We
went to Afghanistan because of 9/11. We
uprooted al Queda and we deposed the Taliban. We did that in the first year. That was enough. At the time GWB made that speech aboard the USS
Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003 with the big “Mission Accomplished” banner
behind him, our mission was
accomplished.
Ten
days ago, Diana West counted 17
Americans murdered by our dear Afghan allies since December. The DoD
hasn’t make it easy to tell (“the incident is under investigation”) and she
admits her count is possibly incomplete.
I’ve seen a lot of these DoD
announcements but never before one of such startling
candor:
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The Department of Defense
announced today the deaths of five soldiers who were supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom. They died April 16, at Forward
Operating Base Gamberi, Nangarhar
province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an Afghan National Army
soldier attacked them with multiple grenades. Killed were: Capt. Charles E. Ridgley Jr., 40,
of Baltimore, Md. He was assigned to
the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Maneuver Enhancement
Brigade, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska; also, Sgt. 1st Class Charles L. Adkins,
36, of Sandusky, Ohio; Staff Sgt. Cynthia R. Taylor, 39,
of Columbus, Ga.; Sgt. Linda L. Pierre, 28,
Immokalee, Fla.; and Spc.
Joseph B. Cemper, 21, Warrensburg, Mo. They were
assigned to the 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st
Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. |
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“…when an Afghan National Army
soldier attacked them with multiple grenades.”
How
the war has evolved! Our military is
reacting to these new threats. “So far,
U.S. and French forces have trained
220 Afghan soldiers to spot possible Taliban infiltrators, disgruntled
soldiers within the ranks and other conditions that could make the force
vulnerable to attack, according to U.S. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the
commander of NATO's training mission in Afghanistan. The plan is to have 445
soldiers trained in counterintelligence by the end of the year.”
What
else could Caldwell do? Surrender?
Shortly
after we started bombing in Libya, our Commander-in-Chief warned that we would
bomb the rebels too, if they misbehave.
Fifteen days ago Mark Steyn jested, “If a
coalition plane bombing Qaddafi’s forces runs into a coalition plane bombing
the rebel forces, are they allowed to open fire on each other?”
So
we have two Obama wars, both reduced to aimless violence.
Sunk
costs are irrelevant to future decision-making.
Every economist knows that. If
you take ten steps toward your car before you realize that you forgot your
keys, do you take a few more steps? Or
do you turn around instantly? If we have
decided to “win” then battlefield casualties are just the price we pay. But if we have decided not to win, what are we paying for?
In
a few months we will begin a slow, 3-year drawdown of American forces in
Afghanistan. Do we honor the sacrifice
of Charles, Charles, Cynthia, Linda and Joseph by lingering?
back to ALL MISSIONS
PostScript: Regarding Libya, today (4 days after the 5
died) two things came to light.
Benghazi
is the big city east of the Gulf of Sidra.
(The capitol, Tunis, is west of the gulf.) Benghazi is the heart of the rebellion –
anti-Tunis, anti-Gaddafi, anti-government.
The British, French and Italians are sending advisors (military
officers) to Benghazi to meet and organize the rebels.
Thing number One:
In the main square of Benghazi, a government soldier was hanged by his
ankles.
story:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/mounting-evidence-of-rebel-atrocities-in-libya/?singlepage=true
Then
one of those freedom-loving rebels used a long knife to alternately hack and
saw the suspended man’s neck in an extended decapitation as the gathered crowd
chanted “Libya Hurra!” (free
Libya) and “Allahu Akbar!”
Thing number Two:
President Barack Hussein Obama II advised Congress that he is sending
those same rebels $25 million of the United States taxpayers’ money.
story:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/19/libya-rebels-will-receive-25-million-from-us/
His
State Department assured Congress that the Benghazi rebel force has “publicly
rejected terrorism, embraced the Geneva Conventions, and emphasized its
dedication to building democratic institutions to provide for a secular future
in which a broad range of Libyan citizens will be able to participate.”
post-PostScript, 5 days after the 5 died:
The
President is sending armed Predators, drones for ground-attack. The phenomenon of mission creep suggests that
the A-10 and the AC-130 (which are also used for ground-attack) will be next.
And,
a couple of creeps later, infantry.