'It's gonna be a bloodbath,' fallen soldier told father

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CNN

Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling suspected his days were numbered last week, while he and his band of brothers in the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team prepared for a mission near Wanat, Afghanistan.

"It's gonna be a bloodbath," he told his father, Kurt Zwilling, on the phone, in what would be their last conversation.

Kurt Zwilling braced himself for the worst but held out hope that his son would make it home.

"They were in the most dangerous place on Earth. They were in mortal danger, and there was nothing they could do it about it," he said. "But they were soldiers, so they had to do their job."

With just a few days left in their 15-month tour, Gunnar Zwilling and eight of his comrades were killed July 13 in a clash with as many as 200 Taliban militants during a mission to set up an outpost near Wanat. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/17/airborne.soldiers.family/index.html

---

Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling had a bad feeling about his final mission in Afghanistan, said his father, Kurt.

Back in the first year of the Iraq debacle I was sending food & other necessities to a group of soldiers in the 173rd Airborne through the Anysoldier program. I keep wondering if any of the guys in the pic one of the soldiers sent me were there. I hope not. I hope they were all smart enough and were able to leave the military.

More blood on the hands of Bush and his neocon buds for throwing it all in to Iraq and throwing these soldiers in Afghanistan to the wolves.

[arcadian]

1. Afghanistan? I thought that war was won years ago.

:sarcasm:

[Tempest]

3. According to Bush, the Taliban are no longer in existence

"And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence.”

[deutsey]

76. The Busheviks create and live in their own reality, remember?

:evilfrown:

[MindMatter]

9. No. Bush cut and ran

Once they discovered Afghanistan didn't have any oil.

[Maat]

28. It's the transcontinental pipeline - critical to the movement of natural gas ...

that Big Energy has been coveting since Reagan hit office.

I believe they still want to do it; but plans have been put on hold.

That's why we are there.

Not that my husband was in the oil & gas business for decades, and that's relevant, or anything (he just heard a rumor about it, yeah, that's the ticket ..).

It's all on the internets - the tubes.





The reentry of the US and CIA was engineered by (what else) oil and gas, this time from Turkmenistan with Houston based Unocal proposing a pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan. This crazy idea which even Kissinger called “the triumph of hope over experience” attracted Clinton White House interest. Unocal got an agreement with Turkmenistan but the Benazir Bhutto government preferred an alternative proposal from Bridas of Argentina. The CIA was convinced Bridas had bribed Benazir Bhutto’s notoriously corrupt husband Zardari. Bridas may also have funneled as much as $1 million to Massoud to gain his approval for their pipeline proposal in north Afghanistan. Unocal approached the Taliban.

http://www.mutanteggplant.com/agog/category/uncategorized/asia/

[jeff30997]

32. You are absolutely right.

I've been reading about the subject for years and this bloodbath have nothing to do with fighting terrorism.(Gee they didn't even get Bin Laden!)It's about that damn pipeline.

The Principal Players: Unocal | Bridas (Bridas has since merged with BP Amoco Argentina)

Here's an interesting time-line of all this big scam:


http://www.worldpress.org/specials/pp/pipeline_timeline.htm

All this blood for nothing,again.And now they're going for Iran! :(

[Maat]

38. Oh, thanks; I will check that out!

I'm turning 50 this November; things sure ain't what this formerly idealistic kid thought they were.

[Winston.]

42. It's also...

the heroin trade, the Taliban had virtually destroyed these crops, now Afghanistan is harvesting record amounts, it is estimated that they now are now responsible for 90% of the worlds production in heroin. The worlds elites have always been heavily involved in the illegal drugs trade...

[Maat]

46. I'm sure it's a "two-fer."

Big money to be made all around.

[rainy]

50. once they got their Caspian Sea pipeline.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. " With just a few days left in their 15-month tour"

Short Time Safety Moe.

Who the fuck sends an outfit this short to a forward area in goddamn Afghanistan. That's ridiculous.

[groovedaddy]

14. Sounds like it was a death trap. What in the hell were their commanders thinking? n.t

[groovedaddy]

16. Let's see now - the head of Pakastani inteligence was in D.C. - 9/11/2001

After the U.S. invades Afghanistan, Al Qaeda and the Taliban high tail for Pakistan, where they still operate from with virtual impugnity. Something REALLY stinks about this picture.
I also vaguely remember many in the military/CIA questioning how they got out in the first place. Our military/inteligence had to have known where the "bad guys" would be headed. Sounds like they could have stopped/destroyed them but didn't.

