The Groundtruth from a combat veteran, backed up by independent research and historical study. Information beneficial to the Troops. And a touch of objective politics, as it relates to the subjects at hand.
This site is unabashedly Pro-American and Pro-Military however none of the views expressed here are to be considered as endorsed, proposed, or supported by the Department of Defense or any other Agency, government, public, or private. http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/
SSgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Marine Till Death that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html
http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Lt. Leonard Robinson, 29, of Spring Lake, N.C., died Dec. 15, of non-combat related injuries while home on leave in Fayetteville, N.C. Robinson was assigned to the Naval Hospital Sigonella, Italy detachment located at the Naval Branch Health Clinic in Bahrain.
"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.
UPDATE: Iraqi authorities say bombings and shootings across the country have killed at least 26 people, about half of them in northern regions whose territory is disputed between autonomous Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad's central government.
In Monday's deadliest attack, a car bomb killed seven people in a village near the northern city of Mosul in Iraq's Nineveh province. The village is inhabited by the Shabak ethnic minority.
Two more car bombs exploded in a Shi'ite district of the town of Tuz Khormato in Salah al-Din province, killing five people. Several bombs also went off around the town of Baquba in Diyala province, killing one person.
Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Diyala provinces all border Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, which wants to incorporate Kurdish-populated parts of those provinces into its territory over Baghdad's strong objections.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks, which marked the second consecutive day of violence in disputed regions claimed by Iraqi Kurdistan.
On Sunday, bombs targeting Iraqi Shi'ites killed at least six people in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. A car bomb also struck a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan office in the Diyala town of Jalawla, killing two recruits seeking to join a Kurdish peshmerga security force.
Monday's other attacks in Iraq killed at least 13 more people, including one person in a car bombing in downtown Baghdad.
Original: Multiple bomb blasts have hit northern Iraq, killing at least 10 people in contested areas where tensions have flared between the Kurdish minority and the central government.
Two of the bombs Monday exploded in a Shi'ite area of Tuz Khurmatu, in Kirkuk province. Another blast, a car bomb, struck a Shabak minority area near Mosul.
The attacks follow a string of bombings in Iraq Sunday that killed at least nine people in Kirkuk and Jalula.
Kirkuk is part of the ethnically mixed and oil-rich area that Kurds want to incorporate into their self-administered region, but is also claimed by Turkmen and the Arab-led central government. VoA.
Afghanistan's Taliban has claimed responsibility for a blast in Kabul at a compound owned by a U.S. military contractor.
Authorities say two Afghan workers were killed and at least a dozen other people were wounded in Monday's blast in the capital.
A Taliban spokesman called the attack a suicide bombing targeting an American company that provides security for military forces. The company, Contrack, builds facilities for military bases.
In a separate deadly incident Monday, 10 girls, ranging in age from 9 to 13 years, were killed in Nangarhar province. Authorities say the girls were collecting firewood Monday morning when a landmine exploded.
Officials believe the blast came from an old landmine, many of which are still hidden in fields and rural areas after decades of conflict.
General John Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, offered his condolences to the families, and said Afghanistan has become “one of the most heavily mined countries on Earth.”
Allen said “the tragic and cruel fact” about landmines is that “they don't discriminate.”
Officials in northwest Pakistan say a bomb has killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 40.
Authorities say the marketplace explosion Monday happened near government offices in the town of Jamrud, part of the Khyber tribal district.
Khyber is home to various Islamist terrorist groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, which have waged a bloody insurgency against the government for several years.
Elsewhere Monday in Pakistan, officials say gunmen killed a provincial government spokesman and two police officers in the troubled southwestern city of Quetta.
Police say the attackers shot dead Khadim Hussain Noori and then shot the police who were pursuing them.
The civil servant was a Shiite Muslim, and officials say the attack in Baluchistan province may have been related to sectarian unrest.
Baluchistan has experienced a spike in sectarian killings the past year as Sunni Muslim extremists have targeted Shiites.
The province is also the scene of a decades-long insurgency by Baluch nationalists who demand greater autonomy and a larger share of the province's natural resources. VoA.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Dec. 17, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed two insurgents, detained one, located one weapons cache and cleared three improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 16.
Ghazni Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Qarah Bagh District.
Kapisa Province Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Tagab District.
Khowst Province Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Bak District. The cache contained homemade explosives and IED components.
Nangarhar Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained one insurgent during an engagement in Jalalabad DC District. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.
Wardak Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed two insurgents during an engagement in Maidan Shahr District.
Egyptian rights groups say the first round of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution was marred by widespread violations and should be re-staged.
The coalition of seven groups made the call as the Muslim Brotherhood backers of President Mohamed Morsi claimed victory in Saturday's vote, saying unofficial tallies showed 56-percent approval of the draft constitution.
The rights groups complained that some voters were improperly turned away and some people illegally served as polling station monitors in place of judges. Prominent Egyptian opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei joined the criticism on Twitter, posting a message saying irregularities were “flagrant,” and turnout was “low.”
The Muslim Brotherhood said turnout was about one-third of the 26 million people eligible to vote on Saturday. The first-round of the referendum was held in 10 of Egypt's 27 regions, including the two main cities of Cairo and Alexandria. A second-round will be held next Saturday in Egypt's remaining provinces, most of which are rural and religiously conservative, which opens the door for Islamists to cast multiple votes.
Some observers expect the second-round to boost the overall “yes” vote for the draft constitution, which requires only a simple majority for passage.
