Difference between revisions of "2001 Invasion of Afghanistan"
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Revision as of 18:53, 22 August 2016
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| Date | 7 October 2001 - Present |
|---|---|
| Location | Afghanistan |
| Perpetrators | NATO |
| Description | The ongoing war in Afghanistan, instigated within a month of 9/11, supposedly in retaliation, with the claimed justification - for which no evidence has been presented - that the attacks were planned by Ossama bin Laden, and that he was based in Afghanistan. |
2001 Invasion of Afghanistan 
The 2001 Afghanistan war is still ongoing. It was a US-led attack but involves military contingents from many other countries. It began on October 7, 2001, as the US military's Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) with substantial British military support, allegedly (as the official narrative has it) 'in response to the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the US'. The UK has, since 2002, led its own military operation, Operation Herrick, as part of the same war in Afghanistan. By 2015, it has cost the US government over $1,000,000,000,000.[1]
Contents
Official Narrative
The justification for the attacks we as that the 9/11 attacks of September 11, 2001 were carried out by Al-Qaeda under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden, who was taking refuge in Afghanistan, under the protection of Taliban forces. NATO's December 2009 publicity strategy states that "building on NATO’s current media operations and public diplomacy efforts in support of the operation in Afghanistan, NATO will pursue more targeted and expanded communication activities to generate broader and more comprehensive reporting on what NATO’s operation has already achieved in Afghanistan".[2] As far as opium production is concerned, predictable smoke and mirrors are used to hide that fact that production has increased since the NATO-led invasion of the country.
Problems
The BBC reported a week after 9-11 that "Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, was told by senior American officials in mid-July that military action against Afghanistan would go ahead by the middle of October".[3] Osama Bin Laden denied responsibility for the attacks[4] and no evidence has been presented of his responsibility. On 5 October, the Taliban offered to try bin Laden in an Afghan court, so long as the U.S. provided what it called "solid evidence" of his guilt. The U.S. government dismissed the request for proof as "request for delay or prevarication".
Motives
While the MICC profits from war anywhere, a range of local factors undoubtedly contributed to the selection of Afghanistan as a target. Afghan grown opium is an obvious major factor.
Opium
Sibel Edmonds links the war to Operation Gladio/B, suggesting that - drug eradication rhetoric not withstanding - a major motive for the war was control of the world's opium production. This was very low in 2000 after the crop was banned by the Taliban, but has quickly risen again and exceeded pre-invasion levels.
Oil
Charlotte Dennett suggests that the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, planned since the early 1990s provides a more credible alternative explanation.[5] The secret intelligence services have long been interested in the large profits to be made from the global drug trade, for which
Mineral wealth
A 2007 study by the USGS noted about $1 trillion in mineral wealth in the ground in Afghanistan.
