My appearance on Canadian talk show to discuss the Afghan war

[BLS_1919v2.0]

i went toe to toe with the former canadian ambassador to afghanistan and former number 2 at the un, chris alexander

he claims during this talk that sarajudin haqani was never in kabul...i couldnt respond...is this true?

Graana dder kha. I think you represented Pashtuns very well. Bya dartha zang wahamma ao darsaraa khabarae kaoma peera. I like how you brought your arguments and you were very coherent.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

Also, next time tell the local PF'ers about this. I am sure many of our think tanks here like BarakzaiAbdali, Pir_Rokhan and his likes would have helped you polishing your argument.

Per his affiliation, the organization he is a fellow with is high caliber and high profile. I am a novice. He hardly needs me to polish anything. Rather, I feel that I could learn from him since he is closer to this.

[کیش]

The M16 character was fishy

anyway

I think if anyone debates on TV, they should inform PF, to help sharp some of their arguments. I notice they countered Ghaznavid , when he said about the meeting in Maldives, Dubai. Those meeting probably haven't occured, with both the Kabul government and Taliban denying it. And the Sirajuddin, Karzai meeting was also denied by the Taliban, and Kabul government.

He could have also brought up the tactics of destroying whole villages in Zhari, Arghandaub, and Panjwaii, so the Taliban can not have havens and defensive positions.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

Can you elaborate? I didn't quite get what you meant.


I think we should conduct our own little round-table. Me, BarakzaiAbdali, and a few other locals who reside nearby us should meet up.

I don't mind funding your trip down here to the east coast Amir al Ghaznavi.

I meant that as he noted, his view is not the accepted view the Canadian government that now sits on the takhth wants heard. The Canadian media is pretty much in line with the same interests as the US media. To sift to the honesty of a Mr. Bill Moyers, you have to get through the garbage of an Anderson Cooper, a Shawn Hannity, and a Wolf Blitzer. So for example, the Reza Aslaan or the Farid Zakaria white washed nonense is sometimes allowed through, but in general, Bill Moyers is relegated to the annals of public access. His guests are generally folks like Ghaznavi who tell the the whole truth as nothing but the truth and were not invited that second time to sit on the Bill Maher run panel.

So now, you have an Afghan Canadian telling the Canadians what he sees, feels, and hears, as well as reads. I mean each of the two establishment talking heads made sure he was the focus of nearly 80% of their responses.

[Admin Khan]

I meant that as he noted, his view is not the accepted view the Canadian government that now sits on the takhth wants heard. The Canadian media is pretty much in line with the same interests as the US media. To sift to the honesty of a Mr. Bill Moyers, you have to get through the garbage of an Anderson Cooper, a Shawn Hannity, and a Wolf Blitzer. So for example, the Reza Aslaan or the Farid Zakaria white washed nonense is sometimes allowed through, but in general, Bill Moyers is relegated to the annals of public access. His guests are generally folks like Ghaznavi who tell the the whole truth as nothing but the truth and were not invited that second time to sit on the Bill Maher run panel.

So now, you have an Afghan Canadian telling the Canadians what he sees, feels, and hears, as well as reads. I mean each of the two establishment talking heads made sure he was the focus of nearly 80% of their responses.

I agree but look at the bright side, they gave him an opportunity and he did an amazing job. I am very proud of the way he carried himself simply because in my opinion most of what he said is the truth based on ground realities. We all certainly have a lot to learn from Amir, and it's sort of feels good to know that the Canadians witnessed an alternative argument.

Like I said, I wish they could have gave Amir more time so he could have elaborated on his stance.

But hey, a member of PF on national TV is certainly an accompolishment, we are all proud of you Amir, keep your head high.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

The MI6 character was fishy

Anyway

I think if anyone debates on TV, they should inform PF, to help sharp some of their arguments. I notice they countered Ghaznavid , when he said about the meeting in Maldives, Dubai. Those meeting probably haven't occured, with both the Kabul government and Taliban denying it. And the Sirajuddin, Karzai meeting was also denied by the Taliban, and Kabul government.

He could have also brought up the tactics of destroying whole villages in Zhari, Arghandaub, and Panjwaii, so the Taliban can not have havens and defensive positions.

Well he countered it with a key argument that he could not flesh out due to time constraints. Its an explosive argument that he intelligently danced around.

He noted that the Western Backed government and the US has said clearly that it demands complete acceptance of the constitution and that the new government shall not have an Islamic character.

His point is an astute one raised by the top security critics here as well. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the Taliban or common Afghan former mujahideen, but non Taliban affiliates, like Abdul Rasul Sayyaf would ever concede to a government that they feel subverts Islam.

