WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS? U.S. AIRSTRIKE KILLS 27 AFGHAN CIVILIANS

‘Unjustifiable’ strike kills 27 Afghan civilians

Elsewhere, warlord who tried to capture bin Laden in ’01 dies in bombing

The Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35515880/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

KABUL, Afghanistan - A NATO airstrike killed at least 27 civilians in central Afghanistan, the third time a mistaken coalition strike has killed noncombatants since the start of a major offensive aimed at winning over the population.

The top NATO commander, U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, apologized to the Afghan president, NATO said.

The Afghanistan Council of Ministers strongly condemned the airstrike in Uruzgan province, calling it "unjustifiable." An earlier statement issued Monday put the death toll at 33. It was not immediately clear why the figure had been revised.

Initial reports indicated that NATO planes fired at a convoy of three vehicles Sunday. The victims included 4 women and a child, Afghan officials said.
NATO confirmed that its planes fired on what it believed was a group of insurgents on their way to attack a joint NATO-Afghan patrol.

The Afghan government and NATO have launched an investigation.

Read more here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35515880/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

NEWS ALERT: OUTGUNNED TALIBAN ARE MOUNTING TOUGH FIGHT IN MARJAH

The Taliban are outgunned, but this is not stopping them from giving the United States military and what is left of the NATO coalition forces one helluva fight for Marjah, Afghanistan.

If the battle for Marjah is any indication how the Afghanistan war is going to go, you can expect U.S. forces to be in Afghanistan for at least two more years and quite possibly much, much longer.

General David Petraeus, Commander of Central Command, says it is going to be "tough" and he warns of many casualties on both sides and says the U.S. military will be in Afghanistan for at least another 18 months.

You can read more here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123942365&ft=1&f=1001

NEWS ALERT: GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS SAYS U.S. WILL BE IN AFGHANISTAN AT LEAST 18 MORE MONTHS

General David Petraeus, commander of Central Command, told TV audiences on Sunday that the times ahead in Afghanistan are going to be "tough" and to expect "more casualties."

He also said the U.S. is expected to be in Afghanistan for at least 18 more months.

Read more here:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/02/201022214235669261.html

NEWS ALERT: 2 ARMY HELICOPTER PILOTS KILLED IN IRAQ

2 Army helicopter pilots killed in Iraq

The Associated PressPosted : Sunday Feb 21, 2010 14:46:50 EST
http://www.armytimes.com/

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military says two Army helicopter pilots have been killed in an accident on a base in northern Iraq.

The military said in a statement that there were no "enemy forces" present and no hostile fire reported.

It said the aircraft made a "hard landing" Sunday near an airfield inside the base, but gave no further details. The military often uses the phrase "hard landing" to mean a crash.

The statement said the accident was under investigation, and the pilots' names are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

The deaths raise to at least 4,378 the number of U.S. military personnel who have died in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

AFGHANISTAN CHILDREN SMUGGLE FLOUR FROM PAKISTAN (LIVE VIDEO)

Afghanistan children have taken to smuggling flour out of Pakistan and back home to feed their families because there is no other means to keep their families alive as the war rages on all around them.

In this video you see Afghan children carrying sacks of flour on their back as they navigate through the treacherous mountains from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

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THE BIG GUNS: U.S. ARTILLERY OPENS UP ON TALIBAN (RAW VIDEO)

Video shows a squad of soldiers from a U.S. Artillery unit firing their big gun into Taliban positions around Marjah, Afghanistan.

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NOTES FROM THE FRONT LINES: JUST WHO IS FIGHTING IN MARJAH? (NEW YORK TIMES)

Just Who Is Fighting in Marjah?

By C.J. CHIVERS
The New York Times
http://tiny.cc/7IqZC

Last Saturday evening, as the first day of fighting in Marja between the Taliban and the Marines of Kilo Company, Third Battalion, Sixth Marines was ceasing with the approach of darkness, two Marine platoons converged for the night on a small Afghan compound. The platoons took cover behind the mud walls. The company manned its guns for the night and began to plan its missions for the next day.

The compound had several small buildings, some no bigger than sheds. Gunnery Sgt. James McCarver examined each structure, looking for a place to set up the company’s radios. He settled on a one-room mud building about 10 feet wide by 25 feet long, and led the company command group and its radio operators inside.

