Carol Anne Grayson (Radical Sister) blog

Jeremy Hunt, licence to kill… ? (Image via 38 degrees) 

Read at Karate Shinboku Kai’s ‘Burn’s Night’ 2016 (Philipp Lohrmann)

ODE TO THE HEALTH SECRETARY
(with sincere apologies to T.S. Eliot)

Oh Jeremy, oh Jeremy, there’s nobody like Jeremy!
He’s never known no decency, he’s never known no charity.
For when a patient cries in pain, in need of urgent care;
You’re searching for a helping hand – but Jeremy’s not there!

Or when a nurse breaks down at last, collapsing on a chair
She hasn’t slept for half a year – but Jeremy’s not there!

And when a hospital breaks down, the bills remain unpaid;
The doctors have all starved to death, and help arrived too late;
No medicine, no bandages, just chaos everywhere
And all the patients drop like flies – then Jeremy’s not there!

Oh Jeremy, oh Jeremy, there’s nobody like Jeremy!
For he’s a ghoul in human form, a monster with no empathy.
He’s privatised his wife and kids, he’s privatised his mum;
And sold their lives and hearts and souls for a substantial sum.

He’s outwardly respectable (they say he has no heart);
And when you’re born a rich man’s son, there’s no need to be smart.
He lies to me, he lies to you, he lies to everyone;
The NHS is safe, he says – and the moon spins around the sun.

Oh Jeremy, oh Jeremy, there’s nobody like Jeremy!
For when I die from lack of care, he will not even bury me.
He’ll strip my corpse of flesh and bone and throw them in the trash;
But put my organs in a box to sell them off for cash.

And they say that all the men whose wicked deeds are widely known,
(I might mention Harold Shipman, I might mention Al Capone)
have never played with human lives as if they were a game of chess.
So raise your glass to Mr Hunt – the killer of the NHS.

By Philipp Lohrmann

Links

“BMA: Why are doctors striking”

http://oneprofession.bma.org.uk/?gclid=COfE_sey2coCFYIfwwod-KQCCg

“Jeremy Hunt accused of ’emotional blackmail’ over blood scandal payouts”

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/585850/Hunt-blackmail-blood-scandal-payouts

“2 photos that show why doctors have branded Jeremy Hunt’s latest advice ‘ludicrous'”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/doctors-share-photos-highlighting-the-danger-behind-jeremy-hunts-advice-to-parents-a6846276.html

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Posted via Islamic Emirate

Fifteen years ago, our beloved homeland Afghanistan was invaded by the brutal American and allied forces under the pretext of 9/11 incident. This futile war took them nearly one and half decade. Now this deceiving arrogant power plans to prolong this war for another decade under the self-initiated conspiracy of ‘Daish’ (i.e. ISIS) inside Afghanistan.

The Washington Times quoting officials of Pentagon reported that American authorities are weighing prolonging presence of thousands of armed forces for several decades inside Afghanistan under the lame excuse of her defence.

Indubitably the American and other western media channels aired massive propaganda aimed at deceiving the innocent masses and exaggerating the existence and menace of ‘Daish’ in Afghanistan. Their savage actions were published with vigorous intensity. The whole idea was to frighten the masses of Afghanistan and subsequently to subdue them without any fear of resentment.

When the Americans realized that the so called Afghan national army, unrestrained Arbaki militia and ‘Gilam Jam’ militia could not succeed against the Taliban due to incessantly losing their fortified basis and vast areas, they instigated some other individuals and groups under the name of ‘Daish’ while chanting some sacred and striking slogans by their fighters. Their foremost endeavour was to halt the swift progress of the Islamic Emirate in various parts of the country and destabilise their ranks by spreading confusion and ambiguity among them. The ultimate and malicious objective of this conspiracy was to pit Taliban against ‘Daish’.

By the grace of Almighty Allah and due to the judicious tactics of the discerning leadership of the Islamic Emirate, this devious and malicious conspiracy of Americans was axed in time which not only deracinated ‘Daish’ from its sanctuaries but our Mujahidin fearlessly and courageously fought against the brutal foreign invaders as well as their internal mercenary forces throughout Afghanistan in which huge amount of ammunition including all kinds of light and heavy weaponry was confiscated, making Mujahidin self-sufficient for the foreseeable future.

