One two three

What are we fightin' for? The opium industry and the right to indulge one's inner savage without being killed:

"A bomb blast tore through a crowd gathered to watch dog fighting in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing dozens of people, witnesses and an official said.

Hafizullah, a policeman at the scene, said 70 people were either killed or wounded, but officials could not immediately provide a figure."

Al Qaeda retreating from Iraq

Woohoo! Great news! Al Qaeda is retreating from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan:

"KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Afghanistan on Monday to gauge military commanders' needs as they face a strengthened Taliban and signs that al Qaeda is regrouping in the country.

More than six years after a U.S.-led invasion drove the Taliban from power, Gates said he was concerned about the rising violence but he did not think Afghanistan was moving backward."

Not moving backward, well, that's certainly encouraging.

"American military officers in Iraq have speculated that al Qaeda would try to return to Afghanistan after losing ground in Iraq, where violence has declined following a security crackdown that added thousands of U.S. troops to the streets.

But the senior official's comments marked the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged seeing evidence that al Qaeda fighters were moving back into Afghanistan. The official stressed, however, that the evidence was still not conclusive."

Would it be redundant to point out that Al Qaeda has been retreating from Iraq for over 2 years?

But yeah, okay, it could well be true: does Iraq even need Al Qaeda around anymore to raise shit? They're in the middle of a civil fucking war. But at least da Surge Is Working and da Al Qaeda Is Retreating. Leaving Iraq and heading for Afghanistan and Pakistan, where there's another war and two governments teetering on the verge of collapse, and... uh... there was something else... what was it... oh, yeah:

Nukes!

Well-played, Georgie, well-played.

Six

Another 6 of our kids were killed yesterday in Afghanistan.

Four have been identified:

• Capt. Matthew Johnathan Dawe of Clearwater, Man.
• Master Cpl. Colin Bason, who was based in New Westminster, B.C.
• Cpl. Cole Bartsch of Whitecourt, Alta.
• Pte. Lane Watkins of Clearwater, Man.

My heart always stops as I scan the names of the fallen -- the son of a friend of mine is in Afghanistan (Princess Patricia's). It's an automatic bit of selfishness that's rather meaningless because we all mourn the loss of these sons and brothers, whether we knew them personally or not.

Oh noez!

Quick! Deploy the Depends, I'm shitting myself! Afghan suicide squadz: they're in ur country, attacking ur doodz.

ABC News is reporting that a fresh batch of suicide squads has just graduated (graduated?) from Terrorist Training Camps Inc. in Afghanistan, and they've got a date with destiny:

"WASHINGTON (CP) - There's a report that large teams of newly-trained suicide bombers are being sent from Afghanistan to Canada, the United States and other countries.

ABC News is reporting the recruits were introduced at an al-QaidaTaliban training camp graduation ceremony in Afghanistan earlier this month. According to the network, a Pakistani journalist was invited to attend and take pictures as some 300 recruits, including boys as young as 12, were supposedly sent off on their suicide missions."

Oh, great snappin' assholes, I can just imagine the response to this from our favourite reactionary, racist right-wing blogs -- the propellers on their beanies must be spinning at redline. As for me, they lost me at "Washington"; call me cynical, but I tend to look askance at any news story about terrorists-coming-to-fight-us-here that originates in Washington DC. Especially when its timing dovetails so nicely with a failed military strategy elsewhere in the world that the powers-that-be would just as soon draw attention away from (78 killed today in a single attack in Iraq -- how's that surge working out again?). So they give the shiny car keys another shake and say "Taliban? Wanna go Taliban?" hoping we'll roll over.

I guess our own Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day didn't get the memo that said this was supposed to be Diversion of the Month -- Stockie says it's just a "PR move" by the Taliban. Riiiight, because when dressing for public relations success, one should always remember to wear an explosives vest. Bad Stockie, back to your crate.

Prelude to Taliban talks?

Or a show of support against them? Prime Minister Steve made an Unannounced Visit to Afghanistan today, where he's giving the military mission some badly-needed humanitarian spin:

"KABUL, Afghanistan (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has responded to criticism of his government's handling of the mission in Afghanistan by making an unannounced visit to the war-ravaged country.

The surprise two-day trip comes after weeks of opposition attacks on his government's handling of the Afghan detainee controversy.

At a joint news conference with Harper in Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai denied detainees handed from Canadian to Afghan custody had been tortured and personally vowed that such abuses wouldn't take place on his watch."

(I'd like to know how Karzai can guarantee that no detainee abuses will take place on his watch, unless he plans on personally supervising the detainees himself.) Harper said that the Afghanistan mission would not be completed "through military means alone" -- possible diplomacy? But Karzai spoke of "terrorists striking again" if NATO troops were to leave Afghanistan, and he's no doubt referring to the Taliban.

The Afghan Senate recently called for direct talks with the Taliban, and have expressed discontent with the Karzai government. Karzai might be rallying NATO allies in a show of force, to help him fend off a potential ouster -- with good reason. I mean, look what the Afghan parliament did to someone who called it "a zoo".

Taxi to the Dark Side

The documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side" debuts this weekend at the Tribeca film festival. The movie examines the death by torture of an Afghan detainee and explores the legalization and authorization of torture by the Bush administration. It's something that should be of deep concern to any civilized human being, but even moreso to Canadians now that it appears Canada may be complicit in enabling it in Afghanistan.

Watch the trailer.