Tag: Pakistan

Iraq, Rapidly becoming the Forgotten War!!

There have been 4,572 coalition deaths — 4,255 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 179 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians — in the war in Iraq as of January 6, 2008, according to a CNN count. { Graphical breakdown of casualties }. The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country’s governments. The list also includes seven employees of the U.S. Defense Department. At least 31,089 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan.

It’s so good to finally be able to listen to policy being discussed that can be understood, put to words and thoughts that don’t make a mockery of the Presidential Office and Country!

The Hidden Casualties Of War: Suicide

Military Suicides at a 30-Year High

Suicide Rate Reflects Toll of Army Life

With Suicides at a 30-Year High, Army Vows to Address Problem

In 2008 alone, the Army reports there were at least 128 confirmed cases of suicide, more than a dozen of which are still under review.

U.S. Army Suicides Highest In 3 Decades

‘GoldStar Moms’ Honor Their Fallen, Christmas 2008

Not really a diary, just a heads-up.

This Al-Jazeera headline story this morning claims that Pakistani forces are on “red alert.”

The text of the article is a little jumbled and diffuse, suggesting that Al-Jazeera’s Pakistani sources are all over the map and are contradicting one another.

The terrorist attack on Mumbai last month may have forced the Indian government’s hand. Parliamentary elections must be held in India by May, 2009. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress Party-led government, though it has exercised considerable restraint vis-a-vis Pakistan for years in the face of Pakistani support for the insurgency in Kashmir, the December, 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament (which almost led to war by the spring of 2002), and now the commando-style strike on Mumbai, may now feel compelled to make a military response. The Indians are convinced that these attacks are planned and launched from Pakistan with the assistance of elements of the Interservices Intelligence Directorate of the Pakistani military.

Singh’s government is under enormous pressure to do something besides exhibit restraint and patience. If it does nothing, the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will surely beat the jingoist campaign drums and stand a good chance of winning enough seats to lead the next government.

Sheer speculation: Indian Prime Minister Singh and his key advisers may have concluded that a few limited “surgical” air strikes against terrorist training camps in Pakistan may sate the Indian public’s appetite for revenge and provide a boost for the Congress Party in the upcoming elections, which would very likely be called early–within a few weeks of the air strikes in order to ride the resulting patriotic wave.

Unfortunately, wars between India and Pakistan rarely turn out so neatly. And now both nations are nuclear powers. Pakistan may perceive Indian strikes to represent an “existential threat” which would justify an escalation to a nuclear response. Pakistan’s economy is in a state of collapse, and its fragile, weak parliamentary leadership is extraordinarily deferential to General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani. Several dozens of nuclear weapons are stored in depots on Pakistani territory under control of a military which is infiltrated by sympathizers to the cause of the Taliban in Afghanistan and to the jihadist agenda of Al-Qaeda.

Yes, the economies of the industrial world are disintegrating and require attention. Yes, the U.S. auto industry and entire financial sector require attention and restructuring. But the planet’s single most serious threat at the moment lies in the possibility of a war between India and Pakistan that could lead to a nuclear exchange, the precipitous collapse of Pakistan as a nation state, and Al-Qaeda’s acquisition of loose Pakistani nukes in the ensuing chaos.

If today’s somewhat sensational Al-Jazeera report accurately reflects rapidly escalating tensions along the Indian-Pakistani border, Admiral Mullen, Secretary Gates, and Secretary Rice need to go to New Delhi and Islamabad immediately to try to tamp down tensions. If they decide instead to stay in Washington or ski at Jackson Hole to enjoy a quiet holiday season, the Bush/Cheney Administration once again will be guilty of the kind of indolence and inattention that amounts to criminal negligence–and the consequences may well be dire beyond what any of us can imagine.

Excerpt from an article by the managing editor at the The Environmentalist:

There has been a great deal of reporting, speculation, finger pointing and denials on the Mumbai attacks, much of which has focused on trees (dots) instead of forests. After reading with empathy and horror of the death and destruction, the question remained, who was behind this and why?

snip

The press has been referring to the Mumbai attacks as India’s 9/11. Given the impact on India and the larger impact on both the global economy and the ongoing conflicts in South Asia, that seems an accurate assessment.

http://world.the-environmental…

The article lists the different players involved and identifies, by name, the likeliest suspects.  

Here’s the link.

If you visit any of the lists of the KIA’s or Injured in the Iraq Theater one thing you’ll notice, the Only Occupation Forces numbers rising, being Killed and Maimed, are American Forces these last number of months!! I find myself wondering how many are on a first tour, or second, or third, or forth…………………………….., in Both Theaters!!

Lost Treasure ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Cross-posted at my blog.

Dimensions: 29″ x 29″ x 21″

Description: Small wood coffin filled with gold soldiers and coins. Inside, lid has an abused reproduction of the Bill of Rights (burned, torn, dragged through the mud, bled on) and an American flag on outside. Base has pertinent news clippings.

Materials: Wood, velvet, metal, paper, toy soldiers, gold coins (plastic) gold metallic paint, amber varnish.  

Yesterday, two American helicopters were fired on and turned back by Pakistani troops after trying to enter a Pakistani village without the government’s permission. This only 12 days after the first known US ground incursion into Pakistan killed 20 civilians in the same village. The Pakistani people and their leaders are demanding  that Pakistan defend its land and people against foreign attacks.

President Zardari of Pakistan, is now on a diplomatic jaunt in the UK presenting what his aides call a “new Marshall Plan” for Pakistan’s northwestern border with Afghanistan. Will an Obama administration transplant the Bush administration’s policies that failed in Iraq to the homeland of the Taliban? Or will they commit to serious, long-term solutions?