News Stories

[Joojoobees]

In Reversal, Some Japan Theaters to Screen ‘The Cove’

In a dramatic turnabout, Japanese theaters said Monday they would screen an Oscar-winning documentary about dolphin hunting in Japan, after renewed pleas from free-speech advocates not to bow to pressure from nationalists who are campaigning to block its release.

Fresh rallies against the film were reported Monday, however, sparking concerns that extremists could intensify their fight to scare theaters into abandoning the screenings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/wo....html?ref=asia

Good to see that Free Speech is winning the day here (at least for the moment). If people don't want to go see it, they don't have to; if people want to defend the practice, they can do that, but preventing the film from being shown in theaters is a way of controlling what other people are allowed to think, and that is wrong (IMO).

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

US military supply contracts fund corruption, the Taliban, according to report

Globe post about the report.

Direct link to report (PDF).

Frankly, I think this just goes to show you that the military contracting out all these jobs that were once handled by the military isn't as viable as some Pentagon bigwhigs think it is.

High tech toy's and search and destroy operations don't matter if you don't have the ground troops to protect your own supply lines. If you can't manage that then you're never going to manage maintaining control of all those rural villages. Can't manage to do that and the Taliban will control them defacto and be able to launch operations.

Trying to win over the populations hearts and minds from cutthroats is a waste of time if you can't provide any security from said cutthroats.

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

kinda surprise no one is talking about this.

Who the hell is in charge over there.

I would also say if Hillary was in charge McChrystal would have Vince Foster Moment before he had a chance to say anything.

It probably wasn't wise for McChrystal to openly state this in an interview, though it's not hard to see how the perception of the White House not fully backing his efforts could manifest.

When you've got US military supply contracts paying the Taliban protection money because the US military won't protect those supply contractors, you know that there has to be something to McChrystal saying that more ground troops are needed.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Obama fires McChrystal

Washington (June 23): United States President Barack Obama has accepted the resignation of Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal today and asked Iraq war hero General David Petraeus to replace him, a US official said.

Gen McChrystal delivered his resignation after he was ordered back to Washington for a one-on-one showdown with Mr Obama earlier today.

AFP

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Obama fires McChrystal

now why do i see Petraus running for president in 6 years.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Obama fires McChrystal

That is a big mistake. Big big mistake. You don't wash your hands clean in Afghanistan the way you do in Iraq.

C'mon, I am sure an ex-Special forces general has more COIN experience than anyone else in dealing with hardcore militants. This isn't insubordination for Obama, this is betrayal for McChrystal.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

That is a big mistake. Big big mistake. You don't wash your hands clean in Afghanistan the way you do in Iraq.

C'mon, I am sure an ex-Special forces general has more COIN experience than anyone else in dealing with hardcore militants. This isn't insubordination for Obama, this is betrayal for McChrystal.

Obama didn't have a choice. You can't let a general who openly expressed contempt for civilian authorities retain command. In fact there's a regulation against it.

888. ART. 88. CONTEMPT TOWARD OFFICIALS
Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

That is a big mistake. Big big mistake. You don't wash your hands clean in Afghanistan the way you do in Iraq.

C'mon, I am sure an ex-Special forces general has more COIN experience than anyone else in dealing with hardcore militants.

Yeah, well, he obviously lacked experience in dealing with journalists and/or booze.

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Yeah, well, he obviously lacked experience in dealing with journalists and/or booze.

because when i think about the required skills and experience for a commander of a military counter-insurgency operation
THOSE are the skills at the top of my list

i get that obama can't allow someone who so blatantly criticized him to stay on board, but on the whole its more his fault then he'd like to admit.
if the the guy leading your soldiers in the field is so frustrated with your actions and behavior, maybe you should take note
McChrystal made a LOT of criticism
he should take some of it to heart, and stop being so indecisive

[Roger Rambo]

Frankly I'm sympathetic to the objections that McCrystal made about the Obama administration. I'm not sympathetic about him coming out in public and questioning the chain of command. While it's very easy to side with the general if you don't like Obama, you really don't want a situation where military leaders go out in public and question the civillian leaderships judgment. Having that that be routine can often lead to dangerious situations.

This is not to say that McChrystal is anything resembling treasonous. It's just that reprimanding him here on principle is just a safety mechanism for civillian run militaries to function.

[Xion Valkyrie]

http://thenextweb.com/us/2010/06/23/...ingement-case/

Youtube beats Viacom in the billion dollar copyright infringement case. A good day for the internets!

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xion Valkyrie

http://thenextweb.com/us/2010/06/23/...ingement-case/

Youtube beats Viacom in the billion dollar copyright infringement case. A good day for the internets!

Generic media distributors, like publishers and TV stations, will soon die. Teh internetz iz teh future!

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

because when i think about the required skills and experience for a commander of a military counter-insurgency operation.

An officer of that high a rank must know how to deal with the media. After all, keeping up morale (even that of the civilian public) is important to strategy. Presenting the conflict as some sort of failure, or in this case revealing that there is disagreement instead of decisiveness at the top of the chain would quickly drain public support, which may lead to a pullout before the Taliban/Al Qaeda is crushed, which would be a defeat.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Roger Rambo

Frankly I'm sympathetic to the objections that McCrystal made about the Obama administration. I'm not sympathetic about him coming out in public and questioning the chain of command. While it's very easy to side with the general if you don't like Obama, you really don't want a situation where military leaders go out in public and question the civillian leaderships judgment. Having that that be routine can often lead to dangerious situations.

