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Anja Niedringhaus / AP file
A Pakistani child is given a polio vaccination by a district health team worker outside a children's hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan on May 30, 2012.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A Taliban commander in Pakistan’s tribal belt has banned a vaccination campaign against child polio in protest over frequent United States drone attacks there.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur said that the U.S.-funded vaccinations for tens of thousands of children would be outlawed until drone attacks stopped.
He also said the polio campaign could be a cover for CIA espionage – a reference to Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor reported to have helped American agencies identify Osama bin Laden.
A pamphlet issued in Miranshah, North Waziristan and seen by NBC News accused the U.S. of “spending billions of rupees” on anti-polio measures while causing psychological disorders “due to drone strikes and round the clock hovering of spy planes over homes and villages”.
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“This situation created by U.S. drone strikes is more dangerous than the polio virus,” the pamphlet said.
Pakistan is one of the three countries where polio remains endemic, according to UNICEF, accounting for about 30 percent of the world’s the polio cases. During 2011, the total number of cases was 198, up from 144 cases in 2010. There have already been 15 cases since the start of 2012.
PhotoBlog: Pakistan distributes polio vaccine
Out of the seven tribal regions, North Waziristan was perhaps one of the only places where local Ulema - or religious scholars - had issued a decree in favor of polio drops for children. The Taliban had also guaranteed the security of vaccination teams.
Afridi, a Pakistan government doctor working for the CIA, used a vaccination campaign as a cover to collect DNA samples from Osama bin Laden's family members in Abbottabad – a move that helped identify the al-Qaeda leader, paving the way for his killing in May 2011.
Afridi was given a 33-year prison term for treason following a trial last month.
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This should get them lots of supporters.
My mother used to say, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face..." I think Forest Gump said it best, "Stupid is as stupid does." I do believe Islam, the faith, is peace-loving family oriented. I believe, however, governmental politicians, folks who have forgotten who they represent, are, well, stupid.
Do you believe in fairies?
Peace loving? Really? And what color is the sky in your world?
"Stop killing the terrorist Taliban members or we'll let Pakistan's innocent children die of a preventable virus that causes respiratory failure and suffocation."
Damn. I guess they told us. Wonder what we should do next.
While we're waiting....arm the next drone.
So kill off your children before they become a human bomb!
Good luck with that.
This is the mentality of a moron who is still living in the dark ages. His agenda is the higher priority. Lets keep the women and children uneducated and prone to die because of inadequate medical attention.
This just shows how stupid the Taliban really is. As if this would stop the attacks. What kind of leader is that? Maybe if he had polio he would think different. But I doubt it.
The way they are thinking is that medical workers working for the cia will no longer be able to relay information on potential targets. Potential targets that may or may not be valid. More civilians are killed than militants, and thats if you use the numbers conservatively. Many of those are called militants because they are with some one who is. Thats like you getting a bullet in the head because your in a building with uncle joe bob and joe bob was ranting on the internet about white pride and over throw of the americas.
Wow!!!! Could these Taliban guys be more epically stupid!?!?!?!?!
Oh, I'm sure they're nowhere near the bottom yet. Next, they'll start gassing the kids until we get our troops out of Yemen!
Maybe its just me but for some reason the Taliban's logic seems to escape me. How is withholding polio vaccines from their children hurting the US???
The way I see it if their kids grow up with polio its going to be a lot harder for them to walk into a market with bombs strapped to them if they're using crutches. So feel free to turn down our vaccines.
They're probably thinking (1) we are too morally conscious to allow this to happen to the innocent children and (2) the drug companies charging the vaccines to the government will lose money, thereby hitting the U.S. in the wallet somewhere.
"If you do not stop the drone stikes we will strap explosives to our children and blow them up"
"Oh, wait - that is the reason for the drone strike"
"We will, not take you money"
"Oh, wait - we like your money"
"Give me a while I will think of something"
Unfortunately, there are those who refuse to crawl out of the dark ages and allow the light to enlighten them. What's worse is, they actually believe this is their God given right to put others in harms way as long as it doesn't affect them.
