Will More U.S. Troops Help in Afghanistan?

When George Bush authorized the invasion of Afghanistan by U.S. forces he did so knowing that One: Al Qaeda had planned and executed the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, The Pentagon and the failed hijacking of United Flight 93 which crashed in Shanksville Pennsylvania. Two that the Taliban which ruled Afghanistan at that time had provided Al Qaeda a base of operations. Less than two months after the October invasion the Taliban government had been overthrown and Al Qaeda and its senior leadership was on the run. In December of 2001 U.S. military forces had surrounded the Al Qaeda leadership in the Tora Bora region having taken refuge there. For inexplicable reasons the capture of Osama Bin Landen and the senior Al Qaeda leadership was turned over to local forces who promptly allowed them to escape into Pakistan. Unknown at the time was that it was Donald Rumsfeld then Secretary of Defense wouldn't authorize their capture for fear of a Black Lash from U.S. allies in Afghanistan.

As Osama Bin Landen faded into Northwest Pakistan Rumsfeld and the rest of the Bush National Security Team had switch their focus to "regime change" in Iraq. The country with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons that didn't have nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. By pushing Iraq to the forefront and allocating the majority of its military forces in Iraq it was like the war in Afghanistan: The country from which the attacks were planned and its war on longer existed. In those intervening years, completely neglected by the Bush administration the Taliban would slowly rebuild its operational level from one of almost complete elimination to having regained control over large areas of Southeast Afghanistan which borders Pakistan.

Beginning last April the Obama administration sought to reassess America's military mission in Afghanistan. Neglected for 7 years by the Bush administration President Obama has been effectively painted into a corner. No matter what policy shift is chosen it will inevitably be the worst of a bad set of choices. Should troop levels be increased bring the number of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan to over 100,000 or should there be a unilateral withdrawal leaving the Afghan's to fend for themselves.

Afghanistan is country where it is said empires go to die as no invading has been able to subdue that nation through sheer military force. The British tried it twice and failed. The Soviet Union attempted this in the 1980's and failed with 100,000 troops in country. The only thing they managed to control was the population centers and nothing more. Many will opine that once President Obama gives his speech Tuesday night outlining his policy for Afghanistan that it will become his war. Its his war only because the previous administration was more concerned with an enemy that posed no threat than they were with the one that did.

So now President Obama is stuck with a war that he said was necessary for the obvious reasons but one he did not start. His administration didn't neglect this war, but must find a way out. No matter which choice he makes it will be the wrong one no matter which side of the political divide you come from.

U.S. Senate Report: Bin Laden was 'within our grasp'

Like everything else the Bush administration touched the capture or attempted capture of Osama Bin Laden was a complete failure. As the world watched the U.S. military had pursued Bin Laden and his deputies to the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan. Trapped in the caves there the Donald Rumsfeld then U.S. Defense Secretary decides that Bin Landen's capture should be handled by the Afghan army while the U.S. army watched. Osama Bin Laden and his deputies escaped into Pakistan where they are still believed to be. Think about the consequences of that decision. Al Qaida though weakened at that moment would not only continue to exist but draw recruits as extremists saw Osama Bin Laden's escape as a victory over America and its allies in the so called War on Terror.
Even if they had captured Bin Laden would that have destroyed Al Qaida of course not but they wouldn't be the potent symbol they are today thanks to the complete incompetence of George Bush and his advisors.

China admits it runs illegal black jails

Human Rights Watch had reported earlier on the existence of these Black Jails but, the Chinese government had denied these jails were being operated. That is until today.

