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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

[chottala.com] Saudi Arabia: Shia Minority Treated as Second-Class Citizens

Saudi Arabia: Shia Minority Treated as Second-Class Citizens

Wahhabi Authorities Discriminate Against Ismaili Citizens

(London, September 22, 2008) – The Saudi government should end its systematic discrimination against its Ismaili religious minority, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch called upon the government to set up a national institution empowered to recommend remedies for discriminatory policies and responding to individual claims.  
 

" The Saudi government preaches religious tolerance abroad, but it has consistently penalized its Ismaili citizens for their religious beliefs. The government should stop treating Ismailis as second-class in employment, the justice system, and education. "
 
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch
  
The 90-page report, "The Ismailis of Najran: Second-Class Saudi Citizens," based on more than 150 interviews and reviews of official documents, documents a pattern of discrimination against the Ismailis in the areas of government employment, education, religious freedom, and the justice system.  
 
"The Saudi government preaches religious tolerance abroad, but it has consistently penalized its Ismaili citizens for their religious beliefs," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The government should stop treating Ismailis as second-class in employment, the justice system, and education."  
 
At least several hundred thousand, and perhaps as many as 1 million, Ismailis live in Saudi Arabia, part of the Shia minority in the Sunni-dominated country of 28 million. Most Ismailis live in Najran province, on Saudi Arabia's southwestern border with Yemen, where tensions have been growing in recent years.  
 
Saudi Arabia conquered Najran following a brief war with Yemen in 1934, incorporating into the kingdom the local Sulaimani Ismailis, one strand of Ismaili belief. Najran has been home to the highest Sulaimani Ismaili cleric, the Absolute Guide, since the 17th century.  
 
Despite more than 70 years of shared history, Saudi authorities at the highest levels continue to propagate hate speech against this religious minority. In April 2007, the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, the body tasked with officially interpreting Islamic faith, ritual, and law, termed Ismailis "corrupt infidels, debauched atheists." In August 2006, Saudi Arabia's highest judge, Shaikh Salih al-Luhaidan, declared to an audience of hundreds that Ismailis "outwardly appear Islamic, but inwardly, they are infidels." Other Saudi officials did not rebut or disown those statements.  
 
Growing tension since the mid-1990s between Ismailis and Najran's governor, Prince Mish'al bin Sa'ud bin Abd al-'Aziz, led to clashes in April 2000, after the authorities arrested an Ismaili cleric they accused of "sorcery." Security forces arrested hundreds of Ismailis, and tortured and secretly tried dozens of others. The authorities then purged some 400 Ismailis from the local bureaucracy.  
 
Since then, local officials who have been sent to Najran from other parts of the country and reflecting the country's dominant conservative Wahhabi Muslim ideology, have continued to discriminate against Ismailis in employment, education and the justice system, and interfered with their ability to practice their religion.  
 
Only one of the 35 department heads of the Najran provincial government is an Ismaili. Almost no Ismailis work as senior security personnel or as religion teachers. Saudi textbooks teach that the Ismaili faith is a sin of "major polytheism," tantamount to excommunication. Wahhabi teachers in Najran insult Ismaili pupils' faith and try to convert them to Sunni Islam, even using threats of class failure and flogging.  
 
Ismailis are not free to pass their religious teachings on to new generations. The authorities have at times exiled the Absolute Guide from Najran or placed him under house arrest. Saudi authorities also ban the import or production of Ismaili religious literature. Ismailis face obstacles in obtaining permits to build new mosques or expand existing ones, whereas the state funds and builds Sunni mosques in Najran, even in areas without a Sunni population.  
 
The country's Sharia judges, following Wahhabi beliefs, routinely discriminate against Ismailis on the basis of their faith. In March 2006, a judge annulled the marriage of an Ismaili man to a Sunni woman, saying that the man lacked religious qualification. In May 2006, another judge barred an Ismaili lawyer from representing his Sunni client.  
 
"State-sponsored and officially tolerated discrimination against the Ismailis of Najran seriously threatens their identity and denies them basic rights," Stork said. "The authorities are shutting them out from education, government employment, and professions."  
 
In July 2008, King Abdullah opened a well-publicized interfaith conference in Spain initiated by Saudi Arabia and attended by Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist religious leaders.  
 
"The measure of Saudi religious tolerance will be its practice at home, not only what it preaches abroad," Stork said.  
 
