A stunning film by Benjanim Gilmour - its a must watch. Do yourself a favour and purchase a copy at www.sonofalion.com

Author, film maker and friend, Benjamin Gilmour, has written the following fantastic article, “Taliban friend’s letters to the enemy.” The piece delves into the personal and psychological aspects of the ongoing war in Pakistan and gives us a unique glimpse into a world we hear very little about.

Taliban friend’s letters to the enemy

Benjamin Gilmour

In the tribal areas of Pakistan, close to the Afghan border, Abdullah Khan, a friend and unashamed supporter of the Pakistani Taliban, gives me a present.

Previously his gifts to me have been fine embroidered pillows or bright dresses for my wife, stitched by Afghan refugees with mirrors and sequins. Today I am surprised when he hands me a rectangular box the size of a cigarette pack.

Slowly I open it.

Lying on a bed of shiny white fabric is a military service medal on a ribbon. Inscribed are the words; ‘US Army - Afghanistan Campaign’ over an etched map of the country. For a second I am confused. How did Khan come by these?

‘Just 200 rupees a piece’, he tells me. It’s the equivalent of a few dollars. Suddenly I realise what I’ve been given. The Taliban have for many years been hijacking convoys of supplies arriving in Karachi and up the Khyber Pass, bound for the foreign forces in Kabul. These are, of course, the spoils of war. They are not limited to medals either.

‘If you like, we have combat boots, trousers, shirts, compasses, water bottles, bed sheets, kit bags, mosquito nets, badges … the daggers are the most expensive, really, they are very good ones.’
Tribal bazaars of the frontier are flooded with these items and ‘expensive’ generally means nothing over five US dollars. Entire containers are snatched on the journey up the Indus Highway on a regular basis and there’s little the authorities can do about it.

With the exception of bullet-proof jackets and night vision goggles, prized among insurgents on both sides of the Durand Line, piles of American goods are heavily discounted. Abdullah Khan has amassed quite a collection.

‘My favourite’, he tells me, ‘are the letters.’

Seeing me shake my head, he elaborates.

‘Unopened mail to US soldiers from their loved ones, piles of them I see and some I read with my own eyes. Oh, those poor young men out on battle field, not knowing if girlfriends have left them for another man, how forgotten they must feel!’

For a moment Khan almost sounds sympathetic, until he gives a wicked chuckle and slaps me on the back. Anything that demoralises the enemy, including theft of their personal letters, thrills the Afghan resistance.
Nearby in the Darra Bazaar about 40 km south of Peshawar (pictured), a town where weapons are manufactured from scrap metal and smuggled arms sold cheaply, US M4 machine guns are the most popular purchase of late.

‘They have a folding butt’, says Khan, excitedly. ‘Easily concealed.’

Looting of military convoys is nothing new in this part of the world. A few decades ago it was the Soviets who lost their AK47s, big fur hats and service medals. Pre-partition, the British were so frustrated with the Pashtun habit of looting their weapon stores, that they encouraged Afridi tribes to expand the capabilities of the Darra Bazaar. It is ironic to think the only way the colonialists could stop the enemy from stealing their weapons was to help them make their own.

Fifty years later the Pashtuns are putting up the same fight they always have. Thanks to never-ending attempts to control them, war has become their way of life. In Abdullah Khan’s gift there is a clear message, but he wants to make sure I don’t miss it.

‘My friend, tell your soldiers to stop risking their lives in Afghanistan for these medals. Here in Pakistan, we’ll give them one for free. As long as they pack up and go home, we’ll give them as many as they want.’

For more information,or  to purchase a copy of Ben’s amazing film “Son of a Lion” or book “Warrior Poets” visit www.sonofalion.com

My latest article “The American wars” was published today at Online Opinion - As the year comes to an end I thought it would be a good time to have a long hard look at what we have achieved over the past eight years of bloodshed. The piece deals with our contemporary history, Iraq, Afghanistan, American involvement and the abhorrent loss of life that has occured because of it:

 

The American wars

 

By Reuben Brand

 

The past eight years of our history have been marred with violent bloodshed, war, fear, terrorism, propaganda and countless loss of life. There are a myriad questions that need to be asked and answered to make any kind of logical sense of this mess, but one reoccurring theme is the role America plays surrounding our dark devolution into the new millennium.