The American authorities contemplate that ‘Daish’ is a potential threat for Afghanistan, for which their prolonged existence is inevitable but our people have realised that it is no more than a pretence because the fictitious strength of ‘Daish’ has been eradicated and dispersed by the heroic Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate. By the grace of Almighty Allah, their forces have been crushed and pushed back from all areas with the exception of one or two border districts in Nangarhar province.

In spite of these facts, if the American policy makers still consider ‘Daish’ as an imminent threat thus justifying presence of their armed forces for decades more, it is obvious that their ultimate malicious objective is the oppression, persecution, killing and subjugation of freedom loving people of Afghanistan.

In the recent meeting of ‘Pugwash’, representatives of the Islamic Emirate elaborated the prevailing ground realities and unequivocally expressed their stance regarding the existence of thousands of American combat forces for the prolonged occupation of our country and the prospect of peace talks with the Islamic Emirate are absolutely two heterogeneous ideas. They should recognise that foreign occupation is the root-cause of all adversities; as peace and stability in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of foreign troops are inseparable. Instead of satisfying this just demand of our noble people, why are Americans interested in the pretence of ‘Daish’ for the extension of their illegitimate occupation?

The American invaders and their internal stooges envisage that first the Islamic Emirate should be debilitated militarily, then it should be compelled for negotiations but this is their vain-perception which has no semblance with prevailing facts. The Islamic Emirate enjoys unwavering support of the Mujahid Afghan Nation. The foreign invaders and their internal puppets should realize that no freedom loving people can be subdued by force or by fraud. The ongoing crisis can never be solved by signing illegal and imposed ‘bilateral agreements’. The pretence of ‘Daish’ and prolongation of occupation for decades more cannot untie the knot either. The more the Americans try to find excuses for their prolonged existence inside Afghanistan, the more they are enervating and eventually eliminating themselves!!!

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Post via Islamic Emirate

KABUL, Feb. 1 – Al-Emarah News said Monday a martyr attack carried out by Muhammad, a lone Mujahid of the martyr unit if the Islamic Emirate has killed and wounded up to forty policemen in Kabul city, the Afghan capital.

The martyr Mujahid blew up his explosive-filled vest at entrance to the base in Deh Mazang area of Kabul city Monday at around 1:45 p.m. local time, leaving some 40 minions dead and wounded.

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Post via Islamic Emirate

Series of blasts cause devastation (Image, AFP)

Islamic State have claimed responsibility for several blasts close to the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab where the grave of a granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed is located. The explosions occurred in a predominantly Shiite Muslim suburb south of Damascus the capital of Syria. At least 50 people died and 120 were injured.

Rescuers faced carnage, the aftermath of a car bomb and 2 attackers that detonated suicide belts. Rami Ruhayem, BBC Arabic, south-eastern Damascus reported from the scene back to BBC UK stating,

“The destruction is huge. The building in front of me on Koua Soudan Street is charred black in the middle. I’m told that there is a military headquarters on the ground floor and families also lived in the five-storey building.

There is a fruit stall with blackened oranges all over the floor.

I can also see a large number of charred vehicles, including a bus in the middle of the street which is almost completely destroyed and overturned. The smoke is still rising from one of the cars on the side of the street.”

The blasts coincide with U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry’s efforts for peace in Syria to try to bring an end to the 5 year civil war.  Meetings between the Syrian government and opposition groups are set to start on Monday in Geneva in the presence of UN representatives. There is debate over who should be included in discussions… National Post, stated, “while virtually all parties agree that both IS and the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front should be excluded, the two sides are divided over Ahrar al-Sham and the Army of Islam.” The Kansas City Star quoted Kerry who said “without negotiations, the bloodshed will drag on until the last city is reduced to rubble and virtually every home, every form of infrastructure, and every semblance of civilization is destroyed.”

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claim of responsibility

50 killed, 120 injured in #IslamicState twin bombings targeting Shias in Sayyidah Zainab in #Damascus.. #IS #Syria (via A Ibrahim)

A.Ibrahim tweeted

Most of the dead were Shia security guards, Sayyidah Zainab is heavily guarded.. #IS attacks in Shia neighborhoods are too remarkable.