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/09/22/saudia19804.htm
 

 
 
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[chottala.com] Governor's Ramadan Reception

 
Dear All:

Maryland Governor Hon. Martin O'Malley hosted a reception at his official residence "Governor's Mansion" to celebrate the month of Ramadan on Monday, September 2008. The presences of the Lt. Governor Hon. Anthony Brown and First Lady Hon. Katie O'Malley have enlightened the reception to the State's highest level. Under the leaderships of Gov. Martin O'Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Maryland is the only state in the USA which celebrated Ramadan month officially. Muslims of the state Maryland are proud of it.

Law maker of the Maryland's General Assembly Del. Hon. Saqib Ali, Muslim Commissioners of the Governor's several Commissions, especially, Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs and Commission on Asian American Affairs, leaders of the several state and county Muslim Councils and community organizations were present at the reception. As a Commissioner of the Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and Muslim by faiths I and my wife were invited and we were honored to attend the reception.

The reception started with a "Dua" led by an Imam with Hon. Governor and Lt. Governor by his side. A Maghrib prayer was held at the reception hall of the Governor's mansion followed by Dua and Iftar. Having a Maghrib prayer at the Governor's mansion was an historical event for the Muslims of the State of Maryland.

Governor Hon. Martin O'Malley and Lt. Governor Hon. Anthony Brown gave short speeches after a feast highlighting the importance of Islam and its' culture to the enrichment of the cultural diversities and religions of the state of Maryland. Both top executives of the State praised Muslim citizens for their contributions to the development of the State of Maryland in all areas. Hon. Saqib Ali, the only Muslim legislator thanked Governor for honoring the Muslims and for hosting a reception at his residence to celebrate Month of Ramadan for second times during his term.

Mr. Anwar Hossain, Chairman, Governor's Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs spoke on behalf of the Muslims of Maryland and thanked Governor and the First Lady to host the reception and to allow guests to say their prayers at their official reception hall. Later he presented a book on the life of Hazrat Muhammad (SM) to the governor and Carpets with art of Muslim cultures to the First Lady and to the Lt. Governor. Montgomery County Muslim Council president Mrs. Irma Hafiz also gave gifts to the Governor and to the First Lady.

Please go to the following linkage to see photos of the celebration at the Maryland Governor's Mansion. Credit goes to the Governor's Press Office for taking these pictures.

 
Anis Ahmed
Commissioner
Governor's Commission on Asian American Affairs
State of Maryland, USA
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[chottala.com] US prosecutor says Dr Aafia may be unfit for trial

 

U.S. says Pakistani suspect may be unfit for trial

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge entered a plea of innocent on Tuesday on behalf of a Pakistani woman suspected of links to al Qaeda who prosecutors say may be unfit to face charges of trying to kill U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan.

Lawyers chant anti-U.S slogans during a protest to show solidarity with U.S.-trained neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, in Karachi September 23, 2008. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Aafia Siddiqui, 36, a U.S.-trained neuroscientist who was shot in the abdomen by an officer after allegedly grabbing a U.S. soldier's gun during questioning in July, was brought to the United States on charges of attempted murder and assault.

Siddiqui's Sept. 4 arraignment at Manhattan federal court was delayed after Siddiqui, a practicing Muslim, refused to submit to a strip search, a security procedure requiring inmates to undress and squat in front of guards.

Without the search, she cannot be brought to court.

At a hearing on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman entered the not guilty plea after finding that Siddiqui had refused to attend court to enter a plea herself. Siddiqui's lawyer, Elizabeth Fink, said she did not object.

Berman also ordered a psychiatric evaluation of Siddiqui, and, depending on its findings, set a tentative trial date of March 9.

On Monday, a U.S. prosecutor asked the judge to order a psychiatric evaluation of Siddiqui to determine if she is fit to stand trial. Its findings will be discussed at a Dec. 17 hearing.

In a letter to Berman, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said that there was reason to believe Siddiqui, who has refused to cooperate with prison doctors, is suffering from a mental disease and is unfit to stand trial.

Garcia asked the court to find that "there is a reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering her incompetent to enter a plea or stand trial."

VICTIM OF TORTURE?

Fink asked that her client be placed in a hospital for medical and psychological care and be treated as someone who may have been the victim of torture.

"There is every reason to believe that her mental state is related to five years when she was kept in captivity," she told Berman.

Human rights groups had declared Siddiqui missing for five years before the incident in July, when she was arrested outside the governor's office in Afghanistan's Ghazni province. Her lawyers have said they believe she was secretly detained in Afghanistan's Bagram air base by U.S. authorities.

