Index on Afghanistan: May 2007 Part I

by Sarah Meyer
Index Research









Flag of Afghanistan                                                   Flag of Iraq

AFGHANISTAN: THE MIRROR OF IRAQ

Preface

Where is Osama? So, Mr. Bush-Cheney, blame al Qaeda, terrorists, insurgents, Pakistan, Puppet Karzai, Puppet Maliki, Iran, but never ever blame yourself for the horrors that you have unleashed. Most of all, never mention the cause for the misery of Afghanitan and Iraq – greedy-guts for another country’s oil and a need to keep U.S. corporate contracts in the military bag imperially forever.


Oil

Why do so many think Afghanistan is a ‘just’ and ‘right war? The Project of the new American Century was talking about Afghanistan, Osama and the Persian Gulf long before the Americans attacked Afghanistan. Afghanistan is also a war about oil.

Now, in Afghanistan, the U.S. are fretting about the Iran / Pakistan/India oil pipeline. In Iraq, there is an oil-crunch as Parliament comes near the deadline to enact Paul Bremer’s U.S. privatization plans.


Media

“Democracy and Freedom” are, of course, best served by free speech. But media censorship is rife and has been a bad egg ever since the Pentagon discovered enforcing ‘embeds’ as a way to control their war info. Corporate ownership of Mainstream Media ensures the public only hear what the government wants them to hear. Journalists have been killed and newspaper premises bombed. Recently, following NATO civilian killings in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, images were deleted. The Afghan news media found foes on all sides. In Iraq, the U.S. government defied the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


Contracts

Contracts for the U.S. war machine keep investor pockets full and ensure continual war. A Report Shows Increased U.S. Military Spending Slows Economy. Billion dollar contracts increase like rabbits. As U.S. richest get richer, family income share drops.


Opium

Opium is a problem in Afghanistan, and now Iraq. In Afghanistan, the U.S. is under fire over opium plan. Further, the US and the UK disagree on how to tackle the opium issue. And now we hear there is opium in Iraq.


Aid

The purpose of these (oil) wars, we are frequently Bush-told, is to ‘win hearts and minds’ and to ‘spread democracy and freedom.’ Killing people is a strange way to show this noble philosophy when building hospitals and schools, regenerating electricity and providing potable water are much more viable ways to help destitute people. But, just as Corruption hampers Iraq reconstruction so, too, has billions been wasted in Afghanistan on aid" (27.05.07. Pak Tribune / ICH) ‘The international community is in danger of repeating in Afghanistan the mistakes made in Iraq. Millions of Afghans have seen little material improvement in their lives since 2001, and most still live in desperate poverty.’


Opposition to Occupation

The rejection of US troops by lawmakers in Afghanistan was simultaneously expressed by lawmakers in Iraq: Majority of Iraqi Lawmakers Now Reject Occupation (09.05.07, Alternet) R. Jarrar and J. Holland say that US media ignored this story.

In Afghanistan, MPs are demanding an end to military offensives. In Iraq, Parliament wants the troops out. And the powerful Al-Sadr is demanding a US pullout.

There is rage about occupiers in Afghanistan

and in Iraq.

Bush soothes his silent, disapproving public, saying that Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan Are Promoting Freedom. Dick Cheney pulls the 9/11 fear whip as U.S. ships enter the Persian Gulf towards the third oil war – this one in Iran.

No one is fooled except the fools themselves. Fred Reed write succinctly on Why the US Government Is Hated All Over the World.

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Index Research was first published in May 2005. The first article was Index on Afghanistan which has been monthly updated

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Index to Afghanistan: May 2001 Part I

Preface
1. Oil and Gas (Pakistan/Iran /India & Iraq)
2. Strategic Imperatives (Afghanistan, Pakistan, US + 9/11)
3. Media and Videos
4. Contracts and U.S. poverty
5. Contractors
6. Investment and Aid
7. Opium

1. Oil and Gas

Pipeline: India, Pakistan narrow down differences
02.05.07. Hindu.com.

Gazprom keen on Iran-India gas pipeline
06.05.07. Peninsular Qatar.

India denies US pressure over Iranian pipeline
08.05.07. payvand. India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Murli Deora has denied reports of United States pressuring India over the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project. He said talks are underway with the other two countries for expediting the project. … The project is not making headway as the differences between Islamabad and New Delhi over the tariff India is to pay to transport gas from Iran through the 1,035 km stretch in Pakistan remain unresolved. The price, at which Iran is willing to supply gas to India, is another area which requires consensus.

INDIA: 'WE WILL NOT BE COWED DOWN' BY U.S. OVER PIPELINE, MINISTER
09.05.07. adnki. "I can assure ... (that) India will not be cowed down by any threat. US energy secretary Samuel Bodman asked me about the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline and we explained (our position) ... it is (none of) the US' business ... [we will] do whatever is good for us," a combative Deora told the members. Deora was responding to a question by Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who wanted to know from him what the government proposed to do in the wake of the letter written by certain US legislators to Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh asking India to back off from its engagements with Iran to save India's civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the US. "The US senators have threatened ... we want a categorical assurance that the government will not succumb to the pressure," Karat had said.

Big Oil attacked over record gas prices
16.05.07. S. Hargreaves, CNN. Critics tell House panel that mismanagement, lack of competition are behind record prices; call for gas reserve, possible oil company breakup.

Iraq-Iranian agreement to lay oil pipeline
18.05.07. Dergham Mohammed Ali, Voices of Iraq / uruknet.
The Iraqi government has agreed with Iran to start laying oil pipeline between the two countries to export Iraqi oil to the neighboring country, the official spokesman for Iraq's Oil Ministry said on Thursday.

