This video may be hard to take for a lot of people, but this is the reality of war. A young Marine is seriously wounded in Helmand Afghanisan and the helicopter evac crew brings him to a makeshift MASH-type hospital where his injuries are treated before he is transported to Germany.
This happened on Christmas Eve of this year.
WARNING: WATCH WITH EXTREME CAUTION.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/G4vbajh-b_s&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
Thursday, December 31, 2009
YOUNG MARINE IS EVACUATED FROM AFGHANISTAN BATTLEFIED AFTER SUFFERING HORRENDOUS INJURIES ONE WEEK AGO
"OPERATION ANGRY COBRA"---AFGHANISTAN
Great video showing U.S. Marines on a mission into Afghanistan called "Operation Angry Cobra."
Plenty of action to start off your new year.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/ebEUYGtENfw&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
A BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM AFGHANISTAN. THIS VIDEO IS GREAT
I don't know the name of this GI, but I think his singing and the lryrics to the Christmas song are right on.
He sings his "Merry Christmas" song perched on a military vehicle at a FOB somewhere deep in the Afghanistan mountains.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/FCAJCVait8o&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY
OBAMA: "WHAT HAS THE US/NATO ACCOMPLISHED AFTER 8 YEARS OF WAR IN AFGHANISTAN?"
This old Afghanistan man seen in this video makes more sense about the Afghanistan war than all the Washington politicians rolled into one.
The man rattles off a string of things U.S. and NATO troops have done to wreak havoc on the Afghanistan people.
He keeps wondering what the U.S. and NATO troops have accomplished since invading Afghanistan 8 years ago.
So do I.
Bill Corcoran, editor, CORKSPHERE
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/XK8QG44-zu0&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
NEW YEAR'S EVE IN AFGHANISTAN: NEW VIDEO
The song is "Fight for Freedom" by the ChaseRockBand and the video is a mixture of footage showing our troops engaged in combat on New Year's Eve in Afghanistan.
Like it or not, President Obama has decided we need to try and convert the Afghanistan Army into a force capable of maintaining security in Afghanistan.
Can it be done? Some say it could take up to ten years before the Afghanistan Army is ready to assume control of security in Afghanistan.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/UkS8-4v2myc&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
GRAPHIC VIDEO REVIEW OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WARS
Video takes a look at both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the cost in human lives for our military and civilians in both countries.
WARNING: SOME SCENES ARE VERY GRAPHIC
TURN UP YOUR SOUND:
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/JuTFAtHfrSM&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
THIS WHOLE AFGHANISTAN WAR IS CRAZY
What the hell are we doing in Afghanistan?
We are not into nation building and yet that looks exactly like what we are attempting to do in Afghanistan.
The Afghan central government under Hamid Karzai is in shambles and rife with corruption from top to bottom.
A new Pentagon survey shows that it could take ten years or more before the so-called Afghan Army is ready to take control of security.
The US military has been reduced to fighting skirmishes and firefights in the middle of nowhere in the mountains and valleys of Afghanistan with nothing whatsoever to be gained by this type of military "mission."
The United Press today released the following story which is a sober reflection of conditions in Afghanistan and should give pause to anyone who thinks we should be fighting a war in Afghanistan.
The Al Qaeda organization has long ago left Afghanistan and now are in Pakistan and Yemen as well as many other countries around the world. Capturing or even killing Usama bin Laden wouldn't mean a damn thing because there is always going to be someone else to step in and assume control of Al Qaeda.
Look at it this way.
When Al Capone was sent to jail for tax evasion, the syndicate or mob didn't fold up. There were "lientants" willing and able to step right in and run the mafia and they did.
Here is what UPI reported today:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/12/30/Taliban-gaining-favor-in-Afghanistan/UPI-85291262210451/
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Corruption and a weak central government in Kabul leave many Afghan villagers with no other choice than to work with the Taliban shadow government.
NATO officials this week said the Taliban has a shadow government waiting with ministers chosen should the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai fall.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 when U.S. and international forces removed the radical Sunni movement from power in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
With U.S. forces preoccupied with the war in Iraq, the Taliban have evolved into a vibrant insurgency, regaining control over several Afghan provinces.
