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AFGHANISTAN: THREE LIES
On this page:
Introduction
Resources: Peace News article,
media feedback page
Information is being added to this page in
the run-up to the anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan on
7 October.
1) Introduction
Ten years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan,
three official lies stand out. As politicians and the mainstream
media mark the anniversary, the very least we can do as anti-war
activists is use every channel to expose these lies.
There is indisputable evidence that the
invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was not an unavoidable “last
resort” effort to catch Osama bin Laden.
There is indisputable evidence that the
war in Afghanistan increases the risk of terrorism in Britain
rather than reducing it – according to the government’s
own security experts.
There is indisputable evidence that the
Afghan people do not want the US-led war to continue: the
majority of Afghans want a negotiated
end to the war. The west is blocking this possibility.
These facts should be the basis for our national
debate about Afghanistan. Whether or not people oppose the war,
there are certain realities that we need to grasp if we are to
have a sensible discussion about Afghanistan. Instead, easily-available,
basic facts are censored, distorted, misrepresented and forgotten.
It is our job, as people concerned
for peace and justice, to make sure these facts are as visible
as possible. This could be through letters and phone calls to
local and national newspapers, to local and national radio stations,
to news programmes on TV, even to MPs and MEPs. It could be through
emails to news sites or comments on opinion-formers’ blogs.
It should be our job to circulate these
facts to our fellow citizens in our neighbourhoods, in our faith
communities, in our workplaces and unions.
2) Resources
1) A footnoted version of the October
2011 Peace News
article: Afghanistan:
time to out the lies by Milan Rai
2) Media
feedback page - contact details for newspapers and TV stations
Please contact JNV with any submissions,
enquiries or information about forthcoming events.
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