This war has been deemed the ‘right war’ and given a broad measure of support from across the political spectrum because it is still linked in the popular imagination with the events of 9/11. Even a cursory interrogation of these assumptions, however, reveals the absurd nature of this pretext for what has been all along an illegal invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation. The Corbett Report: Afghanistan: Ten Years of War, James Corbett online 2011
Bin Laden himself was not even in Afghanistan at the time of the 9/11 attacks.
The Afghan war is far from over … For 17 year now the American people and the people of the world have listened to the US State Department tell us how the American military is working to bring peace and security to Afghanistan. But this lie is self-refuting. The Corbett Report: The Secret Lie that Started the Afghan Lie, James Corbett online 2018
As the US falls deeper and deeper into the Afghan quagmire, we risk forgetting how this war was actually authorised … How did NATO become involved in this conflict? … The entire war was waged on a false pretence. ibid.
Just like that, Nato members were committed to an operation in Afghanistan that sees their troops remaining in the country to this very day. ibid.
There had been no official evidence presented to the public. ibid.
‘The investigation into these attacks is still at an early stage.’ ibid. Taylor NATO briefing document
‘We believe that the biggest thieves in the world are Americans and the biggest terrorists on Earth are Americans.’ The Corbett Report: False Flags: The Secret History of Al Qaeda I: Origin Story, James Corbett online 2021, bin Laden
No part of the Muslim world could escape the influence of the British crown … British fingerprints can be found on every aspect of the story. ibid.
On Christmas Eve 1979 Soviet troops began an invasion of Afghanistan. ibid.
What bin Laden needed for his burgeoning terror group to thrive was not more money, it was protection. ibid.
In 2005 former British foreign secretary Robin Cook claimed that Al Qaeda was literally ‘The Database’, that is the computer file of the thousands of Mujahideen who were trained and recruited with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians. ibid.
We went to Afghanistan twice in the last six months … They said we’d never be able to find out who’s backing the drug trafficking business in a country’s that’s had a Nato military presence for 14 years. That’s what they said, and it wasn’t easy but we did manage to achieve our objective. Afghan Overdose, RT 2015
We’re back in Afghanistan to find out why a non-intervention policy for heroin still exists. ibid.
The police say there are about 700,000 people like them in the city; that’s almost 18% of Kabul’s population. ibid.
A staggering fifty tons of opium and heroin are confiscated at this checkpoint alone each year. Hefty prices are put on the heads of the most zealous police officers. ibid.
Why do the international forces that have fought Taliban radicals in Afghanistan for 14 years continually overlook their main source of income: namely, drugs? ibid.
‘This is victory. This is what winning looks like.’ This is What Winning Looks Like, General Allen to US army in Afghanistan, Vice TV 2013
The British and American marines on the ground don’t believe it either. ibid.
They [US] are playing catch up all the time; that’s all they can do. ibid.
‘What the hell is going on?’ ibid. US soldier
‘It sucks to see kids get fucking shot.’ ibid.
‘As an adviser you’re a dog with a lot of bark and not a lot of bite.’ ibid.
It’s an exaggeration to call this a national [Afghan] army. ibid.
So we’re asking Afghans to pick sides. ibid.
Not one of them [local council] had a good thing to say about what we’d achieved there. ibid.
You’re on your own: and you need to not work, not leave your village, and stay here and stop the Taliban. ibid.
The whole purpose of going to Afghanistan was to not have a counterinsurgency, meaning that we’re going to put that country together. It will not be put together. It’s three different countries. Pakistan owns the three counties – the three provinces in the east. They’re not any part of – the Haqqanis run it. Joe Biden, Democratic debate September, cited The Federalist online
After nearly 20 years of war and over 100,000 dead Afghanistan is once more in the grip of the Taliban. Just weeks before the fall of Kabul, I was there to see a country bracing itself with the withdrawal of US forces. Panorama: Return of the Taliban, BBC 2021
20 years ago the Taliban were running the country with an extreme version of strict Islamist law. After the 9/11 attacks, American blamed the Taliban for sheltering Al Qaeda. ibid.
