Shootouts and explosions in Paris

[OptimusPrime]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43sGtDWwe8


Voices from a refugee camp. Selections from conversation. Part 2-of-2:

AMY GOODMAN: Where do you come from in Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I come from Kunar.

AMY GOODMAN: What is it like? Was it destroyed? Was it bombed?


SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yeah, Kunar was totally destroyed. And a big group of Americans were there. There was a big base. And still, Kunar is under bombing, from—even from Pakistani side. All areas of Kunar is. Each day and every day, the Pakistan is bombing on Kunar. And at that time, was also American were bombing there, because from the past the people of Kunar are all like—you know, they are religious people, all of them, like that are the—this is the main center of Taliban.

AMY GOODMAN: Why do you think they’re bombing?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because they say these people are Taliban, they are terrorists, Americans are bombing there. And Pakistan is also bombing there.

AMY GOODMAN: Were there drone strikes in Kunar?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes, there were drone attacks.

AMY GOODMAN: And what effect do they have? Did you know people killed?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re always killing innocent people. They’re bombing on the civilians, on the villages. In fact, they were not Taliban. Many times they kill civilians there.

AMY GOODMAN: And how does that make people feel?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They make people unhappy, disappointed, from both sides—from government and from the—from the whole world, from America, from all the people.

AMY GOODMAN: Al-Qaeda, Daesh, do you think it increased since 2001?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Since 2001, yeah, because, you know, if they are bombing on civilians—America or the NATO or all these groups—if they are bombing on civilians, civilians become very angry, and they join the group of Taliban. That’s why if they are killing one person or 10 person, 100 of them are joining the group of Taliban. They don’t support the government, because government cannot help them.

AMY GOODMAN: So are you saying the bombing increased terrorism?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes. The war is not the solution for finishing terrorism. They have to talk face by face. What is their demand, you know? Look to the Syria. The whole world is bombing Daesh, but they are increasing. They can’t do anything.

AMY GOODMAN: When did you actually leave Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I left Afghanistan in—I think in August. I don’t know. Five, six months ago.

AMY GOODMAN: And how did you make your way out?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a big story. It’s very difficult. You know, everyone knows. I come to Iran. Then, after that, I come to Turkey. After that, I come to Bulgaria.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you drive? Do you walk? Do you—

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: We—sometimes we were in buses, sometimes we were walking, in the mountains when we were crossing the borders.

AMY GOODMAN: So, from Bulgaria to where?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: to Serbistan, to Serbia, to Hungary, to Austria, to Italia, France. And now I’m here.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s a very, very long trip.

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a—yeah, of course, it’s a very long trip. It’s not that easy just to buy the ticket of airplane and go to the airport, sit in the plane and come directly here. We were just illegally crossing the borders, and that is very difficult, a very difficult task. We lost many of our friends. They lost their—they passed away, they lost their lives. And some of the people, they’re not with us now.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And your family? Is your family with you here?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: No, my family is not here.

AMY GOODMAN: Where is your family?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re in Afghanistan. Yes.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, what do you think the U.S. should be doing now?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I told you, you know, U.S. is just increasing the war. Actually, U.S. don’t want to finish the war. It’s their game. It’s the game of George W. Bush, Obama and all the European Union. They don’t want to finish that.

AMY GOODMAN: Why?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because it’s on the—behind, there are their profits, their benefits. They are selling their weapons and using in the Islamic countries. This is the big point. How much they spend there? If they spend $100, they’re getting from there $1,000. They don’t care about the people who are dying there.

AMY GOODMAN: President Obama said they’re wrapping up the war in Afghanistan. Do you feel like the U.S. is ending the war in Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: What do you mean, sorry, by "wrapping"?

AMY GOODMAN: Ending the war.

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Ending. No, never he will end the war. Never he will end the war.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you be safe in Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I don’t think so. If I was safe there, I don’t like to live here in these tents. And I don’t like these, the high buildings, the beautiful countries. My country is my country. But, you know, I was not safe there.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43sGtDWwe8


Voices from a refugee camp. Selections from conversation. Part 2-of-2:

AMY GOODMAN: Where do you come from in Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I come from Kunar.

AMY GOODMAN: What is it like? Was it destroyed? Was it bombed?


SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yeah, Kunar was totally destroyed. And a big group of Americans were there. There was a big base. And still, Kunar is under bombing, from—even from Pakistani side. All areas of Kunar is. Each day and every day, the Pakistan is bombing on Kunar. And at that time, was also American were bombing there, because from the past the people of Kunar are all like—you know, they are religious people, all of them, like that are the—this is the main center of Taliban.

AMY GOODMAN: Why do you think they’re bombing?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because they say these people are Taliban, they are terrorists, Americans are bombing there. And Pakistan is also bombing there.

AMY GOODMAN: Were there drone strikes in Kunar?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes, there were drone attacks.

AMY GOODMAN: And what effect do they have? Did you know people killed?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re always killing innocent people. They’re bombing on the civilians, on the villages. In fact, they were not Taliban. Many times they kill civilians there.

