#2
A cute picture of a lovely lady, GolfBravoUSMC. Although with the Julia Child pic you truly outdid yourself, and made the day of many more than just me. :-)
An Afghan army officer told a Canadian court martial Tuesday that an unarmed Taliban fighter was still alive but barely when he was allegedly shot by Capt. Robert Semrau in October 2008. "He was in very serious condition, 98 per cent, he was gone," said Capt. Shafigullah, the commander of a weapons company being mentored at the time by Semrau and three other Canadians in neighbouring Helmand province. Semrau is charged with second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence if he is convicted, as well as four lesser charges.
The court heard that the insurgent whose name was not known and whose body was not recovered from the battlefield had suffered catastrophic wounds after he was knocked out of a tree by a U.S. army Apache assault helicopter. "His legs were cut off. His belly was torn out. He was hardly breathing. He was not moving," Shafigullah, who like many Afghans, prefers to be known by only one name, told Lt.-Col. Mario Leveillee, who led for the prosecution.
Testifying in Dari through a court-appointed interpreter, Shafigullah said that he and Semrau had "left the wounded insurgent as he was" and had gone to examine two other fighters who had been killed in a nearby cornfield. But the 36-year-old infantryman from the Petawawa, Ont.-based Royal Canadian Regiment walked back to the wounded insurgent, explaining that he wanted to take photographs. Shafigullah said.
Soon after that, the Afghan officer said he heard two shots and the Canadian mentoring unit's interpreter had told him," 'Captain Rob has shot him . . .'
"I asked him (Semrau) why?" and the Canadian told him " 'the man was 98 per cent finished. I wanted to help him.' "
Shafigullah was so upset about this turn of events that "for 10 minutes I did not talk to him . . .
"Capt. Rob was also not happy about what he had done. He said he wanted to help this person. He was apologetic with me" and asked for forgiveness.
Shafigullah explained that he had not killed the wounded insurgent because "I am a Muslim and, according to our religion, if someone is wounded, we must treat him like our own soldiers and don't have the right to do something to him."
The 17-year Afghan army veteran appeared before the judge, Lt.-Col. Jean-Guy Perron, in crisp green khaki combat fatigues. More than a dozen Canadians currently serving in Afghanistan closely followed the testimony, which was heard in a makeshift courtroom inside a big tent on this sprawling logistics base.
Under cross-examination by Maj. Steve Turner, Shafigullah said the daylong patrol into territory that was held by the Taliban had been very dangerous. Roads were heavily mined, there had been ambushes and sporadic gunfire. The insurgent's condition when he and Semrau first encountered him was so dire that "there was no blood in his body," the Afghan officer said. Given the security situation at the time it would have been impossible to call in a medevac helicopter to remove the wounded insurgent from the scene, he said.
"There was no possibility for him to stay alive," he said. "He could die in five to 10 minutes, no more than 30 minutes, and probably in 10 minutes."
Anticipating the insurgent's death, Afghan soldiers had placed his face in the direction of Mecca and covered his body with the shawl he had been carrying, Shafigullah said. During this part of his testimony, the Afghan infantryman also revealed that his soldiers had had to step in to prevent border police from "strangling" the insurgent and that an argument had ensued between his platoon leader and the police commander over this.
There have been a couple of discrepancies in the testimony that has been heard so far in Afghanistan. There had been two shots and the insurgent was breathing but not moving before this happened, Shafigullah said Tuesday. Max, who told the court on Saturday that he had witnessed the killing from a distance of five metres, testified there had been only one shot and that the insurgent was moving but was not breathing.
The four-member panel of Canadian officers that has been hearing the case must decide if Semrau is guilty of second-degree murder. The lesser charges to be considered are whether he attempted to commit murder using a firearm, behaved in a disgraceful manner and negligently performed a military duty imposed on him.
The general court martial began in Gatineau, Que., in March and moved to Kandahar last week. It continues Wednesday with legal arguments.
#2
Shafigullah explained that he had not killed the wounded insurgent because "I am a Muslim and, according to our religion, if someone is wounded, we must treat him like our own soldiers and don't have the right to do something to him."
He forgot to add, "unless he was part of the dhimmi, not of my umma, or a different tariqa and engaged in taqfir. Then I can kill him through any means I want because it is jihad. Though, I'd wait until any one from the West wasn't looking. Then I'd just saw his head off. If a Westerner was looking, I'd play the victim game and pretend to be a, 'moderate,' Islamist."
