The continuation of attacks on US soldiers by uniformed Afghan
soldiers and policemen is an expression of popular hatred for the occupation
regime and military invasion forces which brings to mind John Steinbeck's
classic novel The Moon Is Down. Steinbeck fully captures the inner agony, shame
and moral guilt of the German occupying forces in Norway whereas the
flies eventually conquer the flypaper ~ as they most assuredly will in
Afghanistan: Allen L Roland
Currently
over 2000 occupying troops have been killed in Afghanistan and well over 15,000
have been wounded. However, the continuation of attacks on US soldiers by
uniformed Afghan soldiers and policemen is a reflection of the growing hatred
of both the occupying forces and the illegal and incredibly corrupt America
sponsored Karzai stooge regime.
There
is good reason calling Afghanistan the graveyard of Empires ~ and the United
States is heading for the same fate.
Patrick
Martin, MSWS.ORG recently reported on the growing US debacle in Afghanistan as
evidenced by the fact that in the last two weeks twelve US soldiers have been
killed by Afghan soldiers or policemen who were supposedly their allies ~
"The latest incident brings the total of such attacks since the
beginning of 2012 on US or NATO forces, dubbed “green on blue” incidents by US
military spokesmen, to 32, resulting in 40 deaths. The number of soldiers
wounded in such insider attacks is likely far greater, but concealed by a
US-NATO policy of refusing to discuss non-fatal injuries."
Martin
goes on to explain the significance of these growing attacks by Afghan
individuals acting on their own ~ " this only demonstrates that
hostility to the American military occupation is so widespread and deep among
the Afghan population that any incident can provide the spark to provoke
violent resistance. This is the case after ten years and $43 billion devoted by
the US military to training an Afghan military and police force to do its
bidding.
These
incidents have a significance far beyond the actual death toll, since they give
a glimpse of the real relationship between an oppressed population and the
US-NATO occupation, now approaching the end of its eleventh year.
Martin
also confirms what I have always maintained, regarding the
so-called dreaded Taliban, who I maintain are in reality freedom fighters ~ "
The vast majority of the Afghan population opposes the US-NATO forces and the
Karzai stooge regime. Hence the endless supply of recruits for the “Taliban,”
the name the US military and media apply to any and all insurgents, most of
them simply poor farmers who fight in and around the rural villages where their
families live."
The
flies are beginning to conquer the flypaper in Afghanistan , as they did in
Vietnam and Martin makes the same analogy ~ "There is a stench of
decomposition over the whole US-NATO enterprise in Afghanistan. US troops are
being drawn down, US equipment removed, US subsidies cut back, and the US collaborators
in the Karzai regime are packing their bags—usually stuffed with cash—and
checking their passports. Kabul today increasingly recalls Saigon in the final
months and weeks before the collapse of the US-backed puppet regime of South
Vietnam."
PTSD,
suicide and violent behavior can be accelerated when you feel constantly
hated and unwanted as we are in Iraq and Afghanistan ~ as was brilliantly depicted in the film The Hurt
Locker.
You
are badly mistaken if you don't realize that the inner agony and guilt of
occupying a country or countries, which despise and hate us, can result in
inner torture, guilt and agony and certainly lead to suicide and PTSD.
The
Oscar winning film, The Hurt Locker, captures this same pervasive hatred as an
Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit goes about its risky job of
defusing remote-controlled improvised explosive devices ( IED's ) in Baghdad ~
while Iraqis watch and obviously hope that the devices will explode and destroy
the hated occupiers.
But,
if you really want to know what our troops are going through in illegally
occupied Iraq and Afghanistan ~ read John Steinbeck's ' The Moon is Down ' or
better yet read Paul Rockwell's poetic and moving commentary ' The Agony of
Occupation / The flies have conquered the flypaper ' from Common Dreams .
Excerpt: " It is impossible to read Steinbeck's
masterpiece without thinking about our own soldiers in Iraq , about their daily
fear, the growing tendency for revenge, the agony of conquest. 'The Moon is
Down' is not primarily about the Norwegian people, or even about the
resistance. It's about the terror, the self-doubts, the slow transformation of
arrogance to self-loathing, under which invaders live... 'The Moon is Down' is
not about the violence; it's about the psychology of occupation. Steinbeck focuses
on the inability of occupying soldiers to cope with the ingratitude of a
"liberated" people. Germans trusted their leaders and expected to be
greeted with flowers, not contempt. The public hatred of the occupation, not
sabotage alone, destroys German morale ... When a lieutenant is upset by the
hostility of the local population, his commander admonishes him: "I will
not lie to you, Lieutenant. They should have trained you for this, and not for
flower-strewn streets. They should have built your soul with truth, not led you
along with lies. But you took the job, Lieutenant. We can't take care of your
soul." The occupiers are not pacified. "Captain, is this place
conquered?" "Of course," the captain replies. But the listener
cracks. "Conquered and we're afraid, conquered and we're surrounded. The
flies have conquered the fly paper ! "
This
is why it never gets better in drug infested Afghanistan ~ 29 minute must see
video documentary
So,
if you really want to get a feel of what American troops go through in Iraq and
in particular Afghanistan ~ watch The Hurt Locker and read Steinbeck's The Moon
is Down and realize that eventually The Flies will conquer the fly paper in
both Iraq and Afghanistan ~ as they most certainly did in Vietnam.
Allen
L Roland
Freelance
Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is
available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private
consultations allen@allenroland.com
Allen
L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a
daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website
