Afghan President Hamid Karzai has announced that he will review the new law legalizing rape of women in the country after an international outcry. It is an act similar to the recent shock expressed by the Pakistani government after it turned over the Swat Valley to extremists and Sharia law — only to have a video surface of the flogging of a teenage girl. Karzai signed the law that requires Afghan women to “preen” for their husbands and submit to rape.
Karzai’s actions show the ridiculous pretense that surrounds our continued expenditure of lives and treasure to maintain a nation that rejects the most basic rights to citizens, particularly for women. While imposing Sharia law concepts, the government has increasingly surrendered to demands of the Taliban — defeating the enemy by joining it.
Karzai knew exactly what he was signing and only expressed concern when the Canadians threatened to withdraw troops propping up his corrupt government. For the full story, click here. This law was pending for months and repeatedly raised with Karzai.
Notably, unlike the more principled Canadians, the United States once again only offered offered verbal concerns with no threat to cut off money or troops.
Karzai stated “If there is anything that is of concern to us then we will definitely take action in consultation with our [religious clerics] and send it back to the parliament. This is something that we are also serious about and we should not allow.”
“If there is anything that is of concern”? Karzai signed a grotesque legalization of rape and pledges to look into whether there are concerns raised by the law that he signed. It is abundantly clear that it was the threat to lose money and military support — and not any concern for women — that motivated our ally. Billions of U.S. dollars (and American lives) are spent each week to support such medieval practices and to preserve a system that keep women in an uneducated and repressive state. I find it incredible that we have never had a debate over this conflict between our values and our actions in the region. While President Obama insists that the world is a stake, I thought that we are fighting for our values against such practices. If not, we need to be clear what is more important than our values. Historically, we have supported regimes that do not support basic human rights, only to lose in places like Iran and Vietnam. The result was not just our direct losses but the loss of our credibility as a nation. We look like cringing hypocrites willing to support extremist legal systems in order to advance our own insular security concerns.
It is a debate that we should have as a nation. I happen to think that there is something to fight over in Afghanistan, but it does not happen to be the thing that we are currently fighting for. I would support our nation fighting against the repression of women and the denial of basic human rights. It is propping up repressive systems for our own advantage that brings an element of shame.
For the full story, click here.
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UPDATE
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/10/afghan-rape-law-shelved-d_n_183750.html
My position on torture is well known, however, I would like to point out that Afghanistan IS a legitimate military target after 9/11. As is Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. None of that changes that we’ve done a horrid job there. I lay the blame squarely on Bush too. He took our military from their legitimate goals there (and elsewhere) so he could steal Iraq’s oil for Unca Dick and his Forty Thieves.
Mr. Brain? Isn’t that made by the same people as Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fusion? I got to get me some of that, yezzir.
Mike A., I agree with your statement above. When the idiot GWB first invaded, despite it not being our intention to help the people of Afghanistan, we did, for a very brief moment, change the life of women and children for the better. We actually made things better for many people. That was because there was a general feeling of good will towards the US in the world. That good will no longer exists. One reason for the loss of good will was leaving the Taliban, the group we had created, in place as we were off to exercise our imperial might in Iraq.
I just don’t see any way our military can help there now. Putting our forces there is an act of imperial aggression. Around 56% of the people don’t want us there. We are hiring mercenaries to do a lot of the dirty work. This is no worthy cause. If it were, we would not be working with Karzi or the ISI in Paksistan. We would also not be hiring mercenaries from groups that supported dictatorships around the world, to go in there and subdue the civilian population.
Mr. Karzai will do nothing about the law. His response is an effort to blunt further criticism until a new outrage becomes the focus of public attention. Afghanistan is a failed state with a failed head of state. His presidency would end in a number of days were it not for our military presence. Our policy in the Middle East is looking more and more like our old policy for Central and South America: provide military assistance to prop up corrupt regimes as long as they at least publicly profess support of our interests.
Mr. corn farmer:
The word “your” is possessive, as in “your corn.” It cannot be used as a contraction. What you should have written was “you’re as ridiculous…” It is difficult enough having to read unintelligible rantings without having to endure poor grammar in the process. The next time this happens, I will have to return your post to you to be redone. I trust that that will not be necessary.
Slippery:
did you ever call the lady in Germany to offer your services?
You also have an interesting style of writing and thinking.
Dr. Corn Pone:
please say something intelligent, these people already have a low enough opinion of us Right Wingers. From what I have read from most of the right wing posts it is warrented. (FFLEO this does not include you, I am talking about the causal RW posters)
Mike “Mr. Brain” Spindell:
Dont you mean CornFused?
ConFused,
I respond to you and all you can do back is use 3 comments to call me names and one to Mespo calling him and I names. No arguments, no refutations, simply name calling. This is so sad for you that you have been so infected by listening to Rush and watching Fox News that you have no concept of how to argue.
To you, having been trained by those clowns to be an unthinking
analinguist of the powerful (just like a Nazi Brownshirt), discussion is calling names, telling lies and making propaganda statements. It’s not your fault really and that is why I pity you, because you simply don’t know any better and are incapable of thinking for yourself. Without having met you and knowing nothing of your life I imagine that you are either a bully personally, or are bullied and identify with those bullying you. You poorly hide your internal anger/frustration and it is focused upon what you incorrectly call “the Left.” If you feel pain in your life it’s not because of Liberals, but because of the people who you follow using you as a cash cow in their feed the rich program.
Mike S and Mespo,
Well done with the Corn man. He is very good at throwing crap out, but very short on the facts and the truth.
corn farmer:
“mespo, your as ridiculous as “MR BRAIN” Spindell.”
************
Drat, a devastating rejoinder. Whatever shall I do or say in the face of such an intellect? I need “Mr. Brain”!
Ok, the Pentateuch, is the basis for Judaism and Christianity. Can someone point me in the chapter and verse that anyone says that they renounce Judaism?
I am lost. Maybe too much party time for me. But I have reread it again and I still cannot find it. Oh well.
I did read a letter from James that was the first bishop and Jesus’s brother.
The Bible means book, for those less informed individual. The Bible is purely symbolic for those with too much ingrained ability to think for themselves.
what is concerning the most is the people on the left are accused of being out of touch. The people on the right cannot understand how someone can think. So, when it comes to individual thinking they are afraid. Afraid that the social ring leader will question its loyalty. If per chance they object to becoming the pivot in the classic circle jerk.
The Left will look at it and think, how could one, follow, the pied piper. A liberal rarely follows suit. They agree to disagree and are still friends at the end because the cause of a group is better than the cause of one. The right winger will say that the cause of one is greater than the cause of a group. RWR proved smoke and mirrors works well.
You see the Liberals agree that a Pyramid scheme is bad. The Right wingers agree that a Pyramid scheme is another wealth building tool.