Miracle Max: Hoo hoo hoo! Look who knows so much, heh? Well, it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Please, open his mouth. Now, mostly dead is slightly alive. Now, all dead...well, with all dead, there's usually only one thing you can do.
Inigo: What's that?
Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.
A new and useful word. Thank you, miscellaneous -- and welcome to you and the other new posters who are adding so much to our conversation here at Rantburg! I haven't been saying that as often as I ought, lately, but we are glad you found us and decided to speak up. :-)
The UN has agreed to remove Taliban members who renounce ties to al-Qaeda from a UN blacklist on a "gradual" basis, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said on Tuesday.
"The president asked the UN delegates to remove Taliban members from their blacklist and the delegates agreed to do so gradually and provided the members had no links to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups," Karzai's palace said in a statement.
Senior diplomats from the 15-nation UN Security Council were in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, following a call for a review of the names of Taliban figures on its sanction list at a peace conference in Kabul earlier this month.
[Quqnoos] One civilian was killed and two others were injured in a blast in Kandahar, provincial officials said Tuesday evening The exact number of deaths is not clear so far, but Deputy Police Commander for Kandahar province confirmed that one civilian was killed and two others were wounded in the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[Quqnoos] 19 people, including 3 foreign soldiers and 3 Afghan policemen were wounded in a suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan on Monday evening
The incident occurred at five in the evening in Shigal district of the eastern Kunar province, said the province's Police Chief, Khalilullah Ziaee.
Three of the injured are reportedly in a critical condition.
The Police says the suicide attack was carried out by a woman.
This is the first suicide attack in the province in the past several years.
The Taliban have taken responsibility for the attack, and claim that ten foreign soldiers have been killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
More at the WSJ:
KABULAn Afghan woman detonated a suicide vest concealed beneath her burka, killing two U.S. soldiers and injuring scores of Afghan civilians in what government officials say is Afghanistan's first female suicide attack, officials said Tuesday. Going forward, Afghan security forces will have to be more vigilant about checking women for explosives and weapons, said Gen. Khalilullah, Kunar's police chief. In the past, male suicide bombers often have worn burkasflowing robes that envelop the face and bodies of womenknowing that in this extremely conservative country, security forces are less likely to check women for explosives.
Any widespread appearance of female bombers would mean complications for security forces, because contact between men and women in Afghan society is limited, and male officers are forbidden to search women. Afghan security forces are recruiting female officers, but they are still relatively few in number.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United Nations has agreed to remove Taliban members who renounce ties to al Qaeda from a U.N. blacklist on a "gradual" basis, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said on Tuesday.
Senior diplomats from the 15-nation U.N. Security Council were in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, following a call for a review of the names of Taliban figures on its sanction list at a peace conference in Kabul earlier this month.
"The president asked the U.N. delegates to remove Taliban members from their blacklist and the delegates agreed to do so gradually and provided the members had no links to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups," Karzai's palace said in a statement.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1267 freezes assets and limits travel of senior figures linked to the Taliban, as well as al-Qaeda, but recent Afghan efforts to engage some insurgents in diplomacy have raised doubts about who should be on the list.
At least five of those named on the 137-name list are former Taliban officials who now serve in parliament or privately mediate between the government and the insurgents battling NATO-led forces and their Afghan partners.
Earlier this month, Afghanistan held a three day peace "jirga", or conference, in a bid to find a national consensus on ways to end a violent insurgency that has dragged on for almost nine years.
The jirga advised the government to seek the removal of names -- including those of Mullah Mohammad Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- from the U.N. Security Council blacklist compiled after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The list designated as terrorists Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders who were based in Afghanistan at the time, and helped to provide a U.N.-sanctioned justification for the U.S.-led invasion of the country in November 2001.
The Taliban, ousted by the 2001 invasion, have vowed to boycott any peace negotiations until the 142,000 U.S.-led foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"The United Nations has agreed to remove Taliban members who renounce ties to al Qaeda from a U.N. blacklist..."
Great, because the only thing wrong with the Taliban has been their ties to al Qaeda. Otherwise they're just like the Girl Scouts.
Posted by: American Delight ||
06/23/2010 9:42 Comments ||
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[Maghrebia] A remotely-detonated bomb exploded Monday (June 21st) on the road between Lakhdaria and Bouderbala, west of Bouira, El Watan reported. The blast targeted an Algerian Legitimate Defence Group (GLD) convoy. No "Patriots" incurred casualties.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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Babelfish
A newspaper office in Torreon, Coahuila, was attacked Tuesday by armed suspects, say Mexican news accounts. Offices of the Mexican Editorial Organization located on Bulevar Constitución, publisher of Torreon's Noticias de El Sol de la Laguna, was attacked at 1300 hrs by armed suspects using AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles.
