Prove it now

US Must Prove Afghanistan ‘Winnable’ in a Year

In an interview published today, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates declared that the American public is “pretty tired” of the seemingly endless war in Afghanistan, and said he believed that forces had to turn the situation around in a year.
If, or most likely when, that doesn’t happen, Gates says that the US could lose public support for the war, and the public might conclude that the conflict has become “unwinnable,” adding “after the Iraq experience, nobody is prepared to have a long slog where it is not apparent we are making headway.”

I don't need any more time to know it is not winnable (to go a step further - no war is "winnable"). So let's end it now, bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, stop the drone attacks, pull out the black ops from Iran... Oh yeah, DO NOT replace our troops with civilian contractors. Mercenaries are not acceptable either.

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Finally some encouraging news?

Obama Orders Probe Into 2001 Afghanistan Massacre

President Barack Obama today revealed to CNN that he has ordered officials to investigate the infamous Dasht-e Leili massacre which occurred in late 2001, saying it had never been properly investigated.
According to Physicians for Human Rights, one of several groups that investigated the killings, up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners captured in the US invasion were killed in the custody of General Abdul Rashid Dostum. Many were suffocated to death in containers, while others were shot. Investigators say US troops were present during the massacre.

Lately I have been trying to find some positives - instead of the news of continued war, troops remaining in Iraq, sabre rattling...
Maybe this is the start of a true examination of our foreign policy. Maybe this is a precursor to some changes we have been waiting for.

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Entitled to wage war?

Biden: Israel ‘Entitled’ to Attack Iran

In an interview today on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulus,” Vice President Joe Biden said it was up to the Israeli government to decide if Iran constituted an existential threat and that the nation was “entitled” to launch a military strike against the nation if they wanted to.

Joe jumping on the crazy train.

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War drums still beating

Odierno Still Blaming Iran for Iraq Attacks

During his official video-conference today, top US commander in Iraq General Ray Odierno again blamed the Iranian government for the continuing insurgency in Iraq, claiming that training was going on inside Iran and that the Iranians have been providing weapons and ammunition to Iraqi militants.
The charge is perplexing, given that the recent attacks have almost exclusively targeted Shi’ites and considering the strong ties the Iranian government maintains with the ruling Shi’ite government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

A new boss but some still want to beat that drum. Even when, as noted in the article, it makes no logical sense. But then again, we were fooled too many times before.

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Doing as we do

Report Cites Indiscriminate Drone Use by Israel

Titled “Precisely Wrong,” the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report focuses on six cases of Israeli drone-launched missile attacks in which 29 Palestinian civilians, eight of them children, were killed.

Sounds familiar? Our drone attacks in Pakistan? Following our example.

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