Egypt's main liberal opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, said Sunday it will not accept any unofficial referendum results.
Saturday's vote was not without violence, with more than 100,000 Egyptian troops deployed to prevent violence. But as the polls closed, some Islamists assaulted the Cairo offices of a liberal newspaper affiliated to the opposition Wafd party.
Opposition activists note the constitution will erode civil liberties because it rests on the role of Islamist Sharia law and does not mention women's rights. An Islamist-dominated constituent assembly drafted the document last month after liberal and Christian members walked out, complaining they were being ignored.
Islamist supporters of the draft constitution say its passage in a referendum is an important step toward Egypt's transition to "democracy," almost two years after a popular uprising toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak.
The controversy over the constitution sparked rival mass protests by opposition and Islamist activists earlier this month. At least eight people were killed in street battles among demonstrators. VoA.
Syrian opposition activists say government warplanes have bombed a Palestinian refugee camp on the southern outskirts of the capital, Damascus, killing at least eight people.
The activists said Sunday's air strike was the first of its kind on the Yarmouk refugee camp since forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad began suppressing a popular uprising in March 2011. They said at least some of those killed were in a mosque struck by a missile.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Yarmouk raid was one of six government air strikes on southern areas of Damascus on Sunday. Rebels have been trying to advance from those areas into central Damascus, the seat of Mr. Assad's power.
Meanwhile, a Lebanese newspaper quoted Syria's vice president as saying neither the rebels nor the government can win the conflict militarily. In a report Sunday, Al-Akhbar said Farouk al-Sharaa made the rare public comment in an interview with the pro-Syrian newspaper. There was no immediate response to the report from the Syrian government.
If confirmed, al-Sharaa's comment would represent a departure from the Syrian government's stated determination to defeat what it sees as foreign-backed terrorists trying to end Mr. Assad's 12-year rule.
The paper quoted the vice president as saying the government is “not in a battle for the survival of an individual or a regime.”
In another quote, al-Sharaa purportedly said a solution to the conflict must involve “regional countries” and members of the U.N. Security Council, the stopping of all violence, and the creation of a “national unity government with wide powers.”
Elsewhere, an Islamist rebel faction claimed to have seized an army academy near the northern city of Aleppo after days of fighting with government troops. The Tawheed brigade posted a video on its website Sunday, showing fighters walking around the base, while exchanges of fire could be heard in the background.
The army academy appears to be the latest Syrian military installation to fall to the rebels this month around Aleppo, Syria's commercial capital.
At the Yarmouk camp, the Observatory said fighting erupted after the air strike, with Syrian rebels and their Palestinian allies battling a Palestinian faction loyal to Mr. Assad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Syria is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendents, whose loyalties have been divided by the Syrian civil war.
The government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the international community to take action to stop attacks on Palestinians in Syria.
There was no independent confirmation of the casualties at Yarmouk or the fighting at the military academy because Syria bars independent journalists from reporting freely. VoA.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Kevin E. Lipari, 39, of Baldwin, N.Y., died Dec. 14 in Logar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to HHC 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Bamberg, Germany. This incident is under investigation.
"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.
Security forces in northwestern Pakistan have killed a group of terrorists in Peshawar, a day after a Taliban raid on the city's airport.
Authorities say security forces stormed a building Sunday near the airport where five terrorists had taken refuge after the attack on the airport Saturday.
Officials say three terrorists were killed in a shootout with security forces Sunday, while the other two terrorists detonated their suicide vests.
Earlier, authorities said Saturday's terrorist attack on the airport left at least four civilians and five militants dead. Dozens of other people were wounded when the insurgents attacked Peshawar's international airport with rockets and explosives from a suicide bomber.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the airport attack. VoA.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Dec. 16, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed one insurgent, detained one, and cleared four improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 15.
Khowst Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Terezayi District.
Afghan Border Police and coalition forces killed one insurgent during an engagement in Khowst District.
Nangarhar Province Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces detained an insurgent while investigating an IED in Jalalabad DC District. The IED was safely cleared and the detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.
Paktika Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Paktika District.
The polls have closed in the first round of voting in a referendum on Egypt's controversial new constitution.
Half of Egypt's eligible voters cast ballots Saturday on the draft constitution that has sparked weeks of violence and protests.
Men and women are voting separately at schools in Cairo and nine other provinces. President Mohamed Morsi has already cast his vote.
Long lines outside polling stations prompted election officials to extend the vote by four hours.
On Saturday, an opposition coalition accused the Muslim Brotherhood, which supports the proposed constitution, of rigging the vote. Mr. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The rest of the country will vote next Saturday . The vote has been scattered over two consecutive Saturdays "due to a boycott by a majority of the judiciary," which must oversee the vote by law.
It is not clear when final results will be announced.
Members of the liberal, secular and Christian opposition note the constitution will erode civil liberties because it rests on Islamist Sharia law and does not mention women's rights.
Officials say they have deployed 120,000 soldiers to protect polling stations.
Clashes broke out Friday among stone-throwing demonstrators protesting the draft constitution near a mosque in the port city of Alexandria, while police fired tear gas. Medical workers say 15 people were injured.
A largely Islamist committee approved the document last month.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has suffered a concussion after fainting at home, according to the State Department.
A statement Saturday from Philippe Reines, deputy assistant secretary of state, says that while suffering from a stomach virus, Clinton became dehydrated and fainted.
Reines says she is recovering at home. He says at the recommendation of her doctors, she will continue to work from home next week, while staying in regular contact with State Department and other officials.
