We are never leaving, America.
"Afghan leader, in turnaround, backs Petraeus; Had criticized strategy of top US general" by David Nakamura, Washington Post / November 16, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government sought yesterday to tamp down any sign of a personal rift between President Hamid Karzai and the top US military commander in Afghanistan, in advance of a meeting that will begin to set a timetable for American troop withdrawal.
Karzai’s criticism over the weekend of US military strategy in Afghanistan was not intended as a vote of no-confidence in General David Petraeus, but rather was a sign of a “maturing partnership’’ in which both sides are willing to speak frankly, said Karzai’s spokesman Waheed Omer....
Karzai called on the United States to reduce military operations and end special operation raids that have killed or captured hundreds of Taliban commanders.
Petraeus, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, was astonished and disappointed by the views Karzai expressed in the interview Saturday, according to Afghan and US officials....
In calling for an end to NATO night raids — which are controversial in Afghanistan because of the considerable risk of civilian casualties — Karzai struck at the heart of Petraeus’s counterinsurgency strategy....
Related:
The Boston Globe's Invisible Ink: Blackening Out Blackwater Assassins
The Boston Globe Bucks Up the CIA
"Al-CIA-Duh" Invades Afghanistan
CIA Assassins Lend a Helping Hand in Afghanistan
CIA Strike Teams Swoop Into Afghanistan
More Assassins Headed to Afghanistan
Petraeus' Private Eyes
What Works for AmeriKa in Afghanistan
Also see: Petraeus' Progress in Afghanistan
If you want to call that progress....
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"Karzai’s criticism of NATO is not helpful, envoy says" by David Nakamura, Washington Post / November 18, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — The top NATO civilian in Afghanistan said yesterday that coalition forces have regained the initiative in the war, but he added that President Hamid Karzai’s recent criticism of US and NATO strategy is not helpful....
Ambassador Mark Sedwill said that he and General David Petraeus, the top US and NATO commander in the country, plan to report at the Lisbon Conference that international forces have made significant progress against the Taliban since President Obama ordered 30,000 additional US troops to the region last summer.
I've so had it with the lies.
“It’s still clearly fragile, and there are significant risks and will be a long, hard campaign ahead, but we believe in 2010 we have achieved what we wished to — regaining the initiative after having lost it in the past few years.... That’s what the surge is all about,’’ Sedwill said, addressing reporters at a morning briefing in Kabul....
It's ALREADY BEEN a LONG HARD CAMPAIGN! Time to LEAVE THEN!
Yeah, the goals were not met and things are getting worse but they achieved what they wanted. I'm so tired of that bulls*** line. Heard it enough on Iraq.
And THAT was what the SURGE was ALL ABOUT, huh?
I hope REGAINING the PROPAGANDA INITIATIVE was WORTH YOUR KID'S LIFE, Americans!
But Sedwill added that Karzai’s call for an end to Special Operations raids into Afghan homes to kill or capture Taliban commanders should not have been aired publicly at this critical juncture:
“It is not helpful to have a Washington Post headline suggesting a week before the summit that there is friction between the president of Afghanistan and the alliance, or with the ambassador or the general, over the conduct of the strategy,’’ Sedwill said. “We have different perspectives, and it would be much better if we worked out those different perspectives in private.’’
Why even bother reading an AmeriKan newspaper then if it is just going to be official bulls***?
Sedwill said he had a cordial but frank conversation with Karzai after the interview was published. Afghan Education Minister Farooq Wardak, a Karzai confidant, said yesterday that the president has been pushing for two years to have international troops concentrate on areas in Pakistan where terrorists take cover....
The agenda-pushing BS never ends.
Sedwill conceded that even 2014 might not mark the end of foreign troops’ control in some areas. “There might still be one or two parts of the country where the transition process is ongoing, and that might last into 2015 or beyond,’’ Sedwill said.
F*** that!
Time to GET OUT NOW!
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Here is another thing that did not sit well with me:
"Criticism Sharp After NATO Official Portrays Kabul as Safe for Children
KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO’s senior civilian representative here provoked sharp criticism from children’s advocates on Monday after he said Kabul was safer for children than many Western cities....
How much opium is he smoking?
Peter Crowley, Unicef’s Afghanistan representative, said the agency continued to regard Afghanistan “as being one of the worst countries in the world to be a child.”
“Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, and one in five children dies before the age of 5,” Mr. Crowley said....
A new report by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission commission noted what it said was a worrying increase in violence against children as well as child labor in all Afghan provinces.
But we are making progress!!
“Mr. Sedwill should come to the Human Rights Commission and consider the reports we receive on a daily basis,” said Hussein Mushrat, the report’s author. “Children are not safer here.”
So Sedwill is a liar, isn't he?
What was cut:
Also yesterday, officials said bombs and gun battles across Afghanistan killed more than 30 insurgents, five civilians, and two NATO coalition service members.
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Ugh, a New York Times link. Now I feel unclean.
Also see: Outrage Over A NATO Dismissal Of Kabul Children's Fears
:-(
