Americans Heading to Afghanistan
"Briefed on their mission, N.E. soldiers answer call" by Milton J. Valencia and Abbie Ruzicka, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent | December 2, 2009
She knew the day would come soon enough. Ana Monteiro did not join the Massachusetts Army National Guard for the love of glory or of war, but for days like this, when she would know that her contribution to her country was both needed and appreciated.
If President Obama’s announcement last night did anything, it let recruits like Monteiro know that the time has come.
“He’s our commander in chief,’’ said Monteiro, a 27-year-old mother from Fall River, as she watched the president’s speech on television last night with her 9-year-old son. “We know our mission: to go over there, train their country, so they can stand on their own. We knew we would have to go to Afghanistan.’’
The president announced that he is dispatching 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan over the next six months. They will include area soldiers like Monteiro, a lieutenant with the 186th Brigade Support Battalion out of Quincy, who leaves for final training on Jan. 3, and then for Afghanistan....
From training police and security officers to conducting border patrol and battalion support, the soldiers are expected to play a critical role in what the president called “the common security of the world.’’
Selling out to the globalist lie again, I see.
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Hey, I'll stop complaining. According to my war paper, they want to go and die for a lie, so....
"Afghanistan at heart" by Kevin Cullen, Globe Columnist | December 3, 2009
After the US invasion of Iraq, Stephen Landrigan took part in some antiwar protests. So even he was surprised to find himself sitting in a wing chair in the living room of his West Roxbury home Tuesday night, agreeing with President Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.
“This could work,’’ he said, as the president shook hands with West Point cadets.
Unlike nearly all the talking heads debating the wisdom of sending 30,000 more armed Americans into the wild east that is Afghanistan, Landrigan, 61, has spent much time in Afghanistan, most of the last five years, working on humanitarian and education projects. He fell in love with the country and its people and keeps going back, with brief respites here.
He left his heart in Afghanistan because he lost his shirt in Scotland. He wrote a play, got it put on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and when the curtain came down he was $40,000 in the hole. The US aid programs in Afghanistan paid well.
“I figured I’d go there for a year, pay off my debts, and that would be that,’’ he said.
He didn’t bank on being so taken by Afghans. “It’s like pulling back a curtain, going back to Biblical times,’’ he said. “It’s problematic. It’s hard to get good food. You go without water. But there is something about seeing people live the way everybody else lived centuries ago Afghanistan is not hopeless. It’s not a quagmire. There is a hunger for education. We need to give them the tools.’’
Afghanistan is a country of contradictions. He remembers chatting with a sheep herder he bumped into in the middle of nowhere. The sheep herder looked like a vision out of the Middle Ages but suddenly put a ringing cellphone to his ear and announced that it was his son in Germany.
“Everybody in Afghanistan has phones,’’ Landrigan said. But they lack the technology, the infrastructure, and especially the education that would help them leapfrog into the modern world.
Landrigan thinks the surge of troops could work. “It makes sense to me,’’ he said. “I’m not a military guy. But, from the Afghan perspective, you’ve got to come in big. If you come in half-steps, they won’t respect you. I spent the summer in Helmand Province. Seeing what the Marines have achieved, how when they walk into a village, there is a sense of stability that wasn’t there before, I see a value in this. I hate the thought of guns, but it works.’’
Landrigan says there is no longterm military solution to the threats posed by the Taliban and remnants of Al Qaeda.
“It’s 99 percent economics,’’ he said. “You want to beat the Taliban? It costs $1 million to keep a US soldier in Afghanistan for a year. Hold back 10 of those soldiers and spend the money to give computers to anyone who wants one, as long as they can read, and if they can’t read, teach them. For a small amount, you can buy off most of the Taliban. Some want to be martyrs. Most don’t. There’s just nothing else for them.
WE ARE!
“Most Afghans don’t want to fight. They’ve done it for 30 years. Afghans are probably some of the best entrepreneurs, more hungry for education than anyone I’ve met. They don’t need nation building. They are a nation. Put Afghans to work. Build sewers. They have 22 hydroelectric plants, and only one is working. They need a WPA. They’d work their hearts out. They have an incredible work ethic.’’
Yes, THEY WANT TO LIVE in PEACE and be LEFT ALONE like EVERYONE ELSE!!!
Near his house in Afghanistan, there is a 5-year-old boy who runs a shop, selling eggs and gum. “He opens up at 6, every morning,’’ Stephen Landrigan said. “His mother has a hen.’’
