Comments on: Event Report: 20 Nov 09 NYC Counterinsurgency–America’s Strategic Burden Featuring Nagl, Kilcullen, Sheehan, Bergen, Coll Among Others

By: Review: The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon « Public Intelligence Blog

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:02:39 +0000

[...] election. See The Trial of Henry Kissinger. At Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, see the Event Report on the Counterinsurgency Conference to understand how nothing has changed in Washington between Viet-Nam and Afghanistan. Vote on [...]

By: Robert Steele

Robert Steele — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:11:30 +0000

Brzezinski under Carter gave Pakistan the go-ahead to create the nuclear bomb, the SUNNI nuclear bomb. Too few appreciate the reality that SHI-”ITE Iran is vastly more afraid of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia than it is of the USA. Iran sucked the USA into Iraq using Chalabi, the USA has been duped into wreaking havoc on two Sunni-run countries (AF & IQ), their strategic focus is on Sunni Muslims, not the USA.

By: JZ

JZ — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:35:12 +0000

One last related note…a strengthening of the military of Pakistan that comes from corporations like Lockheed Martin…money well spent? Corporations and peace-building need to be evaluated and promoted more-so.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Pakistans-P-3-Orions-05972/

By: JZ

JZ — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:52:30 +0000

In regards to Obama:

In August 2007, Obama got into some hot water over aggressive comments http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/08/obama-again-tak.html he made toward Pakistan. “There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans,” said Obama. “They are plotting to strike again. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and [Pakistani] President Musharraf will not act, we will.”

He was so heavily criticized over that statement that some at the time suggested it might actually cost him the Democratic nomination. Obama retorted later at a debate, “We’re debating the most important foreign policy issues that we face, and the American people have the right to know.”

‘PRESS FOR TRUTH’ presented a strong case that Pakistan’s intelligence service, or elements of it, was involved in the 9/11 plot, or at least had foreknowledge of it. The movie criticized President George W. Bush for the bizarre partnership he formed with the country despite their apparent harboring of Bin Laden and others.

“I find it amusing,” Obama said, “that those who voted to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation are now criticizing me.”

By: JZ

JZ — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:30:20 +0000

“Counterinsurgency” Field Manual 3-24, Dec. 2006 (282 pages, 12 MB).
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24.pdf

“Tactics in Counterinsurgency,” Field Manual 3-24.2, April 21, 2009 (300 pages, 10 MB).
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24-2.pdf

National Security Archives — Afghanistan Déjà vu? Lessons from the Soviet Experience
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB292/index.htm

Afghanistan brief 1 (military brief in zip file) http://tr.im/i2Gt

Afghanistan brief 2 (military brief in zip file) http://tr.im/i2GK

June 13, 2001: Extensive ISI Support for Taliban Continues
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a060isisupport#a060isisupport

(video) U.S. training Afghans, hashish
http://tr.im/ieVE

US military in Afghanistan & often contradictory instructions laid out in the Counterinsurgency Field Manual – http://tr.im/jish

Taliban defector ignored by CIA
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a02250leaderignored#a02250leaderignored

How do we understand the relationship between the ISI [Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence] and the Taliban?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/taliban/interviews/coll.html

October 8-9, 2006: Head of NATO Forces in Afghanistan Asks Pakistan to Stop Supporting Taliban; No Action Results
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a100806richardsmusharraf#a100806richardsmusharraf

1994-1997: US Supports Taliban Rise to Power
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a1994ussupportstaliban#a1994ussupportstaliban

After September 1996: Journalist Sees US and Taliban Combating Russia over Central Asian Pipeline Issue
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=aafter0996combat#aafter0996combat

September 15, 2001: Head of ISI Argues Pakistan Should Side with Taliban, but Musharraf Agrees to Help US as Opportunistic Necessity
(India-related)
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a0901musharrafmeeting#a0901musharrafmeeting

Large Photo Collection of War in Afghanistan
http://cryptome.org/info/af-photo-war-04/af-photo-war-04.htm

(video) The Ugly of War-US medical evacuation (Medevac) crew stories
http://tr.im/Ftjn

“The Total Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, & Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11″
http://is.gd/Tr6x

National Security Archive dox related to 9/11, Taliban, more
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/index.html#911

(Stars & Stripes) From Iraq & Afghanistan to African villages, countless projects have gone to waste/limited interagency coordination
http://is.gd/15UtW

“Afghanistan — Geospatial Analysis Reveals Patterns in Terrorist Incidents 2004-2008″
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/afghan-geospat.pdf

“Middle East Elections 2009: Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq”
http://is.gd/TqNx

State Dept $150M to Fight Afghan & Pak Militants Via Mobile Phones & Radio Stations
http://www.phibetaiota.net/?p=8059

Afghan law allows husbands to deny wives food if they fail to obey sexual demands
http://tr.im/BsiH

Afghan woman’s mobile company
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0416/174.html

CIA insurgency related (24 pgs from the 1980′s?)
http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/insurgency.pdf

“Skateistan” skateboarding school in Afghanistan
http://is.gd/OLSP

By: Retired Reader

Retired Reader — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:52:29 +0000

I am sorry to say that Steele again has exactly described the problem with Afghanistan. Sorry because President Obama and his NSC do not appear to understand the real issues in Afghanistan and thus cannot come up with either a regional strategy nor an effective exit strategy.