Wednesday, 6 April 2011

حاميان ديروز «جهاد» افغانستان، قرآن را آتش زدند!

اگر ساليان «جهاد» افغانستان را بياد بيآوريم، علاوه از اينکه تمام غرب از سياستمدار گرفته تا کشيش و سرمايدار، همه نعرهء «اسلام در افغانستان در خطر است!» را بلند کرده بودند و هر ملا، مُفتی و آدمکش به شمول «اسامه بن لادن» را با لقب «جنگجويان آزاديخواه» مفتخر می ساختند
 
امريکائيکه ديروز در زير سايهء کتاب مقدس مسلمانان (قرآن) به سوی شرق راه باز می کرد، امروز آنرا به آتش می کشد؟!
علت اينکه خبر آتش زدن کتاب مقدس مسلمانان جهان (قرآن) توسط تری جونز کشيش يک کليسای امريکايی در ايالت فلوريدا کمی ديرتر به نشر سپرده می شود اينستکه، نگارنده در همان شب و روز ها جهت بازديد عزيزان خانواده، سفری به ايالات متحدهء امريکا داشتم.

حين نشر خبر آتش زدن قرآن توسط تری جونز بر روی سايت انترنتی فارسی بی بی سی، هيچ رسانه و تلويزيون امريکايی به شمول تلويزيونهای شخصی افغانی، از آن يادی نکردند. اگر امريکايی ها از انتشار آن خبر وحشت داشتند، عده ای از افغانهای مقيم امريکا به شمول گردانندگان تلويزيونهای افغانی، در حقيقت احساس شرمساری همراه با ندامت از موضعگيری های گذشته ای شان در دوران «جهاد» می کردند.

زمانيکه آن خبر را در حلقهء خانواده و بعضی دوستانيکه در آنکشور زندگی می کنند در ميان گذاشتم، باور نمی کردند چنين اتفاقی رُخ داده باشد. جالب آنبود که، زمانيکه آنها اين خبر را بر روی سايت بی بی سی خواندند، باز هم پافشاری داشتند که اين خبر مؤثق نيست و حقيقت ندارد، تا اينکه سر و صدا از داخل کشور بلند شد و در جريان تظاهرات در ولايت بلخ، عده يی به خشم آمدند و دوازه تن از کارمندان سازمان ملل متحد را به قتل رسانيدند (دو تن را سر بريدند). آنوقت پافشاری سودی نداشت و آنها آن حادثه را چون زهری نوشيدند ولی آهی از سينه بيرون نکردند!

چرا؟

اگر ساليان «جهاد» افغانستان را بياد بيآوريم، تمام غرب از سياستمدار گرفته تا کشيش و سرمايدار، همه نعرهء «اسلام در افغانستان در خطر است!» را بلند کرده بودند و هر ملا، مُفتی و آدمکش به شمول «اسامه بن لادن» را با لقب «جنگجويان آزاديخواه» مفتخر می ساختند و با ارسال جنگ افزار های رنگارنگ و مليونها دالر پاداش، شهرهای افغانستان و از جمله کابل عزيز و تاريخی را به حمام خون تبديل کرده بودند و موازی با آن، افغانها را زير نام «حکومت کفر» و «اشغال روس»، گروه گروه وادار به ترک کشور و مهاجرت می کردند.

در آن ساليان، اکثر افغانهای ساده دل ما که در اروپا و امريکا پناه يافته بودند، فکر می کردند ايالات متحدهء امريکا واقعاً حامی و دوست اسلام هست. آنها نه تنها به خيرات ها و صدقه ها برای پيروزی «جهاد» ادامه می دادند و در مساجد شان که در تهکوی های پسکوچه ها، گراج خانه ها و هنگر های فابريکات تعطيل شده برپا شده بودند، نماز های شکرانه ادا می کردند، بلکه با نکوهش حکومات دوران ح.د.خ.ا و حضور نظامی شوروی، از آزادی، دموکراسی و حقوق بشر در افغانستان سخن می راندند و زنان مشهور جهادی، به آغوش رؤسای جمهور امريکا پناه می بردند، چنانچه فاطمه گيلانی به نمايندگی از زنان مجاهد افغان، به ملاقات رونالد ريگن رئيس جمهور وقت امريکا شتافت و در آغوش اش عکس يادگاری گرفت.

