SPIKE IN GIs KILLED/ & CIVILIANS KILLED BY ALLIES;
3 x AS MANY GIs KILLED AS IN Jan/Feb/07.

More civilians killed by allies than by Taliban !
AP/28FEB

 
500Afghans protest foreign troops’ alleged mosque attack.
NATO questions this report—

But what counts is what Afghans will believe.
ABC NEWS/28FEB

 
10k more GIs (besides the 17k now scheduled) may be needed in Afgh;
Troops needed there for up to 5 years more.

(Gates earlier said he might not send more than the 17k).

General admits that there is an upper limit
On the number of foreign troops Afghans will tolerate.
LATIMES/28FEB

 
NUTTY PRIORITIES: Homeland Defense is the ONLY program whose budget
Will SHRINK EVERY YEAR from 2011 to 2014 !
USATODAY/27FEB

 
FEAR THAT KABUL WILL FALL TO TALIBAN
So says Afghan honcho. US says they’ll funnel aid
To provincial govts.,not to natl. govt.

He says they talked that way before deserting
Afghanistan earlier.

Gates’ talk about making as the main objective
Protection of Europe & America from terrorists
Confirms Afghan suspicion that allies are NOT
There to help Afgh!
LATIMES/27FEB

 
LEGISLATOR BREAKS WIDE SILENCE ON MIL. BUDGET
He says ‘$650 billion’ besides wars—but ‘
hidden budget’ makes much higher.
NATION/2MAR
Lots of chatter on need to cut Medicare, etc—
but few dare to mention trimming Bloated Pent.

Obama did refer briefly to reforming ‘procurement’
And so did McCain…

The veil might be coming off.

 
50k TROOPS WILL STAY IN IRAQ:
Americans won’t care as long as casualties stay low;
But less $ will be saved by ‘pullout’.
MSNBC/26FEB

 
LET PAK. CONTROL DRONES
Envoy tells Washington.
REUTERS/26FEB
Bloody Likely.

 
AMERICANS SUPPORT AFGHAN GI INCREASE:
UNITED PRESS/26feb

But suppose It ‘doesn’t work’. /Even Gates has intimated
That it might not..in which case he might not send any more.

 
INDIRECT EFFECT OF ROAD-BOMBS:
Besides killing GIs, they raise morale/recruitment of Taliban,
Demonstrate weakness of Kabul govt,
And weaken war-support of American people.

Twice as many Afghan bombs this year.
9000 bombs in Iraq.
NYTIMES/26 FEB

 
AIRSTRIKES PROTECT GIs, WEAKEN PAKISTAN.
So says Pakistan Intelligence.
NYTIMES/25FEB
But this agency in past has helped Taliban.

 
A HAWK SAYS GET OUT OF AFGH:
Title: THE MENDACITY OF HOPE.
Afgh. is not a real nation; they don’t want to give up their (savage) culture.

We should remove most of our forces, keeping only a couple of bases.
Or else we should get out completely/

We should side with India (vs. Pakistan).
It would take a generation, at least, to have any effect in Afgh.

We need,not the illusion of hope, but the audacity of realism.

USATODAY/24FEB/P.13A (COLUMN BY RALPH PETERS.)

 
AFTER 7 YRS, PENT. CAN’T CONTROL AFGHAN TERRORISTS
FBI chief says biggest terrorist danger is from Afgh/Pak;
He worries also about ‘home-grown’ terrorists.
VoiceOfAmerica/24feb

When will we realize that $1 million millions annually to Pent.
Doesn’t help make our homeland safe?

 
TALIBAN OFFER TRUCE IN 2D REGION:
A truce is already in place in Swat Valley,
Where Tal. Was dominant.
In new region, Tal. Is facing defeat.
MSNBC/24FEB
In any case, Tal. Now have haven to prepare
Attacks in Afgh.

 
19,000 AIRSTRIKES LAST YEAR
NO INFO ON # OF BOMBS, MUNITIONS DROPPED.
NYTIMES/24FEB
Enraged survivors recruited by Taliban.