U.S. officials say police found documents in her handbag on making explosives, excerpts from the book "Anarchist's Arsenal" and descriptions of New York City landmarks.

The federal indictment says Siddiqui, while detained for questioning, grabbed a U.S. warrant officer's rifle and fired it at the interrogation team, which included two FBI agents in the room. The warrant officer then shot her with his pistol.

Prosecutors said Siddiqui had refused care and that strict security was needed given the serious charges against her.

In 2004, the FBI called Siddiqui an "al Qaeda operative and facilitator who posed a clear and present danger to America." U.S. intelligence says she was married to a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who helped plan the Sept. 11 attacks.

 http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/24/worldupdates/2008-09-24T055031Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-356201-1&sec=Worldupdates

US prosecutor says Dr Aafia may be unfit for trial
Daily Times, Pakistan - 4 hours ago
NEW YORK: A United States prosecutor has asked a federal judge to order a psychiatric evaluation of Aafia Siddiqui, who is charged with trying to kill her ...
Pakistani defendant must undergo NY psych tests The Associated Press
US says Pakistani suspect may be unfit for trial Reuters
Psychiatric Hearing Is Sought for Terror Defendant New York Times
amNewYork
all 59 news articles »
Related News
Pak Government can bring back Aafia in a day
Thaindian.com, Thailand - Sep 20, 2008
Karachi , Sep 20 (ANI): One day is enough to bring American educated Pakistani neuroscientist and terror suspect, Dr Aafia Siddiqui, back to Pakistan if the ...
 


BBC
Amnesty International Human Rights Watch News
Aafia's son freed by Kabul, flown to Islamabad
Pakistan Dawn, Pakistan - Sep 15, 2008
By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, Sept 15: A 12-year-old son of neuroscientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui was handed over to his aunt Fauzia Siddiqui here on Monday ...
Full security for Dr. Aafia's son: interior ministry sources The News International
Afghanistan frees young son of al-Qaida suspect The Associated Press
Aafia Siddiqui's Son Released to His Aunt OhmyNews International
New York Times - Online - International News Network
all 371 news articles »

Free Aafia !

Free Aafia NOW
Facebook Groups!
 

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[chottala.com] Ershad Behind Killing of General Zia - Retired Army offices opinioned [ATN Bangla News]

Ershad Behind Killing of General Zia - Retired Army offices opinioned [ATN Bangla News]
Khaleda Zia's reluctance for the trial of her husband's killers questioned .
 
 
September 24, 2008
 

Retired Army officers have blamed the then Chief of ary General H. M. Ershad for Killing of

General Ziaur Rahman and hanging of Freedom fighter Army officers. This announced by these officers at the

27th anniversary function to commemorate  the hanging of 13 military using court martial. [ATN Bangla News.]

 

At the function Syed Muhammad Ibrahim said that Ershad was involved in the hanging of 13 officers.

He also questioned why Khaleda Zia is reluctant and does not demand the trial for her husband's murder.

 

Another retired officer Rezaul Karim mentioned that the possible witness for the Zia killing  incident were

killed using various tricks.

 

In this function former Army Chief  Lt. Gen. (retd.) Harun-ur Rashid demanded the trial of the war criminals.

http://www.amadershomoy.com/online/content/2008/09/24/news0077.htm

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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[chottala.com] A nice interview of Engr. Sajeeb Wajed Joy - he has again proved that he is not the grandson only (family relation wise) - but also the bonafide political inheritor of the father of Bangalee nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

I have read Sajib Wade's blog. There is nothing substantiate I can  find which is knowledge-worthy amusing!
 
Seems to me, he is a good person! What bothers me a lot, like his mother, he thinks Bangladesh belong to him. Mujib family can not give up the thought - there is no dynasty, the kingdom or princehood is long dead!
 
In bangladesh, we have feel a debtness towards family-dynasty. The same reason, hasina & khaleda ascended to political stage. We have an emptiness as a country to build any successful leadership. In our political arena, Hasina-Khaleda almost treated a 'peer'.
 
This is saddening! We need to build democracy, and for any democracy, it need strong political party, not just only one Hasina or Khaleda. Or even Sajib or Tareq.
 
Lets have leaders who has a vision of the country!
 
