SURGE IN AFGHANISTAN WAR = SURGE IN MISERY ALL AROUND

Not many customers at Marjah {hoped for model city to be created by surge} popcorn stand--NYT photo, AFghanistan, Helmand province

The AP story headlines today the true effect of “surge” in warfare-- “Afghans Fleeing In Droves.” Ten years after we invaded this country, one of the results tabulated—three times more applications for asylum. And many more flee, “illegal emigrants,” to whatever country they can find by any means necessary. A $1 billion criminal enterprise is the unfortunate job our war has created, for those desperately re-locating, because Afghanistan can no longer be lived in by ever increasing number of its own people. Three million suffer dislocation. [ For details see, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN_MORE_FLEEING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT ]

The Taliban and the U.S. are both responsible for increasing violence. The Taliban became stronger when we, after a quick rout of our Afghan enemies, re-pointed our war machine in the direction of Iraq—a more oil-lucrative objective. Afghan, the stepping stone, regained importance after stalemate in Iraq. It appeared a Bush administration surge of troop numbers in Iraq in 2007 helped stave off total loss there [yet with 4 million dislocated]. So the Obama team imported the strategy to Afghanistan in 2009. The result: highest number of U.S. troop deaths since invading, in that next year 2010; increasing Afghan civilian deaths; increasing “insurgent” deaths [President Reagan had called these same groups “freedom fighter” in his term]; and a huge surge of refugees in and out of Afghanistan.

Nov 12, 2011--Pakistani soldiers at Shamsi air base {former site of our CIA run drone operation targeting Afghan & Pakistani insurgents}, in a photograph provided by the Pakistani military’s public relations arm to NYT. Pakistan ordered us out a month later.

Fighting fire with fire, and killer drone robots, only fans war conflagration deeper and more
widespread. Witness the renewed strain on Pakistan’s government by its terrorist factions. With this surge there’s now danger of collateral damage to neighbor Pakistan which has been our reluctant partner ever since the Soviets were entrenched next door.

A way of life in Afghanistan that was severely wounded by 9 years of Russian occupation, is now battered by 10 more years of war under U.S. auspices. The surge in night raid doors kicked in, and drone-directed whole-household-destructed assassinations has achieved nothing but more fervent enemies.

Millions left in misery didn’t stop wars badly needed by the war industry. This is not the way to teach the Taliban not to be terrorists.

The Kites of Kabul -- Benjamin Lowy-Reportage- for The New York Times

In Sunday’s Old Testament reading Jonah preached forgiveness from destruction to Nineveh, if they’d change their evil ways. Then Jonah was outraged when the Ninevites did change, and God withheld destruction. How could God spare these terrible foreigners! We in the U.S. have yet to learn from the sign of Jonah--God’s true merciful nature. The book of Jonah is a short and valuable lesson. Please read.