Iranian paper urges Afghans to terrorism against U.S. forces

Iranian.ws:

Aug 16, 2005

A morning daily warned Afghans on Tuesday not to be "lulled by the seditious idea that 26 years of constant warfare and displacement have dampened their spirits and made them yield to the Americans."

Referring to the present situation in Afghanistan the 'Kayhan International' said that the country was involved in a "war of attrition with no sign of peace for the people."

Strongly criticizing the US, call it "cowardly tactics" on its "witch-hunting" in Afghanistan under the pretext of finding Taliban fighters, the editorial said that Washington should be ashamed as it was trying to "deceive public opinion both at home and in Afghanistan by keeping its clandestine ties with the real Taliban, especially the commanders that the CIA had groomed in the 1990s to recruit ignorant elements in the name of Islam for tarnishing the image of Islam." The daily also said US "protectionist policies" have led to creation of a new class of poppy cultivators and the drug smuggling barons in Afghanistan as a result of which Kabul would finally be forced "to import foodstuffs mostly from the US, thereby lining up the pockets of those who orchestrated the September 11, 2001 incidents to attack and occupy Afghanistan."

Stressing that the Afghan Muslim masses were the main sufferers of the current situation in Afghanistan, the paper regretfully said that it seemed the Afghan nation sorely lack its "famed spirit of resistance." It added "Those who had led the struggle against the Taliban terror have been bought over by the Americans with posts and money.

"In such a situation" said the paper, "unless the Afghans regain their consciousness and wake up to the realities by organizing a mass resistant movement that needs sacrifices, the foreign enemies will continue to slowly grind them into dust."

Criticizing Kabul's helplessness as "the real power is in the hands of the Americans," Kayhan International suggested that an organized resistance" against the American occupation would be welcomed by most officials as it would revive the fact that "independence and freedom is part of the innate nature of Afghans who have a bright record of refusal to yield to foreign yoke." The daily warned Afghans against the dangerous sedition of the US and urged them to follow the Iraqis pattern of resistance against the US occupation.

"If the Iraqis can continue the resistance to US occupation despite a longer period of oppression and disaster on a wider scale, why can't the Afghans?" the paper questioned.