Posted on 08/07/2010 8:45:01 AM PDT by Mister Ghost
It is into this brutish society that American and NATO troops have again been ordered to mix, this time by Gen. Petraeus who believes, as a Pentagon release put it, "meeting and understanding the people is the main mission for military forces." Calling for more interaction with "the people," Petraeus told his forces: "Take off your sunglasses. Situational awareness can only be gained by interacting face to face, not separated by ballistic glass or Oakleys." This last bit inspired a note from a Marine mom who reminded me that eye protection is what defends our soldiers from blast-borne fragments that cause blindness or brain injuries.
Petraeus seems bent on stripping our men bare, almost literally, to make them symbols of a non-threatening openness that he and other counterinsurgency (COIN) zealots insist will win what he calls "the decisive terrain" -- aka, the Afghan people. Of course, that same "terrain" includes not only poor Aisha, but also her cowardly, complicit father, her murderous in-laws, her acquiescent town elders, and corrupto-crat Karzai, whose silence on the plight of women worries observers already concerned about Kabul's and Washington's overtures to the Taliban. Meanwhile, as one female Afghan parliamentarian estimated to Time, fewer than a dozen of the 68 female parliamentarians in Afghanistan support women's rights. Time writes: "The rest -- proxies for conservative men who boosted them into power -- aren't interested."
(Excerpt) Read more at dianawest.net ...
Gee, and all this time I thought A-stan was official Washington.
Petraeus believes in divide and conquer. He has the Iraq success to lean on.
How about we just kill so many Muslims that the ones who live are terrified to ever fight us again?
I think that is a lot more effective strategy that trying to negotiate with the "moderate Taliban". Effective negotiations with moderate Taliban require the same as those with regular Taliban: a bullet in the head.
I’m very pleased I’m not the only one who sees Petraeus for what he is: A politian first and a manager second. He has no more idea about how to win a war than he does understanding that no amount feel good finesse will change the end game one iota.
I’m not sure what part of the IslamoTerrorist “we will convert, enslave and/or kill you mantra he apparently doesn’t understand. Ordinary Aghanis have absoutely no respect for weakness. Afghanistan is a hard country for human survival. Only the most hardy and stoic manage it. And here’s Petraeus worrying about “sun glasses”. Comp-letely overlooking the inconvenient fact these are way more than just sun glasses. They are part of our soldier’s body armor. The ballistic glass shields the soldier’s eyes from IEDS and other shrapnel.
And to think the lives of American soldiers are being entrusted to this poor excuse of a military officer.
Most other Islamic societies are far more liberal, even the Saudi's treat their women far better.
The advice to remove sunglasses, when off patrol and force protection is in place, is a tactical necessity. Wearing sunglasses is seen as an insult, but only when meeting or talking to the locals. The familiarity and open-ness of doing so greatly aids the gathering of operational intelligence.
West makes good points about the plight of women there, but should do a bit more research about the effectiveness of our tactics.
Not going to happen under Obama. Patraeus is the best we’re going to get under Obama.
Muzzies iz a cover.
“How about we just kill so many Muslims that the ones who live are terrified to ever fight us again?”
That is the same strategy the Taliban Al Q and all jihadist muslim organizations use. quote effectively
But we are not willing to kill as many as we need to.
It looks like petraeus is merely obeying 0dumbo but he is still putting our military at risk, same as mcChrystal, all in the name of wining hearts and minds
BS Bring them all home NOW, put them on the border and let the muzzies slug it out over there like they have for thousands of years
Iraq and Afghanistan are two different countries with different societies. Because of success in Iraq does not mean the same methods will succeed in Afghanistan. The sooner we get out of Afghanistan the better. Other countries have tried and failed there and we should learn from history.
He’s right about the sunglasses. You can achieve eye protection with clear lenses. That one little thing can make a difference when you’re trying to interact with people.
“And to think the lives of American soldiers are being entrusted to this poor excuse of a military officer.”
At what point do we join the calls for bringing them home? If one of my sons were there, I’d be outraged.
Promise was that I Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver; Ask for this great deliverer now, and find him Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Ten members of a medical team, including six Americans, were shot and killed by militants as they were returning from providing eye treatment and other health care in remote villages in northern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the team said Saturday.
Dirk Frans, director of the International Assistance Mission, said one German, one Briton and two Afghans also were part of the team that made the three-week trip to Nuristan province. They drove to the province, left their vehicles and hiked for hours with pack horses over mountainous terrain to reach the Parun valley in the province’s northwest.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that they killed the foreigners because they were “spying for the Americans” and “preaching Christianity.”
Frans said the International Assistance Mission, the longest serving nongovernmental organization operating in Afghanistan, is registered as a nonprofit Christian organization but does not proselytize.
“This tragedy negatively impacts our ability to continue serving the Afghan people as IAM has been doing since 1966,” the charity said in a statement. “We hope it will not stop our work that benefits over a quarter of a million Afghans each year.”