Taliban commanders in the southern Afghan province of Helmand started issuing travel permits in August from the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" in order to allow travel to and from the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.
NATO officials say the Taliban have shadow governments in 33 of the 34 Afghan provinces and local communities, concerned about the weakness of the central government, are looking to the Taliban for help, the Times of London reports.
Karzai won a contested second term in office through an election that was widely considered a sham. The Times said that while the Taliban enforce a strict form of Islamic law, many Afghans prefer that to the slow movement of a corrupt bureaucracy.
RUSH LIMBAUGH RUSHED TO HOSPITAL WITH SEVERE CHEST PAINS
Rush Limbaugh, the radio infotainer, who spends three hours every weekday bashing President Obama, was rushed by ambulance to a hospital in Hawaii after suffering chest pains.
This is not the first time Limbaugh has been in the hospital in the past few years. Several years ago he went to a drug rehabilitation center to get off of Oxycotin, a pain drug he was taking. He spent four weeks in rehab.
During the Vietnam war, Limbaugh used a boil on his posterior to avoid being drafted.
Read CNN report here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/12/31/rush.limbaugh/index.html
FOUR CANADIAN TROOPS AND A FEMALE JOURNALIST KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
FIVE CANADIANS DIE IN AFGHANISTAN
Four Canadian soldiers and a journalist have been killed in Afghanistan
Thursday December 31,2009
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/148947/Five-Canadians-die-in-Afghanistan
includes picture of Michelle Lange, 34-year old journalist from Calgary, killed along with Canadian troops.
Four Canadian troops and a journalist have been killed in an explosion in Kandahar province, one of the most dangerous areas of southern Afghanistan, NATO has said.
The international coalition said the journalist, also from Canada, was travelling with the troops on a patrol near Kandahar city on Wednesday when they were attacked.A newspaper identified the journalist as Michelle Lang, a 34-year-old reporter with the Calgary Herald, who was on her first assignment to Afghanistan."We are all very saddened to hear this tragic news," Alberta health minister Ron Liepert said in a statement. "Michelle covered health issues with professionalism, accuracy and thoroughness. She was tenacious in her quest to inform Albertans, and for her diligence she was very well respected."
Brigadier General Daniel Menard, commander of coalition forces in Kandahar, told a newspaper the soldiers were conducting a community security patrol in order to gather information about daily life and how to maintain security.Kandahar is a hotbed of insurgency.
On December 24, eight people, including a child, were killed when a man driving a horse-drawn cart laden with explosives detonated it outside a guest house frequented by foreigners. The day before, a Canadian soldier was killed by a homemade bomb in the province. According to figures compiled by a news agency, the latest casualties bring to 32 the number of Canadian forces killed in Afghanistan this year.
U.S. MARINES CALL IT "ASSGHANISTAN" AND THIS VIDEO EXPLAINS WHY
Fighting in Afghanistan, or "Assghanistan" as the U.S. Marines call it, is a living hell as this video clearly shows. Day after day our soliders and Marines go into some remote area of "Assghanistan" searching for the Taliban and when they find they kill them. This is raw video with some very graphic footage.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/bsqWg78KpMA&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
US MARINES DISH OUT DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN. RAW VIDEO
This video is a compilation of shots of the US Marines dishing out punishment and death to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Semper Fi!
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/cdKwnH1QjI8&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING IN AFGHANISTAN?
What the hell are we doing in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has fled the country and are in Pakistan or Yemen or possibly another 60 countries around the world including the United States. The war is getting worse by the minute and soon the casualty reports will be filling my blog. I hate this mess. This is worse than Korea and Vietnam rolled into one.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/VN2Qk2Tbzo8&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
ALL HELL IS BREAKING LOOSE IN AFGHANISTAN. WATCH VIDEO
This video shows US Marines in a number of firefights with the Taliban as all hell is breaking loose in Afghanistan.
The song is "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/-rJfykfS9GM&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
AFGHAN PEOPLE ARE PISSED AT U.S. AND OBAMA: WATCH VIDEO
The population of Afghanistan are pissed as hell with the occupation of their country by the United States and for President Obama sending more troops into the quagmire.
