Marcion
As autumn gently falls on Afghanistan, Karzai finally passed the coveted threshold needed to achieve a first round win in the Afghan Presidential elections, after some painfully obvious electoral fraud. Washington has emitted some tepid calls "to address any accusations out there and assure people of the legitimacy of the election," but some repudiated reports of an "explosive meeting" between the AfPak viceroy Holbrooke and Karzai have emerged.
Meanwhile, Gen. McChrystal banned drinking at ISAF bases because he couldn't find a sober German to ask about an incident in which a German commander called in an airstrike on some stolen fuel tankers, killing 100+ Afghan civilians.
Poll 14 votes Show Results Which occupying power's alcohol policy would you support for victory in Afghanistan? US - no drinking, anytime unless you can make your own. Britain - only at officer supervised functions. A man must be able to toast to the Queen's Jubilee. France - ales on tap at the barracks. Spain and Italy - wine with lunch. Sweden - Absolut at the Nordic Palace Why are they wasting time with drinking when they are walking on opium? Opium Pie. 14 votes Vote Now! Which occupying power's alcohol policy would you support for victory in Afghanistan? US - no drinking, anytime unless you can make your own. 7% 1 vote Britain - only at officer supervised functions. A man must be able to toast to the Queen's Jubilee. 0% 0 votes France - ales on tap at the barracks. 3 votes Spain and Italy - wine with lunch. 0% 0 votes Sweden - Absolut at the Nordic Palace 0% 0 votes Why are they wasting time with drinking when they are walking on opium? 8 votes Opium Pie. 2 votes
As the Afghan war escalates, it becomes painfully obvious that the Democratic Party and its leftist allies will not serve as a force for peace, and will support American violence abroad so long as a Democratic President is in office. This is an inevitable feature of the two party political system dominated by the military industrial complex and no amount of effort will change that. Instead what will likely happen is that anti war forces will continue to be further marginalized and ridiculed by the Democratic establishment, as has already happened with such anti war activists as Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink.
But another feature of the two party system is that if one party goes one way, the other party has to go the other way. Libertarian ideology can easily become a foundation for anti war sentiment, take Pat Buchanan, or Antiwar.com, or this article in the American Conservative. If this trend continues, what will become of the former left wing anti war movement? Will they ally with those on the right wing that feel the same, or will the movement remained divided in the face of the centrist pro war consensus.
Poll 331 votes Show Results Can America police itself? I am anti war, but I will never make common cause with any anti war people from the right, they oppose abortions. I am anti war and I am prepared to ally myself with anybody standing up to American militarism and atrocities I support Obama's wars, he's dong a great job wiht the escalation, but I support leftist antiwar rhetoric, so long as it's just rhetoric. I support Obama's wars, he's dong a great job wiht the escalation, and all antiwar activism is silly at this point. Paultards? Paultards! Honey, get me my donut! There is no difference between the parties on these issues, the Pentagon calls the shots, so why should there be a divide in the opposition? I don't know, I just wanted to avenge 9/11. Why has life become so complicated? Peacenik pie. 331 votes Vote Now! Can America police itself? I am anti war, but I will never make common cause with any anti war people from the right, they oppose abortions. 2% 8 votes I am anti war and I am prepared to ally myself with anybody standing up to American militarism and atrocities 237 votes I support Obama's wars, he's dong a great job wiht the escalation, but I support leftist antiwar rhetoric, so long as it's just rhetoric. 1% 2 votes I support Obama's wars, he's dong a great job wiht the escalation, and all antiwar activism is silly at this point. 2% 6 votes Paultards? Paultards! Honey, get me my donut! 2% 5 votes There is no difference between the parties on these issues, the Pentagon calls the shots, so why should there be a divide in the opposition? 53 votes I don't know, I just wanted to avenge 9/11. Why has life become so complicated? 2% 7 votes Peacenik pie. 4% 13 votes
As Obama escalates America's war in "AfPak," July is already the deadliest month of the war for foreign troops. An American POW is now in Taliban hands. As the US continues to rain down bombs on Pakistan, nearby countries become secondary theaters of combat, as insurgents link up with local rebels throughout Central Asia.
In response, the US will be "temporarily" increasing the size of the Army, while continuing its reliance on mercenaries both for force protection and interrogation needs.
This will be a quick update on the massive ongoing operation by 4,000 Marines in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. So far, 11 NATO troops have been killed in a 2 day period, mostly outside of Helmand and no significant engagements with the Taliban occurred. It now appears that the Taliban anticipated the offensive and have outflanked it, launching a counteroffensive in sectors weakly held by NATO allies or whose garrisons have been depleted for the operation.
The Marines intend to apply the clear and hold strategy of the Iraqi surge, setting up strongholds in the vital Helmand River Valley which produces much of the world's opium, and to enable the August presidential elections to be held there. This is a Pashtu area and Pashtu votes are supposed to benefit the Pashtu incumbent President Karzai.
No airstrikes or artillery have been used in this operation, in accordance with the new strategy for minimizing civilian casualties. However, the American airstrike campaign has intensified in Pakistan, with dozens of missile strikes killing an estimated 50 people this week alone.