 
US MIL.AID TO PAK. IS UNDERFUNDED
By 73%./ $ for Pak. Attempts to counter Tal.
In border regions.
GLOBE&MAIL/24FEB

 
STOP THE PAKISTAN AIRSTRIKES/
Any short-term advantage from killing Taliban is outweighed by
the damage they do in recruiting angry survivors to the Taliban.
So says opinion in THE ECONOMIST/(center-right journal.)

 
WHY DON’T THESE PRESENT WARS MAKE JOBS?
WWII dragged us out of Great Depression.
But then weapons-making was labor-intensive.
Now it’s automated/It helps only big war-corporations.
(USATODAY cartoon/23feb)

 
PENT.CHEATS WAR-WEARY GIs:
‘Extra-tour’ bonuses not forthcoming:
GIs were told that if they were forced into
Extra tours in Iraq, they’d get substantial bonuses.
But these bonuses (for 13k GIs) are
5 months in arrears.
USATODAY/23FEB
Meanwhile Pentagon (useless vs. individual terrorists)
Is bloated by $1 million millions a year.

 
SCARY NUMBERS FROM AFGH:
E.G., ATTACKS ON OUR AIRPLANES UP 67%/
LONDON INDEPENDENT/19FEB

 
ANTI-US AFGHAN OPINION GROWING:
90% HATE Taliban, BUT
less than half favor US,
and 1 in 4 approve of attacking Americans.
THE AGE (quoting polls by ABC/BBC)23feb

US honchos say the only hope of success
Is to get ordinary Afghans on our side,
So they can take over fight vs. Taliban.

 
US AIRSTRIKE KILLED MAINLY CIVILIANS
US admits attack killed 13 civilians, 3 militants.
NYTIMES/22FEB

 
IRAQ DISAGREEMENTS IN D.C.:
Iraq generals, of course, want more time to withdraw than 16 months promised by Obama./
But Pentagon officials worry that then we won’t have enough troops
For Afgh./SEATTLEPI/22FEB

 
RUSS AMBIVALENT TOWARD US AFGAN PROJECT
After all, US helped Afghans drive out Soviets.

But they fear Islamist influence in their neighborhood.

Russ observer says: “US is making same mistakes we made
In Afgh—plus a mountain of their own mistakes.”
NYTIMES/22FEB

 
AFGHAN CHALLENGES:
1) getting militants to lay down arms;
2) getting more help from ‘allies’, 3) eliminating havens for armed militants.
US has been bombing Pak. To help with #3—but this recruits enraged survivors
To join Tal. /
We won’t get more military help(#2)/
We got Iraqi Sunnis to lay down arms; but they were afraid of
Shia who outnumber them 3 to 1. No such motivation exists
In Afgh. (#1)
We also bribed Sunnis to switch sides; but Taliban are rich with heroin money.
LATIMES/22FEB

 
60,000 GIs needed in afgh for 3 or 4 years
says Top US general.
Wash post/21feb
But Gates says if this gp. of 1st 17000 doesn’t work,
He might not send more.

Is general saying this 1st group WON’T work?
Maybe we should just pull out.

 
US ENVOY: NOBODY WD SAY AFGHAN WAR IS GOING WELL
Govt. flack tries to wring some good news out of situation.
Abc/21feb

 
GATES MIGHT NOT SEND MORE GIS TO AFGH
If adding these 17k doesn’t work../
Expert says we have only 50/50 chance of success.
(When Pent. Experts say this,
they mean ‘almost no chance..’)
CBS/21FEB

 
US INTEL WRONG AGAIN !
They underestimated by far how close Iran was to making nukes.
UNITED PRESS/21FEB

Americans aren’t much interested in outside world.
Result? Our intel svcs. Can’t recruit competent spies.

We should pull out of world affairs
And concentrate on mitigating threats to our Homeland.

 
EUROPEANS TURN VS. AFGHAN WAR

Result? Their govts. Won’t send more combat troops,
Just (perhaps!) civilians to train Afghan troops.
TELEGRAPH/21FEB

 
NON-MIL. SUPPLIES TO AFGH. THRU UZBEKISTAN
US has denounced UZ. Govt as tyrannical.
BBC/21FEB
What about MIL. Supplies?

 
After bloody bombing of their funeral procession,
Pak. Shia riot vs. govt. for not protecting them.
AP/21FEB

 
ALLIES PLEDGED TROOPS, BUT WON’T SEND THEM/
WA/21FEB
Best hope is that they’ll send some civilians.