A recent poll indicates over 70% of the Afghan population would like to see the United States pull their troops out of their country RIGHT NOW.
The main gripe the Afghans have is how many of their women and children are being slaughtered by our Predator or Drone aircraft and even in some cases by U.S. troops.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO SEE ONE OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS BY AGHANISTAN PEOPLE AGAINST THE U.S. AND OBAMA:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/17366402;_ylt=Alq00wUCbqtKfSW0Tq6O1oIBS5Z4
FOX NEWS CONTINUES TO MISTAKENLY CALL SUICIDE BOMBER IN AFGHANISTAN ATTACK A "HOMICIDE BOMBER"
Back when George W. Bush was President, press secretary Arie Fleischer would always refer to any suicide attack in Iraq as a "homicide bomber" attack.
If the person who carried out the suicide bombing attack today at a U.S. base in Afghanistan were actually a "homicide bomber" that would mean he walked away from the attack. Such is not the case in this bombing in Afghanistan. The "suicide bomber" died in the blast along with eight American civilians.
This is just another example of how FOX NEWS twists a story rather than presenting the story actually as it happened.
Read the FOX NEWS report below:
U.S. Official: 8 Americans Killed in Afghanistan
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581493,00.html?test=latestnews
Eight American civilians were killed Wednesday after an explosion in eastern Afghanistan.
A U.S. military official told Fox News that the blast occured in the Khost province.
Eight Americans, who were described as civilians and not members of the military, were killed.
The explosion was caused by a homicide bomber, a Defense official told Reuters.
A senior U.S. official in Washington said there were conflicting reports on the total number of casualties. Others were also wounded.
Wazir Pacha, a police spokesman in Khost province, says locals reported hearing a blast on a military base in the area.
MSNBC VIDEO: JIM MACEDA REPORTS ON SUICIDE BOMBING AT US MILITARY BASE IN AFGHANISTAN THAT KILLED EIGHT
Jim Maceda of NBC News reports in this video that eight Americans were killed on Wednesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a U.S. Military base near the Pakistan border.
According to Maceda, U.S. commanders are saying none of the dead are from the U.S. military.
This is a developing story and we will have further updates later.
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34632972#34632972
CNN BREAKING NEWS: SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS AT LEAST NINE AMERICANS AT US BASE IN AFGHANISTAN
U.S. casualties reported at military base in Afghanistan
From Atia Abawi, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/30/afghanistan.us.casualties/index.html
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Suicide bomber strikes forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan, military says
Attack at Forward Operating Base Chapman near the district of Khost in Khost province
Casualty toll ranges from five to nine, not known how many were killed or injured
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A suicide bomber struck a forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, causing an unknown number of American casualties, a U.S. military official said.
A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest attacked Forward Operating Base Chapman near the district of Khost in Khost province, said the official, who asked not to be named.
There were conflicting reports as to whether the bomber walked into the dining facility or the gym at the facility, and the casualty toll ranged from five to nine people. It is not known how many were killed or injured.
BRIAN WILLIAMS AND RICHARD ENGLE, NBC NEWS, REVEAL PENTAGON REPORT SAYS CORRUPTION IN AFGHAN RANKS MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR AFGHAN TO HANDLE SECURITY
President Obama has said he wanted US troops to begin drawing down by 2011, but a study conducted for the Pentagon and obtained by NBC news says it will be near impossible to meet the 2011 goal because of corruption and Afghan troops going AWOL.
Brian Williams and Richard Engle of NBC News report on the report prepared for the Pentagon.
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/ns/nightly_news-latest/#34624999
DID US AND NATO TROOPS KILL 10 CIVILIANS IN AFGHANISTAN?
Afghan Investigators: Civilians Killed by Troops
Leader of presidential delegation: Afghan civilians killed by foreign troops
By AMIR SHAH
The Associated Press
KABUL
The head of a presidential delegation investigating the deaths of 10 people in a village in eastern Afghanistan said Wednesday the team has concluded that civilians — including schoolchildren — were killed in an attack by foreign troops last weekend, denying NATO reports that insurgents were the victims.