 
 


--- On Tue, 9/23/08, Engr. Shafiq Bhuiyan <srbanunz@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Engr. Shafiq Bhuiyan <srbanunz@gmail.com>
Subject: [Sonar Bangladesh] A nice interview of Engr. Sajeeb Wajed Joy - he has again proved that he is not the grandson only (family relation wise) - but also the bonafide political inheritor of the father of Bangalee nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
To: BanglaPolitics@yahoogroups.com, banglarnari@yahoogroups.com, bdstudents@yahoogroups.com, bristi_namai@yahoogroups.com, chottala@yahoogroups.com, dahuk@yahoogroups.com, Diagnose@yahoogroups.com, FutureOfBangladesh@yahoogroups.com, khabor@yahoogroups.com, motamoth@yahoo.com, mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com, sa7rong@yahoogroups.com, uttorshuri@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 4:10 AM

Dear politically conscious writers, readers and common people of Bangladesh,

Please read the very nice, logical & old (was recorded on 23rd Jukly
2007 in USA) interview of Engr. Sajeeb Wajed Joy, which was neither
published nor broadcasted in any media.

This is published in the toady's (23.9.08) the Daily Amadershomoy
(newspaper of the vested group for special purpose) (PDF file is also
attached).

Interview of Sajeeb W Joy -
http://www.amadersh omoy.com/ online/content/ 2008/09/23/ news0857. htm

In actual fact Joy has again proved that he is not the grandson only
(family relation wise) - but also the bonafide political inheritor of
the father of Bangalee nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

--
"Sustha thakon, nirapade thakon ebong valo thakon"

Shuvechhante,

Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan (ANU)
NEW ZEALAND.

Phone: 00-64-9-828 2435 (Res), 00-64-0274 500 277 (mobile)
E-mail: srbanunz@gmail. com

N.B.: If any one is offended by content of this e-mail, please ignore
& delete this e-mail. I also request you to inform me by an e- mail -
to delete your name from my contact list.

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[chottala.com] The incessant slaughter of Afghan civilians

The incessant slaughter of Afghan civilians:
 
Why American military "investigations" do nothing to
prevent airstrike massacres against Afghan civilians.

(AFP) An Afghan man prays beside graves of people killed in a U.S. strike at Azizabad in August 2008

By David H Lewis

On August 23rd 2008 a U.S. Airstrike reportedly killed 76 civilians, mostly children, near the village of Azizabad in Afghanistan's Herat province. Unsurprisingly, this latest U.S. massacre of civilians prompted a vigorous protest from local people and even the ultra American loyalist President Hamid Karzai condemned the civilian casualties.

However, the U.S. reaction to this latest in an unending stream of gung-ho trigger happy massacres of defenceless civilians has been entirely predictable with the hollow promise of "an investigation" and an immediate counter claim that "only 30 were killed" as if that makes it O.K!

Unfortunately this sort of thing has been going on since the U.S. first illegally invaded Afghanistan some 7 years ago and several other airstrike massacres, including a so-called wedding party massacre of 50 innocent people back in July, are currently under investigation.

 

We might take some comfort from all these investigations if they led to some improvement or restraint in the American rules of engagement but the situation seems to be getting worse not better and we can gain an insight into the reasons for this if we  look back to the ludicrous claims of one of the American's very first "investigations" – that into the infamous ''wedding party massacre'' of June 2002 which defied its own evidence to exonerate U.S. Forces and blame the hapless Afghan victims!

This incident was such an embarrassment to the Pentagon at the time (it's now become quite routine) that they sent then Brigadier General Tony Przybalawski to head the enquiry. He was well qualified for such a task because he'd previously commanded the fearsome B2 bombers whose most glorious feat of arms was to bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in '98.

The operation that led to this so-called wedding party massacre (it actually had nothing to do with a wedding) was code-named Full Throttle and involved attacking a suspected Taliban area in Oruzgan province and it resulted in scores and possibly hundreds of civilian deaths. The U.S. report was at pains to fudge the figures between an Afghan claim of 250 dead and 600 wounded to their own 34 dead and 50 wounded. They concluded with the familiar "an exact number will never be able to be confirmed" as if that somehow mitigated the crime. The same could be said for the British mass murderer Dr Shipman but no one excused him on that account!

Since their chronically incompetent intelligence advised them to expect anti aircraft fire an AC-130 gunship was assigned to suppress it. These are the familiar Hercules transports fitted with a fearsome array of heavy hitting rapid fire weapons and target acquisition devices on one side. The aircraft then orbits its target and pours a withering fire into the centre of the circle. From the plane the target thus appears stationary (and easy to inspect) while the plane presents a distant moving target.