کوتاه سخن، هردو جانب غرق شادی بودند و سر از پا نمی شناختند: اولی مدعی بود که کمونيسم را شکست داده و «جهاد» شان کامياب شده است، و دومی همان ادعای تاريخی خود (ابديت نظام سرمايداری) را ثابت شده می پنداشت؟!

اما زمان به سرعت عوض شد و نئوليبراليست ها که بعد از فرو ريختن ديوار برلين، فکر می کردند تاريخ به پايان خود رسيده و زمينه ها برای پيشروی شان به سوی شرق کاملاً آماده است، چهار نعل کنان از يوگوسلاوی آغاز کردند و بعد به سوی عراق و افغانستان در حرکت شدند، اما چنان سيلی محکم مردم و شرمساری تاريخی را نصيب شدند، که امروز نه تنها جهانيان به نيات شوم شان پی برده اند، بلکه دوستان و متحدين ديروز شان نيز به دشمنان سر سخت امروزی تبديل شده اند. امريکائيکه ديروز در زير سايهء کتاب مقدس مسلمانان (قرآن) به سوی شرق راه باز می کرد، امروز آنرا به آتش می کشد؟!

اينکه هيچ يک از زعمای کشور های اسلامی (به استثنی ايران)، در اين رابطه اعتراضی نکرد، در اينجا بحث نمی کنم، اما مجاهدين افغان، چه رهبران پست و فرومايه ای داشتند؟! با آتش زدن کتاب مقدس مسلمانان، هيچ يک از رهبران مزدور جهاد ديروز افغانستان به شمول کرزی زبان نگشود و برعکس باز هم اين پائينی های ساده دل بودند که عکس العمل نشان دادند و به جاده ها ريختند.

حکومت امريکا با اينکه سوزاندن قرآن توسط تری جونز را محکوم کرد، اما نمی تواند به قناعت مسلمانان جهان بپردازد، زيرا از يکطرف سياست های اينکشور در قبال مسلمانان جهان و بدرجهء اول مردم بيدفاع فلسطين هميشه انگيزهء دينی داشته و غير مستقيم نفرت و انزجار از مسلمانان را منعکس کرده است، از جانب ديگر، اين بهانه که بنابر مواد قانون اساسی امريکا و آزادی بيان مردم، جلو همچو اهانت به مسلمانان جهان را گرفته نمی توانست، نمی تواند مؤجه پنداشته شود، زيرا اگر رهبران قصر سفيد واقعاً خواهان انجام چنين يک عمل زشت نمی بودند، از ماه سپتامبر سال پار که اين کشيش مريض تهديد کرده بود، وقت کافی داشتند تا از آن جلوگيری کنند.

من اصرار ندارم تا ثابت بسازم که اسلام در دوران حضور شوروی در افغانستان در خطر نبود، شايد هم چنين خطری وجود داشت، اما از جهاديان ديروز خاصتاً رهبران آنها که در زير سايهء تفنگ امريکائيان بر اريکهء قدرت تکيه زده اند، اين پُرسش را به عمل می آورم که: آيا امروز نيز اسلام در خطر نيست؟ من از اين رهبران اعلام مجدد جهاد نمی خواهم، اما حد اقل اين توقع را دارم تا اين اهانت بزرگ را که روس ها هيچگاه مرتکب نشده بودند، حد اقل نکوهش می کردند!

در عکس پائين، کرزی را که در محاصرهء يک گروه از نظاميان استخبارات «سيا» قرار دارد، در حالی نشان می دهد که او در سال 2001 در منطقهء در ولايت ارزگان پياده ساخته شد و چند روز بعد به رياست جمهوری رسيد. آيا در چهرهء او که به يک رهزن شباهت دارد، می توان شهامت يک رهبر ملی را ديد و از او توقع کرد تا در برابر اشغالگران ايستادگی
نمايد
؟!


 

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Students protest in kabul at florida koran burninh.