Life in Afghanistan under Taliban control. It’s now eight weeks since the US and its allies left. Thousands fled but a Panorama team stayed behind. Panorama: Afghanistan: Life Under the Taliban, BBC 2021
They were hunting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Coalition troops raided thousands of homes. Tonight, the SAS death squads that arrived in the night. We reveal secret killings by British special forces. People shot dead after surrendering. Evidence of executions. And cover-ups by the men in charge. Panorama: SAS Death Squads Exposed: A British War Crime? Richard Bilton reporting, BBC 2022
For Australians, it’s a national scandal … The Australians worked closely with UK and American special forces. ibid.
We have eye-witness testimony about executions. ibid.
‘This is a history of missed opportunities where we could have snuffed out this fuse.’ Afghanistan: Getting Out, General Luke, BBC 2022
December 2001: Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden escape to continue resistance from Pakistan. ibid. caption
July 2006: The Taliban escalate their insurgency with over 1,677 bombings recorded across the country. ibid.
Under the West Point plan 30,000 more American troops would be committed to Afghanistan. The remaining 10,000 would be supplied by Allies including Great Britain. These troops would be part of a surge. ibid.
The Taliban begin a campaign of targeting civilian leaders who have worked with the west. ibid.
Biden on tele: It’s time for American troops to come home. Afghanistan: Getting Out II
Peace Negotiator to tele: Do you mean unconditionally? Why would anyone do this? Afghanistan: Getting Out II
7 months into Trump’s presidency, 4,000 extra troops are sent to Afghanistan. Restrictions are also lifted on US commanders in the field. ibid. captions
The Taliban statement came out that they would not enter Kabul. ibid. Aghani
Before the end of this year the last British troops will leave Afghanistan. 453 have lost their lives. This is the story of the Afghan war. Afghanistan: The Lion’s Last Roar I, BBC 2022
‘We were under-prepared. We were under-resourced. And most importantly we didn’t have a clear and achievable strategy to achieve success.’ ibid. soldier
Arriving in 2001, one of the first things the British troops did was to renovate the old British cemetery in Kabul where they found the graves of men killed in the first Afghanistan war. ibid.
Large numbers of refugees began making their way across the mountains to Pakistan where leaders of the Taliban were waiting. ibid.
Sangin: The consequences of what many felt was a muddled, poorly thought through and under-resourced strategy. The aim of reconstruction quickly fell by the wayside. ibid.
‘The idea of the United Kingdom really having a global role really will come to an end in Afghanistan.’ Afghanistan: The Lion’s Last Roar II, American
After this war will Britain ever again have the will to put fighting troops on the ground in foreign conflicts? ibid.
In a series of meetings with British commanders, the elders made clear that they had had enough. ibid.
In the days of empire the British fought three wars in Afghanistan. Twice their troops were massacred. ibid.
They had been spread too thinly virtually from the start in Afghanistan. ibid.
The perpetual occupation of Afghanistan has become so normalised it mostly serves as background noise to Americans. It’s even jokingly referred to as the forever war. The Empire Files: Afghanistan War Exposed: An Imperial Conspiracy, Abby Martin online, Youtube 2020
Since 2001 almost 1 million troops have been deployed to Afghanistan. ibid.
An unresolvable military quagmire that the Empire won’t let go of. ibid.
Lithium is only one of many resources to be plundered. ibid.
All of these lives are being sacrificed for continued financial gain. ibid.
‘The fundamentalism that emerged in Afghanistan is a CIA construct.’ ibid. Ahmed Rashid
The Taliban eventually seized power in 1996. This victory was initially welcomed by Washington. ibid.
They [US] knew this 20-year disaster was doomed from the start. ibid.
Obama’s strategy accomplished nothing. ibid.
150,000 Afghanistanis killed since the occupation. ibid.
How the US Government Misleads the Public on Afghanistan. ibid. The New York Times September 8th 2018
They’ve adopted an official policy of lying about everything. ibid.