 
SWAT VALLEY CEDED TO TALIBAN:
Both Tal. & Pak.govt. agree to a ‘permanent cease-fire’.
Trouble is, Tal. Agreed to this once before, and used
The time to rearm.
FOX NEWS/21FEB
In any case, Tal. Now has a haven to prepare
Attacks against Afgh.

 
‘TOUGH TEST IN AFGH’/ YEAH !
Gates says we face tough test—
Cnn/20feb
When Pent. Honcho says ‘tough test’
He means ‘damn near impossible!’

 
WEST WORRIED BY SEPARATE PEACE:PAK.& TAL/
They fear that Tal. In Swat will just use truce
To build up strength.
ABC/20FEB

 
PULLOUT OF BOTH WARS!
Our ‘allies’ have pulled out of Iraq, and Canada & Holland will pull out of Afgh.
Also—why can’t we?
True, Obama promised to fight on—but the longer he waits to pull out,
The more he’ll count as losing HIS war !

Afgh will make him a one-term President.

 
GATES DISAPPOINTED OVER ‘ALLIES’ REFUSAL TO SEND MORE TROOPS/
Now he’s begging for more civilians to serve in Afgh.
LONDON TIMES/20FEB

 
COULD US INFLATE ITS WAY OUT OF DEBT?
If Obama deliberately cheapens dollar,
He’d cut real amount owed overseas.
NEWS.YAHOO/COM/20FEB

But the minute they realize this,
They’ll start selling off our bonds.
All bondholders will suffer,
But first-sellers would suffer lesss.

Then, how would we borrow more,
As we must?

 
PENTAGON ‘TOO SPARSE’?!
With a budget near $1 million millions a year,
Pent. Complains it’s not equipped to handle
New terrorist threats.
SEATTLEPI/20FEB

Pentagon will NEVER be able to counter
Individual terrorists (e.g., using biowar).

 
RUSSIA OUTBIDS US AGAIN:
This time, to bribe Turkmenistan to eject Americans
From airbase used to supply Afgh.
NPR/20feb

 
1 Pak. bomb, 90 casualties
again, against Shia.
CHINA NEWS/

 
SOME IN D.C. THINK WE SHOULD FIGHT IN AFGH. FOR 10 YRS, IF NECESSARY.
/But will our people stand for that?/
Will our imperiled Economy make this possible?
A.deBorchgrave in UPI.Com/Emerging Threats/19Feb

 
OBAMA ADMITS TROOPS ALONE WON'T WIN AFGH.
Troops plus diplomacy? Invaders don't speak regional languages.
Troops plus develoopment? Not much so far after 7 yrs.

 
NO MORE BRITS TO AFGH.
Brit honcho applauds extra GIs going there.
LONDON TIMES/19FEB

 
CONFIDENCE PLUNGES IN AFGHAN PROVINCE
Says Canadian general/
Most Afghans still support central govt.
But no more support has been added for several years.
GLOBE&MAIL

 
10k more GIs needed in Afgh/
says general./
Why did Obama send only 17k?
Perhaps to see their effect before sending more.
LATIMES/19FEB

 
YEARS MORE OF AFGHAN WAR,/
SaysUSgeneral. In South, we’re AT BEST
Stalemated.
WA.com/19feb

 
LAST CENTRAL ASIAN SUPPLY ROUTE CLOSED TO AFGH.
Kyrygistan gives US 180 days to get out.
Latvia will let US use it, but route must go thru Russia.
This puts US effort at mercy of Russians.
REUTERS/19FEB

 
AFGHAN SHIFT TOWARD TALIBAN
A US expert says shift is ‘major’,
Notes that support for US has halved in 3 yrs.
NEWS.YAHOO/18FEB

 
‘FOREIGN TROOPS WON'T BEAT TALIBAN’
says think-tank.
New troops won’t work,
unless they bolster native efforts.
Cbs news/17feb

 
CENTRAL GOVT. EMPHASIS BACKFIRES IN AFGH.
Tradition of decentralized govt.
REUTERS/17FEB

 
ISLAMIST SWAT VALLEY THREATENS 3 NATIONS
Says US envoy: India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Observer says Pakistan fears Indian influence in Afgh,
Cultivates Taliban in counter.

