MarkMatter

Afghanistan: THE DYNAMIC OF VICTORY\STRATFOR

2012-02-07T07:27:00.001-06:00

Afghanistan: Moving Toward a Distant Endgame | STRATFOR
BELOW is STRATFOR assessment of the Current state of Affairs in AFGHANISTAN. It is correct as is the whole of the article linked to. However, we here at BTS see it as a slightly more promising situation.
THE DYNAMIC OF VICTORY - Has been our refrain here, in that we have insisted for some time that VICTORY looks and is different in this WAR. It has never been about the capitulation of the enemy, It is not about a free and DEMOCRATIC AFGHANISTAN. Indeed , the Afghans have the freedom to choose who they will be oppressed by, and this has always been the choice their, for 4,000 years. VICTORY for AMERICA is about having the ability to move about the country freely, controlling the proceeds from the Poppy Crop, and Kidnapping and/or Killing the enemy at will. We do not even have to do this ourselves, as we have reliable, motivated and trustworthy surrogates in the NORTHERN ALLIANCE who share our concerns about the Taliban as the they have a long history of ETHNIC CLEANSING in the region, making the members of the ALLIANCE targets, and as you may remember, the night before 9/11 OSAMA BIN LADEN killed their leader.
The recent announcements of the DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE that the reduction of the U.S. ROLE in AFGHANISTAN to that of caretaker in 2013 instead of 2014, is a two fold signal, one to the TALIBAN that it is ready to conduct talks, turn over prisoners, and incorporate Taliban members into the Karzi Government.
It is foremost an announcement that we are freeing up our forces from the COMBAT ROLE, to concentrate on the agreed to strategy of supporting and conducting SPECIAL FORCES operations in and around the country for the purpose of capturing and killing the enemy before the end of 2014. Chief negotiating point is that this target list includes MULLAH OMAR.
NEWS ITEMS:
DAVIS' CRITIQUE - made public Monday in Armed Forces Journal - is problematic because it's a direct assault from the inside on one of the pillars of the administration's Afghan strategy: a reliance on the ability of the Afghan government and its security forces to hold off the Taliban once NATO forces leave in 2014. The evidence he offers bolsters those who argue that two years just isn't enough time to build a stable regime capable of fending off an insurgency which appears to have significant internal support as well as the backing of Pakistan's powerful security establishment. As Jones put it: "It won't happen."
AFGHAN OPS UPDATE - An Afghan and coalition security force operating in Pul-e 'Alam district of Logar province today captured a Haqqani Network leader, ISAF spokesman Lt. Cdr. Brian Badura said. One additional suspected insurgent was detained during the operation, he said.

Stalemate in Afghanistan

This makes for a stalemate, one the Americans hope to solve by creating an Afghan state under Karzai and a security and military force able and willing to engage the Taliban. As I have argued in the past, the core problem with this plan is the same problem that existed during the Vietnamization phase of the Vietnam War. The Afghan military must recruit troops, and some of the most eager volunteers will be Taliban operatives. These operatives will be indistinguishable from anti-Taliban soldiers, and their presence will have two consequences. First, the intelligence they will provide the Taliban will cause the Afghan army offensive to fail. Second, shrewd use of these operatives will undermine the cohesion and morale of the Afghan forces. Surprise is crucial in locating, engaging and destroying a guerrilla force. Afghan security forces will face the same problem the South Vietnamese army did; namely, they will lack the element of surprise and at least some of their units will be unreliable.
Accordingly, the U.S. strategy of using the stalemate to construct a capable military force accordingly looks unlikely to succeed even leaving aside the issue of the fragmentation of the Afghan nation and the Karzai government's internal problems. The Taliban are intimately familiar with the U.S. dilemma and are positioned to choose from two strategies. One is to increase their tempo of operations and so increase American casualties prior to the November elections. But this strategy would see Taliban casualties increase even more dramatically, and its impact on the elections would be unclear to say the least. The Taliban are more likely to pursue the second strategy, which involves accepting the stalemate and permitting the United States to try to build an Afghan military.
Like the Taliban, the United States is aware of the difficulty of building an Afghan army. It also understands that deploying troops in Afghanistan is unlikely to lead anywhere. It does not have to flee defeat in Afghanistan, but there are strategic reasons for leaving, beginning with the fact that the military situation is about as satisfactory as it likely ever will be. Improving the situation would incur costs without yielding anything like victory. With the United States reducing its military budget, serious issues emerging in Iran and throughout the Arab World, and a new emphasis by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force on the Pacific, the world is moving on. A violent yet frozen conflict in Afghanistan simply does not benefit the United States.
This, of course, leaves a crucial question: Will Afghanistan become a base for al Qaeda or follow-on transnational jihadist groups in the event of a U.S. withdrawal? It is true that these groups can form anywhere, but the fact is that they did form in Afghanistan while Mullah Omar was in charge. The negotiators undoubtedly have promised that, in exchange for withdrawal, they will take responsibility for suppressing jihadist elements. But trusting the Taliban, or trusting those in Pakistan who took violent offense at the killing of Osama bin Laden, poses obvious risks for the United States. In truth, it does not increase the risk much: Afghanistan is not necessary for the jihadists, but it is naturally fragmented and the threat of its re-emergence as a sanctuary is always there. Even so, the issue will remain a sticking point in the negotiations. The United States will want a residual force to deal with the jihadist threat, something the Taliban and Pakistan will oppose.

Egypt to try 19 Americans in case straining ties - Yahoo! News

2012-02-06T06:52:00.000-06:00

Egypt to try 19 Americans in case straining ties - Yahoo! News

CHINA ALSO IS CLOSELY WATCHING DEVELOPMENTS

In Washington, the State Department criticized the move.

EGYPTIAN HIGH COURT
holding the line between the military and the Islamic brotherhood

"We have seen media reports that judicial officials in Egypt intend to forward a number of cases involving U.S.-funded (nonprofits) to the Cairo Criminal Court," State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "We are deeply concerned by these reports and are seeking clarification from the government of Egypt."

Sunday's decision to refer the 43 to trial raises questions about the Egyptian military's motive to allow the issue to escalate so much that the valuable $1.3 billion in aid it gets annually be placed in jeopardy. Washington also is set to give Egypt $250 million in economic aid this year.

The U.S. assistance has allowed the Egyptian military to replace its relatively antiquated Soviet-era weaponry with modern and sophisticated arms, ranging from fighter-bombers and transport aircraft to tanks and personnel carriers. The aid is closely but informally linked to Egypt's continued adherence to its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Washington's closest Middle East ally.

NGO's HAVE BEEN THE PRIMARY ACCUSERS IN THE EYES OF THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY

Previously, Egyptian authorities had prevented at least six Americans — including LaHood — and four Europeans from leaving the country, citing a probe opened last month when heavily armed security forces raided the offices of 17 pro-democracy and rights groups. Egyptian officials have defended the raid as part of a legitimate investigation into the groups' work and funding.

"The ruling military council is searching for scapegoats to cover up its successive failures, the disastrous ones, since it took power on Feb. 11 (2011)," said prominent rights activist Bahy Eddin Hassan. "It has managed to stain the reputation of everybody to come out as the only party to be trusted in the eyes of ordinary Egyptians."

Laws requiring local and foreign civil society groups to register with the government have long been a source of contention, with rights activists accusing authorities of using legal provisions to go after groups critical of their policies. Offenders can be sentenced to prison if convicted.

Foreign civil society groups must receive permission to legally operate in Egypt by registering with the ministries of foreign affairs and international cooperation.

Legally, the Social Solidarity Ministry must approve any foreign funds funneled to local or foreign civil society groups in Egypt.

Recently moved from hospital to PRISON,
this signals a course correction in the courts

Also Sunday, security officials said Mubarak, 83, would shortly be moved to a prison for the first time since his arrest last April. Mubarak has since his arrest been kept in custody in a hospital at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and later at an army medical facility east of Cairo.

Quiet diplomacy is called for here, and an awareness of the regional players. China has watched U.S. pressure mount in Syria, after the fall of Libya the return of mercenaries to home countries in Niger and Mali have infused rebel movements with talent and money and fresh arms, often being used in conjunction with Pan-African elements of al-Qaeda. This all combines to greatly disrupt and desirably disrupt Chinese work colonies and arrangements designed to keep a steady flow of raw resources on tap for China's Industry. Paramount in their calculus is protecting the flow of Iranian oil. They see things in Egypt as a net plus if they tie Americas hands and use up Intelligence and Diplomatic assets.

U.S.National Guardsmen supply the U.N. Mission

Here at Bermuda Triangle Services , the consensus is that we should set aside all funds for EGYPT and start deducting from that account all funds required to secure the release of the 17 Americans including the son of a U.S.CABINET SECRETARY,(LaHood). 1.3 Billion of that total is headed to Egypt's Military for equipment and training upgrades. At this point it seems a good excuse to cut back on the arming of an adversary that in the post Mubarak world seems intent on ignoring its obligation to honor the Peace Treaty with Israel. In the event of an attack on Iran they could offer assistance to Hamas in Revenge strikes against Tel Aviv and allow weapons into the West Bank via the Sinai Peninsular Zone, where we have a standing force of 2.000 National Guardsmen.