India to go slow on Iran gas pipeline
21.05.07. la.rediff / ICH. The government has put on hold the signing of the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline deal, pending the conclusion of the 123 nuclear agreement with the United States.

Transporters stop oil supply to foreign forces in Afghanistan
24.05.07. Pakistani transporters of oil to US and NATO troops in Afghanistan have suspended supplies from a major refinery because of repeated militant attacks on tanker trucks at the border, a press report said Thursday.

IPI gas project to be signed in July
28.05.07. Times of India. Iran, Pakistan and India are striving to sign an agreement in July to export natural gas from Iran to the two nations, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday quoting an Iranian minister.

Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline Deal Likely By End-June
31.05.07. online news.

2. Strategic Imperatives

AFGHANISTAN

REPORT

Amnesty International Report 2007
The government and its international partners were unable to ensure security and a climate of political uncertainty grew in the course of the year. Armed conflict, marked by aerial bombardments and suicide bombings, escalated in southern parts of the country. At least 1,000 civilians were killed. Poor governance, the power of regional commanders and the impact of narcotics undermined the rule of law and human rights. Government security bodies committed human rights violations with impunity. There was little reform of judicial, law enforcement and security agencies. Women continued to face violence. Human rights defenders, including women, were targeted and killed. It became increasingly dangerous to speak out against human rights abuses and for justice.

Informative information on Background; Conflict; Resurgence of the Taleban; Weak government; Detention by International Forces; Rights of Women and human rights defenders; Transitional Justice; Freedom of expression; Amnesty International reports / visits.


ARTICLES

Afghan politician rejects prisoner abuse claims
01.05.07. ctv. Mackenzie suggested NATO may eventually set up their own facility that could show the Afghans how to properly run a prison.

Azerbaijan to double its military contingent in Afghanistan to 40-44
02.05.07. AP/IHT.

Some 1600 displaced after US air raids
03.05.07. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs / Relief web.

NATO and the [Taliban] (L'OTAN et les talibans)
04.05.07. Editorial, le Monde / Truthout. Succinct and educated appraisal of the mess in Afghanistan. ‘ The Pashtun "students of religion," nourished on the milk of Pakistan's secret services and madrassas, supported by the jihadist al-Qaeda movement, are gaining ground in the country and in the minds of Afghans. This rise in power - five and a half years after the fall of the Taliban Islamic Emirate - is a major failure for NATO./ The Western operation in Afghanistan suffers from multiple maladies.’ …

Thirsty to fight, hard to wake up
04.05.07. D. Walsh in Camp Shorabak, Guardian. There have been four attempts to forge a strong central army in Afghanistan since the 18th century. Each has failed, frustrated by war, invasions or the stubborn ways of conservative tribesmen. Now the west is making the fifth try, and the task is no less urgent, or complicated, than in the past. … "You can keep pumping in money but in the long term it is not sustainable," he (Dr Giustozzi) said.

Rethinking Iraq and Afghanistan
05.07.Dr M Ashraf Adeel, The International Times. NATO has no legal authority to operate in Afghanistan and its presence is increasingly being viewed as occupation by Afghans.

Afghan lawmakers call for talks with Taliban, halt to NATO military operations
08.05.07. AP / IHT.

Afghan MPs demand end to military offensives
09.05.07. Guardian/ICH. Afghan MPs today called for an end to military offensives by international forces amid reports that 21 civilians had died in a wave of US-led air strikes yesterday.

Afghan officials warn U.S.
10.05.07. J. Straziuso, AP/ICH. Lawmakers are angered by a mounting civilian death toll and call for a cease-fire and talks with the Taliban. … The proposal from the upper house of parliament, which also calls for a date to be set for the withdrawal of foreign troops, suggests that Afghan support for the five-and-a-half-year-old international military mission is crumbling amid a spate of civilian deaths. The resolution, which NATO labeled “a warning shot” across its own bow, came as reports emerged Wednesday of 21 villagers killed in airstrikes, including several women and children.

The rejection of US troops in Afghanistan by lawmakers was simultaneously expressed by lawmakers in Iraq: Majority of Iraqi Lawmakers Now Reject Occupation (09.05.07, Alternet) R. Jarrar and J. Holland say that US media ignored this story.

Afghanistan president awaits high court ruling on foreign minister dismissal
13.05.07. The Jurist

Get out of Afghanistan and Iraq
14.05.07. Patrick Seale, Gulf News. Afghanistan will be high on the agenda when Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visits President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch on May 20-21. … The most important new development is that the Afghans themselves, sickened by war and mounting civilian casualties, want US and other foreign troops to leave.

Taliban names replacement after death of top commander
14.05.07. somalinet. The Taliban in Afghanistan says the younger brother of a top military commander killed over the weekend will take over as chief military strategist for the movement.

Supreme Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Issues Statement Calling For Unity In Afghanistan, Iraq
14.05.07. Umm Saad, Jihad Unspun / uruknet. Warning that a large part of America’s strategy is to divide the fighting forces, the Amir Al-Mumineen calls for all to unite under the flag of Islam.

NATO losing Afghan civilian support in war on terror
15.05.07. Zee news

Afghan refugee crisis brewing
17.05.07. D. Montero, Christian Science Monitor. Home to 3 million refugees, Iran and Pakistan are intensifying efforts to send them home. Experts say it will be 'disastrous' for Afghanistan.

