A couple of weeks ago Afgan forces captured a bunch of Taliban and also 2600 pounds of black tar heroin. If you didn’t know, heroin is the cash crop for many Afgan citizens. It should be pretty clear that we’re going to have to help the people of the country find a new, profitable cash crop as a part of winning this war. There aren’t that many terrorists, but they’re mobile and viral–they hit and run; as long as the people won’t turn them in (and they don’t for at least because the people fear for their lives–the terrorists don’t play by the rules, ever) the terrorists have free run of the country. It seems to me that the major effort here needs to be protecting the population so that they can act in their own self-interest without fear, and providing them with a cash crop that will help them be welcomed as a productive nation. It takes troops to protect the population. I wonder if we’ll ever send any more over there.
Afghanistan’s economy
October 31st, 2009Artillery in support
October 30th, 2009Here in the US many fire departments work their people 24 hours on, 24 or so off, etc. Well, there’s different kind of fire department working to support our troops in the Mideast. These guys are artillerymen and they work out of a Fire Support Base. Like the fire dept, they never know when or if they’ll be called during a shift—or, if called, what the challenge will be. As a guy who spent a lot of time on the ground in Vietnam as an infantryman, I know how important these guys are.br /br /Like firefighters, much of their duty time is spent waiting—until the call comes in. Then they jump into action with the cry of “Fire mission.” One such group of cannon-cockers, whose nickname is the misfits, is typical. They drop what they’re doing. Phones hang up, video games are paused, and computers turn off as the artillerymen ready themselves for their mission. It normally takes 5 minutes to have rounds ready to go downrange. They can “reach out and touch someone” as far as 18 miles away.”There’s an uneasy tension as you run down to the gun line,” said 1st Lt. Regan Tatford, fire direction officer and plt leader for the misfits. “The uncertainty of not knowing what the mission is for, really gets your adrenaline pumping.” Using the M198 155 mm howitzer they’re able to keep forward maneuvering units from getting ambushed at night with illumination rounds as well as fire support when patrols come into heavy contact. Oftentimes, the enemy is unaware of the artillery until it’s too late for them, and just in time for our troops. When the bullets are flying, everyone is very happy to have our artillerymen in support on our side.
What will it take in Afhganistan
October 30th, 2009I read an article that there are already more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with 200,000 Afghan security forces and police. It adds up to a 12-1 numerical advantage over Taliban rebels, but it hasn’t led to anything close to victory. So the question is, how many more troops will it take to succeed? A better question is how many of what kind of troops will it take? The international troops are very little more than baby sitters; they rarely proceed out for their base camps; they take no offensive action. The Afgan forces are poorly trained and equipped—and all have to play by the rules. The Taliban, on the other hand, kill and maim people at will, play by no rules and then run and hide. They don’t have to protect population centers, infrastructure, etc. So, we need the forces to protect the key centers while other forces chase down the terrorists and kill them wherever they find them. Of course, this means that we have decided that we want to win—and, apparently, no one in the White House wants to do that.
Another Nobel nomination
October 27th, 2009The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), an organization dedicated to fight religious fundamentalism in the US military, has been nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Rumor has it that the nomination was from the sole Christian senator of a US-ally. Like all faith groups, Christianity has a huge diversity in beliefs; our military seeks members from all faith groups–including those folks who are in the no-faith category. Military chaplains reasonably come from all faith groups, but seek to meet the needs of all soldiers; yes, they offer to share their faith–but I’ve never met a pushy one. All people, including soldiers, tend to share thier interests–this includes people of faith. Thus, soldiers of faith may well talk about, live, and share their faith; no one has to listen to any friend or peer who wishes to talk about anything, including their faith. The MRFF finds “fundamental” Christians, of which I am one, to be offensive. I’m sorry that they do, but I fought for their right to exist and to promote their position. All we know is that someone who is said to be a Christian (just guessing, but probably not a fundamentalist) thinks that they are in the same category (Nobel worthy) as President Obama. I wonder if he likes what they do, or…. oh well.
Phoney hero
October 26th, 2009A Marine sergeant was recently sentenced to 18 months confinement and fined $25,000 for pretending to be an injured war hero to get free seats at rock concerts and professional sporting events.br /Sgt. David Budwah also will be busted to private and dishonorably discharged. Budwah pleaded guilty to seven counts including making false statements, malingering, misconduct and unlawful appropriation. He acknowledged that he was never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, as he had claimed. He said he lied about having helped with the 2004 tsunami relief effort and didn’t earn eight medals and ribbons he wore on his uniform.br /He admitted to bluffing his way into 13 events last year including banquets; Counting Crows, Boston and Collective Soul concerts; a Washington Redskins football game; and a Washington Nationals baseball game. He also lied to obtain a laptop computer and personal digital assistant from Soldiers’ Angels, an organization that helps wounded service members.br /This guy’s conduct is totally unacceptable. He deserves his jail time and dishonorable discharge. The many civilians who do the same thing are equally despicable. I’m glad that Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act a couple of years ago to make such acts federal offenses.
