Iraq war is over. The populace is aligned against outside extremist influence. No legitimate threat to the government. They have there priorities straight and there is no going back down the path they were headed on.

Fantastic. But, then there is the dickheads being forced/let into Pakistan. Pakistan is a complete mess. In Swat the fighting going on there is worse than what was going on in Iraq at the height of the conflict in 05/06. Thing is Pakistan doesnt let anyone know about it unlike Iraq.

And the dickheads in Russia feel like throwing their weight around.

So this thread will take care of all the dispatches for these regions. I will keep Iraq in the one already made for it cause I am proud of that thread dammit.

For information on these conflicts as a whole go to http://www.longwarjournal.com
They are amazing. Make sure to check the covert radio broadcasts. I will also include any other good info from all the other sites that cover this as well.

As for this first post, I will give you the link that highlights all of the areas. A very good broadcast and the most recent.

http://covertradioshow.com/podcast.cfm?pid=41

The links to new broadcasts can be found on the right side of the homepage of longwarjoural.

Enjoy.

8/21/2008 9:14:49 PM

Quote :

"Iraq war is over. The populace is aligned against outside extremist influence. No legitimate threat to the government. They have there priorities straight and there is no going back down the path they were headed on."

is this a serious thread or are you just making fun of Iraq's former foreign minister or whatever he was...back in 2003

8/21/2008 10:19:12 PM

To be fair, the government did just agree to a tentative timetable with the Iraqis for a withdrawal by 2011. I've stated it before, but I do think that the end game for the Iraq War is currently in play.

8/22/2008 10:24:20 AM

Quote :

"They have there priorities straight"

Let's play replace the pronouns with proper nouns!

The people of Iraq have Iraq priorities straight.

It almost kind of makes sense

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 10:34 AM. Reason : ]

8/22/2008 10:34:03 AM

Quote :

"Iraq war is over."

Another 2-3 years at least does not make it "over".

8/22/2008 1:47:33 PM

The Iraq war has been over for 4 years, didn't you get the memo?

8/22/2008 3:11:50 PM

uh, there is no more war

war, look it up.

Now Iraq is just a really expensive counter insurgency/peacekeeping training ground.

anyway, back to situations where there is no clear end in sight.

http://www.city-journal.org/2008/eon0820mt.html

Quote :

