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POPSUS Afghan Surge is Really 86,000? During the Iraq and Afghan wars, there were no reports of casualties of contractors added to US Troop casualties and it was a long time before anyone knew what Blackwater, now Xe, was up to until they shot 17 Iraqi's last year. On top of all the other transparency problems, I don't fell very good about US soldiers having to depend on "mercenaries" for safety, transport, food, etc. How about you?
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POPSThe message from Lawrence of Arabia: Watch Your Back From Money and Power Grubbers Imperialists hungering for power ruined what could have been and gave us 90 plus years of conflict that runs up to today's conflicts. Now old fashioned imperialists are gone but global oil, the military-industrial complex, fundamentalist wannabe dictators and terrorists have agendas that don't support an Afghanistan for Afghans, a free Palestine and Israel, a prosperous Paskitan and on and on it goes. Simple solutions for complex social-political issues are almost always wrong and cause more harm.
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POPSCan Afghans Leap from 13th Century to 21st in 16 Months? Seems as though Mark Twain could have been writing about Afghanistan when he said "habit can't be changed by throwing it down the stairs, it has to be eased down one step at a time." Some of our military and President's "advisers" should read this blog!
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POPSA Lawrence of Arabia Solution for Afghanistan? Go to Netflix or where ever you get films - rent Larence of Arabia and watch it as if you were looking for ideas of how to create a success out of Afghanistan. Not a bad idea but remember that - in the end - the Imperialists got the upper hand and that today, we are still paying the price.
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POPSNow you know a young Afghani When leaders and people discuss national security, war, strategy, and such - I think it is wise to keep it real with a photo of someone whose life may hang in the balance.
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POPSCasualty Records from Afghan War As you may have guessed, I try to get as close to straight sources. Other than finding reporting cites for each nation and service, this seems pretty good for tracking what counts - not the spin but how many and who is getting killed or wounded.
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POPSA Jug, Some Bungee, a Chair Back - You Got Wi-Fi! Amazing! Create two miles of Wi-Fi with hardware supplies. The possibilities are endless for those who want to bypass the big companies. Reminds me of crystal radios made out of Oatmeal boxes, some wire and a quartz crystal.
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POPSSuicides in US Army Up - Nearly 5 Times Higher Than Civilian Population Separating news and spin designed to sell advertising and policy is not always easy but this only took 2 minutes of googling to find that 11 people per 100,000 is the average suicide rate. There are 548 thousand or so people in the US Army. If 200 suicides occur in the Army before year's end that will be 4-5 times higher than overall civilian population. It is still higher than expected if you look at high stress jobs and it is higher than it was a few years ago, as reported by the US Army. Could it be that they are facing two additional stresses that when combined drive more to depression and suicide? 1. Having to return to duty in Iraq or Afghanistan quicker and more often. 2. A recession that seems to say no civilian job is likely as an alternative to continued service.
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POPSBeing a Mother a Precondition for Abuse by Army? Seems that way. Threaten to woman with a court-martial, take her child away and put in custody!? This is the US Army? Someone needs to get a hold on reality and treat her and her child right. The dumbest part is how well do they think she will perform in Afghanistan after this type of treatment? Sounds like old East German military not the US Army that usually does us proud without thinking about it. Fit it now!
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POPSWe Owe Veterans and Active Duty Warriors Better Than This Cheney's old firm let their sub-contractors expose US soldiers and Iraqi's to a burning toxic waste pit that will cause years worth of injuries and illness. Cotracting out is good for profiteers like the former- Vice President and his buddies but an evil brew for our troops.
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POPSSeeing the Afghan Forest Not the Trees William Pfaff wrote on September 17, 2001: "Clearly, the United States needs to deal with Mr. bin Laden's terrorist organization, but that is essentially a police and intelligence problem. Long-term United States interests cannot afford a "war" that risks toppling Saudi Arabia and other conservative Islamic regimes into alliance with the radical movements already powerful in Iran, Sudan, Algeria, and influential in Egypt, Pakistan, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. That, though, is the risk." Now, Pakistan threatens to come unglued and the President is being advised to send in 40,000 troops. What he needs to do is read this article below.
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POPSPresident Obama! Yo! This guy has some good ideas! I have seen loads of advice, all of which seems to be forwarding an agenda that will bring fame to the adviser, benefit a particular group or party but little that will help the people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US, and especially US troops in harms way.
