The Command T.O.C.

4 Solidiers Die in Afghanistan; Insurgency Called "Too Far Gone"

Another 4 soldiers died in Afghanistan today and Juan Cole, from Informed Comment, reports LTC Daniel L. Davis states the insurgency may be too far gone in the Pashtun provinces for us to have any hope of squashing it. 

Like Iraq, George Bush's group of keystone cops got us into a mess we cannot get out of short of just packing up and leaving. Once again, I highly encourage the Obama administration to turn from nation building and "Taliban busting" to counter terrorism. Leave the poppy growing Afghanistan to whoever wants it. We do not nor can we afford it. 

Afghanistan - The War of Lies

This is the title of a piece in Patrick Buchanan's well written blog and it is written by Eric Margolis. I liked this piece because it is true that in war the first casualty is the truth. We saw this in Iraq when the Government of George W. Bush could not figure out why the heck we were there after his explanation concerning WMDs exploded around him. He started making things up like "Al Qaeda is there", "we are liberating the Iraqi people" and "they want us there".  He also used the excuse, "If we do not fight them over there, we will fight them on Main Street U.S.A. "  Clearly, this was just a scare tactic. 

It appears the supporters of the Afghan war are trying to take a page right out of this playbook. They want us to believe if we are not fighting the Taliban, we will have to fight them over here. That is patently false. Words from the article:

"Many North Americans still buy this lie because they believe the 9/11 attacks came directly from the Afghanistan-based al-Qaida and Taliban movements.

 Not true. The 9/11 attacks were planned in Germany and Spain, and conducted mainly by US-based Saudis to punish America for supporting Israel’s repression of the Palestinians.

 Taliban, a militant religious, anti-Communist movement of Pashtun tribesmen, was totally surprised by 9/11. Osama bin Laden, on whom 9/11 is blamed, was in Afghanistan as a guest because he was a national hero for fighting the Soviets in the 1980’s and was aiding Taliban’s struggle against the Afghan Communist-dominated Northern Alliance afterwards."

The author makes a suggestion for President Obama:

"President Obama should admit Taliban is not and never was a threat to the west; that the wildly exaggerated al-Qaida has been mostly eradicated; and that the US-led war in Afghanistan is causing more damage to US interests in the Muslim world – now 25% of all humanity – than Bin Laden and his few ragtag allies. The bombing in Madrid and London, and conspiracy in Toronto, were all horribly wrongheaded protests by young Muslims against the Afghan War. 

We are not going to change the way Afghans treat their women by waging war on them, or bring democracy through rigged elections. We are not going to win hearts and minds by imposing a Communist-dominated Kabul regime on pious Muslims, bombing their villages and sending Marines to kick down their doors and violate their homes."

President Obama: Do the right thing and ignore the nuts who want to sucker you into this quagmire and get us home. Our Country cannot afford this mess George W. Bush got us into and the reason to be there is not clear. There is none. Bring us home. 

Ten Reasons to Resist Afghanistan War

I found this website and it lists 10 reasons to resist the Afghanistan War. I like these reasons. They are:

1. Like Iraq, it is also illegal 
2. No military solution to terrorism 
3. Funds used for war are needed at home 
4. Civilian casualties are not acceptable 
5. War is not good for women in Afghanistan (This I disagree with).
6. Support the troops: Bring them home now 
7. Torture and human rights abuses 
8. Climate change and resource wars
9.  War destabilizes Afghanistan and the region 
10. Respect Afghani self-determination; No to global military intervention

Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) FAQ

Not sure how I missed it but this is a GREAT FAQ for all those who are recalled from the IRR to active duty and want to explore options. Make sure you read this. 

Afghanistan War - Probably Not Winnable

I have written some short blog entries about Afghanistan recently but feel I need to explain them with some more detail. The Afghan war is not winnable with the resources available to us. That is something we all know. The United States does not have the money, people resources, or national will to do what it would take to "win" that war. The question is, could it have been won?

I believe absolutely it could have if we were not diverted in Iraq (that is pretty well known to my readers as well). As early as 2005 i was saying the Iraq war was a diversion which would take us away from the real war on terrorism (i.e. Afghanistan) and that it would bankrupt the Country. Unfortunately, I was right on both counts. General McChrystal asking for more troops is a joke in that more troops will not help the situation. It will do about what we did in Iraq which is make the terrain safe for a withdrawal. But, just as in Iraq, when we leave "all hell will break loose". If the good General is asking for the troops to effect a withdrawal than I am all for them. If he is asking for them to fight a war he thinks we can win, I ask him the following:

1. What does he define as "winning"?
2. Has he learned anything from Vietnam?
3. Has he learned anything from the USSR trip into Afghanistan?
4. Has he learned anything from Iraq?
5. Where does he think these people will come from?
6. Where does he think the money will come from?

It is amazing to me that we can talk about spending money in Afghanistan like it is nothing yet when we try to make the Country a great place to live with universal healthcare all we want to do is talk about money. If we truly are broke then the first thing that goes is being the "world's policeman". We cannot defend the world. We must take care of ourselves. 

Could it be that this General McChrystal wants Afghanistan to be his "Iraq" so he can get fame and fortune? We cannot afford this. President Obama should begin a quite yet fairly fast movement out of Afghanistan,  move to a counter terrorism policy versus a nation building policy and bring the troops and money home to America. God knows we need both. 

See: How General McChrystal May Have Hurt Himself. 

Eight Soldiers Die in Afghanistan

A very sad day for the United States. Due to the incompetency of the previous administration and the fact they threw us into wars we were not ready for, eight great American heros died in Afghanistan. 

I do agree President Barack Obama needs to get a handle on this war. End it or fight it but don't just let it linger on. He needs to do better and should do better as here, Americans are dying. I know of no other problem he is working on where people are dying like this. 

Army Accepts Resignation of LT. Watada - He Refused to Go to Iraq

One of the few Army officers who stood up for what he believed in, Lt. Watada's nightmare is finally over. If you remember, he is the officer who refused to deploy to the silly war in Iraq. The army tried to send it to trial but it ended in a mistrial. Due to double jeopardy laws, he could not be retried.

As if to punish him by keeping him in, they refused to let him resign for a while. However, now they have agreed. His long nightmare is over. The Army has accepted his resignation and he will be able to get on with his life. 

Blog Entry on IRR "Musters"

An interesting blog entry covering Army Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) Musters.

Study Shows Incredible Drop in Recruiting Standards so Army Can "Make The Number"

The study by the National Priorities Project, using data from a Freedom of Information act request shows what I have been saying all along. 

Essentially, to "make the number", the Army has continued to take a lower and lower "tier" recruit than ever before. A slight blip up in 2008, most likely due to the economy, does not shadow the overall slide since the silly Iraq war started. 

The scary part is how the Army is lying to the American people. Here is an excerpt:

The percentage of recruits with high school diplomas reported in early October by the Department of Defense was considerably greater than what the data actually show. This difference is due to the Army's reporting on the number of "contracts" rather than the number of "accessions" with high school diplomas. Contracts are recorded at the time of sign-up, whereas accessions are those who actually enlist.

You need to go read the full summary at Veterans for Common Sense and this should make you understand why going back into the Army as an IRR or, quite frankly, enlisting in total is a bad idea right now. 

Army IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) Advertising Jobs on Craig's List

I cannot vouch for the integrity of this ad or whether the facts are accurate. However, in my role of bringing all IRR information to you, I figured I would reprint this ad I found on Craigslist:

***** Ad Begins:

Army Reserves $20,000 Bonus/No Mobilizing - IRR ONLY

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Reply to: patrick.dambrosio@us.army.mil ^[?]
Date: 2009-01-09, 5:49PM EST

Hello, my name is SFC D’Ambrosio, Patrick. I’m an Army Reserve Career Counselor. If you’re currently in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) and would like to work part-time for 38 days a year in your local area with the Army Reserves and not have to worry about mobilizing, you will qualify for many benefits:

1. To qualify you must have served in the Army, Army National Guard or Reserves within the last 8 years. If you’re coming off Active Duty you may qualify for the $20,000 Affiliation Bonus.

2. If you have college credits you can qualify for an additional bonus of $10,000 if you decide to become a Commissioned Officer or Warrant Officer.

3. Continuing college? We offer 100% Tuition Assistance on top of your GI Bill.

4. Army Mobilization Deferment Program. This program is only for soldiers who VOLUNTARILY transfer from the IRR into an Army Reserve unit. Accepting this program will put you into a NON MOBILIZING STATUS for 24 months. Currently thousands of soldiers have been INVOLUNTARILY mobilized from the IRR. This new program prevents you from being mobilized overseas.

5. MSO Reduction Program. If you voluntarily transfer into an Army Reserve unit you can cut the remaining time of your contract within the IRR by half. For example, if you have four years left on your contract in the IRR then you can reduce this to 2 years.

6. Effective 1OCT07 Reserve soldiers will qualify for the TRI-CARE Reserve Select (TRS) Health Care Plan.

If you are interested in seeing what job vacancies are in your area or you’re unsure of your status, please call (516) 967-9263 or e-mail. Thank you for your service.

• This is a part-time job.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Phone calls about this job are ok.
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 986729032

***** AD ENDS