LONDON TELEGRAPH/17FEB

 
PAK. MILITARY SUPPORTED TALIBAN
Intercepted phone calls to Taliban from Pak. General
a)referred to Tal. Leader as ‘military asset’
and (b) warned Taliban of oncoming Pak. Attacks.
LONDON TIMES/17FEB

 
UN SAYS 828 AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED BY US ALLIES:
In ’08. US gives lower figure, points out that more were killed
By Taliban. Question is, whom do ordinary Afghans resent more?
NEWS.BBC/17FEB

 
PAKISTAN, TALIBAN IN SEPARATE PEACE?
TALIBAN HAVEN.
Pak. Army has quit attacking in Swat Valley,
And is enforcing SHARIA there (brutal version of Islamic law),
To appease Taliban.

Pak. Army was trained to fight India, not to fight insurgents.
REUTERS/17FEB

 
PAKISTAN APPEASES TALIBAN
‘Sharia’ law (e.g., no female schools)
will be enforced by govt. in Swat valley.
UNITED PRESS/16FEB

Peace between Pak. & Taliban is
Bad news for US & allies in Afgh.

 
BATTLE ROBOTS THREATEN ATROCITIES:
They must be programmed to observe rules;
But they won’t be.
LONDON TIMES/16FEB

Lyons warned years ago about the danger of
War robots..which can be turned against our
Own people. GIs wouldn’t slaughter Americans;
Robots won’t hesitate.

Tyrants will rule. Black humor:
The idea of our handgun nuts ‘defending our freedom’
Against a line of impassive robots.

For early warning re:megatech,
see lamar.colostate.edu/~dlyons
(ch.2)

 
ATTACKS ON SHIA CONTINUE:
Attempts by Quaeda to turn Shia against Sunnis.
CNN/15FEB
(Iraq Shia outnumber Sunnis 3 to 1)/
Even if counterattacks don’t happen,
It’s unlikely that Shia—controlling govt--will grant Sunni demands;/
Granting these demands is necessary for peace.

 
US INTEL HONCHO WARNS THAT TALIBAN ARE GAINING/
We can’t succeed until Pak. Controls border;/
But Tal. Are gaining in Pak!/
InternatlHeraldTribune/14Feb

 
Soviet vets warn US about hopeless Afghan war/
It’s like fighting sand/This is their Holy Land.
Reuters/14feb

 
AFGHAN POPPIES/
There are more poppy-free regions in Afgh,
but the two big ones, producing most of the world’s
heroin-poppies (and providing $300,000 a year to Taliban)
Are still working.

Growers are rich farmers, sometimes govt. officials,
Who pay off Taliban for ‘poppy licenses’.

GLOBE&MAIL/14FEB

 
TALIBAN WILL ENDURE UNTIL WE WIN AFGHANS' TRUST
says US mil. honcho.

As long as we shell and bomb them,is that likely?

 
A BLOG IN USATODAY(14FEB) ASKS
A) can we ‘win’ in Afgh? (almost no US forces understand the local languages)

B) IF WE DO ‘WIN’, we’ll set up a regime
like Bangladesh—
Is this worth the thousands of GI lives
and the billions of dollars this will cost?

 
WAR TO HELP WEST,NOT AFGH.
Allies despair of reforming Afgh,/
Would settle for mitigating Taliban danger to West.
GUARDIAN/13FEB
/afghan suspicions confirmed./
Can shrunken goal be fulfilled?

 
80 IRAQI CASUALTIES
from suicide bomb.
Cnn/13
Iraq population is about 1/10th of US,
so this is equivalent to EIGHT HUNDRED US casualties.

