"blue on green" (Afg) killings reach 10 in 2 weeks -Panetta makes a phone call.

[anatta]

"blue on green" (Afg) killings reach 10 in 2 weeks -Panetta makes a phone call.

Panetta intervenes after 10th US service member killed in 2 weeks in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A man in an Afghan police uniform shot and killed a U.S. service member on Sunday, a U.S. Defense Department official said, raising the death toll to 10 in such attacks in the space of just two weeks.

The surge in violence by Afghan allies against their international partners has raised doubts about the ability of the two forces to work together at a key transition time. Afghan forces are expected to take over security for the country by the end of 2014, when the majority of international combat forces are scheduled to leave.

On the other side, a coalition airstrike killed dozens of Taliban militants, including one of their leaders, officials said.

he U.S. defense official in Washington discussed the matter on condition of anyonymity because the official notification process had not been completed.

On Saturday Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to encourage him to work with U.S. commanders to ensure more rigorous vetting of Afghan recruits.

Panetta also urged Karzai during the telephone call to work with NATO to boost counterintelligence efforts and speak more to village elders who have ties to the army and police, the Pentagon said in a statement.

"They expressed shared concern over this issue and agreed that American and Afghan officials should work even more closely together to minimize the potential" for future attacks, it added.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...ghanistan?lite

 

[anatta]

On Saturday Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to encourage him to work with U.S. commanders to ensure more rigorous vetting of Afghan recruits

.
well gee. that should help

 

[blackascoal]

We were mindlessly stupid enough to believe that we can invade another country and murder its citizens .. and other citizens will greet us with flowers and candy.

I'm sure some afghans couldn't wait to turn their US issued guns on us .. the invaders.

Once again, it's just you and I who think the lives of American soldiers is important.

 

[anatta]

We were mindlessly stupid enough to believe that we can invade another country and murder its citizens .. and other citizens will greet us with flowers and candy.

I'm sure some afghans couldn't wait to turn their US issued guns on us .. the invaders.

Once again, it's just you and I who think the lives of American soldiers is important.

i'm sure it's just not you and I that think this way, though the silence is deafening. Panetta made a phone call -what more do you want

 

[blackascoal]

i'm sure it's just not you and I that think this way, though the silence is deafening. Panetta made a phone call -what more do you want

:0)

I agree that there is more than the two of us who recognize this truth .. but Obamalove keeps them silent.

 

[Althea]

i'm sure it's just not you and I that think this way, though the silence is deafening. Panetta made a phone call -what more do you want

I've already told you why we're in Afghanistan.


http://www2.wnct.com/news/2012/aug/17/taliban-carry-out-brazen-attack-on-pakistan-base-ar-2525303/

KAMRA, Pakistan -- KAMRA, Pakistan (AP) Heavily armed Taliban fighters blasted their way into a Pakistani air force base with possible links to the country's nuclear program in a brazen assault that took two hours of fighting to put down, leaving two security officers and nine insurgents dead and underscoring the group's continued threat despite numerous military offensives

 

[Disillusioned]

I've already told you why we're in Afghanistan.


http://www2.wnct.com/news/2012/aug/17/taliban-carry-out-brazen-attack-on-pakistan-base-ar-2525303/

We're in Afghanistan because nobody is smart enough to figure out it's not going anywhere. They heard all the stories about vietnam and thought i would be jolly cool to do it again.

 

[Althea]

We're in Afghanistan because nobody is smart enough to figure out it's not going anywhere. They heard all the stories about vietnam and thought i would be jolly cool to do it again.

Nope.

Even morons would've learned from the Soviet's clusterfuck in Afg. We need to be in striking range of Pakistan, when the govt. finally folds to the Taliban.

Better we leave Afg. now, and just level Pakistan when the Taliban takes over.

 

[anatta]

I've already told you why we're in Afghanistan.


http://www2.wnct.com/news/2012/aug/17/taliban-carry-out-brazen-attack-on-pakistan-base-ar-2525303/

But you haven't told me -short of perpetual US/NATO troops therein Wariristan ( not Afg), we can make any difference in the Taliban attacks ( assuming you mean nuclear facilities.)

Good article -break it down.

he large Air Force Base Minhas, located only about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Islamabad, hosts fighter jets, including F-16s, and contains a factory that makes aircraft and other weapons systems.

