The book is being closed on the massive civilian casualties caused by the airstrikes in Bala Baluk: A military investigation has concluded that American personnel made significant errors in carrying out some of the airstrikes in western Afghanistan on May 4 that killed dozens of Afghan civilians, according to a senior American military official. Final “story” from Afghan government and U.S. officials: The Afghan government concluded that about 140 civilians had been killed in
Read more...Military Analysis Confirms Airstrike in Afghanistan Was a Mass Murder According to “Christian” Just War Criteria
posted on June 3rd, 2009 at Return Good for EvilUS Broke Own Rules Of Engagement In Afghan Bombings
posted on June 3rd, 2009 at NewshoggersBy Steve Hynd Yet more people-centric counter insurgency Epic Fail: A military investigation has concluded that American personnel made significant errors in carrying out some of the airstrikes in western Afghanistan on May 4 that killed dozens of Afghan civilians, according to a senior American military official. The official said the civilian death toll would probably have been reduced if American air crews and forces on the ground had followed strict rules devised to prevent civilian
Read more...Dr. Roshanak Wardak on the War in Afghanistan and Pakistan
posted on June 3rd, 2009 at Rethink AfghanistanYesterday Jason Rosenbaum and I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Roshak Wardak, a member of Afghanistan’s parliament who is attending the America’s Future Now conference in Washington DC this week. Dr. Wardak will speak later this morning on a panel with Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films and Anand Gopal of the Christian Science Monitor. Following the panel, the same presenters will hold a congressional briefing this afternoon entitled “Rethink Afghanistan: A View from the
Read more...Dr. Wardak Warns Congress of the Dire Situation on the Ground in Afghanistan
posted on June 3rd, 2009 at Rethink AfghanistanJust who is Dr. Roshanak Wardak? She is a member of Afghanistan’s parliament--one of 68 women in the lower house–committed to women’s rights issues, as well as rebuilding schools and hospitals. Before turning to politics, Dr. Wardak was a gynecologist who practiced for 30 years, during which time she worked with Afghan women in refugee camps in Pakistan. She has witnessed the devastation this war has wrought upon innocent Afghan civilians; she has even experienced it
Read more...I See A Problem Here
posted on June 3rd, 2009 at NewshoggersBy BJ Bjornson My colleagues have been doing a good job keeping on top of the Afghan situation, but I had to post this little tidbit I saw in the McClatchy story regarding the costs and timelines for the war there. The Afghan National Army is now 86,000 strong, and the national police have 81,000 members. The U.S. military has said it wants to expand the Army to 134,000 and the police to 82,000 by the end of 2011. McChrystal said he plans to boost those figures, but said he won't know by
Read more...Progressives And The COIN Debate
posted on June 3rd, 2009 at NewshoggersBy Steve Hynd Spencer Ackerman had a remarkable 'graph yesterday in a post on McChrystal's confirmation hearings. Over at Democracy Arsenal, Michael Cohen reads some of my McChrystal coverage and is dismayed to learn the general is a dyed in the wool counterinsurgent. I tend to agree with Michael's overall fear that counterinsurgency is uncomfortably commensurate with imperialism. But unless you're willing to make that the end of the conversation on McChrystal, or
Read more...Will the Senate Ask McChrystal About Torture Under His Command?
posted on June 2nd, 2009 at Rethink AfghanistanOn Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the confirmation of Lt. General Stanley McChrystal to take over command of Afghanistan – but as Spencer has reported, the hearings are being stage managed to generate a swift confirmation by combining it with the hearings for two others. While the media focuses on McChrystal’s involvement with the Tillman case (in which he was cleared of wrongdoing), there are other questions that need to be answered. All too
Read more...Presenting the Jobs for Afghans Initiative in Kabul
posted on June 2nd, 2009 at Rethink AfghanistanA city full of formidable-looking men with automatic weapons posted at gates and doors. There is no hostility in the dark-eyed gazes under thatches of jet-black hair as you pass by them to walk inside a restaurant or hotel. They respond politely in kind when you say “salaam” and place your hand over your heart, in the warm greeting meaning “peace.” These are your guards against the bad guys, whoever they are, and they look like swell fellows. They can be a bit
Read more...Every major attack "is planned in detail with the ISI"
posted on June 2nd, 2009 at NewshoggersBy Steve Hynd Veteran Afghanistan reporter Anand Gopal has an eye-opener of a piece at Christian Science Monitor today.He writes that the major threat to U.S. troops in Afghanistan isn't Omar's Taliban or even Bin Laden's Al Qaeda - it's the Haqqani network of militants. And every major attack is planned with the help of Pakistan's shadowy ISI intelligence service. "The Haqqani network has proven itself to be the most capable [of the insurgent groups], able to
Read more...McChrystal Unclear
posted on June 2nd, 2009 at NewshoggersBy Steve Hynd The New York Times has deep misgivings about appointing General Stanley McChrystal as the new commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Special Operations task forces operated in secret, outside the normal military chain of command and with minimal legal accountability, especially during the years Donald Rumsfeld ran the Pentagon. General McChrystal’s command substantially overlaps this troubled period. In 2004, for example, a Special Operations unit converted one of Saddam
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