 the Taliban militia destroyed all statues in the nation, including two
ancient giant Buddhas in Bamian, outside Kabul. The destruction was ordered by religious
5
leaders, who regarded the figures as idolatrous and un-Islamic; the action was met with
widespread international dismay and condemnation, even from other Islamic nations. In
September, in a severe blow to the Northern Alliance, Massoud died as a result of a suicide bomb
attack by assassins posing as Arab journalists. Two days after that attack, devastating terrorist
assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon prompted new demands by U.S. President
Bush for the arrest of Osama bin Laden. When the Taliban refused to hand bin Laden over, the
United States launched in October of 2001 attacks against Taliban and Al Qaeda positions and
forces. The United States also began providing financial aid and other assistance to the Northern
Alliance and other opposition groups. Assisted by U.S. air strikes, opposition forces ousted
Taliban and Al Qaeda forces from Afghanistan's major urban areas in November and December,
often aided by the defection of forces allied with the Taliban. Several thousand U.S. troops began
entering the country in November, mainly to concentrate on the search for bin Laden and Taliban
leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and to deal with the remaining pockets of their forces.
Hamid Karzai
Pashtun with ties to the former king, as the nation's interim leader, replacing President Rabbani.
By January 2002, the Taliban and Al Qaeda were largely defeated, although most of their leaders
and unknown numbers of their forces remained at large. Fighting continued on a sporadic basis,
with occasional real battles, as occurred near Gardez in March 2002. The country itself largely
reverted to the control of the regional warlords who held power before the Taliban. Britain,
Canada, and other NATO nations provided forces for various military, peacekeeping, and
humanitarian operations. Many other nations also agreed to contribute humanitarian aid; the
United Nations estimated that $15 billion would be needed over the next 10 years to rebuild
Afghanistan. The former king, Muhammad Zahir Shah, returned to the country from exile to
convene in June 2002 a loya jirga (a traditional Afghan grand council) to establish a transitional
government. Karzai was elected president (for a two-year term), and the king was declared the
“father of the nation.” That Karzai and his cabinet faced many challenges was confirmed violently
6
in the following months when one of his vice presidents was assassinated and an attempt was
made on Karzai's life. Nonetheless, by the end of 2002 the country had achieved a measure of
stability. Sporadic, generally small-scale fighting with various guerrillas has continued,
particularly in the southeast, with the Taliban regaining some strength and even control in certain
districts. There was fighting between rival factions in various parts of the country. Reconstruction
has proceeded slowly, and central governmental control outside Kabul remained almost
nonexistent. A return to economic health also was hindered by a persistent drought that
NATO
In August 2003 NATO assumed command of the international security force in the Kabul area. A
new constitution was approved in January 2004 by a loya jirga. It provides for a strong executive
presidency and contains some concessions to minorities, but tensions between the dominant
Pashtuns and other ethnic groups were evident during the loya jirga. In early 2004 the United
States and NATO both announced increases in the number of troops deployed in the country.
The U.S. move coincided with new operations against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, while the NATO
forces were slated to be used to provide security and in reconstruction efforts. By mid-2004 little
of the aid that the United Nations had estimated the country would need had reached
Afghanistan, while a new, Afghani-proposed development plan called for $28.5 billion over seven
years. Although foreign nations pledged to provide substantial monies for three years, sufficient
forces and funding for Afghan security were not included. Karzai was elected to the presidency in
October 2004 in the country's first democratic elections. The vote, which generally split along
ethnic lines, was peaceful, but it was marred by minor difficulties. Several losing candidates
accused Karzai of fraud, but an international review panel said the irregularities that had occurred
were not significant enough to have affected the outcome. Karzai's new cabinet consisted largely
of technocrats and was ethnically balanced, although Pashtuns generally held the more important
posts. The spring of 2005 was marked by an increase in attacks by the Taliban and their allies.
Reports of the possible desecration of the Qur'an by U.S. interregators at Guantanamo, when
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Afghan prisoners were held by the United States, provoked protests and riots in a number of
Afghan cities and towns in May, 2005. The protests were largely in the country's south and east,
where U.S. forces were operating, and were believed to reflect frustration with the U.S. presence
there as much as anger over the alleged desecration. National and provincial legislative elections
were held in September 2005, in some locales the balloting was marred by fraud. Supporters of
Karzai won a substantial number of seats in the lower house (Wolesi Jirga); religious
conservatives, former mujahidin and Taliban, women, and Pashtuns (which are overlapping
groups) were all elected in significant numbers to the body. Tensions with Pakistan increased in
early 2006, as members of the Afghan government increasingly accused Pakistan of failing to
control Taliban and Al Qaeda camps in areas bordering Afghanistan; by the end of the year
President Karzai had accused elements of the Pakistani government of directly supporting the
Taliban.