A magazine run by the Chinese government has revealed the existence of a network of secret detention centres or "black jails" in Beijing where inmates are often beaten or tortured.
By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Published: 5:21PM GMT 26 Nov 2009
Until now, the Communist Party has strenuously denied running black jails, despite a growing number of testimonies and evidence from former inmates.
However, a report in Liaowang (Outlook), a magazine which is written for elite government officials and published by the official Xinhua news agency, laid the system bare.
The victims of the jails are usually ordinary Chinese who have travelled to Beijing to lodge a complaint, or petition, with the central government that their local officials have ignored.
Every day, hundreds of petitioners arrive in Beijing from across China, only to be hunted down by plain-clothes policemen or even private security firms sent by their home province to "retrieve" them.
Since local governments are judged on the number of grievances that arrive in Beijing, officials are often determined not to let the petitioners file their claims. The Liaowang report said that the number of people employed by local governments to abduct citizens "can reach over 10,000".

Those detained had come to 北京　for redress of grievances with local governments or politicians instead of being allowed to file complaints many were arrested. If allowed to file these grievances it would reflect poorly on those governments which could draw the wrath of the central government.

A crowd of faeces-stained, starving figures with haunted eyes stared at us from behind the bars. Some looked cold and wet, as if they had been hosed down with water. Most of them were old, and some handicapped. They began wailing and pleading with us. ‘Let us out!’ they sobbed. ‘This is a prison!’ They showed us one ragged woman. ‘Look at this. She was beaten!’ They carried another elderly woman towards the bars who appeared to be paralysed. Guarding the inmates were young men in black jumpsuits. I knew they would stop us filming any second now, but at first the guards reacted slowly. ‘Those are the thugs that beat us!’ yelled one of the inmates, pointing. ‘They strangled and beat me!’

‘I’ve been held here for 14 days!’ an old man hobbling on a walking stick said to me. ‘In one room there are about 20 to 30 people. The conditions are awful.’

Recently Time magazine did a cover story 5 things we can learn from China:
Close off any form of descent
Treat your minority populations as less than equals and persuade thousands of Han Chinese to relocate to these regions further isolating them
Announce that you'll work to improve your human rights record and then do just the opposite
Displace or force hundreds of thousands of people from their lands all in the name of progress but fail to pay them market value for said lands while local, state and national political figures become wealthy off the deals
Prevent the redress of problems by the populace
Five things we can learn from China

Can The U.S. Buy Peace In Afghanistan?

Afghanistan has been a fractured nation since the late 1970's. Successive governments, even with Soviet intervention all failed to create a stable nation. Withdrawal of Soviet forces meant that various factions within Afghanistan would now compete for power. Two groups emerged out of the ensuing grab for control the Northern Alliance and the Taliban which was nurtured by Pakistan's ISI yet neither managed to control the whole of Afghanistan. Given that and the simple history of siding with ones tribe and region how will an attempt to buy off fighters from these militias change the political landscape thus leading to a stable country? Unlike say Iraq which at least had a working government before the U.S. invasion. What did Afghanistan have civil war and instability and what does it have now? War, instability, corrupt government and NATO forces following the U.S. invasion.

So what is the brilliant policy thought up by the U.S. Military? Why to buy off fighters from the armed factions and inter-grading them into the Afghan military.

US pours millions into anti-Taliban militias in Afghanistan
US special forces are supporting anti-Taliban militias in at least 14 areas of Afghanistan as part of a secretive programme that experts warn could fuel long-term instability in the country.

The Community Defence Initiative (CDI) is enthusiastically backed by Stanley McChrystal, the US general commanding Nato forces in Afghanistan, but details about the programme have been held back from non-US alliance members who are likely to strongly protest.

The attempt to create what one official described as "pockets of tribal resistance" to the Taliban involves US special forces embedding themselves with armed groups and even disgruntled insurgents who are then given training and support.

Sri Lanka To Release Tamil Refugees

Sri Lanka's government has announced they will release the more than 130,000 Tamil's for short periods of time held in 'Special Camps" set-up after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May. What a nice humanitarian gesture ha ha ha. Given how the majority Sinhalese have treated the minority Tamil's in the past with laws that so marginalized them that a 26 year Civil War ensued. Why should any thinking person believe positive changes will be enacted.

