House passes pared-down measure to fund Afghan war

The Associated Press: House passes pared-down measure to fund Afghan war

By JIM ABRAMS (AP) – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON — The House is sending to President Barack Obama a bill to fund the troop surge in Afghanistan after accepting the reality that adding money for domestic programs was unfeasible.

House Democrats reluctantly voted for the $59 billion measure Tuesday that will pay for Obama's 30,000-troop surge and other programs such as replenishing disaster funds. But the bill was stripped of money to keep teachers on the job or boost student aid. The vote comes a week after the Senate soundly rejected the larger House-favored bill.
It contains $33 billion to pay for the new troops in Afghanistan and other Pentagon programs.
Obama requested the war money in February, but the bill became a staging ground for a battle over adding money for domestic needs.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House votes Tuesday to send President Barack Obama legislation that funds the troop surge in Afghanistan but is shorn of financing for domestic programs that Democrats wanted to attach.
The nearly $59 billion measure to fund Obama's additional 30,000 troops in Afghanistan and other programs is expected to win strong support from Republicans. It faces some opposition from Democrats, frustrated both by the course of the war and angry that their domestic priorities were ignored.
With the new war spending, the total amount that Congress has allotted for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will surpass $1 trillion.
Pentagon leaders had warned that money to fund the troops could run out as early as August 7, prompting the House, which is leaving at the end of the week for its August recess, to accept a pared-down Senate version of the legislation.
Last week the Senate rejected a larger, House-favored bill that would have included billions of dollars to help keep teachers on the job, provide aid for college students and beef up border security.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said he was torn between his obligation to bring the bill to the floor and his "profound skepticism" that the money would lead to a successful conclusion of the war.
Even if there were greater confidence in the Afghan government, Obey said, "it would likely take so long it will obliterate our ability to make the kinds of long-term investments in our own country that are so desperately needed."
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., cited recently leaked classified documents he said revealed some of the corruption and incompetence of the Afghan government.
"We're told we can't extend unemployment, or pay to keep cops on the beat or teachers in the classroom, but we're asked to borrow another $33 billion for nation-building in Afghanistan," said McGovern. "I think we need to do more nation-building here at home."
Obama urged passage of the war-funding bill, saying in a Rose Garden statement it was needed "to ensure that our troops have the resources they need and that we're able to do what's necessary for our national security."
The president also addressed the unauthorized release of the sensitive documents — thousands of battlefield reports — saying he was concerned they "could potentially jeopardize individuals or operations."
Republicans are chiding Democrats for delaying for months before ending up with the same bill the Senate passed in May.
"We've been through all of this wrangling, and for what?" House Republican leader John Boehner said at a news conference. "All we've created is more uncertainty for our troops in the field, more uncertainty for the Pentagon, and it's all unnecessary."
Obama requested the emergency funding last February. After the Senate passed it in May, the House on July 1 approved its own version, tacking on more than $20 billion in domestic spending. The Senate last week rejected that approach, falling 14 votes short of what was needed to break a GOP-led filibuster.
The bill includes more than $33.5 billion for the additional 30,000 troops in Afghanistan and to pay for other Pentagon operational expenses, $5.1 billion to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief fund, $6.2 billion for State Department aid programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Haiti and $13.4 billion in benefits for Vietnam war veterans exposed to Agent Orange.
In addition to stripping money out for teachers and student aid, the final bill omits more than $4 billion requested by the administration to finance settlements of several long-standing lawsuits against the government, including $1.2 billion to remedy discrimination by the Agriculture Department against black farmers and $3.4 billion for mismanaging Indian trust funds.
"We have a moral and legal responsibility to settle those claims," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., adding that he was "very disappointed" Senate Republicans did not go along with paying the settlements, although the costs would not have added to the federal deficit.
Associated Press Writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.
___
The bill is H.R. 4899.
Online:
Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

What a mess

Anti war and conservative-a new paradigm

I am aware of the enemies of our country. There are many and we have to be conscious of the long range security of the United States. Citizens have a right to expect a national defense.

How many of you actually feel safer? Just give me some truth. I probably read more information than any of you. I am actually trying to figure out what we are doing. I am intelligent and driven to alternate viewpoints. I think we are being lied to and we have lost a cohesive strategy. If what I post does not make sense, that is because it is out of control.

I am tired of the children and grandchildren argument. War is an assault on children. Stop the conservative crap. The religious crap is equally offensive. Muslims, Christians, Jews:

Genesis 9
 ⁶ "Whoever sheds the blood of man,
       by man shall his blood be shed;
       for in the image of God
       has God made man.

To simple for you? It's your theology. Can I be conservative and anti war? Yes, because I don't care about any political agenda. I care about truth. That's lacking in the US today. Conservatives think for themselves.

Republicans, what are you doing? Your leadership is dogmatic and narrow minded. I hope you continue to lose. Keep losing your broad base to the fringe.