As an indication, if any were needed, of the trigger happiness of the Americans, we might also note that American Central Command (Centcom) admitted a few months before, one of these aircraft had shot up part of an American army convoy in broad daylight killing Chief Warrant Officer S.L. Harriman and “two Afghan military personnel – who were not dignified by name - and wounding many others. 

Operation Full Throttle attacked several sites and 2 were subsequently investigated. The American's embarrassment is palpable throughout. The first of these sites, for instance, was "the apparent location of most deaths and injuries" not actual, only apparent!

Now, although the report says, "significant efforts were expended to ensure only the compounds that were the source of fire were targeted". Their very next paragraph says, "The AC-130 was not able to observe the anti aircraft gun itself. Rather the ground location of the source of the fire was identified and fires were directed to that area. Just as the weapon itself is not seen, it is also not possible to determine if the fires from the AC-130 have damaged or destroyed the weapon. Consequently, personnel at the weapon's location were the primary targets. Unfortunately, it is not possible to distinguish men from women or adults from children."

So here we are being asked to believe they knew they were being fired on yet could not see the weapon itself (This is despite all their state of the art sensors not to mention the evidence of their own eyes seeing the muzzle flash or tracers coming at them if they really were being fired on!). Nonetheless they knew the ground location of the weapon but couldn't tell if their fire had damaged or destroyed it. That forced them to target the "personnel" (not people, note) at the weapon's location though unfortunately they couldn't tell adults from children.

The obvious comment on all that is if the weapon was damaged or destroyed it would surely stop firing at them but if they admit they can't tell the difference then they couldn't have known for sure they were being fired on in the first place! This is ludicrous! They seem to have some supernatural awareness that they ARE being fired on but they seem unable to tell when they are NOT being fired on!

All this was backed up by the investigators themselves because neither the troops who arrived later that night nor a fact finding mission 3 days later nor General Pryz 3 weeks later could find any evidence of any anti aircraft weapons at either site nor even any shell casings so in actual fact no gunfire was ever directed at the attacking aircraft because no guns were there!

Furthermore, although they could identify the precise "location" of this gun (albeit without knowing whether it was firing at them), one then also has to wonder how hard it was to distinguish adults from children. For their future reference, adults are big, children are little.

In the following paragraphs they then try to fudge and minimize the numbers maimed or murdered saying the exact number will "never be confirmed" as if that somehow excuses the outrage. Their embarrassment is especially well illustrated by the evasive way they account for the slain, saying "of the 20 at the second site, 2 were adult males".

Despite this rather pathetic attempt to camouflage their slaughter of women and children it doesn't take very much intelligence for us to work out the composition of the other 18!

They also make the incredible suggestion that most of the dead had already been buried within some two hours before their ground forces arrived.

So here they are asking us to believe the survivors dispensed with all the normal human reactions of shock, horror, extreme distress and trauma at the sight of their maimed and slain women and beloved children (not to mention their own wounds) and just robotically and woodenly picked up their shovels and began burying dozens and possibly scores or even hundreds of their slain women and children in just a couple of hours and in the dead of night! Despite this extraordinary claim they admit "no fresh gravesites were observed" so once again some supernatural forces seem to have been at work. Although the figure of 250 dead is mentioned the Americans actually admit to 34 dead and some 50 wounded.

But most amazingly in the teeth of their own evidence they then conclude their report with the "AC-130 acting properly and in accordance with the rules struck only those sites that were actively firing that night."

They then give us the entirely unconvincing, we "regret" the loss of innocent lives but, amazingly, after just admitting no guns were found they say "responsibility for that loss rests with those that knowingly directed fire at coalition forces" and placed those weapons in civilian communities!

This is an absolute insult to our intelligence. In fact of course the much more obvious and compelling inference of their own evidence is that their AC-130 gunship simply ran amok gunning down dozens and dozens of defenceless women and children indiscriminately in cold blood without even the least provocation of being fired on themselves. Incidentally, one can see these AC-130s gunning down defenceless people in the videos that find their way onto You-tube. The horror of these civilian attacks is only exceeded by the chorus of approving comments posted by red-neck American viewers!

If this is the standard of "investigation" we can expect from the
U.S. Military, desperately focussing  on exonerating their own incompetence even in the teeth of their own evidence whilst blaming the innocent Afghan children for getting in the way of their hail of bullets then there is little hope of any improvement in their regular slaughter of defenceless Afghan women and children.

