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04 Sep 2010 10:17

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U.S.: Blackwater, er, Xe, apparently gamed the system for contracts

  • 31 affiliates of Blackwater helped them get CIA contracts source
  • » Why this is bad: Blackwater is still managing to get federal money despite their rep cemented by that incident where a bunch of Iraqi civilians got killed. They’ve made $600 million from classified contracts, according to one government official, and just got another $100 million to provide security at Afghan bases. And they’re doing it in such a way as to stay low profile in hopes that nobody notices it’s the same company. Guess that didn’t work.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Aug 2010 11:05

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Politics: Top British military dude hates Afghan war-aping “Medal of Honor”

  • The point remains that part of this game allows you to play the part of the Taliban attacking ISAF troops in the area of central Helmand where British troops are operating.
  • A spokesperson for British Defense Secretary Liam Fox • Discussing the new “Medal of Honor” game, which covers the war in Afghanistan and allows you to take the enemy’s side during multiplayer play. You know, like just about every other type of game like this does. The game does not allow you to kill British soldiers, by the way, according to maker Electronic Arts. But Fox’s people stand by the comments, which included his belief that it was “shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban against British soldiers.” For EA’s part, they realized the game might spark a little controversy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Aug 2010 11:11

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U.S.: Robert Gates’ retirement has at least one interesting coincidence

  • spring The period next year which Gates reportedly wants to retire as Defense Secretary, a story that just broke today.
  • spring The period he said that he wants to hand over partial reins to Afghan security forces. Coincidence? We think not. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 21:42

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World: The U.S. may be ready to put a little more trust in Afghan troops

  • With more Afghan forces, we can be on a path to transition in more places around the country. The success with the [Afghan] army in particular, I think, bodes well for in fact beginning to have some transitions maybe as early as this spring, but certainly beginning in the summer.
  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates • On whether the U.S. and NATO might be willing to let Afghan security forces take on securing more stable parts of the country. Gates says they could be ready as soon as early next year – a promising sign, considering how long this war has dragged on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 11:46

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World: Reason for the U.S. to continue Afghan War: There’s lots of oil

  • 1.8 billion barrels could be in a newly discovered oil field source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Aug 2010 22:16

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World: Wikileaks, damn the man, is going to release more documents

  • 15,000 the number of Afghan War documents Wikileaks plans to release next; they’re halfway through right now
  • no human-rights groups aren’t very happy with Wikileaks right now (particularly Reporters Without Borders) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

10 Aug 2010 09:47

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World: The Afghan War got much deadlier between January and June

  • 31% increase in civilian deaths in just six months source
  • » Why the dramatic increase? Blame the intensifying insurgency. Seventy-six percent of the casualties were caused by “antigovernment elements” such as the Taliban, a number up by 53 percent from January to June 2009.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

07 Aug 2010 12:14

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World: In Afghanistan, 6 Americans among victims in medical team shooting

  • This tragedy negatively impacts our ability to continue serving the Afghan people. We hope it will not stop our work that benefits over a quarter of a million Afghans each year.
  • A message on International Assistance Mission’s Web site • Regarding the deaths of at least ten of its medical staffers in northeastern Afghanistan. The deaths, mostly of Americans, were apparently brutal – each were individually shot in what was called a robbery. Two Afghans on the team survived. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2010 10:57

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World: Monsoon season taking a tough toll on Pakistan, Afghanistan

Pakistani officials claim that the death toll from the heavy rains has topped 800, and Afghanistan says another 64 have died in their country. Holy crap. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jul 2010 11:40

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World: This month the deadliest ever for U.S. troops in Afghanistan

  • 63 U.S. soldiers died this month, topping June’s record source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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