Asadullah Wafa, a senior adviser to President Hamid Karzai, told The Associated Press by telephone that among the victims discovered in a village house in the Narang district of Kunar province were eight schoolchildren between the ages of 12 and 14. A NATO official said initial reports from troops involved in the fighting on Sunday indicated that the victims were insurgents — all young males.
Civilian deaths are one of the most sensitive issues for foreign troops in Afghanistan, especially now when some additional 37,000 U.S. and NATO troops are being deployed to the war-ravaged country. Several hundred Afghans in neighboring Nangarhar province demonstrated on Wednesday to protest the deaths.
Although far more civilians are killed by the Taliban, those blamed on international forces spark the widespread resentment and undermine the fight against the militants.
"I have talked to the principal of the school in the village and he gave us details about the killed children," Wafa said. "The schoolchildren cannot be al-Qaida. I confirm they are innocent people killed by mistake. I talked to Karzai about the findings."
Wafa said the villagers demanded from the 10-member delegation of government officials and lawmakers that informants "who gave the wrong target to the Americans must be found and punished by a court."
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: SOBERING REPORT FROM NBC'S RICHARD ENGLE ON HOW THE AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES ARE NOT READY TO TAKEVOVER SECURITY
Richard Engle, the NBC war correspondent, appeared on the MSNBC Rachel Maddow show Tuesday night and told a chilling story about a Pentagon report that says the Afghan Army and Security forces are years away from being able to handle the security of Afghanistan.
Click on link below to watch Rachel Maddow interview Richard Engle about the Pentagon report that is boung to cause a stir with all those asking for more troops for Afghanistan.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show#34626362
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
FIERCE COLD AND LACK OF MEDICAL HELP ARE CAUSING THE DEATH OF MILLIONS OF AFGHANS. WATCH VIDEO.
This video comes from the World Health Organization and shows the horrible conditions for the Afghan people as the result of a war that has absolutely no meaning other than our troops killing Taliban troops. Al Qaeda have long ago fled Afghanistan and are in Pakistan. In this video, you see the squalid living conditions for the Afghan people and how the lack of medical help is bringing about a crisis.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/h1y_3wLc2Rc&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
MUST WATCH VIDEO: BBC REPORTS ON US MARINES TAKING A SMALL TOWN IN AFGHANISTAN
It takes the BBC to give us the truth of what is going on in Afghanistan. In this video you see the US Marines from Lima Company going out on a mission to take a small town and suddenly they come under attack from the Taliban. The video is a chilling example of what is REALLY happening in Afghanistan and not the nonsense FOX NEWS puts on air about how dogs are being adopted.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/FDjRr0UMtjQ&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
WHILE BUSH AND CHENEY SIT ON THEIR ASSES THIS IS A VIDEO OF THE TROOPS THEY SENT TO WAR---FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
Former President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are sitting comfortably on their asses enjoying the holidays, but 8,000 miles away this video shows our troops in action against the enemy in both Afghanistan and Iraq in wars that were started by Bush and Cheney for no reason whatsoever.
Bush and Cheney lied (yes, LIED) their asses off to get us involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that so far have cost 5,000 American lives and another 40,000 seriously wounded with injuries that will leave them disabled for LIFE.
This video is a capsule view of the wars with the song "Fine Again" by Seether providing an appropriate background.
The mainstream media in the United States continues to provide cover for the war crimes of former President Bush and Vice President Cheney. It is sickening.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME TO WATCH THIS VIDEO
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/d7iCocxPrjY&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
MUST SEE BRAND NEW VIDEO OF US MARINES IN BRUTAL FIREFIGHT IN AFGHANISTAN
We just received this brand new video of US Marines in a brutal firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Don't miss this riveting new video.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/iSi0h5TXa58&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
GRIPPING VIDEO OF 5TH MARINES IN VIOLENT COMBAT IN AFGHANISTAN.
