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20 Nov 2010 10:32

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World: NATO’s plan for getting out of Afghanistan pushed back a little

  • good NATO has announced a firm exit date to finally end military operations in Afghanistan.
  • bad That firm exit date isn’t until 2014, well into Michael Bloomberg’s first term. (Kidding!)
  • worse Obama won’t commit to that date. Hmm. Wasn’t this war supposed to end in 2011? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 12:00

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World: Afghan War apparently needs tanks now, for some reason

  • The Afghan War’s been going on for nine years. Know what it’s been missing all this time? That’s right. Tanks. The Afghan War is finally getting its first tanks. About freaking time, if you ask someone who knows nothing about military policy (or why it’s necessary to take on terrorists with something this big), but just thinks tanks are awesome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

14 Nov 2010 12:01

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World: Hamid Karzai to Americans: Mind calming down this war stuff?

  • The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan … to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life.
  • Afghan President Hamid Karzai • Suggesting that the U.S. needs to scale back its military operations in Afghanistan so as to encourage a less volatile situation in the country. The U.S. doesn’t plan to change course, however: “We understand President Karzai’s concerns,” an anonymous military official (the best kind!) said, “but we would not be as far along as we are pressuring the network had it not been for these very precision operations we do at night.” Karzai claims he made the comments to encourage more candor between the two countries, which have often had a “grudging” relationship in the past. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Nov 2010 21:42

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Politics: Dennis Kucinich: Don’t try to expand Afghan War on MY watch

  • Expanding the timeline constitutes a de facto expansion of the war without Congressional approval.
  • Rep. Dennis Kucinich • On why he’s going to push for a vote on an end date for the Afghan War when Congress gets back in session in January. Obama reportedly plans to de-emphasize the July 2011 exit date and go with a more realistic 2014. This does not sit well with ol’ Denny boy, and he’s going to make sure the president knows it. But will the Republican House just go with the president on this one? (thanks stfuteabaggers)  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Oct 2010 12:33

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World: Afghan war: Military base clash doesn’t end well for insurgents

  • 80+ number of insurgent forces who died in last night’s fighting in Afghanistan
  • zero number of coalition forces (or civilians) who died in fighting source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Oct 2010 09:53

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World: Great! Afghan government taking money from Iran, won’t stop

  • They have asked for good relations in return, and for lots of other things in return. And we have also asked for lots of things in return in this relationship. This is a relationship between neighbors and it will go on and we will continue to ask for cash help from Iran.
  • Afghan president Hamid Karzai • Admitting his government takes money from the Iranian government (a payment of around $1-2 million every other month, by the way). But here’s the kicker – even though they’ve been called out for it, they don’t plan to stop. The U.S. has been funding your nation for how many years, buddy? This is something you just don’t do if you’re working with the U.S. In other news, Karzai wants his country’s local media to “defame The New York Times just as they have defamed us.” The Times broke the story a couple days ago. Karzai claims they wrote it to defame his chief of staff, Umar Daudzai. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Oct 2010 13:23

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World: The U.S. throwing more money into Pakistan’s military coffers

  • $2 billion to come from the U.S. to the Pakistani army source
  • » As a point of comparison: The U.S. has given Pakistan $7.5 billion in aid to the country otherwise – much of it aid in the wake of the country’s recent flooding, along with for civilian projects. Unlike those projects, this does court some controversy, because (according to the White House’s own reports on the matter) Pakistan’s army has reportedly committed gross human rights violations in their anti-terrorism efforts.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Oct 2010 11:04

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U.S.: Know what isn’t being talked about right now? The Afghan War

  • 3% of people think the Afghan War is the most important issue source
  • » Blindsided by the economy: In the wake of the huge economic problems the country is facing, just 23 percent of people are following the Afghan War closely, versus 43 percent of people following the economy. This despite the fact that nearly 100,000 troops are over there and the U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars there.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Oct 2010 20:33

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World: Good to know: Guards at U.S. bases in Afghanistan have Taliban ties

  • Let’s say that you’re the Pentagon, and you’re fighting a war in Afghanistan. Now let’s say that you have bases for your soldiers. And let’s say that they need guards. Who do you hire? If the answer is private Afghan security firms with little oversight, *ding ding ding* you’ve won a prize. Now, let’s offer up an extra wrinkle for you guys, and this is the one the Senate is getting all caught up on. Apparently, some of these guards have ties to the Taliban, that nebulous enemy that you’ve been fighting for almost a decade. (That’s not even to mention the guards with ties to Iranian intelligence or the ones with criminal ties.) Whaddya do? You get really pissed off, that’s what. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2010 23:09

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World: In Pakistan, drones reportedly kill German citizens with extremist ties

  • Do these guys have ties to the European terror threats? That’s our question. Generally, when the U.S. has drones go on the attack in Afghanistan or Pakistan, it takes a couple days to figure out exactly who got hit. This time, however, they knew very quickly. The drones nailed a group that included at least four people with German citizenship and reported extremist ties. Americans are keeping tight-lipped about any further details in the case, but the timing obviously leads to a lot of big questions. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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