It’s crazy how in NZ all our media focus on is how we betrayed Afghan traitors who helped us during the occupation yet NO focus on the sanctions that now see 23million Afghans starving to death!
In NZ we go on and on and on about how we didn’t help Afghan traitors to live in NZ. I say traitors because they are traitors. We invaded Afganistan, they helped us as occupiers, they are traitors to their people.
But what we did or didn’t do for Afghan traitors isn’t really the issue – the issue is how we have allowed crippling sanctions to replace our occupation that now see 23 million Afghans starving to death.
The expectation is a million Afghan children will die.
Our obligations as an occupying force should be to the damaged country we occupied, not the traitors who helped us!
Our obligations as an occupying force is to end those punitive sanctions.
Our obligations as an occupying force is to not have millions starve to death!
Fuck our obligations to traitors! Why aren’t we being confronted with the spectre of mass death from starvation in a country we previously occupied?
We are a tiny people, a little people, a petty people with a low horizon imagination with all the culture of a can of day old Coke-cola.
If you can’t fix the country you invade, maybe you shouldn’t have invaded in the first place?
These 23million we are allowing to starve to death is the story, not our petty mainstream media focus on helping traitors.
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I believe that at this stage of Aotearoa New Zealand’s development that we elect People who are open, honest, but most importantly, sincere.
It was a grave mistake believing that a bunch of elite veterans of war could have built a democracy, but the moment they, the Afghan people believe that they can prosper, we will be much more safer.
“I believe that at this stage of Aotearoa New Zealand’s development that we elect People who are open, honest, but most importantly, sincere.” That’s John Key Judith Collins John Banks, Paula Bennett, Murray McCully, Bill English and Christopher Luxon to a “T”… NZ was just incredibly lucky to have Adern as leader when the virus hit, or the country would have become a huge mausoleum… But on any other front besides that one, they are nothing but national lite… The truth is that NZ “occasionally” gets it right, by accident, and even then the machine grinds them up until they can be removed, and replaced with yet another vassal of colonial privilege coupled with uber wealthy foreign interests… Sincere?. Sincerely disloyal to their own people, yes..
More importantly is “development.”
The Right Brothers invented the most wonderful, fun, amazing flying machine. The politicians decided to throw bombs out of them.
Now after 40 years of developing the internet in of things we are trying to blow up nuclear power plants and so on.
So first of all we assume that technical development is different from military development. There are a number of differences that make civilians different from soldiers but something happens to technology that makes it less applicable to civilian life.
This must be an act of genocide by the World Bank; if Afghanistan owns the money and the World Bank won’t release it that’s pretty plain logic.
To be fair Bomber, NZ was recognised by the Taliban as quick off the mark with a $3 million aid donation which was, of course, more symbolic than effective. However, it didn’t take too long for the US and its hangers-on to rein in our Government. As usual, they intend to annihilate any country that has failed to conform to their ‘might is right’ doctrine. So much for Mahuta’s short-lived and empty shows of political independence.
What is extremely disturbing is that the likes of the UK and the US have effectively stolen the considerable gold reserves of countries they deliberately want to starve to death.
Bradbury goes too far when he describes as traitors the Afghans who helped New Zealand forces. They did what they thought was the right thing, to assist successive Afghan regimes that though inept and corrupt seemed preferable to the Taliban.
Okay, now the Taliban has won, and in turn is preferable to ISIS-K, which seeks to overthrow it. Yes, we must demand the end of the spiteful US blockade of Afghanistan that is killing the Afghan people.
But lay off the ‘traitor’ talk: it is uhelpful.
100%
Agreed!
To be fair John, Bomber got your attention.
In any war, there are those who for whatever reason, end up on the wrong side and may pay a heavy, if not the ultimate price. Should their needs be more important than those of a million starving children who have never had any choice in the means and nature of their survival?
In a fair world, war mongers who use ‘democracy’ as an excuse for their lies and atrocities need to be consigned to the rubbish bin of history. Unfortunately, they just move elsewhere to sell their seeds of destruction while people of principle are powerless to stop them.
And who made democracy a dirty word, and uses it as an excuse to try to control other regimes, with this country following them like star-struck teenagers?
“the Afghans who helped New Zealand forces.”- that is the definition of traitor.
25,000 people die of starvation around the world…EVERY DAY…..
Who…cares!
I care. Just couldn’t do anything about it even though I did the first 40hr famine plus more. Starved myself for weeks, raised millions of dollars. So I care, my generation just wasn’t strong enough to do anything about it.
Government?
Blazer – Well, in Aotearoa New Zealand, government agencies care : they tell the poor and hungry to go to the food banks provided by the goodies. In Africa and elsewhere, China cares, and is buying its way in very effectively indeed.