Hundreds of Kabul University students along with lecturers staged a protest on Tuesday to protest at Koran burning in Florida.

The protest was staged in the campus of the Kabul University in a peaceful way.
It started at 08:00 am local time and lasted for three hours.

Students chanted anti-American slogans and strongly condemned the Koran burning in the United States.
Protesters said the action is an insult to Muslims. They called on the US government to punish those who have burnt the holy Koran.
"We strongly condemn this action, it is an inhumane act," Obaid Abed, a university student, said.
Enayatullah Baleegh, a lecturer at the faculty of Islamic theology, said Islam does not allow Muslims to insult anyone.
"Based on Islam, we have no right to insult and humiliate anyone," Mr Baleegh said.

People in the south-western Nimroz province also staged a similar peaceful demonstration today urging punishment for the Florida pastor.
Meanwhile, the White House has condemned the Koran burning as well as the killing of the UN workers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has said Washington absolutely condemns the burning of the holy Koran considering it un-American and inappropriate, but added that nothing could justify the fatal violence that took the lives of the UN workers in Mazar-e-Sharif.
"Two points. One, we absolutely condemn the burning of holy text. We think it's un-American and inappropriate, one. Two, nothing justifies--, absolutely nothing justifies the kind of violence and fatal violence that we saw that took the lives of workers at the United Nations in Mazar-i-Sharif. Absolutely nothing," Reuters quotes Jay Carney as saying.
Mr Carney has said what the pastor has done does not represent America's values.
Meanwhile, the chief spokesman of the UN mission in Afghanistan, Kieran Dwyer, has also said the UN will conduct an inquiry into the Mazar attack to determine the fact and look at all measures that were taken to protect its workers.

Head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, has told his staff in an e-mail on Sunday that he believed there were "understandable question marks about security lapses" at the compound.
"We recognise that something did go wrong and are working to address it," Mr de Mistura has written.
In the recent demonstrations in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar 20 people including 7 UN workers were killed and around 130 demonstrators were injured

غرب، ديوانهء نفت است!

بخوانيد و بشنويد و دليل حمله بر ليبی را بدانيد!
جنگ در ليبی نه برای توسعهء دموکراسی و نجات غير نظاميان است، چه همين مدعيان اروپايی و امريکايی، همه روزه صدها غير نظامی را در زير بمباردمانهای هوايی در افغانستان قتل عام می کنند. ادعای پوچ « دفاع از مردم ليبی » نيز برای تسلط بر نفت، راه اندازی جنگ و فروش سلاح به مخالفين قذافی است!

به اين خبر «بی بی سی» توجه کنيد:

« ساعتی پیش یک نفت کش در یکی از بنادر شرق لیبی کناره گرفته تا بتواند اولین بخش از نفتی را که مخالفان دولت می خواهند صادر کنند، از آنجا بارگیری کند. این کشتی یونانی قرار است یک میلیون بشکه نفت بار بزند که حدود یک صد میلیون دلار ارزش دارد. این پول به مخالفان مسلح برای ایستادن مقابل نیروهای سرهنگ قذافی کمک می کند. در همین حال جنگ در اطراف شهر نفتی بریقه به شدت ادامه یافته است. کسری ناجی گزارش می دهد.»
ويديوی اين خبر را اينجا بشنويد

The Inaccurately labeled “Qur’an Burning Protests” in Afghanistan

The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
- El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (aka Malcolm X)
Afghans for Peace is taking part in an awareness campaign to expose what really happened in the widespread protests that have been erupting throughout Afghanistan since last Friday, April 1st. The majority of news reports have been covering a selective portrayal of the events, leaving out many important factors that contributed to the motivation and intention that lead to these demonstrations.

