remember that time we went to afghanistan?

the confed cup rolls on in brazil amid protests over the billions being spent on stadiums for next years world cup while vital services go underfunded. but more importantly today pits spain v. tahiti, one of the possibly most lopsided games in recent memory. spain is ranked #1 in the world and tahiti is at #138 nestled comfortably between syria and afghanistan. i just turned it on and spain has scored twice in the last five minutes to go up 3 - 0.  the spanish b-squad (all but one of the starters from the last game is out of the lineup) is better than almost every other countrys main squad so this is essentially batting practice for them. the division (now 4 - 0) that represents oceania (the highest ranked team is new zealand at #57) makes the north american division that the us is in look like a powerhouse which it most decidedly is not. they might want to think about reconfiguring that in the future.   

yesterday italy and brazil secured semifinal bids but the other division may not be decided until sunday if uruguay beats nigeria later today. 

5 - 0. they said at halftime the betting line was 8 - 0. and they have a legitimate reason to run up the score as goal differential is the deciding factor should there be a tie in the group...

oh, and game seven of the nba finals is tonight. hard to imagine it could get any better than the end of game six. the big question is will lebron wear a headband? and if you know what im talking about i pity you as much as i do myself.

6 - 0.

any good wikileaks/afghan analysis out there?

double game. its an old game.

wiki

boxer rebellion

A Guardian Television report suggests that 75% of the 80,000 Afghan army troops are regular marijuana users.

Did anyone get a copy of the paper today?:

"Early this morning, commuters nationwide were delighted to find out
that while they were sleeping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had
come to an end.

If, that is, they happened to read a "special edition" of today's New
York Times.

In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million
papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged
pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass
them out on the street.

Articles in the paper announce dozens of new initiatives including the
establishment of national health care, the abolition of corporate
lobbying, a maximum wage for C.E.O.s, and, of course, the end of the
war.

The paper, an exact replica of The New York Times, includes
International, National, New York, and Business sections, as well as
editorials, corrections, and a number of advertisements, including a
recall notice for all cars that run on gasoline. There is also a
timeline describing the gains brought about by eight months of
progressive support and pressure, culminating in President Obama's "Yes
we REALLY can" speech. (The paper is post-dated July 4, 2009.)

"It's all about how at this point, we need to push harder than ever,"
said Bertha Suttner, one of the newspaper's writers. "We've got to make
sure Obama and all the other Democrats do what we elected them to do.
After eight, or maybe twenty-eight years of hell, we need to start
imagining heaven."

Not all readers reacted favorably. "The thing I disagree with is how
they did it," said Stuart Carlyle, who received a paper in Grand
Central Station while commuting to his Wall Street brokerage. "I'm all
for freedom of speech, but they should have started their own paper."

"Now, bear with me a moment here. Back in 2002-2003, officials in the Bush administration and their neocon supporters, retro-think-tank admirers, and allied media pundits, basking in all their Global War on Terror glory, were eager to talk about the region extending from North Africa through the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the former SSRs of Central Asia right up to the Chinese border as an "arc of instability." That arc coincided with the energy heartlands of the planet and what was needed to "stabilize" it, to keep those energy supplies flowing freely (and in the right directions), was clear enough to them. The "last superpower," the greatest military force in history, would simply have to put its foot down and so bring to heel the "rogue" powers of the region. The geopolitical nerve would have to be mustered to stamp a massive "footprint" -- to use a Pentagon term of the time -- in the middle of that vast, valuable region. (Such a print was to be measured by military bases established.) Also needed was the nerve not just to lob a few cruise missiles in the direction of Baghdad, but to offer such an imposing demonstration of American shock-and-awe power that those "rogues" -- Iraq, Syria, Iran (Hezbollah, Hamas) -- would be cowed into submission, along with uppity U.S. allies like oil-rich Saudi Arabia."

I wonder how the delusional right will spin this ...

the cost of this war will be measured in destroyed lives. among them are the almost one in three returning soldiers effected for life by PTSD:

Of the 505,366 troops who have left the military after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past four years, 144,424 have sought health care through Veterans Affairs. Of that number, 46,571 received preliminary diagnoses of mental disorders, including 20,638 with PTSD, according to the VA.

The numbers don't capture the full scope of the nation's growing PTSD caseload, however. Many former troops seek psychological help from private practices or other sources. Neither does the number account for PTSD sufferers currently enlisted in the military.

(The Independent requested the numbers of diagnosed PTSD cases from the various military branches, but officials are either still working to meet the request or say the information is not readily available.)

In February 2002, after a briefing on the status of the war in Afghanistan, the commanding officer, Gen. Tommy Franks, told me the war was being compromised as specialized personnel and equipment were being shifted from Afghanistan to prepare for the war in Iraq -- a war more than a year away. Even at this early date, the White House was signaling that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein was of such urgency that it had priority over the crushing of al Qaeda [...]

At a meeting of the Senate intelligence committee on Sept. 5, 2002, CIA Director George Tenet was asked what the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) provided as the rationale for a preemptive war in Iraq. An NIE is the product of the entire intelligence community, and its most comprehensive assessment. I was stunned when Tenet said that no NIE had been requested by the White House and none had been prepared. Invoking our rarely used senatorial authority, I directed the completion of an NIE.