And there, on an inside wall illuminated by their flashlights, they looked up at a sight out of place: a small poster of battle scenes from Iraq, watched over by the approving face of Saddam Hussein.

The image, a cut-and-paste job, included two American soldiers aiming their rifles from the prone position. Each was bleeding heavily from bullet wounds that had been crudely painted on.
Who had the previous occupants of this room been? Where had they come from? And what about their affinity for the former president of Iraq, and for thoughts of blood-soaked American soldiers, was so strong that the poster was one of the only decorations in the room?

Read more here: http://tiny.cc/7IqZC

MARINES COME UNDER HEAVY FIRE NEAR MARJAH AFGHANISTAN AFTER THEIR VEHICLE IS BLOWN UP BY ROADSIDE BOMB

Video shows a platoon of U.S. Marines coming under heavy fire from the Taliban near Marjah, Afghanistan after one of the vehicles in their convoy is destroyed by a roadside bomb.

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COMPLETE LIST OF AFGHAN CASUALTIES

This is the most comprehensive report you will see on casualties in the Afghanistan war.

You can click on stories listed on the left and receive more details on each GI killed or wounded recently in Afghanistan.

http://icasualties.org/OEF/index.aspx

BREAKING NEWS: SUNNI PARTY DROPS OUT OF IRAQ ELECTIONS

There are growing signs that sectarian violence is about to explode again in Iraq.

The Sunni party has announced they will not participate in next months national elections in Iraq.

Sunni party drops out of Iraq elections
Controversy over legitimacy of vote threatens to re-open sectarian wounds

U.S. troop pullout of Iraq now in doubt.

The Associated Press
updated 10:08 a.m. CT, Sat., Feb. 20, 2010
http://tiny.cc/iecH9

BAGHDAD - Iraq's main Sunni party said Saturday it is dropping out of next month's national elections, seizing on U.S. concerns about Iran's influence in the political process as proof that the vote will not be legitimate.

A statement from the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue stopped short of urging Sunni voters to boycott the March 7 parliamentary election. But the party called on other political groups to join it in withdrawing from the ballot.

Saturday's announcement raises the likelihood that the results of the vote will be called into question. U.S. and United Nations diplomats have expressed fears that a Sunni boycott that hands victory to Shiites would throw the results of the election into doubt. In turn, that could open the door to a new round of violence and delay plans for American troops to leave Iraq.

"The Iraqi Front for National Dialogue cannot continue in a political process run by a foreign agenda," party spokesman Haidar al-Mullah said in a statement, referring to Iran's alleged interference.

He said the party decided to pull out of the vote after U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill and Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American military commander in Iraq, each described the Shiite leaders of a candidate-vetting panel as having ties to Iran.

IRANIAN TROOPS CROSS BORDER INTO IRAQ

Iranian troops crossed borders in Diala – source

February 20, 2010 - 12:52:28
http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=127345

DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq: Iranian troops crossed into Iraqi territories and advanced for several meters after removing concrete barricades on the borders with Diala on Saturday, according to the assistant governor of the province.

“The Iranian forces entered Iraqi territories from al-Munzheriya district, the area bordering Iran and belonging to Khanaqin district, (155 km) east of Baaquba city,” Hafez Abdulaziz told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

However, an official security source in the Diala Operations Command (DOC) denied the reports.
“Security conditions n the borders are stable and there are no encroachments by the Iranian side on the Iraqi borders,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq.

Baaquba, the capital city of Diala province, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

An Iranian force had occupied the Fakka oilfield in Missan on December 18, 2009 and planted the Iranian flag there, triggering tension between the two neighboring countries

DUTCH GOVERNMENT COLLAPSES IN DISPUTE OVER AFGHANISTAN MISSION

There are troubling signs in Afghanistan that some of the NATO countries are pulling their troops out of the country. The Dutch and Canada are making plans to leave Afghanistan.

Dutch government collapses in dispute over Afghan mission; war contribution in doubt

ARTHUR MAX
Associated Press Writer
9:29 AM CST, February 20, 2010

www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-eu-netherlands-afghanistan,0,7095712.story

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The Dutch coalition government collapsed Saturday over whether to extend the country's military mission in Afghanistan, leaving the future of its 1,600 soldiers fighting there uncertain.

An early election is now expected.Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the second largest party in his three-party alliance is quitting, ending an uneasy partnership."Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. There is no road along which this cabinet can go further," Balkenende said.

