When the going gets tough, the Italians bail.
Didn't Hitler have to send thousands of troops he couldn't spare to shore up Mussolini?
Hey, I'm not knocking it; they NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE to begin with!
"Blast kills 16 in Afghanistan; Karzai rejects complaints on election results" by Abdul Waheed Wafa and Richard A. Oppel Jr., New York Times | September 18, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - A powerful suicide car bomb exploded near the heart of the American and NATO military command, killing Afghan civilians and Italian troops and underscoring the insurgent threat....
Afghan officials said 10 Afghan civilians were killed and 52 wounded, many at a small bazaar of vegetable stands and other shops on the far side of the road. Pieces of human flesh were strewn about the scene. Two bodies were in the middle of the road, and the twisted wreckage of bicycles and cars was thrown onto a side road....
I know you think the guy sees false flags everywhere, and I do. I don't trust the AmeriKan jewsmedia to tell me the truth, and I don't believe Muslims would do this to each other -- not when they had not for centuries until WE GOT THERE! "Suiciding" isn't even a characteristic of Talibans, and never has been. That just adds to the suspicion. Factor in all the government-trained death squads and covert ops we never read about, and you really are left to wonder.
The explosion in central Kabul struck during a particularly busy time, just days before the beginning of Id al-Fitr, a celebration for the end of the fasting month of Ramadan....
HMMMMMMMM!!!!
*************
The disputed election risks leaving the country with a government widely seen as illegitimate and undermining efforts to bolster commitments for troops and other resources from Western countries where polls already suggest there is rising disillusionment with the war.
The center-right government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy has been one of the strongest European supporters of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan and provides about 3,000 troops. But the most powerful party in Berlusconi’s center-right coalition, the separatist Northern League, has long advocated a withdrawal, and yesterday’s suicide attack was certain to intensify the national debate.
In televised remarks to the Italian Parliament, however, Italy’s defense minister, Ignazio La Russa, said the attack would not stop his country’s “firm commitment’’ to the international mission....
Ohhhhhh, kay.
--more--"
KABUL --A suicide car bomber killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians Thursday in the heavily guarded capital of Kabul -- a grim reminder of the Taliban's reach amid political uncertainty in Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack for the Italian contingent in the country.
Violence has increased since the U.S. sent thousands more troops to push back the resurgent Taliban and bolster security.... militant attacks have risen not just in the group's southern heartland but also in the north and in Kabul and surrounding areas....
Shopkeeper Feraudin Ansari said.... he was angry at NATO forces for being in the downtown area. "Why are you patrolling inside the city? There is no al-Qaida, no Taliban here," said Ansari, 25. "My shop is destroyed, and my head hurts from the blast."
Elsewhere, a NATO service member died from a bomb strike in the south Wednesday, NATO forces said.... The increased fighting and complaints about the election have raised questions abroad about whether the Afghan war is worth the cost in lives and financial support. Officials have said the war just needs to be refocused....
F*** YOU! HOME!!!!!
La Russa, the Italian defense minister, indicated the role of Italy's mission would be reviewed. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said it would be best for international troops to leave Afghanistan soon, but any decision would be made with allies.
"We are all convinced it's best for everybody to get out soon," Berlusconi told reporters in Brussels....
U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.... said that the attack "reinforces the need for the U.S. and allies, in partnership with the people of Afghanistan, to continue our critical work."
And CUI BONO, huh?
International forces are trying to refocus their tactics on protecting civilians rather than routing the Taliban. But that approach already derailed this month when a German-ordered airstrike on two hijacked fuel tankers killed civilians who had swarmed the vehicles to siphon fuel....
Yeah, that sure went down the old rabbit hole, didn't it?
--more--"
See: American Apology Ameliorates Afghans
Putting the Kunduz Massacre in Context
The Kunduz Victims Come Forward
So are they staying or going?
"Italian leader calls for strategy easing NATO role in Afghanistan" by Heidi Vogt, Associated Press | September 19, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - A deadly bombing caused Italy to become the latest nation to question its role in Afghanistan yesterday, highlighting the pressure facing military leaders confronting a protracted war and an Afghan government ill-equipped to handle its problems alone....
violence is on the rise....
An Italian official called for troops to be out by Christmas....
THIS CHRISTMAS?! Oh, WHAT a PRESENT that would be!!!!!
This is already the deadliest year for NATO troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion that ousted the Taliban, with more than 300 deaths. The summer has been particularly bloody, as thousands of US troops poured into insurgent strongholds in the south and the Taliban mounted campaigns of violence....
Notice how U.S. operations or invasions are never "campaigns of violence?"
In Afghanistan, NATO’s Italian chief of staff said many governments are discussing force reductions, but only within the scope of normal planning. Major General Marco Bertolini said the Italian deaths do not diminish his country’s commitment, insisting the government and military “share together the strong will to accomplish our mission,’’ and that no NATO forces are threatening to withdraw.
Then stay and die, liar.
“We haven’t received any decrease in terms of commitment by anyone,’’ said Bertolini. “There are contingents that probably could be reduced or withdrawn in the future, but I must recognize that everybody continues to be fully committed.’’
Afghanistan’s president reiterated that his government is far from ready to take on insurgents alone. The Afghan Army is “still not ready to the extent that it would take on the whole responsibility,’’ Karzai said in an interview with CNN that was broadcast Thursday. “That’s why the international community is here, to engage and struggle against terrorism and also to build the Afghan forces.’’
Italy has already planned to bring home between 400 and 500 extra soldiers it had sent to beef up the contingent for last month’s elections, but with results of the fraud-tainted vote still uncertain, it is unclear how soon they can leave....
--more--"
Berlusconi feeling heat from other quarters? That why they leaving?
ROME - The editor of a prominent Catholic newspaper that demanded Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi answer questions about a sex scandal resigned yesterday after being caught up in scandal.
Dino Boffo, editor of the Avvenire daily of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, strongly denied the allegations raised by Il Giornale, a Berlusconi family newspaper that alleged he had been involved in a court case with homosexual overtones.
Boffo acknowledged being fined in a harassment case involving a woman. But he said someone else had used his phone to make the harassing calls and prosecutors denied there was any gay angle in the case. Il Giornale, which is owned by Berlusconi’s brother, published the article weeks after Avvenire called on Berlusconi to answer questions about his purported infatuation with young women.
Berlusconi has been on the defensive since his wife announced in the spring that she was divorcing him, citing his presence at the 18th birthday party of a Naples model. Italian media subsequently reported that women had been paid to attend parties at Berlusconi’s residences and that a high-class prostitute had once spent the night with him.
Berlusconi, 72, has denounced what he says is a media smear campaign against him. He has denied ever paying anyone for sex and says there was nothing “spicy’’ in his relations with the Naples model.--more--"
Yeah, he'd better start listening to the people.