 We will be glad to vote Democrat. I don't care about politicians or platforms. I am selfish. When it comes to politics, I am only interested in my agenda.

Military you are to blame for this leak and the leak that toppled General McChrystal. Why should we support you? You have failed your mission. Commander Obama, that includes you.

I care about the children. I don't care about you. Your ideology is small in my eyes.

FT.com / Asia-Pacific / Pakistan - Ex-spy master blames US for web leak

FT.com / Asia-Pacific / Pakistan - Ex-spy master blames US for web leak

A former Pakistani spy master has hit back at allegations he supported the Taliban, saying the US orchestrated a mass leak of confidential files in a bid to scapegoat him for its failures in Afghanistan.
The claim by Hamid Gul, a retired general, is unlikely to gain much traction in Washington, where the publication of 75,000 classified reports by WikiLeaks, a website, has renewed debate over its Afghan strategy.

 Official website of Hamid Gul

 In depth: Afghanistan - Apr-13

Editorial: Afghanistan leaks - Jul-26

Lack of dialogue saps drive to rebuild - Jul-27

Interactive graphic: Afghanistan - Behind the front line - Jul-27

Kerry plays down revelations - Jul-27

Documents show darker side of conflict - Jul-26

But Mr Gul’s allegations that a hidden US government hand played a role in the huge breach of classified files may resonate in Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment runs high and conspiracy theories feed mainstream discourse.
“I am a very favourite whipping boy of America. They can’t imagine the Afghans can win wars on their own,” Mr Gul told the Financial Times. “It would be an abiding shame that a 74-year-old general living a retired life manipulating the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan results in the defeat of America,” he joked. “What are they going to do to the history books for their own posterity?”
Mr Gul’s name appears in about 10 of roughly 180 classified US files that allege Pakistan’s intelligence service supported Afghan militants fighting Nato forces.
The reports, which have not been independently confirmed, allege the ISI supplied 1,000 motorcycles to the Haqqani network of Afghan fighters to stage suicide attacks. Mr Gul is alleged to have ordered roadside bomb attacks on Nato forces in 2006 and conspired with Afghan militants to plot the kidnap of United Nations officials.
Pakistani analysts have cast doubt on the reports, saying they reflect misinformation fed to the US by Afghanistan’s intelligence service, which has a long history of hostility towards Pakistan.
Mr Gul branded the reports as “pure fiction”, saying his main occupation in retirement was spending time with his grandchildren and pursuing his horticultural hobby of refining mango and peach species.
He is credited with playing a key role in a campaign backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency to fight Soviet invaders in Afghanistan in the 1980s by supporting Mujahedeen guerrillas, and headed the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency from 1987 to 1989.
Mr Gul has not held an official position since 1992, although he is regarded as well-connected within Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.
Mr Gul said the US had lost the war in Afghanistan, and that the leak of the documents would help the Obama administration deflect blame by suggesting that Pakistan was responsible. “A lot of bloodshed, a lot of turbulence, a lot of turmoil is in store if the American policy continues in this way,” he said. “You can’t snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.”
The accusations against Mr Gul chime with long-standing suspicions among US officials that an opaque network of retired ISI officers have supported Afghan militants to serve Pakistan’s broader competition with India while giving Islamabad plausible deniability.
Pakistani officials advance a counter-narrative that says their country will bear the brunt if the US fails to stabilise Afghanistan. The announcement that American troops will start to leave next July has fuelled concerns in Pakistan that a rapid US withdrawal will sow further turmoil in its neighbour.

Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] - Pakistan Intelligence Agencies

Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] - Pakistan Intelligence Agencies

The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] was founded in 1948 by a British army officer, Maj Gen R Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff in Pakistan Army. Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the president of Pakistan in the 1950s, expanded the role of ISI in safeguarding Pakistan's interests, monitoring opposition politicians, and sustaining military rule in Pakistan.
The ISI is tasked with collection of foreign and domestic intelligence; co-ordination of intelligence functions of the three military services; surveillance over its cadre, foreigners, the media, politically active segments of Pakistani society, diplomats of other countries accredited to Pakistan and Pakistani diplomats serving outside the country; the interception and monitoring of communications; and the conduct of covert offensive operations.
Critics of the ISI say that it has become a state within a state, answerable neither to the leadership of the army, nor to the President or the Prime Minister. The result is there has been no real supervision of the ISI, and corruption, narcotics, and big money have all come into play, further complicating the political scenario. Drug money was used by ISI to finance not only the Afghanistan war, but also the ongoing proxy war against India in Kashmir and Northeast India.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee deals with all problems bearing on the military aspects of state security and is charged with integrating and coordinating the three services. Affiliated with the committee are the offices of the engineer in chief, the director general of medical service, the Director of Inter-Services Public Relations, and the Director of Inter-Services Intelligence.
Staffed by hundreds of civilian and military officers, and thousands of other workers, the agency's headquarters is located in Islamabad. The ISI reportedly has a total of about 10,000 officers and staff members, a number which does not include informants and assets. It is reportedly organized into between six and eight divisions:

