In the Taliban’s Heartland, U.S. and Afghan Forces Dig In
By CARLOTTA GALL
PASHMUL, Afghanistan — If the commander of coalition forces, Gen. David H. Petraeus, has sounded triumphant lately — telling his officers they have their teeth in the enemy’s jugular — this newly conquered patch of southern Afghanistan is one reason for that.
This district, Zhare, is the heartland of the Taliban insurgency, the historical birthplace of the Taliban movement, and the ancestral home of many of its top leadership, including Mullah Muhammad Omar, the onetime ruler of Afghanistan, whose family lived not far up the road.
Three months ago the area was an uninhabited war zone where Taliban fighters roamed freely. A Taliban flag flew over the village.
But since mid-November the Taliban have retreated, punched hard by the influx of thousands of American and Afghan forces into the area, and Zhare has enjoyed more than two months of calm. American and Afghan forces are setting up joint bases across the district, in a strategic and deeply symbolic victory that they hope is part of a turning point in the war.
Zhare now stands as one of the most important tests of the gamble President Obama took more than a year ago in adding 30,000 American troops to what had been a failing war effort. The question on everyone’s minds is whether the American and Afghan forces can hold on to their gains.
It may be time for a refresher course on the Umma and jihad.
If Egypt falls to the Islamists, all bets are off in regard to the Middle East, oil and the struggle against the struggle.
MB is 100,000 bozos out of a population of 81 Million.
ReplyDeleteHow many bozos control Iran?
ReplyDeleteHow many National Socialists took German down a path to destruction?
ReplyDeleteALL of them.
ReplyDelete220 F-16s and 1000 M1 main battle tanks. But as Charles indicated on BC, war is all about logistics. The MB may want to go to war with Israel on ideological grounds, but they'll have a lot of hungry people on their six.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Muslim Brotherhood will blow up the pyramids.......remember when the taliban blew up the Buddha statues in Afghanistan? Surely the ancient kings were more pagan.
ReplyDelete220 F-16's?
ReplyDeleteWhoa.
Din't know that.
And some lightweight MK-46 torps repaired by Yours Truly.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to accept that they'd go all "Roman" on a nuclear-armed Israel, especially knowing that, when it gets down to the short strokes, we won't let her go under.
ReplyDeleteIf I were them I'd strike a "glancing blow" at the Jews, and then, claiming some sort of clandestine Saudi support for the Zionists, light out for the King's Oil Fields.
I'd still have the problem of U.S./European intervention, but at least the prize would be worth the effort, and there would always be the possibility of striking some sort of "truce/tribute in the form of oil."
ReplyDeleteAnd, food, of course.
ReplyDeleteMy Daddy always told me that a "hungry" man would do anything.
ReplyDeleteIsrael always came a whisker of overrunning Egypt, always reeled back in by US, sometimes after the USSR threatened to go nuclear. This time there's no restraint.
ReplyDeleteThing is, T: Israel "overrunning" Egypt would be like the iconic dog chasing the car. What would it do with it if it caught it?
ReplyDeleteEgypt is a damned large country with a population of 80,000,000.
Plus, you can bet your bippy the minute Israel got all strung out West of the Suez, Syria, and the Leb allies would come pouring in from the North, and East.
Ain't no "clean end" on This turd.
Israel could whip the Egyptians in the Sinai while holding back enough forces to deal with Syria, but I think things would get pretty "busy" for awhile.
ReplyDeleteThe best business model ever developed in Arab World was that of "Barbary Pirate."
ReplyDeleteLook for a modernization of that paradigm.
If the situation really goes south and the wrong parties prevail in Egypt, I don't foresee all out direct frontal military assaults against Israel (at least not immediately). But I do see a lot of asymmetric warfare, lawfare, ethnic cleansing and terror as well as more 'popular uprisings' throughout the Islamic arc.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, a lot more jihad.
ReplyDeleteThing is, T: Israel "overrunning" Egypt would be like the iconic dog chasing the car. What would it do with it if it caught it?
