Gift givers

AFP: Taliban kill US spy as gift to Obama
Taliban militants beheaded an Afghan in Pakistans lawless tribal region after accusing him of spying for the United States, local police said Thursday.

The 35-year-old man was kidnapped one week ago and his body found Thursday in Razmak some 65 kilometers 43 miles south of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, an official said. A note found on the body of the man, identified as Shafiq Gul, said he was “spying for the US”.

“Whoever spies for the US will face the same fate. This is a gift to US President Barack Obama,” the note said.

Islamist militants frequently kidnap and kill local tribesmen and Afghans, on alleged charges of spying for the Pakistani government or for US forces, who are battling a Taliban-led insurgency across the border in Afghanistan.

I knew if he took this job he would get ahead.




  1. James Hill says:

    I wonder how the new administration will respond to this. I’d like to think they’ll respond in some way, at least.

  2. Improbus says:

    Great, this might work. lets pour hundreds of thousands of small arms and a flood of ammunition into the region and let them kill each other. Anyone left standing you can kill with Predator drones. Just withdraw all of our troops and turn the region into a video game for the Air Force. No, really, shoot anything that moves.

  3. jcd'slovechild says:

    I say let them meet their Allah and their “72 virgins”…now.

    Why not give these pieces of trash what they want and be rid of them?

  4. Troublemaker says:

    Well, what do you expect for them to do with spies from an invading army?

  5. Lost My Head Too, Once says:

    Well, just in case they were looking to mail the head (and they read DU):

    President of the United States of America
    1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
    Washington, DC 20500

  6. Dallas says:

    #1 Yes James Hill, nothing like having a tit for tat policy with terrorists. Even stupid Bush agrees responding like this is insane. Did you not get the email?

    Also, when there is a gift exchange at the office, don;t you want to know it ahead of time.? I say, Obama need not produce a return gift.

  7. chuck says:

    Doesn’t the Whitehouse have strict rules about what gifts the President can accept?

  8. Paddy-O says:

    We shouldn’t even have troops in the M.E. So, we’re going to take them from Iraq (in a couple of years) in the meantime pour thousands more in Af. Brilliant.

  9. Dave says:

    Since Afghanistan and the Pakistan tribal regions are not in the M.E. at all (they’re in Central Asia), you should be thrilled with the reallocation of troops back to the “real” war.

  10. guiltywhiteliberal says:

    But its a religion of peace. A body “peace” here and a “peace” there…

  11. Buzz says:

    Expensive, tasteful pun.

  12. Bill says:

    I love the smell of napalm. Don’t you?

  13. The Pirate says:

    In the morning.

  14. chris says:

    Only Genghis Khan conquered Afghanistan. You hear this repeatedly. Thing is, GK was brutal militarily, but pretty progressive socially.

    We can’t win in Afghanistan because there ain’t shit there. The people would be dumb to think that civilization lies ahead, and they have seen enough wars to accept that everything will work out alright.

    The Taliban are primitive, and not appreciated. They do, however, represent something that the populace understands.

    A Russian friend told me something way back. A bad man in control is better than competition between two men of unknown quality. He said that the people fear a day of chaos much more than a life of subjugation.

    That might apply here too.

  15. Buzz says:

    #14

    …or then again there is a statistically larger possibility that it might not.

  16. Hugh Ripper says:

    How many foreign spies have the US ‘dissapeared’ over time? You will only ever hear about ‘spy trials’ there is a political angle in making it puiblic. Business as usual in the spy game I suspect.

  17. Mr Diesel says:

    Maybe this is just a little payback for the women and children Obomba had killed his first week in office?

  18. faxon says:

    These ragheads all look alike, with big fat, flat noses, black beards, and the same raghead heads. Camel jockey shit eaters. Kill em all, let Allah sort ’em out.

  19. Selvy says:

    #4—You really think that the guy was a spy for the US? The Taliban (and other groups) will tag people with a charge at random and kill them for the Hell of it. To make an example, without any substance to the charge. Sometimes it’s just a disgruntled neighbor or rival tribesman. In that part of the world perception is reality.

  20. Brock says:

    I wonder what Toyota had to pay the Taliban for the product placement ad?

    Nothing sells Toyota trucks like seeing a tribe of Muslims riding in the back careening around in the desert.

    If you’ve ever wondered why, these guys are all nuts, here’s a tip – it’s the inbreeding.

    The preferred marriage in that part of the world seems to be cousins marrying. Though Shariah does not forbid marriage between first cousins, there are some who advocate against it due to risk of genetic defects / diseases. So it seems second cousins is OK, but marrying out of the tribe is out of the question and worthy of beheading.

    What a bunch of wack jobs…..

  21. mattyme says:

    #20 Though I do not intend on arguing with your lack of belief that the guy was a spy, I do however find it ironic your last statement says that part of the world has a perception=reality outlook. The USA has one of the most clouded “perceptions” of the world based on self interest and lack of education about everything going on in the world. Im not saying you are one of them, but the vast majority are poorly informed. As far as I’m concerned, they likely have more realistic outlooks on their lives than we do, thanks to our largely government regulated and media soaked society.

  22. Selvy says:

    I was making the point that often this is an excuse for groups like the Taliban, Hamas, etc. to settle a score or prove a point with the local populace. What better way to do so than brand someone a spy for Israel, the United States, or any other rival faction/nation/state? What kind of courts or processes do you think they use to ‘determine’ that someone’s a spy or not?

    And with all due respect, from what I’ve seen a fair portion of the world in general is ill-informed. You really think news and opinion aren’t shaped in other regions objectively? In places where there’s less room for dissent? And that other countries *don’t* look out for their own self-interest? Please.

  23. zorkor says:

    Play with fire and you will get hurt. Same thing applies here. Dont expect love from anyone when you carpet bomb their homes and villages and use daisy cutters you dumb Americans.


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