YOUR TAX DOLLARS at WORK, America!
"A new program to create village-level security forces — he called it “community watch with AK-47s’’ — is gathering momentum.... each of which would receive funds and equipment from the US military"
And how many of those weapons will end up in insurgent hands?
Good way to keep a war going, huh?
"Petraeus cites progress in Afghanistan; Inroads against Taliban reported west of Kandahar
KABUL, Afghanistan —Progress in Kandahar City’s western fringe is shaping up to be an important part of the case General David Petraeus, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, plans to make, during crucial assessments of the mission this fall by NATO and the White House, that international and Afghan forces have regained momentum after years of losing ground to the Taliban....
So we can't leave, 'kay?
Petraeus and his subordinate commanders have been reluctant to trumpet their efforts in Kandahar out of concern that early claims of success could prove embarrassing if insurgents regroup and attack coalition forces, as some US Marine officers learned during the large assault earlier this year in the Marja district of Helmand Province.
Yeah, the mouthpiece media told us we took the town when we never did.
Is it any wonder we are dismissing all the s*** coming from them these days?
How long do you believe a liar?
Military officials have said many insurgent fighters might have slipped out of Zhari and Panjwai as the allied operation intensified. But the troops intend to take advantage of the diminished Taliban presence to build up the capacity of the Afghan government and security forces, with the hope they will be able to fend off any insurgent counteroffensive.
In his first interviews upon assuming command here in July, Petraeus drew attention to an increase in the number of Special Operations forces missions to kill and capture insurgent leaders and field commanders, an effort that senior military officials think has spurred a handful of senior Taliban leaders to hold preliminary talks with Afghan government officials aimed at a possible negotiated end to the nine-year-long conflict.
Related: What Works for AmeriKa in Afghanistan
Sick of his horse s*** yet?
His statements about the increase in raids led analysts to question whether the mission was shifting away from a focus on protecting the population from the Taliban.
But in a wide-ranging, hourlong interview yesterday, Petraeus emphasized that kill-and-capture operations are part of his counterinsurgency strategy. He said the ramp-up in Special Operations forces activity has been matched with increasing effort in all parts of the overall mission, from training Afghan security forces to rebuilding the country’s infrastructure....
Petraeus said a new program to create village-level security forces — he called it “community watch with AK-47s’’ — is gathering momentum. The Interior Ministry, he said, plans to implement the program in 68 districts, each of which would receive funds and equipment from the US military for about 300 armed auxiliary police officers....
Petraeus did not provide new details about embryonic reconciliation talks between the Afghan government and Taliban leaders. He also shied from discussing an ongoing dispute between the government and foreign diplomats over private security guards protecting development workers.
Like it would matter if he did.
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More progress:
War "12 killed by bombs in Afghanistan" by Associated Press | October 11, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — Roadside bombs killed 11 people including two NATO troops in Afghanistan yesterday, and a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle near a military convoy, killing a child and wounding two others....
Daily violence continues unabated throughout much of Afghanistan. The focus of the US-led war — which entered its 10th year last week — has been on the south, but coalition troops are increasingly fighting resilient militants in the east, west, and north.
In other words, EVERYWHERE!
Nine people died in a roadside bombing in eastern Paktia Province.
Two NATO service members were killed in a blast on a highway in southern Afghanistan, NATO said, without giving their nationalities or a specific location. On Saturday, four Italian troops died in a roadside blast in western Farah Province....
Don't want to get blown up? Then LEAVE!
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KABUL, Afghanistan — It was a deadly day for NATO yesterday. Eight service members were killed in a spate of attacks, including four in roadside bombings, bringing the alliance’s troop losses over the past two days to 14, officials said.
It has been the deadliest year for international forces in the Afghan conflict. Troop numbers have been ramped up to turn the screws on insurgents and casualties have mounted.
You know, progress.
The escalating toll has shaken the commitment of many NATO countries, with calls growing to start drawing down forces quickly.
A homemade bomb in western Afghanistan killed three service members yesterday, an alliance statement said without giving the nationalities of the dead or the specific location of the attack. American, Italian, Spanish, and Lithuanian forces are deployed in the country’s west.
NATO later said another four troops had died in the south — three in insurgent attacks and another in a blast.
The alliance said a service member also died in a militant attack in the east. Poland’s Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed and another wounded yesterday when a patrol was attacked by mortar fire in eastern Ghazni Province.
On Wednesday, insurgents killed six NATO troops, including four who died in a single bomb blast in the south.
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"Two killed, several wounded in attacks
KANDAHAR — A series of blasts killed at least two civilians and wounded several others yesterday in Afghanistan’s main southern city, the scene of several recent deadly attacks on police. In one attack, a motorized rickshaw carrying explosives detonated behind police headquarters in the center of the city, said Zelmai Ayubi, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province. One bystander was killed and three wounded, Ayubi said (AP)."
"Afghanistan to void a quarter of ballots; Election is testing government’s resolve to change" by Heidi Vogt, Associated Press | October 20, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — Also in southern Afghanistan, militant attacks killed three NATO service members yesterday, the international coalition said. NATO did not give the nationality of the dead service members.
Violence in southern Afghanistan has risen in recent months as NATO and Afghan forces try to seize control of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. This year has been the deadliest for international forces in the nine-year Afghan conflict. At least 47 NATO service members have been killed so far this month, and more than 2,000 have died since the 2001 US-led invasion.
Four Taliban commanders were also reported killed in three separate cases.
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"Attack on UN compound fails; Afghan forces kill militants" by Deb Riechmann, Associated Press | October 24, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan —Separately, NATO forces killed two civilians, including a teenage boy, during a fight with insurgents yesterday in Wardak province in eastern Afghanistan, according to Mohammad Halim Fidai, the governor of the province. Fidai condemned the killings. The deaths prompted hundreds of residents to stage a demonstration that blocked a highway for nearly an hour.
The ONLY PEOPLE in this world without balls appear to be AmeriKans!
Everyone else is OUT in the STREETS!!
The coalition could not confirm the two civilian deaths. NATO said that after insurgents attacked a patrol with a homemade bomb, the troops stopped to investigate the explosion and clear any other bombs in the area. After they stopped, they received fire from an unknown number of insurgents, the coalition said.
Related: NATO's Knee-Jerk Lies
I guess they can't help themselves.
Also in the east, US special forces, NATO troops, and the Afghan army killed more than 10 insurgents and recovered four weapons caches during a four-day operation that ended Wednesday in Dara-i-Pech district of Kunar province, NATO said yesterday.
I smell a psy-op prop.
In southern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up before reaching a checkpoint in Kandahar, killing two civilians and wounding two others, said police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai.
Three other bombs — two in cars and one in a motorbike — were defused around the city after bombers left them on main roads and suspicious citizens called the police, said the provincial governor’s spokesman, Zelmai Ayubi.
NATO troops and Afghan forces began flooding into Kandahar in July as part of a push to wrest back control of the south from Taliban insurgents. Some pockets of control have been established in Kandahar and neighboring districts but roadside bombs are still extremely common.
A Danish soldier was killed in southern Helmand province after insurgents attacked his patrol yesterday, the Danish army said....
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