Senlis exposes CIDA's lies

The Gobe and Mail's Gloria Galloway has a short, hard-hitting summary of findings from the Senlis Council, following the release of that NGO's latest report on the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). (See her article here; the Senlis report is here in pdf.)

Background: Some months ago, the Senlis Council stated that CIDA's efforts in Afghanistan had amounted to very little on-the-ground aid being delivered in that country. In response, CIDA invited Senlis to examine all of their projects there, supplying them with a list of accomplishments.

What did the Senlis people find?

What they found this month were an overcrowded and filthy hospital in Kandahar City that could provide few services to patients; refugee camps that had gone without food aid for 1 1/2 years; a construction project that employed child labour, and a displaced population struggling to survive.

Senlis director Norine MacDonald explains: "We were not able to see any substantial impact of CIDA's work in Kandahar and, as a matter of fact, we saw many instances of the extreme suffering of the Afghan people".

One of the projects CIDA boasted about was a $350,000 grant to UNICEF to establish a maternity wing in a Kandahar hospital. But Senlis observers could find nothing of the sort. "[W]e could not find evidence of CIDA's work, or CIDA-funded work that matched the information given to us by CIDA", explained Senlis director Norine MacDonald.

"The maternity project was supposed to have been operating in a temporary tent on hospital grounds. But the tent was empty on the day the Senlis researchers arrived. And the next day it was gone... Ms. MacDonald said she was told that [the maternity project] had simply never existed."

By way of explanation, Senlis finds that CIDA has too few employees on the ground in Afghanistan (three Canadian and eight locals), while those who are there are extremely limited in their mobility, due to the dismal security situation.

Media soft-pedals Afghan government's role in opium boom

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime's latest report on opium cultivation in Afghanistan has caused a minor splash in the Western media. (Click here for full report in pdf.) The UNODC found that opium production is at a record high level, having doubled in the past two years, and that Afghanistan supplies some 92% of the world's heroin.

What isn't getting attention in this context is the fact that many members of the Afghan government are complicit in the opium and heroin trade. (Even president Karzai's brother is said by many to be a major drug kingpin.) The UNODC itself makes passing mention of this fact, noting the Karzai government's "benign tolerance of corruption" and "tacit acceptance of opium trafficking by foreign military forces" (see page vi). The UN agency's director, meanwhile, is quoted by an AP report as saying there is a "tremendous amount of collusion" between traffickers and government officials. (Of course, this tidbit doesn't make the headlines.)

For a little background, see Arthur Kent's article "Karzai and allies continue to shield heroin kingpins".

Afghan anti-corruption official was busted for heroin in Vegas

Today Izzatullah Wasifi is the head of Afghanistan's anti-corruption authority. But in the 1980's Wasifi spent over three years in a Nevada prison after he tried to sell a pound and a half of heroin to an undercover cop in a Caesar's Palace hotel room. Wasifi plays down the incident, saying he was young and stupid. He also points out that he's in good company, as George W. Bush also has a criminal record for a drunk driving incident back in 1976. (See Guardian article here.)

Residents report 60 civilians dead or injured; US labels it Taliban propaganda

Residents of the Helmand town of Kobar in Musa Qala district have told several journalists that US air strikes in their village this past Saturday resulted in numerous deaths and injuries. From the Associated Press:

But Haji Abdul Manan Agha, the tribal leader from the area, said two homes were bombed by coalition forces late Saturday.

"In one home, 18 people attending an engagement party were killed, including women, children and men," he said.

In the second house, eight Taliban were killed, he said. More than 30 people were wounded in both strikes, Agha said.

The AP report also cites a taxi driver who drove wounded people to a nearby hospital and who also says that 18 civilians were killed. Reuters cites a hospital official in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah as confirming at least 6 injured people, including two women and a child, resulting from the incident. Radio free Europe, for its part, quotes a local who says: "Last night's bombings targeted two places. The first bombing, which hit a wedding party, killed 30 civilians and injured between 25 and 28 others. "

The US and NATO deny any wrongdoing. A US military statement says (via the Reuters report above):

"No bombs were dropped during the engagement," it said. "Twelve enemy fighters were killed in the engagement ... There were no Afghan civilian injuries reported."

