Afghanistan – THUS Magazine

Tag Archives: Afghanistan

"Can we fucking move on these people, goddamit?" Winning hearts and minds with the US marines in Helmand.

August 20, 2009 – 1:11 pm

Fuck yeah – if it’s fucking hearts and fucking minds you want to fucking win over, walk this way with the fucking US Marines. We’ll capture those fucking hearts and minds or tear the bastards out and shove them up their sorry goddam asses. By John J Kelly.
Last night, BBC Newsnight aired a warning that [...]

By John Kelly | Posted in Afghanistan, Global security, Insurgency, Law and order, War on Terror, democracy, human rights abuse | Also tagged 9/11, BBC film of US marines patrolling Helmand, BBC Newsnight Helmand US marine patrol, by John J Kelly, counter insurgency, Douglas Alexander, hearts and minds, Helmand, Jeremy paxman, President Karzai passes Status Law legalising rape within marriage, Status law, Taliban, UK Development Secretary and jackass, Us marines, War on Terror | Comments (0)

Ashraf Ghani runs for Afghan Presidency on anti-corruption ticket

June 28, 2009 – 11:53 pm

Afghanistan could become Obama’s Vietnam, if it isn’t already. Al Qaida, the Taliban and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalyse have never been in ruder health. By John J Kelly.

Drone bombing insurgents, much less civilians, will not win the ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan, which has now spread to Pakistan, enabling the possibility of a [...]

By John Kelly | Posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Development, Global security, Insurgency, Law and order, Middle East, US Politics, United Nations, War on Terror, carpet bombing, democracy, human rights abuse | Also tagged Afghan elections August 2009, Afghanistan could become Obama's Vietnam, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Ashraf Ghani, Former Pakistani SIS head, fundamentalism, Hameed karzai, Iraq, Lt-Gen (rtd) Hameed Gul, Mahdi Army, Obama, Osama Bin laden, Pakistan, Pashtun, Russians in Afghanistan, Taleban, US Middle East policy, War on Terror | Comments (0)

Do as we say, not as we do, the new model of Democracy Inc.

June 20, 2009 – 6:28 am

Not long ago, in a country far away, the world held its breath as a tightly-fought election drew to its climax. The popular democratic candidate appeared to have won, but at the last minute, 25 key votes from the electoral college of a state run by the candidate’s brother assured victory for the son of [...]

By John Kelly | Posted in Barack Obama, Genocide, Global security, Intifada, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Middle East, carpet bombing, ethnic cleansing, gaza | Also tagged 2000 US election, Democracy Inc, Global security, Iran elections, Iraq, US foreign policy, War on Terror | Comments (0)

Obama opts to continue with 'Preventive Detention'

May 24, 2009 – 9:28 pm

This article, originally published on ProPublica, deals with the Obama volte-face on holding prisoners without charge in Guantanamo Bay. It’s a long piece, but not as long as the sentences already served and, by all accounts, about to be extended, to several people who have been denied the right to a fair trial and held in [...]

By John Kelly | Posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, George W Bush, Global security, Insurgency, Policy, Totalitarian drift, US Politics, War on Terror, human rights abuse | Also tagged Add new tag, al-Qaida, Anti-Terrorist legislation, Barack Obama, Bush Administration, Combatant Status, Combatant Status Review Tribunals, detention without trial, Global security, Guantanamo Bay, Hamdan, homeland security, human rights abuse, laws of war, opponents of preventive detention say it's Orwellian that such a system would imprison a person based on future dangerousness, Preventive Detention, ProPublica, rendition, Salim Hamdan, Supreme Court, Terrorist | Comments (0)

I know nothing at first hand about Gaza so I should stop commenting . . . . . . .

January 8, 2009 – 9:56 am

. . .and it would be a good idea if other people did the same. However, I do know a bit about media. It is pointless of Israel to complain about the possible bias of quoted ’sources in Gaza’ from the world’s news gatherers if they employ totalitarian tactics (selectively used by the US in [...]

By John Kelly | Posted in Genocide, Global security, Human rights, Insurgency, International Affairs, Intifada, Israel, Law and order, Middle East, Palestine, Political spin, Totalitarian drift, United Nations, War on Terror, carpet bombing, ethnic cleansing, gaza | Also tagged "We don't do subtle" should be the Mossad strapline., Al Jazeera, BBC, Censorship, Daily Mail, Hamas, Hizbollah, Israel, Jews, Media, Palestine, Telegraph, US | Comments (0)

Now Gordon has spun off to Afghanistan – make that Pakistan (see above)

December 13, 2008 – 5:16 pm

. . . . “I’ll put a girdle about the earth in forty minutes” Puck, Midsummer Night’s Dream
We heard this morning that UK Gordon Brown has broken off his constructive discussions with EU leaders to appear in Afghanistan to mourn the death of four British soldiers, killed in two bomb incidents, one where a 13 [...]

By John Kelly | Posted in Afghanistan, British Constitution, EU policy, Europe, Human rights, Identity cards, Insurgency, International Affairs, Iraq, Law and order, Policy, Political spin, UK politics, Uk Home Office, Uncategorized, War on Terror, citizens' rights, human rights abuse | Also tagged Al Quaeda, Civil liberties, Gordon Brown, Iraq War, Operation Kratos, UK Constitutional crisis, UK knife crime, UK politics, War on Terror | Comments (1)