"Michael J. Totten Report from Tbilisi Fleeing Russian brutality, Georgians look to the West for support. 20 August 2008 Russia’s invasion of Georgia has unleashed a refugee crisis all over the country and especially in its capital. Every school here in Tbilisi is jammed with civilians who fled aerial bombardment and shootings by the Russian military—or massacres, looting, and arson by irregular Cossack paramilitary units swarming across the border. Russia has seized and effectively annexed two breakaway Georgian provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It has also invaded the region of Gori, which unlike them had been under Georgia’s control. Gori is in the center of the country, just an hour’s drive from Tbilisi; 90 percent of its citizens have fled, and the tiny remainder live amid a violent mayhem overseen by Russian occupation forces that, despite Moscow’s claims to the contrary, are not yet withdrawing. On Monday, I visited one of the schools transformed into refugee housing in the center of Tbilisi and spoke to four women—Lia, Nana, Diana, and Maya—who had fled with their children from a cluster of small villages just outside the city of Gori. “We left the cattle,” Lia said. “We left the house. We left everything and came on foot because to stay there was impossible.” Diana’s account: “They are burning the houses. From most of the houses they are taking everything. They are stealing everything, even such things as toothbrushes and toilets. They are taking the toilets. Imagine. They are taking broken refrigerators.” And Nana: “We are so heartbroken. I don’t know what to say or even think. Our whole lives we were working to save something, and one day we lost everything. Now I have to start everything from the very beginning.” Seven families were living cheek by jowl inside a single classroom, sleeping on makeshift beds made of desks pushed together. Small children played with donated toys; at times, their infant siblings cried. Everyone looked haggard and beaten down, but food was available and the smell wasn’t bad. They could wash, and the air conditioning worked. “There was a bomb in the garden and all the apples on the trees fell down,” Lia remembered. “The wall fell down. All the windows were destroyed. And now there is nothing left because of the fire.” “Did you actually see any Russians,” I said, “or did you leave before they got there?” “They came and asked us for wine, but first we had to drink it ourselves to show that it was not poisoned. Then they drank the wine themselves. And then they said to leave this place as soon as possible; otherwise they would kill us. The Russians were looking for anyone who had soldiers in their home. If anyone had a Georgian soldier at home they burned the houses immediately.” Her husband had remained behind and arrived in Tbilisi shortly before I did. “He was trying to keep the house and the fields,” she explained. “Afterward, he wanted to leave, but he was circled by soldiers. It was impossible. He was in the orchards hiding from the Russians in case they lit the house. He was walking and met the Russian soldiers and he made up his mind that he couldn’t stay any more. The Russian soldiers called him and asked where he was going, if he was going to the American side.” “The Russians said this to him?” I said. “My husband said he was going to see his family,” she said. “And the Russians said again, ‘Are you going to the American side?’” “So the Russians view you as the American side, even though there are no Americans here.” “Yes,” she said. “Because our way is for democracy.” Senator John McCain may have overstated things a bit when, shortly after the war started, he said, “We are all Georgians now.” But apparently even rank-and-file Russian soldiers view the Georgians and Americans as allies. Likewise, these simple Georgian country women seem to understand who their friends and enemies are. “I am very thankful to the West,” Maya said as her eyes welled up with tears. “They support us so much. We thought we were alone. I am so thankful for the support we have from the United States and from the West. The support is very important for us.” She tried hard to maintain her dignity and not cry in front of me, a foreign reporter in fresh clothes and carrying an expensive camera. “The West saved the capital. They were moving to Tbilisi. There was one night that was very dangerous. The Russian tanks were very close to the capital. I don’t know what happened, but they moved the tanks back.” And my translator, whose husband works for Georgia’s ministry of foreign affairs, made a similar guess that the West helped save the capital. “The night they came close to Tbilisi,” she said, “Bush and McCain made their strongest speeches yet. The Russians seemed to back down. Bush and McCain have been very good for us.” Likewise, the women seemed to understand what Russian imperialism has always been about—and not just during the Soviet era. “Why do you think the Russians are doing this in your village?” I said. “They want our territories,” Nana said. “Some of them are Ossetians, too, not only Russians, and not only soldiers. Some are there just to steal things, from Ossetia and Chechnya.” Russia doesn’t want to annex Gori permanently, in all likelihood. But it does want, as it always has, a buffer zone between itself and its enemies. It was George F. Kennan, America’s ambassador to the Soviet Union, who said, “Russia can have at its borders only enemies or vassals.” Now, Georgia has been all but dismembered. The opening phase of this crisis may soon come to a close, but it is shaping up to be merely the first chapter in a potentially long and dangerous era. “We will never forget this,” Lia said. “Never. Ever.” Michael J. Totten is an independent journalist based in Portland, Oregon. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications. The Week named him Blogger of the Year in 2007 for his dispatches from the Middle East. Visit his website at http://www.michaeltotten.com. "

8/22/2008 5:17:39 PM

a lot of dreamers in this thread that need a hard dose of reality.

8/22/2008 5:24:22 PM

.......

Listen, everyone knows we will be in Iraq till 2012 at least.

But there is no more conflict. No more indecision.

The board is set. The Iraqi government is in control. Game Over.

we are only there to support the Iraqi military until it can stand up ruffly around 2012. After that all it needs is our air power.

By 2018 they should be close to compete military independence.

Like I said

The iraq WAR is over.

Is this hard or something?

