junk and crap, amen

Omar Khadr, a then 15 year old Canadian citizen captured in Afghanistan by the US in 2002, held at Guantanamo Bay and labelled an 'enemy combatant', will will soon face a Military Commission 'trial'.

The incidents leading to his capture: (from Wikipedia, links intact)

On July 27, 2002, 15-year-old Khadr was in a compound near Khost that was surrounded by US special forces. According to Master Sgt Scotty Hansen of Utah, "we [sent] a couple of Afghan interpreters to go in and talk to them because we didn't want to be storm troopers unless we had to." The two interpreters were shot "point blank in the face," however, according to Sergeant Layne Morris, after which "all heck broke out," according to Hansen^[6]. Sergeant Layne Morris was injured early in the skirmish. The Americans called in a devastating air strike, such that no survivors were expected. Khadr, however, survived and allegedly threw a grenade, which injured Sgt. Christopher Speer and led to his death, and injured three other members of the squad.^[4] Omar was shot three times, and left nearly blind in one eye.

Unlike most other inmates at Guantanamo, charges have been laid against him, first on Nov. 7th 2005 with conspiracy, murder, attempted murder and aiding the enemy. Then on Feb. 2nd 2007 more charges were brought: murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, spying, and providing material support for terrorism. These were then dismissed and then later reinstated. More...

Read the above account of his capture and tell me if these charges make sense. Conspiracy? To what, protect himself? Spying? On who, the Taliban? Murder? And what of the "...devastating air strike, such that no survivors were expected."?

He was 15 fucking years old, having been indoctrinated by his father into a militant mindset, in a country ravaged by war and colonialism for decades which had just been invaded illegally under false pretenses by the most powerful army on the planet. What's he going to do, tell his dad to go to hell, I'm joining the Salvation Army? Maybe, to fit with the circus of legal limbo he finds himself mired in, he should have been charged with 'the audacity not to have died on schedule'.

In 2006, Khadr was finally granted permission to see his lawyers. But subsequently this right has been redacted:

Omar Khadr fought for the right to consult with Canadian lawyers since his arrival at Guantanamo.^[32] In 2006 Dennis Edney and Nathan Whiting were given permission to visit him at Guantanamo. However, in late October, the new Chief Defense counsel barred Edney from visiting Khadr, or attending his trial.^[33] According to the Associated Press Edney was barred because he has criticized Lieutenant Commander Keubler's efforts.

From Edney:

"It's a travesty of justice. It's dark politics that's what it is. The office of the military defence counsel is giving the impression that it's working in Omar's best interest when they're denying his fundamental right to choice of counsel."

While detained, Khadr suffered inhumane treatment. From Amnesty International.:

...he says he has been beaten, “short shackled” (wrists and ankles chained together to a fixed point on the ground), exposed to extreme temperatures, held in isolation for prolonged periods and threatened with rape. An expert on the mental health of juveniles in correctional facilities... concluded that Omar Khadr’s symptoms were “consistent with those exhibited by victims of torture” and he had a mental disorder “including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder.”

And the official Government of Canada response to the whole situation? There is this inexplicable ruling:

In August 2005, the Federal Court of Canada issued an injunction barring Canadian officials from conducting any further interviews or questioning him on a variety of the grounds including that his rights were not being adequately protected.

And pathetically from then Defence Minister Bill Graham:

"It is an unfortunate reality that juveniles are too often the victims in military actions and that many groups and countries actively recruit and use them in armed conflicts and in terrorist activities. Canada is working hard to eliminate these practices, but child soldiers still exist, in Afghanistan, and in other parts of the world."

But strangely, Canada's involvement in Afghanistan continues unabated despite the prevalence of child soldiers there. What do you suppose 'working hard to eliminate these practices' means in this situation?

The kowtowing Harper government needs to defend Canadian citizens' rights no matter who they are or what they are accused of. We are not subject to Orwellian US law. Omar Khadr has the absolute right to be tried by jury in Canada.

Labels: Afghanistan, enemy combatant, Guantanamo, Omar Khadr, torture

Late in 2006, Stephen Harper pledged to assert more strongly Canada's claims in the north after a US submarine was found travelling unannounced through Canadian waters. But last night, the CBC reported that most of the air force missions patrolling the north have been cancelled.

It seems that Harper is suffering from the same delusions that George Bush suffers from, namely that the military is inexhaustible and that he just needs to speak his desires and they will manifest themselves.

In reality, Harper is putting the sovereignty and safety of Canada at risk by committing our military so deeply in Afghanistan.

It's called the Department of Defence, remember?

Labels: Afghanistan, arctic, northwest passage, Stephen Harper

OK kiddies, it's experiment time. Your mission: visit the Government of Canada website and time how long it takes you to find a mission statement about the war in Afghanistan.

Ready? Go!

...alright, I know it's Monday and this is a lot to ask, so let me save you some time. On the front page, there is nothing about Afghanistan. No links to any information. There is a big banner inviting you to join up with the military, but it's not clear why.

After trying a search for the words 'Afghan mission', this is what came up. No mission statement, no explanation of what the fuck we're doing there. Another search for 'Harper Afghanistan' reveals a little more info, with links to Harper speeches concerning Afghanistan, but again no mission statement.