Hastily constructed and run by the Sri Lankan military these people have been held in what can only be described as prison like conditions all because they are Tamil's. According to the government these displaced people citizens of Sri Lanka are being detained because some of them might be Tamil Tiger fighters who have hidden in plain sight as refugees. These camps have been poorly run with the UN complaining that the government has not allowed humanitarian aid to reach these people in need.

Given past abuses by the Sri Lankan government and its complete disregard for the human and civil rights of the Tamil people its difficult for one to believe that the elected leaders of this country will alter their view of the Tamil people and how they treat them.

Around Asia

The Week Of November 20

What Does Ignorance Breed?

Why all the fuss over Obama's deep bow?
Conservative commentators in the United States wasted no time in seizing on something that might put President Barack Obama in a bad light.

Many of them are in an uproar over Obama's bow before Emperor Akihito last Saturday. They say it reeked of kowtowing.

Obama greeted the emperor with a handshake and a nearly 90-degree bow before having lunch with him and his wife, Empress Michiko. Obama departed for Singapore afterward.

In contrast to the controversy raging in the United States, many in Japan, however, had only praise for the American president's etiquette.

The American Republican Party And Moron Conservative Pundits

Teaching Music

Music teacher jailed for student sex
A former Ballarat teacher will spend Christmas behind bars for having sex with two students.

Michelle Lynn Dennis, 33, had sex with the boys, aged 14 and 17, while employed as a music teacher at Ballarat High School.

School principal jailed for sex with student

The County Court at Ballarat heard that Dennis sent more than 1300 text messages to the students over a two-year period.

She also sent one of the boys naked pictures of herself and invited one of his friends to have a threesome with them.

Dennis pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual penetration of a child under supervision and one count of sexual penetration of a child under 16.

That Shouldn't Be Taught

Old Spies

'Age Limit for Recruiting Spies Is Discrimination
A state-run human rights agency called Thursday for the state spy agency to remove its age limit in selecting new employees, calling the practice “discriminatory.”

The move is in response to a petition four people in their late 30s filed with the National Human Rights Commission, claiming the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) recruiting policy that sets the maximum age for job applications at 34 is active discrimination.

The spy agency argued the age ceiling was inevitable given the nature of its activities that require strong physical strength and endurance. But the human rights group refuted it, saying, “Younger age does not necessarily guarantee strong physical strength.”

Need Not Apply

With Allies Like These

ISI helped Mullah Omar to flee from Quetta to Karachi
Fearing that Taliban supremo Mullah Omar might be targetted by US drones, Pakistan's ISI has helped him to flee from the border town of Quetta to the mega port city of Karachi, where he has established a new Shura council.

One-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban recently found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) assistance; the Washington Times reported quoting US intelligence officials.

Who Needs Friends

With No Power What's One To Do?

Fund paid big sum in final days of Aso era
A secret discretionary fund operated by the Cabinet Secretariat paid out 250 million yen in cash to Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura in the waning days of the administration headed by Prime Minister Taro Aso, it was disclosed Friday.

Kawamura's successor in the post, Hirofumi Hirano, told a news conference the money was handed over on Sept. 1, just two days after Aso's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner New Komeito were dealt a historic defeat in the Lower House election.

The fund can be used at the discretion of the chief Cabinet secretary, and does not require the presentation of receipts.

Hirano's disclosure will likely spur questions over why such a large sum of money was needed when a change of government was imminent. Hirano said he had no intention of investigating details of disbursements made by the previous administration.

Handout Large Sums Of Money


Coming Soon A New Number 3

‘India to be third largest economy by 2050’
India will be the third largest economy in the world after China and United States by 2050, a U.S.-based internationally recognised foreign-policy think tank has said.