A receptionist, said to be seven months pregnant, was hit in the arm and head, but the wounds are said to be minor and the life of the child is not threatened.
Reports say several vehicles were damaged as well in the assault which may have included the use of hand grenades.
Babelfish with a hat tip for additional information to Nota Roja
Three municipal police officers were shot to death in a late night raid on municipal police facilities by armed suspects in Los Herreras, Nuevo Leon Monday, according to Mexican news reports.
Eusebio Muñiz, Miguel Angel Torres and Andres Ayala died of their wounds at the scene.
According to the translation, about 20 armed suspects riding aboard several pickup trucks arrived at the police headquarters near the intersection of Morelos and 20th de Noviembre at about 2300 hrs and started shooting. One police officer returned fire and apparently hit two suspects. The wounded suspects were rescued by their accomplices as they fled.
State police and minitary elements arriving at he scene found several spent cartridge casings for .223 assault rifles and a stolen Toyota Camry, presumably left by the suspects when they fled.
Los Herreras is a known area for drug trafficking, according to the information provided.
Six individuals lost their lives in ongoing violence related to drug and gang activity, including a shooting at a bar in Torreon, Coahuila.
A suspected drug dealer was shot to death Tuesday in Juarez, according to Mexican news reports. The shooting, which took place during the Uruguay vs. Mexico soccer game of the 2010 World Cup happened near the intersection of calles Jose Borunda and Peru in the Partido Romero district.
An unidentified man in his 30s was found shot dead on the Chihuahua - Juarez highway Tuesday, say Mexican news accounts. The scene was at Km. Marker 3 where the corpse was found riddled with multiple bullet wounds.
A 25 year old unidentified man and a toddler of two were hit by stray rounds during a police chase In Juarez Tuesday, say Mexican news reports. Mexican Federal agents were in pursuit of armed suspects near the intersection of calle CapulÃn y Zaragoza where the gunman had robbed a gas station at gunpoint. The wounded were on a public bus at the intersection of Boulevard Zaragoza and Calle Mora in the Tierra Nueva district when they were hit in the crossfire.
An unidentified man was shot to death in front of a hospital in Juarez Tuesday, according to Mexican news accounts. The victim was found in an orange colored van on Avenida Ramon Rayon in front of the Insituto Mexicano del Seguro Social hospital. Investigators at the scene say he was shot with an AK-47 assault rifle. About 50 spent cartridge casings were found at the scene.
Three unidentified people died from wounds suffered in a Monday night attack in a bar in Torreon, Coahuila, say Mexican news reports. Reports say a group of armed suspects arrived the Rincon del Sur bar near the intersection of Bulevar Revolución and Calle Ramón Corona and started shooting, causing property damage. The suspects then entered the bar itself continuing their assault. Two 30 year old individuals died at the scene, while a third, a woman, died Tuesday.
Reports say the trio were shot with AK-47, .45 caliber and 9mm weapons.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A radical Kurdish separatist group claimed Tuesday the deadly bombing of a bus in Istanbul in which five people died and threatened more attacks, in a statement posted on its website.
The bus, carrying army personnel to work, was hit by a remote-control bomb planted on a road in Halkali, a suburb on Istanbul's European side, officials said.
Four soldiers and a 17-year-old girl, the daughter of an officer, were killed, and a dozen passengers wounded in the attack early Tuesday.
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) said they bombed the bus because Turkey "is planning a massacre of the Kurdish people" and has adopted "a concept of aggression" against jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, it said.
The Turkish authorities say TAK is a front used by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody 26-year insurgency in the southeast, especially when attacks claim civilian casualties.
The PKK has said TAK is a splinter group outside its control.
TAK threatened to "increase the dosage of our action" because Ankara's policies "are forcing us to undertake even more intensive attacks."
In a separate statement posted on its website, TAK claimed responsibility also for the June 8 bombing of a bus carrying policemen to work in Istanbul, which left 15 people wounded.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Interesting to see what the Govt's reaction will be.
In the past 10 years or so (under first the secularists and then the Islamists) the Kurds in Turkey have been allowed to take Kurdish names, print newspapers and books in Kurdish and listen to Kurdish music, etc.
Undoing those rudimentary reforms, which were prompted partly by the EU as a condition of membership, would be horrible.
