Kunduz

Porkins Great Game episode 16 Moderate Rebels and Heroin Warlords

The wait is finally over, Porkins Great Game is back! We begin by taking a look at the recent Parliamentary elections in Georgia. We break down how the elections turned out and analyze the results and what that may mean for the political future of Georgia. Christoph and I also touch on the most recent scandal in Georgia dealing with yet another leaked audio tape of Saakashvili. In our second segment we discuss the ongoing violence in Afghanistan as well as a ongoing peace negotiations. We begin with the recent peace deal between the government and famed heroin warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Battles of Kunduz: US/Afghan “Friendly Fire”

The first “Battle of Kunduz” took place from April to October 2015 for control of the city, where Taliban forces were playing cat and mouse for months and finally overran the city, forcing government forces to flee. The capture marked the first time since 2001 that the Taliban had taken control of a major city in Afghanistan. The Afghan government claimed to have largely recaptured Kunduz by October 1 in a counterattack, but by October 6 the Taliban had recaptured substantial portions of Kunduz.

From ‘sexed up’ in Iraq to silenced in Afghanistan, cowing of the BBC continues

Of course, the BBC has always been an instrument of the British state, established by statute in 1928 and run by a governor appointed by the Prime Minister. As Seumas Milne has pointed out: “There is no point in romanticizing a BBC golden age. The corporation was always an establishment institution, deeply embedded in the security state and subject to direct government control in an emergency…[with] around 40 percent of the staff… vetted by MI5.”

‘I Would Have Refused Such An Order’ – Former RAF Pilot Gives His View Of US Bombing Of MSF Hospital In Kunduz

On October 24, MSF announced that 30 people had now tragically died, up from the initial toll of 22. The humanitarian organisation, also known as Doctors Without Borders, continued to call for an independent international investigation into what it has called a 'war crime'. Associated Press has just reported new evidence 'that U.S. forces destroyed what they knew was a functioning hospital'

NYT Justifies US Afghan Hospital Bombing

“We tried to take a look into one of the burning buildings,” said the nurse. “I cannot describe what was inside. There are no words for how terrible it was. In the Intensive Care Unit, six patients were burning in their beds.”
“We looked for some staff that were supposed to be in the operating theater. It was awful. A patient there on the operating table, dead, in the middle of the destruction. We couldn't find our staff.”
Wounded patients were “crying out, everywhere.” Surviving doctors had to operate on their colleagues, trying to save them. Many died.