An article “The G20 in 2050”, carried in November bulletin of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said, “China, India, and the United States will emerge as the world’s three largest economies in 2050. Their total GDP, in real U.S. dollar terms, will be over 70 per cent more than that of the other G20 countries combined.”
Other main findings include, China will become the world’s largest economy in 2032, and grow to be 20 per cent larger than the United States by 2050. Over the next forty years, nearly 60 per cent of G20 economic growth will come from Brazil, China, India, Russia, and Mexico alone.

OK Not That Soon Don't Be Impatient

So What's More Important? Human Rights Or Myanmar's Junta

President Barrack Obama became the first U.S. President to meet with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) whose membership includes Myanmar removed from the summits final communique the demand that Myanmar's Military Junta release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose National League for Democracy won more than 80% of the contested seats in the 1990 general election.

Given the fact that the U.S. State Department issues an annual report on Human Rights and has criticized Myanmar over its Human Rights abuses one might believe that President Obama and the ASEAN leaders might show a little courage and allow themselves to publicly advocate for Aung San Suu Kyi's release.

While President Obama met in private with the juntas ruling general asking for her and other political prisoners release its not quite the same as when ASEAN does it in a public statement.

Sri Lankan President Feared A Coup

In May of this year the Sri Lankan civil war came to an end when the army defeated the Tamil Tigers after more than 20 years of conflict.

So, why would the President of Sri Lanka fear a coup? Did he believe that the Tamil's who are treated like indentured servants by the majority Sinhalese. One might think of Jim Crow Laws or how the Turks have treated their Kurdish minority with laws that prohibited the broadcast or use of their native language along with dehumanizing Tamil culture and society. Totally defeated the government of Sri Lanka continues to keep several hundred thousand Tamils in dentition camps because they live in fear of a group of people long denied any form of human or civil rights. But the Tamil's are not the group the president warily eyes as potential rivals to his hold on power. Its the Sri Lankan army.

President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was so afraid of a military coup after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers that he warned India to place its troops on high alert as recently as last month, according to the former head of the Sri Lankan Army. General Sarath Fonseka, who led the victorious campaign against the Tigers only to be sidelined two months later, made the allegation in a bitter resignation letter, seen by The Times yesterday.

General Fonseka, who was switched to the largely ceremonial role of Chief of Defence Staff in July, said the Government alerted India on October 15 that a coup was imminent, “unnecessarily placing Indian troops on high alert”.

7 months after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers the President of Sri Lanka worries not about those most in need with the civil wars conclusion and what can be done to integrate them back into a life without the constant fear of displacement or death no President Rajapaksa is concerned with his ability continue as the President of Sri Lanka.

Around Asia

They Are So Out Of Date

Gasoline ration coupons to be ditched
The government will discard billions of obsolete gasoline ration coupons printed after the 1970s oil crises and stored at an overall cost of more than 1 billion yen.

Following the two oil crises of 1973 and 1979, the government printed 7.2 billion coupons to prepare for the possibility of a suspension of oil imports, according to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

After Almost 40 Years Why Trash Them Now?

But I Need My

U.S. at Work on Strangling Kim Jong-il's Cash Flow
The U.S. envoy charged with UN sanctions, Philip Goldberg, is still trying to block North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's cash flow, even as Washington has agreed to talks with Pyongyang aimed at persuading it to return to nuclear negotiations.

North Korea invited U.S. North Korea envoy Stephen Bosworth on Aug. 4, when former U.S. president Bill Clinton was in Pyongyang to win the release of two American journalists.

Porn, Whiskey and Imported Gourmet Food While the Nation Starves

Who Was That Masked Man

Koda's dad claims son locked up by taxmen
NEW DELHI: Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda's father, Rasika, has approached finance , has approached finance minister Pranab Mukherjee claiming his son,daughter-in-law and their two-year-old child were locked in their house by investigating officers and all their external contacts were disrupted.

"I have not been able to communicate with him even on telephone as all his phones are either switched off or are not being picked up," Rasika Koda said in a letter to the FM. The senior Koda said people visiting his son were denied access on the ground that interrogation was being conducted.

