Afghanistan 2011

[Sulako]

This thread had a stall/spin and needed to recover. A bunch of recent posts got toasted, and a couple of strikes will be awarded. Play nice, and try to stick to the topic at-hand.

[bizjets101]

Washington Post Opinion suggest the American's declare victory - and leave!!!!

[Moose47]

"Washington Post Opinion suggest the American's declare victory - and leave!!!!"

And within two years, Karzai will be dead and the Taliban ruling the 'Stan' again!

[bizjets101]

Hmmm, Afghans have been around since 50,000 BC - they can outlast the American's standing on their heads.

The Taliban are nothing more than the youth of the country - aka the majority of the population. The NATO force are nothing more than a third wheel in an internal war that will continue the second the Americans are gone.

The Afghans are far more resilient than the invading forces - anyone with a history book knows that.

The current corrupt Government of Afghanistan - does not represent the people of Afghanistan, just merely a puppet of the American's - who will fall sooner or later - but at what cost to NATO troops, and a huge financial burden - for how long.

America will give up long before the Afghans, like Vietnam the loss will sting, but will be forgotten in the history books, ALL the lives lost - will be for NOTHING>

[Expat]

Sobering thoughts for expats here.
These feelings I experience more and more:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/gl ... ops-expats

[bizjets101]

Ahhh, direct hit; Live Leak.

[. ._]

I love fireworks, but what a waste of money.

I just did some math. Apparently an MRI costs 1-3 million bucks.

http://www.ehow.com/about_4731161_much- ... -cost.html

And if we spend 18 billion in Afghanistan...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/200 ... eport.html

We could have bought (conservatively) 6000 MRI machines.

Or, if grandma and grandpa have alzheimer's etc and have to be in a home at 3000 bucks a month (for a nice one), that money could have been used to give care to a half million seniors.

Or, we could kill brown people with old AK-47s for no reason other than to protect the heroin supply to the west.

[Moose47]

istp- "I love fireworks, but what a waste of money"

If you mean the round that struck the target in front of the Marines, definately not a waste of money if saves your ass.

[bizjets101]

Nothing like a nice quiet walk by yourself in Afghanistan; Click Here.

[bizjets101]

From Inter Press News Agency (Established 1964) and considered to be the largest and most credible alternative news organizations.

ipsnews.net full story.

WASHINGTON, Jun 12, 2011 (IPS) - During his intensive initial round of media interviews as commander in Afghanistan in August 2010, Gen. David Petraeus released figures to the news media that claimed spectacular success for raids by Special Operations Forces: in a 90-day period from May through July, SOF units had captured 1,355 rank and file Taliban, killed another 1,031, and killed or captured 365 middle or high-ranking Taliban.

But it turns out that more than 80 percent of those called captured Taliban fighters were released within days of having been picked up, because they were found to have been innocent civilians, according to official U.S. military data.

Ooops, link fixed.

[Expat]

From Inter Press News Agency (Established 1964) and considered to be the largest and most credible alternative news organizations.

=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=560 ... t [/color] full story.

WASHINGTON, Jun 12, 2011 (IPS) - During his intensive initial round of media interviews as commander in Afghanistan in August 2010, Gen. David Petraeus released figures to the news media that claimed spectacular success for raids by Special Operations Forces: in a 90-day period from May through July, SOF units had captured 1,355 rank and file Taliban, killed another 1,031, and killed or captured 365 middle or high-ranking Taliban.

But it turns out that more than 80 percent of those called captured Taliban fighters were released within days of having been picked up, because they were found to have been innocent civilians, according to official U.S. military data.

And the killed were attending a wedding...

[Expat]

6 gruelling weeks...Off tomorrow to 18 days of R&R. Ain't no life like it!

[Spokes]

6 gruelling weeks...Off tomorrow to 18 days of R&R. Ain't no life like it!

Week 3 done. 5 to go. then 28 days off.

[Dash-Ate]

OF COURSE IT WAS STOLEN, BY THE ROBBERBARONS!!

"WE KNOW HE HAS WMD"???!??


US: Iraq reconstruction billions 'may have been stolen'
Mr Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said a third audit is being carried out Iraq billions 'unaccounted for'

Some $6.6bn (£4bn) flown into Iraq eight years ago may have been stolen, according to a US official investigating fraud in the country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13768882

The missing money may represent "the largest theft of funds in national history", investigator Stuart Bowen told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

A third audit is being conducted to find the money, which was shipped from the US between 2003-2004, he said.

The cash, which belonged to Iraq, was intended to pay for reconstruction

[. ._]

That is irrevelant. He had weaopns of mass distructions!

(and if you don't get my sarcasm, you're either a noob here or an idiot)

[Spokes]

That is irrevelant. He had weaopns of mass distructions!

(and if you don't get my sarcasm, you're either a noob here or an idiot)

uhhhhh he did have WMD and used them on Kurds......

[. ._]

That was 15 years before the invasion.

No UN inspectors after that or US troops after the invasion ever found any.

At the time of the invasion, the US had no proof of WMDs.

[bmc]

oil

[Beefitarian]

So long and best wishes to the US&A tying up loose ends?

I don't watch TV but the story of us leaving seems a bit buried by "ca.Yahoo.com".

[. ._]

Yeah, there's not much being reported on that, eh?

I had to do some serious googling to find this:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/canad ... story.html

But then here it says.

On Dec 09/10 it was announced that after the end of combat operations in July 2011, Canadian Forces (approximately 950 newly-posted specialized personnel) will be transferred from ISAF to the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan to continue the training of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%27s ... nistan_War

So we'll still have 950 guys over there? Oh well, the other guys won't get laid off. Next stop... Libya to paint some targets for some good ol' humanitarian bombs to spread more of the collateral love.

[Expat]

...and God knows they need specialised training...

Britain's 500-troop reduction does not include the previously announced plan to withdraw 426 British military personnel by February.

Along with the military strides, Cameron said the Afghanistan security forces have been making great improvements. For example, he cited their handling of the aftermath of the Kabul hotel attack last week.

"The Afghan forces dealt with it professionally and speedily, only calling in assistance from a NATO helicopter to deal with insurgents on the roof," Cameron said.

...and that is after two insurgents took complete control of the hotel for 5 hours!!!

Which means, that they did SFA...

[sky's the limit]

Ah yes, the spin machine in full flight.

Amazing how far a little fluff goes though, isn't it?

stl

[azimuthaviation]

Hotels arent easy to clear, so many rooms, so many doors, so many stairwells. Look up Mark Essex, he took over a hotel for 19 hours before a helicopter took him out on the roof.

[Brocksby]

If a government orders killing of innocent people in the name of terrorism, then what you will say about them? I think this term terrorist and terrorism is devised by USA and her allies. These forces which invaded Iraq and Afghanistan are in fact terrorists and NATO is a terrorist organization.

[Expat]

The saying here now goes: Don't put 20 useless guards at the main gate...just give me a pistol...