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Taliban Tag

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 27, 2016 10 Comments
At least 69 people have died and 300 injured in a suicide bombing targeting Christians during Easter celebration in Pakistan. Most of the victims are women and children. The attack took place in a public park in the Pakistani city of Lahore. A former Taliban splinter group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, has taken responsibility for the attack -- confirming the target of the suicide bombing were Christians.  In 2014, the splinter group had reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS). According to eyewitnesses the explosion took place at the entrance of the park -- meters away from the children’s swings. Indian-based NDTV reports:
A breakaway Pakistani faction of the militant Taliban group has claimed responsibility for an Easter Sunday bombing in a park in the eastern city of Lahore that killed 65 people. Ahsanullah Ahsan, spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, told the Associated Press that a suicide bomber with the faction deliberately targeted the Christian community.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 17, 2016 13 Comments
Maybe this is why Hillary is coughing so much, and barking like a dog. You remember the January 29, 2016, Friday night Hillary Email Dump – minus the 22 Top Secret ones. No one knew what was in those 22 Top Secret emails, because they were Top Secret:
It’s Friday night. So the State Department just released a new batch of Hillary emails. Because weekend. There are 22 emails, however that will not be released:
The State Department has concluded there is “top secret” material in Hillary Clinton’s email correspondence from the time she was secretary of state, indicating that some of her emails will never be released, even in heavily redacted form, because they are too sensitive for the public to view. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the material crosses seven email chains, amounting to 37 pages worth of material.
Now we are getting some insight. Catherine Herridge from Fox News reports, Clinton email chain discussed Afghan national's CIA ties, official says:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 21, 2016 11 Comments
Fifteen years ago when the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, they destroyed ancient Buddhist statues. Today, ISIS is following their lead in other parts of the region, most recently by destroying a Christian monastery in Iraq. Jonah Bennett reports at The Daily Caller:
ISIS Just Bulldozed The Oldest Christian Monastery In Iraq The Islamic State just bulldozed St. Elijah’s Monastery, the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq, which has survived every other assault for 1,400 years until now. ISIS took out the location with bulldozers, sledgehammers and perhaps even explosives.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 10, 2016 4 Comments
Forget Twitter, ISIS and other al-Qaeda offshoots are flocking to Telegram. The popular messaging app has become an ISIS favorite for its encryption and sharing capabilities. Writing for Voice of America, Jamie Dettmer explained:
Telegram’s Channels Service, which was launched last September, allows messages to be transmitted to an unlimited number of subscribers and for users to break off into highly encrypted private and group chats. In the last few weeks IS militants and other jihadis have resorted again — but in even larger numbers — to the Telegram app to recruit, spread propaganda and, intelligence officials fear, possibly organize and plot attacks in chats that are invisible and can’t be monitored or decoded.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 26, 2015 13 Comments
Bowe Bergdahl, the deserter who tried to join the Taliban only to be taken captive by them, has been sitting down for a series of interviews with filmmaker Mark Boal and that are available via podcast.  In these interviews, Bergdahl describes escape attempts, the Taliban's weakness for sweets, and their curiosity about whether or not Obama is gay. The New York Post reports:
Bergdahl said he saw his first chance at escape soon after his abduction in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, when a water delivery temporarily distracted his captors. He managed to slip off the chains binding his hands and feet and unlatched the flimsy wire holding the door to his cell closed. He was free for only 15 minutes, running barefoot over rocks and climbing onto a roof and covering himself in mud to hide, he said in audio used by the podcast. He was caught in moments and hauled back into his cell, where men beat him with a rubber hose. They then blindfolded him and moved him to a new home, in what he now believes was North Waziristan in Pakistan, he said.
In a later attempt to escape, Bergdahl was longer than fifteen minutes; he managed to evade capture for seven days.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 20, 2015 8 Comments
Chuck Hagel was Obama's third Defense Secretary--the other two: Robert Gates and Leon Panetta--to leave his position under difficult circumstances. As late as November 19, 2014, Hagel told Charlie Rose that he didn't wake up in the morning worried about his job, and in less than a week, on the 24th of November, news broke that Hagel had "stepped down."  Despite the rumors addressed by Rose, people were surprised by the news, and Joe Biden is reported to have been "ticked off" by the move. At the time, The New York Times reported that Hagel had stepped down "under pressure" from the White House.
Aides said Mr. Obama made the decision to remove his defense secretary on Friday after weeks of rising tension over a variety of issues, including what administration officials said were Mr. Hagel’s delays in transferring detainees from the military prison in Guantánamo Bay and a dispute with Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser, over Syria policy.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 14, 2015 34 Comments
Bowe Bergdahl, who reportedly left his post to go look for al Queda, was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.  Today, it was announced that Bergdahl will face a court martial and a possible life sentence. CNN reports:

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face a military court on charges of desertion and endangering fellow soldiers, the U.S. Army announced Monday.

