Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Afghanistan Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 10, 2014 29 Comments
The polling is pretty consistent that the public is not buying Obama's spin on the trade of 5 senior Taliban Gitmo detainees for alleged deserter Bowe Bergdahl. CBS News reports:
Just over a week after U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was freed by the Taliban, a CBS News Poll shows 45 percent of Americans disapprove of the deal that saw him released in exchange for five Taliban militants, while 37 percent approve of it. About one in five do not have an opinion. Views differ by political party: most Republicans disapprove of the deal, while just over half of Democrats approve. Among those who have served in the military, 55 percent disapprove of the prisoner swap. Most Americans -- 56 percent -- say the U.S. paid too high a price to secure Bergdahl's release. Among veterans, that figure rises to 65 percent. Republicans and independents say the deal cost the U.S. too much, while Democrats are more divided: 42 percent think the terms of the agreement were reasonable, but almost as many -- 39 percent -- say the U.S. paid too high a price.
Pew Research further finds:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 04, 2014 11 Comments
The Taliban have released a video of Bowe Bergdahl being released to U.S. Special Forces soldiers who arrived by helicopter. Five high ranking Taliban members were released from Gitmo in exchange. The release of the video is part of the Taliban victory lap: (full propaganda video here) Statements from Bergdahl's fellow soldiers about the circumstances of his departure from his base are very troubling, as are the Obama administration's ridiculous refusal to acknowledge the issues. There are heroes in this video. The Special Forces soldiers who risked their lives landing into what could have been a trap, in order to rescue someone who may turn out to be a deserter who caused the deaths of other Americans searching for him. The image of these Special Forces soldiers reminds me of men like Johnny "Mike" Spann, a CIA officer who was the first American killed in the Afghan war during a prisoner uprising.  We have written of Mike Spann several times before, Remembering Johnny “Mike” Spann:
The story of this small band of men has been told, but not told enough. Spann was killed during the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi when Taliban prisoners gained access to weapons and attacked.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on June 03, 2014 22 Comments
Since the news broke over the weekend regarding the recovery of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five detainees held at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, there have been mixed reactions from the public.  Many are obviously very critical of the decision to exchange what are now known to be some pretty bad guys. But there is also much discussion about the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl’s initial disappearance, much of which has been unconfirmed and unclear over the years. News reports are now surfacing that offer accounts from soldiers who claim to have served with Bergdahl. From CNN:
The sense of pride expressed by officials of the Obama administration at the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is not shared by many of those who served with him, veterans and soldiers who call him a deserter whose "selfish act" ended up costing the lives of better men. "I was pissed off then, and I am even more so now with everything going on," said former Sgt. Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl's platoon when he went missing on June 30, 2009. "Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war, and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him."

Posted by New Neo on June 02, 2014 42 Comments
So, we have Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl released in exchange for five of the most notorious Taliban held in Guantanamo, the place Obama keeps saying he wants to empty. This certainly helps to empty it. The five men will now be held by Qatar, which has reassured us they'll be in secure conditions but won't say what those conditions are, except that they can't travel out of the country for a year. Qatar is a Wahabi country, by the way, with a history of assisting Islamic movements worldwide. Obama has been winding down the Afghan War, and one of his stalled goals in connection with that is negotiations with the Taliban. So it may be that the release of these particular prisoners wasn't just a reluctant move in order to free Bergdahl, it may be more accurate to say that Bergdahl's release was negotiated at this point in time in order to free the Taliban Five:
The official’s comments hinted that the deal is seen as potentially helping the Afghan government, which soon will have a new president, in efforts to end strife with the Taliban -- a point seconded by Jonah Blank, a senior political scientist at the Santa Monica, California-based RAND Corporation. “The Taliban prisoners released weren’t mere bargaining chips: It’s quite possible that, as influential figures, they’ll facilitate a broader negotiated settlement,” in Afghanistan, said Blank, a former staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Doesn't sound as though the plan is to keep them locked up in Qatar, does it?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 28, 2014 25 Comments