All very well,but supposedly 20% of the food produced in the world is…wasted.
We are concerned about deaths from covid and getting vaccinated….easy cure for preventing 7plus million deaths a year=food.
Blazer used the euphemism “who cares” ,,,, to misdirect from what he was actually saying,,,, which is “I/Blazer do not care about children and familys starving to death”.
it’s a good thing being thought of as sick and depraved does concern Blazer ,,, which is why he did not own his opinion ,,,,,
If Blazer was clear on the fact he does not care about child torture ,,,, the damage to his reputation may stop him from trying to normalize it.
Comprehension not your…forte is it.
Yet again the situation is a direct result of the actions of the United bloody States. Time for the World to hold the fucking Yanks to account, instead of fawning to their inhumane practices imposed out of sheer spite.
I think we should help starving Afghan children as well as the people who acted as translators for New Zealand. However, isn’t the root cause of this problem (or at least a big part of it) religion? In this case Muslim fundamentalism? It’s time The Bible and Koran were both recognised as being tools of racism, sexism, slavery, genocide etc.
The religion that caused the war in Afghanistan is the one that worships the money gods. or the money demons. And so far, that religion rules much of the world, and is destroying it at great speed – no end in sight. Most politicians worship/ obey/ derive their values from that same god/ demon.
Maybe it’s time you tried to prove your point of view with evidence, while I can agree that the various religions misinterpret what scripture says that is not a reason to reject the scripture.
Nice.
Sometimes you’ve got to fight for your freedom and the Afghanis didn’t. Hence their current predicament.
Ben Franklin: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Andrew, what did you mean by, “Sometimes you’ve got to fight for your freedom and the Afghanis didn’t. Hence their current predicament.”
The Taliban (Afghans) did fight for the freedom of the country and won against all odds. The outcome was that the US refused to lose and are prepared to sacrifice a million defenseless children as revenge, while sitting on billions of dollars they had syphoned out of the Afghan economy.
“billions of dollars they had syphoned out of the Afghan economy”
What planet are you on? Afghanistan is a largely worthless crap hole into which Americans poured billions in aid (not just military). They built hospitals. They built schools. They provided teachers and doctors. They sent food, a large proportion of which was sold in the local markets by corrupt officials. This month they donated an *additional* 300 million dollars in food which no doubt will also be sold elsewhere.
Afghanis are a people that prefer to grow poppies rather than food…
Afghanis are.. people
Yep – Afghanis are people, – believe it or not.
So the usa empowered militant religious extremists to help them fight for their freedoms Andrew ???
“Your cause is right and god is on your side” — said the usa to Osama Binladen and the birth of Al-Quada/Al-Nusra/Daesh/Isis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiJg3-_uOyA
“Ex-Security Chief Brzezinski’s Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur makes clear:
“The Muslim Terrorist Apparatus was Created by US Intelligence as a Geopolitical Weapon” http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/brz.htm
The usa around 1978-79 began to flood the country with weapons and Islamic fanatics ,,, … They did this knowing full well it would destroy and ruin Afghanistan ,,, and training / arming up to 100,000 Islamic extremists in Pakistan has rooted them too.
The Usa has spent far far far more money destroying Afghanistan than rebuilding anything ,,,,
Their concern for Afghanistan people is shown by their stealing of Afghani funds which has lead to teachers, nurses, civil servants not being paid ,,,, https://youtu.be/oFGTa6rKKQM?t=98
,,,, and the usa will deliberatly starve a million Afghani kids to death in the near future ,,,
Just like their mass slaughter of Iraq children,,, Yemen children ,,, Cambodian children etc etc ,,, The sick yanks will always think “It’s worth it” — aka Madeline ‘disgusting serbs’ Albrite.
So instead of bullshitting like Wayne Mapp on Afghanistan Andrew ,,,, why don’t you give us your opinion if Israel thinks the extremist Muslim terrorists it supports ‘have a just cause and god on their side’ too ???,,,, https://youtu.be/yiVb7_CVD9o?t=333
Its a good job Hezbollah are protecting Lebanon and Syrian christian s from the fanatical terrorists ,,,, that Israel acts as a air-force, medics and sometimes paymasters for ..
“never in the American media is Hezbollah’s commitment to protecting Christians ever mentioned, and it doesn’t stop just inside Lebanon..
…”When Hezbollah sent forces into Syria to take the fight to ISIS and the Nusra Front (Al Qaeda) Jihadists or the so called “moderate rebels” inside Syria. They were there to protect the Syrian Christians too.”
