The Canadian Govt. recently announced that it will be withdrawing Canadian troops from Afghanistan. There were many congratulatory editorials and News reports in the Canadian media on the success of the mission. The following report from MSN seems to confirm that congratulations are in order for a job well done by Western powers in establishing law, order and democracy in one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Afghanistan is being left a safer place, no danger of exploding bombs or violent attacks upon women and children. Schools and hospitals are everywhere, the Taliban are gone, a peaceful strong government is firmly established in Kabul. Seems only a matter of time before Afghanistan will be a first world country. I think I will buy some real estate there; could be the opportunity of a lifetime.
Of course I am being facetious, Afghanistan is a much worse place than it was in 2001, the country has been bombed back to the stone age. There is no safety anywhere as evidenced by the fact that the Afghani leader's brother was assassinated recently. If the ruling family cannot be protected, how much protection can there be for average citizens? The Taliban are very much a force, possibly more so than they were in 2001. Women and children are victims of brutal assaults and murders and perpetrators are rarely if ever held accountable. Afghanistan is known for men raping pre-teen and teenage boys, this heinous practice has not been curbed, on the contrary Western soldiers are ordered to look the other way and not interfere in such 'local' matters. Afghanistan is a much more violent place today after a ten year peacekeeping mission! If peace was the mission, then it was a miserable failure, so what are Canadians congratulating themselves for?
KABUL — The first half of this year was the deadliest six months for civilians in Afghanistan since the decade-old war began, the country's U.N. mission said Thursday. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that civilian deaths hit a record high in the first half of this year, up 15 percent on the first six months of 2010, due to roadside and suicide bombings, increased ground fighting and more deadly air strikes.
Underscoring the danger to civilians, a suicide attacker who appears to have concealed his explosives inside a turban killed a senior cleric and at least three other people at a funeral service in southern Kandahar city for the assassinated brother of the Afghan president. At least 15 people were also wounded in the midday attack at the city's Red Mosque, the Interior Ministry said. President Hamid Karzai had returned to Kabul after his brother's burial Wednesday. The service was packed with cabinet ministers and Karzai relatives, but they escaped unscathed.
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