Archives for the 'Afghanistan' Category
Hard, Hard All The Time, But Doable
Published on 18 Sep 2009 at 8:00 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
In an open letter to the Brits, apparently designed to encourage and reassure, Gen. David Petraeus weighs in on Afghanistan. Times of London:
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Honor
Published on 17 Sep 2009 at 9:36 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, courage, military.
Sergeant First Class Jared Monti of Raynham, Massachusetts, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor today at the White House. His parents were there to accept it for him.
Monti, a forward observer with 3rd squadron, 71st Cav, 10th Mountain Division, was on a recon mission on June 21, 2006, in Gowardesh on the Afghan-Pak border, when his [...]
Not Liked Enough
Published on 14 Sep 2009 at 9:29 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, Obama, al qaeda.
Poor Obama, can’t catch a break. If he isn’t getting it from Glenn Greenwald and Andrew Sullivan over Guantanamo and gay marriage, he’s getting it from Osama over Iraq. CNN:
Medic Murdered
Published on 10 Sep 2009 at 10:35 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Navy Corpsman James Layton was shot dead in a hail of Taliban gunfire, along with the wounded Marine he was working on. McClatchy:
Aftermath Anger
Published on 10 Sep 2009 at 11:46 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, media, military.
UK Telegraph reports senior British Army sources voice anger that a soldier was killed rescuing a New York Times reporter who ignored security warnings and went into a Taliban-controlled area. An Afghan translator was also killed, unclear by which side. The military believed that the situation might be about to deteriorate.
Caught a few moments of what sounded [...]
Lessons And Rules
Published on 9 Sep 2009 at 9:49 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Bitter ones. Herschel Smith at Captain’s Journal looks at the death of four Marines, seven Afghan soldiers and an interpreter in an ambush in Kunar province and considers the force projection aspect of counterinsurgency and the arm-tied-behind-the-back part … when rules of engagement are followed over a cliff.
Small Wars Journal points to some relevant discussion: NYT with a [...]
Afghan Woes
Published on 3 Sep 2009 at 8:44 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
Daniel Dravot: “Ask him who his enemies are, Billy Fish.”
Billy Fish: “Uttar say, ‘Enemies all around. The worst are the Bashkai. Always raiding and stealing our womens. And when we go to bathe, they are pissing in the river!”
Daniel Dravot: “Shocking state of affairs! You tell Uttar, we will help him defeat his enemies. He [...]
Clinton Had It Right
Published on 1 Sep 2009 at 7:24 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, America, al qaeda, terrorists.
That’s not exactly how he puts it, but that’s what I’m getting off this George Will column, “Time to Get Out of Afghanistan,” which can be summed up quickly: War’s hard. Vietnam was hard, and also impossible, Afghanistan’s harder and more impossible. Abandon now. Cruise missile counterterrorism policy, please.
Double Reverse Wack-A-Mole
Published on 30 Aug 2009 at 9:35 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Pakistan, pols.
It’s the latest in Democratic strategic thinking. Sen. Russ Feingold in the Wall Street Journal. Bear with me, because this is really complicated, and also doesn’t make any sense. But I think this is how it works.
Remember when the Dems said the Iraq war was bad, we needed to get out, because all we were doing was [...]
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Be All You Can Be
Published on 24 Aug 2009 at 8:36 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
You can do it, as the commander in chief of the Army!
Bad news: NYT reports the military in Afghanistan, not strong enough. Apparently a few more good men would help. It isn’t exactly news. There’s a war on, the one the lefty peaceniks always said was the one that needed to be fought. But now that it’s theirs to fight, [...]
Case In Point
Published on 13 Aug 2009 at 1:49 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Boston, cops, media, military.
While the Boston Globe waxes hysterical about the dangers letting veterans be cops, the New York Times weighs in with some news on what the presumed babykillers have been up to while earning their veterans’ civil service preference. It’s an informative article on the military’s adaption to Taliban tactics and finetuning of the counterinsurgency. Sounds like the Army expects a pretty high degree of sophistication [...]
Marines Go To Town
Published on 12 Aug 2009 at 10:47 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Heavy fighting as Marines assault a Taliban stronghold in Helmand. AP, which reports the goal is to open the town for voting in the upcoming election, and isolate the Taliban from population centers.
A discussion of the importance of securing population centers … big ones, like Kandahar, at Small Wars Journal, where a frustrated Dave Dilegge wants [...]