Links

“Bombs kill more than 50 people in Syria; progress is elusive at Geneva peace talks”

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-damascus-blast-20160131-story.html

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Islamic State has released a new 7 minute 53 second video with the word “Ninawa” on the screen, which appears to be from the IS media, Nineveh province, Iraq. An account linked to IS. The video begins with a taste of things to come showing a group of men in orange Guantanamo style jumpsuits kneeling on the ground in the rubble of a building. The captives have their faces covered by a black cloth. The viewer then observes 4 men in black with and one in a camouflague outfit pointing guns towards those on the ground. There is a close up shot of a captive having a blindfold lifted and a shot of a man holding a weapon to his head. The footage is accompanied by a familiar nasheed. Footage then changes to show each man in turn to the camera.

The man in military fatigues appears to be the ringleader. A French-speaking man delivers his message in French to the west. He appears light skinned and blond curls are visible from under a beige mask. There are also shots of the remains of a body and a child horribly injured apparently in an air strike. The captives are later shot, their eyes uncovered and whilst facing each other in a circle.

A Ibrahim an account which has posted the video gives a rundown in English featuring short clips as follows,

New video: execution of spies/agents convicted of cooperation with #ISF/#KDP against #IS

They confessed 2 providing the enemy with info & locations=Killed on debris of destroyed site by coalition warplanes

French #IS soldier to the West: “The situation has changed. You were once the attackers, now you’re being attacked.”

“Families of these apostates will cry them, just like the families of civilian victims of coalition bombings in #IS“

Scenes show cruel reality of airstrikes+drone attacks(in which spies have participated by providing GPS coordinates)

“Oh Andalusia.. you’re not Spanish nor Portuguese, you’re Islamic! Devout Muslims have sworn to take you back.”

End

The Independent highlights “specific threats to Toledo and Cordoba and warns Spain will ‘pay dearly’ for ending Muslim rule of Andalucía in the 15th century”. The paper states,

“It (video) comes as Isis warned in the latest edition of its Arabic newsletter, al-Naba, of new attacks in Britain which would “turn the hair of young children white”, according to a Site Intel translation.”

The Independent continues, “the group claims the UK will suffer ‘the lion’s share’ of attacks in Europe in future” see following link,

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-releases-new-execution-video-as-it-warns-of-doomsday-attacks-on-uk-a6844751.html

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Post via Islamic Emirate

Dr Hameedullah Zabuli

It is time for America and her allies to admit that they made a historical mistake by invading Afghanistan. After over 14 years of occupation, spending trillions of dollars, losing countless lives, and suffering a huge loss of international prestige, America still has nothing to show for their efforts.

The most they can boast is that by making such enormous sacrifices they at least managed to oust the Islamic Emirate from power, although it would still be debatable whether this objective brought about a better alternative in terms of America’s national interests.

The simple fact of the matter is that America completely failed to think out the implications of invading Afghanistan. Given Afghanistan’s centuries old tradition of resisting foreign interference, America should have at least equated for the possibility that it would only be a matter of time before the winds of war came crashing down on them from atop these tall mountains.

The best course of action for America would have been to leave Afghanistan before the going got tough. In the initial years they had a golden opportunity to do so. Having purportedly ousted the Islamic government, and only facing isolated pockets of resistance, they could have completely withdrawn from Afghanistan and left the Kabul regime to deal with the insurgency which grew daily precisely as a result of the continued presence of foreign troops.

Yet unfortunately for them, the Americans preferred easy fixes over long-term sustainability. America quickly brought together exiled and émigré Afghans who had no support inside Afghanistan and were completely out of touch with the locals to the fore in the Bonn Conference.

These émigrés had absolutely no intention of advancing the national interests of Afghanistan or even the interests of their foreign backers. They saw the Afghan war as a financial venture. The longer America was involved in this conflict the more opportunities they had to profit from her. These émigrés shamelessly encouraged a bigger American footprint on the ground despite understanding the grave consequences simply because this larger footprint provided them with more opportunities to cash in on personal contracts.

