Death of Canadian Colonel Gives Birth to Black Hole

In the aftermath of a car bomb detonated against a NATO convey, a swift and coordinated Afghan/Western reaction condemned the Taliban through a barrage of statements.

White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters, "While our troops are fighting for a better future for the Afghan people, the Taliban offers only destruction and they have so little respect for humanity that they would murder Afghan civilians waiting for a bus. The United States and Afghan government remain steadfast in our determination to build security, stability and opportunity for Afghanistan."

Afghan president Hamid Karzai followed suit, while NATO fired its own shot: "This sort of desperate brutality and aggression reminds us of the pessimism of an enemy who seeks to kill the innocent and stop the progress necessary for a better Afghanistan.”

Visibly pleased with their handling of the media, each official intentionally left out a crucial fact - this was no indiscriminate attack.

Should any doubts exist over the suppression of foreign policy, we hope they’re sucked into the black-hole that formed in Kabul. Not every report leaves out Canadian Colonel Canadian Geoff Parker, but some erase him completely. Most do a decent job minimizing him, even international media like al Jazeera.

Voice of America refers to him as “a Canadian.” Parker is the highest ranking Canadian killed in Afghanistan.

Not only was Parker of high rank, Col. Simon Hetherington, deputy commander of Task Force Kandahar, added, “He was a career infantry officer - a proud member of the Royal Canadian Regiment - who excelled in virtually every position he held in the Army. As a battalion commander, he led his soldiers from the front and with distinction. The post he preparing to fill was important and of such high profile, he was hand picked from across the Army to do so.”

“A rising star, his potential was undeniable.”

Which means the Taliban probably knew more than a colonel was rolling down the street. Parker may have been watched, a “rising star” to shoot down similar to US Lieutenant Brandon Barrett in Marjah. While civilians did die horrifically, this was far from the indiscriminate brutality spun by the West.

America and NATO want us to think the Taliban is resorting to terrorism, not insurgency, so that the war seems easier. They don’t want us to know how advanced the Taliban actually is, how formidable, or that its targeting operational commanders like US drones.

America is using civilian deaths to shield the Taliban’s effectiveness.

Instead we’re left with a paradox to confuse our perceptions, though it is a poor one. As Galula says, “A counterinsurgent can seldom cover bad or nonexistent policy with propaganda." The reality is that the Taliban, while sometimes resorting to pure terrorism, is still conducting a true insurgency by primarily attacking foreign and government forces. Its intel, supplied by ANA and police spies, runs deep.

What is the difference between America and the Taliban’s civilian casualties if both are collateral of legitimate war targets? That is the ultimate question being obscured here - because the answer is none. War, like a black-hole, is known to blur and warp.

And suck everything into it.