 
REAL, LASTING COST OF WAR
‘GULF WAR SYNDROME’ AFFECTS 1 IN 4 VETS OF 1ST GULF WAR
Incurable ailment from war which Americans thought was low cost.
UNITED PRESS/12FEB

 
BRIT SENDS A FEW MORE TROOPS TO AFGH,
To stave off US request for far more.
LONDON TIMES/12FEB

 
OVER 200,000 US WEAPONS LOST--
PERHAPS TO TALIBAN.
No record of disposition of over 200k weapons.
NYT12FEB

 
TALIBAN THREATENS ISLAMABAD
In revenge for Pak.cooperation with US
UNITED PRESS/11FEB

 
44 Shia casualties in Baghdad
More elsewhere. /
GOOGLE. COM/11FEB

 
85 casualties from Taliban attacks/
Same-day Attacks in capital.
LONDON TIMES/11FEB

 
US WILL INTERVENE IN MEXICO?
PENT. Report last November said that every branch
Of Mex. Govt. is threatened by druglords, and may need
‘supervision’ by US military.
WORLD SOCIALIST/10FEB

Oh, good, another war.

 
AFGHAN STALEMATE says Brit honcho==
Because of Tal. Use of road-bombs.
LONDON TIMES/10FEB

 
AFGHAN SUPPORT PLUMMETS SINCE ‘05

For every question asked, Afghan supports drops far.
MSNBC/10FEB

 
LESSONS FROM RUSS/AFGHAN WAR
They stayed in for 9 years, with 150k troops at a time,
With high Russ casualties.
We’ll likely have to stay even longer.
Cost: $70 thousand millions per year.
Pres. In 2012 will likely refer to ‘OBAMA’S WAR’.
REUTERS/10FEB

 
AFGHAN WAR COULD BE LOST BY September
Says US honcho.
LONDON TELEGRAPH/10FEB

 
MOST APPROVE OBAMA, NOT GOP CONGRESSMEN/
67% LIKE O’s actions, only 1 in 3 like GOP actions.
SEATTLEPI/10AUG

 
PAK.HONCHO: “MANY PAK. AUTHORITIES SYMPATHIZE WITH TALIBAN.”
GOOGLE.COM/10FEB

 
AFGHANS BLAME US FOR TROUBLES
More blame us than blame Taliban.
ABCNEWS/9FEB

Everyone admits that military force alone
Won’t work—
we have to win hearts&minds Of natives.

After 7 years, we’ve failed miserably.

 
SMALL-GOVT. GOP? Bs !They back profligate Pentagon !
They accuse Dems of favoring Big Spending;
But they have always backed the Pentagon,
Spending nearly 1 million millions of dollars
Each year !

 
MOST AFGHANS DISAPPROVE OF AIRSTRIKES
77% disapprove. Far fewer Afghans think they’re well-off
than 4 yrs ago. (Most dislike Taliban.)

 
TALIBAN SYMPATHIZERS CAN’T BE BRIBED,
As Sunnis leaders were bribed in Iraq to desert Quaeda./
Afgh. tribal leaders have access to thousands of millions
In drug money.

 
NEW WAR ON AFGHAN DRUGS
Success here will deprive Taliban of millions of $/
But it will enrage Afghan farmers,
depriving them Of main source of income.
ABC,NEWS/8FEB

 
NON-LETHAL US GOODS MAY CROSS RUSSIA./
Cbs.news/8feb
But Afgh war requires tons of LETHAL goods,
So this is not much help in crisis
Of threats to US supplies crossing Afghanistan.

 
BRITAIN WORST THREAT TO US/
CIA honchos say Islamists in Britain are most likely
To stage new 9/11.
UNITED PRESS/ 8FEB/

That shows the folly of investing billions of $
And thousands of GI lives in Afghanistan,
supposedly to prevent Attacks on US.

Instead,we should concentrate on Homeland Security,
To prevent attacks or at least mitigate their effects.

$-stuffed Pentagon is useless in this project.

 
SUCCESS-ODDS ARE LOW, says Petraeus./
Afgh. has been the graveyard of empires.
He warns of a ‘downward spiral’ of security./
Extra Eur.fighting troops necessary but unlikely./
WASH POST/8FEB

 
‘Worst crisis I’ve seen” says seasoned negotiator. About Afgh.
We need cooperation between Afgh,,India, and Pakistan—
Who don’t trust each other at all !
REUTERS/FEB

 
PENT.SPENDS NEARLY 5 THOUSANDS OF MILLIONS OF $
ON PENT..PROPAGANDA/
2NEWS/7FEB

That’s why Lyons makes puny effort to spread pessimist news on wars.

