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This week on Uprising:

A one-hour special on the US War in Afghanistan:

* Afghan Presidential Candidate Says US Policy and Analysis Wrong
* Empire Notes on “The Good War”
* David Barsamian on the People and Politics of South/Central Asia

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Afghan Presidential Candidate Says US Policy and Analysis Wrong

Less than a month before major presidential elections in Afghanistan, US/NATO forces are carrying out a massive ground offensive of thousands of soldiers in the southern provinces. The Taliban have retreated to the Northern and Eastern parts of the country and earlier this week launched attacks on two cities, Jalalabad and Gardez, with coordinated gun and suicide attacks. The spreading war does not bode well for the elections in which more than 40 candidates have qualified to run, including the incumbent Hamid Karzai. Additionally more than 3000 candidates are running for provincial council seats. There is a large potential for fraud in the election, as procedures have been changed to require voters to have specially printed voting cards. The head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has criticized this saying it would too easily facilitate the buying and selling of these cards. The US-backed Karzai had made strong alliances with many of his former critics, members of his cabinet and the parliament, widely regarded as war criminals. Only one presidential candidate is publicly calling attention to the corruption and criminality of the government: independent member of Parliament, and former Planning Minister, Dr. Ramazan Bashardost. Bashardost is seen as an “eccentric crusader” who has pitched a tent in front of the Parliament from which he is carrying out his presidential campaign. Yet he commands the support of many ordinary Afghans seeking a change from the current situation. I recently had the opportunity to speak via satellite phone with Dr. Bashardost. Due to his accent and the quality of the phone, we have overdubbed the interview for clarity. You can hear the un-dubbed interview as well as read the transcript on our website at www.kpfk.org/uprising.

GUEST: Dr. Ramazan Bashardost, independent candidate for Afghan President

Empire Notes on “The Good War”

Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is on the “Good War.”

GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade.

Visit www.empirenotes.org for more information.

David Barsamian on the People and Politics of South/Central Asia

The month of July is not even over and yet it has been the deadliest month ever for US forces in Afghanistan. More than 2 dozen troops have been killed in July as a major ground offensive is underway in the southern province of Helmand, leading to a total of 746 soldiers deaths since the start of Operation Enduring Freedom. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been internally displaced as a result. Across the border, a similar push by US unmanned drones and Pakistani military forces have resulted in deaths and nearly 2 million refugees. The nations of South and Central Asia form part of the so-called “Arc of Instability” where the US’s growing military efforts are focused. My guest for the rest of the hour, a familiar voice on Pacifica radio, has spent much time recently in that part of the world. David Barsamian is the founder and director of Alternative Radio, an independent award-winning weekly series based out of Boulder, Colorado, currently heard on KPFK on Sunday mornings at 9 am. He has co-authored many interview books with the great progressive thinkers of our time such as Noam Chomsky, Eqbal Ahmed, and Arundhati Roy. He is currently in Los Angeles and joins me in studio.

GUEST: David Barsamian, founder and director of Alternative Radio.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?” – Gandhi