A proper investigation might be expected to make some recommendations to avoid future tragedies like this emphasising extremely basic military principles like properly identifying targets, not firing on small human figures (because they are the children) and making a fundamental re-assessment of the effectiveness of air-strikes which are presently entirely counter-productive. They might also recommend some disciplinary or legal action against the perpetrators of these outrages but we've learned from the Abu Ghraib affair, the Haditha massacre and numerous other American atrocities that the Pentagon has little interest or appetite for disciplining those responsible.

General Pryz's report did none of those things and so we've had to witness the continuing dismal catalogue of American atrocities against civilians year after year after year with the Americans immediately trying to minimise the claimed numbers of casualties and blaming the victims.

Typical of this mindset was the reaction of U.S. spokesman Lt Col Hilferty after yet another massacre of Afghan children some years later, who said we are, "not completely responsible" because the Afghans shouldn't keep weapons close to civilians! It will be very interesting to see if this latest commission of enquiry can improve on the nonsense of their first one! How will those defenceless children be blamed for being bombed and shot up by those brave American Special forces?

Better by far, of course, would be for the Americans to read the writing on the wall: If they've made no appreciable positive impact on Afghanistan in all these years (longer than their involvement in two world wars!) they're never going to and should leave forthwith. However, we also know from their bitter experience of defeat and humiliation in Vietnam and Iraq that they're likely to prolong the agony of their illegal occupation until they are finally forced to leave in humiliating circumstances. We can only hope that a new administration in the White House might recognise the better of those options and end the long agony of their illegal occupation of Afghanistan. 

We might take some comfort from all these investigations if they led to some improvement or restraint in the American rules of engagement but the situation seems to be getting worse not better and we can gain an insight into the reasons for this if we  look back to the ludicrous claims of one of the American's very first "investigations" – that into the infamous ''wedding party massacre'' of June 2002 which defied its own evidence to exonerate U.S. Forces and blame the hapless Afghan victims!

This incident was such an embarrassment to the Pentagon at the time (it's now become quite routine) that they sent then Brigadier General Tony Przybalawski to head the enquiry. He was well qualified for such a task because he'd previously commanded the fearsome B2 bombers whose most glorious feat of arms was to bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in '98.

The operation that led to this so-called wedding party massacre (it actually had nothing to do with a wedding) was code-named Full Throttle and involved attacking a suspected Taliban area in Oruzgan province and it resulted in scores and possibly hundreds of civilian deaths. The U.S. report was at pains to fudge the figures between an Afghan claim of 250 dead and 600 wounded to their own 34 dead and 50 wounded. They concluded with the familiar "an exact number will never be able to be confirmed" as if that somehow mitigated the crime. The same could be said for the British mass murderer Dr Shipman but no one excused him on that account!

Since their chronically incompetent intelligence advised them to expect anti aircraft fire an AC-130 gunship was assigned to suppress it. These are the familiar Hercules transports fitted with a fearsome array of heavy hitting rapid fire weapons and target acquisition devices on one side. The aircraft then orbits its target and pours a withering fire into the centre of the circle. From the plane the target thus appears stationary (and easy to inspect) while the plane presents a distant moving target.

As an indication, if any were needed, of the trigger happiness of the Americans, we might also note that American Central Command (Centcom) admitted a few months before, one of these aircraft had shot up part of an American army convoy in broad daylight killing Chief Warrant Officer S.L. Harriman and “two Afghan military personnel – who were not dignified by name - and wounding many others. 

Operation Full Throttle attacked several sites and 2 were subsequently investigated. The American's embarrassment is palpable throughout. The first of these sites, for instance, was "the apparent location of most deaths and injuries" not actual, only apparent!

Now, although the report says, "significant efforts were expended to ensure only the compounds that were the source of fire were targeted". Their very next paragraph says, "The AC-130 was not able to observe the anti aircraft gun itself. Rather the ground location of the source of the fire was identified and fires were directed to that area. Just as the weapon itself is not seen, it is also not possible to determine if the fires from the AC-130 have damaged or destroyed the weapon. Consequently, personnel at the weapon's location were the primary targets. Unfortunately, it is not possible to distinguish men from women or adults from children."

So here we are being asked to believe they knew they were being fired on yet could not see the weapon itself (This is despite all their state of the art sensors not to mention the evidence of their own eyes seeing the muzzle flash or tracers coming at them if they really were being fired on!). Nonetheless they knew the ground location of the weapon but couldn't tell if their fire had damaged or destroyed it. That forced them to target the "personnel" (not people, note) at the weapon's location though unfortunately they couldn't tell adults from children.

