Posts Tagged ‘Taliban’

WIKILEAKS Docs are out – Afghan War Files

Monday, July 26th, 2010

The long awaited Wikileaks files are out with some damning information.

The Obama Admin and top Generals have already come out condemning them. The biggest news from these leaks which has been reported before is that the Pakistani Gov’t is aiding the insurgents. The leaks, 90,000 files, cover the time from 2004 to 2009. Here’s some excerpts from several news sources:

From the NY Times:

“The documents, made available by an organization called WikiLeaks, suggest that Pakistan, an ostensible ally of the United States, allows representatives of its spy service to meet directly with the Taliban in secret strategy sessions to organize networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even hatch plots to assassinate Afghan leaders. “

The Daily Beast has The 7 Most Shocking Secrets From the WikiLeaks Files

Among the findings:

1) Pakistan’s spy service, according to revealed documents, is a major supporter of insurgents in Afghanistan, allowing its members to meet secretly with the Taliban, offering strategy advice, organizing groups to fight coalition troops, and plotting the assassinations of members of the Afghan government.

2) A top-secret group of American forces, nicknamed the “black” unit, is specially tasked with hunting down top Taliban leaders and either killing or capturing them on the spot—without a trial. The Obama administration has apparently increased the missions even though some have gone awry, killing civilians.

3) NATO troops are relying on remote-controlled Predator drones more and more heavily, controlling them from a base in Nevada and using them to kill an increasing number of Taliban targets.

4) The Taliban has access to heat-seeking missiles and has used them against American aircraft, a fact never before disclosed publicly. Many of the missiles aren’t successful, but Americans are forced into dangerous retrieval operations when the missiles crash, so that Taliban do not recover them.

5) Several documents detail the frustrating disappearance of money meant for humanitarian aid, such as the case of an orphanage erected with much fanfare and donations in Gardez. A year after its opening, American visitors reported that there we no orphans at the site, and that many had been called home for the holidays. (In Afghanistan, an orphan is defined as having no father, but many still have mothers.)

6) Civilian death tolls are rising consistently, with the Taliban conducting a successfull roadside bombing campaign. As of the writing of the report, one document cited 2,000 civilian deaths from roadside car bombs alone.

7) U.S. forces covered up a 2007 helicopter attack, according to the documents, claiming that Taliban brought down a coalition helicopter with conventional weaponry—when instead they used a missile. A U.S. official at the time said the attack, which killed seven soldiers, “had probably been brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade.”

And for those of you interested in reading the whole file, the Guardian, UK has reproduced full military logs behind more than 200 of the key events from the database – you can navigate around them. But if you want to download this data to play with it yourself, this is the place to come.

The Huffington Post has a Statement from Gen. James Jomes re the Leaks:

The United States strongly condemns the disclosure of classified information by individuals and organizations which could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security. Wikileaks made no effort to contact us about these documents – the United States government learned from news organizations that these documents would be posted. These irresponsible leaks will not impact our ongoing commitment to deepen our partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan; to defeat our common enemies; and to support the aspirations of the Afghan and Pakistani people.

The documents posted by Wikileaks reportedly cover a period of time from January 2004 to December 2009. On December 1, 2009, President Obama announced a new strategy with a substantial increase in resources for Afghanistan, and increased focus on al Qaeda and Taliban safe-havens in Pakistan, precisely because of the grave situation that had developed over several years. This shift in strategy addressed challenges in Afghanistan that were the subject of an exhaustive policy review last fall. We know that serious challenges lie ahead, but if Afghanistan is permitted to slide backwards, we will again face a threat from violent extremist groups like al Qaeda who will have more space to plot and train. That is why we are now focused on breaking the Taliban’s momentum and building Afghan capacity so that the Afghan government can begin to assume responsibility for its future. The United States remains committed to a strong, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan.

Since 2009, the United States and Pakistan have deepened our important bilateral partnership. Counter-terrorism cooperation has led to significant blows against al Qaeda’s leadership. The Pakistani military has gone on the offensive in Swat and South Waziristan, at great cost to the Pakistani military and people. The United States and Pakistan have also commenced a Strategic Dialogue, which has expanded cooperation on issues ranging from security to economic development. Pakistan and Afghanistan have also improved their bilateral ties, most recently through the completion of a Transit-Trade Agreement. Yet the Pakistani government – and Pakistan’s military and intelligence services – must continue their strategic shift against insurgent groups. The balance must shift decisively against al Qaeda and its extremist allies. U.S. support for Pakistan will continue to be focused on building Pakistani capacity to root out violent extremist groups, while supporting the aspirations of the Pakistani people.

What I get from skimming this news is that the Pakistani Gov’t and the Afghan Gov’t are working against the US while taking our money and funneling it to the insurgents. Osama is either dead or living off the US funds somewhere and it’s a money pit for the US and other nations. Not to forget all the people that have lost their lives in that hell hole, both military and civilians. The only reason we are there now is because the Pakistani Gov’t has nuclear weapons and we don’t want the crazies in that area to acquire them.

Your comments and more news in comments.

Afghanistan-Stay or Leave?

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

* Rhetoric  on the Afghan War is heating up again but this time it seems that people are tiring of the war (about time).  Richard Haass has an article in Newsweek saysIt’s not working and we’re not winning”

* Hillary Rodham Clinton is heading to South Asia on a mission aimed at refining the goals of the nearly 9-year-old conflict.

–Clinton’s visit comes with American lawmakers increasingly questioning the course of the war as the death toll of U.S. and international forces rises and also expressing concerns about corruption and the utility of massive assistance to both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

–Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has said the conference “will be a very important international demonstration of support” for Karzai and his administration.

But Holbrooke acknowledges concerns that the war and the reconstruction effort are not proceeding as hoped or planned.

–On Wednesday, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it’s not clear that the administration has a solid strategy for prevailing, and the panel’s ranking Republican, Richard Lugar of Indiana, decried “a lack of clarity” about U.S. war goals.

* Meanwhile A constant critic of President Barack Obama, Republican Rand Paul on Saturday defended the president’s right to make decisions on the war in Afghanistan without interference from Congress.

We seem to be at a turning point on how we are going to proceed in Afghanistan. The corruption in that country, it seems, is a way of life and people with the best of intentions and bad intentions have been unable to take it over. There are so many leaders in the different areas of the country, and many don’t even know they are part of a country, that it is difficult to make any headway. These different area War Lords in mountainous, desolate regions also spill over into Pakistan.
What is the best way to handle this region? Aid workers are stymied because the aid seems to be taken over by these small local governments and never gets to the people. Even education is not allowed, especially for women. And lets not forget the Taliban. Making money from their poppy fields and paying the men to fight any invaders into their domain. Their religious and social beliefs are 13th century and will remain so without education.

What to do?

Provided as a service of TDNS (toniD’s News Service)