Since Friday April 1st, mass protests have been held in at least nine different provinces across Afghanistan.The media, however, decided to pay attention to one tragic incident and painted the picture that the protests were sparked by a radicalized group of Muslims.  However, these were planned demonstrations partially in response to the Qur’an burning, but not limited to. Why would the people of Afghanistan decide to protest now, and violently so, for an action that took place thousands of miles away from home?  Also, why would the protesters only pay attention to this one incident when many other blatant violations of their human rights have occurred in this ongoing war?
The demonstration in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh was organized ahead of time by community leaders at the local mosque, Balkh University, and Provincial Council. They had informed the Provincial Governor and Police Chief ahead of time that they planned a peaceful protest and some (leaders?) even intended to hand in a resolution to the UN. While many in the crowd of protesters were condemning the Quran burning, it was not what motivated 20,000 people in Mazar-e-Sharif to take to the streets. Witness reports, along with photographic and video footage show that the demonstration consisted of people protesting against both the Quran burning and NATO forces.
Furthermore, the protest in Mazar-e-Sharif was not an isolated incident, rather a nation-wide protest spanning these following areas:
Balkh
Herat
Kandahar
Kabul
Laghman
Nangarhar
Parwan
Paktia
Helmand
As was the case with Mazar-e-Sharif, a peaceful demonstration along with a written resolution was also planned in Herat. The United States consulate in Herat condemned the Qu’ran burning, but the protesters included 13 items.
Three of the 13 items reported in the resolution were:
- Foreign troops to leave Afghanistan
- Stop killing of civilians
- Untie all diplomatic relations with the United States government
In Kandahar, one local religious leader who met with the governor of Kandahar, Mullava Habibiullah, was critical of the Qu’ran burning, yet he specifically said, “People won’t stop demonstrations unless the foreign troops stop night raids and arresting and killing people.”
It begs the question as to why the media has been selective with Afghanistan.  Why are protests in other parts of the world reported in detail, but the ones in Afghanistan conveniently brushed aside or inaccurately reported with misleading headlines?
The headlines of most mainstream reports have been falsely describing these protests as being solely in response to the Qu’ran burning that took place last month. However, details are emerging that a majority of the protesters were actually in response to the presence of Coalition forces in Afghanistan and the civilian deaths caused by their attacks. It has also been revealed that protesters “shot back” after police fired indiscriminately at them. In Mazar-e-Sharif protesters disarmed the guards and security forces after they were also fired at first.
AFP is in contact with No One Can Divide Afghanistan, an Afghan-led peace movement, whose members actively participated in the Mazar-e-Sharif protest last Friday. They released the following statements:
The youths of Afghanistan who were witnessing the demonstration condemn and denounce the lies of the mass media about the reason of protests in several cities of Afghanistan. The main reason of the peaceful protest was demand for the immediate withdrawal of US & NATO troops from Afghanistan. Violence as the result of self-defense as the guard first opened fire on protesters.”
“The sole motivation of the Afghan protest was NOT the Quran burning at the first side, but demand to stop this illegal war and withdrawal of all the US & NATO troops!!! The protest was a peaceful march in front of UN headquarter in Mazar-e-Sharif and those were simple Afghan people who wanted nothing but their voice and demands to be heard. The protest turned violent when guard started to fire in the crowd and 2 people were dead instantly and many injured, and casualties were rising every minute. Please spread the truth about the conditions of the poor Afghan people who are struggling for their lives and voices to be heard. The media is throwing dust in our eyes, twisting the reality and making out Afghans as offenders to justify US & NATO crimes. All they want is to show Afghans this way to western people so they will support this illegal WAR! Afghans in Afghanistan are only victims who want nothing but JUSTICE!”
“Some people were hiding from bullets launched from the both sides of the UN office. Some poor people were confused to see this bloodshed when all they wanted is their voices to be heard by UN, but who cares about us?

The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
- El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (aka Malcolm X)

Afghans for Peace is taking part in an awareness campaign to expose what really happened in the widespread protests that have been erupting throughout Afghanistan since last Friday, April 1st. The majority of news reports have been covering a selective portrayal of the events, leaving out many important factors that contributed to the motivation and intention that lead to these demonstrations.

