Miss Kelly

US Money to "Win Hearts and Minds" Goes to Taliban

More depressing news from Ghazni, Afghanistan, an area outside of Kabul seeing fierce fighting between the US forces and the Taliban:

"When United States troops in the southern province of Ghazni handed out cash to village elders, they must have thought they were winning friends. The money, intended for bridges, wells, drinking water, irrigation systems and other infrastructure projects, was supposed to convince the local Afghans that the foreign presence would benefit their country in general and themselves in particular.  After distributing the funds to villagers in Ghazni’s Andar district in early October, the US soldiers departed, having done their best to get the district on side. Their hearts and minds campaign is part of a major anti-Taleban offensive codenamed Operation Mountain Fury, which US-led coalition forces launched in mid-September in conjunction with the Afghan National Army, ANA."

Winning hearts and minds by distributing money?  Not so much:

"But the resources intended to combat Taleban influence ended up doing just the opposite. Local people in several parts of Andar district told IWPR that almost as soon as the coalition forces left their villages, the money found its way into Taleban coffers to finance the jihad against the foreigners."

“American money is haram [unlawful in Islam],” said Abdul Jalil, an elder in one village. “We could not use it to improve our lives. So we decided to give it to the Taleban. The most important thing we could do with this money was help the Taleban to pursue the jihad.”  At a gathering in the local mosque, mullahs exhorted the faithful to reject foreign blandishments and contribute to the insurgency, said Jalil. The elders agreed, so the Taleban were summoned and the money handed over."

Who was it that said "you can't win hearts and minds in the Middle East, you can only rent them"? 

"Asked about the military’s cash handouts, Larry Falkenhausen, a spokesman for the Provincial Reconstruction Team, PRT, in Ghazni, acknowledged there had been problems, but said such incidents were few and far between. “The Andar district chief told us it happened in one village,” he told IWPR. "

"District chief Muhammad Rahim Disiwal, however, suggested that a number of villages were involved, though he suggested the aid money was extorted from the civilian population rather than given freely. “We have received such reports from some villages,” he said. “The Taleban have used force to take aid materials distributed to villagers, which shows how they are robbing poor people and that they won’t even let other people help them.”

Afghani Teacher Disembowelled for Teaching Girls

Sickening news from Afghanistan, a teacher was disembowelled and dismembered by the Taliban for the crime of teaching girls:

"The gunmen came at night to drag Mohammed Halim away from his home, in front of his crying children and his wife begging for mercy. The 46-year-old schoolteacher tried to reassure his family that he would return safely. But his life was over, he was part-disembowelled and then torn apart with his arms and legs tied to motorbikes, the remains put on display as a warning to others against defying Taliban orders to stop educating girls."

"Mr Halim was one of four teachers killed in rapid succession by the Islamists at Ghazni, a strategic point on the routes from Kabul to the south and east which has become the scene of fierce clashes between the Taliban and US and Afghan forces."

"At the village of Qara Bagh, the family of Mr Halim are distraught and terrified. His cousin, Ahmed Gul, shook his head: "They killed him like an animal. No, no. We do not kill animals like that, it would be haram. They took away a father and a husband, they had no pity. We are all very worried. Please go now, you see those men standing over there? They are watching. It is dangerous for you, and for us."

Terrorism? What terrorism? 

Two Houston men were charged yesterday with planning to aid the Taliban:

"Two Houston men have been charged with planning to aid the Taliban, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced Tuesday. Adnan Babar Mirza, 29 and 33-year-old Kobie Diallo Williams, also known as Abdul Kabeer and Abdul Kabir, are both in federal custody."

"Both men are accused of training with firearms so they could go to the Middle East to fight with the Taliban against coalition forces.in the Middle East. They're also charged with providing cash to support terrorist groups. "

Way to go, guys. Help the people who dismember teachers.

Adnan Babar Mirza had been picked up earlier by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on immigration violations.  Go ICE!  Reminder: sign our petition in support of the ICE folks here in the Boston area.

Sisters of Mother Teresa Set Up Shop in Afghanistan

Domenico at Bettnet.org notes that four nuns from Mother Teresa's order have set up shop in Afghanistan.  They've built a shelter for street children in Kabul.

The nuns, who are of different nationalities, move around the city in their white and pale blue sari, clearly different from Afghan women who wear blue burqas.... “They have started helping children, whose situation in the country is really bad, and have already take in some street kids,” Father Moretti said. The clergyman is certain that the “sisters of Mother Teresa will be respected and loved like the Little Sisters of Jesus who have been discretely working in hospitals in the country for 46 years and are well-loved by the Afghans.”

Nothing scares these nuns.  God bless 'em!