My question would be, will the people EVER rise up against such individuals even on behalf of themselves and their families? Most likely not.
U.S. uses as a way of getting data.....
Thats like using ambulance as a way of transporting weapons. You do not use weapons of peace for war. These people figure if they are going to have to worry about "medical" workers who are actually spies in their midst they might as well not have them there at all. More civilians are killed each year by drone attacks than polio. Pull the numbers and do the math.
But it is OK for the Taliban to behead journalists and red cross doctors. In case you haven't figured it out by reading the comments, most of us don't care how many civilians are killed in drone attacks. If you don't want to die, don't stand next to a terrorist. If you want your children to suffer and die with a preventable disease, great, we won't need so many drones in the future and the ones that survive won't be much use as homicide bombers. We should not spend a nickel on any of these areas. We should set up a perimeter around these stone age idiots and let them kill themselves off. I have to agree with an earlier poster who suggested we have no contact with any theocracy of any kind. No trade, no aid no treaties no nothing. If they want to live in the 10th century let them.
gotta love it. taliban using children as human shields, soooo typical of those retards
Born stupid,,,,,always stupid.
Why should I care? Why should my tax $$ be used to help vaaccinate future terrorists? Let them die in their own squalor.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Consider polio spreading to other countries because of their not having vaccines. Pakistan, Afghanistan and one other country have the most polio. It would not take long. Ever see the movie, Contagion?
Then I would suggest that "those" countries get their own vaccine to vaccinate their children or they will die too. That was easy to solve, NEXT!
Are you aware of any country not having access to the vaccine if they want it?
No, I am not aware that the vaccines are not available but despotic governments are not helpful. My concern other than children being impacted is that although many citizens are vaccinated for school in the US and other civilized societies, none of us are good at booster shots. I do not know that due to world travel that it won't be brought to us.
Excellent decision Taliban! I have a whole bunch of suggestions to follow on to that one like "bullets are good for your brains".
So sad....they do have a point. Drone attacks are more dangerous than the polio virus but the ones that do live and aren't vaccinated will have a hard life if any at all if they contract polio. All they have to do over there is FIND A WAY TO GET ALONG!! Treat all human beings as if they matter, not just the ones with the biggest stick and the loudest voice.
I guess there is a upside to this. There will be fewer terrorists in the future because of ignorance and polio.
I guess this is what one would call a "mixed blessing." I've heard that God has no sense of humor, but He certainly seems to have a sense of the ironic.
Such is the mentality of the animals with whom we have to deal. "Stop attacking us or we'll show you! We'll let our kids die. That should put you Yanks in your place!"
I wonder if anyone would notice if we nuked the entire Middle East (including Pakistan)...nah, probably not.
They are specifically targeting US funded vaccination programs. How about the Saudis use some of their oil money to fund a vaccination program instead.
They can't because they are using their oil money to fund the terrorists.
"Taliban bans Pakistan polio vaccinations over drone strikes"
This kind of logic makes Obamas decisions easier to understand.
Oh, maybe that will make them become Extinct (wishful thinking). Stupid pieces of crap that roam the world. Let the women and little girls go, who cares if each and every man died, that would make the world such a better place.
Lets see now.."Our children can get polio, but we are pissed at the US, so lets not vaccinate our children". Now that is rational and progressive thinking...
Thank you Dr Afridi. You truly made the world a better place.
The Taliban leadership is not exactly high on the IQ bell curve. Somehow they need to get these people back to just rocks and sticks so they can't hurt anybody but themselves.
Just another wonderful and enlightened Islamic view from a so called God fearing people, who use children as human shields and then complain when one dies in collateral fire. They then blame the US for the childs death and call us baby killers for it. If they truly loved their children they would never put them in harms way by displaying their courage while hiding behind them. The real tragedy is that the children are the ones who suffer the most out all of this, not the adults!