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12 Jul 2011 11:06

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World: Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai’s half-brother assassinated by bodyguard

Ahmad Wali Karzai, a powerful guy in his own right who survived numerous prior assassination attempts, was reportedly killed at the hands of the Taliban. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jun 2011 21:28

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World: Afghan war: Insurgents using young children as suicide bombs

  • 8 the age of an Afghan girl tricked into carrying a suicide bomb source
  • » Why would they do such a thing? This attack, one of the more disturbing we’ve heard in a while, is shocking, but not an unheard-of tactic by insurgents looking to covering their tracks — and possibly because they’re desperate. Only the girl died, by the way.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jun 2011 11:24

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U.S., World: Obama’s plans for the day: Outline Afghan War troop withdrawals

  • 10,000 U.S. troops headed home soon? source
  • » That’s a little high for David Petraeus’ liking: Obama is putting the finishing touches on a speech where he plans to outline the plan for what the country will do about getting troops out of Afghanistan — roughly 100,000 are there now, and Obama could remove roughly 30,000 by late 2012 or early 2013 — the first 10,000 or so this year. Which means, of course, that we’ll still be there a long while no matter what our boy Obama decides.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 10:05

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World: Protip to U.S. soldiers: Don’t kill civilians and take “kill photos”

  • The photos appear in stark contrast to the discipline, professionalism and respect that have characterized our soldiers’ performance during nearly 10 years of sustained operations (in Afghanistan).
  • A statement from the U.S. Army • Regarding a series of photos released by German magazine Der Spiegel which show U.S. soldiers taking photos with a man illegally killed in Afghanistan. The “kill photos” were reportedly part of a large series of thousands of photos the Army has tried to keep under wraps, fearing the result could be an even bigger black mark than Abu Ghraib. Some of the soldiers are already being prosecuted for their actions, which involved defenseless Afghan civilians whose deaths were reportedly staged to look like combat casualties. But things could get far worse from here. (Also: If you want to see the photos, look elsewhere.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Dec 2010 21:34

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World: Christmas Day attack on starving Pakistanis hits new level of evil

  • So, it’s one thing to attack people living lives in normal conditions. That’s pretty awful on its own. But when you attack those who are starving and attempting to receive food from the World Food Program in Pakistan, that’s a whole new world of evil you’re entering. We feel awful for those who were hurt, and get behind Obama’s statement on this: “Killing innocent civilians outside a World Food Program distribution point is an affront to the people of Pakistan, and to all humanity.” The more than 43 people killed and 100 injured didn’t deserve treatment like this from anyone. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Dec 2010 11:21

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World: He said, The NYT said: Will Afghan War ground raids reach Pakistan?

  • yeah … The New York Times reported that the U.S. military was looking into expand their Afghan ground raids into tribal areas of Pakistan for purposes of expanding intelligence. The article notes that the U.S. has until now used drones in Pakistan out of fears of a backlash from the Pakistani government.
  • … but NATO denies this, with one commander saying this: “There is absolutely no truth to reporting in The New York Times that US forces are planning to conduct ground operations into Pakistan.” Who’s lying here? Did Jayson Blair write that Times article? Or does NATO not want that info public? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Dec 2010 10:40

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U.S., World: Afghan war report: Troops could start leaving in mid-2011

  • 100k number of troops the U.S. has stationed in Afghanistan right now
  • 30k number of troops Obama added to that total earlier this year
  • 20k troops could leave in 2011 without significantly affecting the war source
  • » The progress so far: Those numbers, which come from the Obama administration’s assessment of the war, suggest that the administration is optimistic about the way things are going – particularly that they’ve stunted the Taliban’s momentum. Hopefully that’s true – a prior report from the US National Intelligence Estimates suggested things were much gloomier.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Dec 2010 11:30

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U.S., World: Obama comes to Afghanistan to test Skype connection with Karzai

  • what President Obama made an unexpected trip to Afghanistan for some strange reason. He’s there right now, kids, and he’ll stay for maybe six hours tops.
  • why His relationship with comically inept Afghan President Hamid Karzai requires some face time. Problem is, due to weather, the closest they’ll get is Skype. Really. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Nov 2010 10:23

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World: Rogue Afghan police officer plays turncoat, kills NATO soldiers

  • 6 NATO troops killed by an Afghan policeman who went rogue source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2010 10:58

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World: Taliban: If you don’t leave Afghanistan, NATO, we’ll force you out

  • Various untoward and tragic events and battles will take place as a result of this meaningless, imposed and unwinnable war. They should not postpone withdrawal of their forces even be it for one day.
  • A message from the Taliban • Suggesting that NATO is going to suffer a world of pain if they hold off leaving the country until 2014 (2015, by some counts). Right now, violence is the worst it’s ever been in the country, leading to record casualties. This is despite the 150,000 international troops there. By the way, let’s emphasize a pretty good point about this mess – this is what the Taliban’s going to say. That’s not to undercut the need for us to stay in the country for another four years – there are good reasons on both sides for us to get out (or stay). But the Taliban is a formidable foe and they’re going to taunt us. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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