• Joint Intelligence X (JIX) serves as the secretariat which co-ordinates and provides administrative support to the other ISI wings and field organisations. It also prepares intelligence estimates and threat assessments.
• The Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB), responsible for political intelligence, was the most powerful component of the organisation during the late 1980s. The JIB consists of three subsections, with one subsection devoted to operations against India.
• The Joint Counter Intelligence Bureau (JCIB) is responsible for field surveillance of Pakistani diplomats stationed abroad, as well as for conducting intelligence operations in the Middle East, South Asia, China, Afghanistan and the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union.
• Joint Intelligence / North (JIN) is responsible for Jammu and Kashmir operations, including infiltration, exfilteration, propaganda and other clandestine operations.
• Joint Intelligence Miscellaneous (JIM) conducts espionage in foreign countries, including offensive intelligence operations.
• The Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau (JSIB), which includes Deputy Directors for Wireless, Monitoring and Photos, operates a chain of signals intelligence collection stations along the border with India, and provide communication support to militants operating in Kashmir.
• Joint Intelligence Technical

In addition to these main elements, ISI also includes a separate explosives section and a chemical warfare section. Published reports provide contradictory indications as to the relative size of these organizational elements, suggesting that either JIX is the largest, or that the Joint Intelligence Bureau is the largest with some sixty percent of the total staff.
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence is of particular importance at the joint services level. The directorate's importance derives from the fact that the agency is charged with managing covert operations outside of Pakistan. The ISI supplies weapons, training, advice and planning assistance to terrorists in Kashmir and the the Northeast frontier areas of India.
The 1965 war in Kashmir provoked a major crisis in intelligence. When the war started there was a complete collapse of the operations of all the intelligence agencies, which had been largely devoted to domestic investigative work such as tapping telephone conversations and chasing political suspects. The ISI after the commencement of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war was apparently unable to locate an Indian armoured division due to its preoccupation with political affairs. Ayub Khan set up a committee headed by General Yahya Khan to examine the working of the agencies.
The ISI has been deeply involved in domestic politics and, has kept track of the incumbent regime's opponents. Prior to the imposition of Martial Law in 1958, ISI reported to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army (C-in-C). When martial Law was promulgated in 1958 all the intelligence agencies fell under the direct control of the President and Chief Martial Law Administrator, and the three intelligence agencies began competing to demonstrate their loyalty to Ayub Khan and his government.
The ISI became even more deeply involved in domestic politics under General Yahya Khan, notably in East Pakistan, where operations were mounted to ensure that no political party should get an overall majority in the general election. An amount of Rs 29 lak was expended for this purpose, and attempts were made to infiltrate the inner circles of the Awami League. The operation was a complete disaster.
Mr. Bhutto promoted General Zia-Ul-Haq in part because the Director of ISI, General Gulam Jilani Khan, was actively promoting him. General Zia, in return, retained General Jilani as head of ISI after his scheduled retirement.
The ISI became much more effective under the leadership of Hameed Gul. The 1990 elections are widely believed to have been rigged. The Islami Jamhoori Ittehad [IJI] party was a conglomerate formed of nine mainly rightist parties by the ISI under Lt General Hameed Gul to ensure the defeat of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the polls. Gul denies this, claiming that the ISI's political cell created by Z.A. Bhutto only 'monitored' the elections.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan made Pakistan a country of paramount geostrategic importance. In a matter of days, the United States declared Pakistan a "frontline state" against Soviet aggression and offered to reopen aid and military assistance deliveries. Pakistan's top national security agency, the Army's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, monitored the activities of and provided advice and support to the mujahidin, and commandos from the Army's Special Services Group helped guide the operations inside Afghanistan. The ISI trained about 83,000 Afghan Mujahideen between 1983 to 1997 and dispatched them to Afghanistan. Pakistan paid a price for its activities, as Afghan and Soviet forces conducted raids against mujahidin bases inside Pakistan.
The ISI continued to actively participate in Afghan Civil War, supporting the Taliban in their fight against the Rabbani government. Backing of the Taliban would officially end after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; however, there are suspicions that sympathetic elements of the ISI continue to aid Taliban fighters.
ISI has been engaged in covertly supporting the Kashmiri Mujahideen in their fight against the Indian authorities in Kashmir. Reportedly "Operation Tupac" was the designation of the three part action plan for the capture of Kashmir through proxy warfare, initiated by President Zia Ul Haq in 1988 after the failure of "Operation Gibraltar."
According to a report compiled by the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) of India in 1995, ISI spent about Rs 2.4 crore per month to sponsor its activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Although all groups reportedly received arms and training from Pakistan, the pro-Pakistani groups were reputed to be favored by the ISI. As of May 1996, at least six major militant organizations, and several smaller ones, operated in Kashmir. Their forces were variously estimated at between 5,000 and 10,000 armed men.
The oldest and most widely known militant organization, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), spearheaded the movement for an independent Kashmir. This group declared a cease-fire in 1994. The most powerful of the pro-Pakistani groups is the Hezb-ul-Mujahedin. The other major groups are Harakat-ul Ansar, a group which reportedly has a large number of non-Kashmiris in it, Al Umar, Al Barq, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Lashkar-e Toiba, which is also made up largely of fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many of these militants were trained in Afghanistan, where several ISI agents were killed during U.S. air strikes in 1998 against terrorist training camps. Since the defeat of the Taliban, militant training camps have moved to Pakistani Kashmir.
ISI has been reported to operate training camps near the border of Bangladesh where members of separatist groups of the northeastern states, known as the "United Liberation Front Of Seven Sisters" [ULFOSS] are trained with military equipment and terrorist activities. These groups include the National Security Council of Nagaland [NSCN], People's Liberation Army [PLA], United Liberation Front of Assam [ULFA], and North East Students Organization [NESO].
Pakistan's military leader, General Pervez Musharraf, has attempted to rein in the ISI. Since September 11th, Islamic fundamentalists have been purged from leadership positions. This includes then-ISI head Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed, who was replaced in October 2001 by Lieutenant General Ehsanul Haq.
Additional reforms of the ISI have been made. Most notable was the decision to disband the Kashmir and Afghanistan units. Both these groups have promoted Islamic fundamentalist militancy throughout South Asia. Some officials have been forced to retire and others have been transferred back to the military. Intelligence experts have estimated that these moves would slash the size of the ISI by close to 40%.