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/23/2010 17:03 Comments ||
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Live from Obama at 1:30 -- just breaking -- will get link and story with up-dates as they happpen
President Obama announced Wednesday that he has accepted Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation as the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and nominated Gen. David Petraeus to replace him, following a scathing article in which he and his aides were quoted criticizing the administration.
McChrystal got his marching orders as he held a face-to-face meeting at the White House, where he met with the president after a meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon.
The Wednesday meeting preceded a regular session of the administration's strategy team for Afghanistan, held in the White House Situation Room. Normally, McChrystal would have joined via teleconference but he was summoned to Washington as he faced a private flogging over the article that appeared in Rolling Stone.
If not insubordination, the remarks in the Rolling Stone magazine article were at least an indirect challenge to civilian management of the war in Washington by its top military commander.
Military leaders rarely challenge their commander in chief publicly, and when they do, consequences tend to be more severe than a scolding.
"I think it's clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed a poor -- showed poor judgment," the president said Tuesday, surrounded by members of his Cabinet. "But I also want to make sure that I talk to him directly before I make any final decisions."
Gates hand-picked McChrystal to take over the war last year, calling him a driven visionary with the fortitude and intelligence to turn the war around. Obama fired the previous commander at Gates' recommendation.
In Kabul on Tuesday, McChrystal issued a statement saying: "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened."
In the Rolling Stone article, McChrystal and his staff described the president as unprepared for their first one-on-one encounter.
McChrystal also said he felt betrayed and blind-sided by his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. Eikenberry remains in his post in Kabul, and although both men publicly say they are friends, their rift is on full display. McChrystal and Eikenberry, himself a retired Army general, stood as far apart as the speakers' platform would allow during a White House news conference last month.
The story characterized the general as unable to convince some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the nation's longest-running war, and dejected that the president didn't know about his commendable military record.
The article says that although McChrystal voted for Obama, the two failed to connect from the start. Obama called McChrystal on the carpet last fall for speaking too bluntly about his desire for more troops.
"I found that time painful," McChrystal said in the article, on newsstands Friday. "I was selling an unsellable position."
It quoted an adviser to McChrystal dismissing their early meeting last year as a "10-minute photo-op."
"Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. The boss was pretty disappointed," the adviser told the magazine.
Some of the strongest criticism was reserved for Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"The boss says he's like a wounded animal," one of the general's aides was quoted as saying. "Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he's going to get fired, so that makes him dangerous."
McChrystal also said he felt "betrayed" by Eikenberry for expressing doubts about his proposed troop buildup last year and accused the ambassador of giving himself cover.
"Here's one that covers his flank for the history books," McChrystal told the magazine. "Now, if we fail, they can say 'I told you so."'
Obama agreed to dispatch an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan only after months of study that many in the military found frustrating. The White House's troop commitment was coupled with a pledge to begin bringing troops home in July 2011, in what counterinsurgency strategists advising McChrystal regarded as an arbitrary deadline.
The profile, titled "The Runaway General," emerged from several weeks of interviews and travel with McChrystal's tight circle of aides this spring. It includes a list of administration figures said to back McChrystal, including Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and puts Vice President Joe Biden at the top of a list of those who don't.
The article claims McChrystal has seized control of the war "by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House."
#1
Obama showed him! Yup Yup, he showed us all who's in charge! Now lets see, he has pissed off McCrystal, Jindel, Brewer, and a whole host of next generation republican leaders. He is hand picking his firing squad.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/23/2010 13:52 Comments ||
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#2
Looks like The One's ego wouldn't allow it.
I wonder if The One can see past the "insubordination" (which he probably views as a personal affront) and make some much-needed changes to his own character, behavior and decision-making.
#5
Like I said on the other thread. Generals don't outrank Presidents and should never be critical of them while in uniform. It's clear that he fostered a atmosphere that was critical of the Commander in Chief. Once that became public the President had to take this action.
#6
According to CNN (spi) Petraeuswill be taking command.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/23/2010 14:06 Comments ||
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#7
maybe this is a chance to change the ROEs so troops can defend themselves more expeditiously
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/23/2010 14:11 Comments ||
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#8
Petraeus is making a brass ballsy move here. His name is gold and certainly didn't need to put his reputation on the line again. Hopefully him taking the job means he doesn't see civilian leadership undermining victory. Or it just means the man will do anything asked of him for his country.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/23/2010 14:14 Comments ||
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#9
Hopefully him taking the job means he doesn't see civilian leadership undermining victory.
On the other hand, maybe he's taking the job out of hope of preventing a disaster.