[Winston.]

30. I also remember...

many news reports in 2001 about Al-queda and Taliban fighters, 6,000 in all, being airlifted to safety in Pakistan under the watchful eyes of the US military. Perpetual war for perpetual profit...

[heliarc]

39. They were thinking this was the last way they could to get DC

to pay attention to the "need" for troops in Afghanistan. It was a strategic gambit to influence decision making in Washinton and sentiment in the voting public. The resulting logic? "We need a troop surge in Afghanistan"

[Karenina]

49. No benefits to pay...

[TNOE]

63. My God - you are probably right

NOTHING suprises me anymore.

[BearSquirrel2]

18. How does a U.S. Military Unit get so outgunned ...

With all our satellites and air supremacy, how on Earth does a US military unit get in a situation where they are so outgunned. Does it have something to do with being short-staffed in Afghanistan?? I think Colin Powell had something to say on this topic.

[pegleg]

23. Custer. nt

[groovedaddy]

26. That was Custer's poor leadership and disobeying orders.

He was not supposed to engage the Indians, as they were on a scouting mission. He chose to attack what turned out to be a vastly superior force. Had he obeyed orders, it wouldn't have happened.
These guys in Afghanistan were obeying orders. Those orders sucked.

[pegleg]

35. They were both the result of poor judgement and were both outgunned.

[heliarc]

37. Easy... it was a setup

This is to "prove" that we need more military might in Afghanistan. I have a theory that those poor guys were sent into a bloodbath intentionally... intentionally to send a message to Washington that Afghanistan is the next place to send a troop surge.

[elocs]

47. It's not so much that we are outgunned,

it's that we are unwilling to kill everything in sight with the massive firepower that is available to us. That's how the Russians were beaten. The Taliban has no problem with using civilian homes to attack our troops with the families still in the houses because they know that we will hesitate to bomb those places. They also have no trouble in hiding behind innocent civilians or even setting up children to be killed so that they may blame U.S. forces. That being said, we need many more reinforcements in Afghanistan.

[heliarc]

51. Nobody hesitated at haditha nt.

[elocs]

58. Why not try and post again something intelligent when you know what you are talking about?

Because when you hold up that one incident as an example of the behavior of our entire armed forces and all of our soldiers it is insulting. Our troops go out of their way in Afghanistan to avoid civilian deaths. The Taliban has no such restrictions.

[heliarc]

66. Maybe you should watch our Soldiers' testimonies at Winter soldier

Then you might wonder if Haditha was an isolated incident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6iLoXIpJFQ

Jon Turner shows footage and photography of him and others in his company killing civilians, and destroying Muslim holy sites.

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=1138

Clifton Hicks and Steven Casey talking about the systemic indiscriminate killing in Iraq.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL85305.htm

Killings of wedding party travelling in convoy from the wedding in Afghanistan just days ago.


Are you so sure that the incidents are as unique and rare as the military wants you to believe?

Our troops, sir, are at their wits end with this war. They have no goal there. Why not try and post again when you realize that Haditha is the tip of the iceberg, and that "intelligent" posts point out the denial and indulgence in constantly propping up "Our troops" as you and others continue to do.

They are our country's instrument of war. They are our children. But they are not infallible as you would suggest, and many if not most of them are at their wits end.

[Vinnie From Indy]

68. AND, let's not forget that the peoples in the tribal regions have

for generations stretching back 1000 years been conducting ambush attacks. They know their country and they know how to use it their advantage. Underestimating these fighters is a grave mistake.

[BreweryYardRat]

71. Longer than that, pal.

People in that area were attacking Alexander the Great when he came through on his way to India, and they attacked the Persians before that.

[Greyhound]

54. We are woefully under strength there, and one of the most basic principles

of combat is now largely ignored by our "leadership", air, sea, and orbital, are only support for troops on the ground, and most (many would say all) of our troops are on the wrong ground.

[elocs]

44. My 19 year old godson just was deployed to Afghanistan,

the Korengal Valley, a hellhole on the border with Pakistan and where those 9 troops were killed. He has no combat experience whatsoever.

