05) END THE AFGHAN TRAGEDY NOW

People's Voice Editorial

     Amidst a deepening crisis, pressures are building for an end to the imperialist occupation of Afghanistan. This disaster is not an unexpected turn of events. For example, in January 2002, People's Voice reported on a study by Prof. Marc Herold of the University of New Hampshire, who presented reliable evidence that more than 3,500 civilians had been killed by U.S. bombs since the attacks were launched on the previous Oct. 7. For over a decade, Afghan civilians have suffered a death toll far larger than the casualties of U.S., Canadian and other occupation armies.

     The litany of horrors keeps growing, from the burning of Korans, to the sickening revelations about U.S. troops posing with corpses and body parts. One in five U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan are now caused by Afghan security forces, trained and supplied by Canada and other NATO allies. "Guardian angel" soldiers have to stand guard while other U.S. troops sleep.

     A recent CBS poll shows a record 69% of Americans think the U.S. should not be involved in Afghanistan, and a solid majority of Canadians have called for return of the troops for years.

     The truth is clear to all. Imperialism's military strategy in Afghanistan has been a total, abysmal failure. failed. Canadians are wasting billions of dollars to occupy a population bitterly angry about the unending deaths and humiliations inflicted by the NATO powers. Despite all the feel-good news stories about "reconstruction," Canada's role in Kandahar has been closely linked with drug warlords and violent thugs. This shameful chapter in Canada's history must be closed, not in 2014, but immediately. Bring the troops home now, and begin to pay compensation to the Afghan people for the terrible crimes committed in our name.

(The above article is from the May 1-15, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)