Afghanistan Update
Concerned Families of Westchester
August 18, 2021
Hello All – The rapid developments in Afghanistan call for an equally rapid updating of our assessments and perspectives. On Sunday the CFOW Newsletter predicted the immanent fall of the US-backed government, pointed to signs that the Taliban sought stability rather than a "bloodbath" and the repression of women, and raised concerns that the US media's coverage of events was obscuring important issues of immediate concern.
We have now had three days to digest what's going on. At a CFOW meeting yesterday, we focused on several concerns that we wish to present to Newsletter readers and our supporters:
- Both the mainstream media and the Biden administration have ignored the question of whether this war should have been fought in the first place. Media focus has been on the reasons for defeat, and especially the military disasters of the last month or two. Left out of the narrative is any assessment of fundamental criticisms of the war, whether it was "necessary" and "just." CFOW, initiated in the weeks following 9/11, had such criticisms, as did thousand of others in the USA and abroad. In the light of History, we believe that the decision to start a war on Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 was wrong, and that those who made that decision should be condemned.
- In the same light, we believe Congress and the American people should be given the opportunity to hold those accountable who sustained this war on the basis of lies. The recently published "Afghanistan Papers" is only one of many sources that show how the US political and military leadership understood from early days that the war could not be won, and that the results of bombing civilians and village "night raids" only helped the Taliban to survive and grow. The US mainstream media also failed us – or deceived us – in sustaining the myth that outside military force could turn Afghanistan into a viable, democratic state.
- Finally, we remind ourselves that the Afghanistan war was a civil war, as well as a war against US occupation. Ending a civil war – our own, for example – is a messy business, and the many factions and alive-and-well war lords in Afghanistan will severely test the Taliban calls for amnesty and reconciliation. The Pentagon and CIA may well be tempted to put their fingers on the scales of internal conflilct, and we need to vigilant in detecting and calling out any such efforts.
Our bottom line is "No More War!" This war should never have begun and it should not be renewed. Work for peace.
In the last few days, our Alternative Media has published several articles and news programs that cover issues not sufficiently addressed by the mainstream media. Please check them out:
(Video) Afghanistan: Who's to Blame and What Next?
From [Code Pink] [August 17, 2021] With Mathew Hoh, Ann Wright, and Dr. Zaher Wahab
---- A very good introduction to breaking events and their background/context.
Washington's War in Afghanistan Is Over. What Happens Now?
By Phyllis Bennis, The Nation [August 17, 2021]
---- Bennis says President Biden was right to withdraw US troops. But we should have no illusion that this will end the war for Afghans; and suggests priorities for what's next.
(Video) Deadly U.S. Air War in Afghanistan Helped Taliban Gain New Recruits Who Wanted Revenge
From Democracy Now! [August 17, 2021]
---- Investigative journalist Azmat Khan discusses why the Afghan military fell so quickly to the Taliban, its overreliance on U.S. air power, how civilian casualties weakened support for the U.S.-backed government, and the massive profits the two-decade-long war generated for U.S. defense contractors. [See the Program]
The Afghanistan War And The Dissenters We Should've Listened To
By Kevin Gostzola, The Dissenter [August 16, 2021]
---- President Joe Biden delivered a speech where he stood by the withdrawal of United States military forces from Afghanistan, but he crudely blamed the people of Afghanistan for the chaos that has unfolded over the past several days. It was a lie to assert the war in Afghanistan was never about nation-building. Biden also lied about opposing a surge in Afghanistan when he vice president in President Barack Obama's administration. The president had nothing to say about the Pentagon and CIA's resistance to adequately planning for withdrawal, even though that could have helped avoid some of the scenes of panic which were broadcast. [Read More]
That's it for now. CFOW's vigil on Saturday in Hastings (VFW Plaza) at noon will focus on real peace for Afghanistan and for effective efforts to provide a home for Afghan refugees who wish to come to the United States. Please join us.
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