Clinton canceled plans this week to travel to the Middle East and north Africa because of her stomach virus.
The secretary of state and former U.S. first lady is 65 years old. VoA.
At least four people have been killed and dozens more wounded in northwest Pakistan, in a suicide attack on an international airport in Peshawar province.
A VOA reporter in Islamabad said the airport was hit Saturday by rockets as well as explosives from the suicide bomber.
The provincial minister said the terrorists, including the bomber, were involved in the failed ground attack that followed the rocket fire.
Local media, citing an Air Force official, said the attackers were prevented from entering the complex. All were later reported dead.
A spokesman for Pakistan's national airlines said the airport was closed and all outgoing flights were canceled.
A retired military official who spoke to VOA from the scene said the rocket fire landed inside the airport complex but caused no damage. He said the attack appeared to be the work of either the Taliban or Lashkar-e-Islam terrorists fighting to topple the regional government. VoA.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Nicholas J. Reid, 26, of Rochester, N.Y., died Dec. 13 in Landstuhl, Germany from wounds suffered on Dec. 9, in Sperwan Village, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 53rd Ordnance Company (EOD), 3rd Ordnance Battalion (EOD), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. Michael J. Guillory, 28, of Pearl River, La., died Dec. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
This incident is under investigation.
"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Nelson D. Trent, 37, of Austin, Texas, died Dec. 13 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division, Fort Worth, Texas.
"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Dec. 15, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces cleared three improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 14.
Khowst Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared three IEDs in Khowst District.
News reports in Connecticut say 26 people – most of them young children – were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school.
By mid-afternoon, a Connecticut state police spokesman told reporters the crime scene had been secured. He said the first emergency call came shortly after 9:30 a.m. Police descended on the scene and immediately entered the school. Eighteen of the children and six adults, including the shooter, were found in one section of the school in two separate rooms. Two other children died in area hospitals.
The shooter, Adam Lanza, 20 years old shot and killed his mother, stole her car and then drove to the elementary school, where he opened fire on her kindergarten class, and another classroom. The gunman's 24-year-old brother, Ryan, was undergoing police questioning late Friday.
Adam Lanza used two 9mm pistols that he had stolen from his mother. He had a history of mental illness.
An official from the governor's office says Governor Dannel Malloy was “horrified” by tragedy and rushed to meet with the children's family members.
President Barack Obama called authorities in Connecticut to express his sadness, and pledged to help with federal resources.
The shooting took place Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, 60 miles from New York City.
Photos and video images from the scene showed children being rushed out of the school, but it took several hours before the full scope of the tragedy to become known. VoA.
Gun laws broken: 1) Theft of a firearm (3 counts). 2) Possession of a firearm by someone under 21 years of age, without supervision (3 counts). 3) Matricide with a firearm. 4) Possession of a firearm by a mentally defective individual (3 counts). 5) Theft of a vehicle. 6) Possession of a firearm within 300 feet of a school (3 counts). 7) Discharge of a firearm within city limits (Minimally 28 counts). 8) Discharge of a firearm on school grounds (Minimally 27 counts). 9) Murder by discharge of a firearm (Minimally 27 counts). 10) Commission of a crime while in possession of a firearm (76 counts).
It seems the criminal was not stopped by the laws on the books. What might have stopped him would have been an armed guard and metal detector at the entrance of the school.
Clashes have broken out in the Egyptian city of Alexandria between supporters and opponents of the country's new constitution, one day before the highly contentious referendum on the document.
Witnesses say fighting between stone-throwing protesters began Friday near a mosque in Alexandria, the country's second largest city. Several cars were set on fire. There was no immediate word on injuries.
In Cairo and other cities, thousands of flag-waving activists turned out for rival rallies. Such gatherings have been generally "peaceful," killing 8 Egyptians in the last week.
The proposed constitution has the support of President Mohamed Morsi's Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist groups.
However, members of liberal, secular and Christian opposition note it will erode civil liberties because it boosts the role of Islamist Sharia law and does not mention women's rights.
An Islamist committee approved the document last month after minority liberal and Christian members walked out, stating they had been ignored by the Islamist body writing the constitution.
Last week, clashes between supporters and opponents left eight people dead and hundreds injured.
Polls open on Saturday in Cairo, Alexandria and a group of other provinces. The rest of the country will vote on December 22.
Egyptians living overseas began casting their ballots earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Working Group has urged Egyptian officials to review the document to ensure that in conforms to international laws on equality and women's rights.
In a Friday statement, independent expert Kamala Chandrakirana said “key opportunities so far has been missed.” The group says the final draft of the constitution does not include adequate provisions to protect against gender discrimination. VoA.
The Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi came to power after Obama pressured his predecessor out of office and pressed for elections in Egypt before secularists could organize political powers. On 9/11/2012, Egyptian security forces delayed response led to the US Embassy being overrun, the US Flag desecrated, and the black flag of Al-Qaeda being raised over it. In neighboring Libya, the US Consulate in Benghazi was also overran, resulting in the deaths of the US Ambassador, and three Americans working for the US government.
Chinese state media say a man stabbed 22 children and an adult at an elementary school in central Communist China on Friday.
The official Xinhua news agency says the knife-wielding man attacked the children outside a school in Chenpeng village in Henan province. It said the children, whose ages are not known, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say the attacker was later detained, but gave no motive for the stabbings.
Schools in China have increased security following a series of deadly attacks on students in recent years.
