Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords and the Propaganda of Silence

[babylonsister]

On Democracy Now! today:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/06/1350253

This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan. In recent months the Taliban has seized control of entire regions of the country. The security situation has worsened as suicide bombings are up 600 percent this year. Opium and poppy cultivation are at record highs. NATO forces are suffering their highest casualty rate in five years. We speak with Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls, authors of the new book, “Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords and the Propaganda of Silence.” This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan. Fifty cruise missiles were launched from submarines in the Arabian Sea. B52 and B2 Stealth bombers began air strikes. The Pentagon called the attack Operation Enduring Freedom. The invasion came less than a month after 9/11. Among the Bush administration’s goals were the capture of Osama Bin Laden and the dismantling of the Taliban.

Five years later, neither objective has been realized. In recent months the Taliban has seized control of entire regions of the country. The security situation has worsened as suicide bombings are up 600 percent this year. Opium and poppy cultivation are at record highs. NATO forces are suffering their highest casualty rate in five years. The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has now reached about 20,000 -- the highest number of U.S. forces in the country since the invasion. Meanwhile, the Bush administration continues to hold hundreds of prisoners without charge at Bagram airbase.

We speak with the co-authors of the book,“Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords and the Propaganda of Silence.” Sonali is host of the popular Pacifica Radio Show, Uprising. Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls are also co-directors of the Afghan Women's Mission. They traveled to Afghanistan last year to witness firsthand the results of U.S policy there and to understand how ordinary Afghans felt about the war.

* Sonali Kolhatkar, co-author of, “Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords and the Propaganda of Silence.” Sonali is host of the popular Pacifica Radio Show, Uprising on KPFK. She is also co director of the Afghan Women's Mission, a group that works in solidarity with Afghans to help improve health and educational facilities for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
* James Ingalls, co-author of "Bleeding Afghanistan Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence" and co-director of the Afghan Women’s Mission.