"a shift from liberation to occupation"
That's what it has been from the start.
"Afghan official, 22 others killed in suicide blast; Taliban lay claim to attack outside mosque" by M. Karim Faiez and Laura King, Los Angeles Times | September 3, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - .... By the end of the process, the overall request for additional forces could be relatively small - perhaps below a standing request for 10,000 additional troops that McChrystal’s predecessor left behind....
Related: AmeriKan Escalation in Afghanistan
Sunday Globe Censorship: Democrats Do About Face in Afghanistan
But by acknowledging concern that Afghans - and Americans and NATO allies - may see any significant US troop increase as a shift from liberation to occupation, the White House could be opening a policy escape hatch - a pared down request from the military Obama would find agreeable....
And to which the Democraps could compromise.
As the president took a newly finished review of military strategy in Afghanistan with him to Camp David yesterday as he continues his vacation, a senior administration official declined to say in which direction Obama is leaning....
Oh, I think we can pretty much guess.
President Obama is weighing an expected request for more US troops against concerns that an expanded American presence could be perceived by Afghan civilians as an occupation army and not a liberating force battling a determined and bloody Taliban resurgence....
The increasing violence has engulfed not only Afghan civilians and authorities, but also Western troops. American forces suffered their bloodiest months of the nearly 8-year-old conflict in July and August....
In the most serious strike at Afghanistan’s security apparatus since presidential elections two weeks ago, a suicide bomber yesterday killed the country’s deputy intelligence chief and at least 22 other people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place outside a mosque in Laghman Province about 60 miles east of the capital, Kabul.
This is what the Muslim-hating, war-promoting, Amerikan MSM says. I don't believe pious Taliban would bomb a mosque; however, I know what political/religious group would want to make them look bad. They would also known where the DCI would be.
Authorities said the blast occurred as the intelligence official, Abdullah Laghmani, and his entourage were leaving the mosque where they had gone to pray during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Two senior provincial officials were also reported to be among the dead.
The attack occurred amid rising tensions over the outcome of Afghanistan’s Aug. 20 presidential vote. The latest count, released yesterday, put President Hamid Karzai in the lead with 47 percent - close to a majority, but not enough to avoid a runoff with his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Authorities have released the count of ballots from about 60 percent of polling stations.
Related: Afghanistan's Election Returns
Sunday Globe Censorship: Afghanistan's Rigged Election
America Silent on Stolen Afghan Elections
Most of the allegations of vote-rigging that have emerged following the vote have been aimed at Karzai and his supporters. Investigating the complaints could take weeks. Yesterday’s explosion wrecked several vehicles and damaged the mosque the Afghan officials were leaving in the town of Mehterlam. American troops deployed in the area swiftly moved in to cordon off the scene after the blast.
The attack was evidence of the insurgents’ ability to track and target even heavily guarded senior officials.
Well, who can argue with that, huh?
Those killed in the explosion also included a top aide to the Laghman governor and two of the intelligence official’s bodyguards. As is common in such attacks, the bulk of those killed and injured were believed to have been civilians, about 18 in all.
Afghanistan’s main intelligence service, the National Directorate for Security, is a prime target for insurgents. According to Afghan news reports, an intelligence officer was abducted and hanged earlier this week in the northern province of Baghlan.
Really? That's the first and last I've heard of it.
--more--"