Reuters also quotes the statement as saying that ground troops requiring close air support "called in aircraft to destroy additional enemy fighters". Yet the US Air Force, in their daily air power summary says that A-10 Thunderbolts "conducted successful shows of force over areas in Musa Qal' eh. " So the Air Force says that the A-10's didn't even fire, which may not jibe with the statement attributed to the US military above.

Further discrepancies surface in a New York Times report by David Rohde, who cites "American military officials" who told him that "NATO responded with airstrikes", in Rohde's words. He quotes a US military spokesperson who says “We didn’t target any buildings or any structures" - a statement which appears to offer a tacit admission that an air strike did occur.

(N.B. While the CBC ran the AP report cited above, a comprehensive electronic search of Canadian newspapers finds that not one major daily in the country reported on the incident.)

Life under Taliban rule

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting website has an article examining life in Musa Qala in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan (next door to Kandahar where Canadian Forces operate). The area has been under Taliban rule since at least February, when a truce with British forces broke down. (Reports indicate that British and Afghan troops have left it alone during this time.) Excerpts:

The Taleban swept in and established their own regime, complete with district governor, police chief and Sharia courts. But according to residents, they have learned a bit about winning hearts and minds since the fall of their government in Kabul. "If people want to watch television in their homes or listen to music, they can do as they wish. We won’t say anything to them," said a Taleban commander...

"No one tells people what to do," said one local resident, who did not want to be named. "They can shave their beard or let it grow. And no one bothers you if you are cultivating poppy..."

But it would be a mistake to assume that the Taleban have gone all soft, say residents."The Taleban are not forcing people, the way they did before," said Sher Mohammad, 20, a resident of Musa Qala.

"But still, people are changing themselves, they are going back to the way they were during the first Taleban regime. For example, instead of playing music in the shops they now play Taleban songs. Women still go out, but not too much." ...

The Taleban have allowed some privately-run schools to open. In Musa Qala, as in much of the rest of Helmand, most schools have been closed due to security concerns. Many schools have been burned, and teachers and schoolchildren have been killed. The mayhem is most often attributed to the Taleban, although they have denied the charges.

"The Taleban have encouraged us to send our children to school," said Zia ul-Haq, a resident of Musa Qala’s bazaar district. "We are very happy now, because literacy is light and without it a person is blind."At present, however, most girls are still denied an education. While the Taleban do not publicly oppose girls going to school, they will not allow co-education. Until the situation improves and separate new schools are built, girls will most likely stay at home.

(See full report here.)

Asia Times reports on negotiations with Taliban

Syed Saleem Shahzad is an internationally respected journalist and the Pakistan bureau chief for Asia Times. In two articles this past week (first here; second here) he asserts that Pakistani and Afghan officials are engaged in back-channel negotiations with Taliban envoys "at the behest of Western coalition forces."

"If there is a positive response from the Taliban, it could mean a ceasefire in the near future, at least in Kandahar and Helmand [provinces in southeastern Afghanistan]. Once this process goes on smoothly, it would guarantee regional peace," a senior Pakistani official told Asia Times Online...

Recall that this would not be the first negotiated cease-fire between Western forces and Taliban insurgents. British forces observed a cease-fire in Musa Qala (Helmand) for several months, before it ended under unclear circumstances in February. Taliban have controlled the area ever since, and there are apparently no plans for Afghan or British forces to attempt to retake the area as of yet.

On the ground in Afghanistan (Part 14)

Mike Skinner's account of his experiences in Afghanistan (intro here).

July 3 (excerpt):

...We leave the cliffs to go to the University of Bamiyan hoping to chat with some students during their lunch break. We manage to catch a few students before they leave and hear some interesting stories. One young man, who has been studying agriculture and geology, told us he is frustrated with what he says is becoming an economic occupation of his country. He told us that one of the richest deposits of iron ore is situated close to Bamiyan. Now that this area is relatively stabilised militarily, foreign companies are competing to extract these riches. But this student points out that most Afghans are likely to receive very little in compensation or employment from the mines. The Afghan government will likely receive a paltry mining royalty that will not compensate for the environmental and social damage caused by mining. (see full entry here)

IDPs and refugees

A UN official warns that the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Afghanistan could increase substantially in the near future if present conditions continue. "There is potential for a significant increase in the number of internally displaced persons if the conflict continues at the present pace," Reuters reports, quoting a UN envoy. Already, there are some 130,000 IDPs in the south and southeast of Afghanistan. (Last week, this blog noted that many IDPs languish and starve while Canadian troops operate nearby, their government unconcerned with the sufferings of these civilians.)

