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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion November 25, 2003

     

Despite Bush Boast of Ouster, Taliban is Rebuilding on the Ground in Afghanistan



President Bush yesterday said that we "put the Taliban out of business forever"1 - taking credit for supposedly ridding the world of the terrorist regime. He made these comments just a day after the Taliban launched a rocket attack on Kabul's most prominent hotel2. It was also one day after Reuters reported Mullah Omar, the Taliban's still at-large leader, "urged Afghans to unite against U.S.-led foreign forces on their soil"3 and the same day Afghanistan's Foreign Minister desperately requested more international help in fighting off Taliban guerillas4. All told, the AP calls the Taliban "an increasingly virulent insurgency" while the LA Times reports "nearly two years after the U.S. drove the Taliban from power, remnants of the Islamic extremist group are regrouping and attacking U.S. troops."5

The President's declarations that the challenges in Afghanistan are over is not only misleading to the American public, but a direct affront to the 10,000 U.S. soldiers at risk there. Just this weekend, five U.S. soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash north of Kabul6. A day earlier, two U.S. soldiers were injured in a Taliban rocket attack7, and a soldier lost his leg in a land mine explosion8, and just last month two CIA officers were killed9. The Taliban problem has gotten so bad that the U.N. is pulling staff out of parts of the country10, and Germany's ambassador recently said it threatens the country's efforts to form a democratic government11.

Downplaying the war in Afghanistan also has effects on the ground. In a story headlined "The Forgotten War" the Green Bay Press-Gazette profiles local reservists who are serving in Afghanistan12. As 27-year-old Lt. Michelle Orley said, "Sometimes we feel like we're the forgotten war. Just seeing the things that go on here, we're not out of danger, we're not out of the threat … and there are soldiers risking their lives here every day."

Sources:
  1. President Bush Meets with Troops in Fort Carson, Colorado, 11/24/2003.
  2. "We'll strike in Kabul again, say Taliban", Sydney Morning Herald, 11/25/2003.
  3. "Taliban Leader Urges Afghan Action Vs. U.S. Troops", Reuters, 11/23/2003.
  4. "Taliban aim to destabilise Afghanistan - Abdullah", Gulf News, 11/24/2003.
  5. "A Warning in Afghanistan", Los Angeles Times, 11/12/2003.
  6. "Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan Kills 5 US Soldiers", VOA News, 11/24/2003.
  7. "Two Fort Drum soldiers wounded in Afghanistan", Associated Press, 11/23/2003.
  8. "Sunman soldier injured in Afghanistan", 11/24/2003.
  9. http://www.etaiwannews.com/Asia/2003/10/30/1067477567.htm
  10. "UNHCR Pulling Back In Afghanistan", CBS News, 11/18/2003.
  11. "UN mission sounds Afghan alert", 11/13/2003.
  12. "Afghanistan: The forgotten war", Green Bay Press Gazette, 11/25/2003.



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