Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’
United States, the last empire?
And Then There Was One Imperial Gigantism and the Decline of Planet Earth By Tom Engelhardt It stretched from the Caspian to the Baltic Sea, from the middle of Europe to the Kurile Islands in the Pacific, from Siberia to Central Asia. Its nuclear arsenal held 45,000 warheads, and its military had five million troops under arms. There had been nothing like it in Eurasia since the Mongols conquered China, took parts of Central Asia and the Iranian plateau, and rode ... Full Story
More child killing in Afghanistan
Editors note: This is not an isolated incident. This happens frequently. This is not the way to make friends. Our military intervention has been a failure. Thousands of innocents have been killed along with many of our own young people. The cost in lives and money has been enormous. Now some neocon senators want us to attack Iran. More of the same. Insanity at its peak. We need to get our troops out of Afghanistan. The action there has made our country less safe, not more safe. Would you ... Full Story
Generals Run Amuck
Tomgram: William Astore, Generals Behaving Badly Posted by William Astore He was “an ascetic who... usually eats just one meal a day, in the evening, to avoid sluggishness. He is known for operating on a few hours' sleep and for running to and from work while listening to audio books on an iPod... an encyclopedic, even obsessive, knowledge about the lives of terrorists... a warrior-scholar, comfortable with diplomats, politicians..." Those ... Full Story
Petraeus: The hero that never was
From the photos you would think General David Petraeus was a genuine hero. The left side of his jacket is filled with ribbons that make him look like a true warrior. Looks can be deceiving, only one of those ribbons is attached to a medal for action, the Bronze Star (with V device) and there is some question about how he earned that, See: "Petraeus Allegedly Earned A Bronze Star For Combat Valor 'Without Firing his Rifle'". The others are service ribbons or medals awarded for good staff work ... Full Story
Collapse of the Petraeus facade
As pointed out last week in this publication, General David Petraeus' reputation appears to be built upon a foundation of public relations sand, a foundation that is quickly becoming quicksand. More and more publications and reporters are now beginning to take a hard look at the General and what they have written about him in the past. It appears that his greatness has been a media creation, one that he directed and fostered. My observations in the above mentioned article are based on my ... Full Story
The real Petraeus scandal
By Gary Wamsley Colonel, USAF Retired Much is being made about the spectacular fall from grace of one of our nations most respected military icons. The real scandal is not that David Petraeus had feet of clay, but that he managed to convince the country, up to and including the President of the United States that he was a man of vision, integrity and ability. I really had not paid much attention to General Petraeus, generally feeling that the confidence placed in him must ... Full Story
Republicans Want Veterans to Just Trust Them
Graphic: Groobiecat Sources: Below No Need to Mention Vets. According to VetVoice--and myriad other news organizations--the GOP budget proposed by Republican Rep. Paul Ryan doesn't even mention veterans. Read More at groobiecat
Causes, The protests in Afghanistan
The causes of the protests in Afghanistan By Glenn Greenwald Most American media accounts and commentary about the ongoing violent anti-American protests in Afghanistan depict their principal cause as anger over the burning of Korans (it’s just a book: why would people get violent over it?) — except that Afghans themselves keep saying things like this: Protesters in Kabul ... Full Story
Truth, lies and Afghanistan
Truth, lies and Afghanistan How military leaders have let us down By LT. COL. DANIEL L. DAVIS I spent last year in Afghanistan, visiting and talking with U.S. troops and their Afghan partners. My duties with the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force took me into every significant area where our soldiers engage the enemy. Over the course of 12 months, I covered more than 9,000 miles and talked, traveled and patrolled with troops in Kandahar, Kunar, Ghazni, Khost, Paktika, ... Full Story
Privatizing the War on Terror
January 16, 2012 By John W. Whitehead “Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes… known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”—James Madison America’s troops may be returning home from Iraq, but contrary ... Full Story