The Dutch debate comes as opinion polls in many troop-providing European countries indicate growing public opposition to sending more soldiers to Afghanistan amid a global financial crisis and shrinking defense budgets.

Any Dutch withdrawal would be a worrying sign for NATO, which has struggled to raise the 10,000 additional troops that its top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has demanded to accompany the 30,000 American reinforcements being deployed there.

In another sign of the weakening commitment to the war, Canada is planning to withdraw its entire 2,800-strong unit from Afghanistan by the end of 2011. The Canadian contingent, the third-largest after the U.S. and Britain, serves with the Dutch in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan.Balkenende made no mention of elections as he spoke to reporters after a marathon 16-hour Cabinet meeting that ended close to dawn.

200 PLUS FT. EUSTIS SOLDIERS LEAVE FOR AFGHANISTAN

A company of U.S. soldiers are seen in this video in a gymnasium at Ft. Eustis, Virginia as they say good-bye to family and friends as they prepare to deploy to Afghanistan.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://news.yahoo.com/video/local-15749667/18239655;_ylt=AjppV.4zoWMTKPpHriNqJpoBS5Z4

GUT-WRENCHING VIDEO OF FRENCH TROOPS IN BATTLE IN ALASAY VALLEY AFGHANISTAN

This video follows a company of French soldiers as they prepare and go into battle against the Taliban in Alasay Valley, Afghanistan. Watch as one French soldier sees his wife and baby girl on a video before the battle.

This is a moving video and should put to rest the snide comments by Fox News commentators who are constantly mocking the French soldiers as too frightened to fight.

If there is anyone who is too frightened to fight it is the chicken-hawks at Fox News who ALL managed to avoid military service.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/j07VMqM40vY&hl=en_US&fs=1

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BREAKING NEWS VIDEO: TALIBAN HAS U.S. AMMO AND WEAPONS

The New York Times reports the Taliban have been using U.S. ammunition and arms in the recent battles held in the Korengal Valley and also in Marjah, Afghanistan.

An investigation has been launched in an attempt to find out how the Taliban was able to obtain such a large cache of U.S. ammo and weapons.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/O-nrAtyWNhE&hl=en_US&fs=1

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U.S. MARINE CORPS---FIRST TO FIGHT---AFGHANISTAN

The United States Marine Corps have a long and storied history of being the "first to fight" in the many wars the United States has been involved in and Afghanistan is no different. The Marines are leading the new offensive on the city of Marjah, Afghanistan.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/Rm6TnzexP5U&hl=en_US&fs=1

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BULLDOG TROOP 40TH CAVALRY MOVE INTO AFGHANISTAN

Video shows members of the Bulldog Troop of the 40th Cavalry moving into Afghanistan to battle the Taliban.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/7ogWnPhIeTA&hl=en_US&fs=1

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SMELLS FISHY: PAKISTAN WILL NOT TURN OVER TALIBAN LEADER TO U.S.

The story about the capture of Taliban's #2 took another questionable twist. Pakistan, who captured the so-called number two of the Taliban, is now saying they will not turn him over to the United States.

Reuters had reported the other day that the Taliban says their number two leader had NOT been captured and it is all propaganda.

This whole story stinks like a rotten fish.

Read more here:

http://tiny.cc/zgLQi

SOLDIER IS SHOT IN THE ASS IN AFGHANISTAN (RAW VIDEO)

When this U.S. soldier got out of his vehicle to take a piss he was shot in the ass. Watch as fellow soldiers attend to him in Afghanistan.

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COMBAT MEDICS SAVE LIVES IN AFGHANISTAN (VIDEO)

Video shows combat medics feverishly working on wounded American troops on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

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MARINES TAKE FIRE IN MARJAH AFGHANISTAN (LIVE VIDEO)

The going is getting tough in the battle for Marjah, Afghanistan. In this video you see U.S. Marines taking fire from the Taliban.

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http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/18207762;_ylt=AjppV.4zoWMTKPpHriNqJpoBS5Z4

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U.S. ARMY BATTLES TALIBAN (LIVE VIDEO)

Video shows a patrol of U.S. Army soldiers engaged in combat with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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SUPPORT THE TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN (RAW VIDEO)

Our troops in Afghanistan need more support than ever before as they are into the second week of a major offensive on the Taliban in Marjah, Afghanistan.