2006-2010
In January, 2006, a U.S. airstrike destroyed several houses in East Pakistan where Al Qaeda
leaders were believed to be meeting. May, 2006, saw the U.S.-led coalition launch its largest
campaign against Taliban forces since 2001; some 11,000 troops undertook a summer offensive
in four South Afghan provinces, where the Taliban had become increasingly stronger and
entrenched. Also in May a deadly traffic accident in Kabul involving a U.S. convoy sparked anti-
American and antigovernment demonstrations and riots in the city. In July, NATO assumed
responsibility for peacekeeping in Southern Afghanistan, taking over from the coalition. NATO
troops subsequently found themselves engaged in significant battles with the Taliban, particularly
in Kandahar province. NATO took command of all peacekeeping forces in the country, including
some 11,000 U.S. troops, in October; some 8,000 U.S. troops remained part of Operation
Enduring Freedom, assigned to fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in mountainous areas
bordering Pakistan. In the second half of 2006, as casualties mounted, NATO commanders
encountered difficulties when their call for reinforcements failed to raise the necessary number of
troops and matériel. NATO leaders also joined Afghan leaders in criticizing Pakistan for failing to
8
end the Taliban's use of areas bordering Afghanistan, especially in Baluchistan, as safe havens.
In March 2007, NATO forces launched a new offensive in Helmand province against the Taliban
and Al Qaeda. The same month the National Assembly passed a law granting many Afghans
amnesty for human-rights violations committed during the past two-and-a-half decades of civil
war. In the spring of 2007, Pakistan's construction of a fence along the border with Afghanistan
led to protests from Afghanistan, and sparked several border clashes between the forces of the
two countries. (Afghanistan does not officially recognize the modern Pakistan-Afghanistan
border.) In May NATO forces killed the top Taliban field commander, Mullah Dadullah, but
Taliban forces mounted some guerrilla attacks on the outskirts of the capital and in the north
during 2007. Significant, if sporadic, fighting with insurgents continued into 2008. Also in 2007,
Afghan civilian casualties during military operations became a source of anger and concern
among Afghans, and those concerns also continued into 2008. In April 2008, President Karzai
escaped an assassination attempt unhurt. In July, Karzai accused Pakistani agents of being
behind insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, among them a suicide bombing of the Indian embassy in
Kabul. Although the majority of the Afghan refugees abroad have repatriated since the overthrow
of the Taliban, at the beginning of 2007 it was estimated that some 2.1 million Afghanis were still
refugees, with most of those in Pakistan and Iran. Afghanistan continues to suffer from a weak
central government and weak economy, which have exacerbated the insurgency and led to an
increase in illegal drug production. The weak government contributed to shortfalls in international
development aid to Afghanistan. By early 2008, some $25 billion had been pledged, and three
fifths of that actually spent. The effectiveness of the aid was greatly reduced by government
corruption, spending on foreign consultants and companies (sometimes required under the terms
of the aid), wasteful spending practices, and sharp imbalances nationally in the distribution of the
aid.
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History of Kandahar
“…during the height of the Cold War, when the former Soviet Union and the United
States were vying for influence in Afghanistan. Kandahar was the scene of the fiercest fighting in
any Afghan city. Virtually every night of 1984-85 saw fighting in and around the city, and the
inhabitants were subjected to almost daily bombing and strafing by Soviet helicopters from the
nearby base, as well as arbitrary arrests and frequent ground combat between Afghan forces and
the guerrillas. Terrence White of the Far Eastern Economic Review spent almost a month in
Qandahar in the 1980s and reported that the guerrillas enjoyed remarkable freedom of movement
The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known to man. Early
peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan circa 5000 B.C. Kandahar was
founded in 330 BC by Alexander the Great. Today, following 30 years of destruction and lack of
development, Kandahar is going through a reconstruction period. New modern-style buildings are
slowly replacing the older ones. Major highways were repaired and completed including the
highway to Kabul. Kandahar's residents have access to clean drinking water and 24 hour
electricity. Although not every part of the city may receive it, plans and works are underway to
extend these services to every home. Up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated
infrastructure of roads, water and sewer systems, and community buildings, including schools,
2
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/kandahar.htm
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The Invasion of Marjah
In February 2010, thousands of US marines pushed into Marjah, a rural Afghan town, in “a
media-friendly invasion of a sparsely populated farming community sold as the “test” for the
3
Kandahar strategy “ . U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah and
sealed off escape routes. They set the stage for what went on to be described as the biggest
offensive of the nine-year war. NATO officials stated that the goal was to seize the town quickly
and re-establish Afghan government authority, bringing public services in hopes of winning
The Marjah invasion only partially succeeded in clearing insurgents from their strongholds. Afgan
officials admitted that the Taliban have retaken the momentum in the city, killing and beating
those that they believe have sided with the Americans. A Taliban spokesman dismissed the
significance of Marjah, saying the NATO operation was "more propaganda than military
necessity."
