"Pentagon report cites Afghan progress; But intelligence expects attacks" April 30, 2011|By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The United States and its allies have made “tangible progress’’ in the Afghanistan war, providing the needed momentum to transfer control of seven regions to Afghan forces this summer, according to a new Pentagon report that gives the first assessment since the infusion of 30,000 more US troops to the battlefield late last fall.
Why did the term self-serving just enter my mind?
Sounding a more optimistic tone than previous reviews, the semiannual report to Congress also describes difficult challenges ahead....
Whatever lie works now.
Senior NATO officers revealed that they have picked up intelligence suggesting that Afghan insurgents are planning a spate of violent attacks across the nation in the next several days. They said militants want to demonstrate that they remain a powerful force despite setbacks they suffered under heavy pressure from tens of thousands of Afghan and NATO troops during the past year.
Related: Taliban Give and Take
I'm kind of getting tired of lies.
A senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday that the latest review takes a broader, long-term look at the progress in Afghanistan....
Meaning there IS NOT ANY "short-term progress" in Afghanistan.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said estimates suggest the violence could peak in the next 12 months as the Taliban try to regain lost ground and let Afghans know they will be back.....
Okay, that last part seems hard seeing as they live there.
The second highlight excludes all the land the U.S. pulled out of and gave back, as well as the Taliban expansion in other parts of the country.
And they started you off with the "we're winning, but it's going to get worse before it gets better" crapola they have been spewing for the last five years.
--more--"
Oh, I just love the smell of a fresh newspaper in the morning!
"Militant leader seized in Afghanistan" April 23, 2011|Associated Press
KABUL — A militant who led operations in Afghanistan for an Al Qaeda-linked terror group has been captured in the north....
The senior figure from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was apprehended in Kunduz Province along with two of his associates, the coalition said.
NATO described the militant, whom it did not identify, as a key conduit between the IMU’s leadership in Pakistan and senior Taliban leadership in Afghanistan. Afghan and coalition forces had been tracking him for several weeks.
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTT!!!
In other incidents across Afghanistan, an insurgent attack yesterday killed a NATO service member in the east, bringing to 128 the number of coalition troops killed this year. On Thursday, a roadside bomb killed five Afghan border policemen in southern Afghanistan and the nephew of an Afghan warlord was reportedly killed in fighting southwest of Kabul.
More progress I see.
--more--"
"Insurgents down NATO helicopter"
KABUL — Insurgents shot down a NATO helicopter yesterday in a mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan, and one foreign service member on the ground was killed, the alliance said. It said the two crew members survived the copter crash in the Alasay district of Kapisa Province (AP)."
But we are making progress.
"Afghan pilot kills 9 Americans at NATO base" by Joshua Partlow and Javed Hamdard, The Washington Post / April 28, 2011
KABUL — A veteran Afghan air force pilot opened fire yesterday inside a NATO military base, killing eight US service members and an American civilian contractor who had gathered for a morning meeting, Afghan and US officials said....
Progress.
The Afghan air force, with about 4,000 members, is the smallest and least developed of the Afghan security forces. It has a small fleet of cargo planes and helicopters, although Afghan defense officials have been pushing for the United States to buy the force fighter jets....
I'm sorry, but I'm kind of tapped out.
US military officials say they have been expecting the Taliban to increase efforts to infiltrate Afghan security forces, either to steal information or plan attacks.
Western intelligence agencies do the same thing!
Officials generally classify such efforts in one of three ways: “pure’’ infiltration, when a recruit joins the security forces in order to carry out Taliban missions; “mimicry,’’ when an insurgent wears a security uniform as a disguise to gain access to bases; and “co-option,’’ when insurgents persuade a security forces member to help with a mission....
Like looking in a mirror.
--more--"
Related: Pilot’s death shakes Auburn
How's that war looking again?
"Taliban to launch Afghan offensive; Vow new attacks will start today" May 01, 2011|By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press
KABUL — The spring fighting season in Afghanistan geared up this weekend with a war of words.
If it were just that I would be happy.
The Taliban announced they will begin their spring offensive today, pledging to attack military bases, convoys, and Afghan officials, including members of the peace council working to reconcile with top insurgent leaders.
Why would they want to do that? They are part of it!
Yesterday’s declaration came a day after a new Pentagon report claimed the militants were experiencing low morale after suffering heavy losses on the battlefield.
How you likin' the psyop propaganda posing as news here in AmeriKa, readers?
It's the American who are war-weary with low morale -- even with the staged charade of bin Laden!
“The war in our country will not come to an end unless and until the foreign invading forces pull out of Afghanistan,’’ the Taliban said in a two-page statement released by the leadership council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which is what the movement calls itself.
Senior officers with the US-led coalition said Friday that the Taliban — aided by the Al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network — have plans to conduct a brief series of high-profile attacks, including suicide bombings, across the country in a display of power.