Since Friday April 1st, mass protests have been held in at least nine different provinces across Afghanistan.The media, however, decided to pay attention to one tragic incident and painted the picture that the protests were sparked by a radicalized group of Muslims.  However, these were planned demonstrations partially in response to the Qur’an burning, but not limited to. Why would the people of Afghanistan decide to protest now, and violently so, for an action that took place thousands of miles away from home?  Also, why would the protesters only pay attention to this one incident when many other blatant violations of their human rights have occurred in this ongoing war?
The demonstration in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh was organized ahead of time by community leaders at the local mosque, Balkh University, and Provincial Council. They had informed the Provincial Governor and Police Chief ahead of time that they planned a peaceful protest and some (leaders?) even intended to hand in a resolution to the UN. While many in the crowd of protesters were condemning the Quran burning, it was not what motivated 20,000 people in Mazar-e-Sharif to take to the streets. Witness reports, along with photographic and video footage show that the demonstration consisted of people protesting against both the Quran burning and NATO forces.
Furthermore, the protest in Mazar-e-Sharif was not an isolated incident, rather a nation-wide protest spanning these following areas:
Balkh
Herat
Kandahar
Kabul
Laghman
Nangarhar
Parwan
Paktia
Helmand
As was the case with Mazar-e-Sharif, a peaceful demonstration along with a written resolution was also planned in Herat. The United States consulate in Herat condemned the Qu’ran burning, but the protesters included 13 items.
Three of the 13 items reported in the resolution were:
- Foreign troops to leave Afghanistan
- Stop killing of civilians
- Untie all diplomatic relations with the United States government
In Kandahar, one local religious leader who met with the governor of Kandahar, Mullava Habibiullah, was critical of the Qu’ran burning, yet he specifically said, “People won’t stop demonstrations unless the foreign troops stop night raids and arresting and killing people.”
It begs the question as to why the media has been selective with Afghanistan.  Why are protests in other parts of the world reported in detail, but the ones in Afghanistan conveniently brushed aside or inaccurately reported with misleading headlines?
The headlines of most mainstream reports have been falsely describing these protests as being solely in response to the Qu’ran burning that took place last month. However, details are emerging that a majority of the protesters were actually in response to the presence of Coalition forces in Afghanistan and the civilian deaths caused by their attacks. It has also been revealed that protesters “shot back” after police fired indiscriminately at them. In Mazar-e-Sharif protesters disarmed the guards and security forces after they were also fired at first.
AFP is in contact with No One Can Divide Afghanistan, an Afghan-led peace movement, whose members actively participated in the Mazar-e-Sharif protest last Friday. They released the following statements:
“The youths of Afghanistan who were witnessing the demonstration condemn and denounce the lies of the mass media about the reason of protests in several cities of Afghanistan. The main reason of the peaceful protest was demand for the immediate withdrawal of US & NATO troops from Afghanistan. Violence as the result of self-defense as the guard first opened fire on protesters.”
“The sole motivation of the Afghan protest was NOT the Quran burning at the first side, but demand to stop this illegal war and withdrawal of all the US & NATO troops!!! The protest was a peaceful march in front of UN headquarter in Mazar-e-Sharif and those were simple Afghan people who wanted nothing but their voice and demands to be heard. The protest turned violent when guard started to fire in the crowd and 2 people were dead instantly and many injured, and casualties were rising every minute. Please spread the truth about the conditions of the poor Afghan people who are struggling for their lives and voices to be heard. The media is throwing dust in our eyes, twisting the reality and making out Afghans as offenders to justify US & NATO crimes. All they want is to show Afghans this way to western people so they will support this illegal WAR! Afghans in Afghanistan are only victims who want nothing but JUSTICE!”
“Some people were hiding from bullets launched from the both sides of the UN office. Some poor people were confused to see this bloodshed when all they wanted is their voices to be heard by UN, but who cares about us?!”