Tenet objected, saying that his people were too committed to other assignments to analyze Saddam Hussein's capabilities and will to use chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons. We insisted, and three weeks later the community produced a classified NIE.

There were troubling aspects to this 90-page document. While slanted toward the conclusion that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction stored or produced at 550 sites, it contained vigorous dissents on key parts of the information, especially by the departments of State and Energy. Particular skepticism was raised about aluminum tubes that were offered as evidence Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program. As to Hussein's will to use whatever weapons he might have, the estimate indicated he would not do so unless he was first attacked.

Under questioning, Tenet added that the information in the NIE had not been independently verified by an operative responsible to the United States. In fact, no such person was inside Iraq. Most of the alleged intelligence came from Iraqi exiles or third countries, all of which had an interest in the United States' removing Hussein, by force if necessary. former fla sen bob graham (d)

Note, that classified NIE was not available to every congressperson. Just to members of the Senate and House committees on intelligence.

Graham asked Tenet to produce an unclassified version of the NIE. But what the CIA produced was a propaganda piece absent any of the reservations or caveats presented in the classified edition of the document. The vast majority of senators and congressment, much less the American people, did not see the full classified document.

Hence, Bush's claims that congressional Democrats had access to the same intelligence that the administration had is pure bullshit.

daily kos

Here is the smoking gun:


"C [Dearlove] reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.


It is not surprising on the face of it that Bush had decided on the Iraq war by summer of 2002. It it is notable that Dearlove noticed a change in views on the subject from earlier visits. By summer of 2002, the Afghanistan war had wound down and al-Qaeda was on the run, so Bush no longer felt vulnerable and was ready to go forward with his long-cherished project of an Iraq War. What is notable is that all this was not what Bush was telling us.

[....]

Goldsmith's hands trembled as he reached out for the chainsaw rig. He saw himself and the others sitting in the Hague, one day, facing the same judges that Milosevic harangued. Charged. But it is a long way from Crawford to the Hague. The man from Connecticut with the cowboy boots and the fake twang would get away with it. They would all get away with it. But people would know they had lied.

-juan cole

"The very reason Mr. Bush had the luxury of launching a war of necessity in Afghanistan and a war of choice in Iraq, without a second thought, was because of the surpluses built up by the previous administration and Congress. Since then, the Bush team has been slashing taxes in the middle of two wars, weakening the dollar and amassing a huge debt burden - on the implicit assumption that nothing will go wrong in the future.

But what if there is another 9/11 or war of necessity? We're cooked. The tax revenue won't be there, so the only option will be more borrowing and a weaker dollar. But what happens if the Chinese and other foreigners, who now hold over 40 percent of our Treasury securities, decide they don't want to hold these depreciating dollars anymore, let alone buy more?"

this has been pretty self evident for a long time. like since the idea of invading iraque originally came up. where does friedman come off with that "It is now clear to me..." shit. didnt he skip covering "the most important presidential election of our lifetime" to sell his book ? after giving bush two thumbs up for the preemptive war in iraque!

Wow. This doesn't look good for the boys in charge. Looks like a new book is about to come out. Richard Butler will have an op-ed piece in the NY Times this weekend on the issue. He (Butler) said this on CNN by way of explanation:

The most explosive charge, Paula, is that the Bush administration -- the present one, just shortly after assuming office slowed down FBI investigations of al Qaeda and terrorism in Afghanistan in order to do a deal with the Taliban on oil -- an oil pipeline across Afghanistan.

Now let's see. The White House has appointed National Security Council Advisor Zalmay Khalilzad to serve as Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan. Apparetnly he worked for Unocal. As did Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim Prez. (Although this thread has some arguments as to why this might not be as ridiculous as it sounds.)

Kind of makes this whole conspiracty theory thing I linked to on 9/24 (alas, on a private page, because I was actually chicken) seem not that crazy.

Kind of makes you wonder who was in attendance at the secret Cheney energy summit? They've gone to some crazy lengths to surpress that information.

afghan war rugs

Weasels at the Helm

From "Today's Papers" on Slate:

Rumsfeld said that the U.S. plans to "incentivize a large number of people to begin crawling through those tunnels and caves." The plan is being broadcast over Afghanistan and dropped in leaflets:

"Attention people of Afghanistan! Up to $25 million reward is being offered for information leading to the location or capture of Osama bin Laden or Aiman al-Zawahiri."