Meanwhile, the BBC reports that Afghan refugees who have been living in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Iran are now coming home in droves, many with high expectations about security and prosperity:

At Beni Worsak, refugees who returned to homelessness and poverty in the slums of Kabul, rather than the new freedom they expected, have been given what they asked for - government land.
But that land is desert, miles from anywhere - sandwiched between the Bagram US military base and an American firing range. There are water pumps now, but many of those arriving here are living in tents while those with the skills slowly mix mud and water to make bricks and houses.

"There is nothing here, not even food - we want a school, a clinic where our children can have medicine," reports one returnee.

There is a strong possibility that many returning refugees will soon find themselves IDPs.

Civilians continue to face catastrophe

On Tuesday, US aircraft began air strikes in the Tora Bora area of Afghanistan, a mountainous region in the east of the country famous as a former hiding place for Osama bin Laden. The air strikes have been supported by US and Afghan ground troops. Reuters reports that three separate villages have been attacked while "up to 30 civilians had been killed in the fighting. The U.S. military said it had no substantiated reports of any civilian casualties". While US officials claim to be striking at Al Qaeda and Taliban targets, insurgents in the area reportedly go by the moniker of Tora Bora Mahaz (Tora Bora Military) and claim to be independent of either the Taliban or Al Qaeda.

Meanwhile, "Two civilians were wounded in firing by the US-led Coalition troops" in Kabul on Thursday, according to the Afghan press.

It is perhaps no surprize that the above-mentioned incidents have received little coverage in the Canadian media; earlier this month civilian claims of catastrophe fell on near-deaf ears.

Bombing kills 200 civilians, say locals

Readers would be excused if they have not heard that locals in Helmand province allege that a US air strike killed some 200 civilians on August 2. From an IWPR report:

It was 3:00 pm on a Thursday afternoon in the small town of Bughni, located in the Baghran district of Helmand province. Hundreds of people has gathered for the traditional weekly market, or “mela”, where locals trade and haggle over everything from cows to carpets. Suddenly the bombs came, causing panic and reportedly killing upwards of 200 civilians and injuring many more. (link)

While US military officials claim that "there were no innocent Afghans in the surrounding area”, the photos in the above article tell a different story. And while the IWPR report was compiled in the days following the incident, the allegation of 200 dead was reported immediately in the Afghan press (see here for Pajhwok's report).

How did Canada's media report the incident? In a word, poorly.

While the August 4 editions of 5 canadian papers did carry a note about the incident (Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and Victoria Times-Colonist), only two papers (The Times-Colonist and Gazette) mention the claims by locals of 200 killed. The Globe article mentions "dozens of wounded" (including an 8 year old boy) and adds that a provincial official reported that "several Taliban and civilians were killed". The Star also mentions "dozens of wounded", including the eight year old. The Edmonton Journal relays reports of 18 wounded. [Only Times-Colonist article available online.]

British casualties mount while civilians continue to suffer

The London Telegraph reports that "The casualty rate among [British] front line units fighting in Afghanistan has now surpassed the average suffered by troops in the Second World War", when 11% of soldiers were either killed or seriously injured. British forces working under NATO's ISAF command are in charge of operations in Helmand province.

The UN's IRIN news agency relays sobering news on the consequences of the war on civilians: "Since April, over 1,060 civilians have died in armed conflicts between Taliban insurgents and Afghan security forces backed by international troops, according to a confidential report prepared by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior," the agency reports. They add that NATO/US forces have killed roughly the same number as have the Taliban. In response to this hellish chaos, some 80,000 Afghans have become Internally Displaced Persons, whose plight is of little concern to the Canadian government, whose forces operate in close proximity to the IDP's who often lack clean water and other basic necessities. Last fall, the Senlis Council's Norine MacDonald reported that IDP's were "starving" while Canadian soldiers stationed some 15 minutes away had no mandate to assist those desperate people. See Toronto Star, Oct 25/06 (not online).