Sources and Resources

• Profiles of Intelligence by Brigadier Syed A.I. Tirmazi, Lahore, 1995
• Pakistan Cutting Its Spy Unit's Ties to Some Militants, by Douglas Jehl, New York Times, February 20, 2002.
• Pakistani Intelligence Has Ties to Al Qaeda, U.S. Officials Say, by James Risen and Judith Miller, New York Times, October 29, 2001.
• The ISI Role in Pakistan's Politics - Dr. Bindanda M. Chengappa Strategic Analysis February 2000 Vol. XXIII No. 11 (pp.1857-1878)
• Pakistan's ISI Trying To Revive Militancy in Punjab Bangalore Deccan Herald, 28 July 1999
• Daily Describes Activities of ISI in India by Wilson John, The Pioneer (Delhi), 30 June 1999
• ISI and its Chicanery in Exporting Terrorism by Maj Gen YASHWANT DEVA AVSM (Retd): The Indian Defence Review, © 1997 by Lancer Publishers & Distributors.
• Role of the Military in Politics in Pakistan by Armughan Javaid
• The Aristocrat and the General by Indranil Banerjie SAPRA INDIA MONTHLY Bulletin Jun-Oct 1996
• The Game Of Foxes: J-K Intelligence War by Manoj Joshi Times Of India, July 16, 1994
• Pan-Islamic Fundementalism Exporting Terror, India Today, May 15, 1994
• Pan-Islamic forces funding militancy by Ritu Sarin The Indian Express September 28, 1996
• "This Secret Agency's Name is Infamous" by Sunil Sharma New Delhi JANSATTA 27 Nov 94 page 1 -- ISI Said Behind Widespread Terror, Violence -- Infamous Past, Active Present : JPRS-NEA-94-059 : 27 November 1994
• "How Intelligence Agencies Run Our Politics" by Altaf Gauhar The Nation 17 Aug 97 p 4 [Pakistan: Writer Exposes ISI's Role in Politics : FBIS-NES-97-230 : 18 Aug 1997]
• "In This Way, The Net of ISI is Spread" by Priyaranjan Bharati New Delhi JANSATTA 27 Nov 94 page 1 [ISI Said Behind Widespread Terror, Violence -- Power, Influence Increasing: JPRS-NEA-94-059: 27 November 1994]
• "How to retaliate against this proxy-war" by Kranti Kumar Sharma Delhi Jansatta 30 Jan 97 p 4 [Article Views Pakistani `Spy' Activities: FBIS-NES-97-021 : 30 Jan 1997]