Who?
"Haqqani.... credited with introducing suicide bombing to the region.... cultivated as a "unilateral" asset of the CIA and received tens of thousands of dollars in cash for his work.... He may have had a role in expediting the escape of Osama Bin Laden.... In July 2008, CIA officials confronted Pakistan officials with evidence of ties between Inter-Services Intelligence and Haqqani. Haqqani has been accused of involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul.... The Haqqani Network is based in Pakistan and is believed to have links to Al Qaeda."
Oh.
How come they never catch him?
The officers spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss recent intelligence, firmed up in the past couple of days, that lead to the assessment.
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTT!
Lieutenant Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the coalition, said the Taliban planned to use the violence as a “propaganda ploy’’ to try to demonstrate their relevance and create the perception of momentum despite recent setbacks.
We call them newspapers here in AmeriKa.
In recent months, the US-led coalition said it has seized insurgent weapons caches, pushed the Taliban from their historic strongholds in the south, and captured and killed hundreds of their fighters and field commanders. The Taliban have responded with suicide bombings and targeted attacks on troops and Afghan government officials....
Yeah, we are doing so well and yet somehow they just keep coming.
The Pentagon report claimed coalition and Afghan forces had halted the insurgents’ momentum in much of the country and reversed it in important areas.
Think I'm believing them anymore?
However, the report also said that progress in development and in expanding the Afghan government’s influence and control outside Kabul had not kept pace with security gains. Progress across Afghanistan remained “fragile and reversible.’’
Which means there really has been NO PROGRESS (whatever that means) at ALL!
--more--"
So what's the Taliban's big bang and gun?
"Taliban attack uses child suicide bomber" by Associated Press / May 2, 2011
Excuse me, I'm going to need to stop a moment to put on some waders.
KABUL — On the first day of its promised spring offensive, the Taliban used a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in an attack yesterday that killed four civilians, President Hamid Karzai said, calling the child’s recruitment inhumane and un-Islamic.
Who knows if that was even what it was; this is just a lying, war-promoting account.
"Now stop and think here for a moment. All revolutions depend on public support. Revolutionaries try to first win the people before they take on the government. So, no revolutionary goes out and murders civilians in cold blood. Did Washington and his men just mow down a marketplace of their fellow colonials for the heck of it? No, they did not. Washington and the Founding Fathers knew that their revolution to build a new country needed the support of those who would live in that country. This is true for every revolution in history. Therefore, these acts of terror being blamed on the insurgency must all be fakes, committed by intelligence agencies working for the governments to be blamed on the insurgents in order to destroy public support for the revolution." -- Wake the Flock Up
Yeah, that's the feeling I had.
It was one of several attacks across the country that killed seven people, officials said.
The insurgent movement announced Saturday that it would step up operations against military bases, convoys, and Afghan officials, including members of the peace council working to reconcile with insurgent leaders.
Why was all this cut for the web version?
The offensive begins each year after a winter lull in fighting.
Is that why the Pentagon is claiming progress?
In the Taliban's announcement of its offensive, it suggested it would try to limit civilian casualties in its operations. "Strict attention must be paid to the protection and safety of civilians during spring operations by working out a meticulous military plan," it said.
Yeah, I can see why that got the cut.
Back to the further eviscerated print:
According to documents from the Joint Intelligence Group at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Taliban systematically recruits and trains juveniles to be suicide bombers.
Was that BEFORE or AFTER the TORTURE?
In other violence yesterday, a gunman opened fire on a checkpoint in the southwest province of Ghazni, killing two police officers, said the provincial police chief.
In the south, an Afghan soldier was killed at a checkpoint in Kandahar, said deputy police chief Shershah Yousafzai.
More chop-chops:
In a separate attack in Ghazni, militants detonated a bicycle rigged with explosives outside the provincial police headquarters, wounding 13 civilians, according to provincial officials.
Yeah, sure they did.
Also in Kandahar, policemen receiving NATO-donated supplies including caps and protective eyewear drew guns and fought over the items, leaving one policeman dead and four wounded, said Arghandab distriict governor Shah Mohammad.
Progress.
--more--"
"Calls grow for Afghan pullout; Bin Laden demise changes the debate" by Theo Emery, Globe Staff / May 4, 2011
WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden’s death and the dispersal of his terrorist network from Afghanistan are expected to forge antiwar alliances among unlikely partners. Representative Ron Paul, conservative Republican from Texas, and Representative Barney Frank, liberal Democrat of Newton, have jointly called for troops to be pulled from Afghanistan as part of a global effort to reduce US missions and cut costs....
In October of 2001, there was also an across-the-political-spectrum consensus. The United States, sending CIA operatives and special forces on the ground and bombers to control the skies, had broad support for its campaign to help rebels rout the Taliban, which sheltered Al Qaeda’s leaders in Afghanistan.