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POPSUS Troops Risk All for Safety of Chinese and USA imperialism? At first blush, the story sounds win-win: China "invests" in Afghanistan, hires out of work Afghans, helps stabilize economy. US troops make it safe for Chinese "private" company to exploit mineral resources. Exploit is the right word. Two thirds of the economies in the developing world are still structured by past imperialistic dictates to supply North America, Europe, and Japan with raw materials to make products for themselves and to sell worldwide are greater profit. So Afghan copper profits will go to Chinese banks and when copper runs out, what do Afghans have? In a number of African nations who have sold such rights to Chinese, they did not get the jobs either; the Chinese brought in Chinese workers. Imperialism 21st century style is no kinder than it was in 18th century.
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POPSBe Proud America - Afghan Women's Writing Project Get a tissue or two, sit back and read this account of a young Afghan woman about the last few days she had with her American mentor - Rosemary. It is truly amazing how brave and dedicated some people are and that more often than not - their story does not go nearly as far as the people they touch.
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POPSWho are the Quetta Shura Taliban? The key to understanding Helmand, Afghanistan Good analysis of why things are not going well for US, Brits or other outsiders in Afghanistan - the Afghans really know how to organize to defeat those who want to dominate them. As the late election shows, that talent is not applied to bringing the people of Afghanistan together. That may be understandable since for more than 1,000 years they have "survived" all the invaders by being expert at decentralized governing.
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POPSWant 7 More Years of War in Afghanistan? Maybe it's the wrong question. How about this one? Will Pakistan be comfortable with a strongly independent and united Afghanistan without a guarantee that it would not threaten their northern border? Is there such a promise on the table? Nope. What about the other neighbors of Afghanistan? Don't they have the same concerns? Yes. What's on the table for them? Nada. If you agree that the Afghanistan problem needs new thinking, then maybe you ought to say so before we have something noone wants or will support. October 17, 2009 Afghanistan action day.
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POPSBig Band Afghanistan Swing You will have to listen to the lyrics to get the connection but the Dipsy Doodle describes the advise the President is getting from his Generals and the Pundits trying to sell more is less and surge to get out.
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POPSThe mission and target was Osama bin Ladin Do we need more troops in Afghanistan to capture Osama bin Ladin or to not allow him to re-establish a base in Afghanistan? I don't think so. Would it be nice to leave there with a democratic regime in place and economic development going forward? Sure but that's not reason enough for sendingin more troops or planning now on when the last US troops leave for home.
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POPSAfghanistan is not Iraq, Viet Nam, or Cleveland Seems as though we have to learn and relearn the most common of military lessons. Seems someone has not even watch the iconic Eastwood flick "Heartbreak Ridge" on how to survive and win "You're Marines now. You adapt. You overcome. You improvise," says Eastwood's character. As several marines, one US and one Aussie, advised about the same topic: Trust the terrain, not the map. The plan calls for training Afghans to fight the fight we want them to fight and the way we would fight it. People who care about each other, innovate, adapt, and overcome win - or at least don't lose because they took the advise of someone 10,000 miles away with no eyes on the ground and butt on the line.
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POPSUp is Down, Peace is War, Love is Hate - Huh? When you look at how we have made being at war seem nothing more than a video game, is it any wonder that people think the war in Iraq is over, that we are not really at war in Somalia, that Afghanistan is a "good war" like WWII was? I am not sure anymore what it will take for people to wake up to the facts that our economy depends on war, climate suicide and agriculture-based cancers (our steady diet of pesticides and fertilizers in food and water - what do you think is driving pancreatic cancer epidemic?). I do hope that sharing via Amplify helps to dirve real change in not just hand wringing.
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POPSPeaceful vs Militant Islamic Schools - Which is Winning?
For young Muslim boys, often, the only way they may get to learn how to read and write is to attend a local religious school - a madrassa - where they learn how to read and write using the Koran as their basic book. Over the past 10-15 years many of these schools in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt and other countries also became sources of militant fundametalist teachings that seemed to overpower the peaceful or submit to God messages of Islam. If the militancy is now changing, some may be due to efforts such as those noted in the article and much may be due to pressure from those who pay for the schools and its teachers - Saudi Arabia. To make sure that their view of Islam was supported worldwide and to maintain their role as "protectors of the faith," they ramped up spending on these school some 10-15 years ago. The unintended consequences of terrorism that now threatens the Kingdom as well, has, I am sure led them to use their purses trings to reign in the militantcy te
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POPSMeet a Former Taliban Commander This is a must read, if you want to understand why what we are currently doing in Afghanistan makes little sense for the short or long run. "The government has no roots in the community because 95% of the population has a jihadi background. They were fighting for 15-20 years, yet there is no share for the ex-jihadis in this government, even though most of the people in this society are ex-jihadis."
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