Afghan People Agree With Retaliation Against Taliban

October 25, 2001 7:01 PM

Afghan People Agree With Retaliation Against Taliban "Most Afghans support the bombardment of Afghanistan by allies because they hope that it will end the Taliban regime."
posted by Oxydude (11 comments total)

The headline should’ve read: Exiled Afghan supports bombing. The evidence does not support the headline or the lead sentence. I’m afraid you make the same mistake in the link topic, Oxy.

I’ll grant him people would prefer the Taliban disappear, but it’s presumptious of him to say “if one starves or if one is felled by a bomb, there is no great difference.” Especially from this man’s quite comfortable postion at a think tank in Switzerland.

Also a copy error. The referenced paper is called Der Bund, in the sixth paragraph its called Der Bunt. And I’m a jelly donut folks.

There’s been more crap journalism posted to MetaFilter this week than any I can think of.
posted by raaka at 7:22 PM on October 25, 2001

Newsmax is a rightwing crap site. Which doesn't mean that it occassionally have some interesting stuff...
posted by ParisParamus at 7:27 PM on October 25, 2001

Newsmax is The Globe for conservatives. I agree that much of the mainstream media is a somewhat liberal-slanted, but Newsmax makes not attempts to hide their (especially Clinton-era) vitriol & bias. Some of the articles are hilarious, just can sense the writers just barely containing themselves, boiling over with bile.
posted by Karl at 9:49 PM on October 25, 2001

It all seems to be quotes from the Swiss paper. So NewsMax here is just a conduit.

raaka: do keep in mind that the United States is not bringing war to a peaceful Shire in Central Asia. Afghanistan has been pretty steadily at war with itself for twenty years, and any casualties from American bombing are minuscule compared to what they've been through. Since a usual Afghan tactic seems to be indiscriminate mortar fire, it's also likely that American prudence in choice of targets is well-noticed.

I don't think his location is as ivory tower as you suppose, either. Keep in mind Tamim Ansaray's letter.
posted by dhartung at 9:53 PM on October 25, 2001

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posted by Karl at 9:59 PM on October 25, 2001

i'd like to point out that the quoted swiss newspaper "der bund" is generally liberal. i happen to read it almost every day. newsmax does only quote part of the interview. i've read the original and found it quite thought-provoking (i'm generally not fond of the military actions). the man does have some points. the german original was published on october 13 and can be found here.
posted by ubique at 2:59 AM on October 26, 2001

Hekami: I’ll say it once, brutally. There will be countless numbers of Afghanis dead. After 23 years of war ... if one starves or if one is felled by a bomb, there is no great difference.

Easy to say, when one is in Switzerland, well-fed and safe.
posted by Carol Anne at 5:36 AM on October 26, 2001

do keep in mind that the United States is not bringing war to a peaceful Shire in Central Asia. Afghanistan has been pretty steadily at war with itself for twenty years

Do keep in mind the three biggest players in the Russian invasion were Russia, the mujahideen and the US. The US is hardly coming to the country fresh.
posted by raaka at 5:40 AM on October 26, 2001

I agree, I think it better if people live oppressed miserable lives. A thousand civilian causalities is too great a price to pay for freedom.

Silly Afghani exile, existing is better than living.
posted by Mick at 5:49 AM on October 26, 2001

In Switzerland now or not, this guy lived in Afghanistan once and he presumably still cares about his people. Do you think he's making these comments because he wants to see as many Afghanis die as possible? He has their best interests at heart. You shouldn't discard his beliefs out of hand simply because they don't happen to agree with your ideology.
posted by gd779 at 6:19 AM on October 26, 2001

I agree, I think it better if people live oppressed miserable lives. A thousand civilian causalities is too great a price to pay for freedom.

I guess your characterizing life under the Taliban as the opposite of “oppressed” and “miserable.” US support is fleeting, fight our war then rot.

this guy lived in Afghanistan once and he presumably still cares about his people

Presumably, this guy never cared about his people. That’s the only assumption I can make, seeing as he doesn’t care how they die. Besides, he’s contradicting himself.

DB: If Muslim civilians in Afghanistan die under the bombing of the Americans, will it be difficult to hold the Islamic lands in the coalition?

H: brutally [difficult]. There will be countless numbers of Afghanis dead.

He says “countless Afghanis” will die in the bombing and that this will hurt the coalition. If this guy is in favor of his people and the coalition then he must logically be against the bombing. But he isn’t. I don’t follow him.
posted by raaka at 7:37 AM on October 26, 2001