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=491370&page=7

a little history for ya

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 6:00 PM. Reason : fgd]

8/22/2008 5:58:58 PM

the Iraq war ended in 2003

the war with insurgents has been going on for 5 years and will continue to go on

just think, if bush had been running WWII, we would have had v-day then continued fighting in germany and japan until 1954

8/23/2008 12:28:04 AM

Quote :

"Listen, everyone knows we will be in Iraq till 2012 at least. But there is no more conflict. No more indecision. The board is set. The Iraqi government is in control. Game Over."

Funniest shit I've read all week.

8/23/2008 12:32:28 AM

war iz overz.

i can haz new warz?

8/23/2008 1:19:25 PM

Quote :

""Listen, everyone knows we will be in Iraq till 2012 at least. But there is no more conflict. No more indecision. The board is set. The Iraqi government is in control. Game Over.""

Quote :

" Iraq Takes Aim at U.S.-Tied Sunni Groups’ Leaders “If it is not handled properly, we could have a security issue,” said Brig. Gen. David Perkins, the senior military spokesman in Iraq. “You don’t want to give anybody a reason to turn back to Al Qaeda.” Many Sunni insurgents had previously been allied with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and other extremist groups."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/world/middleeast/22sunni.html

So, one of the main reasons why violence has decreased in Iraq is that the US has started working with Sunni groups who used to work with Al Qaeda. Now slowly incorperating these groups into mainstream government seems like a good idea right? Evidently, not to the Iraqi government. This has the potential to blow up again. The US learned a lot in the past five years in Iraq, but as soon as it fully transitions to fully Iraqi controled, watch out, cause sectarian violence may be just around the corner.

8/23/2008 2:29:05 PM

how can a country achieve peace, have mountains of international support and direct foreign aid, and still not be able to run itself without plunging into chaos again?

I mean, WTF, is it like something in the water there?

8/24/2008 5:09:53 PM

religious fanatics aren't known for being resonable or smart.

8/25/2008 12:38:40 AM

because one thing the nytimes has taught me, never take anything they say seriously.

And when it comes to the Iraq war, dont bother reading them at all.

They just broke that the surge worked last week.

last week

8/25/2008 5:47:18 PM

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5667199&page=1


http://covertradioshow.com/podcast.cfm?pid=43

8/27/2008 8:46:14 PM

Quote :

"religious fanatics aren't known for being resonable or smart."

Exactly. That's what got us into Iraq in the first place.

8/30/2008 12:18:51 PM

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/

Michael Yon is now in Afghanistan with the coalition. With Iraq was coming to a close, we will be getting a ot more exposure to this area.

Quote :

"When I was briefed on the top-secret mission before it was launched, I thought : “Good grief. I might have to report on the failure of one of the largest and most important missions of the entire war.” After seven years, the war in Afghanistan has morphed from a breathtaking expedition of a handful of special operators—often on horseback—to a sort of lethal day-to-day business. Morale is high among American, Aussie, British and Canadian soldiers. Dozens of other nations are contributing to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, including the French, Italians and Estonians, but I have not seen enough of them to be able to judge their morale. The French recently lost ten soldiers in a Taliban ambush, and many in that country are talking about pulling out, although President Nicolas Sarkozy is standing firm. Other countries, like Germany, have strict rules of engagement that essentially preclude them from joining in combat. The Poles and Danes are strong allies and good soldiers, as they were in Iraq. Yet the bulk of the fighting against the Taliban is done by the Anglosphere (U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia), and, of course, the Afghans."

9/7/2008 9:49:57 PM

Iraq is kinda like a big training ground.


I think its a nice place to keep our forces in top shape.

9/7/2008 9:55:14 PM

http://michaeltotten.com/

Michael J Totten is in Georgia. So we got good coverage of all this mess.

Good info on how this mess started.

Quote :

" August 26, 2008 The Truth About Russia in Georgia TBILISI, GEORGIA – Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend in typical fashion. Virtually everyone is wrong....... "

9/8/2008 7:40:31 PM

Mariott Hotel car-suicide-bombed in ISLAMABAD. Over 40 dead. Lots more feared dead. Building might collapse. Wonder how the new gov will respond.