The World Trade Center lay in ruins, and the Pentagon building had a gaping hole. President Bush said the goal was to capture or kill bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, deny a safe haven to his Al Qaeda network, and drive the Taliban from power.
With the death of bin Laden and the dismantling of the Al Qaeda’s Afghan network, two objectives have been met. Yet, after being ousted in 2001, the Taliban have reemerged, taking large swaths of the country back....
But, but, but.... the PENTAGON SAID we are WINNING and TAKING GROUND!!
WTF is with the LYING, AmeriKan media????
The US cost of the Afghan war is $444 billion so far, according to a Congressional Research Service report in March....
That's odd; I was just told it was "$336 billion."
Several prominent members of Congress on national security warned yesterday that using bin Laden’s death as a justification for a more rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan would only accelerate the advances by the Taliban and embolden Al Qaeda....
ADVANCES by the TALIBAN?
What the hell are they talking about?!
Didn't they read the Pentagon report?
If anything, said Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, the death demonstrates that the United States should continue its mission with other targets, including leaders of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
“The killing of bin Laden gives us a certain momentum in Afghanistan. That’s all to the good,’’ Lieberman said. “If I was a Taliban leader, all the way up to Mullah Omar, I would be frightened today.’’
Polling released yesterday show Americans remain sharply divided over the war. A USA Today-Gallup poll indicates that 45 percent of the 645 respondents believe the United States has accomplished its mission, while 53 percent said that important work remains to be done.
Yeah, right!!!
Over 50% now want to stay!
Related:
"A new Washington Post-ABC poll that said nearly two-thirds of Americans consider the war no longer worth fighting."
Please STOP MAKING NUMBERS UP and shoveling horse s***, AmeriKan media.
A separate Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll found that after bin Laden’s death, approval of President Obama’s handling of Afghanistan rose substantially.
Oh, that is what this is about. His poll #s!
Senator John F. Kerry, acknowledged bin Laden’s death could be a game-changer in neighboring Afghanistan but suggested that Congress and the administration carefully consider the possible repercussions of ending the fight against the Taliban too soon.
What a supreme disappointment this once-honorable Vietnam veteran has become.
“Some people are sure to ask why don’t we just pack up and leave Afghanistan,’’ said the Massachusetts Democrat, who plans to visit Afghanistan in the next few weeks on a fact-finding mission.
Related: Military looks into 'psy-op’ charge; Story says senators were manipulated in Afghanistan
Yeah, I'm sure he'll get all the "facts."
“So it’s even more compelling that we examine carefully what’s at stake, what goals are legitimate and realistic, what is our real security challenge, and how do we achieve the interests of our country....
Related:
“I think that in the next days, the government of Afghanistan’s response to anticorruption efforts are a key test of its ability to regain the confidence of the.... American people [who] are prepared to support with hard-earned tax dollars and with most importantly, with the treasure of our country — the lives of young American men and women.... and say, ‘Hey, that’s something worth dying for.’ ’’
Is that a VICTORY worth DYING FOR, America?
Also see: Obama Administration Uses Karzai to Conceal CIA Corruption in Afghanistan
What the web added:
[Off the record, some in the administration spoke of a dramatic shift, according to the Washington Post.]
[The Obama administration is seeking to use the killing of Osama bin Laden to accelerate a negotiated settlement with the Taliban and hasten the end of the Afghanistan war, according to US officials involved in war policy, the paper reported.]
Watch your back then, Mr. President.
[Administration officials think it could now be easier for the reclusive leader of the largest Taliban faction, Mohammad Omar, to break his group’s alliance with Al Qaeda, a key US requirement for any peace deal. They also think that bin Laden’s death could make peace talks a more palatable outcome for Americans and insulate Obama from criticism that his administration would be negotiating with terrorists, the story said.]
They could taste like shit right now and I'd munch away!
And END to the WAR?!!!
[“Bin Laden’s death is the beginning of the end game in Afghanistan,’’ the article quoted a senior administration as saying. “It changes everything.’’]
So where are we going next?
--more--"
Related:
Osama bin Dead Again
Bin Laden Buried at Sea
Today's Globe All About bin Laden
Also see: US says Osama bin Laden was unarmed, resisted
I can believe he was unarmed in the grave; however, how can a dead man resist anything?
"Taliban holding out for clear evidence; Lack of photos, sea burial raise group’s doubts" by Rahim Faiez and Heidi Vogt, Associated Press / May 4, 2011
KABUL —The war in Afghanistan has continued uninterrupted.
NATO forces yesterday launched an airstrike against a group of private security guards who were contracted to protect military supply convoys along an eastern Afghan highway, killing one of the guards, Afghan police and the company said....
I view this as a response and retaliation to Afghans from Karzai on down saying we now have to leave after the death of bin Laden.
Also yesterday, a NATO service member was killed in a predawn bomb attack in the east. There were no further details....
Progress.
--more--"