 

Throughout my travels in the Middle East region, I frequently hear the same issue being raised, “America is a very big problem”. It doesn’t matter whether I am in Pakistan, Syria, Oman, Kuwait, or any where else, the sentiment remains the same: “America is a very big problem.”

 

Contemporary history as we know it began on September 11, 2001, when two iconic towers fell in New York and more than 2,700 lives were lost.

 

As tragic as any loss of life is, are we expected to believe that the deaths which occurred on 9-11 could possibly justify the invasion of Afghanistan, the systematic detainment, torture and abuse of countless civilians on no charge other than suspicion, the illegal invasion of Iraq on the premise of weapons of mass destruction and according to analysis of UNICEF data by Australian scientist, Dr Gideon Polya, the brutal deaths of 6.6 million Afghanis (both violent and avoidable) and 1.2 million Iraqis? It is a largely disputed figure, but one that has now been published and proven by ORB, an independent UK based Research Company.

 

Are we really expected to believe these wars that have shattered the lives and homes of millions of Afghanis and Iraqis leaving many as destitute refugees, that have completely destroyed two countries, and which now conveniently have US backed puppets installed as their “democratic” leaders, are being fought to ensure the safety and freedom of the West, primarily America, from some form of barbaric terrorism? Does anyone else not see the irony in this?

 

Keep the West safe from terrorists by terrorising everyone who looks, dresses and sounds different. Especially those who don’t agree with the doctrine or ideology of the world’s super power. “If it looks like the enemy, shoot it!” were the rules of engagement given to Sergeant Ken Davis on his first tour of Iraq. Yes, I tend to agree with the sentiment of the region: “America is a very big problem.”

 

Any honest person would have to ask the question “why didn’t America invade the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?” It is now widely accepted that Iraq and Afghanistan had nothing to do with 9-11. We all know that al-Qaida is primarily a Saudi backed organisation; its leader, Osama bin Laden, is a Saudi; and it was 19 men, many of whom were Saudi nationals, who hijacked three planes, flew two into the World Trade Centre and one into the Pentagon. This is all common knowledge.

 

Al-Qaida attacks America, so America in all its wisdom and “intelligence” decimates Afghanistan and leads a pre-emptive strike and invasion of Iraq - go figure.

 

In an address to the nation on March 17, 2003, just two days before the horrific Shock and Awe bombing of Baghdad, former US President George W. Bush stated that “Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to posses and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised”.

 

The only weapons of sizable measure found in Iraq were the weapons US and coalition forces used to kill the Iraqis.

 

There were no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq, we all know that.

 

Perhaps Bush, in one of his many misspoken moments got the word WMD mixed up with MWD, a term used by geophysicists while surveying and drilling for oil. Measurement While Drilling to be exact. There are plenty of MWDs in Iraq - not exactly a threat to global security, more like an asset to financial security.

 

The US government misled its own people, lied to the world and created a war deemed illegal under international law. A war that continues to be in grave violation of the Geneva Conventions. A war for which we are all now paying the price.

 

Lord Bingham, one of Britain’s most authoritative judicial figures and retired senior law lord, delivered a speech in late 2008 regarding the invasion of Iraq. “If I am right that the invasion of Iraq by the US, the UK, and some other states was unauthorised by the Security Council there was, of course, a serious violation of international law and the rule of law,” he said.

 

Bingham continued with explicit reference to the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib: “Particularly disturbing to proponents of the rule of law is the cynical lack of concern for international legality among some top officials in the Bush administration,” he added.

 

OK, so we have a fair idea of why Iraq was invaded, but what about Afghanistan? The US says it is looking for bin Laden - with all the technology in the world and they still can’t find him? It makes you wonder that perhaps Afghanistan has something more valuable on offer.