Gen. Robert Abrams, the commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, ordered the court-martial on Monday, breaking with the U.S. military officer overseeing Bergdahl's preliminary hearing who recommended that Bergdahl be referred to a special court-martial and face no jail time.

Abrams on Monday ordered Bergdahl's case to a general court-martial, which means Bergdahl could face life imprisonment if convicted of "misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place."

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 03, 2015 12 Comments
Judicial Watch has obtained new emails (available here) that reveal a bit more about Hillary Clinton's time at State than we knew before (or than she probably wants revealed). Judicial Watch reports:
Judicial Watch today released a new batch of emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton connected to the Benghazi attack. Included is an email chain showing that Clinton slept late the Saturday after the Benghazi attack and missed a meeting that her staff had been trying to set up about sensitive intelligence issues, including the Presidential Daily Brief, on a day she was to make a slew of phone calls to foreign leaders.
There was also an interesting detail in an email concerning Bowe Bergdahl's father's concern over "Crusader paradigm."
The documents contain an email passed to Clinton in the days following the Benghazi attack in which the father of alleged Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl anguishes over the “‘Crusade’ paradigm” which he says “will never be forgotten in this part of the world.”
You may remember Mr. Bergdahl from Obama's over-the-top, tin-eared, and inappropriate Rose Garden ceremony announcing the exchange of Bowe Bergdahl, who has since been charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, for five top Taliban leaders.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2015 2 Comments
The first time we wrote about Johnny Micheal "Mike" Spann was in early May 2011, in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden:
Hearing the news of Osama bin Laden’s death brought forward many emotions and memories. One of those memories for me was the story of Johnny “Mike” Spann, from Winfield, Alabama, the first American killed in the Afghanistan war, on November 25, 2001.[*] Spann was a CIA operative, one of a small number of Americans who landed in Afghanistan, helped coordinate local forces hostile to the Taliban, and directed bombing and other military action. 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.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on October 12, 2015 24 Comments
Earlier this year, we covered the charges that Bowe Bergdahl faced; these included desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.  He was facing a possible dishonorable discharge and life in prison.  Amy wrote at the time:
Last year, the United States released 5 high-profile al Qaeda commandos from the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities in exchange for the release Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Bergdahl was captured by militants after he allegedly deserted his base in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan. The exchange embroiled the Obama Administration in scandal—why did we trade dangerous prisoners for the freedom of a deserter?—and the public quickly began to demand answers about what consequences should and would rain down on Bergdahl’s head.
You may recall the outrageous pomp and circumstance with which Obama shared the news of this swap with the American people (despite knowing at the time, as General McChrystal later revealed, that Bergdahl was a deserter): Even after it was revealed that Bergdahl was a deserter (at best), Obama continued to defend his decision to trade five top Taliban leaders for him, saying "we leave no soldier behind."

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 08, 2015 15 Comments
Since his return to the U.S. in 2014, there's been much speculation over which charges (if any) Bowe Bergdahl, alleged military deserter and former Taliban captive, would have to face. Tough criticism came from some of his fellow servicemen who believe Bergdahl is a deserter. A new report from the Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle says that Bergdahl will face one charge that's extremely rare:
Military selects rarely used charge for Bergdahl case Military prosecutors have reached into a section of military law seldom used since World War II in the politically fraught case against Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier held prisoner for years by the Taliban after leaving his post in Afghanistan. Observers wondered for months if Bergdahl would be charged with desertion after the deal brokered by the U.S. to bring him home. He was — but he was also charged with misbehavior before the enemy, a much rarer offense that carries a stiffer potential penalty in this case. "I've never seen it charged," Walter Huffman, a retired major general who served as the Army's top lawyer, said of the misbehavior charge. "It's not something you find in common everyday practice in the military."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 09, 2015 8 Comments
There I was, minding my own business on Twitter, when Kurt Schlichter retweeted this tweet and it hit me in the gut: What jumped out at me was not just that another American soldier was killed in Afghanistan. It was his hometown, Bristol, Rhode Island. As readers know, I used to live in Rhode Island (where we would be when law school was not in session) until two years ago, when we relocated full time to Ithaca. But Rhode Island emotionally is still home. It's a small state, and everyone knows someone who knows someone. Bristol was just two towns over from where we lived, and it was an easy bicycle ride on the East Bay bike path from Barrington. We often ate in Bristol, or cycled to Roger Williams University (where I taught for a semester) or along Poppasquash Point. Bristol has the oldest continuous 4th of July parade in the nation. While Bristol wasn't home, it was part of home. McKenna is a pretty common name in Rhode Island. So while we didn't know Andrew McKenna or his family, we probably knew someone who knew them.