This is not to say that McChrystal is anything resembling treasonous. It's just that reprimanding him here on principle is just a safety mechanism for civillian run militaries to function.

I always thought McC wasn't as good as Petraeus. I guess Obama's move made sense then.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

because when i think about the required skills and experience for a commander of a military counter-insurgency operation
THOSE are the skills at the top of my list

i get that obama can't allow someone who so blatantly criticized him to stay on board, but on the whole its more his fault then he'd like to admit.
if the the guy leading your soldiers in the field is so frustrated with your actions and behavior, maybe you should take note
McChrystal made a LOT of criticism
he should take some of it to heart, and stop being so indecisive

I read an opinion piece that questioned whether McChrystal was incompetent, and based on the evidence presented, I'd have to agree that it was the case. He was apparently pretty hostile to many of the non-military people involved with the Afghanistan "project." We're not fighting to conquer - we're trying to nation-build. You can't do that with the military alone, although given the presence of hostile forces, the military plays an integral role.

The trouble is that you need tight cooperation between the military and the non-military elements. McChrystal's frustrations as a military man were understandable, but his alienation of the non-military personnel were certainly not good. He was basically failing at the job that he was designated in that regard.

The interview was just the tip of the iceberg, and the final straw of a lack of professionalism. People like to speak as if Obama was reacting purely to the article, but I'm sure that this has been building for a long time.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

I read an opinion piece that questioned whether McChrystal was incompetent, and based on the evidence presented, I'd have to agree that it was the case. He was apparently pretty hostile to many of the non-military people involved with the Afghanistan "project." We're not fighting to conquer - we're trying to nation-build. You can't do that with the military alone, although given the presence of hostile forces, the military plays an integral role.

The trouble is that you need tight cooperation between the military and the non-military elements. McChrystal's frustrations as a military man were understandable, but his alienation of the non-military personnel were certainly not good. He was basically failing at the job that he was designated in that regard.

The interview was just the tip of the iceberg, and the final straw of a lack of professionalism. People like to speak as if Obama was reacting purely to the article, but I'm sure that this has been building for a long time.

Well, here's something. Petraeus' success was because...

While his predecessor, General McChrystal, was on icy terms with the American ambassador here, Karl W. Eikenberry, General Petraeus forged a tight bond with his civilian counterpart during the Iraqi surge, Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. General Petraeus and Ambassador Eikenberry, a former general himself, are old Army comrades.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/wo...traeus.html?hp

[TinyRedLeaf]

Kevin Rudd deposed as Australian PM

Canberra (June 24): An emotional Kevin Rudd said today "I've given it my all" and was proud of his achievements as prime minister after being deposed in a sudden party ballot.

He has been replaced by Ms Julia Gillard, who becomes Australia's first female Prime Minister. Flanked by his family,Mr Rudd repeatedly paused to choke back tears as he listed his achievements in less than three years in office since winning landslide polls in 2007.

"I was elected by the Australian people as Prime Minister of this country, to bring back a fair go for all Australians and I have given my absolute best to do that, I've given my absolute all," he said.

"What I'm less proud of is the fact that I have now blubbered," he added.

NEWS24

And, no, it has nothing to do with the Socceroos being kicked out of the World Cup.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Kevin Rudd deposed as Australian PM




And, no, it has nothing to do with the Socceroos being kicked out of the World Cup.

Well, in Australia, anything goes. I'm pretty sure the Aussies don't give a hoot about it.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

I read an opinion piece that questioned whether McChrystal was incompetent, and based on the evidence presented, I'd have to agree that it was the case. He was apparently pretty hostile to many of the non-military people involved with the Afghanistan "project." We're not fighting to conquer - we're trying to nation-build. You can't do that with the military alone, although given the presence of hostile forces, the military plays an integral role.

The trouble is that you need tight cooperation between the military and the non-military elements. McChrystal's frustrations as a military man were understandable, but his alienation of the non-military personnel were certainly not good. He was basically failing at the job that he was designated in that regard.

The interview was just the tip of the iceberg, and the final straw of a lack of professionalism. People like to speak as if Obama was reacting purely to the article, but I'm sure that this has been building for a long time.

The problem with Afghanistan is that it is the opposite of Iraq, it has got nobody with power to forge bonds with other than the Taliban.

McChrystal's move was to knock them down so they couldn't get up again like the SLA in the 1970s US, so I doubt Peach could do the job at all with his "carebear" style of rebuilding. Besides, he doesn't even have the manpower to protect the civilians from Taliban threats.

I am placing my bets on Afghanistan being the next Vietnam.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I am placing my bets on Afghanistan being the next Vietnam.

It's already the next Vietnam. The war's been going on for about 9 years as it is, with no real end in sight.

[bladeofdarkness]

to listen to allen west say it, the REASON why there is no end in sight, is because the people running the war are doing it without having a real clue about what it is they are trying to actually achieve
and because they fail to notice that their own rules of engagement are being abused by the enemy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhOzIQ1-CmQ

don't get me wrong, i get the point of rules of engagement
but if it gets to the point where they are actively ENCOURAGING your enemy to commit war crimes, then something is very wrong.