CME creates $100 million fund to protect farmers | CowboyByte

2012-02-05T07:04:00.000-06:00

CME creates $100 million fund to protect farmers | CowboyByte

CO-MINGLED FUNDS+MFGlobal = THEFT
no one has been charged with a crime
YET.

OWNED BY FORMER DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY AND HEAD OF GOLDMAN-SACHS
JON CORZINE

The Chicago futures exchanges, working to repair market confidence after the MF Global collapse, Thursday announced a $100 million fund to protect agricultural customers from future problems at brokerages.( THOUSANDS OF FARMERS AND RANCHERS,who have learned how to use the derivative markets as it was intended to be used, that is, as a insurance policy or hedge against losses resulting from weather and/or geopolitical event,were shocked when they were treated as criminals by the CME the day MFGlobal crashed. MF global traders were allowed to complete their business transactions that day while the accounts of brokers, and by extension their customers, were frozen, which was hard to explain to Roger the rancher, who darn well knew he was trading futures contracts through his local banker, but was unaware that such broker are required to use a clearing house through which the trades are assigned to a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. A situation that creates a middleman for the transaction who charges a fee, but who also assumes responsibility to see that the transaction goes through etc.

In this event however MFGlobal was commingling those funds regularly to avoid banking fees in transactions involving the purchase of Sovereign Debt Instruments in Europe. )

The money is available to U.S. family farmers and ranchers, groups that have been particularly harmed by MF Global. The fund is expected to start March 1, but no money will be available to MF Global victims.

CME Group Inc., owner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, called the fund an added security measure to protect food producers who need to hedge the value of their crops.

The MF Global bankruptcy on Oct. 31 and disclosure of an estimated $1.2 billion in missing customer money froze customers out of their accounts for weeks. Many since have had most of their funds restored, while others are waiting.

But a lack of access to the cash has disrupted the lives of traders and businesses. Some have accused CME of exercising poor oversight over MF Global, one of its biggest customers.

CME, however, has said it was victimized by MF Global too. (Yet they treated the accounts holding the funds as ill gotten gains while they protected the members of the CME 1st and the Rancher and Farmer got last place on the ole totem pole.)

Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Win Leads to Formal Investigation of Award | CowboyByte

2012-02-05T06:30:00.001-06:00

Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Win Leads to Formal Investigation of Award | CowboyByte

Nobel Peace Prize officials were facing a formal inquiry over accusations they have drifted away from the prize’s original selection criteria by choosing such winners as President Barack Obama, as the nomination deadline for the 2012 awards closed Wednesday.

The investigation comes after persistent complaints by a Norwegian peace researcher that the original purpose of the prize was to diminish the role of military power in international relations.

If the Stockholm County Administrative Board, which supervises foundations in Sweden’s capital, finds that prize founder Alfred Nobel’s will is not being honored, it has the authority to suspend award decisions going back three years

Case linked to Tulsa police probe dismissed, inmate freed | Tulsa World

2012-02-04T10:19:00.000-06:00

Case linked to Tulsa police probe dismissed, inmate freed | Tulsa World

U.S. TERROR ATTACK HEAT MAP

2012-02-01T23:44:00.001-06:00

map2.jpg (641×375):

'via Blog this'

Add caption

Did Sen. Dianne Feinstein Reveal…Mossad Chief’s Secret Visit? - Yahoo! News

2012-02-01T23:29:00.001-06:00

Did Sen. Dianne Feinstein Reveal…Mossad Chief’s Secret Visit? - Yahoo! News

The travels of Mossad Director Tamir Pardo are usually kept secret and in fact, the name of the head of the Mossad and Shin Bet [Israel’s version of the FBI] were up until a few years ago kept secret from the public.

MOSSAD DIRECTOR WITH HIS ONLY TRUSTED FRIEND

Ha’aretz reports:

The clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus,Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel.

During the meeting, Feinstein asked Clapper whether or not Israel intended to strikeIran's nuclear facilities, with the top U.S. intelligence official answering that he would rather discuss the issue behind closed doors.

Feinstein then indicated that she had met Mossad chief Pardo earlier in the week in Washington, with Petraeus adding that he too met Pardo and cited what he called Israel's growing concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The CIA chief also said that it was important to note that Israel considered a nuclear Iran as an existential threat.

THAT CIA DIRECTOR PETRAEUS CONFIRMED THE VISIT IN HIS COMMENTS COULD INDICATE THAT THIS WAS A PLANNED SLIP TO GET TEHRAN'S ATTENTION.

The Hard Way Out of Afghanistan - NYTimes.com

2012-02-01T07:55:00.001-06:00

Staff Sgt. Vincent Bell stepped on an I.E.D. and was killed.

When I heard about Bell, I was shocked to learn that he was 28 — my age. I assumed he was much older. He enlisted after high school, a few months before 9/11, and participated in the invasion of Iraq. He did four tours in the worst of that place. With Bell, as with so many marines, war had accelerated his maturation in ways both physical and psychic. On patrol he was exceedingly apprehensive about I.E.D.’s. You had the sense he had seen too much not to be — that is, he knew that apprehensive was the only prudent state of mind. I walked behind him twice, and he was by far the most cautious of any marine I followed. He took no chances. He did everything he was supposed to do.

The Hard Way Out of Afghanistan - NYTimes.com:

'via Blog this'

WHY IS THIS the most dangerous place in AFGHANISTAN?
WHO WANTS THIS, bad enough to die for it?
No One. You see it isn't about the place, are about a flag, or even the People marooned here by birth.
Its about the Poppy Crop.
Juz Ghoray, at the remote fringes of the Musa Qala District in northern Helmand Province, the Taliban enjoyed free rein, collecting taxes from local poppy farmers (i.e.robbing them at gunpoint). As you can tell from the photo, the town in the distance is no drug dealers Mecca. Where they have electricity it is only to facilitate processing the Poppys into Products that are more easily transported and smuggled across borders. The Taliban went unchallenged.Until one night this October, when members of Echo Company, from the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines — known since Vietnam as the Magnificent Bastards — quietly sneaked into Juz Ghoray and posted signs on people’s doors and windows. Their idea was to co-opt the infamous Taliban practice of intimidating government sympathizers with night letters threatening execution. The Marines’ signs were bordered with the nation’s colors, and in Pashto and Dari they announced: “The Afghan National Security Forces are coming.” Two weeks later, about 60 members of Echo Company, along with 30 Afghan National Army soldiers, traveled on foot through the night and took Ugly Hill without a shot. At dawn, as villagers emerged from their homes, they found laborers stacking bastions to fortify a new Afghan police post. And something else, which many residents of Juz Ghoray had never seen before: an Afghan flag raised on a wooden pole.

Before the Afghans could claim Ugly Hill, two marines had to sweep it for mines. Joshua Lee, a 26-year-old sergeant from Arkansas, located the first I.E.D. using a metal detector. As he set to work on the device, Lee identified a second bomb, and while readjusting he stepped on a third. The blast shattered his right leg, cocking it sideways below the knee and leaving mangled pieces of foot hanging loosely from flesh and bone.Year after year, month after month, Helmand has ranked as the deadliest, most violent province in Afghanistan. Nowhere else comes close. Growing anxiety over the Pakistani border regions, however, means that America’s withdrawal from the country will most likely happen more rapidly in Helmand than in the eastern provinces.
The question becomes academic. How long before the Taliban takes control of the Province and the villages that these marines have fought so hard to secure. The Strategy is to MAKE SPACE, BUY TIME, and hope for the best.
“Essentially, we’re trying to consolidate American forces and turn over positions to the Afghans in order to facilitate deeper operations,” Lt. Nikolaos de Maria, the platoon’s commander, told me shortly after the I.E.D. attacks that injured Lee and Maxwell. “So the center will be the Afghan Police. The next wave, around that center, will be the Afghan Army. And then for us, we’re trying to operate a lot deeper. So that would be a third concentric ring. We would be on the outside, ready for a harder fight.”
The smart move for the Taliban is to bide time, accept that they are going to miss the Poppy Harvest season in 2012, and then the Winter will see them withdraw into safe havens while the PEACE TALKS IN QATAR, proceed, and the Marine withdraw, and a weak, poorly supplied, Afghan Army and Police Force either establish good relations with the villagers are just as likely let the intrinsically corrupt practices followed by so many of the commanders there, cause the Population to ask, what is the difference between a Taliban shakedown, and Government corruption.
It is not all bad for the Marines. Sometimes they get the chance to do the 3F's, FIND FIX AND FINISH the enemy.
Sometimes that means using Marines as bait, a local man claimed that insurgents had buried three I.E.D.’s in the dry riverbed crossed by the marines on their way to Juz Ghoray. After they found and detonated one of the bombs, several marines stayed to watch the area during the night. In the morning they were attacked by machine guns and artillery clattering from unseen positions to the east. Hearing the exchange back at Ugly Hill, de Maria rallied the rest of his platoon and the Afghan Army soldiers. As they donned their flak jackets and shouldered their radios and loaded their carbines, the men were charged by the usual electricity — but there was something else too: relief at the promise of actually confronting whoever had been trying so hard to blow them up. “We’re bringing the hammer,”.
Cpl. Brandon Sisson led the platoon down the hill and through the deserted village. When we emerged into farmland, more shots rang out and the marines found cover where they could. As we lay flat on our stomachs in the wet mire of a tilled poppy field, Sisson shook his head. “I liked Iraq a lot better,” he said. “You could actually see them.”