Mullah Dadullah's replacement named
18.05.07. jazeera. Mansour was freed in March as part of a prisoner swap for the release of Daniele Mastrogiacomo, an Italian journalist kidnapped while working in Afghanistsan.

Afghan Battle Lines Become Blurred
19.05.07. M K Bhadrakumar , Asia Times. Things are not going to be the same again. The war is transforming. Adversarial lines are being redrawn. The enemy's contours have changed. Front lines are being abandoned. In another six to eight weeks, hot, dry winds will have arrived, bearing fine, yellow dust that envelops everything, making appearances even more deceptive. No one will be able then to tell with certitude who is the enemy. … Looking back, the ground began to shift on New Year's Eve, when the lower chamber of the Afghan Parliament passed a bill that would grant amnesty to all Afghans involved in any war crimes during the past quarter-century. The resolution said, "In order to bring reconciliation among various strata in the society, all those political and belligerent sides that were involved one way or the other during the two and a half decades of war will not be prosecuted legally and judicially." … For the first time, Afghans spoke out that they no longer held the United States in awe. At a single stroke, the December 31 amnesty move deprived the US of the one weapon that it wielded for blackmailing the "warlords" into submission - powerful leaders of the Northern Alliance groups, the mujhideen field commanders, and petty local thugs alike. … A lot of homework had obviously gone into the initiative. Afghan leaders, with their native wisdom, estimated that the war was going nowhere and that the chance of "victory" by the US, which was never good, had probably passed. They saw ahead that the superpower, which arrived full of hubris, might well depart humbled. They wished to be on call when the time came.

Taliban commander: War will go on until West leaves
23.05.07. Eecho / ICH.

Afghans working with NATO face great personal risk
25.05.07. Canada com.

The Centrality of Iraq and Afghanistan in Defeating the Empire
25.05.07. ***James Petras, Axis of Logic/uruknet. ...The imperial wars of conquest however were stopped literally dead in their tracks at their starting point: Iraq and Afghanistan. Subsequent to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, a formidable mass armed resistance emerged from the underground, aided by widespread civilian support. Large majorities of public opinion, major religious communities, trade union militants , small business associations and! neighborhood-based community organizations actively and passively opposed the US-led occupation forces at every turn, providing logistical support and intelligence to the armed and non-violent resistance. Similar developments took place at a later stage in Afghanistan. Despite draconian military measures, including the bombing of population centers, systematic mass round-ups of civilians followed by brutal torture, the US military failed to consolidate its rule via puppet regimes. As the resistance grew, Washington’s efforts to foment ethnic-religious sectarian warfare and territorial fragmentation failed. By late 2006 it was clear that the imperial army’s only territorial conquest was the bunkers in the so-called 'Green Zone’. In 2007 Washington escalated its troop commitments in a desperate effort to fend off impending defeat and to recover massive loss of domestic support...

Hunt for 'traitors' splits Taliban
27.05.07. J. Burke, Observer. Spy mania grips the Afghan rebels as top commanders fall victim to tip-offs by informers to coalition troops

Afghans doubt NATO, struggle to feed families: survey
29.05.07. ABC. Half of 17,000 men surveyed in April in southern Afghanistan say they believe the Taliban will triumph against NATO forces, an international think tank says.
Eighty per cent of respondents also say they are preoccupied with trying to feed their families in the war-torn nation, the poll by The Senlis Council says. Norine MacDonald … says Afghans are worse off now than under Taliban rule.

AFGHAN BORDER POLICE DETAIN NANGARHAR PROVINCE TALIBAN LEADER
05.07. Sayed Gulab … is currently being held for questioning in a Coalition detention facility. Contact: bagrammediacenter@afghan.swa.army.mil

Losing the other war’ in Afghanistan?
29.05.07. K. Inderfurth, IHT.

Afghans pessimistic about NATO, struggle to feed families: study
29.05.07. Pak Tribune.


PAKISTAN

REPORT

Amnesty International Report 2007: Pakistan
05.07. Information on Background; Arbitrary detention/enforced disappearances; Excessive use of force and unlawful killings; Failure to protect minorities; Violence against women; Children's rights; Death penalty; Earthquake relief; AI country reports/visits.


ARTICLES

'They sold out the world for an F-16 sale'
30.04.07. L. Ryland, Raw Story/ICH. The US and its allies allowed Pakistan to clandestinely acquire most of the technology for its nuclear program from abroad, unwittingly facilitating the spread of nuclear weapons technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya over the past several decades.

Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to form grand jirga
04.05.07. Daily Times.

NATO secretary-general in Pakistan for talks on Afghanistan, regional security
08.05.07. AP.

Bomb destroys nine oil tankers in Afghanistan
09.05.07. online news. ISLAMABAD - Nine tankers carrying oil for international forces in Afghanistan went up in flames when a suspected militant bomb blew up under one of the vehicles on the Pakistani side of the border, an official said Tuesday...In what was termed the latest act of sabotage against supplies to NATO and US forces, the parked tankers reportedly loaded with 44,000 litres of fuel, were destroyed in a chain reaction Monday night in the border town of Shaikhwal in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Agency.

US turns against Musharraf
12.05.07. Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times. ‘Musharraf may be more the problem than the solution.’

27 killed, dozens wounded as Pakistan's crisis erupts
13.05.07. Observer.

Troops told to shoot rioters as death toll mounts in Karachi
14.05.07. Independent. Pakistan's government authorised paramilitary troops to shoot anyone involved in serious violence yesterday as the crisis triggered by the dismissal of Pakistan's top judge took an ominous and bloody turn.

