Thirty years ago, members of the communist government invited 1,300 people to a community meeting in Kunar province. However, the invitation was a ruse, and communist forces executed all of them. Nearly. A rare few lived, hidden under the bodies of the dead and buried alive in Kerhala District. Shoaib Gharwal talks to the survivors.
Listen to the story in Dari
this is for test
Oh yes AW tghins can ceradtainly disadaadpear, I have known of some amazading tghins disadaadpearading here in the states let alone a war zone. I do believe sevaderal instances have been reported as it was disadcussed with me via E-mail and I simadply asked a propaderty disposal/base cloadsure (I honadestly don’t know what his title is)a0peradson that I know over there (was over there home now and doing quite well in the scrap metal busiadness, go figadure) funny story really but the truckaders didn’t want to get blamed and at times they were about the only ones around from our side other than a few MP types. Not sure what came of it but when it was learned they had picadtures some one showed up rather quickly to talk toa0them.The Peshadmerga (spelling????) up North seem to have done quite well, then some of the units in Alanadbar and up near Kirkuk oddly the units with some of the worst issues (only have peoadple I know that were in the areas for refaderadence) issues have been in areas south of Baghaddad. I had thought they were movading some of the units around to actuadally break up coradrupadtion but apparadently not. You might know more abouta0that.Most of NATO is pretty decent and some is out standading. But as with any group there are weak spots I’m sure. Where the Iraqis have done well is with in many cases just stayading alive to keep on keepading on. The miladiadtary woradries me much less than the varadiadous police over there but then that is true of Afghanistan as well and I have had friends involved in police trainading in both counadtries and not one of them even wants to try any more. I think the above comadment about wait a few more years and then take a look is probadaadbly accurate.There is stuff hapadpenadinga0 there of interadest though. Conadstrucadtion in the North is boomading and it isn’t all govadernadment money. Some of the oil field stuff in the South is interadestading as well. I would like to think that the many many refugees will at some point be able to safely go home but tghins have not proadgressed well on that front. It appears some of their agriadculadture may be comading back as well but it has a very long way to go. So much stuff has been and is still being damadaged it makes one wonadder where toa0start.I do have curiosadity as to what they will do with all of the CONEX hiltons left behind. I’m not sure even a poor Iraqi would opt for that life style given any choice ata0all.
Jean,Why, thank you. a0I’m far from right-wing, but I do recall that Mule Rider has accesud me repeatadedly of being a neoadconadseradvadaadtive so I supadpose that counts for someadthing. Howadever, the fact that, as you say,a0“Iraq is a staadble and reladaadtively free counadtry and its miladiadtary is comadpeadtent enough that we don’t have to hold their hands any more”a0to me is irreladeadvant.a0 IMO, we should never have been there in the firsta0place.I believe this is the crux of the left-right split on this issue. a0There are not a whole lot of peoadple on the right who are going to tell you the Bush Adminadisadtraadtion went to war in Iraq in a responadsiadble manadner (although the right in this counadtry is pretty shameadless). a0The great moral failadure of the left in the past decade has been to declare, loudly and conadstantly, that we should leave Iraq to burn to atone for the sins of the Bush Adminadisadtraadtion. a0Once we went in whatadever Bush and co. did or did not do to “sell” the war became entirely irreladeadvant, and the sleaziadness of the CPA quickly gave way to a misadsion that was mostly about keepading innoadcent Iraqis from being muraddered by either Al Qaeda or proxadies of the Iranadian government.Havading read through the FP artiadcle, I find that it’s ridaddled with “facts” that as stated are only paradtially true and dire impliadcaadtions that fall apart when stated clearly. a0In genaderal, even withadout disadputading its flimsy basis in fact the author then goes on to ascribe to maladice (actuadally, worse, to conadspiradacy) what is betadter ascribed to stupidity.Key points to keep in mind — Iraq is not Afghanistan. It has never lacked for adminadisadtraadtors. Baathists were only one of many facadtions in the insuradgency and an increasadingly small one as time went on. Furadtheradmore, attempts to use old re9gime units against the insuradgency (as in the Faladluadjah Brigade) backadfired spectacularly.