Just then two Afghan soldiers strutted by holding their weapons like folded umbrellas. They seemed entirely unconcerned by the fact that people were shooting at us. I recognized one of them. In lieu of a rifle, he humped a rucksack full of rocket-propelled grenades. The marines loved him for this and had nicknamed him R.P.G. Others were less popular: because they were lazy, because they complained, because they smelled, because they stole, because way too often they were way too stoned — the list of grievances ran long. In the end, though, what mattered most was that one item never made the list: cowardice. They delighted in fighting. They lack the discipline that defines Marines.

We pushed past a cornfield toward another village farther east. Whole families were running away. Sisson noticed, on a distant ridge, the silhouette of a lone figure and the glint of something metal catch the sun.

“We got a spotter,” he told de Maria.

Bullets kicked the dirt near several of the marines, and the platoon pressed through the village to a wide, white-rocked creek on its other side. This was as far as they were authorized to go. From the edge of an eroding embankment that dropped precipitously, the marines watched a train of people fleeing toward the eastern hills. The figure on the ridge vanished, and soon two men on motorcycles appeared among the villagers.

“They’re screening themselves with the women and kids,” Sisson said. As the marines struggled to find a clear line of sight on the men with motorcycles, someone peeled away from the exodus and began walking toward us. It was a young boy, maybe 9 or 10, and he trailed a voluminous black scarf held high above his head. The cloth flapped in the hot wind.

Sisson spat. “They’re doing this on purpose.”

The boy walked all the way to the creek, where he seemed to waver, regarding the marines and the Afghan soldiers shouting at him to stop, turn around, get out of the way. Then he kept coming. He crossed the stream; he scaled the embankment; he passed right through the ranks of frantically yelling soldiers. All the while he held up his scarf as if it were a flag. The men on motorcycles came and went: now picking people up, now dropping others off — tauntingly, or so it felt. Soon the sun began to dim. It made of the men vague shapes receding deeper into a country where they knew the marines could not follow. When I looked around for the boy, he was gone, too.

The men on motorcycles and the train of villagers fled in the direction of Kajaki, a small district on the Helmand River connected to Musa Qala via a Taliban-controlled road riddled with karez (ancient underground aqueducts, which insurgents sometimes use to transport people and equipment). Over the years, Kajaki has been reduced to a ghost town. From the tops of the mountains that form its spacious valley, the village looks like a kind of postapocalyptic tableau: uncultivated fields and the ruins of razed homes; abandoned roads pocked by blasts from I.E.D.’s; the uprooted stumps of bulldozed trees; the ransacked, shuttered stalls of what used to be a large bazaar; and roving packs of jackals that fill the empty nights with a mournful howling. But even as the people have absconded, the fight in Kajaki has raged on. It has raged on because the fight has never really been about the people. It has been about the dam.

The Kajaki Dam, made of terraced earth rising more than 300 feet, blocks a narrow ravine in the upper Helmand River to form a massive lake whose bays and fingers reach deep into sheer-walled coulees. Controlled outflow from the lake provides electricity for much of southern Afghanistan and irrigates more than half a million acres of farmland. It has the potential to do much more. “It’s only operating at really 30 percent,” Cpt. Matt Ritchie, commanding officer of the last Marine battery in charge of the area, told me. Hundreds of tons of concrete are needed to install an additional turbine that will bring the power output nearer to capacity. Although a major road links Kajaki to Camp Leatherneck, the provincial headquarters for the Marines, until recently it was far too dangerous to transport the material. “Because of the dam,” Ritchie explained, “Kajaki is significant. But this is the one district that’s cut off. We didn’t have any connection to any other districts within 20 kilometers.” Last October, the Marines commenced what might prove to have been their last major offensive in Afghanistan, with the aim of ending Kajaki’s isolation.

While an infantry battalion breached the district from the south, two platoons from Ritchie’s battery were inserted by helicopters into its northern woodland, long held by the Taliban. “We put a fence in the dirt, literally,” one platoon commander told me. “Put concertina wire down and said, ‘You’re not going to get north of this area.’” Between the two fronts of marines, the officer said, “during the three to four days that we were there, I think we killed about 30 of them. They quit picking up their casualties.” The sole escape for the insurgents was to ford the Helmand River and disappear into Zamindawar, an ungoverned desert extending from the dam to the foothills of a towering mountain range several miles north. “And they did exactly that,” the platoon commander said. “That’s the Wild West up there. We won’t ever go up there.”

When I arrived in Kajaki in early November, a few families had begun trickling back to the villages below the dam, returning for the first time after six years to find out whether their homes might still be standing. By then, Captain Ritchie was finishing up his seven-month deployment and a new unit had just arrived to begin theirs. Now that the road from Camp Leatherneck was secure, the incoming marines were focused on “developing the Afghan National Security Forces and getting them to own the battle space, to protect the dam,” the new commander said. In fact, there is a good chance the marines in Kajaki will be gone altogether by this summer. If that happens, the Afghan police officers and soldiers who are left behind will quite likely face a tough fight as the insurgents living in Zamindawar move to exploit their increased vulnerability. Of the several posts the Afghans will inherit, the least tenable will be one called the Shrine, the only Marine position north of the Helmand River, perched atop a small hill, on the frontier of the Wild West.

About a half-dozen Afghan policemen shared the Shrine with a squad of marines, who rotated in and out. Perhaps because of the forced intimacy of the tiny outpost and the shared experience of coming under constant attack, the marines and Afghans stationed there enjoyed an uncommonly functional, even fraternal, relationship. They knew one another’s names, shared responsibilities, laughed and joked and sometimes ate together. All of the police officers on the Shrine were Tajiks or Uzbeks from northern Afghanistan who said they enlisted and came to the Pashtun south because they believed in their country and its government; they were nationalists. Their commander was a gaunt middle-aged Uzbek named Ghulam Jalani. Over several meals of rice and lamb in the cramped hut where his men quarter, Jalani expressed deep admiration for the Marines. He also fears for the day they go home. “I am not an educated man,” Jalani told me one night. “In fact, I am illiterate. But I tell you: if the Marines leave here, the Taliban will come back.”

The following morning, a squad from the new unit showed up for its first week at the Shrine. The squad leader, 25-year-old Erick Granados, is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated to the United States from El Salvador. Built like a wrestler and covered in tattoos, he is also the shortest man in the platoon. Even by Marine standards, Granados is deeply, almost fanatically, patriotic. One of the things he brought with him to Afghanistan was a large American flag. Upon arriving at the Shrine, while his squad was still unpacking, Granados climbed onto a bunker roof and planted the flag between two sandbags. It was a surprisingly potent image — something you rarely see in Afghanistan, where the U.S. deliberately fights the stigma of an occupying force by framing its activities as strictly ancillary to the national government.

I would learn that marines from the previous battery also had a flag. Invariably, they said, whenever it went up, the Shrine came under attack.

This time, the insurgents waited until dark, firing on the outpost with automatic weapons a little before midnight. Jalani and the other Afghan police officers sprinted to their machine guns in sandals and T-shirts, spraying bullets haphazardly into the dark. Using thermal optics, Granados was able to locate two men as they descended into a narrow canyon that snakes through an area called Chinah in the Taliban-occupied country north of the Shrine. After calling in illumination rounds that burned slow trails through the night, radiating pools of incandescence across the black expanse, the marines concentrated several volleys on the canyon. Staff Sgt. Vincent Bell seized the opportunity to observe a policeman firing a PK machine gun. Bell had deployed four times to Iraq, but this was his first tour in Afghanistan. As the policeman, pausing now and then to ash the cigarette that hung loosely from his mouth, showered a fusillade of bullets in the general vicinity of the canyon, Bell cried out: “You boys are raw! I mean raw, raw, raw!” The Afghan gave him a quizzical look, as if uncertain whether he was being chastised. “Don’t get me wrong,” Bell told him. “I like it!”

Eventually, the gunshots petered out. But a couple of hours later, a marine noticed two men digging with shovels near the road that connects the Shrine to the main base at the dam. He alerted Sergeant Granados, who magnified their images using a remote-controlled camera mounted atop a tower that relays infrared video to a monitor at its base. After watching the men excavate a hole, place an object inside and bury it, Granados radioed his superiors and requested permission to shoot them. The permission was denied. “They want to see components,” Granados complained. “They want to see wires, jugs. We saw something getting put into the ground. To them, that isn’t good enough.” The marines watched the men toss a handful of branches over their project, then flee quickly back to Chinah.