America initially professed to a very limited military objective. It declared war on Al Qaeda and only fought the Islamic Emirate because they refused to hand over Al Qaeda fighters. After the initial phase of the invasion all foreign fighters had left Afghanistan and thus America could rightly exclaim mission accomplished. Yet Washington allowed itself to be duped by the Afghan émigrés and inadvertently broadened the nature of her involvement by committing itself to completely ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban.

Such an objective was foolish at best because to achieve it would have required nothing short of adopting a genocidal policy towards a large section of the Afghan populace. On top of this the Americans supported a disproportionate government in Kabul which destroyed the delicate ethnic balance of the country and infuriated the local populace by blatantly supporting policies and actions that were abhorrent to the large majority of the conservative population.

After fourteen years of strife America has little to show for her efforts. She is almost unanimously hatred across Afghanistan. She obstinately continues to support a weak and despised government that lacks a coherent approach to its many internal and external dilemmas.

Just like in Iraq, she has no reliable allies in Afghanistan. The politicians in Kabul have no political values or objectives and will serve anyone that provides them with financial opportunities.

Her actions have inflamed the entire region and now America must combat ‘militancy’ on multiple fronts in this region alone.

Disdaining all other alternatives America has now adopted a careless and self-defeating policy for Afghanistan. She knows that the Kabul regime cannot defeat the insurgency and will very likely succumb to the insurgency forces. So she has decided to leave all rural areas of Afghanistan in the hands of the Islamic Emirate but instead is attempting to prevent the fall of large population centers. And failing that, America, as a minimum hope to prevent the collapse of Kabul to the Islamic Emirate’s fighters.

By inducing such a stalemate America hopes that she can at least refute the notion of a complete defeat in Afghanistan and to prevent the ascendancy of Islamists in the region. This stalemate also appeals to the Kabul-based émigré politicians because it keeps America drawn to the conflict and lets their embezzlement schemes flourish.

Yet this face-saving stalemate will come at a prize. The proposed stalemate will turn Afghanistan into exactly the failed-state Americans came in to prevent. As in Afghanistan will become a safe haven to foreign elements of all sorts and colors who will use the power vacuum to advance their regional agendas.

Neighboring countries will support different factions to advance their interests. Rivals will wage proxy wars across its borders. And individual groups will use the country to sow instability across the country and region and possibly to plot attacks across the globe.

A better policy for America would be to admit the futility of is invasion, stop foreign-engineered solutions for an Afghan dilemma, and let the Afghans alone choose their political destiny, albeit one that does not involve continued attacks against American personnel.

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Dr Manan Baloch killed by Pakistan military allegedly during an exchange of fire 

Baloch separatist leader Dr Manan Baloch was killed on Saturday along with four of his companions when Pakistan military launched a security operation at Kili Dattu village, Mastung area of Balochistan. Dr Manan was General Secretary of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) a political group which claims to be a peaceful movement seeking independence from Pakistan.

Balochistan Times stated that two other party members Sajid and Babu Noroz were killed alongside Manan who was said to have been forced into hiding along with other party members “due to the military’s ruthless crackdown on the party”. Manan had been staying with two brothers – Ashraf and Haneef, who are also BNM members.

Dr Manan Baloch posted by Shameer Baloch in December 2014

Balochistan Times described Manan as follows,

“Dr Manan was born in 1968 in Mashkay and graduated from Bolan Medical College, Quetta, in 1999. He served as a medical officer in several areas, including Jahoo, Awaran, Greshag and Mashkay. In 2011, he resigned as a medical officer, refusing to be a Pakistan government employee.”

Tammana Baloch posted the following graphic image of the deaths on Twitter,

“Gen. Secretary of BNM Dr. Manan Baloch with 4 others killed in mastung this morning”

According to Dawn media, Manan was a senior leader of the banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF). Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti held a press conference alongside other officials claiming the BNM supports militant activities and “Manan and four other men were allegedly involved in subversive activities, including attacks on law enforcement agencies.” Weapons and ammunition were said to have been seized at a property where the men were killed. Dawn reported that according to Bugti, “security forces had conducted 239 intelligence-based operations in Balochistan over the past two months in which 22 militants were killed and 14 others injured.”

