Thursday, May 28, 2009

The "Taliban Flogging"

WQ COMMENTARY

BBC VIDEO (0:58) Public flogging of teenage girl in Pakistan. A chief justice has ordered the girl be brought from the north-western Swat Valley. Apparent members holding, beating, and ordering her brother to help as she cries out in pain. More>>

The Issue
Much has been made of video of a "brutal" beating of a Pakistani girl accused of adultery. This has, it is said, galvanized the populations of Pakistan and Afghanistan to side with the West as it invades and destabilizes their governments. Homegrown terrorists are less of a problem than an external armed force imposing its will. WQ decided to investigate.

The segment of video available through the BBC and many other outlets is hardly spectacular and could well be fake. But assuming its authenticity, it is hard to see how this footage would incense peace loving people around the world to condone violence or despise radical tribal Muslims.

The Meaning
The act and even the threat of the act is reprehensible. Public floggings are not acceptable. (Private floggings in secret detention camps run by the US Army, the CIA, and even more secretive spy rings are okay -- so long as those extrajudicial punishments are for a good cause, such as Apple Pie, Freedom, and of course Security). And yet far more reprehensible is the invasion by the United States in a false flag operation seeking out Osama bin Laden (a.k.a. Nineteen Eighty-Four's "Emmanuel Goldstein").

The Conclusion
Abandon hate. Love even the Taliban, a propped up organization used by the US to justify invasion and covert military actions when people stop believing in the all-powerful "Al Qaeda" boogieman network. Understand that PSYOPS and propagandists exploit what they can to promote war: War is first in the heart, as a media event instigating support, then an act of terror.

Serb priest fired for beatings

Chinese occupiers beat Tibetan monks
Sri Lankan soldiers beat Tamil rebels

Kohistan nerves
Pakistani district fears Swat conflict will spill over.

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