Photographs and videos taken of the protests also show signs and banners that are specific to NATO forces, and you can hear people chanting anti-occupation slogans in response to NATO.
There have also been inconsistent reports with details regarding the Taliban’s involvement, and the spontaneity of the protests. When the news media sources contradict one another, how are we to trust the validity of their reporting?
The media has also given excessive coverage of Terry Jones, the Pastor of a Church with less than 50 followers. Why is this man, whose beliefs and actions have little to no significance or importance, constantly receiving attention by the media?
Afghan president Hamid Karzai publicly condemned the Quran burning on March 23rd, why was it important to publicize such a isolated act when US US soldiers have shot at Qur’ans and other Islamic symbols intentionally? Especially since Islamophobia is deeply entrenched and openly practiced in Western military culture. Mosques in Afghanistan have been destroyed by NATO-led forces, so assumingly plenty of Holy books were burned in those incidents. Why is this one individual from halfway across the world any more controversial?
The almost decade long US-led war and occupation may need a excuse to increase, support and prolongue it. Mazar i Sharif was one of the areas planned to be transfered from NATO command to Afghan forces. However, since the UN compound incident, UN and US officials have been questioning this transfer and urging a even stronger presence in Afghanistan.
US General David Petraeus has stated that “additional serious security challenge in a country that faces considerable security challenges.” Ehsanullah Ehsan, a director for a NGO, legitimizes Coaliton forces in a Canadian newspaper: “Afghans know that the withdrawal of western troops would lead only to more war and more terror.” Staffan de Mistura, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan who was not harmed during the attack reaffirmed foreign occupation, “Despite this difficult situation, the UN is here to stay.” U.S. President Barack Obama has used it to reinforce Operation Enduring Freedom:  ”The brave men and women of the United Nations, including the Afghan staff, undertake their work in support of the Afghan people. Their work is essential to building a stronger Afghanistan for the benefit of all its citizens.”
The unashamed(blatant?) hypocrisy of the US government can be found in a statement by US State Department spokesman Mark Toner: “There’s no justification for the murder of innocent people.” However, if one were to apply his Western rhetoric, then the over one million innocent Iraqis and over 30,000 Afghans murdered by their “War on Terror” cannot be justified. There are many examples of American exceptionalism.
Timeline of these events do not add up either:
February 17th – March 1st: Repeated Civilian Massacres that led to a rare apology from Petraus, and Karzai calling for an end to NATO operations
March 20th: Qu’ran burning
March 21st: Der Spiegel Kill Team Publication
March 27th: Rolling Stones Kill Team Publication
These repeated attacks against the civilian population have frequently sparked anger and protest throughout Afghanistan. In the last week, graphic photos of the “Kill Team” were released to the public, illustrating the gruesome murders of innocent, unarmed Afghan civilians by U.S. soldiers. Ignoring these critical events only serves to create a diversion from the truth and a manipulation on the so-called “Qu’ran burning” story.
When dozens of people have been killed, and hundreds more injured, are we really suppose to believe that this was solely as a result of a book burning? AFP condemns not only violent acts against unarmed, innocent people, but also the exploitation of these events to further justify Islamophobia and the illegal occupation of Afghanistan.
These inaccurate accusations undermine the Afghan voice and attempt to discredit the rapidly growing anti-war movement within Afghanistan. It paints a negative image on the thousands of Afghans who took part in what had initially started out as, and was meant to be, legitimate and peaceful demonstrations.
We encourage those who currently reside in Afghanistan to please continue sending AFP detailed information about these demonstrations.

Monday, 4 April 2011

Foreign soldiers kill civilian in Kabul: Residents (Video)


KABUL, Apr 4, 2011: Residents of a district in central Kabul province on Monday accused foreign troops of killing a shopkeeper and taking away his son during an overnight raid.
The incident happened Sunday night in Chaar Asyab district of Kabul when NATO-led troops attacked the house of Yasin, a relative, Ghulam Rassoul, said.
He said his uncle, Yasin, 50, and his son, Khairullah, 30, had no links to any militant group. Yasin had a shop of car spare parts in the district bazaar, Rassoul said.
"My uncle was innocent. We can not forgive his killing. The murderers should be tried at court," he said, adding there was no presence of militants in the area.