The clock is ticking
14.05.07. S. Tisdall, Guardian. After almost eight years of rule Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, is fast shedding friends at home and abroad. Is his time running out?

Strikes paralyse Pakistan
15.05.07. news.com

Afghan-Pakistan clashes strain ties
15.05.07. BRAHIM FAIEZ, AP. ecent border fighting between Afghan and Pakistani soldiers that killed at least 13 people violated agreements the two neighbors signed to combat terrorism, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said Tuesday.

Tariq Ali: Law and order
16.05.07. Tariq Ali, Guardian. In Pakistan, the general should discard his uniform, the judge should forgo his black robes and the two men should battle it out on the electoral terrain.

Military Aid up 50 percent post 9-11.
22.05.07. UPI/anti-war.com. The top ‘beneficiary’ is Pakistan, receiving $9million in military aid.

Bush picks Anne Patterson as Pakistan ambassador
23.05.07. zee news / anti-war.com.

Osama, Zawahiri not in tribal areas: PM
28.05.07. The Int. news.com.anti-war.com

US ’copters violate Pak airspace
31.05.07. The int news. US helicopter gunships violated Pakistan’s air space for the second time in less than a week by intruding at least five kilometres inside the restive North Waziristan tribal agency on Wednesday, residents and officials told The News.


UNITED STATES

REPORTS

U.S. SOCOM: Posture Statement 2007

04.08. Secrecy Newswrites: In Fiscal Year 2007, U.S. Special Operations Command has total authorized manpower of 47,911 persons, according to a new SOCOM posture statement, which provides an overview of special operations capabilities and missions.

World Publics Reject US Role as the World Leader
05.07. World Public Opinion Report. Most publics say the United States plays the role of world policeman more than it should, fails to take their country's interests into account and cannot be trusted to act responsibly. Full Report (PDF) Full Report.

DoD Personnel Clearances: Delays and Inadequate Documentation Found for Industry Personnel
17.05.07. [GAO-07-842T]


ARTICLES

The Secrets of Mind Control
29.04.07. Ziopedia. This concise mind control summary is based on astonishing excerpts from three landmark books: Bluebird by Colin A. Ross MD; Mind Controllers by Dr. Armen Victorian; and A Nation Betrayed by Carol Rutz. All three authors provide hundreds of footnotes to support their groundbreaking research. Much of this information is based on 18,000 pages of declassified CIA mind control documents.

The U.S.' War on Democracy
02.05.07, Pablo Navarrete, Venezuelanalysis.com/ ICH. Interview with John Pilger. The United States has long waged a war on democracy behind a facade of propaganda designed to contort the intellect and morality of Americans and the rest of us. For many of your readers, this is known. However, for others in the West, the propaganda that has masked Washington's ambitions has been entrenched, with its roots in the incessant celebration of World War Two, the "good war", then "victory" in the cold war.

The Crusaders
03.05.07. By Robert Koehler, ICH. “The Christian Taliban is Running the Department of Defense.” Can you imagine a contingent of religious zealots, with their contempt for secular values (and such manifestations of secular order as the U.S. Constitution) - and with their zest for holy war - in control of the most potent fighting force and weaponry in human history? Is this possible?

Only 55 percent of U.S. soldiers would report killing innocent civilian
04.05.07. PAULINE JELINEK, AP / ICH. (This study refers to Iraq)

Fighting fund: The US$564 billion war for profit
04.05.07. Peter Boyle, Green left. This year’s proposed US spending on the Iraq war is larger than the military budgets of China and Russia combined. The combined spending requests would push the total for Iraq to US$564 billion, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS).

From Serving in Iraq To Living on the Streets
05.05.07. C. Davenport, Washington Post. Homeless Vet Numbers Expected to Grow. A moving story about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which can affect any soldier in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Newsweek: Bush approval hits all time low of 28 percent
05.05.07. Raw Story / anti-war.com.

Soldiers admit: 'Iraq war is lost'
06.05.07. information liberation / ICH. The war is lost. That's the message coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan by those sent to fight it. … The picture emerging from Afghanistan echoes the sense of failure. The Taliban are now moving into areas that were once considered secure.

Pentagon Alerts 4,500 Troops To Afghanistan Deployment
09.05.07. all headline news.

Afghanistan: U.S. troops stay until '08
10.05.07. AP. Registerguard.

Olson Picked to Lead U.S. Special Operations Command
11.05.07. A.S. Tyson, Washington Post. Socom's influence and budget -- projected at more than $6 billion for 2008 -- have grown since Sept. 11, 2001. In 2004, Bush designated Socom as the lead military organization for combating terrorism. In recent years, about 80 percent of deployed Special Operations forces have been engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The CIA -- a Terrorist Organization
11.05.07. C. nelson, oh my news. ‘Most definitions of terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear or "terror," are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to an attack by a "madman"), and deliberately target "non-combatants." According to the United States Federal Criminal Code, Chapter 113B of Part I of Title 18, terrorism is defined as “activities that involve violent ... or life-threatening acts ... that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State and ... appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and ... (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States ... [or] ... (C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States." … In reality, the CIA does not only gather information but consistently targets and engages in covert operations, psychological operations, and acts of terrorism both domestically and internationally.’ Discusses past/present operations of CIA and concludes: “It seems to me you cannot claim to fight terrorism or claim to be the beacon of democracy with an organization like the CIA in your ranks.”

Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Ending the Empire
15.05.07. Tom Dispatch. *** Brilliant.