[Arctic Dave]

4. If you read the entire article you can see a few of these guys

were total kool-aid drinkers. I guess they found out the hard way this "war" is a sham. Anyone still spouting the "were fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" needs to be hit in the head with a 2x4.

[RamboLiberal]

8. There was a story the other day how many young soldiers in Iraq

really want to get to Afghanistan so they can see combat and actual war. One of the older vets said something like they won't be so hot for combat after they've really seen what war is like.

[gratuitous]

17. That's part of the reason the military recruits them at that indestructible age

And the shame of our nation's willingness to use such inexperience and gullibility will be on us forever.

[redqueen]

25. Our world.

If there are nations that don't do this, they are the exception.

[Submariner]

41. It is also why the military insists that the troops be christians

As a former catholic, it was much easier for me to fathom dying in a submarine sinking to crush depth knowing I would get to heaven (eventually, via purgatory).

Now as a non-believer I see that there is no here-after, and would think twice about going to battle stations again.

The military needs believers in the after-life or they won't get the hard chargers they want attacking armed positions.

[BigDaddy44]

64. Happens in every war

Young men sign up because they can't wait to fight. It always looks so cool on TV and in the movies.

[Purveyor]

5. One only needs to ask the Russian's about just how well the 'Soviet-Afghan War' worked out for them.

They spent some 10 years battling the mujahideen resistance and retreated holding their asses.

[sabra]

6. and some of the same players are involved this time - however they are on the other side

[mopinko]

7. in fairness, they were fighting US.

it was our money and our arms. the mujahideen were the cannon fodder.

[heliarc]

10. In all fairness.

I have a theory that this particular skirmish was designed to justify more troops in Afghanistan. It was meant to draw enemy fire, sustain some casualties and prove that we require more force strength in Afghanistan. It's just a feeling I have, but sometimes things are --like that Boston song no one wants to remember -- "More than a feeling"

[totodeinhere]

11. Senator Obama also supports sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Also, unlike our involvement in Iraq, almost all of our European allies plus the Canadians support involvement there. Remember that it is under the auspices of NATO, not just the USA.

[heliarc]

24. I'm not making a partisan statement necessarily.

For all I know the skirmish could have been strategically planned in a desperate attempt to send a message to Washington that Afghan insurgent power is stronger than they had suspected. Shinseki, Fallon... the commanders have been trying to get Washington's attention for a while and no one seems to be listening.

I think Obama is right to focus our attention on Afghanistan (Now that we're there anyway :shrug:) and inso doing, focus our attention on the gross crime of war in Iraq. I just have the sneaking suspicion, that our casualties in this skirmish weren't a "surprise." They may have thrown them to the dogs in an effort to draw attention to the issue. I just believe pretty strongly that the military must have known that this was going to be a bloodbath and felt that it might shift our perspective.

[Arctic Dave]

13. I think you may have a point

I don't think Maliki is going to let us stay in Iraq at presence we want, so what better way to justify keeping more troops in the region then to reignite the "war" in Afghanistan. Karzai(?) is in no position to tell us no.

[mopinko]

15. can't argue.

especially since i don't think we even fought there in the first place, just bribed the war lords and moved in.

[Winston.]

22. I was thinking the same thing

I do believe these soldiers were sacrified in other to justify an increase presence in Afghanistan, perpetual war for perpetual profits, aren't you glad Obama is on board !

[heliarc]

29. Thrilled!

:sarcasm: but I'm not sure he has a choice. This bed wasn't quite made by him... but he also attacked Bush on the Iraq war by saying that we should have gone after Osama... There may be a benefit to the campaign if he is able to maintain this position of "strength" on security issues Not that I need that, but there is a significant part of the voting public that does, whatever the reason.

[awoke_in_2003]

60. "like that Boston song no one wants to remember"

well thank you for reminding us.

[heliarc]

67. Couldn't resist

:) Sometimes its important to understand history... so that we won't repeat it.

[awoke_in_2003]

75. Well, that is not as bad

as the day that "You Should be Dancin" by the Bee Gees got stuck in my head- that will lead a man to drink.

[heliarc]

20. "You fell victim to one of the classic blunders"

"the most famous is never get involved in a land war in asia"

[samsingh]

12. this is so incredibly sad. meanwhile the monsters like cheney who

started and profited from these wars sit comfortably in their cozy offices - while the truly brave die.