#11
My so non-military mind wonders, can Patraeus appoint McChrystal under his command, like he had General Ray Odierno in Iraq, running the daily operations?
Obama *had* to can McCrystal, but I expected him to replace the general with his second-in-command. Who takes over CentCom?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/23/2010 14:57 Comments ||
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#13
maybe this is a chance to change the ROEs so troops can defend themselves more expeditiously
lord garth,
To be or not to be will then become the question.
Bidens counterterrorism v. McChrystals counterinsurgency. If the switch is made to Bidens strategy, the ROE's become a mute point as there will be no engagement with the population. Just drones and hit-squads against Al Qaeda with a compliant Taliban running things with or without Karzai.
#15
'McChrystal told the magazine. "Now, if we fail, they can say 'I told you so."' '
'McChrystal has seized control of the war "by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House'
'Generals don't outrank Presidents and should never be critical of them while in uniform.'
cyber sarge
But IMHO yes CIC does out rank a General - but the first rule of the military is to defend the country from threats outside and inside the country.
And i see the current POTUS trying to lose a war that will badly damage this country.
#16
Yes
"But IMHO yes CIC does out rank a General - but the first rule of the military is to defend the country from threats outside and inside the country.
And i see the current POTUS trying to lose a war that will badly damage this country"
First and foremost, it is a military member's job to obey all LAWFUL orders, but not UNLAWFUL orders. Is it at all possible that some unlawful stuff had come accross his desk that didn't pass the sniff test, and his code of ethics caused him to become disobedient? IMHO, I think it is likely. And it is not like he can TALK about it to anyone publicly, so it stews, and comes out in an offhand comment to Rolling Stone.
Posted by: Anna Graham ||
06/23/2010 15:35 Comments ||
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#17
Generals can protest, they can complain. They are allowed to think, it's kinda their job. They can even get nasty about it. In private.
A CiC that was secure in his role could have allowed McK to continue after a brief smack-down. But Barry ain't secure. He's lost.
#18
Right. Junior E-3's, etc., not paid to think just to work. And still if something comes to their attention that stinks, they can bring it to their superiors attention by using the phrase "permission to speak freely." And if permission granted, they can speak their thoughts.
However, a General had damn well be able to think, shoot, move and communicate! Very telling was the article (attribution, idk) having illuminated that McCrystal observed Obamao looking intimidated and uncomfortable around top brass. I am sure there is a lot more to this than meets the eye.
Posted by: Anna Graham ||
06/23/2010 15:43 Comments ||
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#19
Occam's razor:
Obama felt intimidated and left out. Military is not a world he knows or can control. He feels the need to use the long arm of his position because he's out-gamed, and he knows it.
Posted by: Anna Graham ||
06/23/2010 15:50 Comments ||
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#20
I wonder if McChrystal is relieved now that he has been relieved?
#21
Trust me you don't want the people with guns to start playing politics while they are wearing a uniform. If someone under McChrystal's command said anything critical of the CIC or his staff, he should have taken immediate disciplinary action. Once you let discipline to erode your military command will fall apart soon afterward. Military 101 folks, it's taught in Basic, Academies, and in ROTC.
The statement issued by Gen. Stanley McChrystal after President Barack Obama announced his dismissal the top NATO commander in Afghanistan:
___
This morning the President accepted my resignation as Commander of U.S. and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. I strongly support the President's strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the Afghan people. It was out of respect for this commitment and a desire to see the mission succeed that I tendered my resignation.
It has been my privilege and honor to lead our nation's finest.
#24
How wide is this river we're being sold down? Time to look at running units on two thirds capacity; wobbles and uncertainty/bs at the top filter through, resulting in less recruitment?
#26
My hunch is General Petraeus is an interum solution for Obama. If I had to guess, I'd say General West from AFRICOM will be the Obama pick for McChrystal's job. The relief of McChrystal will cost Obama far, far more than it will cost the general. You can be certain of that.
#27
A narcissist like Obama had no choice but to axe him for that. That article was taken was a personal wound felt far too deep for it to be let go.
That something anti-civilian leadership was said publicly - while certainly bad - should not have been something that lead to immediate dismissal in this case. Fact is, the admin was slinging mud at McChrystal long ago. Leadership is done by example.
The blame for this one should be placed higher up the chain of command, IMO.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/23/2010 18:13 Comments ||
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#28
Narcissist Obama is entirely correct. How difficult would it have been for Obama to set his pride asside and magnanimously dismiss a Rolling Stone writer and article? Is a rag like Stones, it's staff, and it's outing of the military more important that a war-time leader, his mission, and our troops in the field? Evidently they are. How sad. How very, very sad.