Bush selects Pentagon official as ‘war czar’
15.05.07. NBC. Lt. Gen. Lute chosen to oversee Iraq, Afghanistan conflicts, officials say

US seeks extradition of Muslim cleric imprisoned in UK
17.05.07. [JURIST] Lawyers for the US government argued for the extradition of Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] in a hearing before a London court Thursday. Al-Masri is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence [JURIST report] in Britain for urging his followers to kill Jews and other non-Muslims and using "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior" …

The Militarization of the United States
19.05.07. C. Nelson, Oh My News / ICH. Under the guise of the war on terror the Bush administration has managed to set in motion the process of militarizing the United States by completely undermining the United States Constitution, dividing the nation, and restructuring the intelligence and defense department positions to appoint military officers to key leadership positions

Why the US Government Is Hated All Over the World
22.05.07. Fred Reed, ICH. Something is wrong with the United States. I think most of us have noticed it. There is a mortal rot in the country, made manifest by many little rots that are hard to integrate mentally yet are, I think, somehow related. The change is grave, accelerating, probably irreversible, and fascinating. Things are not as they were. … Some of this combativeness is obvious – attacking Iraq for no good reason, occupying Afghanistan, threatening Syria and Iran, attacking Lebanon by proxy, bombing Somalia, putting troops in the Philippines to hunt Moslems.

A Drive for Global Domination has put us in Greater Danger
24.05.07. Al Gore, The Guardian / ICH. The pursuit of "dominance" in foreign policy led the Bush administration to ignore the UN, to do serious damage to our most important alliances, to violate international law, and to cultivate the hatred and contempt of many in the rest of the world.

US Show of Force in Gulf "Greatly Alarming"
26.05.07. Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters / Truthout. A US navy show of force on Iran's doorstep is "greatly alarming" for the region and the United States risked a bloody quagmire if it invaded Iran, a state-run Afghan newspaper said on Saturday.

Cheney delivers call to arms at West Point
26.05.07. NBC. VP warns graduates that ‘nobody can promise us we won’t be hit again’ (fear whip)

Bush Says Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan Are Promoting Freedom
27.05.07. Bloomberg.

2004 Crash in Afghanistan Highlights Gaps in U.S. Control Over Flights
28.05.07. M. Wald, NY Times.

Brain Trauma signature injury of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq
28.05.07.S. Lengell, Washington Times. ‘More than 15,000 U.S. military personnel have been injured by explosive blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 … the most common cause of brain injuries.’
At Walter Reed hospital, 2,130 military personell who served in iraq and Afghanistan were treated for TBI (traumatic brain injury) between January 2003 and March 2007.

9/11 Slip of the tongue? Rumsfeld admits that "Flight 93" was shot down Video and transcripts. 12.05.07. M. Chossudovsky, Global Research.ca. Senators Want CIA to Release 9/11 Report 17.05.07. AP/SanFran Gate. The CIA has spent more than 20 months weighing requests under the Freedom of Information Act for its internal investigation of the attacks but has yet to release any portion of it. … The agency is the only federal office involved in counterterrorism operations that has not made at least a version of its internal 9/11 investigation public. … Completed in June 2005, the inspector general's report examined the personal responsibility of individuals at the CIA before and after the attacks. Other agencies' reviews examined structural problems within their organizations. .. But he (Wyden) did say that protecting individuals from embarrassment is not a legitimate reason for protecting the report's contents from public review. He also said the decision to classify the report has nothing to do with national security, but rather political security. The end of innocence 20.05.07. Pankak Mishra, Guardian Review. A superb summary of all books on 9/11. Macho Mistakes at Ground Zero 22.05.07. NY Times Editorial. As more and more workers who inhaled the dust at ground zero fall ill, it has become increasingly clear that much of the problem can be traced to the Giuliani administration's failure to insist that all emergency personnel and construction workers at the site wear respirators. For the First Time, New York Links a Death to 9/11 Dust 24.05.07. A. de Palma, NYTimes / Truth Out. New York City's chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, has for the first time directly linked a death to exposure to dust from the destruction of the World Trade Center. Seven Insurance Companies Pay Silverstein Properties $2 billion As Settlement For 9/11 Insurance Claims 24.05.07. Insurance News / ICH. The nearly six year long legal wrangling between Silverstein Properties and seven insurance companies finally ended with the biggest settlement agreement in regulatory history: $2 billion. Videos Video CBC Investigates The Secret War That Led To 9/11 The Secret History of 9/11 provides a look at the long, secret war waged against al-Qaeda from the White House, the CIA and the FBI, and examines the key intelligence failures that allowed the 9/11 plot to happen 9/11: Major Italian TV network: conclusive evidence that WTC Building 7 was demolished with explosives and Video. "Seven is exploding" This video shows the original BBC clip which was later withdrawn. (03.05.07. Massimo Mazzucco

3. Media and Videos

"I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire

REPORTS

Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment
26.05.07. (UPDATED). CRS Report.


STORIES

"No Mercy": Annals of the Afghan Liberation
30.04.07. Chris Floyd’s thoughts on media articles about ‘rah rah’ good war in Afghanistan. … This is the ethos of the War on Terror (on every side of this hydra-headed conflict): "No mercy." "Extreme aggression." "Uncompromising force." And this is the dictum with which Bush now sends his troops into battle -- a directive that echoes almost precisely the instructions given by another "war leader" to his armies as they stood poised to launch a war of aggression based on false pretenses, some 68 years ago: "Close your hearts to pity."

