Taliban to U.S.: End drone strikes in Pakistan, or no more polio vaccines

From CNN:

A Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan has announced a ban on polio vaccines for children as long as the United States continues its campaign of drone strikes in the region, according to a statement by the Taliban. "Polio drops will be banned in North Waziristan until the drones strikes are stopped," said the statement, released Saturday.

...Bahadur commands the faction of the Taliban based in North Waziristan, the district Washington believes is the main safe haven for the Haqqani network and other militant groups fueling the insurgency in Afghanistan.
It's not clear how Bahadur's decree will impact the polio eradication campaign in North Waziristan or in nearby districts, where he doesn't wield as much power.

Taliban to U.S.: End drone strikes in Pakistan, or no more polio vaccines - CNN.com

Sickening threat, so I hope it's an impotent one.

Time to double down on drone strikes and to consider tactical nukes.

That's a weak way to try to blackmail the U.S.

More hiding behind women and children.

I'm not surprised.

And the sad part is the clueless dumbasses of Pakistan will see this as the fault of the US, not the ****ing Taliban.

Mycroft said:

More hiding behind women and children.

I'm not surprised.

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This rather gives the lie to the idea that all cultures are equal.

nota bene said:

This rather gives the lie to the idea that all cultures are equal.

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Take your ethnocentric nonsense elsewhere. A minority militant group does not define an entire culture.

Kushinator said:

Take your ethnocentric nonsense elsewhere. A minority militant group does not define an entire culture.

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Pretty sure in North Waziristan it does.

clownboy said:

Pretty sure in North Waziristan it does.

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You are referring to a subculture.

Kushinator said:

You are referring to a subculture.

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No, I'm not -

Bahadur commands the faction of the Taliban based in North Waziristan, the district Washington believes is the main safe haven for the Haqqani network and other militant groups fueling the insurgency in Afghanistan.

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How disgusting.

nota bene said:

From CNN:

A Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan has announced a ban on polio vaccines for children as long as the United States continues its campaign of drone strikes in the region, according to a statement by the Taliban. "Polio drops will be banned in North Waziristan until the drones strikes are stopped," said the statement, released Saturday.

...Bahadur commands the faction of the Taliban based in North Waziristan, the district Washington believes is the main safe haven for the Haqqani network and other militant groups fueling the insurgency in Afghanistan.
It's not clear how Bahadur's decree will impact the polio eradication campaign in North Waziristan or in nearby districts, where he doesn't wield as much power.

Taliban to U.S.: End drone strikes in Pakistan, or no more polio vaccines - CNN.com

Sickening threat, so I hope it's an impotent one.

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This threat amounts to holding the civilian population as de facto war shields. If carried out, it would constitute a war crime. Responsiblity for the consequences would rest entirely with the Taliban.

I just do not understand some people at times. This is just truly disturbing.

Mycroft said:

More hiding behind women and children.

I'm not surprised.

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Exactly. It's always like that with them, always! always! something must be very wrong with that sort of mentality because I can not believe any religion says that to do that is acceptable!

For me, it is not enough to state my outrage at this situation I wanted to understand more and I found this background information helpful.

This grandstanding ploy seems to coincide with an appeal to be heard on behalf of "Dr. Afridi, who was recently convicted by a tribal court and sentenced to 33 years in prison. In March and April 2011, Dr. Afridi ran a vaccination campaign in Abbottabad that was intended to determine covertly whether Bin Laden lived in a house in the city. Dr. Afridi failed to obtain a DNA sample, a senior American official said, but did help establish that Bin Laden’s local protector, known as the “courier,” was inside the Bin Laden compound.

Dr. Afridi was arrested three weeks after an American Navy SEAL team raided the house on May 2, 2011, and killed the Qaeda leader. American officials said Dr. Afridi had been working with the C.I.A. for several years, at a time when he was leading polio vaccination efforts in Khyber Agency, a corner of the tribal belt that harbors a rare strain of the disease.

Dr. Afridi is in prison in Peshawar, where the authorities have acknowledged he faces death threats from fellow inmates. An appeal filed by his family was to be heard on Wednesday."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/world/asia/taliban-block-vaccinations-in-pakistan.html


The vaccines have help a great many people in this region where polio had reached Unicef says that 143,000 of the area’s 161,000 children younger than 5 were reached in the last round of oral vaccinations from June 4 to 6. Health officials say that in active polio zones it is vital that children receive several doses of vaccine over time.

Disgusting, but sadly not surprising. There is nothing that fires me up as much as seeing children being used as pawns in maniacal games.

They are willing to risk everything to continue their fight. Just madness.

This is how barbaric these people are and Barak Obama thinks we can negotiate with them? I've also heard first hand that they have cut off arms of people who have recieved vaccination shots in that arm. They also cut out tongues of children who take candy from Nato soldiers. I honestly dont think you can negotiate with people this radical, there is really only one place you can send them where they wont be bothering anyone.

Faux umbrage and tongue wagging. The very article cited says it is unsure just how important this warlord is in the region. He could have 12 followers.

Attempting to blame the acts of a few on their religion would be like calling all Baptists to account because of the Topeka lunatics, all soldiers for the unlawful kill teams, all Catholics for a few pedophile Priests. Quit repeating the same bogus rants, get some new material. :roll:

I guess I am a cynic but I'd bet a shiny nickle most here could really care less about children and vaccines, but it is a good reason to trot out the same tired pony to whip.

For a several generations the polio vaccine has existed, no great push to vaccinate the kids of a third world dung heap, now that we shoot AT missiles at people who seldom see it coming... how 'brave' is that? we seem intent to put a good face on our actions. More so to play at home than in Pakistan to be sure.

