Afghanistan still an issue at the end of 2010

Afghanistan wants autonomy

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

Even for a puppet government it is hard to be a puppet to NATO, the US and other international powers. That must be why the government in Afghanistan denounced a NATPO night raid which killed to people. The government there accused the Western forces of violating agreements governing the security of the Afghan capital.  

According to a report in The Wichita Eagle;

“The quarrel highlighted long-standing disagreements between the Afghan government and the U.S. military, which makes up the majority of the foreign force, over the use of night raids. Afghan officials say such raids often result in accidental civilian deaths.

The incident also underscored jurisdictional disputes that are likely to arise as Western troops begin handing over security responsibilities to the Afghan police and army. NATO plans call for Afghan forces to take the lead in safeguarding the country by 2014, paving the way for the departure of most Western troops, who now number about 150,000.”

The US went in to put a more favourable government in Afghanistan and has accused the Taliban of supporting Al Qaeda, a group dedicated to destroying the US present in the Middle-east. However, the Taliban have seemed intent on ridding Afghanistan of a US presence.

The mainstream press has focussed on the Taliban’s mistreatment of women as a possible excuse for the US to stay there. But there is no evidence that the US is in a better position to help women than groups already active in Afghanistan.

As this year comes to a close and the New Year approaches, Afghanistan remains a thorn in US foreign policy.

From A World Can’t Wait;

One of the important developments in 2010 is that Wikileaks published information which revealed U.S. war crimes and the diplomatic operations of the U.S government.  Instead of prosecuting officials responsible for these crimes, the U.S. government has unleashed a series of vicious attacks on Wikileaks.

The Obama administration is attempting to re-write laws in order to silence Wikileaks.  Assange’s life is threatened in the national media. The U.S. military and State Department has banned personnel from reading these documents. Paypal, Visa, Mastercard and Bank of America ban people from donating to Wikileaks.  But people are resisting such bans. Columbia Journalism professors protested Columbia's ban, and it was rescinded!