Intermittent gun battles continued until dawn, when the sun bloomed from behind a series of serrated ridgelines, and the whole wasted valley — the cattails that crowd the river’s banks, the yellow pastures where ragged camels graze, the wind-bent corn against the western desert — emerged in bright relief. I was drinking tea with Jalani when two trucks, loaded with farmworkers heading out to harvest the last of the year’s crop, came bumping down the road leading to the outpost. As they reached the place where the two men were seen digging in the night, a tremendous explosion echoed off the hills and the trucks vanished in a geyser of erupted earth. Thirteen passengers, including women and children, had been crammed into the trucks, but somehow none were killed or badly hurt. A few minutes later, carrying satchels and tools, the Afghans continued toward their fields on foot.

“Where are they going?” I asked Jalani.

“To work,” he said.

AND THAT IS WHAT A VICTORY LOOKS LIKE IN AFGHANISTAN. When villagers are free to work. To grow Poppy.

THAT THEY WILL SELL TO TALIBAN

NEXT YEAR

Israel Sees Narrowing Window for Attack on Iran | Military.com

2012-01-31T10:21:00.000-06:00

Israel Sees Narrowing Window for Attack on Iran | Military.com

Target Tel Aviv

Israeli officials are quietly conceding that new international sanctions targeting Iran's suspect nuclear program, while welcome, are further constraining Israel's ability to take military action - just as a window of opportunity is closing because Tehran is moving more of its installations underground.

The officials say that Israel must act by the summer if it wants to effectively attack Iran's program.

A key question in the debate is how much damage Israel, or anyone else, can inflict, and whether it would be worth the risk of a possible counterstrike.

Israel has been a leading voice in the international calls to curb Iran's nuclear program. Like the West, it believes the Iranians are moving toward nuclear weapons capability - a charge Tehran denies.

U.S. announces that TRADE ROUTES are a STRATEGIC ASSET

Israel contends a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten its survival, citing Tehran's calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and its support for anti-Israel militant groups. It also fears an Iranian bomb would touch off a nuclear arms race in a region still largely hostile to Israel.

Israeli leaders say they prefer a diplomatic solution. But - skeptical of international resolve - Israel refuses to rule out the use of force, saying frequently that "all options are on the table."

In comments Friday to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for even tougher sanctions against Iran and said time was running out for the world to act.

JUST WHO THE SANCTION ON IRAN EFFECTS

On the one hand , the sanctions are on the ramp and but some do not begin till summer and some do not take full effect till summer. But Summer may be to late as Iran moves its facilities out of reach and underground. Europe and the U.S. know/knew this but still have delayed taking these logical steps.

One could argue that the timing is either to provide political cover for an eventual strike, or to hold back the Israeli IDF ON THE BASIS that THEY must give sanctions time to work.

DOME from underground DETONATION

President Obama most benefits if a strike is not needed and negotiations are a success, are can be delayed till the election.

"We are determined to prevent Iran from turning nuclear," he said. "It seems to us to be urgent, because the Iranians are deliberately drifting into what we call an immunity zone where practically no surgical operation could block them."

Complicating the task is the assessment that Iran is stepping up efforts to move its work on enriching uranium - a critical component of bombmaking - deep underground. Iran's enrichment site at Fordo near the Iranian city of Qom, for instance, is shielded by about 300 feet (90 meters) of rock.
That is 100 ft past the effective limits of the advanced MOP (Mass Ordnance Penetrator) that we sold to the IDF.

If the window closes, the IDF may pass on a single strike strategy, and begin a sustained campaign that would take days and greatly increase the risk to the regions stability.

COMING TO IRAN SOON

An Israeli strike would risk shattering the U.S.-led diplomatic front that has imposed four additional rounds of sanctions on Iran and jolt the shaky world economy by causing oil prices to spike. Still, officials say, if Israel feels no alternative but to take military action, it will do so.

Israel possesses dozens of F-16s and F-15s, some customized with long-range fuel tanks, and has bought additional Dolphin submarines from Germany capable of firing nuclear missiles.

It introduced a fleet of huge pilotless planes known as Heron TPs that can reach the Persian Gulf, provide surveillance and be used for aerial refueling - likely a critical aspect of any Iran mission. One of the Herons, which are the size of Boeing 737s, crashed during a test flight Sunday.

The U.S. has sold Israel dozens of 100 GBU-28 laser-guided "bunker-buster" bombs. The 2.5-ton bombs are capable of penetrating more than 20 feet (6 meters) of solid concrete.

It's not clear how much damage the bunker-busters could actually do. Iran's main enrichment site at Natanz is believed to be about 25 feet (6 meters) underground and protected by two concrete walls.

HAMAS HAS 10,000 (IRANIAN SUPPLIED)

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told The Wall Street Journal last week that even more sophisticated U.S. bunker-busters aren't powerful enough to penetrate all of Iran's defenses.

While the rewards of an attack are uncertain, the risks are great.

Many believe Iran would likely unleash its large arsenal of missiles capable of striking Israel - and its local proxies, Hezbollah to Israel's north and Hamas to the south, possess tens of thousands of short-range rockets and missiles. American soldiers in the Persian Gulf might come under fire. Islamist backers of Iran could target civilians all over the world.

The prospect of a new conflagration in the Mideast is one reason cited by some influential Israeli figures, like recently retired spy chief Meir Dagan, when arguing against an Israeli military attack.

But that view is beginning to be challenged. In a radio interview several weeks ago, Barak played down the risk of Iranian missiles, saying casualties would be limited.

Perhaps the biggest factor in the Israeli thinking is how much damage an airstrike could even cause.

"What will tip the scales in favor or against an attack is whether we will really be able to do inflict serious damage," said Yiftah Shapir, an expert in nuclear arms proliferation at Tel Aviv University. "That will be more important than whether we are ready to absorb (the casualties) of an attack."

Israeli officials believe the Iranian nuclear program is so far advanced that any attack would delay it by two to three years at best, but not destroy it.

And unlike the Iraqi and Syrian targets, Iran has spread out its nuclear targets across the country and buried the installations deep underground. This has created a huge logistical challenge.

"It's a very advanced program with many facilities, some very large and some very fortified. To destroy them you need a series of massive assaults for two to three weeks, a month, something like that," Shapir said.

A one-time surgical strike, the most likely attack by Israel, "can't do more than politically declare that we aren't willing to tolerate" a nuclear Iran, Shapir said.

That has raised speculation that Israel's veiled threats are no more than attempts to get Iran to back down.

Israeli warplanes would have to travel 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to reach Tehran. This would mean crossing through potentially hostile Arab airspace and could require warplanes to refuel along the way, a time-consuming process that could leave aircraft vulnerable.

Other measures have been effective but may have run their effective course, as Iran is more careful about Cyber Security and the protection of its human assets.

Israel clearly prefers the U.S. to lead any military operation against Iran, in which case Israel would presumably commit, as it did in the 1991 Gulf War, to act in coordination with the U.S. and operate missile defense systems.

Israeli defense officials estimate that because of its superior firepower, the U.S. could wait until next year and still have the capability to act.

U.S. military and political officials have spoken out in the past against an Israeli attack. Israeli defense officials say they haven't committed to giving the U.S. significant notice of an Israeli airstrike.

But the U.S. and Israel are working together on projects to improve combat jet range, communications and refueling. They also share intelligence reports and are jointly developing missile defense systems.

St. Louis Parade on Iraq War's End-"NO ONE SAID 'NO''

2012-01-30T08:28:00.001-06:00

St. Louis Parade on Iraq War's End Draws Thousands | Military.com: ""It was an idea that nobody said no to," he said. "America was ready for this."
All that effort by her hometown was especially touching for Gayla Gibson, a 38-year-old Air Force master sergeant who said she spent four months in Iraq -- seeing "amputations, broken bones, severe burns from IEDs" -- as a medical technician in 2003.
"I think it's great when people come out to support those who gave their lives and put their lives on the line for this country," Gibson said.
With 91,000 troops still fighting in Afghanistan, many Iraq veterans could be redeployed -- suggesting to some that it's premature to celebrate their homecoming. In New York, for example, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said there would be no city parade for Iraq War veterans in the foreseeable future because of objections voiced by military officials.
But in St. Louis, there was clearly a mood to thank the troops with something big, even among those opposed to the war."

'via Blog this'

Skipper Fired Over Controversial Videos to Retire | Military.com

2012-01-30T07:46:00.000-06:00

Skipper Fired Over Controversial Videos to Retire | Military.com
CAPT. HONORS Will retire after 30 years of distingished service on April Fools day, as the Navy in particular and the Military in general continues to muster from the force talented and even gifted officers, in the name of Political Correctness.
Essentially, He was relieved of command of the U.S.S. Enterprise for having a sense of humor.

2012- SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan -- The program manager of the Navy’s beleaguered Littoral Combat Ship program has become the first high-ranking Navy officer to be fired in 2012, officials from the Naval Sea Systems Command said Friday.

Capt. Jeffrey Riedel has been “temporarily reassigned” by LCS program executive officer Rear Adm. James Murdoch pending a command investigation into allegations of “inappropriate personal behavior,” according to a Navy news release. No further details were available.

Riedel could not be reached for comment, but an automatic reply to his Navy email account said he had been reassigned to Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren, Va.

