March 19th, 2012
Say what you will about Joe Scarborough, the man is right on Afghanistan:
"Headline for all Republicans and Democrats that want to continue to fight this war, we won the war. It was an anti-terror campaign. We went in to get Osama bin Laden. We went in to break up al Qaeda in Afghanistan where they launched the 9/11 attacks. We killed them. We routed them. We destroyed them. We didn't go in to beat the Taliban. The Taliban is a different thing. Very different thing than al Qaeda. The Taliban doesn't want to blow up buildings in Washington, DC, or New York or Charlotte or Atlanta. They want to be left alone to run their country by second century standards. We should let them." EMPHASIS MINE
Showing posts with label afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label afghanistan. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
George Will Vs. The GOP On Defense
Feb 10th, 2012
A few days ago, conservative columnist George Will penned a withering critique of current Republican messaging on defense. He begins with nothing less than a rebuke of the entire Iraq misadventure:
"Hours — not months, not weeks, hours — after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, vicious political factionalism and sectarian violence intensified. Many Republicans say Barack Obama's withdrawal — accompanied by his administration's foolish praise of Iraq's "stability" — has jeopardized what has been achieved there. But if it cannot survive a sunrise without fraying, how much of an achievement was it?
Few things so embitter a nation as squandered valor; hence Americans, with much valor spent there, want Iraq to master its fissures. But with America in the second decade of its longest war, the probable Republican nominee is promising to extend it indefinitely." EMPHASIS OURS
In fact, all of the GOP contenders (with the exception of Ron Paul) are now in a mad dash to outdo one another in promising more wars, longer wars and bigger wars. The situation is out of hand and these positions are dramatically at odds with the will of the people.
A few days ago, conservative columnist George Will penned a withering critique of current Republican messaging on defense. He begins with nothing less than a rebuke of the entire Iraq misadventure:
"Hours — not months, not weeks, hours — after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, vicious political factionalism and sectarian violence intensified. Many Republicans say Barack Obama's withdrawal — accompanied by his administration's foolish praise of Iraq's "stability" — has jeopardized what has been achieved there. But if it cannot survive a sunrise without fraying, how much of an achievement was it?
Few things so embitter a nation as squandered valor; hence Americans, with much valor spent there, want Iraq to master its fissures. But with America in the second decade of its longest war, the probable Republican nominee is promising to extend it indefinitely." EMPHASIS OURS
In fact, all of the GOP contenders (with the exception of Ron Paul) are now in a mad dash to outdo one another in promising more wars, longer wars and bigger wars. The situation is out of hand and these positions are dramatically at odds with the will of the people.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
About The Latest Afghanistan Handwringing
Feb 1st, 2012
First of all, it's not news that members of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service are in bed with radical elements of the Taliban. Second of all, if we stayed in Afghanistan for another hundred years, they would begin destroying each other not long after we departed. This is what we are seeing in Iraq already. Eventually, we are going to have to think about doing more nation building at home. In fact, discussion of that kind have begun in earnest on both sides of the aisle. Now comes an "explosive report" detailing the imminent return to power of the Taliban aided and abetted by the ISI. Sigh.
Reuters has some coverage about this "report" which is essential reading for anyone before they start running around in panic-circles and yelling that the sky is falling:
"Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC. But he said it was not a strategic study.
"The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions," he said. "It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis." EMPHASIS OURS
Get it? This prisoner braggadocio. This is not the kind of thing on which so much as a single change in policy particulars should be based. It will be interesting to see if the neo-conservative permawar crowd, which is always harping on the need to 'listen to military,' actually listens to the military on this one.
First of all, it's not news that members of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service are in bed with radical elements of the Taliban. Second of all, if we stayed in Afghanistan for another hundred years, they would begin destroying each other not long after we departed. This is what we are seeing in Iraq already. Eventually, we are going to have to think about doing more nation building at home. In fact, discussion of that kind have begun in earnest on both sides of the aisle. Now comes an "explosive report" detailing the imminent return to power of the Taliban aided and abetted by the ISI. Sigh.
Reuters has some coverage about this "report" which is essential reading for anyone before they start running around in panic-circles and yelling that the sky is falling:
"Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC. But he said it was not a strategic study.