This is a great video showing the 5th Marines in a violent battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/yhyGeNRNOz0&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
WATCH AS VIOLENT COMBAT SWEEPS ACROSS AFGHANISTAN
Video shows an intense and violent firefight between US forces and Taliban in the snow-filled mountains of Afghanistan. This raw video.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/K6rDmM58uaI&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
WATCH VIDEO OF WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE WITH A MORTAR TEAM IN AFGHANISTAN
This video shows a US Army mortar team executing an attack on the Taliban in a distant mountain range in Afghanistan. The troops are trained with ballet-lke precision to handle the combat situation.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE
http://www.youtube.com/v/yzR81aDuED4&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
Monday, December 28, 2009
VIDEO OF WOMEN "BEYOND THE WIRE" IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. THEIR PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
This is another NY Times video and shows women in combat even though they are not supposed to be in a combat unit. Listen and watch their stories in this video:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/08/15/us/1247464008042/women-at-arms-beyond-the-wire.html
CLICK ON LINK TO PLAY. YOU MAY HAVE TO REFRESH TO START VIDEO
VIDEO OF FEMALE SOLDIERS DESCRIBING LIFE IN A COMBAT ZONE
This video is a frank and candid view through the eyes of a couple of female soldiers of what they have to go through when they join a combat unit in Iraq or Afghanistan.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/08/16/us/1247464038810/women-at-arms-on-the-ground.html
CLICK ON LINK TO PLAY THIS VIDEO. YOU MAY HAVE TO REFRESH TO START VIDEO
GI JANE BREAKS THE COMBAT BARRIER
Women at Arms
G.I. Jane Breaks the Combat Barrier
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
THE NEW YORK TIMES
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/us/16women.html
As the convoy rumbled up the road in Iraq, Specialist Veronica Alfaro was struck by the beauty of fireflies dancing in the night. Then she heard the unmistakable pinging of tracer rounds and, in a Baghdad moment, realized the insects were illuminated bullets.
She jumped from behind the wheel of her gun truck, grabbed her medical bag and sprinted 50 yards to a stalled civilian truck. On the way, bullets kicked up dust near her feet. She pulled the badly wounded driver to the ground and got to work.
Despite her best efforts, the driver died, but her heroism that January night last year earned Specialist Alfaro a Bronze Star for valor. She had already received a combat action badge for fending off insurgents as a machine gunner.
“I did everything there,” Ms. Alfaro, 25, said of her time in Iraq. “I gunned. I drove. I ran as a truck commander. And underneath it all, I was a medic.”
Before 2001, America’s military women had rarely seen ground combat. Their jobs kept them mostly away from enemy lines, as military policy dictates.
But the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, often fought in marketplaces and alleyways, have changed that. In both countries, women have repeatedly proved their mettle in combat. The number of high-ranking women and women who command all-male units has climbed considerably along with their status in the military.
“Iraq has advanced the cause of full integration for women in the Army by leaps and bounds,” said Peter R. Mansoor, a retired Army colonel who served as executive officer to Gen. David H. Petraeus while he was the top American commander in Iraq. “They have earned the confidence and respect of male colleagues.”
Their success, widely known in the military, remains largely hidden from public view. In part, this is because their most challenging work is often the result of a quiet circumvention of military policy.
Women are barred from joining combat branches like the infantry, armor, Special Forces and most field artillery units and from doing support jobs while living with those smaller units.
Women can lead some male troops into combat as officers, but they cannot serve with them in battle.
READ THE FULL STORY WITH PICS AND VIDEO HERE
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/us/16women.html
WOMEN SOLDIERS DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE AND FIGHT ALONGSIDE MEN IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
Women at Arms
Living and Fighting Alongside Men, and Fitting In
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
THE NEW YORK TIMES
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/us/17women.html
Be sure to click on this link and then watch the video of two young females from the U.S. Army describe how they deal with the men in their combat unit in Iraq.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq — There is no mistaking that this dusty, gravel-strewn camp northeast of Baghdad is anything other than a combat outpost in a still-hostile land. And there is no mistaking that women in uniform have had a transformative effect on it.
They have their own quarters, boxy trailers called CHUs (the military’s acronym for containerized housing units, pronounced “chews”).
There are women’s bathrooms and showers, alongside the men’s. Married couples live together.
The base’s clinic treats gynecological problems and has, alongside the equipment needed to treat the trauma of modern warfare, an ultrasound machine.