Marjah, located in Helmand province, was one of the last areas of Afganistan that the NATO and
US troops had not penetrated prior to February 2010. Marjah has been an opium-growing
paradise in the Helmand River valley where the Taliban reign of fear has created one of southern
Afghanistan’s most notorious insurgent dens. Populated by Pashtun tribes, residents are poor
farm labourers or jobless in an area devoid of development since the 2001 US-led invasion. The
Taliban work in tandem with drug traffickers to force local people to grow poppies. The Taliban
presence increased after US Marines flushed them out of other parts of Helmand more than two
years ago.
3
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/04/25/afghans-may-block-nato-offensive-in-kandahar-over-civilian-deaths/
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Shortages of food and medicine have been reported in Marjah. The international Red Cross
evacuates dozens of sick and injured civilians to clinics outside the area. The U.N. says more
than 3,700 families, or an estimated 22,000 people, from Marjah and surrounding areas have
registered in Helmand’s capital of Lashkar Gah 30 kilometers away. A signifiant number of civilian
casualties have also been reported, with the Afghan troops accusing the Taliban of using civilians
as human shields.
After the invasion of Marjah, Afghans are bracing for a bigger, more comprehensive assault in
neighboring Kandahar province. Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban. Officials are talking to
aid organizations about how to handle up to 10,000 people who could be displaced by fighting.
Kandahar is considered militarily, politically and culturally more complex than Marjah. Marjah is a
smal town with widespread rural areas, whereas Kandahar is a proper city with a dens population
making it likely that the number of casualties will be much higher in Kandahar than Marjah.
Sources:
‘Afghans Wary as NATO Rebrands Kandahar Process’, Reurters, 8th May 2010
‘Kandahar braces itself for a bloody summer offensive’ The Guardian, 11th May 2010
‘Marjah battle: Gunfire between Marines, Taliban Foreshadows Major Afganistan Fight’, The
‘U.S. Marines, Afghan troops clear last pockets of resistance in Marjah’, Japan Today, 28th
February 2010
‘The Lying Language of Occupation: Murdered Civilians in Marjah are Human Beings, not Human
‘Afghans may block NATO offensive in Kandahar’, All Voices, 27th April 2010
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The Role of NATO
Nato expects to do some of its heaviest fighting in Kandahar this summer. The Nato-led
operation that is to be launched in Kandahar, the home of the Taliban, in June aims at
freeing the city of Taliban forces before the Holy month of Ramadan.The joint Afghan-Nato
predominantly led by US forces with Canadian support, with the British holding their current
role in Helmand.
The operation titled as the Kandahar Offensive will involve at least 23,000 Nato and
Afghan troops. The operation will come at a time when Nato will have the maximum troop
Nato claims that the aim of the operation is to solve the area’s political and socia l
problems. Nato offic ials say that the operation will protect the population of Kandahar and
change the political culture and perceptions of people residing there. Nato has justifies the
offensive with claims that the biggest problem of Afganistan is not the Taliban but a lack of
Nato intends to create ‘a ring of security’ around Kandahar to replace ‘the fear and panic’
that the Taliban is creating. Nato officials play down the possibility of heavy fighting in the
city.
