Mehdi Hasan

Mehdi Hasan’s polemical take on politics, economics and foreign affairs

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Meanwhile, in Afghanistan . . .

Seal Team 6 members among the 38 killed in Afghanistan.

As we all obsess over the chaos in the markets and the impending economic armageddon, few politicians or journalists have time to discuss the ongoing chaos out in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Navy Seals from the unit responsible for killing Osama Bin Laden were among 30 Americans, seven Afghans and an interpreter killed when their helicopter was shot down by insurgents in the mountainous Wardak province of Afghanistan.

No member of the Bin Laden raid team was among the dead but it was the largest number of American troops killed in a single day in the war -- and the deadliest incident for the Seal team in any war. (See here for an Associated Press list of some of the deadliest military air crashes in Afghanistan since the US invasion on 7 October 2001).

As the Los Angeles Times notes:

The episode could embolden the insurgency at a time when western and Afghan officials have been hoping a weakened Taliban movement can be lured to the bargaining table. Like the assassination last month of Karzai's powerful half brother, it will be viewed by many as a sign of the insurgents' reach and power.

Is anyone here paying any attention?

Oh, and let's not forget the plight of ordinary Afghan civilians. From the AFP news agency:

Afghan civilians may have been caught up in a Nato air strike against suspected Taliban insurgents, a foreign military spokesman said Saturday, amid claims up to eight civilians died.

A local official said that an imam, his wife and their six children were killed by an air strike in Nad Ali district in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province Friday.

The incident appears to be the latest in which Afghan civilians have been accidentally killed by Nato military operations. The issue is highly sensitive in Afghanistan after nearly ten years of war.

"Highly sensitive"? That's the understatement of the month.

17 comments

dr.music's picture

Islam is a DEATH CULT AND MUSLIMS DON'T EVEN KNOW THIS FACT ... and mosques are meeting halls for evil designs. Islam has no prayers ...islam has just a bunch of slogans that slander the rest of the planet's people who are not muslim and never will be. The mafia cult of islam was started by don moha-mad in the heat and dust of the arab desert. Don moha-mad was an uneducated evil man who must have been really evil and loony to frighten the half assed arabs. Islam is an evil cult masquerading as a religion.
Soon the world court judges will call it's bluff.
Relax....

dr.music's picture

Listen stupid Abdullah etc/ you know it and the whole world is slowly learning to about the crappy quarry-an and islam and the shit in it and while the world is slowly learning muslims like you should be unlearning it .you only live once kid .get it right or live like shit .it’s your life but leave women and children alone and try and look at other people without jealousy and anger and read some other books for a change and try and understand them. Read them a few times if you can’t understand them the first time .it’s cool. we understand slow learners .there is a huge host of lifestyles on besides islam that teach the exact opposite of what is there in the koran crap and what bad mouthing mullahs and abdullahs are spewing about . Islam is going to be and will surely be un-invented . Get out while you can brother and live cool .and well mannered in countries of your choice and respect their culture and bring up your kids sanely and fun filled with music and laughter and imagination and curiosity. This is the fundamental way to live ,you nut . Or live in a muslim country and be happy . Don’t leave a muslim country and start living in a a non-muslim exactly like in the shit hole you just escaped from. That’s bad manners and makes all non muslim generally good people mad about their own generosity. Got it smart guy ? Translate this into arabic and post it on some jihad websites. In the meantime start your escape from the music-less and fun-less way of life you call islam that has got you by the balls and is slaving you .and giving women and children born into it a terrible way of life.. Feel free. Get out from islam now. It is worth your life. Go for it boy . Laugh with pride for doing the right thing the first time in your life. Can you deny what I’ve just told you kiddo ? Don’t you love women and enjoy fun-filled children’s laughter? That book you’re currently into is shit .chuck it . There are billions of us . We’ll love you . But you have to show patriotism and good manners and go with the flow. Try it . Only change is constant. Stop living in the 7th century. Like a mad man. Get smart. Dummy up . Knowing English is a good step forward now learn to say thank you with meaning .

dr.music's picture

When i write this i'm speaking for the rest of the planet that is not muslim and never will be .
We read with real sadness in our hearts everyday about muslims killing muslims in small numbers.
We are waiting for the day when they start hitting the million plus figure on a regular daily basis.
What can we do to help them reach those daily millions of muslims killed by muslims targets?
Shall we give them more ammo or more money ?
Shall we print more evil korans and evil khomeini's evil green book in dirty arabic and in English and whatever language they prefer just so that muslims can kill each other more and more ?
When will these sweet daydreams of the rest of the planet that wants to live in peace on a muslim free planet come to be real?
When will we read the good news that all muslims have wiped themselves out in their sweet bloodlust and all the arabs are gone too ..
Oh….when will iran bomb saudi arabia and the rest of the middle east so that it can bask in the afterglow of the 12th MADDY that they're all waiting for ?
Oh to hear the elusive good news on a daily basis .

dr.music's picture

A group of muslims is called A FESTER OF MUSLIMS.

I'M NOT AMERICAN. I REGRET THIS.
BUT I LIVE WITH IT.
WITHOUT AMERICA THERE IS NO FREEDOM.
LIVE WITH THIS FACT.