Opponents of integrating women in combat zones long feared that sex would mean the end of American military prowess. But now birth control is available — the PX at Warhorse even sold out of condoms one day recently — reflecting a widely accepted reality that soldiers have sex at outposts across Iraq.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first in which tens of thousands of American military women have lived, worked and fought with men for prolonged periods. Wars without front lines, they have done more than just muddle the rules meant to keep women out of direct enemy contact.
They have changed the way the United States military goes to war. They have reshaped life on bases across Iraq and Afghanistan. They have cultivated a new generation of women with a warrior’s ethos — and combat experience — that for millennia was almost exclusively the preserve of men.
And they have done so without the disruption of discipline and unit cohesion that some feared would unfold at places like Warhorse.
“There was a lot of debate over where women should be,” said Brig. Gen. Heidi V. Brown, one of the two highest ranking women in Iraq today, recalling the start of the war. “Here we are six years later, and you don’t hear about it. You shouldn’t hear about it.”
Read full story here and watch video of two females from the U.S. Army describe how they deal with the men in their combat unit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/us/17women.html
HERE ARE THE COMMENTS IN THE NY TIMES RE THE RAPE OF CAPT. MARGARET H. WHITE BY A FELLOW GI IN IRAQ
The New York Times has posted the comments to the article I posted about the rape of Capt. Margaret H. White by a fellow GI while deployed to Iraq. The NY Times stopped taking comments after it reached 299 which shows how much interest there is in this story.
Here is the link to the FULL list of NY Times comments: http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/28women.html?sort=oldest
You can read the full story by going to my blog http://corksphere.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-york-times-another-peril-in-war.html and reading the article and viewing a video of Capt. Margaret H. White.
NEW YORK TIMES: ANOTHER PERIL IN WAR ZONES: SEXUAL ABUSE BY FELLOW GIS
December 28, 2009
Women at Arms
Another Peril in War Zones: Sexual Abuse by Fellow G.I.’s
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
THE NEW YORK TIMES
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/28women.html?hp
BAGHDAD — Capt. Margaret H. White began a relationship with a warrant officer while both were training to be deployed to Iraq. By the time they arrived this year at Camp Taji, north of here, she felt what she called “creepy vibes” and tried to break it off.
In the claustrophobic confines of a combat post, it was not easy to do. He left notes on the door to her quarters, alternately pleading and menacing. He forced her to have sex, she said. He asked her to marry him, though he was already married. He waited for her outside the women’s latrines or her quarters, once for three hours.
“It got to the point that I felt safer outside the wire,” Captain White said, referring to operations that take soldiers off their heavily fortified bases, “than I did taking a shower.”
Her ordeal ended with the military equivalent of a restraining order and charges of stalking against the officer. It is one case that highlights the new and often messy reality the military has had to face as men and women serve side by side in combat zones more than ever before.
Sexual harassment and sexual assault, which the military now defines broadly to include not only rape but also crimes like groping and stalking, continue to afflict the ranks, and by some measures are rising. While tens of thousands of women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, often in combat, often with distinction, the integration of men and women in places like Camp Taji has forced to the surface issues that commanders rarely, if ever confronted before.
The military — belatedly, critics say — has radically changed the way it handles sexual abuse in particular, expanding access to treatment and toughening rules for prosecution. In the hardships of war, though, the effects of the changes remain unclear.
The strains of combat, close quarters in remote locations, tension and even boredom can create the conditions for abuse, even as they hinder medical care for victims and legal proceedings against those who attack them.
Captain White said she had feared coming forward, despite having become increasingly despondent and suffered panic attacks, because she was wary of she-said-he-said recriminations that would reverberate through the tightknit military world and disrupt the mission. Despite the military’s stated “zero tolerance” for abuse or harassment, she had no confidence her case would be taken seriously and so tried to cope on her own, Captain White said.
A Pentagon-appointed task force, in a report released this month, pointedly criticized the military’s efforts to prevent sexual abuse, citing the “unique stresses” of deployments in places like Camp Taji. “Some military personnel indicated that predators may believe they will not be held accountable for their misconduct during deployment because commanders’ focus on the mission overshadows other concerns,” the report said.