ReplyDeleteYou know, the entire thing has always been about "face". Just having Zionists doing a thunder run down the main drag in Cairo would have humiliated Nasser and his Soviet masters.
I suppose they would withdraw to the east side of the Suez Canal, rebuild the Ben-Gurion Line there, and hunker down while the folks in Egypt had their revolution.
BTW - Someone mentioned that the Brits tried to "steal" the Suez. Egypt sold its shares of the Canal to the British in 1875 and Nasser nationalized the Canal in 1956.
ReplyDeleteSo, who stole it in the first place?
Okay,
ReplyDelete"Re-Steal"
:)
So you think Muslims will be defeated in Iraq or Afghanistan? How typically stupid. Muslim extremism is the direct result of years of Anglo-American imperialism toward the Islamic world. Not to mention the two wars started for precious little reason. Sending armies to kill thousands of Muslims, keeping tyrants in power, and overturning elected governments is standard Anglo-American practice. So you think they shouldn't react by being extreme. What blind stupidity. That is hilarious.
ReplyDelete"Muslim extremism is the direct result of years of Anglo-American imperialism toward the Islamic world"
ReplyDeleteNo Salaaaad, it's the continuation of 14 centuries of Islamic imperialism, as commanded by its bloodthirsty warlord founder. Don't you DARE try to blame the victims of the filthy Arabian death-cult for its infinite crimes.
Pound sand, goat fucker.
ReplyDeletePeak oil is the beginning of the end for you pedophile-worshipping shit. Starvation is just around the corner.
ReplyDeleteMuslim extremism is the direct result of years of Anglo-American imperialism toward the Islamic world.
ReplyDeleteWest = Bad
Black or Asian = Good
Poor subjugated Muslim peasants trying to throw off tyranny from Britain or the US, yet they want to live in the west bringing their cultural backwarness. If living here is so bad fuck off east and E-mail me how you get on in the liberal paradise that is the muslim world. What an idealistic gullible fucktard
Reagan said "Tear down this Wall"
ReplyDeleteObama says "Hey, you want some UK nuke secrets?"
Total from Wall Street 2008:
ReplyDelete$20,115,587 to Dems
$13,977,384 to GOP
But Wall Street is Republican.
Sure.
80,000,000 people
ReplyDeletefood for 40,000,000
Nothing left to sell
No marketable skills
despised by those who "have"
Sounds pretty bad asshole
A bunch of you fuckheads are going die
Too bad (for you)
Great for us
How ya like the Elephant Bar, prick?
ReplyDelete"How ya like the Elephant Bar, prick?"
ReplyDeleteShut up and learn somthing.
Why is the west so reluctant to support democracy In The Muslim World, so threatened by the will of the people?
Simple; it threatens US and Israeli interests in the region. See what the response is when the people of Saudi Arabia rise up against their fundamentalist royals; the US and Israel will suddenly become pro-Islamic.
Anything...anyone that delivers "security". Everyone in the World knows it.
The level of Ignorance on this comment section is disturbing. You really need to attract a higher quality of readership. So far i see only conspiracy theorists with their tin foil hats on.
ReplyDeleteToo bad Rufus. I think I like it just fine. Maybe you best get used to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Egyptian masses have had a glimpse of power now! There is no going back! They understand that they need to organise in every locality now to ward off the brutality of the Fascist state, aided and abetted by The West.
No you learn something asshole. No one outside of a few politicians, and media babblers gives a flying fuck who controls that miserable sandbox.
ReplyDeleteWe'll buy whatever saudi oil we wish, and take it if we feel like it (just like the Barbary Pirates used to take from us.
We invested a lousy $24 Billion, and replaced 10% of our gasoliine almost without a conscious thought.
When your oil runs out you will starve; we'll just use ethanol, biodiesel, electric, hydrogen, or whatever we feel interested in using.