[hisownpetard]

19. Tragic.

[RedLetterRev]

21. And Papibush has his poppyfields

and the cash just rolls in. Move along. Nothing to see here. It's just a silly coincidence that the (Barbara) Pierce (Bush) family made their fortune from opium, the (Prescott) Bush family made their fortunes running arms. Just coincidence, mere coincidence, I'm sure :sarcasm:

[Maat]

31. It's the poppyfields AND the transcontinental pipeline ..

they want to lay it down going from one end of Afghanistan to the other. I believe that they want it to carry natural gas. This has been Big Energy's plan since the 80's.

Check out my post above, and the reply.

[RedLetterRev]

45. It never left my mind, my friend.

The pipeline is just the gravy on the taters. The problem with endless, generational greed and generational lack of morals in feeding it is that they're, well, endless. They've been given chances at each generation to amend their ways since the early 1800's and haven't. An entertaining solution would be to cut their nuts off before they can replicate again -- at or just below the ears. I would be as happy to see the entire cabal of Pierces, Bushes, Scaifes, Harrimans, Dulleses, et al rounded up and sent into orbit round the sun in repayment for all the pain and pillaging they've wrought.

[Maat]

48. Well-put.

Hubby and I were so idealistic about the world once ...

[RedLetterRev]

55. I'm approaching my own autumn

and watching my youth wave at me in my rear-view mirror, so what I have to hold on to is my idealism. Of my hair, well, what didn't turn gray, turned loose. So it may as well be some innocence and willingness to some difference somewhere. I might be aging but as long as I keep a piece of that innocence, I'll be dogdamned if I'll allow myself to get old. Therein lies the crucial difference.

I'm a practical sort of hillbilly, though. There are things I can still do. I might not can save the world, but I can still paint my corner of any durn color I want to. Mine's blue and spreading as far as I can reach. Might not be far, but it's "a something" ;-)

B/B

[Maat]

57. I hear you.

I decided a few years back; I wouldn't do an activity if it didn't represent a deep commitment to what I believed in; life is too short.

[awoke_in_2003]

61. "cut their nuts off"

And we have just the person to do it:

[redqueen]

27. So is Wanat the town that we just fled, leaving it to the Taliban?

Sad that the gov't can still get away with such blatant profiteering.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

33. 47 civilians in wedding party killed days before, 20 miles away

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4315724.ece

July 11, 2008

Afghan government says 47 civilians killed when US bombed wedding party
An Afghan government investigation has concluded that 45 women and children and two men were killed when a US aircraft bombed a wedding party in eastern Afghanistan last Sunday, .

The nine-man investigation team appointed by the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, found that only civilians were hit during the airstrike.

Burhanullah Shinwari, the leader of the investigation team and the deputy speaker of Afghanistan's Upper House, said: "We found that 47 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the airstrikes and another nine were wounded."

The claims of civilian casualties were initially strongly rebutted by the US military. A US military statement released last Sunday claimed: "intelligence revealed a large group of militants operating in Deh Bala district. Coalition forces identified the militants in a mountainous region and used precision air strikes to kill them."


Something Stinks
.... throwing these soldiers in Afghanistan to the wolves.

[heliarc]

40. Something stinks alright...

But I don't think it's Karzai or Afghanistani intelligence... I think our commanders wanted it this way... now they get to demand a troop surge. The resultant logic of a bloodbath is more troop strength.

[jeff30997]

34. Mission acomplished..again.

Bravo Monkeyboy.:grr:

[Maat]

36. May they rest in peace.

Their families are in our thoughts and prayers; peace be with THEM.

Healing and comforting energy sent their way.

We must all make an effort to discourage kids from joining.

[fbahrami]

70. Bless you

yes, discourage kids from joining.

[Maat]

74. And blessings to you, also.

Welcome!

[kmac3]

43. To me, another flag ship, so to speak . . . . .

I agree with the theory our warmongering heads in the White House needed justification to put more troops in Afghanistan to keep a presence in the Middle East since Iraq is kicking us out of their country. Loss of life holds no significance to Bush .... shrugs it off as just another cost of war.
Pretty sad! :cry:

[go west young man]

52. I hate the way the media likes to dress up the war with terms like "fallen".

They always want to make this shit sound romantic for the consuming public.Yeah he fell after he had his insides blown away. Dead or killed soldier is a much more accurate and honest term. He wouldn't have been there in the first place if CNN had done their jobs before the war. Complicit asshats.

[MiaCulpa]

53. I hate it too.

I know advertisers are often 'sensitive' to key words, and the problem is that they won't come right out and say so. Often you end up trying to figure out on your own what 'offended' them that led to automatic withdrawals of your advertising. Especially when there are attacks with civilian casualties, I'd prefer to use the word 'dead.' 'Rape' is another one that often sets them off, and not using that word can really leave a headline with a changed meaning.


-Diane

[PATRICK]

56. Al Qaeda is also

on the move out of Iraq where they are not as safe and welcome- and where the Shia are winning control- to Afghanistan, the new alluring testing ground, but familiar territory.

It would not be too cynical to assume that this is a desirable outcome to make Iraq more peaceable for the election year "withdrawal" even if it moves our troops to the other war zone. It guarantees two messes for Obama or justification to wild striking out at Iran- as plainly stupid as we here know that to be.

Our original guess that this is a vast training exercise to CREATE an enemy worthy of our "New American War Century" expenditures is likely still the case. That and the destruction of our citizen military to conform to the new corporate models. The frustrations of our soldiers in Iraq being props in a shooting gallery make the opportunity to shoot back seem somewhat attractive. It certainly helps guarantee gratification of that theory until they learn the hard way.

[jazzjunkysue]

59. Remember that song, "HOw many deaths will it take till we know that too many people have died?"

Are we there, yet?

[midnight]

62. When a father hears his son discribe his lifes work as it's going

to be a blood bath, I just don't know how these fathers or mothers gather up the strength to move on to their next breath. Let's just bring them home.

[GeorgeGist]

65. Am I the only one who sees the ignorance that separates ...

people from the sanity of their souls.

"They were in the most dangerous place on Earth. They were in mortal danger, and there was nothing they could do it about it," he said. "But they were soldiers, so they had to do their job."

[daleo]

69. One of them joined the army to become a teacher

Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, North Carolina, also joined the Army as a means to pay for his college education so he could become a teacher, according to Jeff Terrell, the leader of the youth group at the Glen Hope Baptist Church.

"He wasn't going to be a career military guy, but he believed in what he was doing," said Terrell, who knew Rainey since his teen years. "He felt like this would help him. He enjoyed it, but he had other plans.

"He really wanted to teach. He had a good way with kids. Kids flocked to him."

[RedLetterRev]

78. Haw River isn't more than 20 miles from here

All of us have given up way too many kids. The Universe didn't give me any of my own and I don't see fit to encourage the sacrifice of anyone else's. No one has that right.

Y'hyeah that, George?

[ohio2007]

72. 2 French humanitarian workers kidnapped in central Afghanistan (AQ fundraiser hitting up French? )

PARIS (AP) - Two French humanitarian workers were kidnapped Friday in Afghanistan, spirited at gunpoint out of the house they were sleeping in, aid group Action Against Hunger and the French Foreign Ministry said.
The two are believed to be alive, the Paris-based group said in a statement.
The kidnappers burst into the house where the two were staying in Nili, in the central Afghan province of Day Kundi, and made off with them in several waiting vehicles, the statement said. The kidnappers had tied up guards posted outside the house.

snip
Action Against Hunger has suspended its activities in Afghanistan in response to the kidnapping, the group said.
France's Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnappings and said a crisis unit would be set up to help win the hostages' liberation.

snip
http://www.pr-inside.com/french-humanitarian-workers-kidnapped-in-r712290.htm

Maybe the Taliban/AQ read how the FARC rebels were paid to release their hostages.....

[ohio2007]

73. Taliban Execution of Two Women in Afghanistan

(Raw Video) Taliban Execution of Two Women in Afghanistan

snip

Naikzad said he has no ties with the Taliban, and he gave the following account of why and how he became witness to the executions.He said the the Taliban issued a press statement calling all media outlets in the province of Ghazni, which has a large Taliban presence, to cover them “carrying out the Shariah” on a few burglars in their custody. Naikzad said he believed the Taliban would be cutting off the limbs of their prisoners, according to strict Islamic law.


snip

He said he checked with the Kabul office of the Associated Press, for which he works as a stringer, and then set off around sunset on his motorbike to a village on the outskirts of Ghazni City, only to find that no other journalist was there.That, he said, was when he learned it was two women — and not burglars — whom the Taliban had arrested, and that they had been charged with running a prostitution ring for coalition soldiers and local men.

Naikzad interviewed and filmed the Taliban, who said on tape that the two women “took the pure girls and women” and “indulged them in immoral acts.” After the interview, he said, the Taliban picked up the two burqa-clad women from a house, put them in a white Toyota Corolla and drove off to a different location.

snip

The women — one of whom appeared to be carrying a shopping bag — were then taken out of the car and told they would be executed.

Naikzad said he tried to persuade the Taliban not to carry out the executions.

“I told one of the Taliban, ‘These are women, they are harmless. Why would you want to kill them?’ But they didn’t listen to me.”

When his pleas went unheeded, he said, he asked the Taliban if he could film the execution.

“I wanted to show how the women were killed and have a proof of their death,” he said

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6d1_1216416129

No need to go to the link as that is the gist of this bloodbath story.

[ohio2007]

77. Taliban take Pakistani officials hostage ( fundie fund raising time again )

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: The Pakistani Taliban have taken dozens of local officials hostage, including police, paramilitary forces and even state bank officials, and threatened Friday to begin executing them unless the government released four of their comrades captured last week. The standoff has grown over the past week into one of the most serious recent challenges to the government's resolve to curb the militants' rapid expansion just 10 days before Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is scheduled to meet President Bush at the White House.

So far, the government has held firm, dispatching hundreds of soldiers to the area, Hangu, in North West Frontier Province, to engage in the first real fighting with the militants since the two sides agreed to a new series of peace deals earlier this year. Pakistan's newspapers and television programs have been abuzz the last few days about suggestions in Washington that the United States might take direct action itself in the tribal areas to stop the flow of Taliban fighters into Afghanistan. Such a move would be strongly opposed by most Pakistanis as a violation of sovereignty.

But the militants have also increasingly extended their presence into more settled areas of Pakistan, like Hangu, where provincial police arrested about half a dozen armed Taliban riding in a pickup truck last Saturday.

In revenge, the Taliban kidnapped the officials and are holding them in an undisclosed place. The Taliban said they were holding 49 hostages; the government said there were 29.

snip

The spokesman for the Pakistani Army, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said Friday that the provincial government had asked for a battalion of soldiers — 700 men — to be dispatched to Hangu from the army garrison in the town of Thal. The goal, he said, was to "clear the area of Hangu of the Taliban."

Earlier in the week, the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary fled their fort in the village of Shna Wari, leaving the militants to help themselves to the arms inside. The militants then blew up the fort.

On Friday, the Frontier Corps and the Taliban were fighting at Yakho Kaando on the border between Hangu and Orakzai, the intelligence official in Peshawar said.

It was expected, he said, that the Frontier Corps would push into Orakzai, where Hakimullah, a deputy commander to Mr. Mehsud who runs the Orakzai area for him, controls more than 30 madrassa schools involved in preparing jihadist fighters for Afghanistan, the official said.

One of those madrassa, he said, specialized in making "pressure cooker" bombs, a device that crams explosives into a pressure cooker and is used by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan as a particularly lethal weapon against coalition forces.

snip
"In tribal societies, people would like to see the superiority of one group," the official said. "Unfortunately, until now the State of Pakistan is not showing that superiority that people respect. Therefore ordinary people are sitting on the fence."

In an unusual admission of concern about the strength of militants in the tribal areas, the Pakistani prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, acknowledged for the first time this week that foreign fighters from Chechnya, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were present there.

snip
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/18/news/18pakistan.php?page=2


Seems the schools 'bake sales" are not making ends meet. Tell the Pakistan govt they need to increase public education funding....or else.....

Are the Saudi's not as committed to a rounded education in the badlands as they once were ? ... or
are they cooking the books better ;)


Barak wants to refocus on why we are there;
a mind is a terrible thing to waste


On the day of a young boy's circumcision, these girls don lipstick and their very best dresses. If the odds hold, only a couple of them will receive an education. Just one in five Afghan schools are designated as girls' schools; coed schools are banned. A third of Afghanistan's school districts have no girls' schools at all, and the schools that do exist are under constant threat of attack.

http://www.motherjones.com/photo/2007/07/hidden_half-12.html

don't hold your breath and expect NOW to come off the golf course to discuss foreign womens rights in an Obama admin cabnet meeting.
jmo