Posted by Amy Miller on July 29, 2015 11 Comments
Today the Afghan government announced that it is investigating new reports of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Intelligence sources, as well as the Afghan government, previously reported that Omar had probably died "two or three" years ago, but are working alongside other officials in the region to confirm the new reports. More from the BBC:
A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday that the authorities were trying to verify the reports. "As soon as we get any more authentication... we're going to let the media and the people of Afghanistan know about that," Sayed Zafar Hashemi said. The Afghan government, elected last year, has embarked on a peace process with the Taliban.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 18, 2015 23 Comments
Following the Chattanooga terror attack, the media seems confused about what had happened or at least why it had happened. Ted Cruz, however, experiences no such confusion and issued a powerful statement.
“In the wake of this vicious attack on our nation we need to rid ourselves of two dangerous delusions, first and foremost that a ‘lone gunman’–as President Obama described the shooter–is somehow isolated from the larger threat of radical Islamic terrorism. In the modern world, no one acts in isolation. Through social media ISIS, al Qaida, and other groups are infiltrating our nation with impunity while our government will not even admit that radical Islamic terrorism is a problem. “The second delusion is that this attack is somehow isolated from previous episodes, notably those in Little Rock, Arkansas and Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009—both of which were attacks on American military facilities. The Obama administration was woefully reluctant to call either an act of radical Islamic terrorism, instead suggesting ‘workplace violence’ as a justification for the killings. Finally, after years of effort, the victims of Fort Hood were properly recognized as victims of attacks by foreign terrorists when they received Purple Hearts on April 15, 2015. Likewise, the victim of the Little Rock attack received a Purple Heart on July 1, 2015.

Posted by Amy Miller on July 07, 2015 5 Comments
Since the Taliban rose to power in 1996, the people of Afghanistan have lived a live of fear and deprivation. A cursory search for ground footage in preparation for this article offered little in the way of troop movement or news spots, but much in terms of brutal executions; the western world is still reeling in the wake of the horror that is ISIS, but for people living in Afghanistan and the surrounding areas, the violence isn't a new trend---it's a way of life. As a rule, Taliban leadership has roundly refused to meet with leaders of the Afghan leadership; that, coupled with the brutality and absolute polarity of the ideological conflict itself, has made the Afghan war less easy to comprehend than other conflicts in the region. Recent developments, however, could signal the beginning of the end of outright hostilities. This evening (local time,) leaders from both the Taliban and the Afghan government are meeting in Islamabad to continue to discuss peace terms. Parties have been meeting for several months at various locations around the world---a fact that Taliban ground forces have roundly tried to cover up---but this meeting is being touted as having greater significance than the previously-disavowed discussions. More from the Wall Street Journal:
A senior Afghan official said U.S. and Chinese officials took part in Tuesday’s meeting as observers. Their attendance, together with Pakistan’s willingness to play host, is significant as it points to a broadening involvement of key players in a possible peace process. But it was unclear whether the meeting in Islamabad was fully backed by Taliban leadership. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group, said he wasn’t able to confirm whether the Islamabad talks took place at all.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 27, 2015 10 Comments
One one hand, it is comforting to know President Obama can target the enemy and use American resources to counter it. On the other hand, it is very disturbing when that enemy is . . . climate change. Obama is acting upon his delusion that the biggest global security threats involve weather patterns and he's now calling on American troops to respond.
A recent Government Accountability Office report examined the Defense Department’s role in the Arctic, which increasingly will include “monitoring the changing Arctic conditions,” such as ice levels. The administration contends that changing ice levels in the Arctic could require additional U.S. military presence in the region, justifying the need for the Pentagon to commit significant time and resources to monitoring the effects of climate change.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 17, 2015 28 Comments
We have covered the case of Emma Sulkowicz, the Columbia University student who vowed to carry her mattress around campus in protest of her alleged rapist who remained on campus. That alleged rapist was cleared by the University, and now is suing to clear his name. I don't know if Sulkowicz was lying or telling the truth. But the sharp dispute hardly makes the case comparable to what Afghan women have to go through. Beatings. Burkas. Lack of education. Executions.
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