Kill teams in Afghanistan: the truth

These disgusting photos of murdered Afghans reveal the aggression and racism underpinning the occupation of my country

The disgusting and heartbreaking photos published last week in the German media, and more recently in Rolling Stone magazine, are finally bringing the grisly truth about the war in Afghanistan to a wider public. All the PR about this war being about democracy and human rights melts into thin air with the pictures of US soldiers posing with the dead and mutilated bodies of innocent Afghan civilians.
I must report that Afghans do not believe this to be a story of a few rogue soldiers. We believe that the brutal actions of these "kill teams" reveal the aggression and racism which is part and parcel of the entire military occupation. While these photos are new, the murder of innocents is not. Such crimes have sparked many protests in Afghanistan and have sharply raised anti-American sentiment among ordinary Afghans.
I am not surprised that the mainstream media in the US has been reluctant to publish these images of the soldiers who made sport out of murdering Afghans. General Petraeus, now in charge of the American-led occupation, is said to place great importance on the "information war" for public opinion – and there is a concerted effort to keep the reality of Afghanistan out of sight in the US.

Last week my initial application for a US entry visa was turned down, and so my book tour was delayed while supporters demanded my right to enter the country. The American government was pressed to relent and allow my visit to go ahead. Ultimately it too will be unable to block out the truth about the war in Afghanistan.
The "kill team" images will come as a shock to many outside Afghanistan but not to us. We have seen countless incidents of American and Nato forces killing innocent people like birds. For instance, they recently killed nine children in Kunar Province who were collecting firewood. In February this year they killed 65 innocent villagers, most of them women and children. In this case, as in many others, Nato claimed that they had only killed insurgents, even though local authorities acknowledged that the victims were civilians. To prevent the facts coming out they even arrested two journalists from al-Jazeera who attempted to visit and report from the site of the massacre.
Successive US officials have said that they will safeguard civilians and that they will be more careful, but in fact they are only more careful in their efforts to cover up their crimes and suppress reporting of them. The US and Nato, along with the office of the UN's assistance mission in Afghanistan, usually give statistics about civilian deaths that underestimate the numbers. The reality is that President Obama's so-called surge has only led to a surge of violence from all sides, and civilian deaths have increased.

The occupying armies have tried to buy off the families of their victims, offering $2,000 for each one killed. Afghans' lives are cheap for the US and Nato, but no matter how much they offer, we don't want their blood money.
Once you know all this, and once you have seen the "kill team" photos, you will understand more clearly why Afghans have turned against this occupation. The Karzai regime is more hated than ever: it only rules through intimidation, corruption, and with the help of the occupying armies. Afghans deserve much better than this.
However, this does not mean more Afghans are supporting the reactionary so-called resistance of the Taliban. Instead we are seeing the growth, under very difficult conditions, of another resistance led by students, women and the ordinary poor people of Afghanistan. They are taking to the streets to protest against the massacre of civilians and to demand an end to the war. Demonstrations like this were recently held in Kabul, Marzar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Farah.
This resistance is inspired by the movements in other countries like Egypt and Tunisia – we want to see "people power" in Afghanistan as well. And we need the support and solidarity of people in the Nato countries.
Many new voices are speaking up against this expensive and hypocritical war in Afghanistan, including soldiers from the Nato armies. When I last visited the UK I had the honour of meeting Joe Glenton, a conscientious objector who spent months in jail for his resistance to the war in Afghanistan. Of his time in prison, Glenton said: "In the current climate I consider it a badge of honour to have served a prison sentence."
So while the world looks in horror at the "kill team" photographs, Joe Glenton's courage and humanity is an important reminder that the war in Afghanistan need not last forever.

Man in Police Uniform Shoots Isaf Soldiers in Faryab

A man in disguise of the Afghan border police uniform shot two Isaf soldiers dead on Monday at a base in northern Faryab province, Isaf said in a statement.


A man in disguise of the Afghan border police uniform shot two Isaf soldiers dead on Monday at a base in northern Faryab province, Isaf said in a statement.
"According to initial reporting, an individual in an Afghan Border Police uniform fired on the Isaf members inside a compound," Isaf said.

The man who shot the soldiers has managed to escape, according to the statement.

Isaf has yet to disclose nationalities of the dead soldiers.

It is still unclear wether the man was a real Afghan police soldier.

The attack is not yet claimed by any group.

There have been incidents in the past when insurgents have disguised themselves in Afghan police and army unforms and even burkas to carry out their attacks on foreign forces in the country.
Insurgent attacks have increased as Afghanistan is approaching the first phase of security transition planned to begin in July this year.