#30
Interum, irrelevant, Besoeker, china, Barry has his hands up and no Muzareya in sight. My view is from the ground-up, try running Fire-Force and hot ones when 6 and 9 troop aren't there, due to a lack of confidence in the 'big guys'.
McChrystal and Petraeus are worth fighting for, Bambi not at all.
#31
He did NOT "have to go." There were other ways this could have been handled or ignored for the good of the mission.... which is in deep kak at the moment. There WILL be more to this story. Lastly, Soetoro wouldn't make a good pimple on McChrstal's backside!
#33
McChrystal's suicide mission, went down taking shots at a loser Commander-In-Chief. Didn't want to implement a military crisis "that should never be wasted". Take the spear now for exposing incompetence in the White House or take the spear for the failure of the surge later. Smart man.
#34
I pray that the General gets to reacquaint himself with his wife and family; relaxes after 9 years of war; and understands his "poor judgment" is far better than O'Dumbo's dilly dally wimp judgment.
#35
Phogum Sinatra, you imply McCrystal is playing politics with the attitude card; maybe.
If so, I would warrant most of the free world forces sacked
for thinking the same thing.
Attitude is subjective, the Bazza is not on the side of all that is good. He is a community organiser of defeat. Hell, let's talk about attitude!
#36
Pres. Lincoln put up with an unbelievable amount of crap from Gen. McClellan before he relieved him of his command during the Civil War. Lincoln said he couldn't find anyone better during that time.
#39
Napoleon's Old Guard earned the name the 'grumblers'. During the pursuit of the British General Moore in the Peninsula, Napoleon set out in pursuit taking his army to the Guadarrama Pass during an incredible storm which stopped his advance. Putting himself at the head of the Guard he sent them as the the lead element to force its way through. The 'grumblers' could be heard offering up their colorful commentary of the idiot who sent them on this march, along with some calls to have someone shoot the leader. He heard it all and watch them accomplish the march. He, of no slight loss of EGO and humility, could turn his ear because he knew they'd die for him. And they would at Waterloo many years hence.
#42
@#7 ny thoughts exactly. and cyber sarge maybe he was criticizing because he don't know what the hell he is doing obama that is. I would hate too be a general and know that I'm sending troops under my command into battle knowing that they can't shoot at ppl until they are shot at. WDid Obama ever think that first shot might just be the one that kills one of our soldiers. Best thing for this country would be too put Obama on the front line and let him get shot at a few thousand times. I just hope we make until 2012 too get rid of this idiot
Posted by: chris ||
06/23/2010 21:28 Comments ||
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#43
McChrystal's a smart guy. He knows how to deal with the media. The first time I saw the comments I thought that he was shooting his way outta town. No way Barry's ginormus ego would put up with them...no matter how true they are. And he knew it.
Good luck to Patraeus. He's gonna need it...
#44
Vietnam didn't work out calling the shots from the white house, no offense too Nam vets, maybe we should send Obama too a FOB too show them how it's done.
Posted by: chris ||
06/23/2010 21:40 Comments ||
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#45
Before Sarah Palin resigned from the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission the "good ol boys in government" had her in a box and could control what she said and did. Once she resigned from government they could no longer control her and she put a dam dam on em. From the top down.
Maybe Stanley took a few pages out of Sarah's book.
#46
It's a tremendous long shot - but - what if - the whole imbroglio is really part of a deception plan - with ultimate purpose to put McChrystal in charge of the operation to "defang" Iran?
[Dawn] While concluding the suo motu action on the release of Hijratullah, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ordered all appeals related to his release to be transferred to the court.
Hijratullah is the key suspect in the Manawan attack case.
Speaking to media representatives outside the court, Prosecutor General Punjab Zahid Hussain Bukhari said appeals in the case will now be heard by LHC's divisional bench chaired by Justice Khwaja Sharif.
Bukhari said Hijratullah had not been released as he had already been sentenced to 10 years in prison for arms possession.
Earlier, the court took up the case hearing regarding Hijratullah's acquittal and took suo motu action over the dismissal of a case against him.
An anti-terrorism court judge had earlier exonerated Hijratullah saying that the prosecution's evidence against him was insufficient.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Four militants were killed by security forces during a search operation in Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday.
Sources said, security forces have also arrested five militants and recovered suicide jackets and a large cache of arms and ammunition in the operation.