94% of people living in Kandahar don’t want NATO to start a new operation. [according to
who?] The collapse in security and increase in US military patrols have frightened locals
who used to regard the city as a sanctuary from more dangerous outlying districts. ‘’The
people only want peace and security; they don’t care if its provided by Isaf or the
13
Foreign officials worry that operation in surrounding districts will displace fighters into the
city itself. Urban warfare on the streets of Kandahar is a disaster for the Nato strategy of
trying to create security in areas where the population is most dense. A senior Nato officia l
Nato was hoping that public ising the operation well in advance will encourage Taliban
fighters to withdraw. Rather, this has given time for the Taliban prepare bombs and mines,
Sources:
‘Kandahar braces itself for a bloody summer offensive’ The Guardian, 11th May 2010
‘Afghan Offensive in Kandahar due in June, offic ials say’, BBC, 19th March, 2010
‘Afghans Wary as NATO Rebrands Kandahar Process’, Reurters, 8th May 2010
‘Nato Offensive aims to tackle bribery and corruption in Kandahar’ The Guardian 18th April
2010
was established by the United Nations Security Council in 2001 and supported by the Bonn
Agreement. The initial objective of ISAF was to secure Kabul and its surrounding areas
from the Taliban. The troops of ISAF number around 55,100, with military personnel from
26 Nato countries, 10 partner countries and 2 non-Nato and non-partner countries. These
countries include: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany,
the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Poland and most members of the European
14
Union and NATO also inc luding Australia, New Zealand, Azerbaijan and Singapore.
ISAF soon expanded the area it worked on and the number of its teams began growing. The
expansion of ISAF, during October 2006, to all provinces of the country brought the total
number of teams to twenty-four. The teams are led by different members of the NATO-ISAF
mission.
ISAF will participate in the Kandahar Offensive in the summer. They are likely to provide
thousands of troops that fight alongside the Afgan army. In fact, joint operation between the
Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
http://www.isaf.nato.int/
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Press Clippings: Corruption & Fear
“…Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Afghan president’s brother and head of the Kandahar
provincial council, whose suspected links with drug dealers and insurgents have prompted some
Western officials to say that corruption and governance problems have led locals to be more
4
accepting of the Taliban. (The New York Times)
“If we speak out and if we tell you the truth of what’s happening here, we will not last the
night,” said one elder. “We will be assassinated. Everyone is scared.” --On the corruption of
government officials, said during a shura with Afghan President Hamid Karzai (The Times of
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London)
“….The operation, involving at least 23,000 NATO and Afghan troops, is the central
objective of U.S. and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal's counter-insurgency plan
to turn the tide using reinforcements pledged by Obama in December… Ominously, there has
been a surge in attacks and political assassinations in Kandahar city recently. Residents fear
more bloodshed as some 10,000 troops move into their neighborhoods. Most of the troops will
stay in rural areas trying to cut off access routes into the city while a 3,500-strong U.S. army
brigade will aim to push into Kandahar city, accompanied by almost 7,000 Afghan police.
(Reuters) 6
“…30,000 U.S. reinforcements President Barack Obama dispatched to the war head to
the country. About 4,500 have deployed, with another 18,000 due to arrive by late spring and the
7
rest by early fall. (AP)
4
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/world/asia/26kandahar.html?ref=world
5
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7094217.ece
6
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6464HS20100507
7
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD9FIPGGG0
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Press Clippings: Proposed Schedule of the Offensive
“…military officials warn that securing the city could take months. Military commanders
say their goal is to show concrete results by late summer or early fall, in advance of Ramadan
the creation of precinct councils, to tackle the roots of the Taliban rebellion. The aim is to wrest
power from so-called warlords — including the president’s own brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai.”