"The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions," he said. "It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis." EMPHASIS OURS
Get it? This prisoner braggadocio. This is not the kind of thing on which so much as a single change in policy particulars should be based. It will be interesting to see if the neo-conservative permawar crowd, which is always harping on the need to 'listen to military,' actually listens to the military on this one.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Spirit Of Legitimate Conservatism
Jan 24th, 2012
Kelley Vlahos' column from last Sunday, firing back at supposedly "conservative" apologists for the blatant war crime of body desecration recently captured on video in Afghanistan, is arguably the finest critique in months of what has gone so horribly wrong with the right in our country:
"Writers at The Weekly Standard, National Review, The Washington Times and Commentary have been ruthless non-apologists for the indiscriminate killing of non-whites as a means to their ends, from the “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq and the flattening of Fallujah to the ethnic cleansing of Baghdad, today’s drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, and all of the wars’ human repercussions (death, disease, displacement). In their world, these are always treated as time-wasting, politically motivated afterthoughts that merely muddy their own paper-white narrative."
Kelley Vlahos' column from last Sunday, firing back at supposedly "conservative" apologists for the blatant war crime of body desecration recently captured on video in Afghanistan, is arguably the finest critique in months of what has gone so horribly wrong with the right in our country:
"Writers at The Weekly Standard, National Review, The Washington Times and Commentary have been ruthless non-apologists for the indiscriminate killing of non-whites as a means to their ends, from the “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq and the flattening of Fallujah to the ethnic cleansing of Baghdad, today’s drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, and all of the wars’ human repercussions (death, disease, displacement). In their world, these are always treated as time-wasting, politically motivated afterthoughts that merely muddy their own paper-white narrative."
Friday, October 7, 2011
War Criminal Squirms
Oct 7th, 2011
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had a helluva time dealing with al-Jazeera's Abderrahim Foukara this week.
Via Mediaite:
"Foukara asked Rumsfeld to elaborate on how he saw the policies in Iraq, namely, whether he felt "responsible for the killing of innocent Iraqis." The mere formulation of the question resulted in much crosstalk, with Rumsfeld arguing that Foukara’s assertions were "fundamentally false" and asking him whether he "want[s] to yell or do you want to do an interview?" Foukara attempted to rephrase his question: "Do you think the numbers of US troops that you went into Iraq with did absolve you from the responsibility of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis killed by the coalition and those criminals you talked about?" He implored Rumsfeld to "give me a straight answer."
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had a helluva time dealing with al-Jazeera's Abderrahim Foukara this week.
Via Mediaite:
"Foukara asked Rumsfeld to elaborate on how he saw the policies in Iraq, namely, whether he felt "responsible for the killing of innocent Iraqis." The mere formulation of the question resulted in much crosstalk, with Rumsfeld arguing that Foukara’s assertions were "fundamentally false" and asking him whether he "want[s] to yell or do you want to do an interview?" Foukara attempted to rephrase his question: "Do you think the numbers of US troops that you went into Iraq with did absolve you from the responsibility of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis killed by the coalition and those criminals you talked about?" He implored Rumsfeld to "give me a straight answer."
10 Straight Years Of Permawar
Oct 7th, 2011
via The Kansas City Star
"For America, the Afghanistan war turns 10 years old today.
For many it has seemed never-ending, no less so for the Afghans, who are now in their third decade of conflict.
The arguments for U.S. boots on the ground remain unchanged: Deny the terrorist tribes a homeland from which to strike again. But for many, the goals of crushing the Taliban and fostering democracy in Afghanistan seem further away than in 2001.
A former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Thursday the U.S. military had a “frighteningly simplistic” understanding of the place it invaded, which helps explain why the war lasted 10 years."
via The Kansas City Star
 |
| Photo by Darren Stevenson |
For many it has seemed never-ending, no less so for the Afghans, who are now in their third decade of conflict.
The arguments for U.S. boots on the ground remain unchanged: Deny the terrorist tribes a homeland from which to strike again. But for many, the goals of crushing the Taliban and fostering democracy in Afghanistan seem further away than in 2001.
A former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Thursday the U.S. military had a “frighteningly simplistic” understanding of the place it invaded, which helps explain why the war lasted 10 years."
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Quote Of The Day - Here and Now Edition
May 16th, 2011
"They take your money. They do not co-operate. They created the Taliban. They are number one in nuclear proliferation."
-- Afghanistan's former intelligence chief, Amrullah Saleh, discussing Pakistan's relationship with the U.S. and their harboring of Osama Bin Laden
"They take your money. They do not co-operate. They created the Taliban. They are number one in nuclear proliferation."
-- Afghanistan's former intelligence chief, Amrullah Saleh, discussing Pakistan's relationship with the U.S. and their harboring of Osama Bin Laden
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
It Mattered To Us...
May 3rd, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
The news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. Forces operating deep inside Pakistan may well define us in a way matched only by a certain bad September day nearly 10 years ago.
by F. Grey Parker
The news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. Forces operating deep inside Pakistan may well define us in a way matched only by a certain bad September day nearly 10 years ago.
Monday, March 28, 2011
The "Kill Team"
March 28th, 2011
This sums it all up.
"At one point, soldiers in 3rd Platoon talked about throwing candy out of a Stryker vehicle as they drove through a village and shooting the children who came running to pick up the sweets." -- From Rolling Stone
The following is the latest video release from the Army investigation. From Wired:
"Specialist Adam Winfield, one of the five soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division charged with murdering Afghan civilians, tells an investigator how he took part in an execution in a Kandahar village."
We will not publish any of the Afghanistan "Kill Team" photos. But they should be seen. And this story needs to be heard. These actions were done in our name. That we as a nation have demanded little accountability over the last 10 years of permawar is no small factor in these acts. That abdication of our civilian responsibilities, coupled with so few successful courts-martial for obvious war crimes in that time, created the climate in which the "Kill Team" was possible.
Men like Allen West have actually gained office in part because of their having participated in obscenities. Shameful brutes like Iliano Panatano would have been sentenced to prison or hard labor in previous conflicts. Instead, they now come home and Tea Partiers call them "heroes" specifically because they think anyone who accuses an American of a war crime is a "traitor."
Which led us here.
This sums it all up.
"At one point, soldiers in 3rd Platoon talked about throwing candy out of a Stryker vehicle as they drove through a village and shooting the children who came running to pick up the sweets." -- From Rolling Stone
The following is the latest video release from the Army investigation. From Wired:
"Specialist Adam Winfield, one of the five soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division charged with murdering Afghan civilians, tells an investigator how he took part in an execution in a Kandahar village."
We will not publish any of the Afghanistan "Kill Team" photos. But they should be seen. And this story needs to be heard. These actions were done in our name. That we as a nation have demanded little accountability over the last 10 years of permawar is no small factor in these acts. That abdication of our civilian responsibilities, coupled with so few successful courts-martial for obvious war crimes in that time, created the climate in which the "Kill Team" was possible.
Men like Allen West have actually gained office in part because of their having participated in obscenities. Shameful brutes like Iliano Panatano would have been sentenced to prison or hard labor in previous conflicts. Instead, they now come home and Tea Partiers call them "heroes" specifically because they think anyone who accuses an American of a war crime is a "traitor."
Which led us here.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
The So-Called Liberal Media
Dec 29th, 2010
Here is a tale of two videos. Well, one video really. It is shown in two different ways and to very, very different ends. It is but a single example of our major news organization's complicity in keeping the public uniformed. It is also typical. The first media embed is from CBS News coverage of a few seconds from the helicopter gunship recording that put Wikileaks on the map. Watch please...
Did you see the obvious war crime caught on tape? Neither did most people who watched good old "liberal" CBS for information on the release of the video.
Now, please watch the second video...
The CBS coverage is questionable in the extreme. The highly respected Namir Noor Eldeen is not mentioned by name. There is no mention that the American soldiers mis-identified a 10" camera lens as an RPG-7, an item roughly 3 feet longer when unloaded. There is no mention that the soldiers involved lied and stipulated that it was a "battle" with insurgents. There is no mention that there were children on the scene when the helicopter gunships engaged a second time in an attempt to kill the wounded (a war crime under Common Article 3 of The Geneva Conventions) and those who attempted to provide them assistance (a war crime under Common Articles 9, 12 and 15 of The Geneva Conventions).
The money quote from the network's 90 second story:
"Now it appears from the tape that at least some of those hit on the ground were unarmed, but a journalist who was in the general area that same days says it is important for all of us to remember it was a hectic, violent and uneasy day."
Excuse me? The second wave of unprovoked fire wounded rescuers and two children almost killing them. It is as clear a record of a war crime that we have seen here at home from our Iraq misadventure. Yet, CBS chose to carry the water for our military in it's attempts to cover up the incident and diminish public anger.
The network should be ashamed. To be fair, guys like Murrow and Cronkite wouldn't be caught dead working for them now. And that's the way it is.
Here is a tale of two videos. Well, one video really. It is shown in two different ways and to very, very different ends. It is but a single example of our major news organization's complicity in keeping the public uniformed. It is also typical. The first media embed is from CBS News coverage of a few seconds from the helicopter gunship recording that put Wikileaks on the map. Watch please...
Did you see the obvious war crime caught on tape? Neither did most people who watched good old "liberal" CBS for information on the release of the video.
Now, please watch the second video...
The CBS coverage is questionable in the extreme. The highly respected Namir Noor Eldeen is not mentioned by name. There is no mention that the American soldiers mis-identified a 10" camera lens as an RPG-7, an item roughly 3 feet longer when unloaded. There is no mention that the soldiers involved lied and stipulated that it was a "battle" with insurgents. There is no mention that there were children on the scene when the helicopter gunships engaged a second time in an attempt to kill the wounded (a war crime under Common Article 3 of The Geneva Conventions) and those who attempted to provide them assistance (a war crime under Common Articles 9, 12 and 15 of The Geneva Conventions).
The money quote from the network's 90 second story:
"Now it appears from the tape that at least some of those hit on the ground were unarmed, but a journalist who was in the general area that same days says it is important for all of us to remember it was a hectic, violent and uneasy day."
Excuse me? The second wave of unprovoked fire wounded rescuers and two children almost killing them. It is as clear a record of a war crime that we have seen here at home from our Iraq misadventure. Yet, CBS chose to carry the water for our military in it's attempts to cover up the incident and diminish public anger.
The network should be ashamed. To be fair, guys like Murrow and Cronkite wouldn't be caught dead working for them now. And that's the way it is.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Did The ISI Out A CIA Operative?
Dec 19th, 2010
The growing tensions between Pakistan's ISI intelligence service and our own CIA appear to have reached a new and dangerous level. Our top undercover man in the region has been revealed and forced to flee. The seriousness of the release and it's implications heading into our 10th year of war in Afghanistan are far reaching. The personal motive in the outing is a testament to how deeply our campaign of violence has infuriated their elites.
From the NYTimes:
"An official of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s top spy organization, angrily denied Saturday that it was responsible for revealing the name of the Central Intelligence Agency’s top clandestine officer in Pakistan."
“We absolutely deny this accusation, which is totally unsubstantiated and based on nothing but conjecture,” a senior ISI official said in a background briefing at the headquarters of the spy organization in Islamabad."
From The AP:
"The CIA yanked its top spy out of Pakistan after his cover was blown and his life threatened, and 54 suspected militants were killed in a U.S. drone missile attack Friday in stark new signs of the troubled relationship between mistrustful allies locked in a war on terror groups. The CIA’s decision to remove its Islamabad station chief comes at a pivotal moment. The Obama administration is pressing Pakistan to rid its lawless northwest frontier of militants, even as public outcry in the country has intensified against the U.S. spy agency’s unacknowledged drone war."
From Alex Rodriguez of The L.A. Times:
"The CIA agent's name was first made public by Pakistani lawyer Shahzad Akbar and his client, Karim Khan, at a Nov. 29 news conference to announce their intent to sue the United States over the deaths of Khan's son and brother, and another man in an American drone missile strike Dec. 31, 2009, in the tribal region of North Waziristan.
Subsequently, the agent's name was widely disseminated in Pakistani newspapers and television newscasts. Akbar said he obtained the agent's name from two Pakistani journalists, whose identities he would not disclose. He did not know how the journalists learned of the agent's identity. However, the ISI maintains strong bonds with certain Pakistani journalists and commentators, and often uses them to influence coverage or spin their version of events."
And the permawar goes on...
The War You Don't See
Dec 19th, 2010
Below is the first portion of John Pilger's The War You Don't See. It is a gut-wrenching indictment of the failure of modern journalism and it's complicity in permawar.
Below is the first portion of John Pilger's The War You Don't See. It is a gut-wrenching indictment of the failure of modern journalism and it's complicity in permawar.
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