Your people followed a deranged, misogynist, pedophile in declaring war on the world. Now, you lie dying in the desert sand. Unremarked upon, and unlamented.
No Rufus, you will learn something from me despite your blinding ignorance.
ReplyDeleteYour US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bragged after the Tunisian revolution that she “wasn't worried about Egypt. Egypt is stable” .
Now the whole Obama administration is befuddled, and in complete disarray on how to handle the revolt of the “have nots” in Egypt. The U.S. started with unequivocal support for Mubarak, but it pretended that it was pressing Mubarak to make a quick transition, but Mubarak refused.
Now the U.S. is pressing the opposition to enter talks with Mubarak's henchmen, and it claims that it wants a quick solution to Egyptian the demonstrators demands! What threy fear is the real truth about an ascendent Islam
But what the US actually wants it to preserve the Mubarak regime, either with him included in the background, or without him, but with his loyalists in control of the most important government positions. That will secure continuing US control of the Egyptian government, which in return will provide continuity to the US and Israeli interests in the Middle East, and end with your lamenting, As-Salaam-Alaikum.
Damn, anyone got WIO's email address? This could be fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteDon't hold back, Rufus, tell our follower of Mohammad(pbuh) what you REALLY think!
ReplyDeleteYou have a "reading comprehension" problem, Salad. As I explained, a few politicians care. That's because their financiers in the oil business "care."
ReplyDeleteEveryone else could give a fuck.
A few religious zealots "care." That's because they're almost as whacked out as the muslims.
99% of Americans don't care if Francis's dick rules Egypt. Egypt is a goner. No money, no job, no skills, half enough food.
Maybe next time.
Yea Rufus, you ignorant slut.
ReplyDelete99% of Americans don't care if Francis's dick rules Egypt. Egypt is a goner. No money, no job, no skills, half enough food.
ReplyDeleteI object to that Rufus! The Madrassas are turning out many graduates skilled in the Holy Q'u'r'a'n. They are able to quote any Sura from memory at the drop of a hat.
Well, they quote the whole damned quoran if they're waiting for ME to pick up that hat. :)
ReplyDeletethey can quote . . . . .
ReplyDeleteOh, btw, that deal about the British nukes? It's been part of the treaty since 1991. UK Confirms
ReplyDeleteIt just made sense, really.
Salaad:
ReplyDeleteHere's how we see it. We did not send our soldiers into two wars to kill thousands of Muslims. We were attacked by fundamentalist Muslims. We gave Afghanistan plenty of opportunity to give up al-Qaeda. The Taliban, who were as repressive as any dictatorial regime, refused and paid a price. Do you support the Taliban? Do you think they are freedom loving?
After we had invaded Afghanistan, we freed millions of Iraqis when we deposed Saddam Hussein. You know, the one who invaded Kuwait?
We're not all like Rufus, but many of us are concerned about the militant Islamists we see who are worse than Mubarak.
Salaad:
ReplyDeleteYou sound like an intelligent person. Do you honestly think Arab people or anyone else will be better off under a repressive theocracy? Are Iranians happy? What about Saudis? Are they free?
Most Americans want Egypt to be free, fair and democratic and despite what Rufus says, they do care.
Salaad said:
ReplyDeleteWhat threy fear is the real truth about an ascendent Islam
I would like to know what "an ascendent Islam" means to you, Salaad.
"That was a nuke. A couple hundred klicks away but definitely a nuke. This chopper is hardened but ITAR rules say we land after any strike". . . The fanatics have won, and it is Islam against the West, and the West...that is me, my people now, must bathe the Middle East in a sea of flame. Like a lion stung too many times, ripping up a nest, killing all the silly, stupid hornets..." (Greg Bear, Quantico)
ReplyDeleteWhat is so hard to undersatnd about Western domination of Muslim lands and the human desire of Muslims to take back their honor? Most Muslim countries are western constructs, national remains of colonialism. Look what is happening today in Egypt.
