Iraq Breeding Ground for Violence in Afghanistan (and Elsewhere?...)

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Iraq Breeding Ground for Violence in Afghanistan (and Elsewhere?...)

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Sun, 10/29/2006 - 5:20pm.

This is from a new dispatch by Tom Englehardt. You can find it here.

...
Iraq is proving the central training ground and testing field for the renewed Afghan rebellion. The Taliban, this summer and fall, returned to the battle in Afghanistan in force (with plans to continue their offensive well into that country's bitter winter) -- and with some techniques clearly imported from Iraq. So, the use of sophisticated IED or roadside explosive devices and of suicide bombers, as well as targeted assassinations of government officials, have been on the rise -- all techniques pulled directly off the Iraqi battlegrounds; while foreign jihadis are now, according to Sebastian Rotella of the Los Angeles Times, choosing Afghanistan over Iraq as the prime place to make a stand (as it was during the anti-Soviet jihad of the 1980s).
Meanwhile, NATO and U.S. forces in that country find themselves engaged in the kind of warfare that results, as in Iraq, in high body counts but also generates lots of enemies in the long run, fuelling the Taliban's war. (As one British officer put it, "For every Taliban you kill, you recruit three or four more.")
...

When are we going to figure out how to hold our "leaders" accountable?

Robert Whitlock's blog
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Like I said, it's time to

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Mon, 10/30/2006 - 7:22am.

Like I said, it's time to change our military tactics in the region.

But we're not, so I fully expect to see a Vietnam scenario play itself out, with the last helicopter leaving Baghdad. Another American armed conflict lost because we are unwilling to use our military resources in an efficient manner.

EDIT: From an e-mail in a story about a deceased captain who served in Iraq:

As you know, when Roman centurions inspected their men during morning formations, the soldier would smack his fist on his breast plate above his heart and say "Integritas," which is of course "material wholeness," referring to the soldier's upkeep of his armor and demonstrating his dedication to combat readiness. You can rest assured that my mind and my gear will always be focused and ready.

We're throwing away the greatest military power the world has ever seen.

where's the punch line?

Submitted by enpen on Mon, 10/30/2006 - 12:25pm.

"We're throwing away the greatest military power the world has ever seen."

This happens every time with military powers. What we're throwing away are the resources that could have been used to reform our education system, rebuild our failing power grid and create an nationwide network of high speed trains.

It looks like our government has cut'n run on us.

"If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!"

Seems to be propaganda from both sides

Submitted by OlyCop on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 8:11am.

"The strongest reason to retain the right to keep and bear arms is to protect against tyranny in government." Thomas Jefferson.

...............

Submitted by bubbaz (not verified) on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 1:12pm.

................

Well I'm mad

Submitted by OlyCop on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 8:20am.

I just spent 20 minutes on the above post with lots of links and cool stuff, even stuff that would make you liberals want to become conservatives, (lol), and it all went to cyberspace. Grrrrrrr.

"The strongest reason to retain the right to keep and bear arms is to protect against tyranny in government." Thomas Jefferson.

Empathy

Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 10:34am.

Oh that is so frustrating when that happens, I feel for ya. Though maybe I should be secretly relieved!

I keep reminding myself to write up my initial posts in notepad or elsewhere so it won't be prone to the vagracies of the internets tubes (the tubes get twisted up see and that is what makes our posts go away) , but I always find myself trustingly using the easiest route directly into blog.

Grrrr

Submitted by OlyCop on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 11:17am.

I'm sure I did something wrong, but the pain is still there. And now I've lost interest, so I don't plan to do over.

I will likely do as you suggest in the future though. Lessons learned the hard way are sometimes the best learned.

"The strongest reason to retain the right to keep and bear arms is to protect against tyranny in government." Thomas Jefferson.

mulligan

Submitted by enpen on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 11:41am.

I've had good luck on OlyBlog with quickly hitting the "Back" button on my browser when my post doesn't go through correctly. So far what I wrote has always refreshed without vanishing into the internet ether.

"If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!"

I feel for you...on my

Submitted by OperaGirl on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 12:22pm.

I feel for you...on my "real" blog I wrote a huge profound (in my head at least lol) post on something and then it all got sucked away into the vast vortex that is the internet. I wanted to cry! Now I do like Sarah said and do it all in Word or Notepad!

"If you're robbing a bank and you're pants fall down, I think it's okay to laugh and to let the hostages laugh too, because, come on, life is funny."

OC

Submitted by bubbaz (not verified) on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 1:16pm.

You can also type it all up, add the links, and then highlight all of it R-click and press "copy".

That will save all of it (including the links..)

If something goes wrong you can just R-click on the field and paste it all back in again with a new post.

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