With friends like Pakistan… – Telegraph Blogs

With friends like Pakistan… – Telegraph Blogs

Pakistan, as most observers of the South-Central Asia war zone will tell you, is a bigger terrorist threat to our nations than Afghanistan. And as the The Great Afghan War Log Leak demonstrates, there is considerable worry that the ISI, the Pakistan intelligence service, has been actively supporting the Taliban against our forces while the country has been soaking up billions of our aid. As the New York Times says, there is “powerful new evidence that crucial elements of Islamabad’s power structure have been actively helping to direct and support the forces attacking the American-led military coalition”.
Pakistan has strongly denied these charges, and I am in no position to judge right or wrong. But if there has been duplicity in an ally, how much of the blame should be shared by the US and/or the UK? And what are we doing about it? One view, expressed eloquently by Imran Khan in The Times today, is that we should carry all the blame. His country, he says, had no suicide bombers and no problems until we showed up and pushed it into an abyss of chaos.
Imran says the ISI is not particularly powerful in Afghanistan, but does not rule out the Taliban allegations. “Certainly in an environment of chaos and uncertainty Pakistan will need to protect its interests through all means necessary.”
As soon as we give up in Afghanistan and the border areas in Pakistan, he says, all will be fine. “The US should not worry about Pakistan. Once the bombing stops, it will no longer be jihad and the suicide attacks will immediately subside.”
This seems dangerously wrong. Saying that Pakistan had no suicide bombers before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ignores the fact that a destabilising problem was festering on the border. That things are more chaotic now is a given, but Pakistan has most certainly been one of the architects of this descent.
I would make two further points: although Pakistan’s leaders have occasionally made encouraging noises about fighting the real enemy of the Taliban, the country’s military is still basically pivoted towards fighting a proxy war against India. There is strong evidence that tacit and real support has been given to terrorist action within India. Until this mindset changes, not much else will. Second, helping the UK and US out in Aghanistan or by sharing terrorist intelligence is the least of ISI’s worries. The Pakistan Taliban, who have dangerously overreached and lost huge amounts of domestic sympathy, killed 2,000 people in Pakistan last year. The streets of London are pretty low down the ISI’s priority list.

The Hindu : News: U.S. basically at war with elements in Pakistan

The Hindu: U.S. basically at war with elements in Pakistan

AP U.S. President Barack Obama announcing a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: AP

The leaked Pentagon documents reveal the increasing American frustration with Islamabad’s ambiguous policy toward terrorism and how the US is basically at war in Afghanistan with elements of the Pakistani establishment, U.S. experts feel.

“The leaked documents do reveal a level of US frustration with Pakistan’s dual policy of fighting some extremists while harbouring others that is not always apparent in US official statements praising Pakistan as a steadfast ally in the war on terrorism,” noted South Asian expert, Lisa Curtis, of the Heritage Foundation said.

“Given the continuing challenges posed by Pakistan’s ambiguous policy toward terrorism in the region, the Obama administration must consider carefully whether its current Pakistan policy is providing sufficient dividends or whether it needs to be recalibrated in ways that convince the Pakistanis to shift their strategy toward the Taliban in more fundamental ways,” Curtis said.

“If all of the media stories to date have not been clear enough, the Wikileaks documents describing in great detail how active Pakistan’s ISI has been in supporting and even managing the Afghan Taliban leave little room for doubt -- the United States is basically at war in Afghanistan with elements of the Pakistan government,” said Asia Society Executive Vice President Jamie Metzl.

“Unless this is changed and governance within Afghanistan improves significantly, there is no chance for anything resembling success in Afghanistan and American public support for the war will collapse,” he said.

“WikiLeaks may not be the Pentagon Papers, but the current situation of a military holding on in a far-away war and a disillusioned American public no longer willing to shoulder the burden is starting to look eerily familiar,” Metzl said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. President, Barack Obama, in a meeting with Congressional leaders at the White House sought their support for his efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan and approved the funding for the war against terrorism in the region.

“I urged the House leaders to pass the necessary funding to support our efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Mr. Obama told reporters emerging after his meeting with Congressional leaders at the White House.

Speaking for the first time after Wikileaks released more than 92,000 classified documents on the war against terrorism in the region; Mr. Obama said he is concerned about the disclosure of sensitive information from the battlefield that could potentially jeopardize individuals or operations.

“The fact is, these documents don’t reveal any issues that haven’t already informed our public debate on Afghanistan. Indeed, they point to the same challenge.”

Pakistan nukes-can we live with this?

Australia participation

ddchalmers | June 08, 2010

(composite video) - Australia's military commitment in Afghanistan is under scrutiny following the deaths of two 'diggers' today..... Counter-insurgency expert Retired Major General Jim Molan interview with Kerry O'Brien in Canberra..... (full Gen Molan interview @0.25 thru 8.53)

JIM MOLAN: I think that there is a lack of logic in what we're doing in Uruzgan Province. I don't believe that any honourable strategy is linked to the campaign that we're running in the province that can feed down into the tactics, Kerry.....

I don't believe that we impressed our allies in Iraq. We are impressing them a little bit more ....in Afghanistan. The only thing I'd say ....is that I think we should keep in mind that when we list the reasons for being there, that we should be there primarily for the humanitarian reasons..... We can help the Afghan people, and they deserve our help as much as the East Timorese.....

The second reason, in my view - second or third reason, perhaps, is our allies. So I would hope that for the families who sacrifice, for the soldiers who sacrifice we're there to help the people. It's a second or third order reason to impress our allies, but it's critical..... If we're making these sacrifices .....to assist the people and impress our allies and we're not putting the time and resources in to do it, then there's a lack of logic in there..... http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/20...

The bodies of two Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan will begin their journey home today.

The Brisbane-based combat engineers, 26-year-old Sapper Darren Smith and 21-year-old Sapper Jacob Moerland, were killed by a roadside bomb on Monday.