 

It does: Afghanistan holds the keys to the rich natural gas and oil of the Caspian Basin, which will be transported through the yet to be developed Trans Afghan Pipeline - a blueprint the US has had on the backburner for some years now. Once implemented, this lucrative pipeline will hungrily carry all the natural resources it possibly can across Afghanistan, down into the seaport of Gwadar in south-western Pakistan.

 

Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan also allows the US to keep pressure on the only Islamic country to possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan poses a serious threat to US control in the region: “destabilise and disarm” is the general theme, how it will be played out is yet to be seen.

 

Just as Bush propagated his lies about Iraq concealing some of the “most lethal weapons ever devised,” President Obama, six years on, remarked on March 27 this year that “we are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies - So I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

 

Slightly more eloquent than his predecessor, but it is more or less the same old rhetoric.

 

In a White Paper from the Interagency Policy Group’s Report on US. Policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan it was stated that “in Pakistan, al-Qaida and other groups of jihadist terrorists are planning new terror attacks. Their targets remain the US homeland, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Europe, Australia, our allies in the Middle East, and other targets of opportunity.” Well that just about covers the globe, so according to this report al-Qaida is planning to destroy the entire world. Quite ambitious for a group whose leader lives in a cave.

 

Obama delivered another speech earlier in the year about “responsibly ending the war in Iraq”. Desperate to try to turn the humanitarian disaster that America created into some kind of humanitarian aid mission, Obama made it clear that “America’s men and women in uniform have fought block by block, province by province, year after year, to give the Iraqis this chance to choose a better future. Now, we must ask the Iraqi people to seize it,” he said.

 

To seize what? A country that you destroyed? It’s a farcical remark. The whole idea of an irresponsible country preaching about “responsibly ending the war in Iraq”, is ludicrous. The responsible thing to do would have been not to invade in the first place.

 

Obama then went on to portray US military violence and aggression as acts of friendship and kindness:

 

“Our nations have known difficult times together. But ours is a bond forged by shared bloodshed, and countless friendships among our people. We Americans have offered our most precious resource - our young men and women - to work with you to rebuild what was destroyed by despotism - So to the Iraqi people, let me be clear about America’s intentions. The United States pursues no claim on your territory or your resources. We respect your sovereignty and the tremendous sacrifices you have made for your country.”

 

The pre-emptive strike doctrine, the shock and awe campaign, the routine torture and humiliation of innocent civilians at Abu Ghraib and the countless other war crimes perpetrated by the US tells us another story about respecting sovereignty.

 

So what have we achieved over the past eight years of blood thirsty war? Is the world a safer place now? No. Of course it isn’t. We have achieved more mistrust, more hatred, a new arms race, more support for the Taliban and other insurgency groups and, most devastatingly, we have achieved on average, the violent deaths of many Afghanis and Iraqis everyday for the past eight years.

 

Congratulations, what an achievement.

 

There are no quick fixes, but it’s about time Team America backed off and stopped trying to police the world - their vigilante actions create a pile of bodies wherever they go. Honestly ask yourself if the past eight years of bloodshed has been worth it.

A Nobel Peace Prize winner escallating a war in an already war ravaged country and sending an additional 30,000 troops to the region - Oh the sad, sad irony

 

Obama’s rhetoric, although far more eloquent, is much the same as his predecessor:

 

What is daily life like in one of the most dangerous regions in the world? Find out at Cosima Brand’s new blog - written by none other than my lovely little sister. So do yourself a favour - visit Cosima’s website and learn a new perspective on a country that is once again in the global spotlight:

 

Eid al Adha

 

By Cosima Brand

 

Eid al Adha marks the end of the Hajj, or Pilgrimage to Mecca and is in commemoration of the sacrifice that the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was called upon to make of his son, Ismail (Ishmael).

 

Warning: This post is a bit graphic

 

Our Eid morning started off with getting all the guys out the door in time for the Eid prayers and getting breakfast ready — which for me was cake (nothing better than chocolate cake for breakfast!) whilst everyone else mostly had Halwa Puri, which is a dhal like soupy thing, sweet halwa and fried bread. Almost as healthy as my cake!