The weapons development and the presence of jets that could be used to deploy nuclear bombs have raised suspicions among some experts that the base is linked to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. However, no firm evidence has emerged, since the secrecy of the nuclear program makes independent evaluation difficult. The Pakistani military denies any connection between the base and the program

Looks like this is a fighter jet base, with capabilities of launching nukes -but the nukes weren't just armed an ready on the jets.
PAki must keep them in a seperate bunker/place/facility. Near enough, but not attached. Basic secuity, you don't leave armed nuclear jets around.

The safety of the country's nuclear weapons has been a major concern for the United States. Western experts say Pakistan has about 100 nuclear weapons and is expanding its arsenal.

"The great danger we've always feared is that if terrorism is not controlled in their country, that those nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Pentagon reporters Tuesday.

But many experts argue that the possibility of militants being able to battle their way inside a Pakistani facility and make out with a nuclear weapon or parts is extremely remote.

"There's a lot of talk about the loose nukes and the security of the Pakistani nukes but this isn't something that the Pakistani state is going to take lightly. This is one of their most prized possessions," Kamran Bokhari, from the global intelligence firm, Stratfor.

Panetta's job is to worry, but risk assesment and the Paki military being the ultimate power, they are using nukes as we do -
to have them, to be able to use them, and be a part of the "club". I doubt the Taliban could even set one off - the danger ( if any) is internal nuclear use by the Paki Army(fundamenatalist rift) -not a takeover by outside Taliban forces

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters the U.S. had no information that would contradict Pakistan's denials that any nuclear material was located at the Minhas base.

"As we've said all along, we have confidence that the government of Pakistan is well aware of the range of potential threats to its nuclear arsenal and has secured its nuclear arsenal accordingly," she told reporters. "We don't have any reason to be concerned at this moment."

Reasonable -what unreasonable is thinking the presense of NATO/US trops has anything to do with keeping nukes out of Taliban hands.
Should the Taliban or more importantly Paki Army fundamentalists\be able to get the useage, only then would it be" Houston we have a problem"

She said "Pakistanis have suffered more than their share at the hands of terrorists inside Pakistan, which speaks to our efforts to address this threat together and to try to address it as a community operating in that region."

The Pakistani Taliban and its allies have waged a bloody insurgency against the government that has killed over 30,000 people. The military says its forces are stretched think battling the group one reason, it says, it has not been able to do more against other militants in the country, particularly those attacking U.S. and NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military has told the U.S. it plans to launch an offensive for the first time in North Waziristan, a militant stronghold on the border with Afghanistan. The campaign will aim to uproot the Pakistani Taliban but is expected to avoid tackling other militants involved in the Afghan war.

More evidence the Paki's are better off defending N Warzirstan, then joint US ops. We really have nothing to do, other then drone Paki militants, if we want to stay there. That is counter-terrorism, NOT the counter-insurgency we are practicing now !
Our land troops aren't capable of "training up" an Afg army - the Afganis are killing us. We have no reason to stay, no,real ability to work joint ops with Paki. All we can do is drone, and you don't need land troops for that.

The Taliban have carried out several startling raids on military facilities in the past.

Half a dozen Taliban militants attacked a major naval base in the southern port city of Karachi in May 2011, killing at least 10 people and destroying two U.S.-supplied surveillance aircraft.

It took Pakistani commandos 18 hours to retake Naval Station Mehran, and two of the attackers escaped. That the attackers managed to infiltrate so deep into the high-security base led to speculation they may have had inside information or assistance.

In 2009, militants dressed in fatigues attacked army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi, just outside Islamabad, and took 30 people hostage. Pakistani commandos finally raided the compound 22 hours later. Three captives and four militants were among those killed.

There have been at least three attacks in the vicinity of the Minhas base since 2007, but all of them occurred outside the installation.

The Taliban will likely take over Afg gov't, if anything we've done nothing for Afg. except to provide a well trained army/national police.
Our presence is counter-productive, as well as deadly for US. interests. Paki's too.

 

[Disillusioned]

Nope.

Even morons would've learned from the Soviet's clusterfuck in Afg. We need to be in striking range of Pakistan, when the govt. finally folds to the Taliban.

Better we leave Afg. now, and just level Pakistan when the Taliban takes over.

And we probably will, never mind that we're doing as much harm to the Pakistani government as the taliban. Then we'll call it another freedom act and massacre more civilians. Hooray for civilian control of the military to prevent needless wars... oh wait.