Tag: war

Victor Davis Hanson asks a multiple-choice question concerning American strategy in Afghanistan:

Somehow the U.S. finds itself in a position of having to apologize for the inadvertent burning of terrorist-desecrated Korans; of not expecting an apology from Karzai (a recipient of the 2004 Liberty Medal) for the murdering of U.S. troops by their supposedly friendly Afghan counterparts; and of again having to apologize for a horrific mass murdering spree by a lone, rogue gunman, who, nonetheless, off-the-record, is said to be emblematic of the frustration of U.S. troops. Our troops are largely forgotten by the administration and the public, cannot trust fully those on behalf of whom they are risking their lives, and are not sure what the U.S. mission has become. When an invading and occupying force apologizes so repeatedly to the resident population, it is a sign that locals have lost any fear of its unpredictability and lethality, or respect for its proven record of reconstruction and humanity, or for its own sense of self-confidence in its mission.

So what now?

a) To escalate is politically impossible and strategically nonsensical.

b) To leave abruptly is to admit defeat and cede complete control of the country de facto to the Taliban, and to confess that the previous human and material cost was wasted, while relegating millions of pro-Western-reform Afghans in the major cities to Taliban reprisals or refugee status. (I assume that at this point the Afghan Security Forces would not fight on, or at least not fight very well, alone against the insurgents.)

c) To continue with the present policy of announced withdrawal dates, and a final departure in two years, punctuated by periodic apologies to the Afghans when their customs are abridged, or civilians killed, in the hope that the Karzai government and its successor by 2014 will come to a power-sharing arrangement with the Taliban, one that will not nullify all the gains achieved in the last decade — a dubious proposition at best.

The answer is (b), VDH. The answer is (b). No one is fooled when the defeated occupation force “refuses to admit defeat”. All that refusal does is square the stupidity. Not only was all of “the previous human and material cost” wasted, people like me have been telling people like you that for years!

And as for the “pro-Western-reform Afghans”, screw them. Don’t even think about bringing them over here, or you’ll soon discover that they’re a hell of a lot closer to the Taliban than they are to the West.

Surely Obama can simply apologize for this mass murder and make everything all right; that worked so well after the Korans were burned.

A US soldier in Afghanistan has killed at least 16 civilians and wounded five after entering their homes in Kandahar province, senior local officials say. He left his military base in the early hours of the morning and opened fire in at least two homes; women and children were among the dead.

If this isn’t a sign that the occupation of Afghanistan has to end, and end now, I don’t know what more is needed. It’s a little hard to pretend they hate us for our freedoms when our soldiers are invading homes and murdering children.

This is what happens when you don’t go home when the game is over:

ABC’s Jake Tapper asked Carney when was “the last time US troops in Afghanistan killed anybody associated with Al Qaeda.” Carney didn’t have an answer, and referred Tapper to the Defense Department and NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.

I queried those agencies Tuesday and got an answer today. According to a Defense Department spokesman, the most recent operation that killed an Al Qaeda fighter was in April 2011—ten months ago. However, there was an “Al Qaeda foreign fighter” captured near Kabul in May 2011, and an “Al Qaeda facilitator” captured in the Paktiya province on January 30 of this year.

By comparison, there have been 466 coalition fatalities since April 2011.

This can be spun one of two ways. But regardless, either the Coalition of the Willing – love those bizarre Bush administration names – has won the war against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and should bring its troops home or it is losing by a 466-1 ratio and should promptly retreat before it ends up getting wiped out.

When your nominal ally’s soldiers are shooting your troops, I think it’s safe to say that the “hearts and minds” strategy isn’t working:

An Afghan soldier, apparently angry over the burning of Korans at a U.S. air base, fatally shot two U.S. troops and wounded four others, Afghan officials said. The International Security Assistance Force said in a statement two military personnel were killed in eastern Afghanistan Thursday by “an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform” but didn’t identify the troops’ nationality.

CBS News said an Afghan official said the dead and wounded in the attack in the eastern province of Ningarhar were American. The official said the shooting seemed to be motivated by the burning of Korans at the Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, but did not elaborate.

And they say it’s Ron Paul whose foreign policy is insane?

I don’t care how much the USA spends on its military. It’s all but guaranteed to lose its next major war:

The Army is ordering its hardened combat veterans to wear fake breasts and empathy bellies so they can better understand how pregnant soldiers feel during physical training. This week, 14 noncommissioned officers at Camp Zama took turns wearing the “pregnancy simulators” as they stretched, twisted and exercised during a three-day class that teaches them to serve as fitness instructors for pregnant soldiers and new mothers.