Catty Kitt

Quote of the day (from Page Six) has second-string Catwoman Eartha Kitt, who almost ruined her career in the 60s by publicly opposing the Vietnam War, opining:

"This war against the terrorists in Afghanistan is nothing like Vietnam. I support this war unequivocally. We were attacked on our soil. We have to bomb these people until we teach them not to hate us."

british pm tony blair has sent not so super secret agent harry potter to afghanistan to wreak havoc at the box office. having worked his magic in kabul theatres, he has moved on to bewitch taliban audiences in jalalabad and kandahar with his cuteness and pluck if not his magic. potter said the covert operation has come as a welcome relief from promoting his movie and merchandising tie-ins.

grateful for the assistance while mindful of the need to spend another 20 billion before the war ends to satisy the defense contractors, bush has issued guarded praise for the movie and potters secret intervention. he has publicly put on a good face and offered potter an open invitation to play t-ball at the whitehouse once all the evil has been wrung from bin laden. however, dratfink has unearthed secret NSA and CIA communiques outlining strategies for countering, kidnapping, cloning or killing potter if he becomes a risk to americas global hegemony.

stock for the gillette company soared on the exchange today at the prospect of an almost clean shaven afghanistan. their new ad campaign plastered on hastily assembled billboards amidst the rubble of kabul extols the virutes of 'gillette: the new face of freedom'. but dont confuse that with lancomes 'le nouveau visage de la liberté' campaign for women. the french beauty multinational have set up make-up booths in mazir e sharif to instruct the afghani women in the art and ritual of face painting. no more blaming the taliban for being dateless on a friday night, ladies!

revolutionary assoc. of the women of afghanistan photo archive. warning - graphic and disturbing.

The San Jose Mercury (aka Murky News) printed three letters to the editor which questioned the Bush administration's bombing of Afghanistan. Wierd. Is this a sign that it's safe to be rational in America?

I'm hitting the road to see the Butthole Surfers tonight. Blue moon, Holloween, the Butthole Surfers, Knitting Factory LA -- seems like some kind of harmonic convergence.

Steve, if you want to reach me, my cell is the best choice. 408 892 0826

So, is this like the "credible threat" against airforce one, or is this the other kind? Why can't they just say what it is? I guess because it's something like "Mossad says so."

Anyway, I'm moving the /treehouse to highest alert. So you know what to do. Or not.

And what's up with this? Mushroom clouds north of Kabul? Not good. I've been saying it privately but I'll go on the record here - we are going to drop some nuclear weapons on someone, real soon. Here's the formula:

"Experts" and various other talking head types - including many politicians - sense a chance to gain some points in the American public's mind by hitting Bush for being too timid. McCain, to take one example, is strongly calling for ground troops to take and hold land in Afghanistan. Thomas Freidman is calling for similar action (what's up with this guy - he's starting to scare me.) In any case, Bush is going to be forced to do something to seem strong, but as soon as we send ground troops into Afghanistan they will immediately and soundly get their asses kicked. We have the technology, but I'm guessing that doesn't mean much in the chaos of battle. Being accustomed to battle conditions is the only thing that matters, and these people are clearly accustomed. The US military would have to take 10 years of strong defeats before we'd be toughened up enough to really duke it out with a nothing-to-lose islamic fundamentalist army with decades of experience fighting on their home soil.

So, after we lose a couple Somalia style battles (with our soldiers being tortured, gutted, beheaded, and otherwised dragged through the streets of Kabul) our people, goaded by the McCain types, will demand blood. They will demand a victory that our conventional forces will be unable to deliver. So Bush will have no choice but to use nuclear weapons. Even if it's clear tactically that they won't do much good. They will appease the psychic need for a big hit.

(And two days later the Russians will drop one on Chechnya.)

Hope I'm wrong.

Ode to the Middle of Nowhere

What is it about Central Asia?
From the so-called Aryans, to the Huns and the Hordes, not to mention Timur the Iron Limper; there's always some threat to civilization issuing from this inhospitable zone. Alexander the Great turned back there, along with Kipling's Britain (check the last verse). I can see why people want to leave, but what are they doing there to begin with? History's losers, forced beyond the margins, until they've grown as hard as the country? We're talking about people whose favorite sport involves a bunch of guys on horseback and a goat carcass. People expect the world to end in the Middle East, but I say keep your eye on Central Asia. Maybe we should ask Pynchon about it.

Anyway, the point I'm getting to is that the area provides the perfect name for the current military campaign. This has been a problem, as Operation Infinite Justice was dumped, supposedly in deference to our Moslem friends. Actually, it's got a ring to it, and will likely turn up as the title of a Schwarzenneger movie next year. Enduring Freedom, or whatever it is now, is no good. Clumsy, and whose freedom are we talking about? And forget Muslims, it ought to be objectionable to Christians. Doesn't the Bible teach that the works of man are passing, and only God endures? As far as I know, heaven is not a democracy.

I'm proposing Operation Baluchitherium, named after the largest land mammal ever to walk the earth. Imposing animals have a long tradition as totems and military mascots. I think a giant, extinct, hornless rhinoceros makes a fine symbol for our present deployment. And where's it from? You guessed it; Central Asia.
What is it with that place?

archived vollman on afghanistan

TRUE??

On May 23rd 2001 the Taleban authorities in Afghanistan confirmed that all Hindus will be required to wear a strip of yellow cloth sewn onto a shirt pocket in order to identify themselves. They claim that the measure is for their "protection".

"Afghanistan's ancient and imposing Buddhist relics are seen as 'idols.' "

.....now out of favor with the Taliban rulers, their destruction has been ordered.