REVISED VIDEO: TALIBAN TAKEOVER U.S. BASE AFTER AMERICANS LEAVE

This Taliban video shows the Taliban taking over a U.S. base in Afghanistan after the Americans had left.

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WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/9QhxHK__1zk&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0

CLICK ON LINK AND DIAMOND SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO

NEW VIDEO SHOWS RAW SIDE OF LIFE OF WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

CNN's Campbell Brown interviews one of the producers of "Restrepo" about what it is like to be at a FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Afghanistan.

Watch video and read Campbell's interview here:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/08/new-documentary-shows-raw-side-of-life-at-war/

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EXCLUSIVE TALIBAN VIDEO: TALIBAN OCCUPY U.S. BASE IN AFGHANISTAN

This video comes from the Taliban and shows them occupying  an abandoned U.S. base in Afghanistan.

The language is Afghanistan.

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WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/9QhxHK__1zk&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0

CLICK ON LINK AND DIAMOND SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO

REPORT ON SHARANA AFGHANISTAN FROM FREEDOM WATCH

This video is in response to a reader of this blog, Jennifer, who wondered if we had any information on Sharana, Afghanistan. This is the latest from Freedom Watch:

http://www.youtube.com/v/YQMwjOjvrIo&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0

Click on link and diamond shaped arrow to play video

GEN. PETRAEUS SEEKS TO CLARIFY "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT"

The whole idea of "rules of engagement" in a war zone sucks.

General Petraeus says he wants to clarify but not change the "rules of engagement" for our troops in Afghanistan.

Easy for Petraeus to say. He isn't on the frontlines doing the fighting.

In my opinion as a former Combat Engineer in the United States Army and a Korean War veteran there shouldn't be any "rules of engagement."

You do what you have to do to stay alive. PERIOD.

EDITORIAL OPINION: Bill Corcoran, editor, CORKSPHERE: http://corksphere.blogspot.com

Petraeus: Rules Of Engagement To Be "Clarified," Not Changed
First Posted: 07- 8-10 10:58 AM Updated: 07- 8-10 10:58 AM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/afghanistan

In his Rolling Stone article, "The Runaway General," reporter Michael Hastings detailed just how fraught the relationship between U.S. soldiers and their command had become over what soldiers perceived as the limitations and risks of counterinsurgency strategy.

And while President Barack Obama's decision to replace General Stanley McChrystal with then-CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus was seen as a suggestion that counterinsurgency would remain the order of the day, there was still widespread speculation that Petraeus would make some sort of substantive change to the rules of engagement.
Well, if today's Stars And Stripes report on the matter is any indication, there won't be one.

Despite the complaints of some troops in Afghanistan that warfighting rules restrict their ability to defend themselves, the new commanding U.S. general will not be changing the Rules of Engagement, but officials say he will soon clarify actions soldiers may take to clear up confusion and alleviate frustration in the field.

According to John Vandiver's report in the Huffington Post, Petraeus is prepared to take a few concrete steps to try to curb dissatisfaction with the strategy while giving troops a better sense of security. First, a new "tactical directive" is in the offing that will clarify the "what, where and how to apply force." The directive will maintain the high premium on limiting civilian casualties while simultaneously bolstering the ability of soldiers to defend themselves.

A second step is a re-adherence to pure COIN. Petraeus is apparently going to review procedures, and undo layers of rules and restrictions added by field commanders, the idea being that these additions have been the primary source of confusion and disgruntlement.
Petraeus' concern for limiting civilian casualties doesn't come from nowhere. Just two days ago, a new study confirmed how serious the blowback from civilian deaths can be.

A new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds "strong evidence for a revenge effect" when examining the relationship between civilian casualties caused by the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan and radicalization after such incidents occur. The paper even estimates of how many insurgent attacks to expect after each civilian death. Those findings, however intuitive, might resolve an internal military debate about the counter-productivity of civilian casualties -- and possibly fuel calls for withdrawal.

"When ISAF units kill civilians," the research team finds, referring to the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, "this increases the number of willing combatants, leading to an increase in insurgent attacks." According to their model, every innocent civilian killed by ISAF predicts an "additional 0.03 attacks per 1,000 population in the next 6-week period."