While I don't condone 'hiding behind children' I don't see as noble and brave shooting people with drones, the operator a half world away. The self righteous ranters here don't seem to see that creates more terrorists than it kills and in nations far away from the battlefield.

The title of the thread is incorrect. 'A MINOR Warlord threatens to stop polio drops, many think he isn't powerful enough to stop his own piss'

notquiteright said:

Faux umbrage and tongue wagging. The very article cited says it is unsure just how important this warlord is in the region. He could have 12 followers.

Attempting to blame the acts of a few on their religion would be like calling all Baptists to account because of the Topeka lunatics, all soldiers for the unlawful kill teams, all Catholics for a few pedophile Priests. Quit repeating the same bogus rants, get some new material. :roll:

I guess I am a cynic but I'd bet a shiny nickle most here could really care less about children and vaccines, but it is a good reason to trot out the same tired pony to whip.

For a several generations the polio vaccine has existed, no great push to vaccinate the kids of a third world dung heap, now that we shoot AT missiles at people who seldom see it coming... how 'brave' is that? we seem intent to put a good face on our actions. More so to play at home than in Pakistan to be sure.

While I don't condone 'hiding behind children' I don't see as noble and brave shooting people with drones, the operator a half world away. The self righteous ranters here don't seem to see that creates more terrorists than it kills and in nations far away from the battlefield.

The title of the thread is incorrect. 'A MINOR Warlord threatens to stop polio drops, many think he isn't powerful enough to stop his own piss'

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The title is the required one: CNN's.

And, yes, you are both cynical and mistaken if you think that I created this thread to "trot out the same tired pony to whip." Maybe that's why you would, but I posted it because I am horrified that children are being used in this way. If you read the article, then you know that Pakistan is one of only three countries that has yet to eradicate polio. This is evil. This is the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

notquiteright said:

While I don't condone 'hiding behind children' I don't see as noble and brave shooting people with drones, the operator a half world away. The self righteous ranters here don't seem to see that creates more terrorists than it kills and in nations far away from the battlefield.

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Notquiteright, the issue here is that certain factions of the Taliban are prepared to use their own children as pawns. That alone is repulsive and shows the mindset of some of these individuals. They care so little about their own children that they would hold them to ransom. As for drone attacks, yes they do kill militiants and unfortunately civillians are killed too, but that in no way excuses the situation that the Taliban are proposing here. To some people, these civillians are all considered instruments of war and not worth grieving over. I do not support that line of thinking.

The Taliban are cutting off their nose to spite their face. What valuable lesson will the children have learnt if there is a fullblown polio outbreak, and what was their crime again? Who is ultimately responsible if there is an outbreak due to non vaccination?

The Taliban are. They made the call to halt the polio vaccines, it's on their head and responsibility for the consequences rests entirely with them. No one else.

notquiteright said:

Faux umbrage and tongue wagging. The very article cited says it is unsure just how important this warlord is in the region. He could have 12 followers.

Attempting to blame the acts of a few on their religion would be like calling all Baptists to account because of the Topeka lunatics, all soldiers for the unlawful kill teams, all Catholics for a few pedophile Priests. Quit repeating the same bogus rants, get some new material. :roll:

I guess I am a cynic but I'd bet a shiny nickle most here could really care less about children and vaccines, but it is a good reason to trot out the same tired pony to whip.

For a several generations the polio vaccine has existed, no great push to vaccinate the kids of a third world dung heap, now that we shoot AT missiles at people who seldom see it coming... how 'brave' is that? we seem intent to put a good face on our actions. More so to play at home than in Pakistan to be sure.

While I don't condone 'hiding behind children' I don't see as noble and brave shooting people with drones, the operator a half world away. The self righteous ranters here don't seem to see that creates more terrorists than it kills and in nations far away from the battlefield.

The title of the thread is incorrect. 'A MINOR Warlord threatens to stop polio drops, many think he isn't powerful enough to stop his own piss'

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Well quite frankly you don't have a god damn what you're talking about as the people in Waziristan support the U.S. drone attacks, it isn't turning them into terrorists, in fact they have likened them to God's Ababils the holy swallows sent to smite the wicked (their Taliban oppressors) and much prefer them to Pakistani military actions which do not use sophisticated limited targeted attacks but includes artillery bombardments and indiscriminate firing resulting in mass casualties. And if you had even bothered to read the article (which terrorist apologists never do) then you would have realized this was more than a minor warlord:

"Bahadur commands the faction of the Taliban based in North Waziristan, the district Washington believes is the main safe haven for the Haqqani network and other militant groups fueling the insurgency in Afghanistan."

Tell 'em to piss up a rope, we'll do what we want.

nota bene said:

From CNN:

A Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan has announced a ban on polio vaccines for children as long as the United States continues its campaign of drone strikes in the region, according to a statement by the Taliban. "Polio drops will be banned in North Waziristan until the drones strikes are stopped," said the statement, released Saturday.

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A terrorist action that should be treated by more drone strikes.

Children are not pawns of war. Threatening to intentionally deny children life-saving medications for any reason is absolutely abhorrent. I don't care if it's the President of Pakistan, some hobo with access to local media, or AQs newest #2 issuing the ultimatum. It is still disgusting and completely unacceptable.

Children all over the world are beaten, raped, killed, starved, kidnapped, turned into soldiers, born with a death sentence....if there isn't outrage because one more group of children is being threatened then I've lost faith in the priorities of humanity. For now it's just a threat to withhold Polio vaccines. What's next? Castration? Genital mutilation? Honor killings? Beheadings? Any person or group willing to risk the lives of children to further their own desires is reckless, dangerous, and worthless to the world.

Kushinator said:

Take your ethnocentric nonsense elsewhere. A minority militant group does not define an entire culture.

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It does, if that culture supports that group.