It's been said by some that the GOP likes to rewrite history, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele appears to be no different. At a GOP fundraiser in Connecticut on Thursday, Steele, while responding to a question about the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, stated that the war in Afghanistan "was a war of Obama's choosing" that America had not "actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."
"The McChrystal incident, to me, was very comical. And I think it's a reflection of the frustration that a lot of our military leaders have with this Administration and their prosecution of the war in Afghanistan," said Steele. "Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."
Watch a video, but note that Steele is not all that audible in the clip.
The Taliban has executed a 7-year-old boy, it has been reported. The child, whom the Taliban accused of being a spy for the Afghanistan government, has reportedly been hanged, after being placed on trial and found guilty.
The boy was killed on Tuesday in Helmand province. When asked about the incident, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the following,
"A seven-year-old boy cannot be a spy. A seven-year-old boy cannot be anything but a seven-year-old boy. And therefore, hanging or shooting to kill a seven-year-old, regardless of whatever reason one would give for it, is a crime against humanity."
While the so-called spy label has been used as a reason by the Taliban, Daoud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the provincial governor of Helmand province, gave another. He said that the killing happened days after the boy's grandfather, Abdul Woodod Alokozai, spoke out against militants in their home village.
"His grandfather is a tribal elder in the village and the village is under the control of the Taliban. His grandfather said some good things about the government and he formed a small group of people to stand against the Taliban. That's why the Taliban killed his grandson in revenge."
Muslim groups reacted angrily to the news that so-called "Jesus scopes" were being used by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The story, first reported by ABC News, noted that Michigan-based contractor Trijicon had sold up to 800,000 of the sights, which have coded Bibilical references, to the U.S. military.
A Trijicon spokesman said the practice began under its founder, Glyn Bindon, who was a devout Christian from South Africa. He was killed in a 2003 plane crash, ironically between Gunsight Mountain and Sheep Mountain in Alaska.
Upon hearing the news, Michael Weinstein, Founder and President of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said: "It's wrong, it violates the Constitution, it violates a number of federal laws. It allows the Mujahedeen, the Taliban, al Qaeda and the insurrectionists and jihadists to claim they're being shot by Jesus rifles." The MRFF is an advocacy group that seeks to ensure the separation of church and state in the military.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) called for U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to immediately withdraw from combat any equipment found to have inscriptions of Biblical references. MPAC Director Haris Tarin said in a statement, "Having Biblical references on military equipment violates the basic ideals and values our country was founded upon. Worse still, it provides propaganda ammo to extremists who claim there is a 'Crusader war against Islam' by the United States."
At least two other countries that buy scopes from Trijicon are reconsidering those purchases. First, in the U.K., a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence told the BBC that the ministry was contacting Trijicon, had been unaware of the markings at time of purchase, and realized that the markings might be considered offensive. Meanwhile, New Zealand's Defence Force told the New Zealand newspaper The Press that the Biblical quotes were "inappropriate" and would be removed. New Zealand will also ask Trijicon to remove the code from future shipments.
It is also true that the U.S. military has in place a non-proselytizing rule, to prevent providing the Taliban, al Qaeda and others such fuel for their insurgency. It is, howver, ironic, that scopes of this nature could provide ammo for our enemies.
Shades of those old stories of wasteful spending on nuts and bolts! A report by the Pentagon reveals that the U.S. spends $400 per gallon for gasoline in Afghanistan.
Those of us who suffered with $4 gasoline in the summer of 2008 can now realize we had nothing to complain about.
Why so much? It's not because the U.S. is being ripped off. It's because of the landlocked status of the country, which makes transporting gasoline to regions expensive.
The nearest port is in Karachi, Pakistan, where fuel for U.S. troops is shipped. Then, the fuel is transported through Pakistan and Afghanistan via truck, sometimes changing carriers. Worse, sometimes the transport includes a helicopter flight, which is obviously inefficient, because it uses up almost as much fuel as the chopper carries.
Note: this per gallon price is what the Pentagon calls the "fully burdened cost of fuel," which means it includes all expenses. Many have said that if Americans had to pay how much it really costs for gasoline, including all miscellaneous expenses, they would be shocked, and stop wasting so much of it.
Canada plans to stage mock IED attacks in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 23 and 24th, to show what Canadian soldiers deployed to Afghanistan face. Authorities plan to build a fake Afghan village in their embassy compound, then attack it with IEDs and "Taliban fighters."
I don't know about you, but I see absolutely no chance this could turn into a SNAFU, do you (insert sarcasm here)?
"If this works the way I want it to, more Americans will know what Canada is doing in Afghanistan."
If Americans use common sense, they will realize that American soldiers are facing the same things.
Canadian embassy officials say they have aprpoval from the Secret Service, the State Department and the Washington, D.C. fire marshal. However, they'd better make sure the residents of D.C. are aware. We wouldn't want a repeat of the much publicized (afterwards) and minimally publicized (before) Air Force Two flyover of NYC, would we?
Realistically, it's easy to imagine a panicked public unless the Canadian embassy takes some real steps toward alerting the public. The embassy is positioned between the White House and U.S. Capitol.
A decision by the Associated Press to distribute a photo of a dying Marine, Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard is drawing much criticism from both sides of the aisle. AP reported that the Marine’s father had asked, both in an interview and in a follow-up phone call, that the photo not be published, yet it was.
The photo of Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard, 21, was taken by an embedded photographer, Julie Jacobson. The picture shows his fellow Marines helping Bernard after he suffered severe leg injuries as a result of an RPG attack on Aug. 14th in southern Afghanistan. He was evacuated to a field hospital, but he later he died on the operating table.
While I have chosen not to publish the image directly, the controversial Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard photo can be viewed by clicking the above image, which shows U.S. Marine Lt. Jake Godby paying his respects to Bernard during a memorial service.
Santiago Lyon, the director of photography for AP, explained the Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard photo as follows:
“AP journalists document world events every day. Afghanistan is no exception. We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is.
“We understand Mr. Bernard’s anguish (he's speaking of Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard's father). We believe this image is part of the history of this war. The story and photos are in themselves a respectful treatment and recognition of sacrifice
“Our story and photos report on him and his last hours respectfully and in accordance with military regulations surrounding journalists embedded with U.S. forces.”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent a strongly worded letter to the AP, in which he said:
“Out of respect for his family’s wishes, I ask you in the strongest of terms to reconsider your decision. I do not make this request lightly. In one of my first public statements as Secretary of Defense, I stated that the media should not be treated as the enemy, and made it a point to thank journalists for revealing problems that need to be fixed – as was the case with Walter Reed."
“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family. Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) echoed Gates' sentiments, with a simple tweet on Friday:
American Legion National Commander Clarence E. Hill said of the photo of Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard, “Outrageously irresponsible.”
Some media outlets chose to publish the photo, some did not. The Buffalo News ran the photo, as did The (Wheeling, W.VA) Intelligencer, the Akron Beacon-Journal and the St. Petersburg Times. Others, such as the Orlando Sentinal, the Arizona Republic, and The Washington Times ran other photos.
Here's what Steele said:
