tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post2952348008339151704..comments2024-03-19T05:29:47.524-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: US soldier captured by Taliban speaksDeuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-89394864665699799282009-07-19T09:53:08.418-04:002009-07-19T09:53:08.418-04:00We took some wrong turns in Afghanistan, but it...<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2223056?nav=wp" rel="nofollow">We took some wrong turns in Afghanistan, but it's too early for despair. - By Christopher Hitchens - </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n13/stew01_.html" rel="nofollow">LRB · Rory Stewart The Irresistible Illusion</a><br /><br />Stewart recommends reducing troop numbers down to 20,000.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-61384505293102115202009-07-19T09:28:17.542-04:002009-07-19T09:28:17.542-04:00In particular, officials said, ambitions for the p...<i>In particular, officials said, ambitions for the program expanded to include creating teams that were composed not only of CIA personnel but counterparts from other countries, presumably Pakistan; and to be capable not just of killing high-value targets but also executing raids and other operations to gather intelligence that might lead to elusive al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. <br /><br />Former officials said support for the program persisted in recent years largely because it could compensate for a crucial shortcoming of the ongoing campaign of Predator strikes. The drones had emerged as a potent weapon against al-Qaida in Pakistan but had failed to bring the agency closer to bin Laden.<br /><br />"The bottom line is that you've still got No. 1 and No. 2 out there," one former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official said. "If all you do is blow stuff up and burn stuff up, you never get information that could lead you to the prize."</i>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-45150833723740670822009-07-19T09:26:40.563-04:002009-07-19T09:26:40.563-04:00Logistics issues buried CIA assassination teams.
...<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-cia-0718-0719jul19,0,245818.story" rel="nofollow">Logistics issues buried CIA assassination teams</a>.<br /><br /><i>According to current and former U.S. intelligence officials, the CIA spent seven years trying to assemble teams capable of killing the world's most wanted terrorists but could never find a formula that worked. <br /><br />The struggles came during a period in which the agency had been given unprecedented authorities and resources, and a cause -- responding to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- with broad public support. </i>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-30932456898990331022009-07-19T08:59:26.275-04:002009-07-19T08:59:26.275-04:00guardian.co.uk - 1 hour ago.
John Hutton said Br...<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/19/john-hutton-troops-afghanistan-support" rel="nofollow">guardian.co.uk - 1 hour ago</a>.<br /><i>John Hutton said Britain needs more support from the other Allied forces in Afghanistan. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images The political row over government support for troop numbers and military spending in Afghanistan escalated today as the ..</i>.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-63363128457061695072009-07-19T08:56:07.627-04:002009-07-19T08:56:07.627-04:00It seems a dangerous place, AfpakistanIt seems a dangerous place, Afpakistandesert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-57464281572861675012009-07-19T08:55:09.121-04:002009-07-19T08:55:09.121-04:00CNN - 13 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) --...<i>CNN - 13 minutes ago<br />KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A helicopter crashed during takeoff from Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 16 people, NATO said.</i>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-78745140521166015092009-07-19T08:29:07.675-04:002009-07-19T08:29:07.675-04:00He still had his head.
That's evident.
He is ...He still had his head.<br />That's evident.<br /><br />He is not starving, another good sign. <br /><br />Let's all hope for the best, for that young soldier.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.com