Meanwhile, police in the Gomal area on a tip raided a house and recovered seven kg of explosive material, 18 detonators, two remote controls, four battery chargers and two terminals.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Nine people including two women were killed and several others injured on Tuesday in a fresh wave of killings in Karachi.
Four people were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on a vehicle in P&T Society in the Korangi industrial area. Police and Rangers arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area.
The bodies of the deceased were shifted to Jinnah Hospital and police officials have started an investigation. All four dead were the members of the JSQM party, sources said.
One man and two women were killed in Shah Latif Town. Police claimed that the deceased was a dacoit and was killed during an encounter, the two women were killed as the result of cross firing.
In Layari, unknown assailants shot dead one person while one man was gunned down in Orangi town.
Separately, three people including a father and son sustained injuries in a firing incident in Surjani Town.
The injured have been shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where two people were stated to be in critical condition.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Indian security forces said Tuesday they had killed a senior local commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group in Indian-administered Kashmir during a gunbattle that also killed a policeman.
The gunbattle erupted on Monday in northern Sopore town, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Srinagar, and ended early Tuesday with the killing of Abu Zubair, senior police officer Altaf Ahmed said.
"The fighting erupted when soldiers and police raided a hide-out," he said, adding that in the initial firing three policemen were injured. One later died in hospital of his injuries.
Police said Zubair was a Pakistani commander of the LeT in the Sopore area who was responsible for masterminding attacks against security forces.
The Pakistan-based LeT has been blamed by India for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. It has denied any role in the attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
ION INDJUH WAFF > THE CONCEPT OF MUGHALSTAN, A VERY COMPELLING CONCEPT | PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH PLAN A MUGHALSTAN [New Sovereign Muslim State] TO BREAK UP INDIA???
A UNIQUE "HINDUSTAN" FOR ALL OF INDIA'S HINDUS, + A UNIQUE "MUGHALSTAN/MUGHALISTAN" [Mogul] FOR ALL OF MUSLIM INDIA'S MUSLIMS, as separate + sovereign from Muslim Pakistan, Afghaaistan, + Bangla???
[Dawn] Taliban militants in Pakistan's northwest Tuesday offered the government a prisoner swap in return for 33 missing soldiers, threatening to kill the men if the proposal is rebuffed.
A Taliban spokesman told AFP that Pakistani authorities should "face the consequences" if they did not agree to the swap, calling for the details to be worked out in talks with tribal elders in Mohmand tribal district.
Security officials say 33 soldiers are still missing since the Taliban attacked a checkpost in a remote part of Mohmand along the Afghan border.
Six soldiers were killed in the attack and their bodies handed over to tribal elders last Thursday, officials said.
Another 25 soldiers strayed into Afghanistan after the clashes, but were handed back to Pakistani officials.
"Thirty-three soldiers are in our custody. We offer the government to exchange them in return of our colleagues," Qari Ikramullah, a spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban in Mohmand, told AFP by telephone.
"We are in a state of war, we have no resources to keep them in our prison. The government should accept this offer or face the consequences," he said.
"They will have to face death."
Major Fazal-ur-Rehman, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, confirmed that 33 soldiers were missing but said authorities had received no offer of a swap with the Taliban.
"We have not received any such offer. If we do, then the government will make a decision on the offer," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: A senior police officer escaped an attempt on his life on Tuesday when a bomb exploded targeting his motorcade in southwest of Kirkuk, a police officer said.
An explosive charge went off on Tuesday evening (June 22) targeting the motorcade of the director of the police department of al-Multaqa district in southwest of Kirkuk, Colonel Adnan Abdullah,' Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The blast damaged one of the motorcade's vehicles, and caused no casualties,' he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Eight persons were wounded on Tuesday when a roadside bomb went off in southeastern the Iraqi capital, at the major highway in Baghdad.
The blast targeted two state-owned cars at the Mohmmed al-Qassim Highway,' a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He noted that the eight injuries were inside the two cars that were heavily damaged. The source did not mention further details.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/23/2010 00:00 ||
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The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at a Saudi Arabia base, a semi-official Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday, while a large American force has massed in Azerbaijan, which is on the northwest border of Iran.
Both reports follow by less than a week the Pentagon's confirmation that an unusually large American fleet sailed through the Suez Canal Saturday. Several reports stated that an Israeli ship joined the armada.
The Pentagon played down the news, saying the American maneuvers were routine. However, a report by Iran on Wednesday that it has enriched dozens of pounds of 17 per cent enriched uranium serves as a reminder that time is running out to stop Iran from being able to produce a nuclear weapon.