Balochistan is a region where enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killing are common. Baloch activists are frequently the target of what they call “kill and dump” policy with bodies found that are often badly mutilated and showing signs of torture. According to the Express Tribune, the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) had been due to hold a four-day seminar on Balochistan’s political and human rights situation. It was postponed with the official reason given as “lack of funds” however the paper reported, “a source in the ministry of law has suspected that the NGO had to withdraw its financial support under duress by ‘some’ quarters who are against any debate and discussions on human rights situation in Balochistan.”

Karima Baloch Human Rights Defender, Political activist and Chairperson, BSO Azad and Baloch National Front said, “I strongly condemn the brutal assassination of Baloch political giant Dr Manan Baloch by Pakistan’s terrorist army. Dr Manan Baloch was not a ‘terrorist’ but a key political leader of the Baloch freedom movement. His legacy remains alive.”

Bugti claimed, “subversive activities in the province were parts of attempts to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project” and stated that “security forces of the country would foil all such moves.” Malik Siraj Akbar, Foreign Policy Analyst who met Manan (respected for his work with Internally Displaced persons, IDPs) in 2009 termed his killing a “political assassination”. He wrote,

“The Chinese are making robust investments in Balochistan under the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in order to “develop” the port in Gwadar. Meanwhile, they asserted their anguish toward the Pakistanis over the slow pace of reaching consensus on the controversial project. Dr. Manan, the leader killed on Saturday, for instance, was a staunch critic of the CPEC. The ethnic Baloch people view the project as a colonizing endeavor by the Pakistani military and the Chinese to usurp the Baloch land and resources.”

For full story read following link,

“The Political Assassination of Baloch Leader Dr. Manan”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/malik-siraj-akbar/the-political-assassinati_b_9120030.html

Karima Baloch had earlier said, “the people of Balochistan are paying for the price of CPEC in blood while Pakistan and China partner position against the US and West.”

“Slain Baloch leader Dr Manan will be buried later today in Mastung’s Kadh Koocha area” via Noori Baloch

Kiya Baloch a freelance correspondent said that the BNM had called for a “three day shutter down strike in Balochistan.

Dostin Baloch tweeted,

Balochistan Observes complete strike to mourn the brutal #MurderOfBNMLeaders. Shock and anger provoked everywhere. #IamDrMannanBaloch

Azad Baloch posted,

#BNM lost a great leader Dr manan baloch. Pak army is killing baloch political workers and doctors. why the whole world is silent @UN

Links

“Baloch separatist leader Dr Manan killed in military raid”

Baloch separatist leader Dr Manan killed in military raid

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad. She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Post via Islamic Emirate

A few days ago the Islamic Emirate’s representatives attended the Pugwash Peace Conference and forwarded their proposals for a genuine peace process. The representatives of the Political Office succinctly stated that the Islamic Emirate is a strong proponent of peace in Afghanistan. However they clarified that like any peace process certain preliminary steps and confidence-building measures must be taken to build good faith between the plenipotentiaries.

The international community as a whole supported the Emirate’s stand on the peace process and approved of its confidence-building proposals to kick-start this process. The free media and the common people of Afghanistan all praised the Islamic Emirate’s policy and method for achieving peace.

The Kabul regime, which refused to officially attend this Conference, sent unofficial individuals to the gathering and there conveyed Ashraf Ghani’s statement that he considered the Islamic Emirate as a political opposition and was willing to reach a political understanding with it.

However over the past couple of days the regime has had another change of heart and reversed its stand on the peace process. The regime’s Chief Executive – Abdullah Abdullah – stated that he neither recognized any preconditions nor was he willing to acknowledge gatherings such as Pugwash. Then Ashraf Ghani’s office published a statement remarking that ‘we are searching for peace through the Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework which had its first meeting in Islamabad followed by another in Kabul and the upcoming meeting will again be held in Islamabad’.

Despite the fact that the Quadrilateral framework is a foreign nations’ initiative – who aim to secure their interests through this framework – and has not set any agenda for peace and nor can peace be achieved through it, yet Kabul officials insist on working with this framework and purport to achieve peace through its means.