The most recent was in August, when a man broke into a middle school in the southern city of Nanchang and stabbed two students.
In March 2010, a man described as an unemployed middle-aged doctor killed eight children with a knife at a school in the southern city of Nanping.
Some observers say the attacks have highlighted a weakness in the Chinese medical system's ability to diagnose and treat psychiatric illnesses, which have been on the rise. VoA.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Dec. 14, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed one insurgent, detained six, and cleared one improvised explosive device during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 13.
Kunar Province Afghan National Army soldiers killed one insurgent during an engagement in Bar Kunar (Asmar) District.
Nangarhar Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained six insurgents during an engagement in Bati Kot District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces also found and safely cleared one IED in Bati Kot District.
The United States has imposed sanctions on five Iranian nuclear experts and seven companies for helping Iran move closer towards enriching uranium — essential for building a nuclear bomb.
The new sanctions freeze the U.S. assets of those named and forbids any U.S. citizen or body from doing business with the 12.
Iran has refused U.N. and Western demands that it give up its nuclear program, which Washington alleges is aimed at building a bomb. Iran claims its nuclear activities are strictly for peaceful purposes
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says because of Iran's continued intransigence on its nuclear program, it is essential to restrain Iranian violations.
Meanwhile, a team of United Nations nuclear inspectors is in Tehran seeking to convince Iran to resume nuclear talks.
Chief inspector Herman Nackaerts said the focus of the visit is to resolve outstanding issues related to Iran's possible development of nuclear weapons.
The U.N. nuclear agency wants Iran to grant inspectors access to the Parchin military installation southwest of Tehran, which the West suspects is related to possible nuclear weapons development. Iran says Parchin is a conventional military site. VoA.
The Army Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and the Coast Guard Reserve announced this week a decrease in activated Guard members and reservists while the Army National Guard and Navy Reserve announced an increase of activated Guard members and reservists. The net collective result is 469 more reservists and National Guard members activated in comparison to last week.
At any given time, services may activate some units and individuals while deactivating others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. The total number currently on active duty from the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 42,013; Navy Reserve, 4,946; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 8,241; Marine Corps Reserve, 2,386; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 658. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel who have been activated to 58,244, including both units and individual augmentees.
The Army released suicide data today for the month of November. During November, among active-duty soldiers, there were 12 potential suicides: one has been confirmed as a suicide and 11 remain under investigation. For October, the Army reported 20 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers; since the release of that report, one case has been removed for a total of 19 cases: nine have been confirmed as suicides and 10 remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 177 potential active-duty suicides: 113 have been confirmed as suicides and 64 remain under investigation. Active-duty suicide number for 2011: 165 confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.
During November, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides (12 Army National Guard and three Army Reserve): two have been confirmed as suicide and 13 remain under investigation. For October, among that same group, the Army reported 13 potential suicides; since the release of that report, one case has been removed for a total of 12 cases (eight Army National Guard and four Army Reserve); six have been confirmed as suicides and six remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 126 potential not on active-duty suicides (84 Army National Guard and 42 Army Reserve): 97 have been confirmed as suicides and 29 remain under investigation. Not on active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 118 (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve) confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.
"As part of the Army's team-based and holistic approach to suicide prevention and stigma reduction, Army chaplains remain committed to fostering a resilient and ready force by enhancing strength, reducing stigma and encouraging help-seeking behaviors," said the Army's Maj. Gen. Donald L. Rutherford, Chief of Chaplains. "Our soldiers, families and civilians are our most precious resource, and the chaplaincy embodies the best of our Army values when it proclaims hope, embraces community, and stands with those who feel they stand alone."
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Dec. 13, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed four insurgents, detained two, located three weapons caches and cleared three improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 12.
Ghazni Province Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Ghazni District. The cache contained small arms ammunition, grenades, rockets and multiple mortar rounds being used for IEDs.
Kapisa Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed four insurgents during an engagement in Tagab District.
Khowst Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Terezayi District.
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Nadir Shah Kot District. The cache contained small arms and ammunition.
Logar Province Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Charkh District.
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Baraki Barak District. The cache contained homemade explosives.
Nangarhar Province Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared one IED in Shinwar District.
Afghan Border Police and coalition forces detained two insurgents during an engagement in Bati Kot District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.
An international rights group is blaming Pakistan's military and the Taliban for human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions, torture and unlawful killings, in the northwestern tribal region.
In a report released Thursday, Amnesty International said millions of Pakistanis are affected by a “legal wilderness” in the region near the Afghan border.
The rights group said Pakistan's military is responsible for human rights abuses that include enforced disappearances and ill treatment of those in custody. The group says it has documented cases in which the bodies of individuals who had been arrested by the armed forces were returned to their families or reportedly dumped in tribal areas.
Amnesty International says the Taliban has been committing a “range of human rights abuses,” including capturing and killing soldiers and carrying out illegal “quasi-judicial proceedings” that fail to meet basic international standards for fair trials.
The London-based group says its findings are based on interviews that included victims, witnesses, Pakistani authorities and armed groups in the northwest region.
The group urged Pakistani authorities to take steps that include investigating reports of human rights violations and abuses involving both the Paki armed forces and the Taliban. The group has also called for legal reforms in tribal areas.
The U.S. has used drone strikes to target al-Qaida and Taliban-linked terrorists in the northwestern region.
The U.S. claims the strikes are a key tool in eliminating terrorists. However, Pakistan notes the strikes are a violation of its sovereignty. VoA.