In a district of 83,000 people, then, the average of two civilian casualties killed in ISAF-initiated military action leads to six additional insurgent attacks in the following six weeks.

HERE IS WHAT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA ISN'T TELLING YOU ABOUT IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

The mainstream media in the United States continues to look the other way when it comes to the growing violence in Iraq.

The following report is from IRAQ TODAY and details events in Afghanistan and especially in Iraq where death and violence are on the rise:

War News for Thursday, July 08, 2010
SOURCE: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

The Washington Post is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldiers in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, July 8th. News reports he died in a rocket attack on a base close to the Pakistan border.

The Washington Post is reporting the death of another ISAF soldiers in a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, July 8th. We believe this is also an American soldier.

A series of bomb attacks targeting Shia pilgrims (in Iraq) here has killed 54 people and left 359 injured, an interior ministry source said Thursday.Soldier charged with leaking Army shooting

Reported security incidentsBaghdad:#1: Six people died in eastern Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded Thursday morning as pilgrims were walking home from the mosque in the Kazimiyah neighborhood.#2: while a car bomb in southern Baghdad killed another person.Ten civilians were wounded on Thursday in a car bomb explosion in southwestern Baghdad, according to a security source. “A car crammed with explosives went off on Thursday (July 8) in al-Aalam neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad, targeting Shiite pilgrims, wounding ten of them,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.#3: Five more people were killed by a roadside bomb in northern Baghdad, said Iraqi hospital and police officials.#4: Officials raised the death toll from Wednesday's single most deadly attack to 35. The attack by a suicide bomber came as Shiite pilgrims were just about to cross a bridge from the mostly Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah Wednesday evening into the predominantly Shiite area of Kazimiyah where the shrine is located. The Imams Bridge connecting the two neighborhoods was also the site of a deadly stampede in 2005 sparked by a rumor that a suicide bomber was among the crowd; 900 people were killed in the ensuing melee.A suicide bomber wearing an explosives-filled belt targeted Shiite pilgrims and murdered 28 people in Baghdad on Wednesday while 11 more were killed in bomb attacks. The suicide attack occurred in Adhamiyah, a Sunni district across the Tigris river from Kadhimiyah, an area named after Musa Kadhim, the seventh of 12 revered imams in Shiite Islam, whom the pilgrims are honouring. An interior ministry official said 28 were killed and 81 wounded. Many of the victims were passing through Adhamiyah en route to the imam's mausoleum.#5: “An improvised explosive device went off while a convoy of Shiite pilgrims was passing in al-Rustumiya region, southeastern Baghdad, injuring 14 pilgrims, who were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.#6: Five civilians were killed and 36 wounded on Thursday by an improvised explosive device in southeastern Baghdad, a police source said. “The bomb exploded while a convoy of Shiite pilgrims was passing near al-Mashtal bridge in southeastern Baghdad, killing five and wounding 36, all are pilgrims,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.#7: Police shot at a suicide car bomber who tried to pass a security checkpoint in the Ghazaliya district of western Baghdad and the car exploded, wounding three soldiers and a policeman, police said.Diyala Prv:#1: One civilian was killed and two more were wounded Wednesday by an improvised explosive device blast in north of Baaquba, a police source said. “An explosive device went off on Wednesday (July 7) near a civilian car in Nada region in al-Saadiya district, north of Baaquba, killing a civilian and injuring two others onboard,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that one of the wounded is in critical condition.Abu Ghraib:#1: A bomb attached to a police officer's car exploded, wounding a passenger, in the Abu Ghraib district of western Baghdad, police said.Kirkuk:#1: One civilian was killed and another one was wounded in a sticky bomb explosion in the southwest of Kirkuk, a senior police officer said on Thursday. “A bomb, stuck to a civilian car, went off on Thursday (July 8) near Saylo Kirkuk region, southwest of Kirkuk, killing a citizen and injuring another one and damaging the car,” Brigadier Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.Mosul:#1: One policeman was killed and seven more were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in south of Mosul, a security source said on Wednesday. “The bomb exploded in al-Qayara district, south of Mosul, on Wednesday evening (July 7), killing a policeman and injuring seven civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.