Tag Archives: Afghanistan

Kyrgyz MPs vote to shut US base

“The decision was passed by 78 votes to one. Once President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signs the bill, the US has 180 days to leave the base. . . . Bishkek denies any link between the move to shut the base and Moscow’s aid. . . .

Thousands of US soldiers pass through the Manas base every month on their way in and out of Afghanistan. . . . It is also home to the large tanker aircraft that are used for in-air refuelling of fighter planes on combat missions, and it serves as a key supply hub. . . .

For Russia, on the other hand, its closure would be a diplomatic victory as it seeks to reassert its influence in former Soviet republics, analysts say. . . .

With supply lines to Afghanistan via Pakistan increasingly threatened by militant attacks, Washington has intensified talks with other countries in the region in the wake of Mr Bakiyev’s announcement. . . .

The US used to have an air base in Uzbekistan that served troops operating in Afghanistan. But Uzbek authorities closed it in 2005 after criticism from the US and EU over a crackdown on a mass protest in the town of Andijan.” (Read more from news.bbc.co.uk)

Afghanistan is just another great game being played with our blood and tax dollars. The best thing we can do is go home and let the Afghans solve their own problems.

US army ‘wants more immigrants’

“The United States army is to accept immigrants with temporary US visas, for the first time since the Vietnam war, according to the New York Times. Until now immigrants have had to have permanent residency – a ‘green card’ – in order to qualify for the services. . . .

‘The American army finds itself in a lot of different countries where cultural awareness is critical,’ said Lt-Gen Benjamin C Freakley, the top recruitment officer for the army. ‘There will be some very talented folks in this group,’ he told the New York Times. ‘The army will gain in its strength in human capital, and the immigrants will gain their citizenship and get on a ramp to the American dream.’ . . .

The programme will be limited to 1,000 enlistees in its first year, but if successful could be spread to other services and expanded. It could eventually provide the army with one in six of its recruits, the Times said. . . .

The Times said there appeared to be some opposition from officers and veterans, who expressed concern that some foreigners might have divided loyalties or be terrorists seeking to infiltrate the US armed services.” (Read more from news.bbc.co.uk)

Five Predictions for 2009

1) The price for an ounce of Gold will again surpass $1000. This time, it’ll stay over $1000.

2) More of the same under Obama:
     -More war. Our presence in Iraq will continue. At best, there’ll be a decrease in troop levels. Troop levels in Afghanistan will increase. We’ll continue to have a military presence in about 130 of the world’s 190 countries. Only national bankruptcy, or the destruction of the dollar will bring the troops home. We may see the beginnings of this, but I don’t predict it’ll happen in 2009.
     -More government. Size and spending will increase under Obama.
     -More invasiveness. Washington will continue domestic spying, harassment, and illegal detention. The patriot act will not be fully revoked. US troops will take on an increased domestic role.
     -More support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Despite lip-service, Obama’s administration will continue financing, supporting and excusing the longest military occupation in history.

3) States and municipalities will consider bankruptcy.

4) The retail industry will be ravaged. It’ll never again be as it was.

5) The fault line will deepen between power and liberty. Despite Big Media’s best effort, the left vs. right paradigm will become less relevant. Expect increased tension over taxes, right to protest, right to bear arms, freedom of speech.

***

Last year’s predictions:

1) Corporate Media will believe their own propaganda and be astonished by Ron Paul’s success – starting tomorrow.

2) The push to attack Iran will resume once the presidential primaries are decided. If Israel bombs Iran, they’ll do so after the primaries, but before President Bush leaves office.

3) Our economic woes will be worse than predicted.
This is pretty evident.

4) The price of gold will reach $1000/ounce.
See here.

5) The threat of child predators will be leveraged as an excuse to regulate the internet, or internet access.
See here, and here.

on Afghanistan

– German General: Afghan Police Training a ‘Miserable Failure’

– Convoy attacks trigger race to open new Afghan supply lines “Four serious attacks on US and Nato supplies in Pakistan during the past month, including two in the past three days, have added to the sense of urgency to conclude pacts with former Soviet republics bordering Afghanistan to the north. Nato is negotiating with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to allow supplies for Nato forces, including fuel, to cross borders into Afghanistan from the north. The deal, which officials said was close to being agreed, follows an agreement with Moscow this year allowing Nato supplies to be transported by rail or road through Russia.”

– Report warns of Taliban ‘noose’ around Afghan capital Me: I disagree with this report’s recommendation of more troops. Better to defend our borders and let the Afghans solve their own problems.

Email from Afghanistan

I arrived in Bagram Air Force Base (BAF), Afghanistan on Sept. 27th, 2008, and over the course of two days, turned in my ammunition and sat through briefings about vehicle safety, family discord, suicide awareness, and mental health. Collectively, soldiers call them the “don’t-beat-your-wife classes.”

BAF is a sprawling military base full of shipping containers, new construction, gravel fields, military vehicles, hangars, fast food restaurants, Port-A-Johns and strangers in Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, French, Polish, and Egyptian uniforms, or with Lockheed Martin t-shirts, or Slavic accents and Kellog Brown & Root (a subsidiary of Haliburton) ID tags hanging from their necks. People would salute me and wear reflective belts at night, which, having newly arrived from the highly kinetic Kunar Province, felt ridiculous. (Read more of my essay on the atlantic.com)

Gitmo prosecutor consults priest. ‘I am beginning to have grave misgivings about what I am doing.’

“I am beginning to have grave misgivings about what I am doing, and what we are doing as a country,” he wrote in the Aug. 5 e-mail, which the priest shared with The Associated Press on Monday night. “I no longer want to participate in the system, but I lack the courage to quit. I am married, with four children, and not only will they suffer, I’ll lose a lot of friends.” (Read more from MSNBC)

War Without End – now Pakistan

“US ‘must target Pakistan havens’
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has called for a new strategy in Afghanistan to deny militants bases across the border in Pakistan. Speaking on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Admiral Mike Mullen called for a military strategy that covered both sides of the border.” (More from news.bbc.co.uk)

“Pakistan premier backs army chief’s rebuke to US
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan’s prime minister on Thursday backed a harsh rebuke of the U.S. by the Muslim nation’s military chief, a sign of a strain in relations seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks forged the two countries’ anti-terror alliance. . . . Pakistan’s public show of anger with the U.S. comes amid revelations that President Bush secretly approved new U.S. military raids in that country.” (More from news.yahoo.com)

“Pakistan troops ordered to open fire on US raiders
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan’s army said Tuesday that its forces have orders to open fire if U.S. troops launch another raid across the Afghan border, raising the stakes in a dispute over how to tackle militant havens in Pakistan’s unruly border zone.” (More from news.yahoo.com)

“Pakistan Allegedly Repulses U.S. Raid
KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept. 15 — Pakistani troops turned back a U.S. attack in Pakistan’s tribal areas on Monday by firing warning shots toward U.S. troops as they attempted to cross from Afghanistan in pursuit of Taliban insurgents, a Pakistani intelligence official said. U.S. and Pakistani military spokesmen denied the report.” (More from washingtonpost.com)

“Suspected US missile strike kills 6 in Pakistan
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – A suspected U.S. missile strike killed at least six people Wednesday, hours after the top U.S. military officer told Pakistani leaders that America respected Pakistan’s sovereignty amid a furor over American strikes into Pakistan’s northwest.” (More from news.yahoo.com)

U.S. Raid in Pakistan

-“US raid complicating Pakistani’s presidential bid
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A deadly American-led raid on a Pakistani village embarrassed the government and eroded support for the pro-U.S. presidential front-runner Thursday just two days before the election.” (Read more from news.yahoo.com)

-“US confirms raid inside Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — American forces launched a raid inside Pakistan Wednesday, a senior US military official said, in the first known US ground assault in Pakistan against a suspected Taliban haven. The government condemned the attack, saying it killed at least 15 people.” (Read more from chinadaily.com.cn)

War without end, because war means government power, war means transfer of wealth.

Robert Baur on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, GWOT

From an interview with former CIA agent, author Robert Baur in Mens’ Journal May ’08:

“We’re going on seven years in Afghanistan, and the Taliban are still closing down schools in Kandahar. It’s a joke. And Iraq is a corpse that Petraeus keeps putting lipstick on to make it look like it’s still alive. All the Iraqis are doing is cooperating to get American arms. Petraeus says it’s thanks to Iran that they’re keeping the peace. That’s an extraordinary statement: Our main Middle Eastern enemy is keeping the peace for us? We’re fucked. What to do? Come home. Just come home. Impose visas, make sure you know who’s coming into your country, lock the cockpit doors, and be nice to Muslims here. The worst thing to do is to continually shed Muslim blood.”

You said it bro. “Just come home.” I’ll point out, however, that Ron Paul said it first.

Afghanistan Violence

“Militants killed more U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan in June than in Iraq for the second straight month, a grim milestone capping a run of headline-grabbing insurgent attacks that analysts say underscore the Taliban’s growing strength.” Read more from dailytexanonline.com

Whitehouse: “It’s evidence that things are going swimmingly in Iraq.”
Dick Cheyney: “The insurgency is in its death throes.”
Bush: *blink,blink* (waiting for teleprompter)
Rice: “You must take into account recent troop-increases in Afghanistan.”
Pentagon: “It’s because we’re pushing into their traditional strongholds.”
CNN: “Should Obama wear a flag lapel pin?”
MSNBCBSABC: “Authorities save the day by catching serial child molester.”
MSNBCBSABC: “Angelina Jolie heads to French hospital where she expects to give birth to twins”
MSNBCBSABC: “Search for missing girls leads to charges for stepfather.”
FoxNews: “MUSLIM TERRORISTS!!!!”