 

The next thing I knew the butchers had arrived. There were four of them. A head butcher, and three attendants, one looking far too young for that kind of work in my mind. As in accordance with the Halal way of slaughtering, all the goats were kept away from the place of slaughter at the back of the house, and each one was brought out individually. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my tummy as the first goat was brought around, but it was all over before I could even comprehend. They gave him a drink of water and next thing his throat was cut and he was gone.

 

They washed all the blood away, and hung the carcass to be skinned and gutted. Out came the next goat, and the next and the little sheep in the middle, which I was particularly sad about, as I had hung out with the sheep all morning. The cow was last, at about four in the afternoon, they tied his legs whilst he was sitting and again, it was over very quickly.

 

As I said in a previous post, I have worked in animal welfare, so know just how bad slaughtering can be — but this was really very quick, humane and in one swift precise cut. I think that in Pakistan the general level of care for animals is quite high, despite having some great big blotches on the animal welfare scale like bear baiting (the MOST horrible thing I think I have seen as animal cruelty goes). Because so much of the country is involved in some way with animal husbandry there is a respect there that also translates to the way the animals are killed.

 

After all the animals had been slaughtered, and the cutting up had begun, it was our turn to get our hands dirty… quite literally. You see the animals slaughtered are divided into three parts, one is kept by the family, another given to extended family and the third given to the poor. In our case it was more like ninety percent given to the poor. So the day was spent sorting out the meat and bagging it for freezing, as the following morning there would be an influx of poor people coming around to collect thier share of meat.

 

Eid is the one time of year when the poorest of the poor get to eat meat, and many go from Eid to Eid without having it, simply because they can’t afford to buy it. It is also the time of year when all of the many stray dogs and cats are full, full, full as all the scraps are usually dumped on the sides of the street. Not very pretty and a huge health hazard I am sure.

 

The last of the meat was cut up at around seven at night, more than ten hours work by the butchers. At that time the house was already full of guests — the extended family seem to come to our place on Eid — which means a whole lot of tea to be made and served, and a whole lot of smiles and nods as I don’t yet speak much Urdu, and they don’t speak that much English.

 

I then had to accompany my husband on the rounds of the city dropping off the other portions of the meat to family members and came home quite exhausted.

 

I had survived my first real Eid al Adha, and whilst there were still two more days of guests to get through, the part I had been dreading was over. I don’t think it will ever be easy for me to watch the things I watched on Eid, but as someone who eats meat, I think it is a real duty to understand the reality of it, and to give thanks every time.

 

I have put some pics in a gallery, but left out the more graphic ones, as I thought it would be  inappropriate to show them here.

 

 

A horrific explosion in a crowded market place in Peshawar has killed up to 90 people - One of them a member of my family.

 

We hear about these attacks everyday, we see and read about them in the media, but we never really realise, or want to realise the human cost. It really hits home when someone you know dies in such a way.

 

Javed’s death has left a beautiful family behind who now have to pick up the pieces of a war that is not theirs, a war that has robbed them of a father, a husband, a brother an uncle and a son.

 

Rest in Peace brother.

Two back-to-back suicide attacks at the International Islamic University in Islamabad have left at least two dead and scores injured. One explosion was in the mens section of the University, whilst the other targeted the cafeteria in the womans section - all victims were students aged between 18 and 25.

A good friend of mine, currently living in Rawalpindi, told me today that all schools around the country will now be closed for at least one week due to the ongoing attacks - but life goes on in this difficult country, as it must, with one young student making the most of his time off school, posting the following message on Facebook, “2morrow holiday yahooooooo………3 days holiday bcoz of THREAT……. 2 much happy..”

Pakistan has been rocked with attacks over the past weeks - A suicide bombing on Friday in Peshawar, killing at least 13 poeple, mostly all civillians.

One day earlier, Thursday - Two police stations and the Federal Investigations Agency in Lahore were attacked by militants, killing over 30 police officers and civillians - 10 attackers also died.