AMY GOODMAN: And how does that make people feel?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They make people unhappy, disappointed, from both sides—from government and from the—from the whole world, from America, from all the people.

AMY GOODMAN: Al-Qaeda, Daesh, do you think it increased since 2001?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Since 2001, yeah, because, you know, if they are bombing on civilians—America or the NATO or all these groups—if they are bombing on civilians, civilians become very angry, and they join the group of Taliban. That’s why if they are killing one person or 10 person, 100 of them are joining the group of Taliban. They don’t support the government, because government cannot help them.

AMY GOODMAN: So are you saying the bombing increased terrorism?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes. The war is not the solution for finishing terrorism. They have to talk face by face. What is their demand, you know? Look to the Syria. The whole world is bombing Daesh, but they are increasing. They can’t do anything.

AMY GOODMAN: When did you actually leave Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I left Afghanistan in—I think in August. I don’t know. Five, six months ago.

AMY GOODMAN: And how did you make your way out?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a big story. It’s very difficult. You know, everyone knows. I come to Iran. Then, after that, I come to Turkey. After that, I come to Bulgaria.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you drive? Do you walk? Do you—

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: We—sometimes we were in buses, sometimes we were walking, in the mountains when we were crossing the borders.

AMY GOODMAN: So, from Bulgaria to where?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: to Serbistan, to Serbia, to Hungary, to Austria, to Italia, France. And now I’m here.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s a very, very long trip.

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a—yeah, of course, it’s a very long trip. It’s not that easy just to buy the ticket of airplane and go to the airport, sit in the plane and come directly here. We were just illegally crossing the borders, and that is very difficult, a very difficult task. We lost many of our friends. They lost their—they passed away, they lost their lives. And some of the people, they’re not with us now.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And your family? Is your family with you here?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: No, my family is not here.

AMY GOODMAN: Where is your family?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re in Afghanistan. Yes.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, what do you think the U.S. should be doing now?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I told you, you know, U.S. is just increasing the war. Actually, U.S. don’t want to finish the war. It’s their game. It’s the game of George W. Bush, Obama and all the European Union. They don’t want to finish that.

AMY GOODMAN: Why?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because it’s on the—behind, there are their profits, their benefits. They are selling their weapons and using in the Islamic countries. This is the big point. How much they spend there? If they spend $100, they’re getting from there $1,000. They don’t care about the people who are dying there.

AMY GOODMAN: President Obama said they’re wrapping up the war in Afghanistan. Do you feel like the U.S. is ending the war in Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: What do you mean, sorry, by "wrapping"?

AMY GOODMAN: Ending the war.

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Ending. No, never he will end the war. Never he will end the war.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you be safe in Afghanistan?

SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I don’t think so. If I was safe there, I don’t like to live here in these tents. And I don’t like these, the high buildings, the beautiful countries. My country is my country. But, you know, I was not safe there.

Afghanis are no different from Americans or anyone else. There are as many different opinions as people.

Yet for some reason, when someone who is actually from a country makes broad statements about what is happening there, we tend to accept it as gospel. Why is that? We'd all rightly call bullshit if someone else assumed that one random America spoke for all the rest of us.

Nothing wrong with someone recounting their first person experiences. Where it often goes off the rails is when the speak more broadly than that.

So if she talks about what happens in her refugee camp, fine. But when she talks about what the U.S. is trying to do ("Actually. The U.S. doesn't want to finish the war...."), we shouldn't assign any particular weight to that.

 

[The Oi]

Afghanis are no different from Americans or anyone else. There are as many different opinions as people.

Yet for some reason, when someone who is actually from a country makes broad statements about what is happening there, we tend to accept it as gospel. Why is that? We'd all rightly call bullshit if someone else assumed that one random America spoke for all the rest of us.

Nothing wrong with someone recounting their first person experiences. Where it often goes off the rails is when the speak more broadly than that.

So if she talks about what happens in her refugee camp, fine. But when she talks about what the U.S. is trying to do ("Actually. The U.S. doesn't want to finish the war...."), we shouldn't assign any particular weight to that.

I'd venture to guess that if you asked 100,000 Muslims in the countries we've been bombing for years what they tought of the US, 90%+ would share just about the identical opinions of these refugees.

How much can you like a country that drops bombs on your family with some regularity for multiple generations? To likely millions of these people, the US's signature thing is bombs. The French havw their berets. The German have their lederhosen. The US...bombs. Everywhere. How could they possibly think anything else of us over there? How much information is available to them of the contrary?

I don't get it. Are you afraid that if you let one point go that your entire worldview is going to fall apart? How difficult is it to acknowledge this point that it's justifiable for a massive group of people to fear, distrust and even hate us? Particularly when looked at from their worldview.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I'd venture to guess that if you asked 100,000 Muslims in the countries we've been bombing for years what they tought of the US, 90%+ would share just about the identical opinions of these refugees.

Congratulations - you missed the point completely.

Whether or not one particular refugee said that is irrelevant. One person's opinion is still one person's opinion.