ReplyDeleteWe now have the example of megaphone diplomacy from Washington instructing the Egyptians (poor silly things) on how to handle a transition to a stable government devised and manipulated to the US/Zio-Con liking. A country 4000 years old needing instruction from stupid American politicians?
Why is Washington the only Western big mouth being 'consulted' ? What on earth are the stuffed-dummy Egyptian generals doing ? Why don't they show some courage and stand up for the Egyptians rather than cowering yet again to the US? That's because the US has got the whole of Egypt by the' short and curlies' - what an indignity to Egyptian pride. No doubt a fig leaf will be devised for appearance so that the Egyptian-dummy generals will 'do very nicely, thank you' from the US largesse of $1.5 billion per annum. (Somebody ought to look into the generals' financial racketering). American military would be put in prison for taking bribes and the American press indignant over the bribers. (Saudi money ?)
Once again, the Arabs and Egyptians are being shafted by the duplicity of the stuffed-dummies leading the Egyptian army and the cynical Zio-Con manipulated US 'policy'.. For the American regime, it's Israel's supremacy which dictates all; they care bugger all for Egypt and the Egyptian protesters should remember that.
Thus the Egyptians must have the stamina and shrewdness to keep on going so that the whole corrupt and treacherous Egyptian regime, including the Torturer in Chief, Omar Suleiman are thrown out. Egypt should re-assert its muscular independence from the treacherous West which controls the army and air-force and Egyptian national debt.
Those ascendent (Muslims) Egyptians!!
They'll never be allowed to have this chance ever again. It's now or never !
If you want freedom, democracy and a respect for all human beings, go for it.
ReplyDeleteBut be careful that what happened in Iran doesn't happen to Egypt. That is what the US is concerned about. As we understand it, Mubarak has agreed to go. Is it better for an orderly transition with free elections in September or is it better to throw everything into chaos now? If you create a vacuum of power and civil order now, be prepared when the ruthless and powerful grab control.
As we say, don't "jump out of the frying pan and into the fire."
ReplyDeleteNot all like Rufus?!? Fuck.
ReplyDelete99.9 are Just like Rufus.
I'd love to see that $1.5 Billion "Aid" to the Generals put to a Vote. It might be the first referendum in history to get 0%.
Ascendant Islam?!? I got that right here.
Your Islamist motherfuckers killed 3,000 of ours on 9 - 11 - 01. But we'll have the pleasure of watching a bunch of you motherfuckers die a slow, miserable death from starvation. It'll be some consolation.
As for your problems with your corrupt, worthless leadership? Have at it. We're stocking up on popcorn. If we "really" don't like the outcome we'll let you know soon enough.
A country 4000 years old needing instruction from stupid American politicians?
ReplyDeleteSalad, the proud muslim, speaks of the 4000 years of Egyptian "culture" seeming to forget his tribe has only been around the last 1600 of those years, raping, pillaging, plundering, and is now hell bent on eradicating the true Egyptians.
Salad sounds like a typical educated muslim. I wonder if he manages to make a 5 syllable word out of Israel like his pali friends.
Salad is just pissed that somebody else's tyrants are in the catbird seat, and likely to stay there for as long as they can maintain the technology given them by the West. Not one day longer. After that? One big food fight.
Well, he has sworn allegiance to a religion that commands him to enslave, or kill, me and my clan the first chance he gets. This makes him a blood enemy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not allowed by the laws of my country, or my clan to hunt him down, and engage preemptively, but I damned sure don't have to pretend friendship, or goodwill.
Dollar to a donut he stopped by just to spew the latest talking points he was given by his imam at a musk somewhere in the US.
ReplyDeletemosk
ReplyDeleteHe's down in mommy's basement now. Fast asleep.
ReplyDeleteSalad sounds like a typical educated muslim. I wonder if he manages to make a 5 syllable word out of Israel like his pali friends.