October 10 - Millitants held dozens of hostages for over 22 hours in the Rawalpindi Army Headquarters - 11 military personel, three civillians and nine militants were killed.

My following article, “Pakistan’s dirty laundry” was published in Online Opinion - Australia’s leading journal for social and political debate:

 

The ongoing war with the Taliban has nothing to do with freedom and democracy: it is a distraction. Look beyond the curtain and you will find a lot of dirty laundry.

 

The war for civilisation, the war on terror, the war for oil, natural resources, control, freedom, whatever you want to call it, it is here and it has made itself quite comfortable in the minds, media and lounge rooms of the world.

 

Pakistan is now public enemy number one and the US are making no attempts at hiding the fact that they want to bring this nuclear armed Islamic Republic to its knees. The war with the belligerent Taliban has become a joke, a proxy, and a distraction. And of course, as always, it is the innocent civilians caught, quite literally, in the crossfire who suffer most.

 

Thanks to US pressure, and the basic ultimatum of “either you fix the problem, or we’ll do it for you - Iraq style,” more than two million people are now refugees, baking in the oppressive summer heat in makeshift camps. With no proper amenities, little to no medical services and living in appalling conditions, it won’t take long before serious disease and sickness sets in. Not such happy campers.

 

So what exactly is this indigenous Pakistani Taliban that we are so obsessed about? The reality is they are nothing more than an excuse, used by both East and West to justify more violence. Sure they have committed some heinous and barbaric crimes, but at this point in “the war” they are now seen as means to an end. Nothing more than pawns in a larger chess match for control.

 

“We are not fanatics! We want what everyone wants. We want to be able to live our lives in peace!” said Omar, a local Pathan businessman, as we sit in his office in the heart of Peshawar.

 

“The Americans continuously terrorise us with their constant drone attacks in the tribal agencies, the Taliban don’t make it any easier for us to live in peace and the media portray us all as terrorists! We are not terrorists!” he said with frustrated passion.

 

Another man then spoke up, telling me in broken English that most of what the West see are the actions of common criminals: “most of these men are not even Taliban,” he said, “they are criminals and miscreants who are bought by external agencies like the CIA and India’s RAW agents to further destabilise Pakistan”.

 

Later that evening Omar kindly offered to take me into the centre of the Swat Valley, a Taliban stronghold. I assured him that my fair Aussie complexion and somewhat pathetic excuse for a beard was no match for the trained eyes of Taliban spies.

 

“I like my head firmly attached to my body” I said jokingly. He laughed, “You will be perfectly safe when you’re with me. You don’t have to worry about security, this is our insurance plan” he said, handing me his Kalashnikov. “I drive into some very remote parts of the tribal belt and sometimes into Afghanistan as part of my job, so I need this (weapon) for my protection,” he explained.

 

Later we heard a huge explosion as we sat drinking sweet buffalo milk tea - a music shop had been blown up, it was just up the road from his office - the media reported it the next day as an act of terrorism and, of course, the Taliban were responsible. But Omar believed it was nothing more than the jealousy of a competitor who wanted to generate more business for himself. Who needs an expensive media campaign when all you need to do is blow up the competition and blame it on the Taliban?

 

So the Taliban have become scapegoats. One such incident came as no surprise as only a few days ago a friend told me about a mulvi (religious leader) from his village, who had been discovered as a Hindu agent working for India. The man had been posing as a religious leader; he taught Islamic scripture and led the prayers in the local mosque; but it wasn’t until the inquisitive minds of the local children began to probe that his elaborate ruse became undone.

 

They saw him dancing and listening to pop music in the mosque. On telling their parents they were quickly scolded and called liars, but as time passed and the so called mulvi began asking for food enough for 20-plus men each night, the villagers became suspicious.

 

When asked who the food was for he would reply “guests” but no one was seen entering or leaving the mosque, until one morning the villagers found a group of Taliban fighters’ asleep inside. So again, it begs the question: who are the indigenous Taliban if some of them are not even Pakistani? These faux Taliban fighters’ are an excuse; they are the perfect playing field for the political motives of external agencies bent on further destabilising an already unstable country.