He Sure Wasn't a Superhero But He May Have Been a Republican

Talk About

Teen muggers zap man in buttocks
Two teenagers have been arrested after they stole a man's mobile phone and then shot him with a stun gun in Melbourne's west last night.

The male youths, both aged 17, and three other teens allegedly approached the 28-year-old victim in St Albans and demanded he hand over his phone.

The Brighton man, who was walking with two friends along Victoria Crescent just before 9.30pm, complied but was then shot with a stun gun on the buttocks, police say.

A Real Pain In The.....

Maoists Alive And Well In India

One could be forgiven for not knowing that Maoists insurgents still survive in parts of Asia. After all wasn't Communism thrown into the rubbish bin of history sometime around 1989. If one were searching for those who still adhere to a particular form of Communist ideology then India is your destination.

The rebels have a presence in more than 223 of India's 600-odd districts across 20 states, according to the government.
There have been more than 1,400 cases related to violence by Maoists between January and August, according to official records. Nearly 600 civilians have died over that period.
The insurgents wield most influence in areas which are mostly poor and dominated by tribes people.

Called the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency for its place of origin the Indian village of Naxalbari on 25 May 1967 after a farmer was killed in a land dispute. Like similar groups the Maoists claim to be fighting for the rights of India's poorest citizens specifically the Dalits (once known as the untouchables) who are members of India's lowest Caste and the Adivasi who are considered to be the original inhabitants of India. Their tactics include targeting areas where mineral wealth exists as they are governed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) whom the Maoists accuse of enriching themselves rather than helping those they were elected to govern.

The Communist Party India (Maoist) is the umbrella leading the insurgency. They are not a recognized political party.

Myanmar's Ethnic Minorities Renew Conflict

Shortly after Myanmar's current military junta sized power they sought to negotiate a cease fire with the various ethnic groups in the north of the country which had been fighting Burma's various governments for decades. What the junta sought wasn't just stability but financial enrichment from the illicit trade these groups did in arms, drugs and precious stones with China Myanmar's largest trading partner being the obvious benefactor of these cease fire agreements with these northern insurgent groups. But all that has changed with the junta desperate need for legitimacy from the international community. Its their belief that by holding elections which are to take place next year Myanmar's military junta will recognized by the worlds governments and no longer be seen as state which exists outside of international political norms.

In August the tenants of the cease fire agreements were changed with the government announcing that all weapons held by these various would be turned over to the military while the fighters would be incorporated into the Myanmar army. None of the groups involved were willing to comply. With information provided by the Chinese government Myanmar's army with the backing of its police force raided a an arms factory which was suspected of being a front for a drugs operation. Thus setting off the Kokang Incident which allowed the junta regain control of Northern Shan state. With renewed conflict almost 30,000 refugees fled into Southern China.

Myanmar's military regime has demanded that the insurgent groups with which it agreed ceasefires in the late 1980s and early 1990s hand over their arms to government control. A deadline set for the end of October has been allowed to pass and discussions between the military and two main ethnic armies, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army
Eastern Shan State) (NDAA), are reportedly continuing.

Myanmar would also allow the these groups to form political parties to contest next years elections but given the junta's past history of dealing with opposition parties especially Aung San Suu Kyi whose National League for Democracy won 392 of 492 seats in the last openly contested election and then never allowed to assume power thanks to repression by State Peace and Development Council(SLORC)eventually leading to the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and the complete suppression of all independent political parties in Myanmar.

Given the instability of the region any return to armed conflict between the Myanmar Military Junta and the Northern Ethnic groups could lead not only to instability within Myanmar but spread to Laos, Thailand and Southern China.

