Afghanistan and the meanings of peace
If we want PEACE, we have to work for it. Wherever – in Hull – in Holderness – in the East Riding. Otherwise we clearly don’t value it!
However, if we judge the war in Afghanistan just by what’s on most UK media, we will get a warped view. Only occasionally, over the past 8 years (although more often recently), have these themes come out:
· We shouldn’t be there in the first place
· We are not going to win
· The position of women is worse now
· It’s an American war – planned in advance – and it’s about oil and domination.
The Afghan government is corrupt. This is not an accident. These are the people ‘we can do business with’. These are the warlords which ‘we’ co-opted to beat the Taliban. The current Afghan production of nearly all the world’s heroin goes right to the top of government. The Taliban have the moral advantage – they believe in their version of Islam – yes, it’s a harsh version, but Afghanistan’s biggest dose of peace – in recent memory - was actually under Taliban rule from 1997 to 2001.
Fighting there since 1979, the Russians could not win in Afghanistan even with 300,000 troops.
British soldiers in Afghanistan are not working for ‘peace’ even though they may honestly believe that and even when we are constantly told that they are. We cannot fight and die to defend a corrupt government, let alone one that we brought to power! Nor are we to fight and die to defend the world’s greatest ever producer of heroin – while we have watched.
The single most important single fact about Afghanistan is that America had already planned to attack it before 9/11 even happened.
Many people still think we are fighting Al Qa’ida and hunting Osama bin Laden. Well America said years ago that it no longer wanted bin Laden for 9/11. This ought to have been major news everywhere – because that’s still officially why this war started. Until the story changes into one of, say, making Afghanistan ‘a civilized country’ – as if we could.
We in Britain, at least for the minority who still support this war, like to think we have a pragmatic view: Oh well, we’re there now, we’ve got to do our best. But making war isn’t like doing one’s garden! The single greatest reason why we have international law is to prevent wars.
Another state can’t just attack a country – like Afghanistan – blaming the state itself for 9/11 – and then producing no evidence. Ignoring that same state on multiple occasions when it makes an offer to hand over the alleged culprit.
The war wasn’t caused by 9/11 or by bin Laden. It was caused by pre-existing American policy, under Bush, to find further ways to dominate the Middle East.
Martin Deane
Hull Stop the War
Hull and East Riding Green Party
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