ReplyDeleteSpoken like a fool without an argument. You want an honest assessment? Then recognize that the West's foreign policy is the root cause of Muslim extremism and has serious consequences, which is why, in public, it can never be acknowledged. In private, European leaders have little more than contempt for American foreign policy, mixed with despair, and fear; yet they loyally keep up pretenses in public. American is beholden to The American Jewish lobby and media. That is undeniable to any honest and intelligent person. A man like Linerar, who is neither, will make his foolishness known but falter over the facts.
Muslim extremism, at least in relation to the West, is fuelled by the festering conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, then comes the United States' unconditional support for Israel which has dragged the US deeper and deeper into the conflict, followed by Europe's support for both the United States and Israel.
Put bluntly, the reason terrorists are targetting the US and Europe is because the US, for decades, have been targetting them. And one can go further, what about the massive western 'terrorist' attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan, attacks that, have caused tremendous loss of life among civilians on a scale that dwarfs the revenge attacks by 'Muslim' terrorists on New York or London. But of course, you don't, you cannot, define your use of overwhelming violence as 'terrorism', somehow your use of violence is different, it's not really violence at all, you even call it 'defense', as if it's really you that are being attacked, in spite of the fact that their are no vast Muslim armies attacking or occupying western nations.
You appear to actually believe your own crude and incredibly simplistic propaganda about the battle against Muslim extremists, yet your own extremism, like your military agression inside the Muslim world, is not just ignored, it isn't even acknowledged as existing. Now that is the true essence of propaganda, turning reality on its head, and turing black into white.
Don't look at your actions in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, and beyond, just listen to your pretty, shallow, diverting, speeches. Listen to your ignorant racialist slander.
But in the Muslim world your colossal, overwhelming, hypocracy and double-standards, which the chasm between your words and your deeds, illustrates so clearly, is rightly understood as a tremendous insult and a indication of the level of contempt taht you have for ordinary Muslims. Look at your ownignorant and stupid comments!!!
So you add insult to injury, and then act shocked, when a handful of Muslims snap, can't take the agression anymore, and fight back, anyway they can, which means using crude and indiscriminate terror against innocents because they do not have the power to hit your ignorant meddling leaders.
Obama, is essentially a gifted conman, given the task of selling propaganda rather than the truth, because the truth is too hard to take and for the uneducated but opinionated, Obama must watch his words.
The ugly truth that men like Linear will never believe is that Muslim terrorism is caused by Western terrorism and unquestioning US support for Israel regardless of how you pronounce it. You want peace, Leave us alone .
You don't get it. Islam is DIFFERENT. Read your own Koran. Look at what its true believers are doing, in the US and Europe and the UK. Look what they do in Moscow. The US has ALWAYS welcomed immigrants, but a percentage of Muslims are brainwashed religious lunatics who put their sect's bizarre beliefs BEFORE their humanity.
ReplyDeleteWe will soon see how things improve for Egypt:
ReplyDeleteCairo, Egypt (CNN) -- As Egyptians began a 13th day of protests Sunday under what appears to be a cracking regime, the Muslim Brotherhood said it will meet with the country's vice president -- days after the group said it would not negotiate until President Hosni Mubarak leaves office.
"We did not change our stance. We decided to take the people's demands to the negotiation table," Essam el-Erian, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, told CNN.
The meeting with Vice President Omar Suleiman is scheduled to begin late Sunday morning.
It's the latest development in national political talks after key members of the embattled ruling party resigned Saturday.
Explain this to me:
ReplyDeleteIsaad Mohammadani (28) is an active and intelligent young woman from Darfur who came to the Netherlands in the summer of 2009. She is married to the love of her life and they have a three-year old daughter. Isaad was circumcised as a girl and is considering an operation to have the process reversed. Today is United Nations-sponsored International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. This is Isaad’s story.
by Karima Idrissi and Willemien Groot RN
She underwent a far-reaching form of genital mutilation, sometimes called pharaonic circumcision or infibulation, in which the clitoris and the labia are removed. In Sudan having your daughter circumcised is almost compulsory, she explains. “If you don’t, the girl will be bullied at school and her parents will become social outcasts.”