Afghan News Media Find Foes on All Sides
07.05.07. Washington Post / anti-war.com. Violence, Politics Imperil Press Freedom

Afghanistan: Effort To Change Media Law Puts Journalists On Guard
09.05.07. rferl / anti-war.com

The War on Free Expression
Stephen Lendman.

One War Criminal Down, A Fistful to Go
11.05.07. Paul Craig Roberts, ICH. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, or more accurately, George W. Bush’s lap dog, has resigned to England’s relief. Story includes discussion of MSM role in keeping Bush and his lap dog, Blair, in power.

CBS fires consultant Gen. Batiste over VoteVets ad; 'We went to war with a fatally flawed strategy'
11.05.07. Raw Story. General Batiste says, “"I'm no longer wearing the uniform of our country; I have no ties to the defense industry; I can speak honestly, I have a duty to do so. And I know there [are] other generals both active duty and retired that are doing all they can within their means. In my case, I'll continue to speak out." With Video.

YouTube Wants to Meet With U.S. Military Over Web Ban
15.05.07. Salem news. Feedback from soldiers indicates that they are anything but happy about losing access to the sites, and the list may be longer than the government is admitting. ‘It looks like at least one video service that is being banned from U.S. government computers is going to fight back. … views from several soldiers … ‘But Jack Idema, a Special Forces soldier, says it isn't even the Department of Defense that is pressing this issue; it comes from an even higher source, "All of which emanate from State Department's actual control of how this war is waged. The last thing they want is a SGT in the 82nd Airborne putting up videos of what really happened and contradicting Rene Boucher on the 6 O'Clock News. And that's just the tip of the iceberg." … The majority of soldiers were not in support of the government ban, they see it as an attempt to reduce the flow of information they receive. One soldier who did not seek to be identified, says the government has even clamped down on a popular site that soldiers use to purchase equipment that helps them stay alive in the war, "you can't go onto eBay anymore at some sites across Afghanistan." … They treat you like a mushroom- feed you a lot of sh*t and keep you in the dark." ‘

State-mandated Internet censorship on the rise: report
18.05.07. The Jurist. A study released Friday by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) [advocacy website] has found a "substantial growth in the scale, scope and sophistication" of Internet censorship [JURIST news archive] worldwide. The study, focusing on state-mandated censorship, found evidence of content filtering in 25 of 41 countries tested.

Afghanistan journalists sentenced for violating mass media law, disobeying AG
18.05.07. [JURIST] Authorities in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive] have sentenced two Tolo Television [network website] journalists for "violating mass media law" and disobeying orders of the attorney general, according to state-controlled Afghanistan National Television (ANTV).

Manufacturing Indifference: Searching for a New ‘Propaganda Model’
19.05.07. Danny Schechter, Common Dreams. Twenty years ago, a professor of finance at the Wharton School in Philadelphia and a far better known professor of linguistics at MIT set out to come with a way to explain how our media really works. Rather than offer a case study of coverage of one issue, or an analysis of this or that flaw or media “mistake,” they set out to try to make sense of the way the media functions as a “system” what rules govern the behavior of media institutions in reporting on crisis abroad. They didn’t call it a theory because they believed they were not being speculative but factual. .. They came up with what they called a “model,” not of journalism, but of propaganda.

Not to See the Fallen Is No Favor
28.05.07. D. CARR, NY TIMES. ‘Since last year, the military's embedding rules require that journalists obtain a signed consent from a wounded soldier before the image can be published. Images that put a face on the dead, that make them identifiable, are simply prohibited.’ … Ashley Gilbertson, a veteran freelance photographer who has been to Iraq seven times and has worked for The New York Times, (along with Time and Newsweek among others), said the policy, as enforced, is coercive and unworkable. .. "They are not letting us cover the reality of war," he added. "I think this has got little to do with the families or the soldiers and everything to do with politics." .. Until last year, no permission was required to publish photographs of the wounded, but families had to be notified of the soldier's injury first. Now, not only is permission required, but any image of casualties that shows a recognizable name or unit is off-limits. And memorials for the fallen in Iraq can no longer be shown, even when the unit in question invites coverage. .. Journalists are frustrated with the new regulations in part because, as this current surge has progressed, there have been further pinches on information. On May 13, the Iraq Interior Ministry said bombing sites would be off limits for an hour after an event; just days later, Iraqi police forces fired shots over the heads of working press to enforce the decree. .. James Glanz, a Baghdad correspondent who will become bureau chief for The New York Times next month, said that although he and others had many great experiences working with the rank-and-file soldiers, some military leaders seem determined to protect something besides the privacy of their troops. .. When this war began, the government attempted to manage images by banning photographs of coffins returning to United States soil. If the government chooses to overmanage the wages of war in Iraq, there is a real danger that when this new generation of veterans, whose ranks grow every day, could come home to a place where their fellow Americans have little idea what they have gone through.


VIDEOS

Video. Dispatches: War on Terror.

Sean Langan, BBC photo

Video. Afghan Ladies Driving School, Sean Langan.

Video. The War Party. Panorama investigates the "neo-conservatives", the small and unelected group of right-wingers, who critics claim have hijacked the White House. They brought us war against Iraq - what do the hawks in Washington have in store for us now? 2003 film.

Video. The Cost of War + transcript, Bill Moyers.

Video. Bill Moyers Talks With Jon Stewart
27.04.07. And transcript.

Video . SPIN: The Art of Selling War. Directed by Josh Rushing, a veteran Marine Corps media spokesman, "SPIN: The Art of Selling War" is an investigative documentary that looks at the standard justification for going to war by the American administrations of past and present.

