Blair vitupère (suite)… Démonstration par l’exemple afghan

Poursuivons sur l’interview de Tony Blair, sur Channel Four et dans The Observer, telle que nous l’avons mentionnée précédemment.

Enchaînant sur ses vitupérations, Blair cite l’exemple afghan :

«Blair held out the example of the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan — criticised by Islamists as an example of the heavy-handed imperial West oppressing Muslims — to highlight unfounded claims of grievance. He asked how it is possible to claim that Afghanistan's Muslims are being oppressed when the Taliban “used to execute teachers for teaching girls in schools”.

»Blair added: “How are [we] oppressing them? You're oppressing them when you support the people who are trying to blow them up.”»

Il n’apparaît pas absolument évident que ces paroles aient été imprimées et/ou diffusées au bon moment. Sur la même page de présentation de The Observer de l’interview de Blair, le journal publie la nouvelle concernant une attaque des forces de l’OTAN en Afghanistan, avec appel au soutien aérien bien connu des amis US, laissant sur le carreau d’un petit village afghan autour de 80 morts civils.

«Air strikes in the British-controlled Helmand province of Afghanistan may have killed civilians, coalition troops said yesterday as local people claimed that between 50 and 80 people, many of them women and children, had died.

»In the latest of a series of attacks causing significant civilian casualties in recent weeks, more than 200 were killed by coalition troops in Afghanistan in June, far more than are believed to have been killed by Taliban militants.

»The bombardment, which witnesses said lasted up to three hours, in the Gereshk district late on Friday followed an attempted ambush by the Taliban on a joint US-Afghan military convoy. According to Mohammad Hussein, the provincial police chief, the militants fled into a nearby village for cover. Planes then targeted the village of Hyderabad. Mohammad Khan, a resident of the village, said seven members of his family, including his brother and five of his brother's children, were killed.»

Le problème est donc que les musulmans d’Afghanistan, s’ils prennent la fine remarque de Blair au pied de la lettre («“How are [we] oppressing them? You're oppressing them when you support the people who are trying to blow them up»), risquent de prendre les US et les Anglais pour des talibans, à s'en tenir au simple constat de qui sont les gens «… who are trying to blow them up» et les gens «… [who] support the people who are trying to blow them up.”» Après tout, les Anglais soutiennent les Américains et vice-versa, n’est-ce pas?

Quant au rapport précis de toutes ces activités avec les talibans, voici ce que l’Observer en dit, — qui nous indique, en bonne comptabilité, qu’ils viennent de fabriquer 400 nouveaux talibans en un seul raid :

«Senior British soldiers have previously expressed concerns that [US Commannder, General] McNeill, who took command of the 32,000 Nato troops in Afghanistan only recently, was ‘a fan’ of the massive use of air power to defeat insurgents and that his favoured tactics could be counter-productive.

»“Every civilian dead means five new Taliban,” said one British officer who has recently returned from Helmand. “It's a tough call when the enemy are hiding in villages, but you have to be very, very careful,” he added.

»The American general has been dubbed ‘Bomber McNeill’ by his critics.»

Mis en ligne le 1er juillet 2007 à 13H06