Riedel’s dismissal comes on the heels of a near record year in firings in the Navy in 2011. There were 23 commanding officers relieved of their commands, just a few shy of the recent high water mark of 26 in 2003. A majority of those relieved were fired for personal misconduct including sexual misconduct and alcohol-related issues.

IT IS DANGEROUS BEING A RECRUITER THESE DAYS

2012-01-28T16:52:00.001-06:00

Md. man caught in sting pleads guilty in bomb plot - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

THE TARGET

he plea agreement, Martinez acknowledges that he wanted to pursue jihad to the United States "to send a message that all American soldiers would be killed so long as the country continued its 'war' against Islam."

An FBI informant first communicated with Martinez on Facebook after seeing public posts "espousing his extremist views" and recognizing him from a mosque he attended, according to court documents. The documents say Martinez later told the informant of his ideas for attacking military-linked sites and said all he thought about was jihad.

Authorities say Martinez' ideas ranged from a bombing and armed attack to burning the building down. He told an undercover FBI agent that he wanted to make jihadist activities his profession, dedicating his life to the cause, according to the plea.

THE BOMBER

Martinez decided on a car bomb after a discussion with the undercover agent because "using a bomb would allow him to commit further acts here and overseas," prosecutor Christine Manuelian said.

The informant and the undercover agent gave Martinez repeated opportunities to back out, but he insisted he was committed, even after expressing reservations after a Somali-born teenager was arrested in Oregon in a similar sting, according to court documents.

Just days before the planned attack, Martinez told the informant that he was "ready ... happy, anxious, just ready." Asked if he felt like someone was pushing him, Martinez replied, "I came to you about this, brother," according to the plea.

On the way to the recruiting center, Martinez had the informant record a video statement in which he said he and others would continue the fight until those who waged a war on Islam stopped, according to the plea. He then armed the fake bomb on his own, parked the SUV in front of building and went to vantage point and waited to press the button until the undercover agent told him there were several soldiers in the building, Manuelian said. He was arrested within seconds, she said.

OBAMA SUPPORTER

After his arrest, Martinez confessed that the attack was his idea, he wanted to be a martyr and he had expected an explosion that would level the front of the building, according to the plea.

After the hearing, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard McFeely thanked members of the Muslim community for reaching out to law enforcement and identifying a threat.

St. Louis to Host 1st Big Parade on Iraq War's End | Military.com

2012-01-27T08:16:00.000-06:00

St. Louis to Host 1st Big Parade on Iraq War's End | Military.com

ST. LOUIS -- Since the Iraq War ended, there has been little fanfare for the veterans returning home. No ticker-tape parades. No massive, flag-waving public celebrations.

THEY DID IT THEIR WAY
NOW IT IS OUR TURN

So, two friends from St. Louis decided to change that. They sought donations, launched a Facebook page, met with the mayor and mapped a route. On Saturday, hundreds of veterans are expected to march in downtown St. Louis in the nation's first big welcome home parade since the last troops left Iraq in December.

"It struck me that there was this debate going on as to whether there should or shouldn't be a parade," said Tom Appelbaum, one of the organizers. "Instead of waiting around for somebody somewhere to say, `Yes, let's have a parade,' we said, `Let's just do it.' "

Appelbaum, a 46-year-old lawyer, and Craig Schneider, a 41-year-old school technology coordinator, said they were puzzled by the lack of celebrations marking the war's end. But, they wondered, if St. Louis could host thousands of people for a parade after their beloved Cardinals won the World Series, why couldn't there be a party for the troops who put their lives on the line?

ONE ATTENDEE DESCRIBED THE EVENT THU-SLY
What a wonderful day … St Louis brought it. The citizens showed up and showed the love for our military. They should be SO proud and so many of our military were so grateful as well, their tears showed that..even my husband’s teary eyes spoke volumes. It was an amazing thing to be a part of. Today people came and left labels at home, meaning, people came out and there was no focus on ethnicity, color, or political party. They came as proud Americans who are thankful to our military and showed their love and support as they braved the cold and wind standing for hours as we all celebrated victory, courage, and sacrifice especially to those who gave all. Chants USA USA echoed throughout the parade, people happy, smiling, yelling THANK YOU, WE LOVE YOU, WELCOME HOME, HEROES all the words people that who are truly grateful would say. I am so glad that I got to witness and be a part of something I shall cherish for the rest of my life. I can’t say for the first time I am proud of my country because of the many times I have been so; however, I can say, this is the biggest time I felt so much pride and admiration for America’s citizens showing up to support something greater than themselves. It was a moment in time, when we as American’s came together as AMERICANS united under one cause, and that is shared VICTORY With our Warriors. They came and left at home, the divisiveness attitudes that are plaguing our great nation right now. Black, white, brown, yellow people all the same in God’s eyes set an example for America how we the American people are ONE and UNITED under ONE FLAG, ONE BANNER, ONE MOTTO, ONE UNION to make the UNITED STATES of AMERICA that special nation all love and want to be a part of. THANK YOU ST LOUIS!!!

Ticker-tape salutes to returning troops are part of the American culture, including parades in many cities honoring veterans of World War I and World War II.

How to thank a veteran.
Its that simple.

Since the end of the latest Iraq War, there have only been small events at military posts, gatherings of families at airports and a low-key appearance by President Barack Obama at Fort Bragg, N.C., a base that endured more than 200 deaths from fighting in the war.

"Many communities across the country are finding ways to recognize the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families," said Maj. Chris Perrine, a spokesman for the Defense Department. "We are certainly encouraged by that and grateful for it."

BIG TURNOUT
on a cold day

Memorials abounded

Celebrating the end of the Iraq War isn't as simple as the outpourings after the world wars, said Wayne Fields, professor of English and American Culture Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. With 91,000 troops still fighting the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, many Iraq veterans could be redeployed -- suggesting to some that it's premature to celebrate their homecoming.

8 MILES of THANKFULNESS

"We're not celebrating the end of a war the way we were with V-E Day or V-J Day [after World War II]," Fields said. "Part of what this is trying to do is recognize the special service of those who were there even though we can't declare a victory over a clearly identified enemy."

THANK YOU ST. LOUIS
for hosting a way to express ourselves

City officials agreed to waive permit fees and allow use of streets for the parade from the heart of downtown along Market Street to Union Station, the former train station that is now a shopping center and hotel. A "Resource Village" will be set up there that will include food, music and entertainment but will also connect returning vets with organizations to help ease transition to civilian life.

Organizers expect about 100 parade entries -- floats, marching bands, first-responders, veterans groups. Appelbaum said that while the parade marks the end of the Iraq War, any military personnel involved in post-Sept. 11 conflicts are welcome.

Appelbaum has no idea how many people will turn out to cheer on the troops but said response has been overwhelming despite the lack of any substantial marketing.

"It's significant that this is strictly a grass-roots effort, and coming out of the heartland of the U.S., I think it really says something," he said.

BIRTHERS WIN, but does the U.S. LOSE?

2012-01-26T13:37:00.000-06:00

THIS MAY MAKE THE QUESTION MUTE. No fringe web site hear, Just an actual U.S.Court of Law. Happened this morning.

ADOPTED BY STEP FATHER
and no that is not a voodoo amulet around Baracks neck

The hearing is being streamed live here: http://www.art2superpac.com/

Here come the Judge

They have adjourned for now. I watched it live this morning and WOW!!!

There were several witnesses who testified. It looked like the judge made them limit the amount of time they had to testify so they summarized their findings and then submitted full affadavit’s to the court.

Here is a summary of what was testified to:

- A Social Security administrator tesitified that the person who had Obama’s SS # was born in 1890.

Whats in Your Wallet

- The same witness said she checked the SS# and found several addresses for it in MA and D.C. but always with the same phone number. She said occassionally records show the birthyear of 1890. She said she has never seen anything like it.

- An Adobe Illustrator expert from MIT said when he opened Obama’s birth certificate there were 6 layers. He said the layers had different information in the layers for the same field.

Good enough for us, Why not Him

- Another witness (not sure who she was) said she ran Obama’s SS# through E-Verify and it came back unverified.

the Document

- Another witness, a Dougles Dote, who owns a company that sells document scanners. He examined Obama’s birth certificate that was posted online. He says he found some white lines and he couldn’t figure out what they were until he replicated it. The lines were created from using the unsharp mask tool in Illustrator to mask part of documents together. He said the registrar stamp that is supposed to certify the B.C. isn’t clear and that would not look like that on a real one. He says some of the letter spacing is off in some of the fields and some of the letters were not the same size.

- John Samp, another witness, is a retired police officer and worked in Immigration as an intelligence officer specializing in fraudulent documents.

He says he started looking into Obama’s b.c. in 2009. He ran the SS# and found that the SS# was issued in CT in 1977 even though Obama was living with his grandparents in Hawaii at that time. He says the serial number on the b.c. is out of order. Twins who were born 24 hours AFTER Obama have earlier numbers than Obama’s b.c., and B.c. numbers are issued in order of birth.

The name of the local registrar is different on Obama’s b.c. than the twins’ b.c. even though the registrar never changed. He says there is credible evidence to support further investigation into who this birth certificate belongs to.
Looks like we are headed for a Constitutional Crisis by which Gore/Bush will Pale.

