filet of democracy, in a fish wrapper

Byline: FEMALE Afghan politician dares to speak the truth

A certain kind of boredom makes me occasionally reach for one of the many free newspapers being forced on people in public places, here in London. This time it was the Metro (19 August)

What should I see but an interview with an Afghan politician.
Before you imagine backward-looking guys in foot-long beards, stinking like cattle, think again.

Latest Afghan political news:
what do you know? Karzai is corrupt. It's not him, really. It's the American guys telling him what to do that's the problem. Oil guys...government guys..After fixing the first round, he was gifted the second-round victory, instead of having to run against a dead-man walking, Dr. Abdullah (squared), who is not a Unocal employee.

[pic- Metro]
Anyway, Malalai Joya (her book: Raising my voice) did a 60 second interview which laid out the whole sick opera for us to peruse:

The Barber of Kabul
starring: Hamid "Sweeney" Karzai
Malalai "Die Hard" Joya
assorted warlords and kingpins

[my comments- Costick67]

Scene 1- threatened by corrupt politicians
Joya: "in parliament they couldn't tolerate me because I told the truth. They turned off my microphone...they insulted and threatened me....There are people saying they 'must punish [me] with the Kalashnikov.'"
Joya: "other democratic men and women in my country have been killed...no power is able to hide the truth"
Joya: "we democrats have two options..one, to compromise with a warlord, drug-lord government [she didn't mention Karzai's brother's drug business by name]... with the mask of democracy...like Pinochet, Hitler, Khomeini." "Your governments have replaced the fundamentalist rule of the Taliban with another fundamentalist regime who are responsible for killing, torture and repression."

Scene 2-the real reason for the invasion:
Joya: "People have always wanted to occupy Afghanistan because of its geopolitical location and also to have access to the valuable gas and oil of the Central Asian Republics."

Scene 3-
Chorus: life is better now with the US/UK in town, right?
Joya: "NO....Men and women of my country suffer from injustice, insecurity, joblessness, poverty, corruption. ..We have 'jungle law'. I have meetings with young girls and children who have been brutally raped."

Scene 4-
Chorus: There's been outrage in Britain at each British soldier killed in the conflict. Should there be the same level of outrage for every Afghan civilian killed?
Joya: "Of course. The blood of our people is shed like water. ...150 civilians killed by air strikes [true], most of them women and children. Bombing doesn't bring peace" [true].

Scene 5-the future of Afghanistan
Joya: "These criminals in government have no support among the hearts of our people...All the British families who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan should raise their voice against injustice, and also against more of their taxes funding an occupation that keeps a gang of corrupt warlords in power in Kabul."

Scene 6-
Chorus: are you hopeful about tomorrow's election? [the corrupt one, mentioned above]
Joya: "The election is a showcase of the US government. We have a famous saying that it's not important who is voting, it's important who is counting [she was right]. The next president...will be selected ...[by] the White House."
___
Update: Apparently the US army has been paying off the Taliban, so that they would allow American supply shipments to pass. It's amazing how weak the US looks. They stick their chests out and say "We don't deal with terrorists," but they do, daily. The Taliban are not the terrorists, by the way, the invaders are.
checkitout: Bruce Wilson, Talk to Action, or on Alternet.
Also, the 'ambassador' to Kabul recommends no further troop increases, because Karzai is corrupt.
Latest: Now I see what Corruption those Americans are talking about. The Afghans are giving minerals contracts to the Chinese, instead of gifting them to the Yanks.
___
-Costick67 (8^P
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Notes:
[check my old stories: Mass Media stories, and (tech blog) Grease is the word]
I remind you'all. Check the documentary Rethinking Afghanistan which says that there's no Al Qaeda over there any more, and our politicians know it. Doesn't stop them lying. The latest prevaricator was the Finance Minister, A. Darling (on the Politics Show, 1 Nov.). "We are fighting...Taliban...terror at home ...blah...blah". The Taliban is not Al Qaeda, and US/UK and Canadian soldiers are fighting the Taliban. What good is that?
I remind you'all. The Taliban warned the US that Al Qaeda was planning a big attack on a US city.
I remind you'all. The Taliban has been removed, not because they allowed Al Qaeda to run around unchecked, but because the Taliban wanted too much money to allow a Central-Asian-gas pipeline to pass through the country. The plans were already set before 11 Sept '01.
I remind you'all. Unocal (oil company) employee, Hamid Karzai, hosted the Taliban in his home in Houston.