The obvious comment on all that is if the weapon was damaged or destroyed it would surely stop firing at them but if they admit they can't tell the difference then they couldn't have known for sure they were being fired on in the first place! This is ludicrous! They seem to have some supernatural awareness that they ARE being fired on but they seem unable to tell when they are NOT being fired on!

All this was backed up by the investigators themselves because neither the troops who arrived later that night nor a fact finding mission 3 days later nor General Pryz 3 weeks later could find any evidence of any anti aircraft weapons at either site nor even any shell casings so in actual fact no gunfire was ever directed at the attacking aircraft because no guns were there!

Furthermore, although they could identify the precise "location" of this gun (albeit without knowing whether it was firing at them), one then also has to wonder how hard it was to distinguish adults from children. For their future reference, adults are big, children are little.

In the following paragraphs they then try to fudge and minimize the numbers maimed or murdered saying the exact number will "never be confirmed" as if that somehow excuses the outrage. Their embarrassment is especially well illustrated by the evasive way they account for the slain, saying "of the 20 at the second site, 2 were adult males".

Despite this rather pathetic attempt to camouflage their slaughter of women and children it doesn't take very much intelligence for us to work out the composition of the other 18!

They also make the incredible suggestion that most of the dead had already been buried within some two hours before their ground forces arrived.

So here they are asking us to believe the survivors dispensed with all the normal human reactions of shock, horror, extreme distress and trauma at the sight of their maimed and slain women and beloved children (not to mention their own wounds) and just robotically and woodenly picked up their shovels and began burying dozens and possibly scores or even hundreds of their slain women and children in just a couple of hours and in the dead of night! Despite this extraordinary claim they admit "no fresh gravesites were observed" so once again some supernatural forces seem to have been at work. Although the figure of 250 dead is mentioned the Americans actually admit to 34 dead and some 50 wounded.

But most amazingly in the teeth of their own evidence they then conclude their report with the "AC-130 acting properly and in accordance with the rules struck only those sites that were actively firing that night."

They then give us the entirely unconvincing, we "regret" the loss of innocent lives but, amazingly, after just admitting no guns were found they say "responsibility for that loss rests with those that knowingly directed fire at coalition forces" and placed those weapons in civilian communities!

This is an absolute insult to our intelligence. In fact of course the much more obvious and compelling inference of their own evidence is that their AC-130 gunship simply ran amok gunning down dozens and dozens of defenceless women and children indiscriminately in cold blood without even the least provocation of being fired on themselves. Incidentally, one can see these AC-130s gunning down defenceless people in the videos that find their way onto You-tube. The horror of these civilian attacks is only exceeded by the chorus of approving comments posted by red-neck American viewers!

If this is the standard of "investigation" we can expect from the
U.S. Military, desperately focussing  on exonerating their own incompetence even in the teeth of their own evidence whilst blaming the innocent Afghan children for getting in the way of their hail of bullets then there is little hope of any improvement in their regular slaughter of defenceless Afghan women and children.

A proper investigation might be expected to make some recommendations to avoid future tragedies like this emphasising extremely basic military principles like properly identifying targets, not firing on small human figures (because they are the children) and making a fundamental re-assessment of the effectiveness of air-strikes which are presently entirely counter-productive. They might also recommend some disciplinary or legal action against the perpetrators of these outrages but we've learned from the Abu Ghraib affair, the Haditha massacre and numerous other American atrocities that the Pentagon has little interest or appetite for disciplining those responsible.

General Pryz's report did none of those things and so we've had to witness the continuing dismal catalogue of American atrocities against civilians year after year after year with the Americans immediately trying to minimise the claimed numbers of casualties and blaming the victims.

Typical of this mindset was the reaction of U.S. spokesman Lt Col Hilferty after yet another massacre of Afghan children some years later, who said we are, "not completely responsible" because the Afghans shouldn't keep weapons close to civilians! It will be very interesting to see if this latest commission of enquiry can improve on the nonsense of their first one! How will those defenceless children be blamed for being bombed and shot up by those brave American Special forces?