A large contingent of southern Afghans, and Muslims in general, per the massive University of Maryland poll, prefer a component of Islamic law in their governments. So Ghazanavis point was that the meetings with the Taliban can never materialize because they (The US/Canada) begin talking with nonstarter offers.

This is in fact their biggest issue. The Western powers are willing to waste their lives and money to pursue liberal interventionalist policies that gaurantee that Miss Barakzai, or Miss Ghilzai, or Miss Karzai, or Miss Alikozai can vote, go to school, and do all the things American women can do. They do this without even examining the history of their own evolution of rights and thoughts for women and minorities.

However, the only issue is that the US government and Canada have already openly stated that they shall not tolerate an Islamic government and proved Osama Bin Ladin's point for him when they backed Christian Ethiopa in removing the Somali Islamic Courts Union from power. This unleashed chaos and death in Somalia.

So this is another example, of where Ghaznavi had to likely walk a fine line because the time constraints do not allow you to effectively debate the issue of how people have the right to inherent self determination and the natural evolution of their governments.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

i went toe to toe with the former canadian ambassador to afghanistan and former number 2 at the un, chris alexander

he claims during this talk that sarajudin haqani was never in kabul...i couldnt respond...is this true?

I think his point was idiotic. Recall that the effective insurgencies against the British, led by Wazir Akbar, marched through the same strongholds touted by the Haqqani network. Haqqani is and continues to be an Afghan, born on Afghan soil. However, he, like Mullah Omar, utilizes the time honored strategy of utilizing the former NWFP as a backward operating base. This was my primordial point I attempted to argue here when I first joined. That point, was that the history of the NWFP, in its relationship to Afghanistan is so intertwined that it makes Haqqani no less an Afghan power broker to direct an insurgency war from NWFP confines. Moreover, he was in fact, a power broker even in the Taliban years and aligned with them to secure swathes of areas just to the north of Kabul.

[parsiwaan]

http://www.ctstv.com/michaelcoren/?vidID=20828

considering my opinion isnt too popular here in Canada, I was under fire, but I think I held my ground well


feedback is welcome

I’m just curious what makes a Canadian-Afghan be Pakistani mouth piece against his own country? It does not take a brain surgeon to discover mullah Omar and Taliban are paki proxies and yet you want them inside afghan secularity forces. I guess you can take a tribal person out of tribe but can’t take tribalism mentality out of him.
Does Taliban represent Pashtuns? The reason why there is war in Afghanistan is b/c Pakistani will not allow a stable and strong afghan state…the day Pakistani are made to stop using terrorism as arm of her Afghan policy….it will be end of Taliban.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

I’m just curious what makes a Canadian-Afghan be Pakistani mouth piece against his own country? It does not take a brain surgeon to discover mullah Omar and Taliban are paki proxies and yet you want them inside afghan secularity forces. I guess you can take a tribal person out of tribe but can’t take tribalism mentality out of him.
Does Taliban represent Pashtuns? The reason why there is war in Afghanistan is b/c Pakistani will not allow a stable and strong afghan state…the day Pakistani are made to stop using terrorism as arm of her Afghan policy….it will be end of Taliban.

Ah I just knew you would come slithering back and throw out another red herring. And India is our friend? Iran is our friend? Tajikistan is our friend? Dostum is our friend? Najib was our friend?

What upsets you is that you know your agenda is assinine. You are the reason that everyone runs to the arms of Pakistan. Do you really think we would prefer Fahim and rest of his filth to our own?

You can call it whatever you want. You are absolutely correct when you note that we have an instant loathing to any stupid government you set up where the body is Tajik and Uzbek and the face is more of a sell out donkey than a Pashtun.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

I’m just curious what makes a Canadian-Afghan be Pakistani mouth piece against his own country? It does not take a brain surgeon to discover mullah Omar and Taliban are paki proxies and yet you want them inside afghan secularity forces. I guess you can take a tribal person out of tribe but can’t take tribalism mentality out of him.
Does Taliban represent Pashtuns? The reason why there is war in Afghanistan is b/c Pakistani will not allow a stable and strong afghan state…the day Pakistani are made to stop using terrorism as arm of her Afghan policy….it will be end of Taliban.

Do you not get that a Mehsud, or a Bajauri, or an Achekzai from across the line is as Pashtun to us as we are? Do you not get that I would a thousand times over pay fealty to a Yusufzai on the takhth than an ass like Fahim?

We certainly wont bow to India or Pakistan... but we are not ignorant enough to walk into the snake pool cess pit with Spanta, Fahim, Dostum, and the likes of them.