Rush Limbaugh And Afghanistan An Idiot Speaks

Rush Limbaugh was interviewed by the U,S, cable channel Fox News one of the subjects discussed was Afghanistan. Rush Limbaugh said Barrack Obama doesn't care about Afghanistan. he extrapolated that notion from President Obama's unwillingness to reach a hasty conclusion about the war in Afghanistan what America's policy will be and how it will succeed. Afghanistan and Iraq cannot be compared either politically or militarily. Iraq had until the U.S. invasion a stable government yes Saddam Hussein was authoritarian leader who violated the human rights of his countrymen on a massive scale but Iraq still had a working government. The same cannot be stated about Afghanistan. In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of rendering assistance to a "Socialist Brother." In the 10 years of war that followed the Soviet's where unable to achieve military victory in fact the only parts of the country under their direct control were the cities seceding the rest to the Mujahideen. Following the withdrawal of Soviet forces the Mujahideen would morph into the Taliban with the aid of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence service.
Fast forward to 2001 Osama bin Laden has taken refuge in Afghanistan given protection by the Taliban government which controls a majority of the country but is still fighting a war with the Northern Alliance.
Al-Qaeda having already carried out successful attacks against U.S. interests in East Africa and the Middle East turned its focus towards America determined to attack the U.S. its self. George W. Bush the new elected president receives the now famous briefing from August 8 2001 which concludes Al-Qaeda determined to attack America President Bush dismisses the briefing and the person giving the brief by saying that "You have covered your ass." One month and 3 days later the attacks take place. By November of that same year the U.S. has bombed and will soon invade Afghanistan driving the Taliban from power by December. Even though Afghanistan is the country of origin for the attacks upon U.S. soil the Bush administration will do a complete 180 and turn its attention to Iraq. For the remaining six years of that administration the war in Afghanistan will be almost completely ignored not only by George Bush but by the American media and public as well.

This the situation President Obama inherits upon his inauguration a war pushed so far out of public view that few have noticed the resurgence of the Taliban or that Afghanistan is so unstable that if there isn't a change in policy the war literally could be lost.

Let's return to Rush Limbaugh and his interview: He firmly believes that President Obama should blindly follow the advice of the generals and give them what ever they want. After all one shouldn't question the small minded Mr. Limbaugh or Americas military leaders. Why should anyone look for a different strategy? Or different policies?
Mr. Limbaugh Afghanistan is not Iraq. In Afghanistan all politics is local literally people don't usually see themselves as a part of a whole but as part of the tribe and region in which they live. Additionally people are fighting the America and its NATO allies not because they believe in the Taliban. Its much simpler: they see them as invaders and not liberators.
While Rush Limbaugh has the right to offer his opinions they might have some legitimacy if he actually knew what he was talking about. But having a grade six education and a complete lack of intellectual curiosity doesn't encourage anyone to listen to any of your completely ignorant pronouncements.

Afghan Elections Abdullah Abdullah With Drawls

Abdullah Abdullah Afghan President Harmid Karzai's opponent in the upcoming Presidential elections has withdrawn his candidacy do to concerns over election fraud which occurred on a large scale during the first round of voting.

When the massive fraud was exposed critics accused the UN of covering up the widespread discrepancies in the vote tabulations. Kai Eide is the special representative of the secretary-general for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

"Some of these allegations are based on private conversations whilst he was a guest in my home for two months," the Norwegian diplomat said, referring to Galbraith. "My view is that private discussions around the dinner table remain just that: private."

Peter Galbraith the top American Representative for the UN Mission in Afghanistan was fired after he exposed the widespread voter fraud.

"I think it's astonishing that the United Nations would dismiss an official because he was concerned about fraud in a UN-funded and UN-supported election," Mr Galbraith told The Times yesterday from his farmhouse in Vermont.

With Dr. Abdullah's with drawl Harmid Karzai is assured reelection as the run-off election will be cancelled. Considering that it was Karzai's political operation that is alleged to have committed the fraud along with allegations that his brother Ahmed Wali has been on the C.I.A pay roll for the last 8 years along with rumors of his involvement in the drugs trade yet Harmid Karzai has the complete backing of the American government.