Feb 13 2010

Chicken-Heartland

At this very moment, the awesome military power of the United States is focused on the miserable little town of Marjah in Afghanistan.

Marjah! It doesn’t even look like any kind of town at maximum magnification on Google Maps, as you can see in this bizarre video.

Where the fuck is Marjah? There’s no “there” there!

And now…

Marjah is getting plastered by NATO and the ISAF and the US Marines…

For the fifth fucking time since our goddamned occupation of Afghanistan began…

Nine fucking years ago!

Meanwhile, back in the chicken-heartland of America…

Red state “honchos” can’t stop pissing their pants for fear that prisoners from Guantanamo might be relocated at a super-maximum security prison in their backyard!

Omigod what if a terrorist escaped?  

Abdul on the loose in Alabama!

Chicken-Heartland of America!

The good news is that blue states are just as brave!

New York can’t put KSM on trial without shutting down the city! Tanks in the streets! Black helicopters!

Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear!

And in the Oval Office, our fearless leader, Barack Obama…

Harharharhar!!!

Our fearless leader, Barack Obama…

Harharharhar!!!

Barack Obama is throwing his own Attorney-General under the bus in a piss-pants scramble to move KSM out of Manhattan and maybe out of the federal courts anywhere.

Retreat before the power of right-wing morons!

Beware of Abdul on the loose in Alabama!

Bomb a God-forsaken little town in Afghanistan for the fifth fucking time, in nine fucking years!

And that’s the news tonight, February 12, 2010, from Marjah in Helmand, in faraway Afghanistan, and from New York and Washington and Mobile and Petaluma and everywhere in between, in the chicken-heartland of America.  

5 comments

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  1. This little map of Marjah also showed up on a military photo-site.

    It’s probably self-explanatory.

  2. “Analysis” from the New York Times…

    For much of the past eight years, American and NATO forces have mounted other large military operations to clear towns and cities of Taliban insurgents. And then, almost invariably, they have cleared out, never leaving behind enough soldiers or police officers to hold the place on their own.

    This time, in Marja, the largest Taliban stronghold, American and Afghan commanders say they will do something they have never done before: bring in an Afghan government and police force behind them. American and British troops will stay on to support them. “We’ve got a government in a box, ready to roll in,” said Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander here.

  3. The view from 800 yards…

    Fusilier Williams, of the 1st Bn The Royal Welsh, had passed the rigorous sniper school selection where only six out of 50 on the course were selected.

    His skills were put to the test when his patrol came under fire after it moved into a compound in an area north of Lashkar Gah in central Helmand last Monday. He took up his position and waited patiently for enemy troops to appear. His victims included two Taliban shot in a ditch at a distance of about 800 yards, including one who was hit in the throat.

    “He put his hand out as if asking someone to help but no one came,” the Welshman said. “There was definitely less movement after I dropped them.

    “The Taliban are used to machine guns but as soon as you get a sniper on the ground, it puts the fear of God into them.”

    While Fusilier Williams was happy to avenge his friend, it was not without cost.

    “Night-time is the worst time because you cannot get the images out of your head, especially what happened to the young lad I hit in the throat,” he said.

    For the Taliban it does not seem good news that the soldier is deploying again on Operation Moshtarak.

  4. The illusion of light at the end of the tunnel…

    In 2007, Operation Mar Karadad captured the town of Musa Qala in Helmand from the Taliban. The battle was inevitably portrayed as a “turning point” by some sections of the media.

    Then in 2008 came Operation Oqab Tsuka, the aim of which was to deliver a hydroelectric turbine to a dam in the district of Kajaki. The sheer scale of the mission received awestruck coverage in the British press.

    Last year saw Operation Panchai Palang to secure parts of Helmand for the presidential election.

    All were false dawns. A lack of security has left the turbine unused, voter numbers were pitifully low and the entire province – including Musa Qala – is still synonymous with violence.

     

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