And whether or not what she says is actually true also has nothing to do with the point. If they quoted an Afghani refugee who said that they all loved George Bush, would you accept that as true just because that one person said it? My point is that quoting a single, random refugee "for truth" on this kind of thing is ridiculous. All you're really getting is the quote the journalist liked the most.

In any case, your statement on the substance is so hyperbolic that having a rationale discussion is impossible. For example, the only thing she said that I called out specifically was the statement that "the U.S. doesn't want to leave". I called it out in part because it was clearly not a fact over which she had first hand knowledge.

The reality is that there are tens of millions of Iraqis and millions of Kuwaitis who know that we did leave. They saw it with their own eyes. And anyone who thinks Obama doesn't want to get the hell out of there needs to check their biases.

The vast majority of our combat troops have left Afghanistan as well, and I'm quite sure the villagers, etc. that were used to seeing a heavy U.S. ground presence have noticed that those troops left.

And FWIW, the opinions over there are not as unanimous as you pretend. People I trust who served multiple tours said they knew folks over there who didn't want us to leave because they were worried about what would replace us. They hated the war, but were scared to death of the Taliban.

But I know that doesn't fit your view, so I guess those opinions must not really exist.

And in terms of everyone "having their families bombed for generations" by the U.S., uh, sure. That's a sound bite polemic, and not even a shitty attempt at accuracy. Hyperbole at its worst.

 

[The Oi]

Congratulations - you missed the point completely.

Whether or not one particular refugee said that is irrelevant. One person's opinion is still one person's opinion.

And whether or not what she says is actually true also has nothing to do with the point. If they quoted an Afghani refugee who said that they all loved George Bush, would you accept that as true just because that one person said it? My point is that quoting a single, random refugee "for truth" on this kind of thing is ridiculous. All you're really getting is the quote the journalist liked the most.

In any case, your statement on the substance is so hyperbolic that having a rationale discussion is impossible. For example, the only thing she said that I called out specifically was the statement that "the U.S. doesn't want to leave". I called it out in part because it was clearly not a fact over which she had first hand knowledge.

The reality is that there are tens of millions of Iraqis and millions of Kuwaitis who know that we did leave. They saw it with their own eyes. And anyone who thinks Obama doesn't want to get the hell out of there needs to check their biases.

The vast majority of our combat troops have left Afghanistan as well, and I'm quite sure the villagers, etc. that were used to seeing a heavy U.S. ground presence have noticed that those troops left.

And FWIW, the opinions over there are not as unanimous as you pretend. People I trust who served multiple tours said they knew folks over there who didn't want us to leave because they were worried about what would replace us. They hated the war, but were scared to death of the Taliban.

But I know that doesn't fit your view, so I guess those opinions must not really exist.

And in terms of everyone "having their families bombed for generations" by the U.S., uh, sure. That's a sound bite polemic, and not even a shitty attempt at accuracy. Hyperbole at its worst.

Nope.

 

[macbdog]

Not to mention US gets blamed whole sale. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran have as much to do if not more with Syria being a smoldering pit as the US does. Every one of the enemy states in the region used the West and the USA as one of the boogeymen to their people for their crimes. And frankly, none of this explains why an American born guy decides to shoot up a bunch of county workers. The US has bloody hands, of course, but let's not pretend we are the only ones.

 

[Simon]

 

[Otsego Mar]

Right

 

[pr26]

Right

So is this the NWO, Illuminati, or the Reptiles?

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I'd hope they put the screws -literally - to that fucker. But we're too civilized for that.

 

[Huber.]

Right

Explain yourself

 

[Maximus]

WH Censors French President Saying ‘ISLAMIST Terrorism’

Craig Bannister | 2 hours ago
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The White House website has censored a video of French Pres. Francois Hollande saying that “Islamist terrorism” is at the “roots of terrorism.”

The White House briefly pulled video of a press event on terrorism with Pres. Obama, and when it reappeared on the WhiteHouse.gov website and YouTube, the audio of Hollande’s translator goes silent, beginning with the words “Islamist terrorism,” then begins again at the end of his sentence.

Even the audio of Hollande saying the words “Islamist terrorism” in French have, apparently, been edited from the video.

According to the official White House transcript of Hollande’s remarks, Hollande refers to “Islamist terrorism.” The audio of the bold text in brackets is missing from the video – the only point in the video were the audio is absent:

“We are also making sure that between Europe and the United States there can be a very high level coordination.

“But we're also well aware that the roots of terrorism, [Islamist terrorism, is in Syria and in Iraq. We therefore have to act both in Syria and in Iraq, and this is what we're doing within the framework of the coalition.] And we note that Daesh is losing ground thanks to the strikes we've been able to launch with the coalition.”

Pres. Obama has come under fire from Republicans for his refusal to say “radical Islam” when discussing terrorism and, again yesterday, he declined to do so.

Obama made three vague mentions of terrorism, citing the “hands of terrorism,” the “scourge of terrorism,” and “counterterrorism” in Thursday’s press event.


A screen shot of the White House transcript of Hollande's "Islamist terrorism" comment is below: