Readings on Afghanisthan

I thought these articles were worth reading about the war in Afghanistan. Apparently, the recent revelation about $1-trillion-worth of mineral wealth being discovered in Afghanistan has been known for quite some time. The timing of the story's release coincides with declining public support for the war.


http://socialistworker.org/2010/06/17/assessing-the-afghan-surge


http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51819


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-jay/us-knew-about-afghan-mine_b_610829.html


U.S. imperialism extends further into Central Asia, as well. In this case, Kyrgyzstan.


http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/06/16-4


If you want news about Afghanistan that is not saturated with corporate and imperialist propaganda, I recommend that you read Anand Gopal's blog.


I'm also reading Robert Fisk's magnum opus "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East", which chronicles the British journalist's 30+ years of reporting in the Middle East. It covers many tumultuous events in Middle Eastern history, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq War, the Persian Gulf War and 2003 U.S invasion of Iraq, the Armenian Genocide, the Iranian Revolution, and the Algerian Civil War. It's a huge book (over 1,300 pages) but it is very interesting and Fisk's stuff is generally pretty good. Unlike most journalists who cover the Middle East (especially from the West), he doesn't buy into the Western imperialist propaganda line and is very critical of American and British policies in the Middle East. For example, here's an op-ed he wrote for The Independent criticizing Israeli propaganda for whitewashing its massacre of the Gaza aid flotilla (along with Israel's other massacres throughout history).


Hope this reading enlightens you.

--
Adam Hudson
hudson.adam1@gmail.com
adamhudson@stanfordalumni.org
http://ajhudson.wordpress.com/

"...for ourselves and for humanity, comrades, we must make a new start, develop a new way of thinking, and endeavor to create a new man."

-- Frantz Fanon, "The Wretched of the Earth"