As we race towards the "Financial Cliff," there is a lot of tough talk, and while the word "compromise" is thrown around a lot, there is little compromise in the talk. While "negotiation" is used, those discussing how to do it seem inept at the principals of negotiation.
Compromise does not mean that you get everything you want, or that you give the other side everything they want. It means that the result is equally uncomfortable and equally agreeable to both sides in the end. It means you have to give up something you want to get some you want.
Negotiations do not begin by giving away your cards before you start in hopes that the other side will give them back to you when you have nothing they value, later. If the House of Representatives gives up their negotiating points in December in hopes they'll be approved in July, they'll get nothing in July, in 2013, or in 2014.
If the POTUS were as strong in negotiations with foreign enemies, if he were as demanding in "diplomacy" with non-allies, as he is with the Representatives the American People elected to Congress, and the allies who have stood by us throughout the centuries, the Administration would not be calling this "the end of the American Century." Instead, his political appointees in the Defense Department are noticing that China will outspend us militarily in a few years, as the Administration continues to call for spending cuts on Defense. It notes that China, India, and others will become greater economic powers than the US, and rather than doing something to stop this, accepts it.
"Elections have consequences," is a true statement, but it isn't so easy to say why people pulled the lever for one or another person or party. The people re-elected pretty much everyone, including the House of Representatives, which Constitutionally controls the purse-strings, i.e. Budgets, Taxes, and Spending, as well as the "debt limit." There are many people who voted for the POTUS because his challenger was considered boring, just as there were people who voted for Boehner because he has demonstrated his "sensitive side."
During a two week period, recently, Iran executed up to 80 of its people, according to UN Special Correspondent Achmed Shaheed. While that marks an increase, Iran was already on a killing spree of its people in the current year, which began in March, with 344 executions.
In 2011, it ranked highest in the world for executions per capita with 670. Iran executions include "convictions" for adultery, homosexuality, drug-trafficking, and anti-government activities.
Additionally, Iran maintains the Evin prison in northern Iran, strictly for political prisoners, including those who have received International recognition for their works. It maintains torture and beatings as a normal part of its police enforcement activities, but denies the beatings were the reason for the recent death of a blogger its Internet Police, the FATA had in its custody. It admits that he was beaten, but says there was not the reason he died.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Dec. 12, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed 12 insurgents, detained nine, located one weapons caches and cleared five improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 11.
Kapisa Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed 12 insurgents and detained one during an engagement in Tagab District. The detained insurgent was transferred to a base for questioning.
Khowst Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Sabari District. Afghan and coalition forces also found and safely cleared one IED in Sambari District.
Kunar Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Sar Kani District.
Logar Province Afghan National Army soldiers detained two insurgents during an engagement in Charkh District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.
Paktika Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained six insurgents while investigating a weapons cache in Sar Rowzah District. The cache contained small arms and ammunition, suicide vests, grenades and one IED. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.
Parwan Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Maiden Shahr District.
A dark haired, white-masked gunman, wearing a bullet proof load bearing equipment vest, opened fire on customers at approximately 3:30 PM Pacific time, near the Food Court at the Clackamas shopping mall near Portland, Oregon Tuesday, killing two people and wounding an unknown number of victims.
Police say the gunman is also dead, but it is not clear if he was shot by police or took his own life.
More than 100 police officers were searching the mall late Tuesday looking for more victims.
Witnesses say panicked shoppers fled the mall when the shooting started. Those who could not get outside hid in back rooms in stores at the Clackamas Town Center. Some witnesses say as many as 60 shots were fired.
UPDATE: The gunman has been identified as 22 year old Jacob Tyler Roberts. The fatalities were identified as Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, and Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45. The semi-automatic weapon was identified as stolen.
Friends of Roberts expressed disbelief that he could commit such a crime, that he was a High School dropout, and said he'd recently broke up with a girlfriend and planned to move to Hawaii.
A leading media rights group says China is currently holding at least 32 journalists behind bars, making it the world's third-worst jailer of the press.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said reporters working in the restive areas of Tibet and Xinjiang are most vulnerable. It said nearly two-thirds of China's imprisoned journalists are Tibetans or Uighurs held in detention for documenting rising ethnic tensions.
The findings were reported Tuesday in CPJ's annual census of jailed journalists, which found that the number of imprisoned journalists reached a record high in 2012. Turkey ranked worst in CPJ's report, jailing 49 journalists. Iran was close behind with 45.
Worldwide, CPJ identified 232 journalists behind bars, the group's highest figure since it began conducting surveys in 1990. It said the spike was driven in part by the widespread use of charges of terrorism and other anti-state offenses against reporters and editors.
On a positive note, the report said that for the first time since 1996, Burma is not among the nations jailing journalists. It said Burmese authorities released at least 12 imprisoned journalists over the past year as part of the southeast Asian country's political reform process.
But it was more pessimistic about China, where journalists have long complained of harassment and interference by Communist leaders who use some of the world's toughest censorship policies in the world to stifle dissent.
Beijing has recently given lengthy jail terms to a number of writers and dissidents who were critical of the Communist Party, which often views such material as threats to its single party hold on power. VoA.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Wesley R. Williams, 25, of New Carlisle, Ohio, died Dec. 10 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, under control of the 7th Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2012 - All four active-duty services and five of the six reserve components met or exceeded their recruiting goals in the first month of fiscal 2013, Defense Department officials announced today.