Why is the government making it so difficult to find clarification on the war? Maybe because there is none.

Labels: Afghanistan, Stephen Harper

After my last post, I came across this story in The Edmonton Journal about Afghanistan veterans not getting needed mental health care.

Jeez, do I ever feel guilty. Here I am, eating up precious health care resources for my measly little cut finger while returning soldiers, fighting for my freedom, safety and access to universal health care (because that's really what we're there for, not for pipelines or natural resources or because the US told us to), are left out in the cold.

OK, aside from the criminal actions of the Canadian Government inside Afghanistan, when will politicians learn that if you're going to send people to die or be injured or suffer a mental breakdown because they're job is to kill people with the supposed reason of promoting democracy, freedom and our 'superior' way of life, you've gotta take care of them and prove that our system is worth the death and destruction when and if they come home.

Once again the futility, injustice and inhumanity of war becomes clear.

Is this concept really so difficult to grasp? The US has shown over and over that they are incapable of caring for their veterans properly, and in fact purposefully put them in harm's way, which obviously is tied to the insurance and profit dominated health care system there. But here in Canada, with universal not for profit health care, this is absolutely inexcusable.

Labels: Afghanistan, health care, veterans, war

From the CBC today:

NATO operations in Afghanistan's volatile south left dozens of Afghan civilians dead earlier this week, according to Afghan government officials and a village resident.

Bismallah Afghanmal, a provincial council member, told the Associated Press an estimated 80 to 85 civilians were killed in the operation, while Karim Jan, a villager, said 60 to 70 civilians died. Another government official, who declined to give his name, told the Associated Press that at least 60 civilians were killed.

Maj. Luke Knittig, a ISAF spokesman, said NATO forces used mortar and artillery backed by air support against militants who were trying to undermine efforts to stabilize the area for reconstruction.

Knittig said there were three clashes between insurgents and NATO forces west of Kandahar city, with troops using "precision strikes" against insurgents.

"Very sadly, civilians continue to get caught up in these engagements, with tragic results," he said.

Ah yes, very sad, very tragic, but not quite sad enough to stop doing it over and over and fucking over again.

What doesn't seem to be debatable is that some civilians were killed by NATO. This horrific report can be viewed a couple of ways:

We can view the report by Afghan officials as accurate and true. Between 60 and 90 civilians were slaughtered indiscriminately because they got in the way of the absurdly described "precision strikes" on areas which were obviously full of civilians. The question then is, what the hell are Canadian troops doing firing upon civilians? Has it now become an accepted practice to say 'well, our technology assures us that our strikes are precise, those pesky civilians just insist on getting in the way. What can we do? It's really all their own fault.' Does Stephen Harper really want to join the war crimes club? What's next, white phosphorous? Napalm? Mustard Gas?

We could also view it as a distortion from the warlord and former taliban controlled government in an effort to undermine NATO's efforts in the country, which would beg the question - why are we defending them? If this is a propaganda piece, why are Canadians killing civilians and being killed themselves to support a government that is obviously corrupt and doesn't want us there.

Either way you look at it, one has to conclude that the NATO prescence in Afghanistan is an exericise in imperial domination, with Canada acting as an enforcer.

CANADA OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW!

Labels: Afghanistan

I just read an outrageous article by Brian Cloughley on the Counterpunch website which really reinforces my belief that Canadian troops should not be involved in Afghanistan.

It seems that American officials are imposing tolls on roads they deem to be in need of tolls. In this country of abject poverty, starvation and violence, they are demanding a $20 toll on the Kabul-Kandahar highway from every driver that uses it. $20 in a country where the average schoolteacher earns $70 a month is not pocket money, it's everything.

And - surprise - Coca-Cola rears it's ugly, destructive, exploitive head in the third world once again. A new Coke bottling plant, worth $25 million, was just opened in Kabul (the owner of which lives in Dubai). For a little perspective, here is the state of public nutrition in Afghanistan today, according to the Senlis Council:

"After five years of intensive international involvement in Afghanistan, the country remains ravaged by severe poverty and the spreading starvation of the rural and urban poor. Despite promises from the US-led international community guaranteeing to provide the resources and assistance necessary for its reconstruction and development needs, Afghanistan's people are starving to death. . . . . More than 70% of the population is chronically malnourished, while less than a quarter of the population has access to safe drinking water."

So...reconstruction? Nah, screw that. We'll keep robbing from the poor to give to the rich, because what do starving people need more than anything? A multinational corporation stealing their water, transforming it into poison and selling it back to them! It's all very logical in the framework of colonialism. It makes reports of Canadian troops handing out candy to Afghan children sound even more absurd.

CANADA OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW!

Labels: Afghanistan

Christopher Brauchli, writing for counterpunch.org, has todays ode to insanity. Beyond the ridiculousness of the situation, there is the tragedy of it. And there should be outrage as well.

Props to my home and native land for stepping up, or at least trying to. Canada does do some things right. Hey Albania, let them c'mon over.

Labels: Afghanistan, Bush, Mangled Logic, torture, Uighurs, War of Terror