Archive for the 'Afghanistan' Category

Make a difference to the troops in Afghanistan

The New York Times has attacked veterans at home as homeless people, substance abusers and killers.  Apparently those attacks have not sated its blood lust.  Instead, the Times has directed its demoralization efforts at paratroopers in Iraq, troops who are already suffering under very difficult field conditions.  Fortunately, as Blackfive explains, you can help with [...]

British engage in heavy fighting in Afghanistan

Something interesting is happening in Afghanistan. According to the British papers, a few hours ago, British troops engaged in a huge offensive against a major Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan. British casualties, thank goodness, are limited, but it doesn’t sound as if things are going well for those Talibanis:
British troops have been involved in [...]

A positive outcome for the law of unintended consequences

Before 9/11, when the Taliban were still a concern to people of all good will, I remember seeing news reports and hearing stories about the horrors of life for women under the Taliban. They were, quite literally, trapped in their homes, unable to go out even fully covered. A logical by-product was a [...]

The front we don’t hear about

The front we don’t hear about, of course, is Afghanistan.  Because it was for an acceptable cause and went well, the media has pretty much abandoned it.  It’s not bleeding enough to lead, and it does not fit in with the anti-Bush agenda.  I was curious about what it’s like to serve on a front [...]

More on military solutions that work

Yesterday I blogged about the fact that, in Israel, the military solution is working against the Intifadah. Today, Roy Robison points out that the same is true in the war against Al Qaeda. (He also notes that there is no truth to the anti-War charge that the Bush Administration is so busy in [...]

Sometimes you just need to rip the bandaid off

We all know that the only thing more painful than ripping a bandaid off is taking it off ever so slowly.
We all know that you treat cancers by swiftly removing the whole tumor (if possible), and not by gently nudging out one cancerous cell at a time.
We all know (don’t we?) that you fight wars [...]

Is anyone on the Left listening to those on the battlefront?

Here’s the incredible, thoughtful response from Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s President, to a loaded question from AP operative Jennifer Loven, who is married to a Democratic macher and who wouldn’t know an unbiased story if it bit her in the face:
QUESTION: Thank you, sir.
Even after hearing that one of the major conclusions of the national intelligence [...]

If you fight [fill in the blank] it will get stronger

The Hydra of mythology was a fearsome multi-headed monster. One of its great strengths was the fact that, if you severed one of its heads, another head (or maybe more than one) would grow in its place. Nevertheless, the Hydra could be defeated. Here’s one version of how Hercules defeated the Hydra:
Heracles [...]

Good news from an almost forgotten front in the war against terrorists

Right now, at least in my brain, the Israeli/Hezbollah conflict dominates the news, followed by the Iraq War. Afghanistan is out there, but only vaguely. Fortunately, our military forces haven’t forgotten Afghanistan and they’re still making strides against the hydra-headed insurgents that keep popping up:
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – A Coalition patrol killed seven [...]

Dirty guys doing dirty things — or, follow the money

I don’t even have a link for this yet, but here’s the latest from CENTCOM about the link between crime and terrorism:
COMBINED FORCES COMMAND – AFGHANISTAN COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2006
Release # 060718-07
Extremists linked to drug trade
KABUL , Afghanistan – Coalition Soldiers have seized an estimated $3 million in opium [...]

Thank you, George Bush.

Kevin Sites tells the appalling story of the tortures visited on a child in Afghanistan when, at 5, she was married into a family of sadists.  Although he doesn't say so, I can't help but believe that her tortures were a product of life under the Taliban, and the fact that she was able to [...]