Here are the active-duty services' accessions for October:
-- Army: 5,080 accessions, 101 percent of its goal of 5,050;
-- Navy: 2,256 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 2,256;
-- Marine Corps: 2,482 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 2,471; and
-- Air Force: 1,985 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 1,985.
All four services exhibited strong retention numbers for the first month of fiscal 2013, officials said.
As a result of the Navy's transition from a downsizing to a stabilizing posture, Zone A (Initial) is at 92 percent. However, the other two zones continue to exhibit strong retention numbers, officials said.
Five of the six reserve components met or exceeded their numerical accession goals for the first month of fiscal 2013.
-- Army National Guard: 4,211 accessions, 123 percent of its goal of 3,424;
-- Army Reserve: 2,098 accessions, 89 percent of its goal of 2,360;
-- Navy Reserve: 418 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 418;
-- Marine Corps Reserve: 996 accessions, 117 percent of its goal of 850;
-- Air National Guard: 647 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 647; and
-- Air Force Reserve: 691 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 691.
The Army Reserve finished short of its goal for the month "as a result of precision recruiting," which was implemented in "an attempt to rebalance the force." Increased job announcements should help mitigate this shortfall, officials explained.
All reserve components met their fiscal 2012 attrition goals, officials said. This indicator lags by one month due to data availability.
In 2012, two videos achieved notoriety. One demonstrated the atrocities of Islamists in Egypt against Christians and spotlighted the precedents of the "prophet's" behavior in child molestation, and murder of civilians, war crimes, tyranny, and terrorism, as written in their holy book. The other was of an Asian in a dance he "created" which mimics the actions of a cowboy riding a horse.
One of the artistic creators was invited to perform for President Obama. The other was jailed by agents of the President.
But these men have a history. One is a refugee of Islamist abuses in Egypt while the other called for the torture of those following the orders of a previous President, following the orders of the American People. These are the 2004 words of one of the artists:
“Kill those f–ing Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives.” “Kill those f–ing Yankees who ordered them to torture.” “Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers” “Kill them all slowly and painfully.” Psy
One was accused of hate crimes and of inspiring violence around the world. The other was given photo-ops with the Royal, er, First Family. One has lived under threat to life and family and the other espoused that the families and children of others be tortured. One has been threatened with death and the other has called for the death of innocents. Both have American citizenship. Both have attained the attention of the Emperor, er President.
You know what, I don't give a dayum about an apology 8 years after the fact from the rapper. He has a 'right' to say what he does and I have a right to invite him to move to North Korea where his anti-American antics will get him celebrity status in a kingdom where subjects must express gratitude for every grain of rice they receive, from their Communist god-king.
But since the POTUS is so good and experienced with apologies, I do call on him to apologize for his actions, for his rewarding of and embracing a man who called for the rape, torture, and murder of Americans, and their children. He can't claim ignorance. It was well known who and what it was before he met with him. And he can't claim lack of authority. He has used the power of the office to uninvite others to functions he has attended, as well as having the symbols of Christianity covered in his presence.
It would be nice for him to apologize for his own misdeeds for a change, instead of for the successes of America, and for the hard road American Troops have taken to free the people of foreign lands of tyrants.
His apology doesn't mean I'll forget his actions, nor that I'll forgive him for embracing the one that called for torture and jailing the one that complained of oppression, but it is the right thing, for him to do.
I'm not alone in my disgust with the actions of the POTUS in this. Fellow Veterans reported the story first, over at This Ain't Hell.
Masked gunmen have fired at protesters camping in the Egyptian capital, wounding nine people as supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi prepare for rival mass rallies.
Officials and witnesses say the unknown gunmen shot the protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square early Tuesday. By midday the square was calm, with tents remaining in the center and the number of people in the area slowly growing.
Opposition leaders are pressuring Mr. Morsi to cancel a constitutional referendum scheduled for Saturday.
The opposition National Salvation Front, led by liberals including Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa, has called on its supporters to march on the presidential palace in Cairo Tuesday. They say the draft constitution does not properly represent the Egyptian people.
But Mr. Morsi has refused to back down. On Monday, he gave the military authority to arrest civilians as part of a decree to help maintain security for the referendum. The order tasks the military with supporting police to protect “vital institutions.” There was a heavy military presence in Cairo ahead of the planned rallies.
Many secular Egyptians fear the draft constitution will erode civil liberties because it boosts the role of Islamic law and makes no specific mention of women's rights. A constituent assembly dominated by Islamists approved the document last month after liberal and Christian members walked out, complaining that their voices were being ignored.
Some observers say the draft constitution has a good chance of being approved because Mr. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement has a superior ability to mobilize supporters to vote.
Mr. Morsi made a concession to the opposition on Saturday by canceling parts of a November 22 decree that granted himself sweeping powers. He made the announcement after a day of talks with other political figures. Most opposition groups boycotted the dialogue.
Mr. Morsi also said that if the draft constitution is rejected in Saturday's referendum, he will call elections for a new constituent assembly to draft another charter that will be put to a popular vote.
Egyptian troops set up concrete barriers outside the presidential palace Sunday to prevent rival groups of liberals and Islamists from holding further rallies at the site. Street battles between the two sides have killed seven people in the capital in recent days. VoA.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Dec. 11, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed seven insurgents, detained eight, and cleared one improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 10.
Ghazni Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained seven insurgents during an engagement in Gelan District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.
Khowst Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Paktya District.
Logar Province Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained one insurgent during an engagement in Pul-e-alam District. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.
Nuristan Province Afgahan Border Police killed seven insurgents during an engagement in Barge-E Matal District.