Today is a travel and meeting day for me. So imagine my consternation to read the comment in the Tip Line from commenter Ragspierre, linking to a National Review post, about Obama's West Point speech today: Have we reached peak strawman…??? I have been an Obama straw man...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 26, 2014 7 Comments
Air Force Lt. Roslyn Schulte of Ladue, Missouri, was buried on Memorial Day, 2009. We have remembered her previously as best we can: I noted in 2012:
I remember seeing this post at Gateway Pundit, on May 26, 2009, which I made Post of the Day, regarding Lt. Schulte’s death, and it has stayed with me for these past three years:
Lt. Roslyn Schulte was the first female Air Force Academy graduate to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. She died last week in Afghanistan after the vehicle she was riding in was struck by a roadside bomb. Lt. Schulte could have attended an Ivy League school. Instead she chose the Air Force Academy. She dreamed of being a fighter pilot since she was 12. At the academy, she was among the top in her class. Her funeral was yesterday at the Congregation Temple Israel in St. Louis. Her boyfriend U.S. Air Force Cpt. Bruce Cohn announced that he was going to propose to Roslyn this summer.
In 2009, Daily Kos had an excellent round up of news and personal reports about Lt. Schulte's life. Lt. Schulte's friend was interviewed on Boston public radio recently:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2013 3 Comments
The first American killed in the Afghan war, during a prisoner uprising in northern Afghanistan.  On November 25, 2001. We have written of Mike Spann several times before, Remembering Johnny “Mike” Spann:
The story of this small band of men has been told, but not told enough. Spann was killed during the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi when Taliban prisoners gained access to weapons and attacked. Spann was killed during that uprising (see video).  One of the prisoners was the so-called American Taliban, John Walker Lyndh, who Spann interrogated shortly before Spann’s death. Spann’s wife Shannon also worked for the CIA.  In addition to his wife, Spann left behind two daughters and an infant son Spann’s family established a website to honor his life, and there is a wealth of information and photos at his Arlington National Cemetery page. There is an interesting honor paid to Spann at the website of Afghan General and Warlord Abdul Radhis Dostum, including a link to a photo of the memorial to Spann at the site of the uprising in which he died.
We also had follow up posts: Now meet his oldest child, daughter Alison:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 05, 2013 58 Comments

Why the sudden and hysterical terror alerts causing shutdown of U.S. Embassies in the Middle East and worldwide concern? This may be the reason, via ABC News: The senior U.S. official said there is concern about devices that could be implanted inside the body of a terrorist. “We...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 27, 2013 4 Comments

She was buried on Memorial Day 2009, as we discussed in Remembering Lt. Roslyn Schulte – buried on Memorial Day 2009, which has many further details, videos and photos. As described at Gateway Pundit, on May 26, 2009: Lt. Roslyn Schulte was the first female Air Force Academy graduate...

Posted by Joel Engel on December 26, 2012 15 Comments

In Kabul the other day, an Afghan policewoman shot dead her American police trainer and would’ve shot others, too, if her service pistol hadn’t jammed. Here’s how Reuters characterized the incident today in a piece titled Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American: The Afghan...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 29, 2012 36 Comments

The NY Times has a lengthy article about how Obama personally is directing and approving targeted drone strikes with great frequency.  The article appears to be rich in cooperation from the administration, suggesting it is part of Obama's image making and part of the "He...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 28, 2012 16 Comments

On this day we honor all the fallen, three of whom we have remembered here before, Johnny "Mike" Spann, Cpl Jonathan Daniel Porto, and U.S. Army, Spc. Dennis Weichel . We add a new person to our memory, Air Force Lt. Roslyn Schulte, of Ladue, Missouri, killed by a roadside bomb...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 01, 2012 25 Comments

Obama's speech from Afghanistan, standing in front of military vehicles at Bagram Air Base, was fairly predictable. Yet in this moment of spiking the football, Obama needed to remind us that we are not yet worthy as a nation (emphasis mine): Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, coast guardsmen...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 30, 2012 9 Comments

Rhode Island Guardsman died saving Afghan girl: According to the Rhode Island National Guard and the U.S. Army, [Spc. Dennis] Weichel was in a convoy a week ago with his unit in Laghman Province, in northeast Afghanistan. Some children were in the road in front of...

Accessibility by WAH