Read full story here and watch video of CAPT. MARGARET H. WHITE who was raped by a fellow soldier during her deployment to IRAQ: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/28women.html?hp
FIRST UNITS OF NEWLY ARRIVED US MARINES GO OUT IN SEARCH OF TALIBAN: RAW VIDEO
President Obama recently signed orders sending 4,000 US Marines to Afghanistan and this raw video shows the Marines going out on a patrol in search of the elusive Taliban in Helmand Afghanistan which is located in southern Afghanistan.
TURN YOUR SOUND WAY UP BECAUSE SOUND IS LOW
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/nrnH2Cahlno&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
NEWS ALERT: "TIME RUNNING OUT" IN FIGHT AGAINST THE TALIBAN
'Time running out' in fight against Taliban
by Lynne O'Donnell Mon Dec 28, 12:27 am ET
http://tiny.cc/M4xcn
KABUL (AFP) – Time is running out in the fight to eradicate the Taliban from Afghanistan as the extremists evolve, recruit and spread their influence across the country, according to Western military intelligence.
The insurgency is organised, increasingly effective and growing more cohesive, said a senior intelligence officer with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
"The insurgent strength is enabled by the weakness of the Afghan government," the officer told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The Taliban is funding its operations, which he estimated to cost between 100 million to 200 million dollars a year, through "Al-Qaeda, drugs and taxing the people."
Its ideology is based on "establishing Al-Qaeda as a global entity", ridding the region of foreign forces and establishing a caliphate, or Islamic state, and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan work together to those ends.
The United States and its allies "took our eye off the ball" for a number of years, allowing the movement to grow and strengthen, the officer said.
Read full story here: http://tiny.cc/M4xcn
Sunday, December 27, 2009
YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS VIDEO: PRESS CONF ON SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE U.S. MILITARY.
Suzanne Swift, who was in the Army, was sexually assaulted during her stint in the Army and in this video you hear what happened to her and how the military treated the rape. It is a gripping and moving story and something that should be seen by all because this is just another case of how the mainstream media in concert with Department of Defense keep stories like this hidden from the American public.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/9IzFIk-XQvY&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
Additional information: http://www.countermilitary.org/SuzanneSwift.html
HERE IS WHAT VETS OF AFGHAN WAR REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN. MUST SEE VIDEO
It is not often we get to see and hear what veterans of the Afghanistan War have to say about the U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, but in this video a number of Afghanistan War veterans speak their mind about the war.
This is well worth watching because as usual the mainstream media in the United States will NEVER bring you a video story like this.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE
http://www.youtube.com/v/vWldsClEW_E&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
AMAZING VIDEO OF GROUND CONTROL DIRECTING APACHE CHOPPER TO DESTROY TALIBAN PLANTING IEDs ON ROADSIDE
The video gives you a first-hand look at how ground control directs an Apache Helicopter to destroy Taliban insurgents planting IEDs along a well-travelled road in Afghanistan.
Listen and watch as the Apache chopper gets its orders from ground control to make the strike.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/9NOtjdCjo60&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
AFGHAN SECURITY AT A NEW LOW AFTER GRIM YEAR
The first video is a sobering look at what the U.S. troops are facing in Afghanistan. The country is in shambles and the Afghan government is full of corruption. There are many amongst the Afghan people who have no faith in the idea that the United States and a trickle of foreign nations can make a difference in Afghanistan.
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/17317010;_ylt=AkkwC.X1Q35B0jnRhV_VEuQBS5Z4
KICK ASS VIDEO OF U.S. NAVY SEALS ON A DANGEROUS MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN
Video shows a contingent of U.S. Navy Seals on a dangerous mission into Afghanistan. The appropriate song is "Hunt You Down" by Savilia.
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/ejksFTaxfE0&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
MONTAGE OF WORST IED ATTACKS EVER
This video is a compilation of some of the worst IED attacks ever recorded in Afghanistan and Iraq.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/TsrlT5tAal0&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A CHILLING VIDEO OF REPORTER CHRISTIE BLATCFORD'S EXPERIENCE ON THE FRONT LINES IN AFGHANISTAN
Christie Blatchford is a war correspondent who has been covering the Afghanistan war since it started over eight years ago. In this video, she recalls a harrowing experience with a U.S. military unit when they are ambushed by the Taliban.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/_5ByCpw8hcQ&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
DATELINE: AFGHANISTAN---REPORTING ON "THE FORGOTTEN WAR"
In this video you get to see the reporters who are embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan and report daily about what is happening in "The Forgotten War."