 
PAKISTANIS CAUGHT BETWEEN TALIBAN
& ARMY/
They’re angry at Taliban, but more angry at Pak.army.
MSNBC/7FEB

 
OBAMA ‘SCARED’ ABOUT PAKISTAN
Civilian govt is so corrupt, army might take over again.
Taliban sets up a ‘ministate’ in Swat valley.
GLOBE &MAIL/7FEB

 
PROBLEMS WITH EVERY SUPPLY ROUTE TO AFGHANISTAN.
BBC/6FEB

Too bad the Bushies didn’t foresee supply problems into landlocked Afghanistan.

They might have hesitated to invade.

 
WHAT DO CORPORATIONS WANT?/
They DON’T want $ given outright
to ordinary Americans./Not even $ paid for
work on govt. projects.

They want to LEND $ to these suckers,
charging high interest./
(Small investors, buying CDs, get very LOW interest.)/

They approved subsidy to newtime home-buyers,
Because they would then need huge mortgages:
Money lent by the wealthy, at high interest rates./

They want ‘tax-cuts’, mainly for the wealthy./

To find out what corporations want, just look for the measures GOP insists on.

 
WHACKING MOLES
US TALKS ABOUT DENYING QUAEDA
HAVEN IN AFGH,/
BUT QUAEDA HAS MANY MORE HAVENS,
E.G., SOMALIA, YEMEN, PAKISTAN..
POSSIBLY INDONESIA./

US $, GI BLOODSHED IN AFGH. MAY WELL BE WASTED.

 
NO MORE HELP IN AFGH
European leaders refuse either more money
or more fighting troops
In Aghanistan.
WASH POST/6FEB

 
RUSSIA OUTSPENDS US FOR KRYGYZ BASE
They give Krygystan more money, persuading them
To close base crucial to our Afghan project.

Supply routes thru Pakistan prove unreliable
(75% of allied supplies)

 
MEGATECH COULD HAVE CAUSED EARTHQUAKE/
Huge dam near site of earthquake perhaps caused the
Aggravated quake killing 90,000 Chinese./
GUARDIAN/5FEB

Technophils have claimed that human efforts were too puny To affect the world./

For argument that megatech does more harm than good,
See lamar.colostate.edu/~dlyons/ch.2

 
AFTER 7 YRS OF WAR, PENT. IS JUST NOW DEVELOPING ADEQUATE VEHICLE.

Pent. Knew The humvee was a death-trap.
Present MRAP is too heavy and clumsy to maneuver in road-scarce Afgh.

Nearly 900 GI casualties have resulted in afgh. THIS YEAR from road bombs.

USATODAY/4FEB

 
PENT. IGNORED ‘DEATH-TRAP’ WARNINGS.
They knew even before our 2 wars that
Humvee would be death-trap when facing
Road-bombs.
USATODAY/4FEB.

Pent. Cares for our troops as KFC
Cares for its chickens.

 
BRIT HONCHO TO BE JAILED FOR TELLING AGHAN CASUALTIES/
He ‘leaked’ secret info to rights-worker.
CNN/4FEB

 
US ARMS TO AFGHAN TRIBES MAY SPUR CIVIL WARS
Taliban success before ’01 was because they offered
(safer) Tyranny instead of anarchy.
CBS NEWS/4FEB

 
MILITANTS FLOOD INTO AFGH
60% of ‘taliban’ fighters are now foreigners.
(Foreigners on both sides fighting on Afghan soil !)
700 civilians killed by allies.
‘Tal’ attacks up 33% in ’08.
REUTERS/4FEB

 
EVEN W/NEW TROOPS, AFGH SIT IS BAD/
WORSE THAN OBAMA FORESAW/
PAKISTAN IS IN SERIOUS DANGER OF COLLAPSE
(WITH NUKE MISSILES !)/
New envoy is ‘appalled’./
Pak. Says predator strike hit civilians,not Taliban/
Army honcho worries ‘how much time we have.”
WASH POST/4 FEB

 
UN CHIEF DECRIES ALLIED KILLINGS/
He joined Karzai in protesting our killing of Afghan civilians/
Nytimes/4feb

 
ANOTHER THREAT TO NATO SUPPLIES
After a bridge was blown, pres. Of Krygistan announced it would Cut off use of airbase by Americans.
This AFTER RUSS PROMISED AID TO KRYGISTAN. ./SEATTLEPI/4FEB
It would be upsetting to think that Russ are undermining our Afghan fiasco—
but then we undermined their Afghan occupation /
Howver, Petraeus said that privately K.authorities deny this cutoff.

