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POPSIraq Cabinet Approves Removal of US troops Still, Kevin Drum argues that sticking to the deal would be good for Obama: since this essentially makes his decision to withdraw into a bipartisan agreement. After all, conservatives can hardly complain about Obama following a timetable that was negotiated and approved by Bush. Obama has enough on his plate already, and taking this issue off the table ought to be a considerable relief to him. Hmmm, maybe. But it wouldn't go down well with many progressives who expect Obama to stick to his promises to America before he sticks to Bush's promises to Iraq.
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POPSThe Taliban Will 'Never' Negotiate With West "If increase the soldiers in Afghanistan, the jihad against will become serious." When asked if he had a message for Canadians, Ahmadi called on Canada not to "kill their sons" by sending troops to fight in Afghanistan. "I tell them to let Afghans to make their future by themselves and decide by themselves," he said. "Afghanistan does not belong to America or Canada." Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to pull all Canadian combat forces out of Afghanistan by 2011.
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POPSFrom The Department of "As If" Uncanny. Maybe I should go back and look through that victory speech for other tea leaves. And back in Iraq: Some military leaders remain wary of Obama's pledge to order a steady withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, to be completed within 16 months -- an order advisers say Obama is likely to give in his first weeks in office. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called a withdrawal timeline "dangerous." Others are distrustful of a new administration they see as unschooled in the counterinsurgency wars that have consumed the military for the past seven years. Gosh - a very public order to commence withdrawals followed by very quiet back-pedaling as conditions are evaluated and re-evaluated would be awfully cynical and manipulative, wouldn't it? On the other hand, Obama has said a million times that we must be as responsible in leaving Iraq as we were careless in entering, . .
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POPSLogic? Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. A president lying about an extramarital affair is a impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery. Supporting "Executive Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born( in perpetuity.)
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POPSBarney Frank: A Democrat's Irresponsible And Impossible Plan ~ ~ ~ ~to cut the defense budget by 25 percent~ ~ ~ ~ Research and Development (R&D); and Operations & Maintenance (O&M). MILPERS includes all funds used to pay the troops, provide subsistence for their dependents, their pensions and retirement pay, and their medical expenses (housing is paid out of a separate but relatively small account). Procurement is money spent to buy equipment--everything from rifles to aircraft carriers, including money spent to upgrade existing weapon systems. R&D is money spent to develop the next generation of weapon systems, to ensure that the U.S. maintains a technological edge over our adversaries. Finally, O&M is the money used for training, to buy fuel and food and other consumables, to fix broken equipment, and to sustain forces in the field.
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POPSSpanish Troops Killed by Taliban Suicide Bombing. The attack had been carried out in response to an incident in August in which at least 90 civilians, mostly women and children, were reportedly killed in a US raid according to an Afghan commander. The latest attack brings the number of Spanish troops killed in the fight against the Taliban to 25, while the total number of foreign military deaths in Afghanistan since the Taliban government was toppled is more than 1,000 soldiers.
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POPSLet's work from the bottom up! Those of us who are passionate about ending the killing and illegal occupation of Afghanistan and the incursions into a dangerous zone in Pakistan must tell it to Obama with great numbers and passion. He is WRONG about that policy.
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POPSObama Victory Alters the Tenor of Iraqi Politics Over all, however, there was a new tone of optimism. “The atmosphere is positive with the American attempt to preserve the sovereignty of the Iraqi nation,” the government’s spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told the news channel Al Arabiya. He praised the inclusion of a new provision stating that Americans would not launch attacks on Iraq’s neighbors from Iraqi soil. “There’s going to be a significant presence, but they are not going to be ‘combat’ forces,” said the administration official. “The other thing we witnessed through the Bush period was that when the Iraqi politicians couldn’t reach a compromise, Bush interfered,” Mr. Habeeb said. “I don’t think Obama will do that; he will not try to set the Iraqi agenda,” he said. “I think the politicians will have to be mature enough to solve their own problems and dare to make compromises.”
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POPSColumbia military killing civilians Soldiers are kidnapping civilians, posing them as insurgents and killing them to pad their 'kill rate' so they can get promotions, time off, and extra pay. The depth of human depravity knows no bounds. The unseen tragedy of random killings is that the victim might have one day aspired to be a great leader or been instrumental in solving some medical mystery that could have benefited all of mankind. As the result of the selfishness and greed of a handful of murderous and theiving people, the rest of the world loses so much more. "If the responsibility of the army is to protect us from harm, how could they have killed my son this way?" Blanca Monroy, 49, Oviedo's mother, asked in an interview in her cinderblock home here. "The official explanation is absurd, if he was here just a day earlier living a normal life," she said. "The irony of it all is that my son dreamed of being a soldier" for the government.
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POPSColombia: Fascist Generals Sacked for Deaths Sources in the attorney general's office said hundreds of soldiers were under investigation in similar cases. The 11 men disappeared from the poor Bogota suburb of Soacha early this year. Their bodies were found in mass graves near the Venezuela border in August and September.