The ritual is barely a matter for discussion in Sudan despite the risks involved and a legal ban on infibulations, in force since 1946. The World Health Organisation estimates that 90 percent of Sudanese women have been circumcised. If a girl survives the mutilation, it affects her entire life, both psychologically and physically. The procedure leaves her with such a narrow opening that urinating and menstruating become difficult. Isaad lost her first baby during childbirth because she did not receive the special help she needed.
You're a lying sack of shit, goatfucker. Your people were terrorizing our ships back in the 1700's.
ReplyDeleteYou sick, pedophile worshipping bunch of queer cocksuckers have been plundering, Warring on your neighbors, and trying to conquer the world for 1400 Long years.
Now, we'll have the pleasure of watching you pieces of shit starve in the Desert. It will be a Great Day.
Salaad, salaam and welcome to the Elephant Bar.
ReplyDeleteRufus, my distinguished friend, your ships were off our shores, not our ships off the coast of Virginia. Your ships were being used to plunder the Native American lands. Your ships were bringing black African slaves to do your work. Once again, in your ignorant way, you prove my point.
ReplyDeleteRufus, my good ignorant comedian friend, a historic scholar informs us "Warring on your neighbors, and trying to conquer the world for 1400 Long years.
ReplyDeleteWere the American Indians attacking France, Spain, England and so-called America? Were the French and English fighting the Americans in the lands of the iroquois over stolen treasure in Europe? You Europeans would steal and plunder and then like dogs, fight over the bones. Please enlighten me further and pick the other continents where you did not repeat your worK and piracy.
Warring on your neighbors, and trying to conquer the world for 1400 Long years. How do you explain to me, Jacques Cartier, A French "explorer". The first to establish France's claim to North America, made three voyages to Canada between 1534 and 1541. Explain to me the word "explorer". Could he have been called as Christian terrorist? What precisely Rufus my Friend was the nature of french claims to North America?
Claiming what from whom? Did they arrive in ships, perhaps ships similar to those that arrived off the coasts of Arab lands? Had the Iroquois similar ships, would they have been in their rights to repel the French "foreign terrorists"?
You are a child my friend, an uneducated child.
Life is about choices, Salaam.
ReplyDeleteOne of the traits of a mature individual, society or culture is the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own choices.
Everyday day we have choices. Those choices have consequences.
When we can acknowledge that our own decisions and actions form our character and destiny, we can move forward. When we accept personal responsibility for being who we are instead of blaming someone else, we move forward. When our societies or cultures accept responsibility for our collective actions, they can move forward.
Mr. Whit, Had I the skill,I could have written your words. I disagree with none of them.
ReplyDeleteDon't blame your parents, don't blame your brother or your sister, don't blame your neighbor. Don't blame Israel or America or colonialism.
ReplyDeleteLook in the mirror and accept the responsibility.
Read your words carefully my friend. Take your own wise advise.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have the distinct impression that Ward Churchill has a sock puppet named Salad.
ReplyDeleteTaking it from the top, if I wanted an honest assessment, I'd never seek it from a muslim.
Mohammed was essentially a gifted and charismatic conman, as well as a murdering bandit and pedophile. Given the task of selling propaganda rather than the truth, he and his followers invented a totalitarian ideology that masquerades as a religion. Lying is a skill taught to muslims from the day they're born. There's no dishonor among muslims for lying, just a bit of embarrassment if they're caught in the lie, and among themselves it's easily dismissed by their ideology if it is targeted at an infidel.
The ugly truth that youths like Salad will never believe is that muslim terrorism is caused by fundamental tenets of their ideology. Attempting to blame it on an invented and self-serving "Western terrorism and unquestioning US support for Israel" is just a tired old canard, regardless of how Salad pronounces it.
You want peace, Salad? Go back to the desert and pound sand.