"United in loss, 9/11 families are divided on Afghan war" by Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | October 29, 2009
The struggle must continue until Al Qaeda, which masterminded the attacks, is dismantled.
Some believe that Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies must be defeated to ensure American security. Others believe that the American military effort in Afghanistan is a counterproductive drain of US blood and treasure. And another faction thinks that withdrawal would imperil a vulnerable nation that now needs US protection.
While many families seem emotionally exhausted by the lingering pain of 9/11, some said that some sort of US military presence must continue and that the United States cannot suddenly leave a country where hundreds of thousands of people have risked death simply by voting....
I really can't read this crap anymore.
The lying, war-justifying, self-perpetuating garbage is literally making me sick.
--more--"
Who Is Going
JERICHO, Vt. - The commander of a 3,000-strong infantry brigade headed to Afghanistan says the unit is well prepared for the mission, but he acknowledges his troops could face hazardous duty.
Colonel Will Roy, who will lead about 1,500 Vermont National Guard soldiers within the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, says that his unit has the latest in weapons systems, body armor, and intelligence-gathering equipment, but that Afghanistan is dangerous.
“Every night I go to bed, I pray to God that . . . we are going to be able to bring all of our soldiers home to their families,’’ he said Tuesday in an interview in his office at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho. The danger has been underscored in recent days, with the deaths of eight Americans in roadside bombings and an attack yesterday in which Taliban militants stormed a UN guest house in Kabul, killing at least 11 people.
I notice they left omitted the chopper crashes. An oversight?
Also see: The October Lull in Afghanistan
WTF is with you guys?
The brigade, made up of guard units from Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Vermont, began premobilization deployments last weekend and will arrive in Afghanistan in stages, beginning in January. For the Vermont National Guard, nicknamed the Green Mountain Boys, it is the biggest deployment since World War II.
The mission is training and mentoring Afghan national security forces, police, and border patrols as the mountainous nation continues its civil war with the Taliban. If an Afghan battalion is conducting counterinsurgency efforts, the brigade’s troops will be alongside them, Roy said. Roy, 49, a native of Concord, N.H., who has been deployed to Afghanistan three times before, said the fact that his troops will work alongside Afghans bodes well for their security. Still, there are no guarantees....
Need I even say it, readers?
--more--"
Let's hope that does not apply to their body armor:
"GAO finds mistakes in Army test of body armor" by Richard Lardner, Associated Press | October 17, 2009
WASHINGTON - The Army made critical mistakes in tests of a new body armor design, according to congressional investigators who recommend an independent review of the trials before the gear is issued.
The Government Accountability Office report says the Army deviated from established testing standards and concludes that several of the designs that passed would have failed had the tests been done properly. The Army has ordered about 240,000 of the new type of bullet-blocking plate to be used in ballistic vests, but doesn’t plan to rush the armor into combat. The Army said the plates will be stored until needed to meet future demands.
You guys NEVER EQUIPPED THEM PROPERLY despite all the self-adulating lie!
Yeah, support the troops, BRING THEM HOME!!!!!
In a lengthy response to the GAO report, Defense Department officials reject the call for an outside look. The officials acknowledge that there were a few problems during testing of the bullet-blocking plates. But these were miscues that don’t shake their confidence in the overall results, they said.
They DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU, soldier!!!
Do you know what the term CANNON FODDER means?
And if I SEE ONE MORE BUT, STILL, YET, whatever, in the paper I am going to blow a gasket!
Given the military’s opposition to an external review by ballistics specialists, the GAO says, Congress should decide whether such a step is necessary....
I won't hold my breath.
--more--"
But they better keep their eyes open!
"Detecting bombs requires special eye; Troops from city, country prepared to spot anomalies" by Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times | October 29, 2009
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - The insurgents’ use of roadside bombs has become a kind of a war within the war. Insurgents have improved their tactics for placing, hiding and exploding their bombs; the United States has become better at spotting and defusing them.
In Afghanistan, there have been fewer roadside bombs than in Iraq, but they are more powerful. “When they come after you, they come with their A-game,’’ said Staff Sergeant Steve Gouak, who has deployed as a demolition expert in Iraq and Afghanistan. “They don’t seem to have the resources to waste like the Iraqis.’’
****************
As Marines here train to deploy to war zones, there is daily discussion about how to detect and disarm the buried roadside bombs that kill Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military researchers have found that two groups of personnel were particularly good at spotting anomalies: those with hunting backgrounds, who traipsed the woods as youth in search of a deer or turkey; and those who grew up in urban circumstances where it is often important to know which gang controls which block. Personnel who fit neither category, often young men who grew up in the suburbs and developed a fondness for video games, did not seem to have the depth perception and peripheral vision of the others....
The best troops Army Sergeant Major Todd Burnett, the top enlisted man with the Pentagon-based Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO, which conducted the study, has seen when it comes to spotting bombs were soldiers from the South Carolina National Guard, nearly all with rural backgrounds that included hunting.
“They just seemed to pick up things much better,’’ Burnett said. “They know how to look at the entire environment.’’ Personnel from urban backgrounds also seemed to have developed an innate “threat-assessment’’ ability. Video-game enthusiasts are narrower in their focus....
“The gamers are very focused on the screen rather than the whole surrounding,’’ said Sergeant Major Burnett.
Some 800 military personnel at Twentynine Palms and several other bases took part in a set of vision and perception tests, follow-up interviews, and personality tests over 18 months. Test subjects were asked to find hidden bombs in pictures, videos, virtual reality exercises, and open-air obstacle courses, including on pitch-dark nights.
We sure do put a LOT of EFFORT into WAR, don't we?
Although many findings remain classified, military officials agreed to discuss the eyesight portion of the study....
"Taliban attack on UN house leads to panic and heroics; 11 dead in Kabul after residential hotel is stormed" by Robert H. Reid and Heidi Vogt, Associated Press | October 29, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - The attack began shortly before 6 a.m....
About a mile away from the guest house, one rocket struck the “outer limit’’ of the presidential palace but caused no casualties, presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said. Two more rockets slammed into the grounds of the expensive Serena Hotel, a favorite of foreigners.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attacks as “an inhuman act’’ and called on the army and police to strengthen security around international facilities. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility in a telephone call to the AP, saying three militants carried out the assault. The Interior Ministry said all were killed....
He call you or you call him?
Related: "Al-CIA-Duh" Invades Afghanistan
Couldn't get a trace, huh?
The mayhem also showed how vulnerable foreigners are in Afghanistan, even in Kabul, which has been relatively secure after eight years of war. The visibly shaken chief of the United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, told reporters the attack “will not deter the UN from continuing all its work’’ in the country.
“We will not be deterred from this noble mission,’’ UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in New York. But the attacks underscored the risks facing UN and Afghan officials in organizing a runoff election....
Who gives a shit about some rigged election between two U.S. puppets?!