This video reports on a Chinook helicopter that crashed while trying to rescue Navy Seals and all 16 military personnel on the helicopter were killed.
Editorial Comment: IMO it is a rotten shame how few people in the United States give a damn about our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. There seems to be no vested interest in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because most people don't have a relative in the fights nor do they even know anyone in the United States military deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Comment by Bill Corcoran, editor, CORKSPHERE
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/rPaTgRPr4O4&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
GREAT VIDEO SHOWING 8TH MARINES ON PATROL IN AFGHANISTAN
In this video you see members of the 8th Marines talking with Afghan children and elders in an attempt to get information of where the Taliban are hiding. Very tense situation.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/RvHGL-iMN_c&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
YOU WILL NEVER SEE A WAR VIDEO LIKE THIS. TALIBAN RAP SONG: WARNING: SOME FOOTAGE IS VERY GRAPHIC
This is a Taliban video made by the Taliban using lyrics to a rap song. The footage can be very gory at times.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/MXHkEP4nSVI&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
BREAKING NEWS: US SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
US soldier, Taliban commander killed in Afghanistan: NATO
Posted on : 2009-12-26 Author : dpa News Category : Asia
http://news.yahoo.com/topics/afghanistan
Kabul - A US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, while Afghan forces backed by foreign troops killed a Taliban militant in central region, NATO said Saturday. The US soldier died in the blast on Friday, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. It did not provide details.
This year has been the deadliest for US and NATO forces since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001. More than 500 international soldiers - with more than 300 of them from the United States - have been killed in the Afghan conflict so far this year.
Meanwhile, Afghan and international troops conducted an operation on early Saturday in Nerkh district of central province of Wardak against a Taliban commander, thought to have been responsible for planning attacks against Afghan and NATO forces in the province, the ISAF statement said.
When the joint forces approached the targeted compound, the "heavily armed" Taliban commander ran to a nearby mosque, the statement said, adding that the Afghan forces surrounded the mosque and called on the targeted man to surrender.
"The Taliban commander opened fire with his AK-47 while in the mosque and was killed by the Afghan security force," it added.
INCREDIBLE VIDEO OF US MARINES BATTLING TALIBAN IN A BLINDING SNOWSTORM
The snow has arrived in Afghanistan and this video shows US Marines battling the elements and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The conditions are horrible, but the troops are determined to carryout the mission.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/x3uvH998TXg&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
VIOLENT FIREFIGHT BETWEEN 24TH MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE AND TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN
Christmas is over and this video shows the 24th Marine Expeditionary force in a violent firefight with the Taliban in the open spaces of Afghanistan.
TURN YOUR VOLUME WAY UP
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/U-oahae6Quw&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
Friday, December 25, 2009
THIS JUST IN: TROOPS IN BAGHDAD CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS: RAW VIDEO
We just received this video of some of our troops deployed to Baghdad celebrating Christmas.
Iraq continues to be a dangerous assignment as witnessed by the recent splurge of car bombings across the country.
TURN UP YOUR SOUND
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/xdNJK0B9nZ8&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
BOB HOWARD, MOST DECORATED AMERICAN VETERAN, DIES AT 70
Watch this video narrated by Brian Williams of NBC about Bob Howard, the most decorated American veteran ever, who died today at age 70 from cancer.
A heart-warming story and tribute to this brave soldier.
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.apacheclips.com/media/12739/One_tough_guy/
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE TO PLAY VIDEO
TALIBAN VIDEO SHOWS CAPTURED US SOLDIER, PFC BOWE BERGDAHL, BLASTING U.S. FOR INVADING AFGHANISTAN
There are some people who have looked at this Taliban video showing a captured American soldier, Pfc Bowe Bergdahl, Sun Valley, Idaho, speaking out against the United States and the invasion of Afghanistan and think the Pfc Bergdahl has been brainwashed into saying these things.
What do you think after viewing video?
TURN UP YOUR VOLUME.
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/sNZXb27PFiE&hl=en_US&fs=1
CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
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