Iran's Fars News Agency said the Israeli military aircraft landed 10 days ago at the Saudi base near the city of Tabuk, located in northwest Saudi Arabia, one of the closest areas in the oil kingdom to Iran.
Fars said that the Tabuk base will be the central station for an Israeli attack on Iran. It quoted an Islamic news site that a commercial airline passenger said the airport in Tabuk was closed to all other traffic during the alleged Israeli landings. The passenger said that "no reasonable explanation" was given for shutting down the airport and those passengers were compensated financially and booked in four-star hotels.
"The relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have become the talk of the town," the passenger added. The chief authority in Tabuk, Prince Fahd ben Sultan, was reported be coordinating the cooperation with Israel.
Iran's government-funded Press TV reported that the Revolutionary Guards began closely patrolling the Islamic Republic's northwestern border after noticing the American forces, which Iran claimed also included Israeli troops. Azerbaijan's independent Trend news site also reported on Wednesday that American armed forces are in the country, which is in an armed conflict with rebels.
Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Mehdi Moini said Tuesday that his forces are mobilized "due to the presence of American and Israeli forces on the western border." The Guards reportedly have called in tanks and anti-aircraft units to the area in what amounts to a war alert.
As signs point to a higher American-Israeli military profile aimed at Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, the Islamic Republic's vice president and director of the nuclear program, announced Wednesday that Iran has produced another 37 pounds of uranium enriched to 20 percent. The production of the uranium defies United Nations demands that Iran stop its unsupervised nuclear development, although the 20 percent level is far below level that is needed to build a nuclear weapon.
"Potentially, we can produce 5 kilograms (11 pounds) a month, but we are not in a hurry over this," Salehi told the semiofficial ISNA news agency.
#1
Whats the betting pool on KIMMIE = DPRK unilater senidng a LR TLCM or SCUD agz a NIMITZ-CLASS, Kadena, Yokusuke, etc???
Again, IMO a DPRK limited milstrike includ Specop(s) raids agz SOKOR-ONLY Milbase may no longer suffice given the DPRK's ever-worsening domestic problems, nor IMO agz even a USFK SOLE, JOINT BASE.
Once again, 9-11 + WOT > Among other, means or infers that the "STATUS QUO" OR "ESTABLISHED ORDER/WAYS OF DOING THINGS", etc. ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTED OR TOLERATED, BY ANYONE - THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE FUGLY + UGLY, ETAL.
1990's NET + PRE, POST-9-11 > "CHANGE" MUST OR WILL OCCUR, VOLUNTARILY ANDOR FORCIBLY. The RADIC ISLAMIST + "ISLAMIST/JIHADIST BOMB" [Nukes-WMDS] THREAT is such that the USA may ulirmately be forced to rule the World = any desired future OWG-NWO WHETHER AMERICANS LIKE IT OR NOT, WANT TO OR NOT LEST AMER'S ENEMIES SUCCEED IN DESTROYING AMERICA [existential threat].
We've seen this most recently in 2010 as per OSAMA's WARNING TO THE US RE: 9-11 PLANNER/MASTERMIND SHEIKH KSM, Times Square Bomber FAISAL SHAZAD, + ADAM GADAHN.........@etal. to come.
U.S. Naval Forces, 5th Fleet Public Affairs
06.21.2010 USS HARRY S. TRUMAN, At Sea - The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group entered the 5th Fleet area of responsibility, June 18, after completing a successful transit through the Suez Canal.
The Truman CSG is relieving the Dwight D. Eisenhower CSG as part of a routine rotation of forces during a scheduled deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Maritime Security Operations and Theater Security Cooperation efforts in the region.
#7
"while a large American force has massed in Azerbaijan, which is on the northwest border of Iran"
Nobody tell Bambi....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/23/2010 20:30 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Well, I have never (ever) seen a "Debka exclusive" that was true. Now if Debka is reporting something it picked up from another media source, sure. But stuff sourced only by Debka has so far turned out to be 100% false to my knowledge.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Dawn] Indian security forces said Tuesday they had killed a senior local commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group in Indian-administered Kashmir during a gunbattle that also killed a policeman.
KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: A senior police officer escaped an attempt on his life on Tuesday when a bomb exploded targeting his motorcade in southwest of Kirkuk, a police officer said.
The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at a Saudi Arabia base, a semi-official Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday, while a large American force has massed in Azerbaijan, which is on the northwest border of Iran.
