Tag: imran khan
Four-Star General Blasts Trump Over Threat To ‘Wipe Out’ Afghanistan

Four-Star General Blasts Trump Over Threat To ‘Wipe Out’ Afghanistan

Retired four-star Gen. Barry McCaffrey slammed Trump on Monday for casually claiming he has a “plan” to end the war in Afghanistan that involved killing “millions” of people.

Trump discussed the bloody scenarios as he met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House.

“We could do a number the likes of which they’ve never seen before and win it very quickly,” Trump said. “I don’t want to do that because you’re talking about millions of people, and I don’t want to do that.”

Trump then claimed he could end the war in Afghanistan in “10 days,” and even claimed to have a plan for it.

“I have plans on Afghanistan that, if I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth,” he said. “It would be over literally in 10 days. I don’t want to go that route.”

He added that he had “not chosen that” supposed plan because “it wouldn’t be fair, in terms of humanity.”

“Troubling listening to Trump Oval Office news conference with Pakistani PM,” McCaffrey responded. “He baldly states that we have analyzed and considered using nuclear weapons to kill millions of people in Afghanistan as a solution to the conflict. WHAT IS TRUMP THINKING?”

McCaffrey served over 30 years in the military and has been awarded three Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, and two Distinguished Service Crosses.

He has repeatedly criticized Trump for poor decision-making on national security issues.

Last year, McCaffrey said Trump was a “serious threat to US national security” after he refused to stand up to Russia’s repeated aggression toward the United States.

As Trump lashed out as news of his corruption spread, McCaffrey said Trump was “starting to wobble in his emotional stability,” adding, “Trump’s judgment is fundamentally flawed.”

Trump’s decision to declare a phony “national emergency” at the border to push his border wall led McCaffrey in February to call him a “rogue president.”

The Pentagon has not confirmed that any such plan to nuke Afghanistan “off the face of the earth” exists or has been suggested to Trump.

Published with permission of The American Independent.

Thousands In Pakistan Anti-Government Protests As Coup Fears Loom

Thousands In Pakistan Anti-Government Protests As Coup Fears Loom

By Zia Khan and Sajjad Malik, dpa

ISLAMABAD –Thousands of anti-government protesters in Pakistan began a march on Islamabad on Thursday amid fears that a prolonged confrontation might lead to a military coup a year after the country’s first democratic transfer of power.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and Pakistani-Canadian cleric Tahirul Qadri were leading the separate protest rallies to topple the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The demonstrators aim to cover more than 350 kilometres to reach the capital from the eastern city of Lahore, the political base of Sharif, Khan, and Qadri.

The government decided to allow both protest leaders their marches after assurances that their supporters would remain peaceful and avoid clashes with police like in recent weeks.

The protests are seen a major test for a country where military coups are common.

Khan wants Sharif to step down, citing irregularities in the May 2013 elections. Qadri is demanding changes to the election system, which he says is undemocratic.

In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Sharif offered to investigate allegations of election fraud. But Khan rejected his overture.

The government has eased security measures and removed blockades from roads leading into Islamabad after both Khan and Qadri promised to discipline their followers.

More than a dozen supporters of Qadri and at least three policemen were killed in protests ahead of the planned marches.

Political commentators said the army’s reaction to the protests will decide Sharif’s fate.

The army ruled Pakistan for nearly half of its history since independence from Britain in 1947.

AFP Photo/Asif Hassan

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