Sapper Smith's explosives detection dog, Herbie, was also killed..... Monday was the deadliest day for Coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan this year; the Australians were among 10 NATO-led soldiers killed.

A ramp ceremony will be held at Tarin Kowt before their bodies are flown to Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

Defence Minister John Faulkner and Defence Force chief Angus Houston will attend a service at the base (in luxurious DUBAI!)

The bodies are expected to be repatriated by the weekend. The dead soldiers were based at the Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane. It was their first tour of Afghanistan..... http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/20...

AUSTRALIA suffered its first multiple combat deaths since the Vietnam War when two Diggers - one just 21 - died in an Afghanistan bomb blast..... http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/aust...

Australia to stay course in Afghanistan - Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says the deaths of two Australian soldiers in Afghanistan are tragic but Australia remains committed to staring down terrorism in the troubled region..... http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/ 1274152/We'll-stay-Afghan-course:-Smith

AFP - A string of attacks in Afghanistan killed 10 NATO soldiers and two foreign contractors in the bloodiest 24 hours for the alliance this year, as troops readied for a push into the heart of Taliban territory. Seven Americans, two Australians and one French soldier were killed on Monday, one of the deadliest days in the nine-year war in Afghanistan to crush the hardline Islamist Taliban.

Six US soldiers were killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and another was killed by small arms fire, Washington announced. Two Australians, who were training Afghan troops, were killed by a roadside bomb during a patrol in the province of Uruzgan, officials in Australia said.

France said one of its troops was killed and three others wounded in a rocket attack by Taliban militants in the east of the country. Separately, two foreign contractors, one of them an American, were killed in a suicide attack on an Afghan police training centre in the southern city of Kandahar, the US embassy said.

NATO, US and Afghan troops are preparing their biggest offensive yet against the Taliban in Kandahar province, with total foreign troop numbers in the country set to peak at 150,000 by August. President Barack Obama ordered the US war effort to be ramped up in the hope that an initial surge will break the back of the Taliban insurgency and allow him to start drawing down troops next year..... http://www.france24.com/en/20100607-a...

Is Australian General Jim Molan a War Criminal?

 

Few people have heard of Australian General Jim Molan, despite his direct command responsibility for the brutal Coalition assault on Fallujah and other Sunni cities in Iraq in late 2004. He planned and directed the attacks on Najaf, Fallujah, and Samarra. CHRIS DORAN believes Molan must take responsibility for the atrocities that occured.

Fallujah is particularly notorious for the widespread and well documented allegations of serious atrocities, if not outright war crimes, committed by Coalition troops under Molan's command. Molan has just released a book, entitled Running the War in Iraq, a highly sanitised version of what actually occurred under his command. Molan's account suggests that the attack on Fallujah, codenamed Operation Fury, was little more than a few surgical missile strikes which unfortunately and only occasionally resulted in civilian deaths.

He conveniently omits the fact that an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 civilians still remained in Fallujah when the attack began. Citizens had been instructed to evacuate the city, population 250,000, before bombing began in October 2004, but any and all men aged 15 to 45 were prohibited from leaving. Many family members understandably chose to stay with their fathers and brothers. Once the bombing began, all exits out of the city were sealed off.
On October 16, the Washington Post reported that "electricity and water were cut off to the city just as a fresh wave of [bombing] strikes began Thursday night, an action that US forces also took at the start of assaults on Najaf and Samarra". The Red Cross and other aid agencies were also denied access to deliver the most basic of humanitarian aid - water, food, and emergency medical supplies to the civilian population.
The situation was so severe that the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, stated that the Coalition had used "hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population [in] flagrant violation" of the Geneva Conventions. Specifically Article 14, which clearly states that cutting off water, electricity, and denying access to humanitarian aid is considered to be a war crime.
But it gets worse, much worse. On November 7, a New York Times front page story detailed how the Coalition's ground campaign was launched by seizing Fallujah's only hospital: "Patients and hospital employees were rushed out of the rooms by armed soldiers and ordered to sit or lie on the floor while troops tied their hands behind their backs." The story also revealed the motive for attacking the hospital: "The offensive also shut down what officers said was a propaganda weapon for the militants: Fallujah General Hospital with its stream of reports of civilian casualties". The city's two medical clinics were also bombed and destroyed.
In his excerpt, Molan also clearly views any non Coalition approved reporting of civilian deaths as propaganda. Independent American journalist Dahr Jamail interviewed scores of Fallujah survivors after the assault. He documented eye witness accounts of US troops denying the Red Cross entry to Fallujah to deliver medical aid, and firing on ambulances trying to enter the city. The fourth Geneva Convention strictly forbids attacks on hospitals, medical emergency vehicles and any impeding of medical operations.
Molan's account also neglects to mention the now irrefutable evidence that chemical weapons, specifically white phosphorous, were used under his command on Fallujah. Irrefutable because U.S. Colonel Barry Venable admitted it to the UK's Independent newspaper a year later. "Yes, it was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants".