4. Contracts

REPORT

Amnesty International report 2007: Facts and Figures

• US$22bn is spent on arms on average by countries in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa each year.

• 2 bullets are produced for every man, woman and child on the planet each year

• 1,250,000 people joined the Million Faces photo petition demanding tougher controls on the arms trade

• 153 governments voted in December to start work towards an international Arms Trade Treaty

• 24 countries abstained

• 1 voted against the Treaty – the USA


ARTICLES

Boeing Awarded Contract for Additional Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems
07.05.07. Global Security. Boeing [NYSE: BA] has received a $69 million contract for 321 additional Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS). The multi-role system enhances pilot situational awareness and provides head-out control of aircraft targeting systems and sensors.

Bechtel, UC chosen for Livermore contract
10.05.07. la monitor. Rather than the University of California running the two nuclear weapons design laboratories, as it had done more than half a century, the operators are now LANS and LLNS (pronounced "LINS"). Despite similarities, they are legally distinct, stand-alone, limited liability manifestations of UC and Bechtel and miscellaneous partners. Story contains contract highlights.

Lockheed lands 'PBL' contract for Apache
11.05.07. UPI. ‘worth as much as $380million over four years.’

Now Switzerland launches bribery probe into BAE
13.05.07. Times on line.

Lockheed wins Pakistan contract
14.05.07. Orlando Sentinel. Terms of the Pakistan deal call for deliveries to begin in 2008.

PCG Wins Contractor Access for Government Contracts
15.05.07. contractor calculator. ‘The London based Professional Contractors Group has successfully negotiated for new guidance on these contracts with the Recuitment and Employment Federation and the government departments involved. PCG spokesperson explains.

Intracom Defense Electronics wins 15 mln usd NATO program tender
16.05.07. Forbes. Intracom Holdings defence unit, Intracom Defense Electronics, announced that it won a 15 mln usd tender to manufacture electronic units for the NATO ESSM (Evolved SeaSparrow Missile) ground-to-air missile. The tender, which saw participation from 10 countries, was awarded by Raytheon on behalf of NATOs consortium and the program will be implemented up until 2010.

Northrop gets piece of $20B Army IT contract
17.05.07. Los Angeles Biz journals

Universal Guardian Earns $6.734 Million Security Contract
17.05.07. Sys-con. an emerging global leader in non- lethal protection products, integrated transportation and global supply chain security systems, and strategic security services to protect against terrorist, criminal, and security threats to governments and businesses worldwide announced today that Universal Guardian's Service Group subsidiary in Afghanistan, Strategic Security Solutions International (SSSI) has earned a multi-year contract from AED worth 6.734 million dollars through 2011 to provide security support services to the AED (Academy for Education Development) in Afghanistan for Rural Expansion of Afghanistan's Community- Based Health Care.

Raytheon wins $10M Army contract to provide sensor systems
18.05.07. eye witness.

It's thriving, but lethal
22.05.07. Mark Curtis, Guardian. Britain's decade of arms exports puts the lie to any notion of an ethical foreign policy under Blair. Yesterday's report by the NGO Saferworld documents the £45bn worth of arms delivered by Britain in the past 10 years, making us the world's second-largest arms exporter. In the past three years, arms have been exported to 19 of the 20 countries identified in the Foreign Office's annual human rights report as "countries of concern".

Boeing wins $30M B-52 contract
23.05.07. Washington biz journals

$100bn more to fight 'terror"
26.05.07. C. Stephen, Scotsman, AMERICAN spending on Iraq and Afghanistan has eclipsed the cost of the Vietnam War, making the War on Terror the second most expensive conflict in United States' history.

Boeing wins $30M B-52 contract
23.05.07. Washington biz journals

Video Trail of the Dove. "The Dove" is the name of a series of massive arms sales by the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia. Al Jazeera English reveals the corruption behind the biggest arms deals in British history.


And U.S. Poverty

Rank Order - Current account balance 05.07. CIA. World Fact Book Report Shows Increased U.S. Military Spending Slows Economy 01.05.07. CEPR / ICH. The report, presenting the results of a simulation from the economic forecasting company Global Insight, shows the increased level of military spending leads to fewer jobs and slower economic growth. Trick or trickle? – As U.S. richest get richer, family income share drops 07.05.07. catholic org / ICH. The Poverty Business 12.05.07. Business Week / ICH. Inside U.S. companies' audacious drive to extract more profits from the nation's working poor US Health System Ranks Last Compared To Other Countries: Studies 16.05.07. Jocelyne Zablit,, AFP . ICH. The US ranked last in most areas, including access to health care, patient safety, timeliness of care, efficiency and equity. Americans were also last in terms of whether they had a regular physician. Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying 22.05.07. David Sirota, ICH. Today, American workers' take-home pay represents a smaller share of the nation's total income than at any time in the last forty years. At the same time, corporate profits as a share of national income are at an all-time high. A Great but Broken Promise 23.05.07. Bill Moyers, TomPaine.com/Truthout. Bill Moyers writes: "Think it over: In 1960, the gap in wealth between the top 20 percent of our country and the bottom 20 percent was 30 fold. Now, it is 75 fold. Stock prices and productivity are up, and CEO salaries are soaring, but ordinary workers aren't sharing in the profits they helped generate. Their incomes aren't keeping up with costs. More Americans live in poverty - 37 million, including 12 million children. 12 million children! America's a broken promise. America needs fixing." Economy Has Worst Growth Since 2002 01.06.07. Yahoo / smartpros. The economy nearly stalled in the first quarter with growth slowing to a pace of just 0.6 percent. That was the worst three-month showing in over four years.

