HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Oxford Indymedia

Don't believe Bush on Afghanistan

Paul | 20.11.2003 08:06 | Oxford

Bush is caliming Afghanistan is a success but the situation here has been deteriorating since August. Now registration for elections has been postponed four months.







Don't believe Bush on Afghanistan.
Registration for elections in Afghanistan were due to start on 1st December but now have been postponed until April next year.

Reasons:
Not enough money coming in to Afghanistan. ISAF planned to expand their security operations outside Kabul but they need 12 helecoptors for just Kabul and only have three. Without security it is going to be very difficult to have viable elections here.Also most of the money for the elections is based on voluntary donor funding and donor countries have not given enough. I believe we are still $50,000,000 short. This is less than a quarter of a B2 Stealth bomber!

UNAMA (UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) was recently bombed in kandahar and a UNHCR international was shot in her vehicle Gardez. There are signs up in the streets of Gardez asking people to kill all foreigners. This targeting of internationals was predictable so why was nothing done? Now UN is taking panic retroactive actions. There should have been better security. In addition there is no need for us to be here if there are no problems. We have to accept some risk.

All UN are supposed to stay in security complient housing. Many have not been doing so because there is not enough housing avaiable and it is very expensive. This was common knowledge. Only now that it has been aknowledged officially people are covering their backs and taking action. This housing should have been planned and organised from the start of the UN mission here. Instead they brought UNVs (UN Volunteers) into the country without enough housing being available and left them to find their own accommodation. Now the deployment of all UNVs has been suspended until further notice.

In addition there are protests in Kabul and other areas about the Constitution by youth, women and minority Uzbeks as they say it does not make adequate provision for them. Many do not want an American style presidential system with the US man, Kazai, as president.

Disarmament of heavy weapons is beginning here in the north tomorrow. However, one of the two main war lords does not support the process and can see his power disapating so there could be trouble. He is trying to play a political game looking for power in the new administration so is unlikely to be directly involved in fighting but his commanders are likely to be allowing him some deniability. He is an illiterate ex security officer who has killed one of his wives when drunk. An ideal minister in the new government.

I believe the elections will happen this year because Bush has his elections this year and wants to point to Afghanistan as a success story which Iraq will become. However, how representative they are of the Afghan people will depend on how much the international community cares and is willing to pay. Iraq is a black hole to pour money into while there is a possibility of a success in Afghanistan and the start of a representative govenment and peace. I doubt this will happen. Instead US political short term motives will dominate.

Paul

Comments

Display the following 3 comments

  1. photojournal — - -
  2. Thanks Paul — ttroughton
  3. Enlightening...Thanks..To View The True America, Ugly and Corrupt w Nazi Regime — Osso Ramdella Sandel
Publish your news
-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Oxford Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech