The True Nature of the War in Afghanistan

“The real purpose” of the occupation, she writes, “is for the United States and its allies to establish permanent bases to serve their strategic aims.”

Sep. 9, 2011 - In her book, "A Woman Among Warlords:", Malalai Joya speaks out on the real purpose of the United States’ occupation, and the war’s disastrous consequences

The Afghanistan war is not the good war we should have fought instead of Iraq. It is not about making us safer from terrorism. It is not about suffocating the rising tide of Islamic extremism. It is not about spreading women’s rights. And it is certainly not about exporting democracy. The war is a part of the grand chess game being played out by the United States and its rivals in what state planners have long regarded as “the most strategically important area in the world”— the Middle East. In "A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice", the Extraordinary Story of an Afghan who Dared to Raise Her Voice, Malalai Joya—a young Afghan who has served in Parliament, stood up to the warlords and faced countless assassination attempts while heroically leading the struggle for her country’s freedom— describes in graphic detail the true nature of the war, and the disastrous consequences it has wrought.

“The real purpose” of the occupation, she writes, “is for the United States and its allies to establish permanent bases to serve their strategic aims.” Joya explains that “Central Asia is a key strategic region, and the United States wants to have a permanent military presence there to counteract China’s influence in particular.” Furthermore, “Central Asia is also very rich in oil and natural gas resources. One of the reasons that NATO wants to stay in Afghanistan is to ensure that the West has better access to these riches.” For example, “it was recently announced that a pipeline is to be built from the Caspian Sea, through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, and then on to Pakistan and India. The West does not want these resources flowing through Iran or Russia.” Finally, “Afghanistan has many other untapped natural resources,” such as “massive deposits of copper,” “iron,” and “other metals in Eastern Afghanistan.”

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According to Joya and others, we are currently spending $100 million a day and stand to waste over $2 trillion more in the coming years on the occupation of Afghanistan. We cannot permit our government to continue this war. It is a disaster for everyone but corporations such as Lockheed Martin and Xe Services (formerly Blackwater) that make billions off the suffering. Matters can hardly get worse for the people of Afghanistan, who have resisted empire for centuries and need our support in their struggle for independence from foreign intervention and the Taliban. America cannot afford this disgraceful occupation, especially when over 20% of the population is unemployed or underemployed and our infrastructure is crumbling. read more>>>