By Michael Scheuer
The bottom line is that the United States and NATO stand defeated in Afghanistan. Under McChrystal, Petraeus, or Obama himself the counterinsurgency strategy now being flogged has been intellectually bankrupt from its inception.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25858.htm
The Occupation Supplemental: A Rundown
Let's walk through just what happened last night in the House of Representatives on the war supplemental, and its multiple implications.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/02/the-war-supplemental-a-rundown/
Afghanistan is "War of Obama's Choosing"
Republican National Committee Chairman: He can be heard suggesting that President Obama failed to understand that waging war in Afghanistan has been shown throughout history to be a losing proposition.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20009569-503544.html
Afghanistan: 90 killed as Petraeus takes command
'We must demonstrate to the people and to the Taliban that Afghan and ISAF forces are here to safeguard the Afghan people,' Petraeus said at the International Security Assistance Force headquarters.
http://tinyurl.com/26avnb9
McChrystal Probe of SOF Killings Excluded Key Eyewitnesses
The follow-up investigation of a botched Special Operations Forces (SOF) raid in Gardez Feb. 12 that killed two government officials and three women, ordered by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal Apr. 5, was ostensibly aimed at reconciling divergent Afghan and U.S. accounts of what happened during and after the raid.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52063
Study says Afghan graft worsening
Afghans paid nearly $1bn in bribes last year, and corruption has become far more widespread since 2006, according to a new survey from a Kabul-based NGO.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/201078124118415689.html
Only way to end the Afghanistan war
US peace deal with the Taliban: Nearly six months into the United States surge in Afghanistan and six months prior to the White House's review of the Afghan war strategy, it's clear our mission in Afghanistan is not only failing, but beyond repair.
http://bit.ly/aPm8Wm
Former US envoy calls for Afghanistan's partition
A former US ambassador to India, warns that the Obama administration's counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan "seems headed for failure" and the best option for Washington is to partition Afghanistan.
http://bit.ly/dnKqhA
Study says Afghan graft worsening
Survey finds Afghans paid nearly $1bn in bribes last year to avail government services.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/201078124118415689.html
Women and Suicide by Self-Immolation in Afghanistan
Images from photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair's Whitney Biennial exhibition: "Self-Immolation: A Cry for Help" can be seen at her website.
http://www.metafilter.com/93574/Women-and-Suicide-by-SelfImmolation-in-Afghanistan
From Information Clearing House
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Why Did It Take a Rock Magazine to Report the Military's Total Disaster in Afghanistan?
Peter Richardson, Alternet: "The controversial Rolling Stone profile of General Stanley McChrystal didn't just expose poor judgment on the part of the U.S. military's key leader in Afghanistan. It also illustrates one of the most persistent shortcomings of American corporate journalism."
http://www.truth-out.org/why-did-it-take-a-rock-magazine-report-militarys-total-disaster-afghanistan61052
Losing in Afghanistan
Marjorie Cohn, Truthout: "Last week, the House of Representatives voted 215-210 for $33 billion to fund Barack Obama's troop increase in Afghanistan. But there was considerable opposition to giving the president a blank check. One hundred sixty-two House members supported an amendment that would have tied the funding to a withdrawal timetable. One hundred members voted for another amendment that would have rejected the $33 billion for the 30,000 new troops already on their way to Afghanistan; that amendment would have required that the money be spent to redeploy our troops out of Afghanistan."
http://www.truth-out.org/losing-afghanistan61122
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Petraeus takes over Afghan fight, vows “to win” it
Fort Dodge Messenger News
07/05/10
‘We are in this to win,’ Gen. David Petraeus said as he took the reins of an Afghan war effort troubled by waning support, an emboldened enemy, government corruption and a looming commitment to withdraw troops — even with no sign of violence easing. Petraeus, who pioneered the counterinsurgency strategy he now oversees in Afghanistan, has just months to show progress in turning back insurgents and convince both the Afghan people and neighboring countries that the U.S. is committed to preventing the country from again becoming a haven for al-Qaida and its terrorist allies...
http://tinyurl.com/27flydy
Bill Kristol must resign
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo
07/05/10
Bill Kristol is demanding the head of GOP national chairman Michael Steele, who, in a moment of honesty, questioned the wisdom of invading and occupying Afghanistan. Yet Kristol has never been elected to anything: indeed, the pretentious little gremlin once threatened to quit the GOP, back in the 1990s, when the Republicans in Congress voted to deny funding to Bill Clinton’s Balkan adventure. Kristol, who had thrilled at the opportunity to ‘crush Serb skulls,’ as he put it, stamped his foot and declared his imminent defection. Too bad he never followed through on his promise. Now he’s assuming the mantle of Republican kingmaker: based on his atrocious record as the GOP’s grand strategist, it’s Kristol, not Steele, who should resign...
http://tinyurl.com/34xuc92
War, the fourth, and struggling Americans
Huffington Post
by Gary Hart
07/03/10
Virtually without exception, Americans supported the initial focused invasion of Afghanistan to crush al Qaeda and prevent its return to sanctuary in Afghanistan. We were a nation out for vengeance and right was on our side. In addition, the national economy was booming (that is, before the dot.com bubble burst). In that almost-decade’s time, things have changed. Mostly, around 2005, our mission changed. We decided to broaden the mission to include the creation of some kind of stable, self-sustaining democracy in that perpetually troubled land. History will show that was a big mistake. History will also show that the new President Obama would have been well-advised to adopt the original, not the replacement, mission...
http://tinyurl.com/366sb5y
The dark legacy of General McChrystal
AntiWar.Com
by Kelley B. Vlahos
07/13/10
Gen. Stanley McChrystal might have left town through the back door with his four stars barely intact, his 35-year career in the Army humiliatingly cut short by a lack of judgment with a counterculture magazine. But in reality, he got off easy...
http://tinyurl.com/2fnpyp7
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=McChrystal
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Petraeus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kristol
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Steele
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Special+Operations+Forces
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=counterinsurgency
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=night+raids
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=war+supplemental
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=counterinsurgency
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=bribes
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=corporate+journalism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Scheuer
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=raimondo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Marjorie+Cohn
http://sharenews.twoday.net/search?q=Kelley+B.+Vlahos
