U.S., Canadian casualities mount

The first victory Bush and his team proclaimed in their “war against terror” was overthrowing the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 shortly after 9/11. Following the script of the Rumsfeld doctrine, this victory was supposed to be short, sharp and effective.

Now, five years later, the Bushites’ rosy proclamations are fading. The Montreal Gazette of Aug. 18 reports that hush-hush behind-the-scenes talks are taking place between NATO and some factions of the Taliban in the province of Kandahar, a very large city in south Afghanistan close to the Pakistani border. This was confirmed by Canadian Forces Major Scott Lundy.

Twenty-six Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed since Canadian forces deployed to Afghanistan in 2002, with 19 dying in the past six months. While this is far less than U.S. losses in Iraq, Canada is a far smaller country and each loss has been extensively reported, with pictures of the bodies returning home and the funeral rites both on television and in the written press.

A recent Canadian press poll has 49 percent of English-speaking and 62 percent of French-speaking Canadians opposed to the Canadian presence in Afghanistan.

A similar reaction has taken place in Great Britain, following losses in the British forces in Afghanistan. The Independent, a liberal British newspaper generally opposed to Prime Minister Blair’s interventions, ran a long report Aug. 21 on how the Taliban have penetrated Kandahar.

Local residents feel that if the U.S. left Kandahar, it would fall to the Taliban in a week. While NATO and UN forces don’t appear poised to leave any time soon, the Taliban felt strong enough to try to take over a regional center close to the city. They lost the battle, but the fact that they felt strong enough to try is an indication of their growing strength and the weakness of the U.S./NATO position.

The fighting has grown so intense that even the U.S. press has started covering it in the past few days.

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, with most of its people living under feudal-like conditions. Barely half of the population is literate and education for girls and young women is still taboo in many parts of the country. Despite major social problems, however, five years of military firepower by the U.S. and its allies have not been able to overcome this popular resistance, led by Islamic fundamentalists, and set up a stable puppet government.

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