Before making postings to the newswire its worth taking the time to check a few facts. In normal circumstances this is just to stop yourself looking foolish but on this occasion it could even lead to a loss of life.

This story first surfaced in April and was traced to an Eygptian cleric, it was proven to be totaly false however that has not stopped other clerics and rabble rousers using it as a means to inflame young men as new cannon fodder in their fight.

as i know paul personaly and also know he is in afganistan (as many of us do in Oxford and elseware, working for the UN, can you plesae stop contradicting his reports, as his information is present and up to date. Paul has bean working with the locals setting up fresh water supplies etc. he is just informing the wider population of the situation in this unstable country. Thanks

Well if Paul is in Afghanistan he can't know what's happening in Guantanamo Bay can he ?

I'm sure Paul is only reporting what he experiences in Afghanistan, where the Koran desecration allegations have been interpreted as true and used to whip up anti-US sentiment, resulting in violence against westerners in Afghanistan. The US has denied these allegations, all over the web. Veracity is irrelevant when your being chased by a mob who have found a reason to kill you for what you represent to them, ie the US.

"You idiot" should be telling the people pulling the strings in Afghanistan what's going on, not complaining here. At the same time I suggest you remind the idiots in the White House that they've left aid workers in the frontline to take the blame (and the violence).

Shame - written in a different tone your posting could have helped us all understand more.

This story is disgusting. The Taliban are using a made up story to inflame young men in the hope of diverting the security forces attention and time from their operations .

Over the past four weeks several important Taliban people have been captured and their last remaining bit of power has been nearly stopped. The flame of democracy now burns in Afghanistan and we will not allow the Taliban pigs to put it out. They can make up their stories and bother our youth but the truth will prevail.

"he is just informing the wider population of the situation in this unstable country"

"Paul" and his motives are questionable. His work for the Red Cross resulted in dismissal from the organisation and when we at MSF agreed to have him work with us we too found problems in his approach. His hatred of the USA manifests itself all too often and affects his ability to work in an NGO environment.

In many ways he is now part of the problem not the solution.

I think we can all see how the US has done so much to bring 'peace' and 'democracy' to the world.

Today I read the news....extreme violence in Iraq, violence in Afghanistan, violence in Uzbekistan, a key US ally. We have recently had violence in Egypt. Violence in Lebanon. And all connected to the US 'War on Terror'.

Great...good job guys. You've really made the world a safer place. It's like, everyplace they touch, turns to shit.

Hermes you list all those countries and link their relationship to the USA as the cause of their problems when in fact there is another and far stronger link - the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in all of them. The political Left in Europe have yet to come to terms with how they are being used.

In answer to the comment on anti US sentiments by me and my working for Red Cross and MSF I think you have the wrong Paul. I have not worked for either organistation.

I said the 'reported desecration'. I do not know if it happened or not. I do know that this as I say was the tigger for the violence. The other reasons are the proposed perminent US based in Afghanistan which is a big issue also. Poppy eradication is being stepped up which is upsetting people as they see their year's income disappear and often the money they owe. The American forces are not generally liked here because of there heavy handed tactics and lack of cultural sensitivity.

However, i must admit I do not find it hard to believe the Newsweek story after the other abuses committed in Cuba.

And answer me messenger, did Islamic Fundamentalism exist in Iraq at nearly the same level before the illegal invasion of Iraq? No it did not. US actions created the conditions for it to flourish.

Fundamentalism only grows in extreme conditions. The rebellion in Uzbekistan is in response to one of the most oppressive regimes in the world, with a president who has boiled his opponents to death, and whose security forces are paid for in part by the West. When secular resistance is repeatedly crushed, people turn to religion to give them strength to resist.

But notice, all these countries where fundamentalism is rising. Saudi, oppressive regime, propped up by the US. Egypt, oppressive regime, propped up by the US. Uzbekistan, oppressive regime, funded by the US. The rise of the Taliban occurred shortly after the defeat of the Soviet Union, when the US left Afghanistan to rot, and it fell into the hands of warlords. The Taliban were actually a step up from the condition the country was in before. Look at Palestine. The resistance to the illegal Israeli occùpation was originally secular, but it was co-opted, Israel was continually provided with weapons with which to oppress the Palestinians from the US, and many people turned to religious fundamentalism instead.
Look at Iran!!! It used to have a democratically elected Prime Minister. He moved to privatise the oil, and the CIA orchestrated a coup against him, putting the Shah in his place. In response to the US backed Shah's tyrannical rule, the backlash was the Iranian Revolution, and now Islamic fundamentalists rule Iran.

And then, finally, look at Iraq. There was no Al Qaeda in Iraq before the war. Now it is all over the place.

Tell me, what was the cause, and what was the result?

EVEN Osama Bin Laden was trained and funded by the CIA when he was fighting the Soviet Union.

Perhaps if the US could just leave the rest of the world alone for a little bit...seriously, just 5 minutes without interfering would be a record...we wouldn't see so much resentment in the Islamic world against the West. Just 5 bloody minutes without giving weapons to some country to oppress it's own, or another people. Without the CIA trying to orchestrate some revolution. Without giving money to dictators. It's like a fucking addiction.