In a November 2005 editorial denouncing its use, the New York Times described white phosphorous: "Packed into an artillery shell, it explodes over a battlefield in a white glare that can illuminate an enemy's positions. It also rains balls of flaming chemicals, which cling to anything they touch and burn until their oxygen supply is cut off. They can burn for hours inside a human body."
Again, one does not have to be an international legal expert to know that the use of chemical weapons is considered to be a war crime, and a particularly heinous one. We are particularly aware of this thanks to The Australian and other Murdoch press, which told us ad nauseam in the lead up to the invasion that there was no better proof of the need to remove Saddam Hussein by force than his use of the same white phosphorous on the Kurds.
Further allegations of atrocities occurred when U.S. and Iraqi troops entered Fallujah. Jamail reports first hand accounts of U.S. snipers shooting women and children in the streets; unarmed men shot while seeking safe passage with their wives and children under a white flag; photographers shot as they filmed battle. And in images captured by journalist Kevin Sites and beamed around the world on November 9, a U.S. marine was shown to approach a clearly wounded man lying on the floor of a mosque. The marine then fired his rife directly into the man, said "He's done", and casually walked away.
Relatively few insurgents were found once the city was subdued; most had, predictably, fled the city long before the assault began. Meanwhile an estimated 70% of the city was utterly destroyed, with thousands dead (Jamail and Fadhil 2006). Molan claims, and perhaps even believes, that his actions "represented the rule of law". In writing about the "terrorists", Molan succinctly expresses the view of many in the international community regarding the Coalition in Iraq: "But there are rules; they just did not obey them. In fact they institutionalised the transgression of international law."
There is little evidence to suggest that the resistance emanating from Fallujah was anything other than Fallujans fighting an occupation they believed to be illegal and unjust, a view shared by good deal of the planet. Yet Molan doggedly holds onto the long warn out U.S. propaganda view that there were just a few extreme "terrorists" who could be singled out: "They went to Fallujah to hide among the people but committed mindless acts of violence against them. They set up local religious courts and Fallujans were tried and punished, even tortured and executed, if they did not commit to extreme fundamentalist Islamic ideology and sharia law."
While he does not provide evidence to support this claim, regardless, it is stunning to suggest that this was somehow a worse fate than what awaited ordinary Iraqis at Abu Ghraib, the scandal of which had broken months earlier. Or what clearly awaited them once the assault on their city began under his direct command.
Under the international legal doctrine of command responsibility, a commander can be held liable if they knew, or should have known, that anyone under their command was committing war crimes and they failed to prevent them. The consistency and similarity of the attacks at Najaf, Samarra, and Fallujah display a deliberate disregard for civilian casualties in the planning and implementation of those military assaults. By Molan's own admission, he was responsible for not only planning, but also directing, these attacks. It is not conceivable that Molan was unaware of the serious and well documented accusations of atrocities being committed under his command.
While admirable that General Molan is so quick to admit responsibility for Fallujah, it is disconcerting that he does not seem to feel that he has done anything wrong, or should in any way be held accountable, for his actions. It is this utter hubris that most accurately characterises his writing. Sanitised as it is though, Molan has written an excellent brief regarding why it is crucial we start holding our political and military leaders accountable for their actions in Iraq. He would be an excellent place to start.
This is a shorter version of the piece originally published here.
Chris Doran  summarised these views in a letter to The Australian, which sparked a reply from Molan and a fierce debate. Molan has just released a book, entitled Running the War in Iraq.

Mission creep

Wake up America! How many versions have we heard since 2001? WMD, nations building, Bin Laden, Taliban, Pakistan, internal security and there are more. Why do we accept this? Mission creep is a process whereby the core goal is moved to justify a lack of accomplishment in a reasonable parameter of time.

Do you think it is justifiable to continue this process? What is the end game. Are we going to securitize the WMD apparatus of  Pakistan? When did this become the objective.

Large standing armies are a byproduct of a socialist system. It takes huge revenue enhancement and the selective restriction of individuals based on the needs of the state. It is not a conservative democratic principle. Yes, we need a standing army. When it is active, there must be a clear cut goal supported by a consensus of the people. Tell me the goal. Just one more time, Mr. President.

The debate on the war is being deliberately maligned and marginalized. It is US citizens that no longer know the truth of a collective mandate. We lie to ourselves and blame our leaders. We are played based on our assumed sense of global superiority.

It is a clownshow. I don't have to be proud of my country to be a patriot. Blame ourselves and not others. Have the courage to admit the US is not so great anymore and fix it.

It's not about superiority anymore folks. It's survival. Have the courage to take a stand.

War is not a conservative issue. Stop treating it like there is no debate or that it is an exclusive talking point. People are dying. We need to be involved. The President is using this leak as a way to justify his actions as commander in chief. There is no strategy. President Bush was the king of creep.

That makes us fools. That makes us creeps.