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Heck, they even want to STAY from what I was told:
KABUL - Some soldiers, however, wondered whether their deployments will be extended. That was a rumor spreading around the Second Battalion, 287th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, which is due to rotate back to the United States within a month.
“If it happens, the morale is high among the troops. It wouldn’t be a problem for me,’’ said First Lieutenant Chris Stachura, of Pulaski, Wis., a battalion officer.
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Related:
"At a forward operating base in Wardak province, west of Kabul, some of McChrystal’s troops said yesterday that Obama’s decision offered hope that they can start leaving in 18 months."
Didn't get your stop-loss orders yet?
So who will they be working with when they get there?
WASHINGTON - A Pentagon program that embeds social scientists with US combat units in Afghanistan and Iraq is a poorly defined effort that operates on shaky ethical ground, a new study on the two-year-old initiative says.
Related: Eye on Afghanistan: Why We Must Stay
Afghanistan Executioneer Absolved
The Human Terrain System is intended to give US commanders a better understanding of the complex cultural landscapes around them so they can avoid blunders that can spark violence and hamper counterinsurgency campaigns.
How about TAKING YOUR NON-OFFICIAL COVER SPOOKS OUT!
That would help!
But the 75-page report by the American Anthropological Association says the program is beset with “potentially irreconcilable goals’’ and is too closely aligned with military intelligence gathering.
See: CIA Assassins Lend a Helping Hand in Afghanistan
Chief among the group’s concerns is that the research gathered by the so-called human terrain teams might be used to kill or capture Afghans or Iraqis....
But we are HERE TO HELP!
The report, however, cites no evidence this is happening....
Yeah, because it is CLASSIFIED!!!
There are 27 human terrain teams; 21 are in Iraq and six are in Afghanistan, according to the April comments from the Human Terrain System office.
That seems backwards, doesn't it?
The association’s report says managers of the project have been adamant that it is not an intelligence-gathering program.
Translation: IT IS!
And the report acknowledges there is no known system for feeding data from the terrain teams to intelligence agencies.
Sorry, THAT'S CLASSIFIED!!!!
But confusion over the program’s structure and uncertainty over where the information goes means there is a significant likelihood that human terrain data will be used as part of military intelligence, the report says.
That is as CLOSE to a CONFIRMATION as you are going to get in an American newspaper!
There are plenty of ways social scientists can work with the military, the study says, and the authors worry that the human terrain effort will sidetrack those opportunities.
“This program is not a good face for what the relationship should be,’’ Robert Albro, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor of international communication at American University, said.
No, a CIA MASK NEVER IS!
Direct from the horse's petuty:
"Blackwater founder decries treatment" by Mike Baker, Associated Press | December 3, 2009
RALEIGH, N.C. - The man who built Blackwater USA into one of the world’s most respected and reviled defense contractors feels that he was thrown under the bus after serving the nation’s security interests for years.
Erik Prince’s company, which renamed itself Xe Services in February after an uproar over its Iraq operations, has worked closely for years with the CIA, the State Department, and the US military.
Related: The Boston Globe's Invisible Ink: Blackening Out Blackwater Assassins
The Boston Globe Bucks Up the CIA
So what will you think the next time you here the term "gunmen," readers?
But it became the target of a series of federal investigations and congressional probes, primarily for its Iraq work.
Please see: Occupation Iraq: AmeriKan Withdrawal Vetoed Over Vote
Oh, they are STILL THERE, huh?
Most recently, officials disclosed that the CIA tapped the company to work under a program to capture or kill terrorists.
Any relation?: AmeriKan MSM Covering Up Cheney's Crimes
The 40-year-old heir to an auto parts fortune told Vanity Fair in an interview released yesterday that Xe pays $2 million a month in legal bills. The company is headquartered in Moyock, N.C.
Prince told Vanity Fair for its January issue:
“I put myself and my company at the CIA’s disposal for some very risky missions, but when it became politically expedient to do so, someone threw me under the bus. People acting for political reasons disclosed not only the existence of a very sensitive program, but my name along with it.’’
Awww, the poor, murderous, fundamentalist, Muslim-hating, war-profiteer!
Almost makes you wanna cry!!
Almost.
Related: "Al-CIA-Duh" Invades Afghanistan
Who Are the Terrorists of Pakistan?
Blackwater’s Secret War in Pakistan
Pakistanis See Conspiracies
Operation Enduring Turmoil
Occupation Iraq: Tortured Logic
Who are the "terrorists" again?
Here is what you have to look forward to if you make it back:
"Portraits of courage, in oil and words; Artist seeks connection, understanding of wars" by Sam Allis, Globe Staff | November 29, 2009
AMHERST - Chris McGurk, 34, was an Army squad leader in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is all warrior, a hard-body with a no-nonsense glint in his pale blue eyes and a landscape of tattoos that cover most of his arms.
“We triggered an ambush,’’ he says, staring straight ahead as Matthew Mitchell touches up a part of his face on the canvas. He and his squad were operating near the Pakistani border in September 2003. “There were 160 of them and 11 of us.’’ McGurk pauses. “The Chechens were the best fighters. The Pakistani military fired a mortar at us on purpose.’’
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“Faces’’ has been exhibited at about 20 small sites, largely in New England. The pieces are not for sale, and there is no way to see the work in total other than in his small studio, or digitally at www.100facesofwarexperience.org. Mitchell has five on a wall and the rest stored there. He hopes all the pieces will eventually be seen somewhere within the US Capitol complex.
“I am happy to do this because it’s something useful,’’ he says. “I’ve helped bridge a big gulf between the general public and those people carrying out American foreign policy abroad.’’
Yet Mitchell estimates it will take three more years to finish; the project has all but bankrupted him. Three foundations and a few private donors helped at the beginning, but that money ran out. He and his wife, Rebecca, then took out an equity loan on their house in Amherst and eventually went through that, too. He figures to need another $200,000. In the meantime, he has painted portraits of people and pets for money to get by, and he has sold some of his illustrations on
Yup, you can have your portrait done.
Other things to look forward to:
"Military divorces edging up amid war" by Associated Press | November 28, 2009
WASHINGTON - The divorce rate in the armed forces increased slightly again in the past year as military marriages continued to bear the stress of nearly a decade at war....
ANOTHER REASON to END the THINGS!!
Remember, readers, it is ALL BASED on LIES!!!
“The force is under tremendous stress, and that stress finds its way into marriages.... but when you interject eight years of war, preparing for war, being at war, coming home and having to think about going back to war again - and when you have children - it just has a tremendous impact on the family unit,’’ said Joe Davis, spokesman for the organization Veterans of Foreign Wars....
Did YOU just feel a DRAFT?
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Here is one way out:
"New response urged to military suicide; As problem grows, critics cite stigma on emotional ills" by James Dao, New York Times | November 26, 2009
Yeah, well, once you realize you are a mass-murdering Nazi in service of Empire, well...
NEW YORK - Since at least the time of Abraham Lincoln, presidents have sent letters of condolence to the families of service members killed in action, whether the deaths came by hostile fire or in an accident.
So after Gregg Keesling’s son killed himself in Iraq in June, he expected his family would receive a letter from President Obama. What they got was a call from an Army official telling them they were not eligible because their son committed suicide. “We were shocked,’’ said Keesling, 52, of Indianapolis.
Related: How to Honor a Suicider
Why are we still there, readers?
Under an unwritten policy that has existed at least since the Clinton administration, presidents have not sent letters to survivors of troops who took their own lives, even if it was at the war front, officials say. The roots of that policy, which has been passed from administration to administration via White House protocol officers, are murky and probably based on the view that suicide is not an honorable way to die, officials say.
Better to be a mass-murdering tool in service to Empire.
But at a time when the Pentagon is trying to destigmatize mental health care in hopes of stemming a near epidemic of suicide among service members, the question of whether the survivors of military suicides deserve presidential recognition has taken on new significance.
Yeah, DON'T DEAL with the ROOT CAUSES -- which are the ILLEGAL and IMMORAL WARS -- but let's GIVE 'EM a MEDAL!!!
I can not even TYPE my OUTRAGE!!!!!!!
“These families already feel such shame and so alienated from the military and the country, a letter from the president might give them some comfort, some sense that people recognize their sacrifice,’’ said Kim Ruocco, director for suicide support for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, a military support group.
So we are going to START HONORING "terrorists?" now?
Might as well; we CREATE, FUND, and DIRECT THEM, too!!!!
How about NOT SENDING THEIR KIDS off to DIE for LIES?
How would that COMFORT THEM, huh?
As suicide has become a front-burner problem for the military, TAPS, members of Congress, and individuals like Keesling have begun raising the thorny issue of equal honors for survivors of military suicides. Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, said the administration had begun a review of the policy.