“Hezbollah was on the side of secularism and freedom of religion, and the United States and its media were on the side of destroying it” https://medium.com/@JRGhaddar/the-truth-about-hezbollah-what-the-main-stream-media-doesnt-want-u-s-36596c947b50
https://www.mintpressnews.com/they-accept-us-as-we-are-christians-join-forces-with-muslim-group-hezbollah-to-fight-isis-in-lebanon/210088/
FFS do a bit of research before you give brainfart responses: https://qz.com/2049375/taliban-cant-touch-afghanistans-gold-stored-away-in-the-us/
Perhaps you would like to prove your other dubious assertions are accurate.
As for your statement, “Afghanis are a people that prefer to grow poppies rather than food…” did you forget that when the Taliban was previously in power, they dried up the opium supply overnight, much to the angst of the US consumers. After the illegal war instigated by the US, opium was basically to only income source.
As for all the other ‘gifts’ you outline, they were worth bugger all compared to the cost of the 20 years of war inflicted on the Afghanis.
Finally, don’t forget that the US failed to come anywhere near the results achieved by Russia when it was invited to support the country. The US and its lackies sure fucked that up per courtesy of the terrorists they armed and assisted.
By the way, are you getting a hard-on over the US shitfest over Ukraine. There is another where they supported neo-Nazis to undo a poorly performing ‘democracy’, which unlike their own worked on the basis of one person one equal vote.
It is a shocking indictment on the US and all the other countries that went in. Helen Clark should be fronting an action to feed the children and to get rid of the appalling sanctions. It was her and her government that dragged us into this on the coat tales of the US.
We could buy the kids and give them a better life here picking fruit and milking cows.
Bloop!
There were plenty of Germans that helped defeat Hitler and Italians who fought against Mussolini were they traitors ?
You’re only a traitor if you lose. Ahem, John Key.
I didn’t realize Afghanistan’s population was so large (40 Million !!).
We helped other countries mess up their land, and are showing the same loss of humanity to them as we show to NZrs on the low income end so in a way that’s fair. But I thought we were better – looking at all the stuffed shirts with much to say you wonder are they stuffed with crumpled newspaper?
Then we have been helpful in our kindly way to people who can give us leverage in some way, usually money.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300490811/former-afghan-vice-president-given-safe-haven-in-new-zealand
No they are not necessarily traitors because they genuinely believed they would get democracy and an end to an oppressive fundamentalist regime. Some did, others were in it for power , position and wealth. Typical motives of western values.
HOWEVER ! The fact we have not aided and assisted in the rebuild, the fact we arrogantly imposed trade sanctions after the fact ,… how wanky is that? And what impression does that give to the Afghan people. That the west , is still the obnoxious west. You do not win friends by continually shitting on them. You do it by letting bygones be bygones and doing what and for Vietnam and Japan and Germany. You win allies by that measure, not by being bastards.
Why cannot humanity learn its simple lessons? That we are ALL family.
Glad to hear this from someone. The idea that we should walk out thumbing our nose at people we encouraged to help our forces in Afghanistan and say they were collaborators and have to take their medicine is a puerile argument. The people have to think about their situation knowing that suffering will occur, and do they hope they will end up with better. We are helpless in the forceful currents of power that wash around the world. What wk says must be borne in mind – we are all family. Do we like all of our own family? Possibly no, but we have to think how we treat them, and see things from their point of view, as well as our own.
Well, the meltdown of the fake global financial markets is underway, and soon no one in NZ will care what happens in Afghanistan (or any other nation attacked by the empire to achieve ‘regime change’ and steal resources).
‘Wall Street has started its week with a severe case of the jitters. The S&P500 is down -3.6% in late afternoon trade and falling. That means for 2022 it is down -11.6% and in almost exclusively one-way traffic and you may recall it started the year at an all-time high. The NASDAQ is down -4.5% so far today, and the Dow down -3.0%, so it is a broad-based retreat, led by tech stocks.’
Kiwi dollar down too, so expect another rise in fuel prices.
https://www.interest.co.nz/business/114086/wall-street-slumps-us-economic-momentum-slows-ditto-japan-singapore-inflation-tops
On the other hand, the central banks may well have a plan to print money at an even faster rate and devalue the money in people’s bank accounts at an even faster rate, in order to prop up the markets for a few more months.
However you look at it, most people in NZ will have far more to worry about than what happens overseas. In fact they already do. And it will all be made worse faster by the neofascists in power, both in NZ and throughout the rest of the western world.
Afghans that helped the invaders were no more or less than collaborators–they will rightly not be popular with many wherever they go for various reasons.
The NZ Alliance Party was totally right 20 years ago that NZ should not have touched the US invasion of Afghanistan with a forty foot proverbial.
We can’t upset our master, the USA too much….hence we dance around the edges.
We bombed them back into the stone age, and now
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