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POPSWhat a real financial collapse looks like Here's what a full blown financial collapse looks like. This may explain why Bush has ordered an active unit of combat troops to be stationed inside the US to serve as an "'on call' federal response in times of emergency," specifically for use in case of "civil unrest" and for "crowd control." This is a first in American history. The unit chosen for this task is the Army's Third Infantry Division's First Brigade Combat Team which has spent thirty-five of the last sixty month in Iraq. They're here now and training for "domestic operations."
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POPSGeorgia closes air space to Russia "If Georgia doesn’t provide an air corridor, Russia will find alternative ways of supplying its military base here," Aghabekian told EurasiaNet. "After all, Russia is bound by an agreement with Armenia that commits it to keeping the base combat-ready and on high alert. Russia will resort to any method to honor that obligation."
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POPSHuge Weapons Cache Found West Of Baghdad The pic looks like a bunch of .50 barrels. BFD… comment by thebronze “The cache included 269 122 mm rocket rounds and 200,000 heavy machine-gun rounds.” “The cache included 269 122 mm rocket rounds.” Those rockets would be great IEDs. Or if they have a launcher they could use them against other areas. I take heavy machine gun rounds to mean at least .50. It is something of a big deal. comment by Hard Right
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POPSAfghanistan Conflict Rapidly Worsening What a mess. Nato troops given new mandate to attack heroin drug barons in Afghanistan NATO accused of sheltering Afghan heroin trade Karzai's brother denies links to drug trade Nato happy to ignore explosion in Afghan opium output, says Russia
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POPSIf the Economy Can't Break Down America This Will I do not know when people will find out when we have both domestic and foreign enemies, but the time is quickly running out. The broken economy is basically freezing the majority of the people. I can see it now; unconstitutional steps will be taken against the people to "solve" the problems and troops will be here to manage those that rightfully resist such rebellion against our founding principles. I fear it will be bloody. "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." ~ Thomas Jefferson
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POPSPutin warns Ukraine over arms Pointing to a report published in Russia's Izvestiya newspaper this week, Mr Putin said Ukrainian weapons and military experts may have been used in combat against Russian troops during the brief war with Georgia in August. "If this is confirmed, this will be what I have called a crime, because this is termed 'direct involvement in an armed conflict', pitting the Russian and Ukrainian peoples against each other," he added. If Russia received proof of Ukraine's military involvement, Moscow would "build its relations accordingly with those who allowed this to happen", he said. Ms Tymoshenko said she was confident that "such facts not be confirmed".
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POPSSoldier in Iraq Kills Squad Leader and Fellow Team Leader The soldier--a team leader whose name hasn't been released yet--had apparently been in a meeting with his squad leader and the other team leader about his performance. When the AP says the shooter was then "subdued by other troops," my hope is that this included multiple buttstrokes. Comments; Dawson and Durbin were remembered at (4.00 / 1) http://www.dailykos.com/tags/I... The worst of all combat deaths. A special prayer for all those who must suck it up and soldier on and their families. along with Spc Marques Knight SFC Daniel Sexton CWO Michael Slebodnik at least one of those non-hostile unspecified (4.00 / 1) was a 19 yr old at Taji who shot himself in front of his 19 yr old wife via web cam. His death was like a punch in the gut... wooden, or other? (4.00 / 1) rifle butts, I hope. I would imagine no small involvement ofPTSD made this guy snap
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POPSObama Tried To Stall GI's Iraq Withdrawal His latest position is that US combat troops should be out by 2010. Yet his effort to delay an agreement would make that withdrawal deadline impossible to meet. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Bush administration have a more flexible timetable in mind. According to Zebari, the envisaged time span is two or three years - departure in 2011 or 2012. That would let Iraq hold its next general election, the third since liberation, and resolve a number of domestic political issues. Even then, the dates mentioned are only "notional," making the timing and the cadence of withdrawal conditional on realities on the ground as appreciated by both sides. Iraqi leaders are divided over the US election. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (whose party is a member of the Socialist International) sees Obama as "a man of the Left" - who, once elected, might change his opposition to Iraq's liberation.
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POPSThe Talking Bush "My message to the commanders is 'You will have all the troops, you will have all the resources you need to win in Iraq. And he urged Congress to reach consensus on a "responsible" war funding bill that would not tie the hands of commanders.
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POPSNutjob Chuck Norris Says He's Done Two Tours in Iraq Guys like Chuck Norris are more despised by the troops than any other type of person. It's because posers like Norris try to claim something they haven't earned. He attempts to browbeat others into believing that they don't "understand" combat the way he does, because he's "been there." He thinks he speaks for the troops. But Norris has never "been there," and he will never go there.
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POPSU.S. Commanding General in Afghanistan: We Need More Troops More from this story; Saying that we need more troops in Afghanistan, but we cannot do this without redeploying a significant amount of troops from Iraq isn't news to anyone who reads/writes national security blogs. We've been discussing this for months if not years. Recently, it's become an increasing part of the public debate. This is mostly due to Afghanistan being more dangerous for U.S. troops than Iraq was at the most violent part of the war. As Brandon tells us, this isn't mere hyperbole. It's a statistical fact:
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