GELLER AND SPENCER HAVE MORE GUTS AND CALL A SPADE A SPADE. MOST PEOPLE WHO THINK ISLAM IS A RELIGION HAVE NOT BEEN TOUCHED BY IT YET. ASK AFGANISTAN THAT IS ACTUALLY A BUDDHIST COUNTRY TILL ISLAM CAME KNOCKING.....ASK INDIA .....THEY LET THE HORDES STAY NOW HOPELESSLY KNEELING....ASK THAILAND....SLOWLY HAPPENING ...ASK THE WEST ...SLOWLY WAKING UP ....WAKEY WAKEY ...KNOCK KNOCK ....WHO'S THERE ? EEESLLAAM.....EESSSLAM WHO ? EEESLAM AALLLAHHAA HO AAKHHBAAR I CUT YOUR HEAD OFF.

Khomeini's pronouncement : "Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious."

Islam is inherently radical and jihadist.
Muslims are followers of Islam.
Therefore Muslims are inherently radical and jihadist.

Islam warps the mind, but this is not what is most germane. The great challenge of modern times is for the world at large, and especially the West since it's that portion of mankind which invented democracy and which has been most diligent in standing up for freedom of conscience and expression (diminished in the last half century by PC/MC rot), to come to the realization that Islam is a menace to all the world and has the capacity to take man into the darkest of all his dark ages considering that Islam's perennial parasitical nature and recent resurgence have occurred at precisely that time in man's history when man has become most technologically proficient.
No period in mankind's long story has been more dangerous than the times in which we live. Sadly, mediocrities or worse are in charge of the non-Islamic world. And apathy and destructive ignorance by regular folks is omnipresent. And Islam is waiting in the wings to take advantage of all this.
Islam can produce little to no good on its own, but it is quite capable of using the achievements of others to further its control-freak designs. The lessons from Islam's sorry 1400-year history is there for all to observe, but most people don't observe. They merely see. And see wrongly much of the time.

sam's picture

didn't realise there were such bigoted zealots who read the new statesman, yes this is directed at u dr. music or should that be dr death...a few more people like you in the world and we would not have any worries,the human race would be extinct no doubt.

James Gregory's picture

We have no busines being over there. Maybe we are in Iraq for the Oil. And Afganastan for the Poppy Plants. Heroin is real money maker. Leave these poor people alone. Imagine having to live in constant (REAL TERROR) not just threats. These people are constantly getting bombed. I'm sure we would save a few bucks too, if we got the hell out of that whole area. We only know what Big Brother wants to feed us. Are people that stupid? Propaganda, don't be so gulable McFly!

DILIGAF's picture

@ sam,
The real people to blame for these absent narrow minded racist views is the media.

Pateroo's picture

Wow @dr.music I admire your restraint. Any number of other people would have told us what they really think.

swatantra's picture

If ever there were a war that deserved to be won then it has to be Afghanistan. The insurgents are not fit to govern, neither are the Taliban nor Karsai and his henchmen nor the Afghan Warlords nor it seems the Afghan People. So, who should govern Afghanistan? Who can govern Afghanistan? More to the point, what should be done with Afghanistan?

Zadoc's picture

We are spending ourselves into oblivion, little progress is being made, the costs of lives is staggering, and these boys are coming home and killing themselves. They don't get proper treatment from their own government to deal with what happened to them. I am not sure we still need to be there.

POLL: Should the United States pull all troops out of Afghanistan?
Vote: http://www.wepolls.com/p/1751208

Valentina's picture

The great challenge of modern times is for the world at large, and especially the West since it's that portion of mankind which invented democracy and which has been most diligent in standing up for freedom of conscience and expression (diminished in the last half century by PC/MC rot), to come to the realization that Islam is a menace to all the world and has the capacity to take man into the darkest of all his dark ages considering that Islam's perennial parasitical nature and recent resurgence have occurred at precisely that time in man's history when man has become most technologically proficient. http://www.homeremodeling101.org/

Mr. Divine's picture

@dr.music: 'No period in mankind's long story has been more dangerous than the times in which we live'

What about 1941 in the middle of the world war when Japan was in control of Asia, and Nazi Germany was in control of mainland Europe and gassing thousands of Jews, And later when America was actually dropping Atomic Bombs. Surely that was a more dangerous time especially if you were Jewish in Europe?

And you reckon you speak for all the world! How can you when your assessment of the MOST dangerous time in history is clearly incorrect? Get your head in order before you represent the world again. Pay attention to the real representative.

Axmed's picture

swatantra - your questions are based on actually imperial mentality. And it's stupid as asking who's going to govern Britain since its leaders cannot handle the economic and politics. Since they lead this nation into war that cannot be won! It’s not your business who is going to govern Afghanistan. That query is for the people of Afghanistan.

Mr Damage's picture

@ dr music, Your not an American but you think like us, we need more people like you, join us in the war against islam, let us unite and show how much we hate them. Lets kill them by the 1000's, bring back the gas chambers and mass burials, Jesus help us rid of this religion!. The time has come for the people to unite and show these people that we have had enough !

Roger Dodger's picture

This is the highest loss of life, but tactically it is BY FAR the biggest loss. The equivalent of half a squadron of SAS in one incident.

That many Tier 1 SF is an enormous loss.

Buckskins's picture

We should pull the troops now from Afghanistan and Europe. It's about time America started placing Americans first. If the Taliban take over that's fine. Send in the USAF again and bomb them back to Pakistan. Pakistan is on the hit list anyway.

swatantra's picture

Unfortunately, the instability of faraway nations impacts very much on their neighbours, and also directly and indirectly on ourselves.
It is in everyones interests that these failed States and Nations can provide good government for their people, and by the will of their people. That does not happen when corruption runs rife.

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