An intellectual freedom blog with an emphasis on libraries and technology

Monday, May 29, 2006

The Proof is in the cut-off


Or, what do they think they're accomplishing?

In a recent story published in the Washington post (Gunfire breaks out after Kabul accident) U.S. soldiers allegedly fired on civilians in the aftermath of a traffic accident in which a convoy of humvees crashed into a rush-hour traffic jam in Kabul. The most interesting part of the article appears at the end:

"[Afghan] State television cut transmission of a live broadcast of parliament when one angry lawmaker interrupted the proceedings to protest the incident.

"I have seen the incident. ... I come from that area and I have to tell you," Taj Mohammed Mujahid shouted before the house speaker ruled him out of order and the screen went black."


Yikes again. Did they learn nothing from the Haditha cover-up by the Marines? The cut-off television broadcast from parliament proves very interesting. If whoever did that wanted to make absolutely certain that Afghan people will see the U.S. as an occupying and controlling force and the Afghan leaders as no more than puppets, I could not think of a more effective way than to cut off the broadcast when they did. Can a democracy exist without transparency and accountability?

What do they think they accomplished?

No comments:

Post a Comment