The Kabul regime has a direct line of communications with the Islamic Emirate through their representatives in Qatar. Yet the regime convenes foreign powers to find the Taliban. The regime has the opportunity to directly address the Islamic Emirate through conferences such as the aforementioned. Yet they insist on delivering their words through neighboring states. The Islamic Emirate has presented reasonable proposals and confidence-building measures for talks yet the regime persists on addressing regional powers’ demands rather than addressing the concerns of those, with whom they feign to negotiate. It is increasingly becoming clear that the Kabul regime sees no benefit in meaningful talks and only wishes to deceive the Afghan people.

Previously observers presumed that the Islamic Emirate had irreconcilable preconditions for peace talks yet in the Pugwash Conference the Political Office’s representatives expressly stated that they were ready to negotiate with foreign powers on the systematic withdrawal of foreign troops and other matters pertaining to foreign nations’ interests. As for those matters that may be classified as Afghanistan’s internal affairs, then such matters could be resolved through intra-Afghan dialogue.

An exiled entity that has no officially recognized address, whose officials are blacklisted and barred from travel, those members are imprisoned, whose assets are frozen and who are demonized by enemy-controlled media, then how is it possible to negotiate with such an entity without removing these obstacles first?

If the Kabul regime is incapable of removing such meagre obstacles then how can it claim the willingness to reach a far-reaching agreement with its counterpart?

The regime’s inability to address this crisis with the opposition directly and without foreign powers’ presence only proves the Islamic Emirate’s claim that the Kabul administration is a foreign-controlled entity with no independent powers and thus has no right to its claim as an independent government.

The Islamic Emirate has frequently stated that the Kabul regime does not want genuine peace and only uses such rhetoric to appease the Afghan nation. The Kabul regime’s recent statements only add weight to this claim.

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad. She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Post via Islamic Emirate

Two months ago the U.S. Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter, came to Afghanistan on a secret trip and met with American soldiers stationed there as well as meeting with Kabul regime’s Acting Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai.

During these meetings he apparently reiterated that America will keep its promise of supporting the Kabul regime in the long-term fight against terrorism.

He added that while the Taliban were active in some provinces of Afghanistan, however the U.S. would continue with its mission of training, supporting and assisting Kabul regime forces until they were ready to stand alone. The most surprising part of his statements were his remarks regarding the Taliban. During the visit he said that the Taliban’s existence in Afghanistan was only a temporary phenomenon.

The Defense Secretary would most assuredly have been amused by the hollowness and naivety of his remarks. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been around for over 20 years, it has survived and thrived despite the broadest military coalition in human history assembled against it. Daily they are gaining territory and international political recognition. Viewed in this context Ashton Carter’s remarks were nothing short of attempting to cover the sun with his two fingers.

Since we are amusing ourselves with hyperboles it might be apt to recall that once when the Austrians – during their negotiations with Napoleon – offered to recognize the French Republic, he snapped back that ‘the French Republic is like the sun, only the blind fail to see it’. And so today, we are forced to remind the hapless U.S. Defense Secretary that today, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan shines like the sun and only the blind will be fooled by his naïve statements.

Has Ashton Carter forgotten that the Americans made similar statements about the Vietcong during the Vietnam War and yet – some forty years later – the Vietcong (or its successors) are very much alive and in control of their country?

The American Defense Minister forgets that the Taliban are the sons of Afghanistan. Born and raised in Afghanistan they are very much part and parcel of Afghanistan’s fabric and no matter how much he plays around with his words, they are not going anywhere.

As Bismarck once aptly stated ‘it is not by speeches that the great questions of the time are decided, but by blood and iron’. Americans – who consider themselves the very embodiment of realpolitik – have discovered a new form of waging war. They have somehow come to believe that if you fail to vanquish your enemies with swords, you may still be able to magically vanquish them by making such laughable statements.

The Islamic Emirate has not readily embraced this death and destruction for the sake of some silly ministerial posts or a share of the power. On the contrary they epitomize the nation’s hopes and aspirations for a just and peaceful government that will strive to build our beloved nation on the basis of Islamic law, social justice and national interests.

The people of Afghanistan readily sacrifice their sons to achieve this objective. And the Emirate – as the true representative of our people – will not end its peaceful and armed endeavors until we have achieved this hope of Afghanistan.

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad. She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.