How can the American people not see what their politicians are doing? How can they continue to elect politicians that are eroding their Freedoms? How can they fall for the same old tricks?
Americans today are more educated than they ever have been. Americans are an intelligent people. Historically, we are a hard-working and hardy people, that can overcome any enemy and any hardship. We have a tradition of seeing through the BS and making the right decision.
But, in today's world, many people are parroting the talking points of political parties without thought. Partisans are more concerned with which political party will be hurt more by sending us over "the financial cliff," than with how it will effect Americans. They are more concerned with pushing through partisan programmes than with the Constitutionality of those plans.
In one of the most classic of "a lie repeated often enough.." many Americans will often cite "a separation of church and state" as being a part of the Constitution, while that phrase is found no where in the Constitution, but rather is a part of the Communist Manifesto. And the courts and protestors continue to act on the misquote, while ignoring the actual words of the Constitution, of the 2nd Amendment that prohibit laws preventing "the free exercise thereof," of religion.
How can Americans not comprehend the importance of the US Constitution? Because their attention has been diverted to Hollywood. They have been entertained by the movies, by the antics of Hollywierdos, by starlets and harlots, to the point that Hollywood ran out of ideas and told Americans to entertain themselves with video games. Meanwhile, the mudslinging of political campaigns has become so repetitive and deceitful that its entertainment value is nil and its disgust value is maxed out. We've fallen prey to advertising slogans while failing to look below the surface of what the commercials claim the ruling class is doing.
"A wise Hebrew prophet once said 'No man liveth unto himself alone.' " Henry Noble Sherwood. Preface, Civics and Citizenship, Bobbs-Merrill: Indianpolis, 1934, a school textbook
Part IV of the textbook discusses government, including the US Constitution, its Amendments, as well as state and local governments. Chapter IX discusses "The Unfortunate Members" of Society, including the deaf or blind, the impoverished, and the mentally infirm, and civic responsibilities, through charity and community, at the local level, to help them. It goes on to define idiots, imbeciles, and morons. The point is that kids used to learn about the Constitution, as well as their responsibilities as a Citizen, in school. By law (PL 108-447, section 111, 2004), every educational institution that receives federal funding must teach the Constitution on the 17th of September, along with every Federal Agency, but both ignore the law.
The Civic duties of learning, knowing, and understanding the US Constitution have been removed from the educational system, replaced by political correctness, embedding the morals of the state, and preaching the tenets of environmentalism.
Politicians and parties will openly propagandize that "the Constitution is an outdated 200 year old document," while ignoring the Supreme Law of the Land. Their opposition will deny that it is "a living document," because the living concept of it, the Constitutional means of Amendment to it, is being ignored by those that are subverting it. And though the lie is oft repeated by party and partisan, rarely can any of the propagandists point to any clause that is outdated, or impertinent, because they don't know or don't care what it actually says. The Constitution is not a "living document" in that it can be overridden by politicians and legislative judges, but because it has the means built in to amend it, if the world changes around it.
It is only through ignorance of the importance and supremacy of the US Constitution, through ignorance of what is written in it, through ignorance of why the Founding Fathers wrote what they did, that voters allow partisan politics to ignore and erode the Rights and Freedoms of the People, from which all governing authority derives.
The Constitution is the law of how the US Government functions, and for what reason. It limits the scope of authority. The Bill of Rights further restricts that government, preserving the God-given Rights of Citizens in the face of that government. Those Rights are derived of "a higher power" than government, and hence not within the authority of government to remove, but they are guaranteed by the Constitution, specifically by the Amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.
The Supreme Court is set to rule soon on the "Constitutionality" of Constitutional Amendments to State Constitutions, in what is clearly a state government authority: definitions of marriage. There is only one possible Constitutional ruling: an amendment to a state Constitution is Constitutional unless the US Constitution spells it out as a federal authority, i.e. each state has jurisdiction over marital law. That is why it would take an amendment to the US Constitution in order for the Federal government to enter the legislative process of defining marriage. Neither Congress, nor the President, nor the Supreme Court, has any authority to create a law defining who can or can't "get married."
Congress does have the Constitutional authority, as an employer, to determine how and to whom it pays employee benefits, but not how the States define marriage. The Supreme Court does have authority to rule on whether or not those State Constitutional amendments are reflected legally in state laws, but not to overturn State Constitutions in regards to contract law, i.e. marital contract law, based on the US Constitution, because the US Constitution gives the federal government no authority on the matter.
The Federal Government does have the authority to levy an income tax, because of Constitutional Amendment, but it does not have the authority to tell a property owner to do or not do anything on his land, nor the authority to compel Individuals to purchase anything.
The supremacy of State Government in matters of domestic affairs is an implicit division of power within the US Constitution. This is as important for the subjects of Massachusetts and California, that want state run health insurance, as it is for the Citizens of Texas and Tennessee that don't. It means that both groups can get what they want, and the US Constitution bars the federal government and Congress and the President from legislating that Texans pay for Californian's health care, or preventing New Yorkers from voting in state run health care.
It means that businesses and people are free to "vote with their feet" and move from those states that strangle their financial success and upward mobility, to those states that fertilize it.
The benefits of small government are such that citizens are setting up private small government at the lowest levels. I'm referring to "Home Owner Associations," which are not unlike the roles of city governments, but as governed by mutual consent and more restrictive/invasive than municipal government. It is by mutual contract that the residents of an HOA has authority. By mutual contract, the property owner gives up rights of ownership of his own property, in order to control the activities of his neighbor.