A Great Wringing Of Hands
Published on 11 Aug 2009 at 8:45 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
It’s begun in earnest. NYT’s Opinionator does a great job rounding up the rending of garments, gnashing of teeth, the wailing, lamentations of woe and destruction in the rush to lose a war. NYT’s O seems to particularly like Andrew Bacevich, the great strategic thinker who was determined to see us abandon Iraq, and having lost that [...]
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Afghan Issues
Published on 2 Aug 2009 at 9:38 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
August kicks off with three U.S. deaths. Washington Post. July was the deadliest month to date in Afghanistan with 43 slain Americans, 75 NATO total, approaching Iraq numbers. One of them was a local boy:
BOURNE - The death of Marine Cpl. Nicholas Xiarhos was a bitter lesson in the realities of war, a fellow Marine and [...]
Enemy Capabilities
Published on 28 Jul 2009 at 8:58 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
As the Taliban gears up for an extended guerrilla war, and indications emerge suggesting they have their act together tactically in ways the Iraqi insurgents didn’t, here’s Captain’s Journal explaining how he, Michael Yon, Glenn Reynolds and I are complicit in telling the Taliban what they already know. CJ’s Herschel Smith links to this NYT report:
Medal Of Honor
Published on 24 Jul 2009 at 11:43 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, courage, military.
Sgt. Jared Monti, 30, of Raynham, Massachusetts. Congressional Medal of Honor, posthumous, for his actions on June 21, 2006, in Gowardesh, Afghanistan. He didn’t just give his life trying to drag badly wounded soldiers to safety under heavy fire. He gave in life. Boston Herald:
“Stay Strong”
Published on 20 Jul 2009 at 9:17 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Boston Herald, with the father of slain al Qaeda captive S/Sgt Alex Jimenez to the family of Taliban captive PFC Bowe Bergdahl:
Prop Op
Published on 19 Jul 2009 at 10:03 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Propaganda opportunity seized by the Taliban, as the strange case of a soldier who reportedly wandered away takes its next turn with a video release. BBC:
Missing
Published on 2 Jul 2009 at 11:06 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Believed captured in Afghanistan. An American soldier apparently wandered off his base. Washington Post:
Obama To Troops: “WTF?”
Published on 2 Jul 2009 at 12:10 am.
7 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
The news out of Afghanistan yesterday was bookended by a couple of Washington Post reports.
Bob Woodward on the ground at Camp Leatherneck reported this morning in an article ridiculously headlined, Preventing Another Iraq/US Says Key to Success in Afghanistan: Economic, Not Military, that the Obama admin considers it a “new era.”
The headline is not Woodward’s fault, except to the extent [...]
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Saving Private Ivan
Published on 21 Jun 2009 at 1:42 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Russia.
Sunday at the movies. Just finished watching THE 9TH COMPANY, a 2005 Russian/Finnish/Ukrainian-made Soviet-Afghan War flick. Great depiction of men in combat, sort of a Band of Comrades story set in 1988. It got two thumbscrews up from the Put-ster himself. Amazon’s synopsis and a little more of my own commentary follows, don’t click in if [...]
GI To Taliban: Eat My Shorts
Published on 23 May 2009 at 12:20 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
via Boston Herald, on what SecDef Robert Gates called ”a special kind of courage.”
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Small Wars Writ Large
Published on 15 May 2009 at 9:19 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, military.
Dalton Fury at Small Wars Journal with a somewhat intimate view of McChrystal, aka The Pope, now taking over in Afghanistan, from the perspective of someone who served under him in peace and war. It doesn’t say much about what he’ll do in Afghanistan, but it says a lot about what kind of person is doing it.
Also [...]
Deck Chairs Rearranged
Published on 12 May 2009 at 9:27 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
McKiernan’s out, McChrystal’s in command in Afghanistan. Small Wars Journal rounds up the news, which touches on the themes that conventional is out, spec ops in, McKiernan is scapegoated, McKiernan was “overly cautious,” and “fresh eyes” are needed, Zarqawi kill team leader is the guy, all without much in the way of telling detail. Some observations follow:
Propaganda Victory!
Published on 7 May 2009 at 11:51 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, media, military.
As a career newsman, I can assure the last thing any reporter worth his salt wants to do is let sticky, unresolved questions and facts mess up the story line. That’s why a professional sometimes employs the time-honored device known as “burying” them. Much as the evidence was buried in Afghanistan. AP:
NYT Combat Embed
Published on 20 Apr 2009 at 9:45 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, media, military.