5. Contractors

George Tenet Cashes In On Iraq
08.05.07. Tim Shorrock, Salon / ICH. The former CIA chief is earning big money from corporations profiting off the war -- a fact not mentioned in his combative new book or heard on his publicity blitz. Tenet sits on the board of directors of L-1 Identity Solutions, a major supplier of biometric identification software used by the U.S. to monitor terrorists and insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company recently acquired two of the CIA's hottest contractors for its growing intelligence outsourcing business. At the Analysis Corp. (TAC), a government contractor run by one of Tenet's closest former advisors at the CIA, Tenet is a member of an advisory board that is helping TAC expand its thriving business designing the problematic terrorist watch lists used by the National Counterterrorism Center and the State Department.

Tenet is also a director of Guidance Software, which makes forensic software used by U.S. law enforcement and intelligence to search computer hard drives and laptops for evidence used in the prosecution and tracking of suspected terrorists. And Tenet is the only American director on the board of QinetiQ, the British defense research firm that was privatized in 2003 and was, until recently, controlled by the Carlyle Group, the powerful Washington-based private equity fund. Fueled with Carlyle money, QinetiQ acquired four U.S. companies in recent years, including an intelligence contractor, Analex Inc. … Last fall, as part of its push into intelligence outsourcing, L-1 acquired SpecTal, a Reston, Va., intelligence contractor with at least 300 employees with security clearances, gaining instant access to several agencies where SpecTal had contracts, including the CIA, the NSA and the Defense Intelligence Agency. … Just recently, L-1 picked up another intelligence contractor, Advanced Concepts Inc. More!

Outsourcing the War
11.05.07. Jeremy Scahill, The Nation. Jeremy Scahill, bestselling author and investigative reporter for The Nation, testified May 10 before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on the impact of private military contractors on the conduct of the Iraq War. This is the full text of his remarks.

Tomgram: Berrigan, U.S. Takes Gold in Arms Olympics
20.05.07. Tom Dispatch.

Many of the contractor companies in Iraq are also in Afghanistan. For more information on security contractors, see Iraq: Security Companies and Training Camps

Armies for Hire
14.05.07. Peter Snow. BBC. Since the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan there has been a staggering boom in the demand for civilian soldiers who carry arms for private companies. . Part I: the Dogs of Peace. Video.

6. Investment and Aid

Photo Farzana Wahidy

Revived Taliban restrict Afghan aid effort
10.05.07. Christian Science Monitor/anti-war.com

Britain fights to curb US Afghan onslought
13.05.07. C. Lamb, Times online. ‘A survey by the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group found that “current aid policy is having a hugely detrimental impact on funding support for vital programmes including water and sanitation, employment generating schemes, TB control and child protection. “In many provinces, frontline services are being closed due to lack of support from major donors including USAID, the UK government, the EU and the World Bank.” Funding for British aid organisations from Dfid dropped from £22.5m in 2001-2 to £4.7m in 2005-6.

We have wasted billions in Afghanistan on aid"
27.05.07. Pak Tribune / ICH. The international community is in danger of repeating in Afghanistan the mistakes made in Iraq. Millions of Afghans have seen little material improvement in their lives since 2001, and most still live in desperate poverty.

7. Opium

"Opium Patty's Plumb" Photo Sarah Meyer

US general wants West to buy Afghan drug crop to curb Taleban
24.05.07. Peninsula Qatar / anti-war.com. Hobbins’ recommendation is similar (??) to that of the Senlis Council, a security think-tank which has advocated licensing the production of some Afghan opium to make medicines.

US under fire over opium plan
25.05.07. FT.

Smash our trade in opium, Afghans tell British
26.05.07. T. Coghlan, Telegraph.

Heroin is "Good for Your Health": Occupation Forces support Afghan Narcotics Trade
29.04.07. M. Chossudovsky, Global Research.ca. Multibillion dollar earnings for organized crime and Western financial Institutions. ‘The occupation forces in Afghanistan are supporting the drug trade, which brings between 120 and 194 billion dollars of revenues to organized crime, intelligence agencies and Western financial institutions.’

Related:
Why the US is losing its war on cocaine
27.05.07. Independent / ICH. America has spent billions battling the drug industry in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. And the result? Production as high as ever, street prices at a low, and the governments of the region in open revolt. Hugh O'Shaughnessy reports from La Paz, Bolivia.

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Index on Afghanistan: May 2005 Part II (NATO, missile shield); Human Rights will be up as soon as possible. Thank you.

The url to Index on Afghanistan: may 2007, Part I is: http://indexresearch.blogspot.com/2007/06/index-on-afghanistan-may-2007-part-i.html

The shorter url is: http://tinyurl.com/2cxb45

Index Afghanistan: May 2007 Part I can also be read at the BRussels Tribunal website.

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Other articles on Afghanistan:

Index on Afghanistan (Updated to 31/08/06)

Index on Afghanistan : September 2006

Index on Afghanistan : October 2006

Index on Afghanistan : November 2006

Index on Afghanistan : December 2006

Index on Afghanistan : January 2007

Index on Afghanistan : February 2007

Index on Afghanistan : March 2007

Index on Afghanistan: April 2007: Murder in Nangarhar

NATO: The Bathtub of Unreadiness(Updated 12/01/07)

Afghanistan : NATO is now US-ATO

Dead in Afghanistan
29.05.07.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Tags : Index Research, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, United States, Media, Politics, Contracts, Aid, Amnesty aireport 2007, 9/11, politics, videos, Opium,