This video with appropriate music is a compilation of pictures taken on the battlefield.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/qAlm7e_d4es&hl=en_US&fs=1

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U.S. MARINES GET THEIR WOUNDED OFF BATTLEFIELD IN AFGHANISTAN (LIVE VIDEO)

The song is "No One Gets Left Behind" and it is an appropriate background for this video showing U.S. Marines engaged in battle in Afghanistan and making sure their wounded are taken off the battlefield.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/5gLYpIE7nr4&hl=en_US&fs=1

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U.S. MARINES ARE BOGGED DOWN IN THE SNOW IN AFGHANISTAN (RAW VIDEO)

It isn't only in the United States where snow is hampering driving. In this video you see a U.S. Marine convoy caught in the snows in central Afghanistan. War is tough enough, but trying to fight a war in the snow is almost impossible. Ask Hitler. His decision to invade Russia in World War II was the beginning of the end for the once powerful Third Reich.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/x3uvH998TXg&hl=en_US&fs=1

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FRIGHTENING VIDEO OF U.S. CONVOY AMBUSHED BY TALIBAN

This is a very frightening video because you are right inside a U.S. Humvee which has just been ambushed by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/UY1kQu8iIGE&hl=en_US&fs=1

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BLAST KILLS 13 IN IRAQ'S ANBAR PROVINCE

Anbar Province was the centerpiece for bragging rights on how well "the surge" worked in Iraq, but today a blast in Ramadi killed 13 indicating the war is far from over in Iraq.

Read more here:

Blast Kills 13 In Capital Of Iraq's Anbar Province

by The Associated Press
http://tiny.cc/8urEx

A suicide car bomb exploded Thursday outside the gate of the main government compound in the capital of Iraq's Anbar province, killing at least 13 people, including four police, a health official said.

The attacker detonated his explosive-packed car at the compound housing the governor's office, police headquarters and courts in downtown Ramadi.

The province, where al-Qaida-backed Sunni insurgents once held sway, has seen a rise in attacks against security forces and government officials in recent months. The incident also comes amid fears that next month's elections will stoke political violence.

INTENSE AND VIOLENT: NEVER SEEN BEFORE VIDEO OF U.S. TROOPS IN ACTION AGAINST TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN

This is a really intense and violent video never seen before of U.S. troops in action against the Taliban in Zabul, Afghanistan.

The fighting is non-stop.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/0vJ5qyzXuHA&hl=en_US&fs=1

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YOUNG AFGHAN BOY DIRECTS U.S. TROOPS IN ATTACK ON TALIBAN (RAW VIDEO)

This is a very unusual video because you get to see and hear a young Afghan boy directing U.S. troops on where to fire their weapons during an attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

WARNING: The young Afghan boy has learned how to curse in English.

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TALIBAN SNIPERS ATTACK U.S. FORCES NEAR MARJAH

NYT: Snipers imperil forces in Afghanistan

Work of several well-trained marksmen punctuates offensive in Marja

By C. J. Chivers
The New York Times
http://tiny.cc/bPSdC (Slide show with 16 slides)

MARJA, Afghanistan - In five days of fighting, the Taliban have shown a side not often seen in nearly a decade of American military action in Afghanistan: the use of snipers, both working alone and integrated into guerrilla-style ambushes.

Five Marines and two Afghan soldiers have been struck here in recent days by bullets fired at long range. That includes one Marine fatally shot and two others wounded in the opening hour of a four-hour clash on Wednesday, when a platoon with Company K of the Third Battalion, Sixth Marines, was ambushed while moving on foot across a barren expanse of flat ground between the clusters of low-slung mud buildings.

Almost every American and Afghan infantryman present has had frightening close calls. Some of the shooting has apparently been from Kalashnikov machine guns, the Marines say, mixed with sniper fire.

The near misses have included lone bullets striking doorjambs beside their faces as Marines peeked around corners, single rounds cracking by just overhead as Marines looked over mud walls, and bullets slamming into the dirt beside them as they ran across the many unavoidable open spaces in the area they have been assigned to clear.

On Wednesday, firing came from primitive compounds, irrigation canals and agricultural fields as the bloody struggle between the Marines and the Taliban for control of the northern portion of this Taliban enclave continued for a fifth day.

In return, Company K used mortars, artillery, helicopter attack gunships and an airstrike in a long afternoon of fighting, which ended, as has been the pattern for nearly a week, with the waning evening light.