Better by far, of course, would be for the Americans to read the writing on the wall: If they've made no appreciable positive impact on Afghanistan in all these years (longer than their involvement in two world wars!) they're never going to and should leave forthwith. However, we also know from their bitter experience of defeat and humiliation in Vietnam and Iraq that they're likely to prolong the agony of their illegal occupation until they are finally forced to leave in humiliating circumstances. We can only hope that a new administration in the White House might recognise the better of those options and end the long agony of their illegal occupation of Afghanistan. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=164502


An Afghan policeman keeps watch at a blast site in Kandahar province February 17, 2008. A suspected suicide bomb attack at a picnic spot in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Sunday killed at ...

Pentagon Relied On An "Independent Journalist" To Deny Villagers' Claims Of Large-Scale Civilian Deaths. It Turned Out The "Journalist" Is Fox's Oliver North

11th September 2008

oliver-north.jpg

Read details at:

http://www.appletreeblog.com/?cat=90

Another Afghan Wedding

America Murders Still More Innocent Little Kids - at Another Afghan Wedding

12th July 2008

So.

We see some Americans have murdered 47 more (innocent), Afghan civilians.

Eh?


A US air strike in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday killed 47 civilians, 39 of them women and children, an Afghan government investigating team says.

So what's new?

(Cross posted from How This Old Brit Sees It)

Posted in War, Afghanistan, Outrage, That Old Brit | 11 Comments »

Read details at:

http://www.appletreeblog.com/?cat=90

Air Strikes Afghanistan

Afghan Civilian Casualty Rates increasing ....

 

Our murderous comedy of errors:

 

 

Last month, "our" aircraft slaughtered nearly 100 Afghan civilians, two-thirds of them children aged three months to 16 years, while they slept... more

From the cutting pen of John Pilger. No laughing matter. Why isn't the Hague/UN doing anything about the trail of murder/genocide? How can we afford to live with this blood on our hands?
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RE: [chottala.com] Ridlles

arshad, many thanks for sharing such witty riddles... its utterly enjoyable :-)
take care...
zia 




From: mdashrafulamin@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:48 +0600
Subject: [chottala.com] Ridlles




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[chottala.com] performance by Arnob and friends - GET YOUR TICKET BEFORE IT IS SOLD OUT!





GET YOUR TICKET BEFORE IT IS SOLD OUT!
 Drishtipat  DC is delighted to present Arnob and friends in a rare performance on October 18, 2008  at one of  Washington 's finest performance venues, the Historic Synagogue at Sixth and I.   
  
The impressive lineup includes:
Singer and songwriter - Arnob  
Bass Guitarist - Buno
Drummer - Jibon

Dhol Player - Nazrul Islam
Jazz saxophonist - Andrew Morris
Backup Vocalist - Nazia Ahmed

Opening Act – Andean and Latin fusion band Raymi 
  
Concert tickets are now available online at Ticket Leap https://arnobconcert-dc.ticketleap.com. If you live in the DC/VA/MD area and would like to pick up your ticket in person, please send an email to arnob.concert@gmail.com. 
  
  
To learn more about the concert visit our Facebook event page:

http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=18201179371

 

You can read more about Arnob's whirlwind UK-US-Canada Tour at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=51832

 

 

DON'T MISS OUT!

 

We have several exciting sponsorship opportunities for local companies. Please email arnob.concert@gmail.com for more information

 

Regards

Drishtipat DC

 




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[chottala.com] performanced by Arnob and friends - GET YOUR TICKET BEFORE IT IS SOLD OUT!

GET YOUR TICKET BEFORE IT IS SOLD OUT!
Drishtipat DC is delighted to present Arnob and friends in a rare performance on October 18, 2008 at one of Washington's finest performance venues, the Historic Synagogue at Sixth and I.   
 
The impressive lineup includes:
Singer and songwriter - Arnob 
Bass Guitarist - Buno
Drummer - Jibon

Dhol Player - Nazrul Islam
Jazz saxophonist - Andrew Morris
Backup Vocalist - Nazia Ahmed

Opening Act – Andean and Latin fusion band Raymi 
 
Concert tickets are now available online at Ticket Leap https://arnobconcert-dc.ticketleap.com. If you live in the DC/VA/MD area and would like to pick up your ticket in person, please send an email to arnob.concert@gmail.com. 
 
 
To learn more about the concert visit our Facebook event page:

http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=18201179371

 

You can read more about Arnob's whirlwind UK-US-Canada Tour at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=51832

 

 

DON'T MISS OUT!

 

We have several exciting sponsorship opportunities for local companies. Please email arnob.concert@gmail.com for more information

 

Regards

Drishtipat DC

 


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