Less than two months since American forces in Iraq were largely removed from harms’ way, Army General Ray Odierno is now proposing to deploy troops in a northern territory that has been the scene of much violence between Arabs and Kurds. The general said the proposal would call for the U.S. military to be deployed alongside Iraqi security forces and Kurdish militiamen.
The development has caused concern among some analysts that the U.S. could again become bogged down in an area that has a long history of hostility between the major factions and that this could affect the plans for our complete withdrawal from the country.
The region, which has had a string of recent bombings attributed to Al Qaeda, includes the oil-rich area around the city of Kirkuk.
Elsewhere in Iraq, Baghdad was racked by midweek bomb attacks that struck at the heart of the government. The targets, the foreign and finance ministries, were largely destroyed and the death toll was estimated at approximately 100. The BBC reported today that U.S. troops stood helplessly by, after the attacks, but were never called upon to render assistance to the more than 500 people who were wounded.
Last week, the Department of Defense released the obituaries of two 23-year-old soldiers killed in Iraq. One of the deaths was classified as having been caused by a non-combat-related accident. The other death underscored the fact that there are few totally safe havens there. It occurred in the on-base living quarters of the fallen soldier and was caused by enemy rocket fire.
U.S. deaths in Iraq now amount to 4,334, according the website icasualties.org, including one soldier killed this morning by a roadside bomb while reportedly “conducting a patrol” in Baghdad.
Afghanistan held its general election on Thursday and reports indicate the results may not be known for several weeks. Perhaps the least surprising of recent developments is the claim by the main challenger to President Hamid Karzai, a man by the name of Abdullah Abdullah, that widespread fraud and vote rigging occurred, favoring the incumbent.
The Taliban made good on its pre-election threat, somewhat, by cutting off the ink-stained fingers of at least two people who voted in the election.
The Department of Defense, last week, released the obituaries of 11 military personnel killed in Afghanistan, ranging in age from 21 to 59. Five were killed by roadside bombs.
Total U.S. deaths in Afghanistan now stand at 796, according to icasualties.org.
In neighboring Pakistan, meanwhile, a new militant by the name of Baitullah Mahsud, 28, has ascended to the top leadership position within the Taliban. Mahsud replaces the man who was recently killed by a drone attack as he desperately tried to flee the targeted area in a vehicle.
Another drone attack killed 12 people in a home in Pakistan on Friday, but it is not known if the dead included the intended target, a Taliban commander named Siraj Haqqani.
However, the attack did reveal a little of the ironic twists and turns that have occurred over the years with respect to Afghanistan. Haqqani’s father is a senior Taliban leader who was supported by the U.S. in the 1980’s when he fought against the Soviets. Now, he and his son are considered to be dangerous foes.
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The Powell Doctrine: "Essentially, the Doctrine expresses that military action should be used only as a last resort and only if there is a clear risk to national security by the intended target; the force, when used, should be overwhelming and disproportionate to the force used by the enemy; there must be strong support for the campaign by the general public; and there must be a clear exit strategy from the conflict in which the military is engaged."
By the way, a note on your reference to the soldier killed while "on patrol": We removed "combat" troops from the cities, but not all troops. We still have trainers and advisers (which are combat troops taken from the brigade combat teams and redesignated as trainers and advisers) and logistics troops (the Iraqis still cannot sustain their own operations or provide their own air support) in the cities. They are very much in harm's way and we will continue to see casualties.
One final note: there's no such thing as being removed from harm's way in Iraq. I've spend a fair amount of time there and my experience was that if you moved, the enemy moved with you. For example, we were constantly attacked on this one route we regularly traveled on, so we changed routes. It took a few days for the enemy fighters to catch up with us, but catch up they did.
They know where we are, whether it's in the cities or in the burbs. If they want to attack American soldiers, they will.
Good lord what a mess. One war that won't go away, plus the one in Afghanistan that has been ignored too long and now is killing more of our soldiers than the one in Iraq. And on top of it we are bankrupt and facing severe economic, energy, and climate challenges. Maybe we should all give up and emigrate to some place with a future. But if the USA, supposedly the indispensable nation, goes away, who will take its place? and will that nation serve the common good, or just its own petty ambitions?
At least we don't "decimate" our soldiers anymore. Hail Caesar!
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Gather told me about 10 upgrades ago they were working on a spell checker but so far it has not happened. I would also like to see an edit feature on comments so I can correct typos that hide until after I submit.
But seriously, I appreciate the news from the Middle East. The papers in my area seem to have forgotten about the rest of the world.
It's just a shame that we have not spend much money upgrading our Navy to be able to slant drill into countries we are anchored offshore of ... at least that might pay off a little of this debt while the locals go crazy. Instead of "give me liberty or give me death" our new slogan can be "we drink your milkshake"!
Organizations committing mass murder could have been pursued as criminal organizations.
Bigger fortunes were to be printed up for certain groups by not going after the perpetrators. The intense corruption of the U.S. government has been highlighted. A good thing from this is that the rest of the world sees ordinary U.S. people suffer from the behaviors of our government as do populations where U.S. officials intervene.
It is as Eisenhower warned. Ordinary people in different countries must come together to restrain the worst elements in governments. There are no excuses, and there are no easier ways. To some extent, I see this functioning with the U.S. and China/Brazil/Russia/India/Indonesia and some other countries. Segments in these countries are connected to grass-roots activities to make improvements.
The race is a nail-biter, however, pitting ordinary people against the likes of the Bush/Gates/Rockefeller/Clinton and their concerted attempts to force monopolies of subsidized western conglomerates against the needs of ordinary people, plants, and animals, all over the world.
My hope is it will turn out sort of like David and Goliath, or like Saul of Tarsus falling off his horse and turning into the imperfect Apostle Paul. Perhaps these people who appear so ruthless and mean can be turned from their wicked ways, once they have so much land and money they can't possibly take care of it all by themselves?
Try to remember how the Taliban was/is harming their own people
We went there for Bin Laden and Al Quaeda.
The U. S. & Nato Military had control and were busy keeping order while schools & businesses were being set up and rebuilding was being done.
Then Bush dropped the ball and ran of to Iraq.
Educated Afghanis have fled now. I don't know if there are enough left there for a functional modern government.
It would be nice to believe that but unfortunately, Mary, if the last few years have taught us anything it's that greed has no limit....How many wealthy-beyond-reason CEO's have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar seeking even more riches...And how many politicians have grown impatient with the legalized system of taking bribes, only to turn to means they haven't legalized yet.
You are correct about the sad state of affairs that we the people are facing and I appreciate your thoughts. Some day, in a saner world, perhaps, historians will record how our political process was hijacked and how our wealth was then siphoned out of the economy, right under a gullible public's nose...
And coming down the road shortly will be finance reform which, like healthcare, will probably be largely written by the lobbyists.
And the public will believe that all is well in Obamaville, as it was in Bushville and before that Clintonville, etc., etc.
I don't have a "following" on gather so it won't be read.
I think you would like this article I found in
The New England Journal of Medicine that prompted my post.
the link
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/22/2314
I think you are the only one on gather covering the wars. last night I realized that no one here is posting the 'remember our troops, support our troops messages.
I would be ok with total withdrawal, immediately, from both places.
I don't think leaving is going to produce results worse than staying.
As for the Taliban, with us gone, I think they would become a serious enough nuisance to themselves and their neighbors, that bothering the rest of the world would be difficult for them. It's their neighbors who have the best vested interest in taking care of the threats and unpleasantness they pose.
Remember the destruction of the Giant Buddha