Showing posts with label afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label afghanistan. Show all posts

Where's the Change?- Request for more troops in Afghanistan likely, source says

By Barbara Starr

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is expected to ask the Obama administration for additional troops and equipment, according to a senior U.S. military official familiar with Gen. Stanley McChrystal's thinking.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal's report on the war's status will be delivered in August, the source says.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal's report on the war's status will be delivered in August, the source says.

The request will be for troops and equipment for conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as more assets to deal with roadside bombs and explosives, said the official, who declined to be identified because McChrystal's request has not been formally transmitted to the Pentagon.

The request could be made in coming weeks after McChrystal completes a "troop-to-task review" to calculate whether there are enough U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- and the right mix of troops -- to carry out the military's war plan at an acceptable level of risk, the official said.

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Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Mainstream Media
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Afghanistan: The Deadliest Month and It's Time to Get Out



by Malou Innocent


July has been the deadliest month yet for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. At least 27 troops have died so far this month, and an estimated 746 soldiers have died since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom.

To combat the growing Taliban insurgency, the United States recently dispatched 4,000 troops to Afghanistan's restive eastern and southern provinces. The influx of troops, known as Operation Strike of the Sword, will be aimed at clearing Taliban fighters from the lower Helmand River valley and closing the border with Pakistan.

But after nearly eight years of fighting in Afghanistan, the war's strategic rationale still remains tenuous. Central Asia holds little intrinsic strategic value to the United States, and America's security will not necessarily be endangered even if an oppressive regime takes over a contiguous fraction of Afghan territory. Given Afghanistan's numerous challenges, and the fact that a protracted guerrilla war will weaken the United States militarily and economically, the fundamental objective should be to get out of Afghanistan.

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Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Mainstream Media
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Pakistan Objects to U.S. Expansion in Afghan War

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan is objecting to expanded American combat operations in neighboring Afghanistan, creating new fissures in the alliance with Washington at a critical juncture when thousands of new American forces are arriving in the region.


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Pakistani Army soldiers in June at a former Taliban base near Khwazakhela in the Swat Valley.
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Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Pakistani officials have told the Obama administration that the Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan will force militants across the border into Pakistan, with the potential to further inflame the troubled province of Baluchistan, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Pakistan does not have enough troops to deploy to Baluchistan to take on the Taliban without denuding its border with its archenemy, India, the officials said. Dialogue with the Taliban, not more fighting, is in Pakistan’s national interest, they said.

The Pakistani account made clear that even as the United States recommits troops and other resources to take on a growing Taliban threat, Pakistani officials still consider India their top priority and the Taliban militants a problem that can be negotiated. In the long term, the Taliban in Afghanistan may even remain potential allies for Pakistan, as they were in the past, once the United States leaves.

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Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Mainstream Media
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July becomes deadliest month for US Troops in Afghanistan

What the fuck are they still there for? Seriously, why are US Troops still dying over there? They have absolutely no reason to be there. BRING THE TROOPS HOME!


KABUL (AP) - Four Americans were killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said, making July the deadliest month for U.S. troops in this war.

A NATO statement did not give nationalities, but U.S. spokesman Lt. Robert Carr confirmed that all four were Americans. The deaths bring to 55 the number of international service members killed in July, also the deadliest month for NATO forces.

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Depleted Uranium Creates Problems for Years After Initial Impact

Shock_and_AweLondon, July 18, (Pal Telegraph) - We have seen many threats and accusations made against Iran and its Nuclear Research Programme with condemnations coming from the US, UK, NATO countries and the "Big Boys Club" known as the UN Security Council. Repeated warnings and many dress rehearsals for such an attack have been carried out by Israel. This cat-and-mouse game has gone on for many years but have Israel and their allies ever looked at the consequences of this ill-conceived plan?

We should look at some of the work that has been carried out by two British experts, Dr Chris Busby and Dai Williams. These two extremely dedicated men have worked tirelessly on the continued military use of Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons. These weapons are manufactured in the US and used by US, UK, NATO forces and by many other countries. It is also believed that such weapons can or have been manufactured in Israel, Pakistan and any other country that has a nuclear capability.
These two determined gentleman have very convincing evidence that not only have DU weapons been used but also a strong possibility of other uranium based weapons which could be linked to the so called "Dirty Bomb". Such evil weapons have been used in the Balkans, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Gaza with possible further use in Pakistan.

bomb

DU weapons leave a trail of misery and suffering to thousands upon thousands of soldiers and innocent civilians caught up in its indiscriminate use in all the many areas of conflict. The Gulf War Syndrome is directly linked to such weapons as is the dramatic rise in all types of cancers, diabetes, still births and badly disfigured babies. Uranium based weapons have the ability to change the cell structure and DNA in all humans that come into contact with it by either inhalation or ingestion. It has the ability to contaminate the local area, region, adjacent countries and the world once it becomes an aerosol and enter the upper atmosphere.

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Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Mainstream Media
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Afghanistan: We're asking our troops to do the impossible

The troops need to come home. They are accomplishing NOTHING over there. These boys need to come home.


It is time for a new strategy and fresh commitment to Afghanistan, argues Nick Clegg.



When I visited British troops in Afghanistan last year I was, like everyone else, hugely impressed by their professionalism and courage. That admiration only deepens when news comes, all too regularly, of the death of someone serving there. Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, who helped organise my visit, was killed last week alongside Trooper Joshua Hammond, in a vehicle unable to withstand a roadside bomb. We owe it to them to ensure their sacrifice is not in vain.

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Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Mainstream Media
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