 
Investors dump 90 thousands of millions worth
of US securities.
USATODAY/3FEB

We survive only by people buying our bonds.
Damage was done by Bushies, Pentagon.
Will Obama get the blame?

 
NO AFGHAN DEMOCRACY
Pentagon advised Obama to give up on democracy,
Settle for beating Taliban in Afgh. & Pakistan.
UNITED PRESS/3FEB

Can we do even this in less than 20 yrs?

 
2 DAYS, 2 BOMBS
2 ATTACKS IN 2 DAYS/
Tal. Bombed Afghan police twice./
Some police have been killed
In ‘friendly fire’ by Allies.
WASH POST/3FEB

 
NATO SUPPLY BRIDGE BOMBED
By Taliban, In Kyber Pass. Supplies held u p for now.
NYTIMES/3FEB
Most supplies now come thru Pakistan.

 
FAILED AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION:
Everyone says that mere military might won’t prevail
in Afgh, Not without widespread reconstruction
that Afghans perceive As helping them.

But about the US efforts in this line, an expert says,
“It’s hard to overstate the failure.”

USATODAY/2FEB

 
US ENVOY CALLS KARZAI A FAILURE
LATIME/2FEB
(US PICKED KARZAI).

 
AFGHAN CAMPAIGN IS ‘DEBACLE’
Says Indian paper/ leaders of both Pakistan
And Afgh told internatl conference that
Bombing Pak. Was counter-productive.
/Taliban control Swat Valley in Pakistan,
(outside their usual havens.)
INDIAN EXPRESS/2FEB

One bomb caused 45 Afghan
Police casualties.
VOICE OF AMERICA/2FEB

 
CHINA CAN MAKE JOBS,NOT US
Dictators hire unemployed college grads as village administrators.
Our stimulus attempts are blocked by GOP,
Who demand subsidies for rich
As price of helping ordinary Americans

 
NEW BISHOP SAYS KATRINA WAS PUN. FOR N.ORLEANS SINS
POPE MALEDICTUS I DOES IT AGAIN !
GUARDIAN/1FEB

 
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF GIs ENDANGERED IN KOREA
For 50 yrs we have had GIs pointlessly stationed in Korea.
They are now hostages to No.Korea,
whose artillery can Reach all So.Korea.

Now N.K. has WARNED OF POSSIBLE WAR
with S.Korea.
NEWS.YAHOO/1FEB

In an hour they can destroy Seoul and other cities,
And can slaughter GIs.

Then we’d destroy N.Korea. Some consolation !

 
5 more yrs (or more) in Afgh (after 7 yrs already!)
Obama will ditch Karzai, count on local authorities
(perhaps druglords or warlords).

Stakes are higher than in Iraq. If nuke-armed Pakistan
Descends into chaos…
LATIMES/1FEB

 
LOW IRAQ VOTE TURNOUT
51% nationally, 40% in some places.
Losers could say vote is illegitimate.
LATIMES/1FEB

 
KILLING AFGHAN CIVILIANS ENDANGERS GIs
Say US honchos.
It turns whole villages against us.
SEATTLEPI/1FEB

 
SHRUNKEN AFGHAN GOALS
US leaders have given up hoping that our European allies will add thousands of combat troops To their Afghan commitment. They now hope for help only in training Afghan soldiersAnd reconstructing the country.

Gates said publicly that ‘no nation has the time, patience or money’ to set up an Afghan ‘valhalla’(paradise).
LONDON TIMES/1FEB
What he didn’t say is that allies won’t be able to
Set up even a tolerable Afghan society, that their only goal now is to deprive terrorists Of an Afghan haven. (This also will be impossible—and unimportant,
since Terrorists have plenty of other havens worldwide.)

And Afghans won’t be happy to learn that this war
Is not to help Afgh, but to prevent terrorist attacks
On Europe & America.