The team, made up of doctors, nurses and logistics personnel, was attacked as it was returning to Kabul after the two-week mission in Nuristan, Frans said. They had decided to travel through Badakhshan province to return to the capital because they thought it would be the safest route, Frans said.
Among the dead was team leader Tom Little, an optometrist from Delmar, New York, who has been working in Afghanistan for more than 30 years, Frans said. Another relief organization, Bridge Afghanistan, said on its website that the group included one of its members, Dr. Karen Woo of London.
Little, who oversaw eye hospitals in Kabul and two other major cities as well as small clinics in three smaller towns, had been expelled by the Taliban government in August 2001 after the arrest of eight Christian aid workers - two Americans and six Germans - for allegedly trying to convert Afghans to Christianity. He returned to live in Afghanistan after the Taliban government was toppled in November 2001 by U.S.-backed forces.
Frans said he lost contact with Little on Wednesday. On Friday, a third Afghan member of the team, who survived the attack, called to report the killings. A fourth Afghan member of the team was not killed because he took a different route home because he had family in Jalalabad, Frans said.
According to Frans, two members of the team worked for IAM, two were former IAM workers and four others were affiliated with other organizations, which he did not disclose. He said five of the Americans were men and one was a woman. The Briton and German also were women.
Gen. Agha Noor Kemtuz, police chief in Badakhshan province, said the victims, who had been shot, were found Friday next to three bullet-riddled four-wheel drive vehicles in Kuran Wa Munjan district. He said villagers had warned the team that the area was dangerous, but the foreigners said they were doctors and weren’t afraid. He said local police said about 10 gunmen robbed them and killed them one by one.
He said the two dead Afghans were interpreters from Bamiyan and Panjshir provinces. The third Afghan who survived “told me he was shouting and reciting the holy Quran and saying ‘I am Muslim. Don’t kill me,’” Kemtuz said.
Frans told The Associated Press that he was skeptical the Taliban were responsible and that the team had studied security conditions carefully before proceeding with the mission. The team trekked from village to village during the two weeks, treating about 400 people for eye disorders and other illnesses.
“We are a humanitarian organization. We had no security people. We had no armed guards. We had no weapons,” he said.
In a blog posting last month, Woo said the expedition would include an eye doctor, a dental surgeon “as well as me as the general practioner.”
“The trek will not be easy; it will take three weeks and be done on foot and with packhorses - no vehicles can access the mountainous terrain,” she wrote. “The expedition will require a lot of physical and mental resolve and will not be without risk but ultimately, I believe that the provision of medical treatment is of fundamental importance and that the effort is worth it in order to assist those that need it most.”
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100807/D9HELUQG0.html
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Are we likely to change the hearts and minds of such a people?
This is a reprobate region of the world.
We should have dropped a “demonstration” from our full toolbox back on 9/12/01, and told them there were more from where that came from.
I no longer support this war, and will support any such call for pulling out, provided that we give refugee status to any Afghans who have converted to Christianity.
One of my sons is about to be deployed—for the fifth time. And I am outraged. From what he’s said the Afghanistan ROE have been discussed openly in his unit. The consensus is that they have a right to defend themselves and they will.
The military chain of command’s first responsibility is to win decisively and as quickly as possible any legal war to which the country commits it. In carrying out that mission the chain of command is only responsible for carrying out legal, moral and ethical orders. These orders should insure killing as many bad guys as possible while minimizing casualties to our side. In other words the duty of the entire chain of command is to allow our soldiers to fight hard while at the same time making sure as many as possible come home.
Obviously The Marxist Onada has no interest in achieving any of those goals. Sadly neither does the Joint Chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Theater/Adfghanistan Commander (Petraeus). It truly is criminal dereliction of duty.
My son is a career soldier. He is an exceptional soldier. I’m constrained by what I can say and do publicly so as not to harm his career. But if he is injured or worse over there all bets are off.
I fully understand your frustration, but there is much more at stake than Afghanistan. Do you really believe that the Islamoterrorists will go away if we withdraw from Afghanistan? They have stated publicly and repeatedly that their goal is convert, enslave or kill all infidels. Which part of that do you not believe given what’s happening around the world.
As unbelievable as it may seem, we are now engaged in a 17th Century-style religious war. These people mean business. If we leave Afghanistyan it will become a wide open Islamoterrorist training ground. Pakistan will fall within the Taliban orbit lock, stock and barrel. Iran, Syria, Libya and the Palestinians will be further emboldened. They and the Islamoterrorists will return to Iraq in a frenzy. This will then put pressure on other so-called moderate Mid-East governments. Israel will be attacked in force. It will probably have to go nuclear to defend itself. Finally, because of our dependence on foreign oil (including from the Mid East), the Islamoterrorists will use it as a weapon to destroy what little of our economy is left.
Is this really what you want?
I couldn’t agree more and am sorry for the affect all of this must be having on our soldiers and their families. God speed to your son as he goes off, again, to fight for and defend all of the freedoms and liberties I hold dear. May your family be blessed.
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