Pictures or Link or it doesnt exist.

4/3/2009 3:30:25 PM

Ross Kemp in Afghanistan:
http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/56104.html

2 eps of Ross Kemp Return to Afghanistan:
http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/74366.html

For those that dont know, Ross is a british actor and starred in Ultimate Force (basically the UK version of 'the unit').

4/4/2009 3:45:03 AM

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/04/taliban-flog-17-year-old-girl-in-public.html

The girl was seen in the street with a man that was not her husband.

4/5/2009 2:08:26 PM

that's terrible. in response, i will quote myself from page 1 from november:

Quote :

"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? "

4/5/2009 6:56:33 PM

http://www.longwarjournal.org/

Pakistan is fucked.

Their army sucks at fighting.

Their army is afraid of the Taliban.

The Taliban can actually defeat the Pakistani army in regular engagements.

Such a crazy place to try to control from a central government.

FUBAR

4/14/2009 5:46:33 PM

The Future of Iraq, Part I

Quote :

"“We need to have a good relationship with the U.S.A.” he said. “The militias have bad slogans. If we finish them off, we will be okay. We need a strong relationship because the U.S.A. is powerful, educated, and prosperous. We are not against Israel or the U.S.A. Americans are my friends. A bad guy can get 40,000 dollars for killing me because they say I'm an American agent.” Then he laughed. “A JAM guy, though, the number two JAM guy after Moqtada al Sadr, recently told me don't worry, I will protect you.” Sometimes it's hard to tell if Iraqis who talk the pro-American talk are sincere or if they're just blowing smoke. General Nasser, I think, was sincere. His body language and tone of voice said so, as did the naked calculation of his own interests. “I had Iraqis here at my house recently,” he said. “I told them Americans are better than you because they keep their word and they are disciplined. American people are not profiteers. Their wisdom led them to this. I want Iraqis to learn about American honor.”"

Great dispatch.

I like the bit about the militias losing there reason for existing once we leave under the status of forces agreement.

5/12/2009 7:01:43 PM

Quote :

"At the tactical level, similar things were taking place. My favorite part of The Gamble is called “The Insurgent who loved Titanic.” It’s about a young captain named Sam Cook in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based fairly far north in the Sunni Triangle. Cook heard one day of a local insurgent who boasted of having planted over 200 bombs against the Americans since becoming radicalized by the Abu Ghraib scandal. Now, a couple of years earlier, any smart, tough young army captain, hearing about a local insurgent bombing the Americans, would locate the man, launch a raid one night and capture or kill him. But Cook had been around Iraq a while and knew that all that tended to do was decapitate the network, and a new head would pop up. So Cook did something almost un-American. He sent an invitation to the man to come in for a cup of tea. The delivery of that invitation told the insurgent two key things—that Cook knew who he was and where he was. The insurgent showed up, puzzled, and asked why, if Cook knew who and where he was, he didn’t arrest him. Cook told him that if he saw him on the street tomorrow, he might shoot him, but that it would be an abuse of the rules of hospitality to arrest him then. Cook invited the Iraqi to stay for a cup of tea, assuring him he was free to go anytime. They began to talk, and had a series of weekly conversations. One day, after several of these meetings, the insurgent told Cook he would never come over to our side, that he hated everything about America. Cook knew that the most popular ring tone on Iraqi cell phones that year was the theme from the 1997 movie, Titanic. Almost on a whim, Cook asked Sarhan if he hadn’t at least liked the movie Titanic. The insurgent looked stunned. He answered that he’d watched it seven times and cried every time at the end Leonardo DiCaprio slips into the water at the end."

http://fpri.org/enotes/200905.ricks.understandingsurgeiraq.html

fantastic article.

5/27/2009 7:57:23 PM

http://michaeltotten.com/

The Future of Iraq, Part II

Quote :

"“But what is it going to be like in one year?” I said. “Or two? That's the big question.” “Well yes,” Captain Boyes said. “It is. Any time something new happens in a counterinsurgency, when there are new security forces, there is an immediate spike in violence because the insurgents are testing the ability of the new element.” “Iraq is about to experience a power vacuum,” I said, “when you withdraw from Iraqi cities.” “Exactly,” he said. “When we leave and transition all of what we do now to the Iraqi security forces, will there be a spike in activity? Absolutely. One hundred percent.” That stopped me cold. Captain Looney and Captain Boyes are the most optimistic American officers I’ve spoken to recently in Iraq. And they thought the odds of a spike in violence are 100 percent. “You guys are the optimists,” I said. “And yet you think this.”"

5/27/2009 7:59:26 PM

Senior Al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban leaders meet with Baitullah

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/06/senior_al_qaeda_and.php

Quote :

"Several meetings were said to have been held last week after an 11-man delegation of al Qaeda and Taliban heavy hitters arrived in Waziristan to deliver a request from Mullah Omar, the Amir al Mumineen, or the leader of the faithful in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to a report in The Nation. Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/06/senior_al_qaeda_and.php#ixzz0J4gGXVMk&C "

6/21/2009 10:21:56 AM

http://michaeltotten.com/

Fantastic articles with real insight into the regions. Broad range of topics. Very refreshing.

I recommend all the articles, long though they may be.

7/7/2009 11:13:20 PM

Quote :

"American people are not profiteers. Their wisdom led them to this. I want Iraqis to learn about American honor."

LOL

Whatever works though.

7/7/2009 11:24:05 PM

Insurgents setting IED 3:25
A helicopter attack team comes across insurgents setting up an IED on a road in Afghanistan.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/08/10/von.afghan.insurgent.usdod

Pretty wild video. Looks like CoD4.

8/10/2009 2:43:47 PM

Quote :

"More U.S. troops now in Afghanistan than in Iraq For the first time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has surpassed the number in Iraq. As of Saturday, 94,000 U.S. forces were in Afghanistan and 92,000 in Iraq, according to the U.S. Defense Department. The U.S. is reducing its presence in Iraq, as per its agreement with the Iraqi government and anticipates being down to 50,000 troops as of September 1, 2010, and all troops removed by the end of the 2011. President Obama has increased the number of Afghan troops significantly, including adding 30,000 more troops by the end of the summer. Most of the troops are now in country. The flip is occurring a little ahead of schedule. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had anticipated the balance tipping to Afghanistan by the summer."

http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/24/more-troops-now-in-afghanistan-than-in-iraq/?hpt=T2

5/24/2010 9:58:44 PM