Tonus
07-14-2009, 07:28 PM
...terror attacks. (http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1741&ctl=Details&mid=1882&ItemID=4672)
This shouldn't come as a surprise, but the disparity in media coverage means that even the people of Afghanistan fear the US military more (http://trueslant.com/pjtobia/2009/07/14/un-insurgents-kill-more-afghans-than-coalition/) than they fear the Taliban attackers, even though the latter have deliberately targeted neighborhoods and schools (98 "incidents" against schools in just one recent seven week period!). They also target organizations that are in Afghanistan specifically to help ease the suffering of the local population.
Some choice snippets...
13 July 2009 - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has spoken out against the use of suicide bombings and other terrorist activities, which it says kills more civilians than any other military action.
The reaction came after last Thursday’s bomb blast in Logar province which killed more than 20 people, including children on their way to school. UNAMA condemned the “barbaric” attack, the latest in a string of violence targeted at aid organizations.
UNICEF has recorded 98 school incidents in the period from 1 May until 24 June 2009, including direct attacks by small arms and rockets, arson, and threats. Ms. Veneman said these attacks “pull the country backwards and threaten the significant advances that have been made in education and child health in recent years.”
Recent violence has also targeted those trying to help the fledgling democracy rebuild. Last month three national staff members of a local non-governmental organization (NGO) were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was destroyed by a roadside bomb in Jawzjan province. In addition, the office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kunduz was attacked in early June with a rocket-propelled grenade having been fired at the compound.
Even here in Afghanistan, the average man or woman on the street will tell you that airstrikes are their greatest concern.
I was in the park the other day, chatting with Abdul Rahab, a retired police officer. He told me that, “More than the Taliban, I am worried about US bombings over residential areas.”
This man doesn't seem to recognize that US forces have bombed civilian areas mistakenly or due to errors or bad intelligence, and as a result has scaled back operations in certain areas in order to avoid more innocent blooshed. Contrary to this, the Taliban targets civilians, including schools and aid organizations, as a matter of policy. Why bother helping people when you can simply pummel them into submission? The added benefit to them of this attitude is that people will report, photograph, and comment on military action far more openly and readily than they will about terror attacks.
This is an important time for Afghanistan, as they are gearing up for elections in August, and that means that the Taliban is likely to ramp up the attacks and the terror. And the democratically-elected government of Afghanistan must wonder how much help and support they'll get, especially seeing how much of the world has responded to the situations in Iran and Honduras. It might just be a great time to be a repressive fundamentalist murdering scumbag.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, but the disparity in media coverage means that even the people of Afghanistan fear the US military more (http://trueslant.com/pjtobia/2009/07/14/un-insurgents-kill-more-afghans-than-coalition/) than they fear the Taliban attackers, even though the latter have deliberately targeted neighborhoods and schools (98 "incidents" against schools in just one recent seven week period!). They also target organizations that are in Afghanistan specifically to help ease the suffering of the local population.
Some choice snippets...
13 July 2009 - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has spoken out against the use of suicide bombings and other terrorist activities, which it says kills more civilians than any other military action.
The reaction came after last Thursday’s bomb blast in Logar province which killed more than 20 people, including children on their way to school. UNAMA condemned the “barbaric” attack, the latest in a string of violence targeted at aid organizations.
UNICEF has recorded 98 school incidents in the period from 1 May until 24 June 2009, including direct attacks by small arms and rockets, arson, and threats. Ms. Veneman said these attacks “pull the country backwards and threaten the significant advances that have been made in education and child health in recent years.”
Recent violence has also targeted those trying to help the fledgling democracy rebuild. Last month three national staff members of a local non-governmental organization (NGO) were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was destroyed by a roadside bomb in Jawzjan province. In addition, the office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kunduz was attacked in early June with a rocket-propelled grenade having been fired at the compound.
Even here in Afghanistan, the average man or woman on the street will tell you that airstrikes are their greatest concern.
I was in the park the other day, chatting with Abdul Rahab, a retired police officer. He told me that, “More than the Taliban, I am worried about US bombings over residential areas.”
This man doesn't seem to recognize that US forces have bombed civilian areas mistakenly or due to errors or bad intelligence, and as a result has scaled back operations in certain areas in order to avoid more innocent blooshed. Contrary to this, the Taliban targets civilians, including schools and aid organizations, as a matter of policy. Why bother helping people when you can simply pummel them into submission? The added benefit to them of this attitude is that people will report, photograph, and comment on military action far more openly and readily than they will about terror attacks.
This is an important time for Afghanistan, as they are gearing up for elections in August, and that means that the Taliban is likely to ramp up the attacks and the terror. And the democratically-elected government of Afghanistan must wonder how much help and support they'll get, especially seeing how much of the world has responded to the situations in Iran and Honduras. It might just be a great time to be a repressive fundamentalist murdering scumbag.