Taliban

Friday, June 21, 2013

Friday, June 21, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, June 21, 2013

Afghan president has halted negotiations

Hopes dimmed for talks aimed at ending the Afghan war when an angry President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday suspended security negotiations with the U.S. and scuttled a peace delegation to the Taliban, sending American officials scrambling to preserve the possibility of dialogue with the militants.

What provoked the mercurial Karzai and infuriated many other Afghans was a move by the Taliban to cast their new office in the Gulf nation of Qatar as a rival embassy. The Taliban held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday in which they hoisted their flag and a banner with the name they used while in power more than a decade ago: “Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Karzai on the phone, telling him that his concerns were justified and that he would work to resolve the issue.

An American official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to disclose the information, said he still expects to have the first public meeting with Taliban representatives in the next few days in Qatar but that no exact meeting date has been set.

Nevertheless, the militants’ attempt at a publicity coup clearly played to Karzai’s longstanding distrust of both the Taliban and the United States, who had announced Tuesday that they would pursue negotiations in the Qatari capital of Doha — at least initially without the Afghan government.

It may have also given Karzai an excuse to try to head off the Doha talks, which he probably agreed to support only reluctantly and under U.S. pressure. Karzai has for years opposed talks outside Afghanistan and dominated or directed by the U.S. The Taliban, on the other hand, have never really wanted to negotiate with Karzai, preferring to talk directly with the U.S. (Source: CBC News)

September 5, 2006

Saturday’s appearance of the above editorial cartoon coincided on a particularly brutal weekend which saw the deaths of 5 Canadian soldiers fighting alongside NATO troops in Afghanistan. Predictably, calls are again being made to get our troops out of the war and bring them back home. The loudest voice comes from Jack Layton who has seized the political opportunity to play the peace dove in this debate. You’d think following the overwhelming condemnation of his position in weekend editorials, columns, military circles, and even within his own caucus, Layton would refine his opposition and (while the word is still flying around) ‘nuance’ his words a little more keeping in mind Canada’s international obligations and long term strategy for defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan. The debate about Canada’s role in Afghanistan was settled months ago when Parliament voted to extend our mission there. And do we really need to be reminded on a daily basis why we’re in Afghanistan in the first place? Does Layton seriously see Canada sitting down and discussing a peace settlement with the Taliban over a cup of tea? Maybe…as I suggested back in April:

Today’s cartoon was the amalgamation of two previous cartoons. One is of the former Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, portrayed as a SeaKing helicopter, and another of Jack Layton who mixed politics and the deaths of homeless people during the 2004 federal election by blaming Paul Martin. Layton seems to have a good track record of twisting any sort of tragedy or misfortune just to make he and his party look good.

Wednesday November 14, 2001

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 14, 2001

The Fall of Kabul

Afghans brought their radios out of hiding and played music in the streets, savoring the end of five years of harsh Taliban rule as the northern alliance marched triumphantly into Afghanistan’s capital Tuesday. Diplomats sought U.N. help in fashioning a government for the shattered country.

American jets still prowled the skies in the south, seeking out convoys of Taliban fighters retreating toward Kandahar, the Islamic militants’ last major stronghold. Strikes also targeted caves where members of terror suspect Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network were thought to be hiding

Alliance troops celebrated the capture of the prize they had been fighting for since they were driven out by the Taliban in 1996. A small number of U.S. troops were on hand to advise them.

The dizzying cascade of events in Afghanistan turned the opposition into the country’s chief power overnight – and brought to the forefront the issue of ensuring that it shares power. The United States and its allies want a government that includes groups the ethnic minorities that make up the alliance and the Pashtuns, the country’s largest ethnic group.

The alliance leaders said they had deployed 3,000 security troops across Kabul to bring order – not to occupy it – and insisted they were committed to a broad-based goverment. (Hamilton Spectator)