 

(Cultural note to self: When posing as a religious leader in a village in Pakistan do not be so stupid as to have a Bollywood dance-off in the mosque!)

 

So why destabilise this third world country? What does it have that the rest of the world so desperately craves? It sure isn’t its open sewers and copious piles of garbage. You don’t think it has something to do with Pakistan being the geographic doorway to Asia and the Middle East do you? Unlike Iraq, Pakistan has nukes. Unlike Afghanistan it has Osama bin Laden. And of course, it has an oil and gas route that the US wants for its Trans-Afghan pipeline. Did I mention the nukes? Lucky Pakistan.

 

If left to its own devices Pakistan has the potential to become a very powerful and prosperous country. Agriculture would blossom in its extremely fertile soil; it has its own oil reserves, nuclear capabilities, strategic trade routes, and natural resources galore. But who are we kidding? The first world lives on the back of the third world. They carry us. Perish the thought of living in a world without sweatshops and soccer balls, fake Reeboks, child labour and bootleg DVDs. Without the third world we would have no first world.

 

To make matters worse, there are also whispers for the need to break Pakistan up into smaller nation states. If you take away the sovereignty of a country and it makes it a lot easier to control.

 

A good friend of mine recently had a gun held to his head and was robbed of all his personal possessions in Lahore, one of Pakistan’s major cities. A senior government official later told me that “when the crime rate dramatically increases in certain areas, it is usually a sign that the Taliban are on the move … They send out gangs of thieves to steal what they can as a means of funding their operations.”

 

Just like my friend in Lahore, Pakistan also regularly falls victim to the rule of the gun. But you have to ask yourself; what is the difference between a military dictatorship which oppresses its citizens and rapes the country via greed, power and fear, to that of another militant force that comes under the guise of religion? Both regimes share fundamentally flawed objectives. Pakistan cannot afford either if it wants to survive.

 

The sad reality now is that democracy has become a beggar in Pakistan: it lives, starving, in the minds of many while greed and corruption remain fat and opulent. The fanatical religious factions and corrupt politicians, who routinely bend to the will of external influence, are dividing the country and tearing shreds off any hope of Pakistan moving forwards.

 

Keep an entire country occupied with an internal threat and you’re well on your way to imposing pseudo democracy. Or maybe with President Zardari’s track record he has better credentials as a dictator. Either way, fear is a great medium for control.

LONDON (Reuters): ” If Pakistan’s battle against the Taliban seems difficult, a much tougher challenge lies ahead: deciding what to do about the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group it once nurtured to fight India in Kashmir.

Security experts from the United States and India believe the Pakistan Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency could shut down the group blamed for last year’s attacks on Mumbai — if they choose to do so.

-

“The Pakistan Army could do it and the ISI could tell them where to find those guys in a heartbeat,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who led a review of strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan for President Barack Obama.

-

“If they wanted to shut them down they could,” said B. Raman, a former Additional Secretary at India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) intelligence agency. “They can do it, but they don’t want to do it because they look upon it as a strategic asset.”

-

But Samina Yasmeen, a professor at the University of Western Australia who is researching a book on the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), said the reality on the ground may be more complicated.”

Exactly how much does it cost to have your voice heard in Washington?

—

Mother Jones: In his memo to Afghanistan’s finance minister, Omar Zakhiwal, which is dated April 21 and marked “confidential,” Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad surveys the competition. Pakistan, he writes, employs nine American lobbying firms, including two “that alone represent and promote President Asif Ali Zardari’s interests in Washington.”

According to the ambassador’s missive, these include Locke Lord Strategies-LP, which since May 2008 has been on retainer from the Pakistan government for more than $100,000 per month, and JWT Asiatic and Hill & Knowlton, which together collect a monthly payment exceeding $100,000.

All told, according to Jawad’s estimate, Islamabad spent at least $3 million on Washington lobbyists in 2008 alone.