9/20/2008 12:58:35 PM

I got to hand it to him, this BEU character is really good at trolling. For a minute I almost believed this thread to be real but then I thought that no one could be THAT STUPID.

9/20/2008 7:32:19 PM

^LOL. gtfo


great thread BEU

9/20/2008 8:07:09 PM

Quote :

"A secret NATO review obtained by The Globe and Mail shows that the French who were killed in August did not have enough bullets, radios and other equipment. By contrast, the insurgents were dangerously well prepared... "

Michael Yon is back at it.

He is actually going around Afghanistan without troops for a little while to get the real on the ground opinion from the peoples. This is an entirely different monster than Iraq. At least in Iraq, if you can get the people behind you, there are enough of them to fight back against the insurgency and extremists..

Make sure to read Death in the Corn part 1 and 2. Great stuff

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/



Props to the Brits. Hard motherfuckers.

9/20/2008 9:38:52 PM

I hope something good can come out of this. Something like, helping unify the country against the insurgency.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/09/bombing_at_islamabad.php

Quote :

"The bombing at the Marriott hotel in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad is shaping up to be one of the country's most deadly attacks. The complex attack is the latest in a series of al Qaeda attacks that have occurred in the Middle East and South Asia. More than 70 people have been reported killed and 257 have been reported wounded so far in what the Pakistani press has dubbed "Pakistan’s 9/11." The death toll is expected to rise as more people are believed to have been trapped in the hotel. Dozens of Westerners have been wounded in the attack, and there are unconfirmed reports one or more Westerners have been killed."

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\21\story_21-9-2008_pg1_1

[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 1:38 PM. Reason : dsa]

[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 1:39 PM. Reason : b]

9/21/2008 1:38:17 PM

^ Hopefully Pakistan doesn't use their 9/11 to make up lies about another country that has nothing to do with al qaeda then start bombing them.

9/21/2008 1:46:30 PM

i cannot take the michael yon prop machine seriously

9/21/2008 2:57:43 PM

get out of 2003.

seriously.

Need to open your eyes to reality, and understand the problems of 2008 in order to have rational argument for fixing the problems of 2008.

Example.

OMG WE NEVER SHOULD HAVE GONE INTO IRAQ!

therefor

WE SHOULD PULL OUT OF IRAQ AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!

I wonder where that would have gotten us.

yes I realize not everyone here was saying that. its an example

9/21/2008 4:04:09 PM

Now. Thats a good question about Michael Yon.

If he is independently funded, how much propaganda is it.

If he predicted the failures of Iraq and Afghanistan YEARS BEFORE it was evident to everyone else, then how is it propaganda.

And how the hell is reporting the events he goes through while embedded in the NATO forces propaganda?



[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 4:07 PM. Reason : das56]

9/21/2008 4:07:00 PM

Quote :

"Mariott Hotel car-suicide-bombed in ISLAMABAD. Over 40 dead. Lots more feared dead. Building might collapse. Wonder how the new gov will respond."

I wonder too how the new government will respond given how they're in such a difficult position. On one hand, I'm sure everyone is beginning to realize just how dangerous the Taleban-supporting militias are out in the frontiers. Yet at the same time, I'm sure there is a good majority that blames the United States for "provoking" the militants and bringing this death and misery down upon them.

If the Pakistani government backs down and takes a stand against the United States, then it could give the wrong signal: that all the militants have to do is run a few truck bombs to coerce the new government into doing what they want. Yet if the Pakistani government escalates the situation and runs a campaign against the frontier provinces, it could create waves of terrorism against civilian targets let alone a potential bloodbath in a very inhospitable terrain.

9/21/2008 9:06:53 PM

When left to there own devices, groups like Al Qaeda will destroy themselves as long as there is an alternative. Like the government.

As long as the Pakistan government doesnt collapse, at some point the tribes, government and pressure from Afghanistan should bring this back under control.

Remember Petraeus is in control over the entire middle east strategy....

[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 9:24 PM. Reason : f]

9/21/2008 9:24:06 PM

^^ PERFECT analysis. That's exactly what I said on another board!

9/22/2008 12:54:56 AM

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/09/pakistan_engages_the.php

Quote :

"Kiyani "expressed his satisfaction that local tribesmen have risen against miscreants and are fully supporting the Army," Geo TV reported. Miscreant is a term often used by Pakistanis to refer to foreign or al Qaeda fighters. "He reiterated that success in this operation was directly linked with popular support" in the tribal areas and the settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province."

If Pakistan is to survive, this is a must.

9/30/2008 6:11:35 PM

OMGWTFBBQ the Brits are TURRISTS!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7653116.stm

Brit brigadier wants to talk to Taleban and says winning is impossible in Afghanistan!

Quote :

"He said: "If the Taleban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable." "

Quote :

""We're not going to win this war. "

10/5/2008 5:34:51 AM

Worked well in Pakistan didnt it.

10/5/2008 1:44:45 PM

Quote :

"Iraq is kinda like a big training ground. I think its a nice place to keep our forces in top shape. "

One problem with Iraq is that it does just the opposite of that in some ways. It causes us to not have time to train, because we're either deployed, getting ready to deploy, or coming back from deployment. It's hurting my community's readiness pretty substantially. What we are doing here in Iraq is all but unrelated to what we're really for, which is taking down enemy IADS (integrated air defense system).

Now, the infantry (and other parts of the military) is getting really good at MOUT (Military Operations, Urban Terrain) and counterinsurgency work. I'm sure they aren't training as much as they'd like for high intensity, conventional war.

10/5/2008 3:22:14 PM

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/10/isaf_repels_attacks.php



Image shows areas most affected by increase in attacks this year.

Looks like we are getting much more cooperation with the Pakistani Military.

Quote :

"ISAF said the strikes were coordinated with the Pakistani military. US forces launched the first artillery strike after three Taliban were seen setting up a mortar tube. Pakistani forces confirmed two Taliban were killed. An hour later, a Taliban mortar team was seen setting up to hit a Pakistan Border Point. US forces launched a second volley "in defense of the Pakistani military." Three Taliban were confirmed killed by Pakistani forces."

Extremists are their own worst enemy. They just will not normalize and that will eventually lead to there downfall.

[Edited on October 12, 2008 at 10:14 PM. Reason : j]

10/12/2008 10:13:19 PM

Great news from Afghanistan!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7555996.stm

Taleban at Kabul's doorstep

Quote :

"It is just an hour's drive south-west of Kabul on Afghanistan's main highway before you start to see dramatic evidence of how the insurgency is closing in on the capital. The first thing to notice are the holes in the road - the tarmac ripped up by bombs - which the traffic has to carefully veer around. Then it is the burned-out skeletons of trucks left by the side of the road, or some still standing where they were ambushed and burned - an obvious reminder of how security so close to Kabul has been steadily deteriorating. Highway One was a triumph for Afghanistan's new found freedom from the Taleban. Built at record speed with international money, it was an example of what was to follow in the rebuilding and redevelopment of a country at war for almost three decades. Now it is almost impassable in places as buses loaded high with goods and people, or convoys of containers with supplies for international forces have to negotiate the damage and the debris. "

Quote :

"Kabul is ringed by areas classified as a "high risk/volatile environment", previously reserved for only the worst insurgent areas in the east and south. "

[Edited on October 25, 2008 at 2:56 PM. Reason : ]

10/25/2008 2:52:46 PM

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/afghan-quicksand-awaits-obama/

Quote :

"President-elect Obama says he is serious about Afghanistan. (Just don’t fumble Iraq, please.) As he must be learning in intelligence briefings, it’s going to be tough stuff. It will be like solving a human Rubik’s Cube during a firefight while the media screams every time you make a wrong move — or what is perceived as a wrong move — and there is a clock ticking and at some unknown point the Cube self-destructs."

We shall see if Obama keeps the pressure in Afghanistan up.

11/11/2008 5:22:56 PM

Quote :

""Listen, everyone knows we will be in Iraq till 2012 at least. But there is no more conflict. No more indecision. The board is set. The Iraqi government is in control. Game Over.""

Quote :

"Funniest shit I've read all week."

11/11/2008 7:32:39 PM

lol

The Iraq war is over.

war

Probably need to look that word up.

11/11/2008 9:01:14 PM

^I bet if doesn't feel over for the people dying there:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/11/2008111216811120951.html

11/12/2008 11:55:21 AM

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/11/20081112111240476386.html

Two men on motorbikes throw battery acid on the faces of 5 schoolgirls walking to school

I guess Bush didn't succeed in civilising and democratising the people there, did her?

11/12/2008 5:15:52 PM

The situation in Afghanistan is so great now, that families are resorting to selling some of their children to get a $100 or so, so as to be able to feed their other children for a couple of months.

This was reported on CNN, and apparently it has never happened before to this extent.

11/20/2008 5:51:20 PM

Its a mess.

Will get worse before it gets better.

Only Petreaus through centcom can deal with it. It has to be regional.

lets cross our fingers.

11/20/2008 7:09:47 PM

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/11/pakistan_us_coordina.php

Pakistan is coordinating withe NATO/US forces covertly and openly denouncing the strikes. Pakistan is also trying to FORCE the tribes to fight the taliban.

Big mistake.

But at least we got some coordination here. And that is a MUST.

Quote :

"The US military contacted the Pakistani military after a US combat outpost and an Afghan checkpoint came under “artillery fire” from Taliban forces operating across the border in the lawless Waziristan tribal region on Nov. 18. “The Pakistani military then launched a mortar strike on the insurgents’ firing location inside Pakistan,” an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) press release stated. "

11/20/2008 7:22:18 PM

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/red-flag.htm

rawr brits

Quote :

"Let me give you just one example. In July 2006 a Danish soldier working under UK command in Helmand was grievously wounded in a rather beleaguered (it was under repeated direct and indirect fire) outpost in Helmand – if I remember correctly it was Musa Qaleh. The compound was too small for a Chinook to land to get the casualty out and the UK's small helicopters could not fly in the day time because of the extreme heat and altitude. The soldier was dying and he couldn't wait. A battle-group level hasty air assault operation was planned to secure a landing zone nearby in Taleban dominated area and the intent was for the small garrison to fight its way out to get the casualty to that landing zone. There was no doubt, not only must we expect to take further casualties, we could lose a Chinook. Then, a US Blackhawk medical helicopter swept in and then out of the compound with the casualty who I know was still alive when he later made it home to Denmark. The whole attitude, despite the acute risk involved, was one of "no problem, anytime, just ask", as we say, "normal jogging". Yet, no one who knew of that single event would have had anything other than the greatest admiration for those involved and the organization to which they belonged.""

1/9/2009 9:02:00 PM

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/

Quote :

"Hidden compartments don’t mean much to man’s best friend. This working puppy found enough Emulite to kill hundreds of people. Needless to say, the soldiers and contractors treat these dogs like royalty. There is no exaggeration whatsoever in saying that the working dogs are treated far better than our soldiers. (Not that anyone complains, but it is humorous for everyone to see that the dogs get treated even better than Air Force personnel, who are treated 2x better than soldiers, who are treated 5x better than Marines. That means bomb dogs are treated at least 10x better than Marines.)"

yyeeaaa



[Edited on April 2, 2009 at 5:47 PM. Reason : hfg]

4/2/2009 5:46:36 PM

Have you watched the British miniseries "Ross Kemp in Afghanistan" or the recent "Ross Kemp Return to Afghanistan"? It's pretty badass and he goes on missions and into firefights with various British military units mostly around Musa Qaleh.

4/3/2009 2:50:12 PM