 Mission creep: the militarizing of America

By Sam Smith

---

THE REVIEW From the March 1996 issue of the Progressive Review MILITARY PERSONEL BEING USED TO SPY ON PROTESTERS IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL [IMC]
The nomination of General Barry McCaffrey as drug czar symbolizes the nation's dramatic retreat from the principle of separation of military and civilian power. It further demonstrates the degree to which the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 -- which outlaws military involvement in civilian law enforcement -- is being ignored and undermined by both the drug warriors and the Clinton administration.

Barack Obama enlists Afghan war leaks in support of policy switch | World news | The Guardian

Barack Obama enlists Afghan war leaks in support of policy switch | World news | The Guardian

Material cataloguing blunders justifies decision to deploy 30,000 more US troops, US president says

Barack Obama speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Barack Obama today said the disclosures about the mishandling of the Afghanistan war contained in leaked US military documents justified his decision to embark on a new strategy.
Speaking on the White House lawn after a meeting with Congressional leaders to discuss funding for the war and other issues, the US president deplored the leak, saying he was concerned the information from the battleground could jeopardise the lives of US soldiers.
But he went on to say that the material, which catalogues a series of blunders, revealed the challenges that led him to announce late last year a change in strategy that involved sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.
The tens of thousands of documents were sent to the website Wikileaks and published in the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel. They deal mainly with the conduct of the war during the Bush administration, which Obama has repeatedly accused of ignoring the Afghanistan war because of its focus on Iraq.
"For seven years, we failed to implement a strategy for this region," Obama said yesterday, of the period starting with the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
"That is why we have increased our commitment there and developed a new strategy," he said, adding that he had also sent one of the finest generals in the US, General David Petraeus.
He ended with a plea to the House of Representatives to join the Senate in passing a bill needed to provide funds for the Afghan war.
The leaks have put attention on Afghanistan at a time when the Obama administration would rather focus on the economy, the main issue among voters, and have put pressure on him to explain why he thinks his new strategy will stand any better chance of success than the old one.
Obama is also facing pressure to explain continued financial, military and other support for Pakistan, in spite of allegations in the leaked documents that elements in the Pakistan intelligence service are supporting the Taliban.
Members of Congress are becoming increasingly sceptical in public about the conduct of the war, and public support is falling. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published today, satisfaction with Obama's handling of the war has dropped to 33%, down from 38% in January and 47% in February last year.

ddchalmers | July 26, 2010

The revelations by... WikiLeaks emerged as Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of greater NATO casualties in Afghanistan as violence mounts over the summer.

It also came as the Taliban said they were holding captive one of two U.S. servicemen who strayed into insurgent territory, and that the other had been killed. The reported capture will further erode domestic support for America's 9-year-old war.

Contained in more than 90,000 classified documents, the Wikileaks revelations could fuel growing doubts in Congress about U.S. President Barack Obama's war strategy at a time when the U.S. death toll is soaring.....

Pakistan was actively collaborating with the Taliban in Afghanistan while accepting U.S. aid, new U.S. military reports showed, a disclosure likely to increase the pressure on Washington's embattled ally..... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTR...

The US military has launched an inquiry to find the source of tens of thousands of classified American documents on the war in Afghanistan that were leaked to the media (they're from the US military, duh!) ..... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world...

Wikileaks reveals Afghan civilian deaths - Thousands of secret military documents have been leaked, revealing details of incidents when civilians were killed by coalition troops in Afghanistan.


The cache contains more than 90,000 US records giving a blow-by-blow account of fighting between January 2004 and December 2009..... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wor...

Wikileaks documents show Pakistan and Taliban link http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wor...

Datablog + Afghanistan: the war logs http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/databl...

Key findings from the WikiLeaks "Afghan War Diaries" -

•The C.I.A.'s paramilitary operations are expanding in Afghanistan
•The Taliban has used portable, heat-seeking missiles against Western aircraft
•Americans suspect Pakistan's spy service of guiding Afghan insurgency http://www.france24.com/en/20100726-w...

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/

Mapping US drone and Islamic militant attacks in Pakistan http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/s...

Daily View: WikiLeaks' Afghanistan war logs http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/20...

Wikileaks Afghanistan files: every IED attack, with co-ordinates http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/datab...

Founded by secretive Australian Julian Assange, Wikileaks was originally based in Sweden and garnered 1.2 million leaked documents in time for its launch in January 2007. It taps in to the world's web users' desire either for justice or revenge on former employers or acquaintances, but its most significant stories have been held up as largely in the public interest..... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/79103...

Wikileaks founder defends war files leak http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/20...

Explosive Leaks Provide Image of War from Those Fighting It http://www.spiegel.de/international/w...

Obituary: Benazir Bhutto - Benazir Bhutto followed her father into politics, and both of them died because of it - he was executed in 1979, she fell victim to an apparent suicide bomb attack.
Her two brothers also suffered violent deaths.

Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s.

His government was one of the few in the 30 years following independence that was not run by the army..... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia...