Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’
Asif Zardari’s Interview to Der Spiegel
President Asif Ali Zardari's Interview to Der Spiegel of 6 May 2009, is reproduced in full below: 'Nuclear Weapons Are Not Kalashnikovs' The West is concerned about the stability of Pakistan. SPIEGEL spoke with President Asif Ali Zardari, 53, about failed peace talks with the Taliban, the possible whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and the [...]
Gen. McChrystal’s Old Command has Plans to “Secure” Pakistan’s Nukes
American intelligence sources say the US has special units operating in Afghanistan on Pakistan's western border with the secondary mission to secure Pakistan's nuclear arsenals if necessary . These units are from the Joint Special Operations Command, whose controversial Commander, Gen. McChrystal was recently transferred to Afghanistan. [...]
The 9/11 plot took place primarily in Hamburg — Matthew Yglesias
Under the threat of being bombed back to the stone age, the United States secured the surender of Pakistan from Pervez Musharraf (occupying only four critical bases, and avoiding in this way the expense and problems of occupation). Today, with a rising chorus of influential voices the American public has been persuaded that the 9/11 attacks [...]
There are 70,000 Mercenaries in Afghanistan
In The Private Contracting Surge into Afghanistan, Kelley Vlahos reveals that: Just like in Iraq, a "shadow army" has been serving alongside American servicemen and women in Afghanistan. So far, it is at least 70,000 strong. Private contractors – now indispensable to the U.S. military as it wages war – are expected to grow and much surpass [...]
Seuddeutsche on the Changes in the US Afghanistan Command
Afghanistan: This is Now Obama's War Das ist non Obama Krieg R. Klüver und P. Blechschmidt (Rough Translation from the German) U.S. President Obama changes the command structure and strategy in Afghanistan -- reminiscent of his predecessors, Lincoln and Truman. With the abrupt dismissal of the supreme commander of the armed [...]
“Af-Pak” War Plans: Two Weeks Later
With the passage of two weeks since the announcement of the so-called "Af-Pak" strategy, we can be reminded of Generalfeldmarschall von Moltke's (the Elder, 1800-1891) saying: "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy". Faced with a growing realisation that a defeat at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan is inevitable, the American [...]
US Afghan Commander Gen. McKiernan Fired
An earlier post had reported on US Defense Department's move towards greater control of command in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theatre. On 11 May 2009, the New York Times reported the next step in this process, the replacement of Gen. David McKiernan, head of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) as well as the Commander of US Forces [...]
On the Day After
This article poses two questions: On the day after US/NATO forces invade and occupy some of Balochistan and Waziristan, ‘What will we say we should have done’, and ‘Why aren’t we doing it now?’ Is this far-fetched? The facts suggest otherwise. Like the US invasion of Iraq, plans for covert operations and military strikes against [...]