In the Korengal Valley. An account of combat, loss, and some of the complicating factors in this corner of the Afghan war. More like this, please. Great photo gallery at the link.
This is a relatively tight focus on a single incident, that doesn’t in itself offer extensive insight. But combat embeds give reporters, media organizations and the public [...]
Victory Point
Published on 19 Apr 2009 at 9:14 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, history, military.
My next read, new out this month, Victory Point: Operations Red Wings and Whalers - the Marine Corps’ Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan, describes 2/3 Marines operations in the Korengal Valley region before, during and after the incident dramatically described by SEAL Marcus Luttrell in Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost [...]
OBushma
Published on 13 Apr 2009 at 8:09 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Bush, Iraq, Obama, military, pols.
Boston Herald editorial: Obama the president pushes Congress for quick, no-effing-around action on his $83 billion warfighting request, to a great wringing of hands among his erstwhile pals in the anti-war left.
“This funding will do two things: It will prolong our occupation of Iraq through at least the end of 2011, and it will deepen and expand our [...]
Afghan Art
Published on 10 Apr 2009 at 9:51 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan.
Lots of it in this massive photo essay compliments of my troubled competition, the Boston Globe. That bearded trooper is a Canadian grunt. You’ll want to see the bit about Marines paying off Afghan farmers for damaging their poppy crops. Very interesting. That and more, including heartbreaking Canadian and American funeral art. Thank you Americans, Canadians, [...]
Feeling The Euro Love
Published on 4 Apr 2009 at 8:11 am.
5 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Europe, Obama.
Obama woos Europe, tells Europe what it has been longing to hear. AP:
STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama pledged on Friday to work repair damaged relations with Europe, saying the world came together following the 2001 terrorist attacks but then “we got sidetracked by Iraq.”
…
Speaking before a French and German audience [...]
Diminishing Returns
Published on 2 Apr 2009 at 12:58 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
Petraeus would like another 10,000. Washington Post:
Petraeus acknowledged that the ratio of coalition and Afghan security forces to the population is projected through 2011 to be significantly lower than the 20 troops per 1,000 people prescribed by the Army counterinsurgency manual he helped write.
“If you assume there is an insurgency throughout the country . . [...]
To LBJ Or Not To LBJ
Published on 31 Mar 2009 at 10:29 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
ABC: McCain to Obama … Don’t be like LBJ.
Old guy advises the kid to quit pussyfooting around with the incrementalism in Afghanistan. Only one problem. Obama doesn’t want to be a war president. Too bad. Because not being one isn’t one of his options. He only gets to choose whether he wants to be a winning war [...]
GWOT Over
Published on 30 Mar 2009 at 11:10 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Clintons, GWOT, Obama.
It ends not with a whimper but with more of a dismissive tone, as Hillary Clinton offhandedly dispenses with the term. Prior to offhandedly dismissing eight years of international aid efforts that in a number of cases have cost western aid workers and Afghans their lives.
About That ISI Problem
Published on 30 Mar 2009 at 7:02 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, Pakistan, military.
Top U.S. brass turn up the heat. BBC:
In recent days three top American generals have turned their guns on Pakistan, accusing elements of its main intelligence agency, the ISI, of supporting Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.
The unprecedented broadside followed the announcement by the US President Barack Obama of a new strategy for Afghanistan.
Mr Obama cited as [...]
About That Special Relationship
Published on 27 Mar 2009 at 8:48 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Britain, Obama.
Brit Army chief says he’s ready to send more to Afghanistan, subject to political approval. Times of London:
The head of the Army is ready to send up to 2,000 extra troops to Afghanistan amid fears that the US-led mission will struggle without significant reinforcements.
General Sir Richard Dannatt told The Times yesterday that elements of 12 Mechanised [...]
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Tragic Workplace Accident
Published on 27 Mar 2009 at 1:12 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, moronocy, terrorists.
Reuters: “Blundering Afghan Suicide Bomber Blows Up 6 Militants.”
A would-be suicide bomber accidentally blew himself up on Thursday, killing six other militants as he was bidding them farewell to leave for his intended target, the Interior Ministry said.
“The terrorist was on his way to his destination and saying good-bye to his associates and then his suicide [...]