[randolph85]

I’m just curious what makes a Canadian-Afghan be Pakistani mouth piece against his own country? It does not take a brain surgeon to discover mullah Omar and Taliban are paki proxies and yet you want them inside afghan secularity forces. I guess you can take a tribal person out of tribe but can’t take tribalism mentality out of him.
Does Taliban represent Pashtuns? The reason why there is war in Afghanistan is b/c Pakistani will not allow a stable and strong afghan state…the day Pakistani are made to stop using terrorism as arm of her Afghan policy….it will be end of Taliban.

and it is america, the people who created this war which are aware of this fact yet pump 10s of billions to pakistan. pakistans dual alliances are aware to anyone with half a brain, but its america who allows its child to play these games.

[Wrayun]

I’m just curious what makes a Canadian-Afghan be Pakistani mouth piece against his own country? It does not take a brain surgeon to discover mullah Omar and Taliban are paki proxies and yet you want them inside afghan secularity forces. I guess you can take a tribal person out of tribe but can’t take tribalism mentality out of him.
Does Taliban represent Pashtuns? The reason why there is war in Afghanistan is b/c Pakistani will not allow a stable and strong afghan state…the day Pakistani are made to stop using terrorism as arm of her Afghan policy….it will be end of Taliban.

And who are the Taliban? Are they Pakistanis? Is Mullah Omar, Hekmatyar, Haqqani Pakistani? If not Pakistan then there will be someone else to support the marginalized Pukhtoon majority after whom the state is named Afghan-e-stan. There will never be a stable government in Afghanistan if a minority imposes it's will on a majority that are the rightful owners of the state.

Pakistan is only taking advantage of the internal crises, and until that is resolved there will never be a stable government. There will continue to be Omars, Hekmatyars, Haqqani's and even Karzais, who threaten to join or encourage the Taliban and is now marginalized by the minorities.

Parsiwans have this nice attitude to turn every legitimate Pukhtoon concern into a Pakistani agenda. When the minority recognizes it's role, and place, there will be no need for any Pukhtoon of Afghanistan to take help from Pakistan. The same Pakistan who is good enough for millions of Parsiwans to live in, and from whom Masood and Rabbani took assistance as long as they saw it fit.

My wish and hope is for all Afghans, is to live in peace, but this can only be done when the legitimate rulers of the state are realized. Afghanistan is not a utopian democracy nor are Afghans the average demorcatic citizens. Tribalism is a huge part of the culture, history and politics. This is why the Northern Alliance is exclusively non-Pukhtoon = tribalism. When Parsiwan speak and talk about Parsiwans rights, that is tribalism.

[Wrayun]

http://www.ctstv.com/michaelcoren/?vidID=20828

considering my opinion isnt too popular here in Canada, I was under fire, but I think I held my ground well


feedback is welcome

Great points, great looks, made us proud. Long live wroreya!

[Wrayun]

5 million refugees returned? Where did that guy get his stats from? There are Afghans that went back, saw the corruption, became disheartened, and migrated all over again. Most of the refugees from Pakistan that went back, was a drive by the Pakistani government to push the refugees back in Afghanistan so they'll become an economic burden. Haven't this guy seen the status of many of the returnees? There are videos on YouTube of refugees in Kabul living on the streets right next to Banglows owned by the instated thugs of the government wanting to sell their own children for food.

The argument that Americans want to negotiate but it's the Pakistanis that are preventing it, is ridiculous. All this time it was the Pakistanis that stressed "negotiation". For the past 10 years, Hamid Gul, the former Washington pro-Jihadi teddy has become exhausted to illness by wanting the Americans to "negotiate" with the Taliban. Whose policy was it for the past 10 years "we don't negotiate with terrorists?", now that Karzai threatened to make his own moves, that policy is ignored and they wish to "negotiate" when things are tough. Why the hell will Omar now negotiate when they have the upper hand? The absence of Mullah Omar indicts the insurgents strength, not weakness.

The military buildup in Kandahar region didn't kill off the insurgency, the insurgents just melted away in the population. Exactly like in the beginning of the war, that's what they said when Afghanistan was invaded, that the Taliban were done with. They should take a lesson in Guerrilla warfare.

The biggest contrast here is that if the Taliban are a fringe group, done with, why is it that areas as remote as Kunduz, far away from Pakistan, are loosing ground to insurgents? Why have the past 3 years been the deadliest for NATO forces (this past year being the deadliest)?

[Master Khan]

lol you sure was underfire by them but you did well , wrora you did a good job well done.
I just hate when these people think they know everything about Afghanistan and our people.