“…As the military pace increases, the centerpiece of the offensive’s political effort will be
a series of “shuras” — Afghan-style town hall meetings between tribal leaders and government
officials to try to convince locals that they will get a better deal from the government than from
Taliban administration. The aim of the shuras, said Mark Sedwill, the senior NATO civilian in
Afghanistan, will be “firstly to get their support for security operations to go ahead, and secondly,
to identify their needs for security, governance and development.” Source: New York Times 10
“….many locals view Afghan and NATO checkpoints and convoys as great a danger on
the roads as Taliban bombs and checkpoints….“Instead of bringing people close to the
government,” cautioned Haji Mukhtar, a Kandahar Provincial Council member, more combat “will
8
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/world/asia/26kandahar.html?ref=world
9
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7094217.ece
10
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/world/asia/26kandahar.html
17
cause people to stay further from the government and hate the foreigners more.” (New York
Times) 11
“….At a popular coffee shop in the city centre, Khaled, a medical student from Kabul, said
the influence of the Taliban was creeping back into the area. “A Nato offensive here will not
help,” he added. “We know what they do. They arrive in great numbers and provide security for
two weeks and then they go and the insecurity returns.”” (The Times) 12
“….Others say that nothing will change until a solution is found for Kandahar's underlying
problems of official corruption and tribes who feel excluded from power, which they say is
the Taliban insurgency in terms of rivalry between members of the largely excluded Gilzai tribe,
which has always been heavily represented within the Taliban, and the traditional elite Durrani
“…Mohammad Karim, a farmer from Ashgo, said: "The Taliban publicly executed a man
in our village by hanging him from a tree and then shooting him. He was accused of passing
information to the foreigners. Both sides are creating problems for us and we try to remain
“…Haji Abdul Haq, a tribal elder from Arghandab district, said people in his area were
only interested in avoiding the fight. "The people only want peace and security; they don't care if
it's provided by Isaf [the international security assistance force led by Nato] or the Taliban," he
11 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/world/asia/26kandahar.html
12
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7094217.ece
13
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/afghanistan-taliban-nato-kandahar-fighting
14
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/afghanistan-taliban-nato-kandahar-fighting
15
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/afghanistan-taliban-nato-kandahar-fighting
18
“…"We are just in absolute despair," said one man from Arghandab district who had
come into the city to shop. "People used to move their families into the city when there was
fighting in the districts, but now that's not safe either. We really don't know where to go." (The
16
Guardian)
“…Despite the dire state of security in the city and its surrounding areas, there is
widespread opposition among locals to a major military offensive, which, like the February
“…U.S. soldiers from a Stryker Brigade set up a checkpoint outside Moshak village, a
Taliban "frontline," on a recent patrol in Maiwand district, west of Kandahar city. "What do the
Taliban say to you?" U.S. Captain Drew Schaub asked a man on a motorcycle. "They ask the
same things as you: 'What do you do? Where are you going?'," replied the man, who did not want
to be named for fear of Taliban retribution. "After you leave, at night, the Taliban will come and
set up their own checkpoint, accusing us of being spies for the Americans," he said. (Reuters) 18
“…"We don't know if this operation brings any advantages, but something we know for
sure is innocent people will be killed, harmed and displaced," said Kaka Shirin, a Kandahar
shopkeeper. Commanders are playing down the possibility of heavy fighting in the city, stressing
the political aims of extending the reach of the Afghan state into an area of growing Taliban
influence. Even the language adopted by military officials has changed, with words like
"operation" or "offensive" no longer used. "We would like to call it a process that is
16
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/afghanistan-taliban-nato-kandahar-fighting
17
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/afghanistan-taliban-nato-kandahar-fighting
18
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6464HS20100507
19
encompassing military and non-military instruments," Brigadier General Josef Blotz, the
“…In Pakistan on Saturday, a spokesman for the Taliban claimed they were set to launch
new attacks and had dispatched suicide bombers to the United States. Azam Tariq, a spokesman
for the Pakistani Taliban, told The Associated Press that the attacks would avenge U.S. drone
“….Progress in Afghanistan has been slower than the Obama administration had
expected, undermining the US timetable for the transfer of responsibility for security to Afghan
forces and allowing withdrawal of US troops to begin. US officials predict a large American and
Nato military presence in the country for a long time after July next year. David Sedney, a US
deputy assistant secretary of defence, told the Senate foreign relations committee this month that
there were not nearly enough trained Afghan forces to take over Taliban-controlled areas such as
19
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6464HS20100507
20
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD9FIPGGG0
21
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/11/afghanistan-hamid-karzai-hillary-clinton
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This summer, twenty-three thousand NATO and
Afghan troops will descend onto the city of
Kandahar to fight Taliban Forces.
Central London Stop the War urges you to
oppose this operation.
Listen to what people in Kandahar are saying:
Khaled, a medical student: “A Nato offensive here will not help. We know what
they do. They arrive in great numbers and provide security for two weeks and
then they go and the insecurity returns.” (The Sunday Times)
Kaka Shirin, a Kandahar shopkeeper: "We don't know if this operation brings any
advantages, but something we know for sure is innocent people will be killed,
harmed and displaced” (Reuters)
“We are just in absolute despair. People used to move their families into the city
when there was fighting in the districts, but now that's not safe either. We really
don't know where to go." (The Guardian)
“If we speak out and if we tell you the truth of what’s happening here, we will not
last the night. We will be assassinated. Everyone is scared.” (The Sunday
Times)
4) Get educated. Take the time to find out what is really happening.
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