SURPRISE!

A New QUESTION MIGHT BE – Will Hillary Clinto enter the race? Or Will she become V.P. and ascend to the office if Obama is RE-ELECTED AND THEN HAS TO RESIGN

IT IS ONE THING, NOT TO Be ABLE TO PROVE YOU ARE A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN. It is another to be unable to prove that you are not born of a father who is not a citizen.

To be a natural born citizen, one must have 2 parents who, at the time of the birth in question, be citizens of the United States. As Obama’s father was not a citizen, the argument is that Obama, constitutionally, is ineligible to serve as President. Barack Obama’s father was never a U.S. citizen. The Supreme Court, in Minor v. Happersett, defined “natural born Citizen” under the Constitution as “being born in this country with both parents being U.S. citizens at the time the candidate was born.” That’s “natural born Citizen;” that’s the Supreme Court’s definition; it’s never been overturned or challenged or questioned; therefore, Barack Obama is not qualified to be president by his own admission. Here’s the thing: the defense still has not addressed that substantive argument. They throw up all kinds of procedural arguments; they throw up all kinds of interpretations of Georgia code that don’t allow us to get to our argument. But at the end of the day, there’s one thing that’s very simple: Georgia code is very clear such that even if my client doesn’t have standing to raise this, even if no voter has standing, the Secretary of State, according to one specific code, “shall determine the qualifications of the candidate before the election.” It’s one sentence. It does not give them any option to not do it. And they can, at any time before the election, look into those qualifications. So if this court decides that David Welden doesn’t have the ability to raise this because of the procedural arguments brought up by the defendant, this court’s purpose is only to advise the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State absolutely has to address, by law, the substantive qualifications of this candidate. “So even if you find that you have to dismiss our case, you still have to tell the Secretary of State what to do with this argument wherein the Supreme Court has defined the term “natural born Citizen,” and Barack Obama has repeatedly admitted that he doesn’t meet those qualifications. You can’t avoid the substantive issue even if you rule against us on a procedural matter.”

HEADED TO SCOTUS

Brian Terry case files gone.

2012-01-26T12:26:00.000-06:00

AGENT. BRIAN TERRY

The case against the alleged killers of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has disappeared from federal court records, apparently sealed by a federal judge.

In May, federal prosecutors won an indictment against Manuel Osorio-Arellanes and others, and they announced it with a press release. Only Osorio-Arellanes’ name was visible in the indictment, but there were blacked-out words where other defendants’ names go.

Osorio-Arellanes was charged with second-degree murder and was not considered the likely shooter. He had been wounded during the gunfight that left Terry dead.

But in the ensuing months, the case disappeared from court records.

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, have been investigating the Fast and Furious operation for the past year, discovering that more than 2,000 weapons illegally purchased by “straw buyers” at Arizona gun shops, including hundreds of AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifles, had been allowed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to be “walked” to drug smugglers in Mexico. More than 1,400 of the weapons remain unaccounted for.

MEET FAST AND FURIOUS

Two AK-47s purchased at a gun shop in Glendale, Ariz., were discovered at the site of the fatal shooting of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry, who was killed during a Dec. 14, 2010, gunfight with Mexican bandits just north of the border near Nogales, Ariz.

California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, made the demand in a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. after the panel’s first choice - Patrick J. Cunningham, chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Officein Arizona - refused last week to submit to a deposition by committee investigators, citing his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

In his letter, Mr. Issa said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrissey, who worked for Mr. Cunningham, played an “integral part” in the Fast and Furious operation and has information not available from other sources.

Mr. Issa also called Mr. Cunningham’s exercise of his Fifth Amendment rights “extremely rare,” saying it “suggests possible criminal culpability on the part of a high-ranking Justice Department official.”

“Since August, the department has identified Patrick Cunningham as the best person in the U.S. Attorney's Office to provide information about Fast and Furious to the committee,” Mr. Issa wrote. “The departmenthas refused to make Michael Morrissey and Emory Hurley, both assistant United States attorneys supervised by Mr. Cunningham, available to speak with the committee, citing a policy of not making ‘line attorneys’ available for congressional scrutiny.

“Mr. Morrissey, however, was Mr. Hurley’s direct supervisor, and an integral part of Fast and Furious,” Mr. Issa wrote. “Importantly, bothMorrissey and Hurley are unique in their possession of key factual knowledge about Fast and Furious not readily available from any other source.”

My client is, in fact, innocent, but he has been ensnared by the unfortunate circumstances in which he now stands between two branches of government. I will, therefore, be instructing him to assert his constitutional privilege,” Mr. Romero wrote.

He also said the “objective evidence” collected by the committee showed that Mr. Cunningham “did nothing wrong and that he acted in good faith.” Mr. Romero also noted that the Fast and Furious investigation began in 2009, months before his client ever started at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix in 2010.

Mr. Cunningham will leave his post Friday for a private-sector job. He has been chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix for the past two years.

THE WEAPON THAT ENDS IRANIAN PLANS

2012-01-25T23:40:00.000-06:00

MASSIVE ORDNANCE PENETRATOR
THIS WHAT WE SOLD ISRAEL LAST YEAR
Its goal of blasting through 60 feet of concrete with a bomb exploding at 200 feet underground is a tall order. To accomplish that, the school-bus-sized MOP is dropped from a high altitude, and uses a combination of technology and Newton’s laws of physics to punch deep into the earth .

U.S. enemies around the world have dug deep into the earth to hide weapons and harden military targets from attack. So to deal with rogue states who decide to go down under, the U.S. has some developed big, earth-thumping “super bombs,”Interestingly enough, the MOP is part of the U.S.‘s military’s move towards a decreased reliance on tactical nuclear weapons. The thinking is if you can get enough explosive yield from a conventional bomb, there is no need to risk the fallout and contamination .The T-12 “Cloudmaker” was the first “Super Bomb” developed by the U.S. for use in the mid-1940′s against hardened bunkers and other targets that were invulnerable to conventional bombs.

The Cloudmaker’s extremely thick nose section allowed it to punch deep into hardened concrete structures and then after a short time fuse detonate underground. This created what was called an “earthquake effect.”

At 42,000 pounds, the “Cloudmaker” was the aerial juggernaut of its time, and paved the way for later super bombs and deep penetrators, including today’s high-tech MOP.

Islamic republic is open to renewed talks with world powers about its nuclear program, as evidence mounted that fresh Western sanctions are beginning to bite the Iranian economy.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has charged an Iranian microchip researcher with buying restricted U.S. lab equipment, a development likely to further roil U.S.-Iranian relations.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said theEuropean Union’s new embargo on Iranian oil and sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran would have no effect on his country’s economy.

But the central bank announced Thursday an official 8.5 percent devaluation of Iran’s currency to 12,260 rials against the U.S. dollar. The move came a day after Mr. Ahmadinejad agreed to let interest rates rise from 12.5 percent to 21 percent in an effort to dissuade nervous Iranians from withdrawing their bank deposits.

Iran’s currency crisis is widely seen as the result of Western sanctions.

RED SQUADRON DRAWS BLOOD From Somali Pirates

2012-01-25T21:46:00.001-06:00

U.S. Commandos Free 2 Hostages From Somali Pirates - NYTimes.com: "On Oct. 25, Ms. Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, the Danish aid worker, were kidnapped by two truckloads of gunmen as they headed to the airport in Galkayo, a central Somalia town on the edge of pirate territory. The two were working for the Danish Refugee Council, one of the few Western organizations still operating in that area. The aid workers had just finished a workshop on land mines right before they were kidnapped.

Ms. Buchanan, 32, has been working in Africa for about five years and “could hardly talk about Africa without tears in her eyes,” said Don Meyer, the president of Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Pa., which Ms. Buchanan attended.

Somali officials immediately suspected that a local employee of the Danish aid group had tipped off the gunmen, and though American officials argued that the kidnappers were criminals with no direct links to any of the pirate bands that have attacked shipping lanes off Somalia, Somali elders said the men belonged to a well-known pirate gang drawn from local clans."

NOW PICTURE THIS AT NIGHT WEARING NIGHT VISION GOGGLES WHERE SAND AND SKY APPEAR AS ONE AND THERE IS NO FIELD OF DEPTH

'via Blog this'
The SEALS of RED SQUADRON, continue to be the superstars of SPECIAL OPS. Over flying the target and getting a last look, and supported by UAV's that let the seals know where they were and if the Pirates had bedded down yet, jumped at altitude and beyond hearing distance. Now this might have been timed for the Presidents SOTU, BUT IT WAS ALSO THE DARK OF THE MOON, which can back-light you at night when your hanging from a Chute.

Gryphon tactical glide shute

Using the glide chutes to get in formation and picking a spot out of site from the Pirates, they landed, and patrolled to the camp site. Bad Guys have learned that if they spread out they have a better chance of not all dying in the same blast. So they had spread out on the desert floor, but in sight of one another in the pirate encampment in Hiimo Gaabo, south of Galkayo , Somalia.

As the commotion drew attention, shots rang out, and villagers began to stream toward the camp from the nearby village. Drones that were supplying Imagery for support of the mission, were armed, and supplied suppression fire that served to keep the unknowns at a safe distance.

Galkayo

Pirates have spread to the interior of the country, away from the coast to spread out the risk of loosing their hostages or creating a target rich environment to tempting to pass up. The dawn broke to reveal 9 pirates on the ground dead, locals said 5 were taken by the SEAL TEAM.

THE CALL

As the President completed the SOTU ADDRESS, AND WAS LEAVING, Sec. of Def. Panetta said "It went great Mr. President" signaling that the hostages were say and all hands were accounted for, and un-harmed.
At 10:32 p.m., after the speech, Mr. Obama called John Buchanan, Jessica’s father, and informed him that his daughter was safe. Helicopters from Djibouti, had arrived minutes after the operation began, and lifted them to safety aboard a U.S. Vessel.

NEWT'S GATOR PROBLEM

2012-01-25T17:45:00.001-06:00

THE MORNING READ IS A ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF THE ETHICS CASE. It omits one thing and slightly skews another.

What really happened in the Gingrich ethics case?

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/what-really-happened-gingrich-ethics-case/336051

THE OUTSIDE INSIDER

NEWT ramrodded the investigation into a previous house speaker JIM WRIGHT OF TEXAS , a democrat left over from the Lyndon Johnson Machine. Although he was not accepting prohibited Honor aria for speaking engagements, he was providing for purchase copies of his book, which were often bought by the case by the inviting party.

TO XL OR NOT TO XL

Today, If I want to bribe a Oil Company Official, I would do it by commissioning him to write a text book on how to drill, our fund a study at a University that might be about to award a scholarship to his child, etc. OR buy 10,000 copies of HIS BOOK.

Newt got him. That started it and ruined a source of graft revenue for congressmen on both sides of aisle. Then the scrutiny of press and a period of tit for tat ensued and some more congressmen went to jail and many more had to find other revenue streams as they found fewer supporters willing to get involved in traditional graft. This created part of the BAGGAGE OF ILL WILL that follows him with in his own party. Unable to gain traction on things he was promoting he begin to form alliances with democrats on single issue efforts. (Hillary and Pelosi for example). More baggage.

The FINE itself was based on the cost of investigating him that resulted from him refusing to cooperate in his own lynching.

HIGH WATER MARK

CONTRACT WITH AMERICA - this is where he really hurt feelings inside his own party. He Micro Managed it and pursued the 1st 100 day agenda like a ZEALOT. He paid lip service earnestly with no reluctance to spin on a dime for a point. He is one of those smart guys that will wake up with a GREAT IDEAL at breakfast and then come up with 3 reasons not to do it by lunch. Many felt betrayed when he would change his mind on a vote that same day and not bother to explain himself beforehand. He treated his staff no better, blaming them if an Idea he bought into had a flaw , that they did not think of 1st. We've seen how he treats the Press in the debates, but this was his daily demeanor in office, and many of the reporters he abused then are desk holders today or editors at the big 5 papers, and networks.

Political effect> The establishment party members are made up of people who as JUNIOR CONGRESSMEN took the hits from his poor inter-personnel skills when he was in office. Many in the Press are pre-disposed to go negative when ever possible/able, regardless of political alignment.

IT IS WINNER TAKE ALL

This past will make little difference in a National race, as most young voters won't remember these events, and slightly older voters WILL remember him as being in office during the BUDGET SURPLUSES of the 1990's, and for the WELFARE REFORM ACT.

HOWEVER- in FLORIDA the population is older and will remember the general BAD TASTE of his tenure in congress, and that he was chief persecutor of WILLIAM CLINTON, an extremely popular President in Florida. That and the negative press in the 5 major markets will cost him his S.C. BUMP. Add to that the ESTABLISHMENT PARTY EFFORT to keep ROMNEY on top will take the form of enhanced support to Santorum. This will absorb some of the undecided, and KEEP Mark Rubio from endorsing.

THE DEBATE WILL BE PIVOTAL FOR HIM.

GARTH BROOKS WINS!

2012-01-25T01:48:00.001-06:00

White House Calls Increases in Health Insurance Rates Too High - NYTimes.com:
THIS STORY IS MISSING SOME OF THE BACK STORY. Representatives from the hospital were trying to raise funds, as a non-profit that is a big part of their story. In 2003 and after, the sales pitch was complete with a table top scale model of the Hospital, and proposed buildings added in , that had Garth's moms name emblazoned on it, and for a substantial donation that could be made to happen, it was explained. Then after a while , Garth decided that would be a fitting tribute to his mom's memory. He had the check cut and sent. After a few years he wondered where they had put his mom's name. They Hadn't. They may have oversold the naming rights, or in a common ploy more associated with telemarketers, you build the story presented in court, and often the person will say "lets fix this" here is another 1/2 million, only this time IT IS ATTACHED to conditions. Someone had to drop that hint , and he felt rightly insulted.

COUNTY COURT HOUSE

The second part of the game works like this, because it is a court ordered loss of 1,000,000 dollars, THE HOSPITALS INSURANCE PAYS UP. GARTH RE-DONATES THE 1/2 MILLION PLUS THE THE MILLION DOLLAR AWARD, and the hospital says sorry, thank you, and do you want the letters of your moms name in GOLD OR SILVER? They have to pay the attorneys, but at the end of the day, there is a new building, a name plate, and happy attorneys.
'via Blog this'
Yet look how the health care Industry screws with people =

An Oklahoma hospital in Garth Brooks' hometown must pay $1 million to the country singer because it failed to build a women's health center in honor of his late mother, jurors ruled Tuesday evening.

Jurors ruled that the hospital must return a $500,000 donation to Brooks plus pay him $500,000 in punitive damages in Brooks' breach-of-contract lawsuit against Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon. Brooks said he thought he'd reached a deal in 2005 with the hospital's president, James Moore, but sued after learning the hospital wanted to use the money for other construction projects.

The hospital argued that Brooks gave it unrestricted access to the $500,000 donation and only later asked that it build a women's center and name it after his mother, Colleen Brooks, who died of cancer in 1999.

"Obviously we are disappointed, particularly with the jury's decision to award damages above and beyond the $500,000," Integris spokesman Hardy Watkins said. "We're just glad to see the case come to a resolution."

Brooks called the jurors "heroes" and said he felt vindicated by their verdict.

"I no longer feel like I'm crazy," he said.

Jury member Beverly Lacy said she voted in favor of Brooks because she thought the hospital went back on its word. As far as the punitive damages, she said: "We wanted to show them not to do that anymore to anyone else."

Brooks testified that he thought he had a solid agreement with Moore. Brooks said the hospital president initially suggested putting his mother's name on an intensive care unit, and when Brooks said that wouldn't fit her image, Moore suggested a women's center.

"I jumped all over it," Brooks told jurors in tearful testimony. "It's my mom. My mom was pregnant as a teenager. She had a rough start. She wanted to help every kid out there."

His attorney told the jury during closing arguments that Brooks kept his end of the agreement.

"This case is about promises: promises made and promises broken," lawyer John Hickey told jurors shortly before they started deliberating. "Mr. Brooks kept his promise. Integris never intended to keep their promise and never built a new women's center."

But hospital attorney Terry Thomas said Brooks' gift initially came in anonymously and unrestricted in 2005. He also noted that Brooks couldn't remember key details of negotiations with the hospital's president — including what he'd been promised — when questioned during a deposition after filing his lawsuit in 2009.

"At most, it was a misunderstanding between these two," Thomas told jurors during his closing argument. "Am I calling Mr. Brooks a liar? Absolutely not. It's perfectly understandable that he does not remember these events."

The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon in Rogers County District Court, and the judge told jurors she wanted them to work as late as midnight to come to a decision.

Before the verdict was read, Brooks said the day had been emotional. The country music star said he was simply trying to honor his mother.

"This little pistol, she deserves nothing but good

Iran threatens U.S. Navy as ELECTIONS hit

2012-01-24T23:59:00.001-06:00

Iran threatens U.S. Navy as sanctions hit economy - Yahoo! News
Amir Hekmati worked for BAE System’s as a member of the US Army’s Human Terrain System. “An industry official familiar with his civilian contracting work said he was involved in training for the Human Terrain System, a U.S. Army program to provide cultural advice to military units, before went to work for the Army,” Hodge writes. "Troy Rolan, an Army spokesman, confirmed Mr. Hekmati’s employment there, and said he left the Army in June 2011.

This is disturbing news indeed.

Human Terrain System program manager Colonel Sharon Hamilton announced in public at a Special Operations conference before the 2011 holidays that the Human Terrain System (HTS), Version 2.0, is now officially an intelligence collection activity.

The good news is that many Americans accused of spying in Iran are eventually released. The bad news for Amir Mirzaei Hekmati is that Iranian-Americans have it rougher.

Hekmati would appear to be one of at least 10 US citizens arrested and held for political reasons in Iran since then, particularly at times when foreign pressure and domestic fear were on the rise – such as the summer of 2009, when the Green Movement threatened briefly to become a popular uprising that might sweep away the Islamic Revolution.