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Everything Old
Published on 26 Mar 2009 at 11:03 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
Is new again, plus some things borrowed, some things blue, a little naivete and hopefully some things that will work for this blushing war bride, as Obama prepares to walk down the aisle with an Afghan strategy announcement. FOX sneak preview kicks off the links:
Afghanistan Made Easy
Published on 25 Mar 2009 at 10:00 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, media, military.
To get, not to do. Enough with the hysteria/doom-and-gloom mongering. War correspondent Robert Kaplan, who has been around the block a couple of times in Afghanistan and with the United States military, with a note of reason on the evolving campaign, what that campaign is fundamentally about, why we can win it, and why we have to. Excerpts [...]
Victory In Sight!
Published on 23 Mar 2009 at 10:25 am.
7 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
For al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as Obama explains his priority in Afghanistan. Getting Out. NYT:
Obama Lied, Contractors Hired
Published on 22 Mar 2009 at 10:22 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
Private security contractor is use up in Afghanistan. I blame Bush! I dunno if it’s his fault, but this AP article sure talks a lot about crimes of the Bush era, while avoiding any accusations of rank hypocrisy, reckless cynicism in the current admin. I suppose it’s a refreshing change from the shrill coverage of presidential/DoD policy matters [...]
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The Case Against Minimalism
Published on 19 Mar 2009 at 12:22 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
McCain and Lieberman make it re Afghanistan in the Washington Post. Excerpts plus minimalist, middlist, maximalist debate links after the jump. Just get us out of this surreal foeign policy dadaism, I say.
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Love & War
Published on 18 Mar 2009 at 8:52 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, Pakistan, military, pols.
US mulling whether to hit Taliban R&R/support areas in the vicinity of Quetta, Baluchistan, Pakistan proper, where big mullahs have fallen back due to the heat in Waziristan’s tribal areas. via Al Qaeda Early Warning System, aka NYT. Rather than whack NYT for reporting what admin officials are blabbing about, though, it’s more useful to consider what it says [...]
Long War, Petty Battle, Cheap Shots
Published on 9 Mar 2009 at 9:48 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, academia, military.
If the world were a perfect place, I’d advise David Kilcullen at Small Wars Journal not to waste any time or energy responding to the intellectually dishonest Andrew Bacevich’s trashing of Kilcullen’s The Accidental Guerrilla. Not least because lately Bacevich has been incapable of managing a coherent essay, not that that stops people from printing them. But Australian [...]
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Shell Game?
Published on 8 Mar 2009 at 9:25 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, Obama, military.
Mudville thinks the Obama admin is playing one, diverting a Stryker brigade that had been preparing for Iraq to Afghanistan amid much fanfare, and shortly afterward, sending a Stryker brigade to Iraq.
Gratuitous Frog-Bashing
Published on 3 Mar 2009 at 10:54 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, France, military.
Shocking vid shamelessly mocks our French allies in Afghanistan. Leaves out the important German contribution. There must be some good beer-guzzling sausage-schnarfing combat vid out there somewhere.
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Two Down
Published on 17 Feb 2009 at 6:36 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq.
It may be quiet, but it isn’t over. Two to be buried in Massachusetts this week.
UPDATE: Went down to my town’s central fire station this morning to get my burn permit, saw the flag at half-staff and asked who it was for. The chief said it was for these two young men, also Alex Jimenez of Lawrence, Mass., [...]
News Of Afghanistan
Published on 11 Feb 2009 at 10:40 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
20 dead in an attack on government offices in Kabul, plus eight dead in the Taliban suicide squad, with fears others may be on the loose. Quick Afghan reader kicks off with IHT on Kabuli feelings of vulnerability:
Dire Report
Published on 9 Feb 2009 at 10:16 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Europe, Obama.
National security team, headed by a highly respected worstist, tries to coax Europe with the promise that Afghanistan will be tougher than Iraq. Washington Post:
Aim Low, Goal In Sight
Published on 3 Feb 2009 at 11:05 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Bush, Obama, al qaeda.
Easy target sought, may not be hard to hit. Here’s one report that suggests al-Qaeda in Pakistan is on the ropes, and the other says ease off on the nation-building, just focus on croaking AQ in Pakistan.
Troop Support Wanted
Published on 28 Jan 2009 at 9:39 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Of course, there’s no reason not to enlist and be a force for peace, now that Obama is commander in chief and the police/diplomatic-outreach operation formerly known as the GWOT is getting a makeover. But killing jihadis is still on, and if that’s not your thing, DoD is reaching out to people who want to support the troops in other ways. [...]
