Afghan Amnesia of George W. Bush

Washington forgets that Afghanistan exists, but it shouldn’t
In his traditional State of the Union speech delivered in Congress on January 29, US President George W. Bush laid special stress on two objectives: war in Iraq and rehabilitation of the national economy. America’s president mentioned other hot spots just in passing: he briefly touched upon the problem of stability in Afghanistan and the Mideast situation, where he said “the USA will further aim at achievement of peace between Israel and Palestinians.”

The head of the White House has probably forgotten that Afghanistan was the starting point from which world order in an American manner began. After the 9/11 tragedy, the USA immediately started speaking about revenge, about a response action, although it wasn’t clear at that moment against whom the blow is to be delivered. A hail of bombs was dropped on Afghanistan; the newest weapons were used and the best ground troops operated there. But not only terrorists are killed there, civilians also die, like at any other war. Now it’s Iraq’s turn. Washington considers the operation in Afghanistan to be completed. It is true that George W. Bush didn’t mention who exactly won that war, but it is evident that the USA and the allies were not the winners. Americans gave up special operations and withdrew the troops from Afghanistan (highly likely they were transferred to Iraq). And consequences of US’s short-sighted policy produced an immediate effect. As soon as Afghanistan became neglected, it actively started reminding of itself with terrorist acts, skirmish, crashed helicopters and deaths of civilians.

The recent information reports that a strong blast destroyed a bridge in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, 18 people were killed. All of the victims were civilians, ordinary bus passengers; only two passengers survived. Nobody hasn’t claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack yet. But Deputy Chief of Kandahar police Ustad Nazar Jan said it was a terrorist act organized by remains of Taliban and al-Qaeda forces. He thinks that a bomb could be laid by terrorists headed by field commander, former prime minister Gulbeddin Hekmatyar, who vowed to wage a war against American troops all over the territory of Afghanistan.

The US command supports this opinion as well. The international US-led military contingent already participated in a cruel skirmish in the mountainous region Spin Boldak, to the east of Kandahar.

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: https://www.pravda.ru/accidents/35415-afganistan/

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