WITH 5 Aircraft carriers in the region, and ability to put 7 in place with allies Navy's participation. One of the carriers is the U.
S.S. Enterprise, scheduled for decommissioning next year.

That fact has theorists are mentioning a scenario that Harkins to the GULF OF TON-KIN event, setting the stage to claim Iran has provided Provacation FOR AN ALL OUT ASSAULT on Iran. It arrives this SUMMER.

The EU has announced sanctions. They work like this, NO NEW contracts with Iran, and existing contracts begin running out this summer. Iranian Parliamentarians promised on the 24th of Jan. to close the straights of Hormuz if the contracts are not renewed or go to the Saudis. The economic sanctions peak in AUGUST/SEPTEMBER, IN TIME FOR THE Obama ADMINISTRATION T START AN OPERATION IN TIME TO STEAL THE THUNDER FROM THE Republican CONVENTION.

This may be good strategy. The EMBASSY HOSTAGE CRISIS was not resolved for over 400 days and then it was in an election year, where Regan retired Jimmy Carter, and they made a point of returning them to Regan on his Inauguration day.

If Obama is the winner, they might hope to be dealing with SENATOR JOHN KERRY. Either way, war of peace Obama gets to take the spotlight away from the Republicans. video platform video management video solutions video player

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS 2012

2012-01-24T22:20:00.001-06:00

Fell Flat, he had two kinds of proposals, those that will get trashed up and not pass congress, and become part of his obstructionist congress theme, and those that he CAN do by executive order, and therefore could have done 4 years ago.

One of the later is to make it harder to drop out of school before 18. Here is what that really is- Not allow kids to drop out, pumps up the Federal Dollars going to public schools that are based on daily head count. Also, if your a student, YOUR NOT UN EMPLOYED.

IN PRACTICE the schools become advance courses in NETWORKING for under aged drug dealers and it will be necessary to waiver the no child left behind act as the bored hotties start getting nocked up and the stud thugs bring down the class average, and any money gained thru headcount gets spent on CAMPUS POLICE improvements.

DOING HIS AL GREEN THING

U.S. special operations troops overnight rescued a U.S. woman and a Danish man who had been taken hostage by kidnappers in Somalia while working for a Danish demining group. In a statement, Panetta said Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted were rescued without injury and "have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home." No U.S. troops were killed or injured in the operation, he said.

RESCUED

OBAMA'S STATEMENT: "Jessica Buchanan was selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being. Last night I spoke with Jessica Buchanan's father and told him that all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family. The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice. This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people. This explains his conversation with LEON PANETTA before the address where he said "Good Job Tonight LEON..." operation WAS WRAPPING UP AS THE president SPOKE.

Another good sounding taxpayer funded social experiment that appeals to politicians for a few years as the new numbers become campaign fodder.
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF OBAMA HAD CARRIED OUT HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISES?
According to hundreds of pages of previously unreleased White House memos obtained by The New Yorker, President Obama had been warned in 2008 about the size of the deficit if he enacted his campaign promises. A 57-page document (read it in full here) written by Larry Summers, then the incoming director of the National Economic Council, urged the president to scale back on spending: “If your campaign promises were enacted … the deficit would rise by another $100 billion annually. The consequence would be the largest run-up in the debt since World War II.” To be fair, the deficit would also come from many pieces of legislation left over by President Bush—including funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—that Obama would have to sign.

Medal of Honor Recipient John F. Baker Dead at 66 | Military.com

2012-01-23T17:02:00.001-06:00

Medal of Honor Recipient John F. Baker Dead at 66 | Military.com

http://www.colony14.net/id528.html

Master Sgt. John F. Baker Jr., who received the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of eight of his fellow Soldiers, killing 10 Viet Cong and knocking out six machine-gun bunkers after his unit was ambushed Nov. 5, 1966, in Vietnam, died Friday evening after collapsing in his Northeast Richland home. He was 66. During the Vietnam War, Baker was a 5-foot-2-inches tall, 105-pound "tunnel rat" -- a Soldier who, armed with only a pistol and a flashlight, would crawl into enemy tunnels to clear them. He was one of only 239 servicemembers to receive the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. And he was the last Army Soldier with ties to South Carolina to receive the medal from any conflict.

waterboarding takes another victim

2012-01-23T14:41:00.001-06:00

EDITORIAL: Copyright wars - Washington Times

"water-boarding" had gotten a senior al-Qaida operative to break in 35 seconds.
"From that day on, he answered every question," Kiriakou told ABC News' Brian Ross in December 2007, referring to Abu Zubaydah. "The threat information he provided disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of attacks."
(Kiriakou was later hired as a consultant by ABC News, the New York Times' Brian Stelter reported in 2009.)
But formerly classified Justice Department memos released in 2009 showed that Zubaydah was in fact subjected to water-boarding 83 times in August 2002John Kiriakou, 47, of Arlington, is charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and the Espionage Act. A federal judge ordered Kiriakou to be released on a $250,000 unsecured bond. Kiriakou declined to comment as he left the courthouse Monday.

According to authorities, Kiriakou divulged to three journalists, including a New York Times reporter, the role of "Officer B," who worked with Kiriakou on the capture of suspected al-Qaida financier Abu Zubaydah in the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times, and his case has been made an example by those who believe the interrogation technique should be outlawed. And Kiriakou's public discussions of Zubaydah's waterboarding were a key part of the debate.

In a separate accusation, Kiriakou is alleged to have disclosed the identity of a covert operator to an unidentified journalist. Authorities say that journalist then gave the officer's name to a team of defense lawyers representing a suspect the U.S. held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. When the lawyers included information about the officer in a sealed legal brief in 2009, the CIA became suspicious and the government began to investigate.

The affidavit states that the defense lawyers were found to have done nothing wrong.

GOT A GOOD THRASHING

ONE THING YOU WON'T FIND IN PRESS REPORTS IS MENTION OF THE FACT THAT HE IS CHIEF INVESTIGATOR FOR SENATOR JOHN KERRYS sub-committee on foreign relations.

NEWT SETS THE TABLE

2012-01-21T20:38:00.000-06:00

AT THIS HOUR 40% of SOUTH CAROLINIAN voters have gone for NEWT. HE WILL BE THE NOMINEE and defeat THE OBAMA, unless , what?

Remember that tantrum after Iowa where Newt was hacked that Mitts super pac dropped a cool mil plus knocking him back from his DECEMBER high. Then Newt chased him into N.H. with a new attitude, and a freshly flush super pac of his own. Here it is 3 weeks later and Newt gives Mitt a WAXING, on a day where the women turned out in lower than expected numbers (South Carolina was under a Tornado Watch most of the day), but even with it Newt would have won by 3% plus.

What if Mitt takes a page out of Newts book and follows him from state to state thru super Tuesday. What if the SOCIAL CONSERVATIVE SANTORUM drops out after FLORIDA or before? His supporters will at best be split between the the two and a few go to Paul. June rolls around and and it is still the three of them. Then after the Summer comes to a close and the republican convention is held, the 1st vote fails to yield a nominee, and a second vote comes, and the numbers move but to Paul, and finally the delegates decide that Newt can't bring the moderate independents, and that in a election where the voters are looking for a superman, a man the people feel like is one of them, that the guy that doesn't have a religion in common with the majority of the voters, who doesn't think 373,000$ is "much money", that offers to bet 10,000$ on stage, and who won't release 12 years of tax returns even though his father did when he ran for Governor of Michigan, Mitt can't beat THE OBAMA. 3RD BALLOT RON PAUL IS NOMINATED TO REPRESENT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY in a race for President of the United States of America. In a country that is weary of WAR maybe a Perceived Pacifist who is well liked by his CORE and far more conservative than THE OBAMA on every thing, is a SOLUTION.

THE PRESS LOVES IT, THE OBAMA can barely get on the NEWS and DR. RON PAUL is the man of the hour, the polls are turning in his favor, and the YET ANOTHER TEXAN is poised to take the white house. One Month to go.

The President holds a news conference at 7pm on a Sunday night and announces that it has become necessary , in order to protect THE STRAIGHTS OF HORMUZ for the UNITED STATES TO COMMENCE HOSTILITIES WITH IRAN.

AMID THE LOWEST VOTER TURN OUT (as a percentage of eligible voters) in history, Barak Husein Obama is elected to a second term.

Narrow budgets cause narrow radio band issues - KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports, classifieds-

2012-01-21T14:22:00.000-06:00

Narrow budgets cause narrow radio band issues - KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports, classifieds-

20 years ago a FEDERAL MANDATE REQUIRED OEM to modify their communications to function using narrow band technology. Thousands of small counties across AMERICA have to complete the move by the 1st of the year. Re-keying radio's, new radio's new towers, new repeaters etc. In this county that bill is well over 100,000$. How is the Federal Government helping? By having the FCC fine counties that do not comply, even if it is because they do not have the MONEY. BRILLIANT. SO what will happen is thousands of officers will pull out their CELL PHONES and Counties will barrow money to install a minimal system, and the ability to talk to other agents will be ad hoc. One phone at a time.