#2: One civilian was killed on Wednesday by unknown armed men in western Mosul, according to a security source. “Unidentified gunmen killed a civilian on Wednesday afternoon (July 7) in al-Islah neighborhood in western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.Al Anbar Prv:#1: Two civilians were killed and two more were wounded in blasts in southern Ramadi, a security source said on Thursday. “Unknown gunmen blew up three houses of a police officer in al-Taameem region, southern Ramadi, killing two civilians and injuring two more, including a child,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.#2: One soldier was killed and four others were wounded in the car bomb explosion in east of Falluja, a police source said on Wednesday. “A suicide bomber blew up a car crammed with explosives targeting a checkpoint in al-Khums Biyout region, east of Falluja, killing a soldier and injuring four,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “A security source had said earlier that a suicide bomber blew up a car bomb near a checkpoint of the Baghdad Operations Command in east of Falluja, leaving unspecified number of casualties.#3: Security forces sealed off the main road in the city of Falluja after a cop was killed by a pistol with silencer in the city on Wednesday, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed a policeman in al-Shuhadaa neighborhood in south of Falluja,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: Pakistani fighter jets continued to pound militant hideouts in the Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) killing at least 15 extremists and injuring 20 others on Thursday. According to reports, fighter jets showered missiles in areas of Mamozai, Khadezai and Dabori in Orakai destroying five militant hideouts and killing scores of Taliban militants, Xinhua reports.#2: On Wednesday evening, Mohammad Gul, police intelligence director for western Kabul, was ambushed and killed by gunmen outside his home as he returned from his office, said the city's criminal investigations chief, Abdul Ghfar Sayed Zada. One of his two bodyguards also was killed. Gul was in charge of preventing terrorist attacks and tracking down suspected insurgents in the western quarter of the capital, Zada said.#3: An explosion rocked Herat city in west Afghanistan Thursday morning, casualties feared, police said. "It was a roadside bomb apparently targeted a police vehicle as a result a police officer was injured," a police officer in Herat city the capital of Herat province told Xinhua but declined to be identified. He also said that the blast occurred on the road leading to Herat airport.#4: A rocket fired by militants struck a bazaar in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province leaving six civilians dead on Thursday, an official said. "The rocket fired at around 10:00 a.m. local time today slammed into the bazaar of Janikhil district as a result six innocent civilians were martyred and six others sustained injuries," spokesman for provincial administration Rohullah Samoon told Xinhua.#5: Taliban militants in a bid to secure the release of their comrades in northwest Ghor province of Afghanistan have kidnapped two local officials, spokesman for provincial administration Abdul Hai Khatibi said Thursday. "Taliban rebels abducted a prosecutor and a teacher from Ghor' s provincial capital Cheghcheran on Wednesday and threatened to kill them if their comrades are not released," Khatibi told Xinhua. Ten Taliban militants were arrested by security forces couple of days ago, the official further said.#6: In a related development, Taliban militants abducted four employees of an aid agency in the neighboring Herat province Wednesday. "The insurgents kidnapped four local employees of a relief organization from Shindand district and took them to unknown locations,"Lal Mohammad Omarzai the governor of Shindand district told Xinhua.#7: Three Afghan army soldiers were killed and nine wounded in two separate attacks in southern Afghanistan, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

NEW VIDEO: FRESH FROM AFGHANISTAN RACHEL MADDOW REPORTS ON BRITISH TROOPS LEAVING AND "FRIENDLY FIRE" INCIDENT

Together with MSNBC's war correspondent, Richard Engel, Rachel Maddow, who hosts the "Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC at 9 PM, EST, report from Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan on two incidents which took place over the past two days in Afghanistan.

The first was when five Afghan troops were killed by a U.S. helicopter who mistakenly thought they were Taliban fighters. The "friendly fire" incident has caused a major riff with the the people and government of Afghanistan.

The second has to with British troops leaving the dangerous district of Sangin in Afghanistan. More than 100 British troops have been killed in Sangin since the Brits arrived in Afghanistan.

The district is going to be turned over to the U.S. Marines to handle all combat operations.

You can watch Maddow and Engel discuss both of these events in a video here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/GkBJj4Fw2rk&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0

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CLICK ON LINK AND DIAMOND SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO