Karzai wants speedier withdrawal because of LA Times photos
Old Trooper sends a link to an LA Times report that Afghanistan’s president is calling for a faster withdrawal of NATO troops from his shithole to prevent “a recurrence of “painful experiences” such as the sight of American soldiers posing with the body parts of dead insurgents.” Yeah, then we can have a proliferation of photos of disfigured Afghan school girls. I’m wondering which is more painful for Karzai to endure;
The palace statement said Karzai sought an “accelerated and full transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces, so Afghanistan can take over its own destiny, and thus no such things can be repeated by the foreign forces in Afghanistan.”
The NATO force is due to wind down its combat role in 2014, but growing numbers of troop-contributing nations have indicated they plan to pull out their fighting forces next year. A transition of security responsibilities to the Afghan police and army is the centerpiece of the U.S. exit strategy.
Also Thursday, the Taliban, in its first public statement since the pictures appeared, denounced the “gruesome acts” depicted in the photos. The militant group also lambasted Afghan soldiers who were present in some of the shots.
“Some Afghan hirelings … posed in the photos, at their masters’ orders, to scorn the remains of martyrs,” the statement said.
So, I’m sure this isn’t the first, or the last time that Karzai finds himself in complete agreement with his past and future masters, the Taliban. Like I’ve said countless times before, I’d like for Karzai to be as angry at the Taliban for what they inflict on the people he’s supposed to be protecting as he does about these relatively minor transgressions from Americans.
On a related subject, I was supposed to be on BBC’s “World Have Your Say” this afternoon. They wanted to discuss this manufactured outrage over some photos posted by the LA Times in the context that these guys were under some sort of combat stress.
I emailed the producer this morning and told her that I wouldn’t discuss this particular issue under those constraints since I don’t believe the paratroopers actions were related to combat stress, but rather just a result of them being youngsters with cameras. And, the LA Times having an agenda to be known as the ones who ended our war in Afghanistan. And who knows what were the motivations of the guy who gave the photos to the LA Times. “Combat stress” is a distraction from the discussion about LA Times’ malfeasance.
Category: Military issues, Terror War
The reporters and powers that be at the LA Times have a wet sticky mess in their shorts, because they can think that they are the reason for the accelerated drawdown.
The print media, as well as the preponderance of TV reporters, have ceased to report and are more focused on shaping the news. Bastards.
The rate of troop drawdown in directly proportional to the rate of equipment drawdown. At this point, 2014 is a pipedream, and anyone that suggests anything earlier is delusional at best.
@2: Leave most of the equipment and BIP (blow in place) on the way out.
@3 We should BIP the whole damn country. I’ve been in favor of staying to win the war but at this point, it’s obvious these damn barbarians don’t want to be saved from themselves so the hell with them. Unfortunately that means leaving alot of people to the living hell of the Taliban. Per the post above, I wonder if the LA Times and the rest of the media will show pictures of all the maimed school girls and women once the Taliban take over.
CavScoutCoastie: I doubt it. If history’s any guide, the Taliban won’t let them in to take the pictures and will probably ban Afghans from having cameras because they’re Western and evil. Pre-2001, along with mandating beard length and head-to-toe burqas/chadoors, they also banned video and cassette tapes, television and kite-flying.
I would love to see this clown get his wish. How awesome would it be if someone up at the Head Shed just said “Fine, ya daft prick, let’s go fellas!” and we just walked out. I hate the idea that a single one of our folks has to be there one second longer to prop up these ungrateful bastards.
The BBC still calls you? Do they not remember all the extra work they had to do to cut you out of the last interview you did.
I agree, pull our guys out, blow up every piece of equipment left behind, and say to hell with them the next time they come crying to us for help.
And if the Taliban takes another run in our direction – nuke the bastards.
I wonder if anyone pointed out to Hamid that at least one of the pictures showed his very own Afghan police standing there with the body parts?
And, nope, the ANP weren’t there “to scorn the remains of martyrs,”. Looked they were harboring the same thoughts as the GI’s.
What? Karzai is whining again? Must be that time of the month, deliver him another briefcase of greenbacks and he’ll be fine.
Asshole and hypocrite. The shit the ANA does sometimes is far worse than this, but by all means, bitch about it when we do it. Funny thing is, once we leave you can put money on the Taliban having their way with Karzai.