And it is by mutual contract that the Citizens of the Individual States gives authority to the Federal government. But that mutual contract is the US Constitution, and it gives no authority to the Federal government, or its politicians to domestic governance. It gives no authority for treaties with the UN or Communist China to remove the authority of State Governments in domestic affairs, as the US Constitution retains all governance not given the federal government to the State Government, and it holds the US Constitution as supreme over all treaties.
But for every time that you insist or approve of a removal of the rights of your neighbor, you are also removing your own rights. And for everytime that you support the erosion of the US Constitution by your politicians, or fail to oppose it, you also support the erosion of your own Rights, as given by God, and guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. And while it may be things you think good being compelled on others in the moment, it may be things your ideological opponents consider good pushed on you later.
If your politicians compel me to buy health insurance I don't want today, my politicians may compel you to buy a modern firearm for defense of the Nation tomorrow. If your politicians insist that I maintain a proper exercise and diet routine today, my politicians have as much, if not more authority, to insist on you maintaining a proper marksmanship program at the firing range tomorrow. If there is a compulsion for me to get a vaccination to extend an umbrella of "protection" to those around me, then there is an equally valid argument that you maintain firearms, ammunition, and training to extend an umbrella of protection for your neighbors from criminals, terrorists, and foreign invasion.
It is your duty, as a Citizen, to know what the US Constitution says, and to understand why, to hold your politicians accountable, to defend my Rights, even when you don't like what I say, just as it is my duty to defend your Rights, even when I don't like what you're saying. It is your Responsibility to do so, before you exercise your right to vote, so that you can vote without ignorance.
A New York judge says a settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn by a hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault.
The judge announced the deal Monday, at a hearing on settlement negotiations between the sides.
Strauss-Kahn, a Socialist French economist and politician, was arrested in May 2011 after the hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she went to clean his room at a luxury New York hotel. Prosecutors later dropped the criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn, saying Diallo "would not be a credible witness."
The revelation forced Strauss-Kahn to resign his IMF post and derailed his candidacy for the French presidency. He still faces unrelated sexual crime charges in France that he was involved in arranging parties between wealthy men and prostitutes. A court will rule on that case later this month. VoA..
Sharon Behnm, VoA, ISLAMABAD — Gunmen on Monday shot and killed an Afghan women's affairs official, just months after her predecessor was assassinated in a car bombing. As the United Nations marks Human Rights Day women still face challenges in Afghanistan.
Najia Sediqi was on her way to work in the capital of eastern Laghman province when she was gunned down Monday. The drive-by killing had all the hallmarks of a Taliban targeted attack.
Sediqi was the acting director of the provincial women's affairs department. She had stepped in to lead the office after the July assassination of Hanifa Safi, who was killed when a bomb attached to her car exploded.
A spokesman for the provincial governor's office, Sarhadi Zawak, said Sediqi had just left her home in Mehtarlam when she was attacked by gunmen on a motorbike.
The spokesman said that Sediqi's killing was part of an insurgent campaign of terror aimed at professional women.
He says, "Opponents always try to spread fear, and to show those women who work shoulder to shoulder with the government that they will face considerable challenges, and thereby force them to stop working."
According to Human Rights Watch, the situation for women's rights in Afghanistan is particularly bad. The New York-based rights group cites threats and attacks by insurgents on female leaders, school girls and women trying to escape domestic violence.
If the Afghan government is not able to secure the safety of women, says activist Rana Nooristani. "Then that will of course cause a lot of problems for the women, and that will really discourage women to do more or to work outside the home or to work outside, or be active in society, to play their role actively," she said.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul condemned the attack and praised Sediqi for her unwavering dedication to women's rights.
Since the U.S.-led ouster of the Taliban in 2001, women and girls in Afghanistan have won back some basic rights, including being able to go to school and work outside the home. But some fear that these gains are fragile, and could be traded for peace with the Taliban after international forces leave in 2014.
Also Monday, a roadside bomb killed the police chief for the southwestern province of Nimroz.
The attacks following the wounding of Afghanistan's intelligence chief in an assassination attempt last week in Kabul.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, 28, of Monroeville, Pa., died of combat related injuries suffered Dec. 8, while supporting operations near Kabul, Afghanistan. Checque was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.
"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.
PO1 Checque sacrificed his life in the operation to save the life of Dr Joseph:
A coalition of U.S. and Afghan forces has rescued an American doctor kidnapped by the Taliban.
Dr. Dilip Joseph was rescued Saturday in an operation ordered after intelligence showed that he was in imminent danger of injury or possible death.
Dr. Joseph was abducted Wednesday outside the Afghan capital, in the Sarobi district of Kabul province.
Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said American and Afghan forces planned, rehearsed and successfully conducted the operation.
No other details of the rescue operation were immediately available. VoA.
For a few bucks more you can get a signed copy from the author himself! http://www.deltabravosierra.us/2011/02/10/a-word-about-the-new-book/comment-page-1/#comment-3383
Get your copy of this legendary cartoon now (or wait a few days for the signed copy!)
Go to War against the Nazis with SSG Smith of the 94th Infantry Division. Review: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2010/04/everymans-war-vet.html.html
Ace Of Spades: Why Language Matters In this article, Ace of Spades demonstrates how the writing style of "journalists" and other writers is purposely used to influence the electorate. He explains this far better than I have been able to do, but this is the foundation of why I could no longer be silent.
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