Army enlisted leaders all over the world are being ordered to take the Pregnancy Postpartum Physical Training Exercise Leaders Course, or PPPT, according to U.S. Army Medical Activity Japan health promotion educator Jana York.

Developed by the Army in 2008, the course includes aerobics classes, pool sessions and classroom studies on the physiology of pregnant women. The NCOs learn special exercises for pregnant women, who shouldn’t push themselves too hard or participate in high-impact activities such as snowboarding, bungee jumping or horse riding, York said.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed this too, but it seems to be me it’s been years since I last heard some Republican attempting to justify the latest federal encroachment by babbling “we are at war”. In light of this nonsense they’d bloody well better hope we’re not.

It’s a great idea:

The Pentagon will maintain bans on women serving in most ground combat units, defense officials said Thursday, despite pressure from lawmakers and female veterans who called the restrictions outdated after a decade of war.

After taking more than a year to review its policies on orders from Congress, the Defense Department announced that it would open about 14,000 combat-related positions to female troops, including tank mechanics and intelligence officers on the front lines.

But the Pentagon said it would keep 238,000 other positions — about one-fifth of the regular active-duty military — off-limits to women, pending further reviews. Virtually all of those jobs are in the Army and Marine Corps.

Contra what you may assume, I am all for more women in the U.S. military. I not only want to see all 238,000 combat-related positions opened to women, I want to see the Pentagon create an entire combat battalion of female-only Marines. In fact, I demand it in the name of diversity and equality!

Then, after half the battalion gets wiped out in its first action by 25 Taliban fighters armed with an RPG and four AK-47s between them, and the other half surrenders, America can kick back and enjoy the many gang-rape videos that will be on the Internet about 24 hours later.

That’s the only way this nonsense is going to be ended once and for all. It doesn’t matter how often one walks an equalitarian through the inexorable logic of combat, they will never accept or understand it until they see a woman sitting on her ass, bloody and crying. Enough theorizing. The equalitarians say women can do it, fine, let’s put their theory to the test.

Keep this sort of thing in mind when you assume, incorrectly, that mindless support for foreign military interventions is synonymous with support for the American soldier:

During the incident in question, a Dustoff helicopter was approximately three minutes away, parked at Forward Operating Base Pasab. Both Dustoff and Pedro aircrews report being able to be airborne within roughly six minutes of receipt of orders.

However, because there were no Apache gunships available, the Dustoff flight for Specialist Clark was delayed. Official records state that he was delivered to hospital facilities 59 minutes after the MEDEVAC flight was requested by his unit—one minute from falling outside DoD standards, and within the “Golden Hour” from the moment of injury. But the military deceives here. Their fictitious Golden Hour does not begin at the moment of injury, but from the time the 9-line casualty report is received. This deadly deception was revealed in Golden Seconds.

Pedro helicopters also sitting at Kandahar Airfield could have completed this mission in less than 35 minutes. If Pedro or armed Dustoff had been stationed at Pasab, Chazray Clark could have been delivered to the trauma center in roughly 24 minutes.

The official record states that it took 59 minutes to deliver Chazray Clark to the combat support hospital. Video shot by Michael Yon provides conclusive proof that the military has deceived the Congress. Patient delivery took about 66 minutes from the time of injury, and about 65 minutes from the time of first report. There is no argument on this point. This clear deception brings in question all other military statements on this issue.

The death of Specialist Clark attributed to these delays is not an isolated incident.

It should be very obvious to anyone who is paying attention that the military itself does not appreciate being thrown into every hellhole that the Administration and various Members of Congress want to flex their muscle. And American soldiers are treated very, very badly by many historical standards; unlike Roman legionaries, few American officers can expect to retire wealthy as many centurions did.

I should say that the least Americans can do for their troops is ensure that their medical needs are being given priority over political concerns about long-abandoned aspects of the Geneva Convention. And any Pentagon officials who are proved to have been lying in order to play CYA games need to be fired at once.

An Arab Summer

As winter reaches an icy hand across the whole of Europe and the Egyptian elections show the media-spun hopes of the erstwhile “Arab Spring” to be as immaterial as they were imaginative, the world democratic revolutionists, who are more accurately described as Neo-Trotskyites than neoconservatives, are at it again.