“War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”--John F. Kennedy"
I told you I would stop complaining, so....
Presidential letters of condolence go to troops who died in action in a war theater. Though most suicides take place on posts in the United States, a significant number occur in Iraq and Afghanistan: at least 184 since 2001, statistics show.... The rise in suicides has prompted an array of actions at the Pentagon. The Army is collaborating with the National Institute of Mental Health to study mental health and suicide. It has created a suicide prevention task force. It has instituted prevention programs at most posts and will require all soldiers to take training in emotional resiliency, to help them cope with the stress of war and deployment.
Yeah, and NEVER a WORD about ENDING THEM!!!!!
Heck, we are getting INCREASED DEPLOYMENTS and ESCALATIONS!!!
But as much as anything, the Army is trying to soften the longstanding sense that psychological problems are a sign of frailty. “We have to reduce the stigma surrounding seeking mental health help,’’ General Peter Chiarelli, the Army vice chief of staff, said earlier this year. “Getting help for emotional problems should be as natural as seeking help for a sprained ankle.’’
Related: Army to Draft Phsychologists
Opponents of presidential letters of condolence argue that treating suicide the same as other war deaths might encourage mentally frail soldiers to take their lives by making the act seem honorable.
That is such a RIDICULOUS ARGUMENT!
If you have reached that point SOME LETTER ain't gonna matter!!!!!!
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Also see: Sunday Morning Cry
"New charges are brought in Fort Hood shootings" by Angela K. Brown, Associated Press | December 3, 2009
Related: MSM Covering Up Military Munity at Fort Hood
Taking the Hood Off the AmeriKan MSM
Yeah, you are being fed a massive whopper on that one, America. Between Hoodie and ClimayeGate, the MSM is finished.
FORT WORTH, Texas - A US Army psychiatrist who may face the death penalty after the mass shooting at Fort Hood was charged yesterday with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder relating to the scores of soldiers and two civilian police officers injured in the attack, military officials said....
The additional charges were brought less than 24 hours after Major Nidal Hasan’s civilian attorney was notified that the Army plans to evaluate Hasan to test his competency to stand trial, as well as his mental state at the time of the shooting.
John Galligan, Hasan’s attorney, told the Associated Press yesterday that Army officials had not returned his calls, so he did not know when or where the “mental responsibility’’ exam would take place. Galligan said he had filed an objection to the evaluation, pointing out that Hasan was still in intensive care at a San Antonio military hospital recovering from gunshot wounds that left him paralyzed.
And I'm sure they are taking reaaaaaaal good care of him!
The results of the mental evaluation could prevent Hasan from being sent to death row or even being tried, although that is unlikely, specialists say.
Unlikely, but NOT UNEXPECTED!!
We are NEVER GOING to hear this guy's side of it!
The evaluation usually takes several days and involves psychological testing and interviews by the board, said Richard Stevens, a lawyer who specializes in defending military cases.
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Also see: Paralyzed Patsy Can't Talk About Protest
And heaven forbid YOU should get a letter, parents:
"UK leader apologizes for late condolences" by Associated Press | December 4, 2009
LONDON - Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain was forced to make fresh apologies to relatives of soldiers slain in Afghanistan after it emerged yesterday that three bereaved families received belated letters of condolence from the leader - including one that arrived two years late.
Could they read them?
The news adds to Brown’s struggle in trying to persuade the British public to support an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan. Last month, the leader became embroiled in a public spat with the mother of a soldier slain in Afghanistan who said he had misspelled her name in a condolence letter. Simon Lewis, Brown’s spokesman, confirmed at least three letters - all from 2007 - had been mistakenly delayed. He said other messages to offer commiseration for troop deaths in 2008 and this year also may have arrived late....
Gee, they LIED YOU IN there quick enough; the least they could do is PRETEND to CARE!!!!
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Only one thing crueler than that:
DULUTH, Minn. - A Minnesota woman is suing the federal government after a letter she mailed to her son in Iraq was returned with the word “deceased’’ stamped on the envelope, even though the soldier is alive....
Oh! Oh!!!!
Joan Najbar’s attorney says he is investigating whether Najbar’s antiwar protest on the steps of a Duluth post office days before the letter was returned had anything to do with the stamp.
Ya think? Heck of a coincidence, huh?
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Let's hope the next one never comes, but if it does let's hope you it isn't late and that you can read it.