Poll 24 votes Show Results Favorite operation name: Sword Strike Knights' Charge Iron Hammer Swordfish (we got to see Halle Berry's breasts in that one) Dumbo Drop Frequent Wind (helicopter evacatuion of Saigon in 1975) Dinner Out (French op in Afghanistan earlier this year) Pie Grab 24 votes Vote Now! Favorite operation name: Sword Strike 0% 0 votes Knights' Charge 3 votes Iron Hammer 4% 1 vote Swordfish (we got to see Halle Berry's breasts in that one) 7 votes Dumbo Drop 4 votes Frequent Wind (helicopter evacatuion of Saigon in 1975) 4% 1 vote Dinner Out (French op in Afghanistan earlier this year) 8% 2 votes Pie Grab 6 votes
Last Saturday, Honduras President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the country's military. The coup was quickly condemned by the world community. However, the US stopped short of calling it a coup or imposing any sactions on Honduras. President Obama said any disputes must be settled peacefully through negotiations that are free from outside interference, while Hillary added that "the US will work with the international community to see that Honduras returns to the rule of law and constitutional order within a relatively short period of time.". This of course is far short of an outright declaration, as a Honduras Supreme Court's decision and legslative consensus drove the coup.
The US knew about the impending coup beforehand, and at the very least influenced its timing. However, this fact is being spun as proof of "America's tragically waning influence" in the region. Is that believable?
Poll 143 votes Show Results The real US position on the coup in Honduras: Approved it beforehand when it was consulted by the coup leaders Failed to signal opposition when consulted, signaling tacit acceptance Happy to benefit from the deposition of a pro Chavez leader, but not willing to support it openly Adamantly opposed to it, but adamant Obama just sounds wishywashy because of his lack of rhetorical skills Mostly against it, but willing to allow others to take the lead and resolve the situation as they see fit. Indifferent. Honduras restoring itself to the US orbit or aligning with Chavez is a matter of no import to the US and has not been considered in any way. Extremely cautious. Why commit yourself to any course of action before you know which side will win and where public opinion will go? Perfectly pitched to strike an indeterminate note to allow good relations with whoever wins out. Pie like. 143 votes Vote Now! The real US position on the coup in Honduras: Approved it beforehand when it was consulted by the coup leaders 16 votes Failed to signal opposition when consulted, signaling tacit acceptance 17 votes Happy to benefit from the deposition of a pro Chavez leader, but not willing to support it openly 38 votes Adamantly opposed to it, but adamant Obama just sounds wishywashy because of his lack of rhetorical skills 3% 5 votes Mostly against it, but willing to allow others to take the lead and resolve the situation as they see fit. 16 votes Indifferent. Honduras restoring itself to the US orbit or aligning with Chavez is a matter of no import to the US and has not been considered in any way. 3% 4 votes Extremely cautious. Why commit yourself to any course of action before you know which side will win and where public opinion will go? 9% 13 votes Perfectly pitched to strike an indeterminate note to allow good relations with whoever wins out. 9% 13 votes Pie like. 21 votes
After some debate about the best P.R. strategy to spin continuing incidents of killing of civilians by American forces, the Pentagon released a deviously written "unclassified executive summary" of the report on the May 4th killing of about 100 Afghan civilians. This was timed to coincide with the announcement of an impending shift in counterinsurgency tactics, requiring commanders to verify whether any civilians are present in a target zone. If there are, US forces are to disengage, instead of calling in airstrikes, unless the soldiers are in imminent danger.
However, this new policy does not apply to Pakistan, where last week US airstrikes killed about 80 people at a funeral, mostly civilians, a new record in America’s undeclared war in Pakistan.
And a happy Iraqi Sovereignty Day to you all!
Poll 7 votes Show Results Favorite propaganda quote of the day: You need to give Afghans something to lose, so that they choose the Afghan government over the insurgents - something that has not happened in many parts of the country. A group of similarly sized adults moving in a tactical manner Ã<em>f</em>¢â,¬ We were saying only three were killed, when it was 90, and we finally admitted that yeah, OK, it was 33. Those were the bad old days, when we were not getting in there and checking stuff out. There were families who were killed by the Taliban with grenades and rifle fire that were then paraded about and shown as casualties from the air strike. That has not panned out and weÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>re not fooling with that anymore, unless we have some more compelling evidence. On the grenading, all weÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>ve got is h Even though privately they will tell you, Bombing a funeral is unusual and may be unprecedented. We are happy with our policy ... so I'm not seeing any pause or what do you call it, deficiency, in our strategy. Our strategy's perfect. Our strategy's good. Eradication of pie is a waste of money, It might destroy some acreage, but it didn't reduce the amount of money kos got by one dollar. It just helped kos. So we're going to phase out eradication. 7 votes Vote Now! Favorite propaganda quote of the day: You need to give Afghans something to lose, so that they choose the Afghan government over the insurgents - something that has not happened in many parts of the country. 1 vote A group of similarly sized adults moving in a tactical manner Ã<em>f</em>¢â,¬ 0% 0 votes We were saying only three were killed, when it was 90, and we finally admitted that yeah, OK, it was 33. Those were the bad old days, when we were not getting in there and checking stuff out. 1 vote There were families who were killed by the Taliban with grenades and rifle fire that were then paraded about and shown as casualties from the air strike. 1 vote That has not panned out and weÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>re not fooling with that anymore, unless we have some more compelling evidence. On the grenading, all weÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>ve got is h 0% 0 votes Even though privately they will tell you, 1 vote Bombing a funeral is unusual and may be unprecedented. 0% 0 votes We are happy with our policy ... so I'm not seeing any pause or what do you call it, deficiency, in our strategy. Our strategy's perfect. Our strategy's good. 1 vote Eradication of pie is a waste of money, It might destroy some acreage, but it didn't reduce the amount of money kos got by one dollar. It just helped kos. So we're going to phase out eradication. 2 votes
The Viking invasions were amazing in many ways. The Vikings were shrewd traders, intrepid explorers, fearsome fighters, navigating their way without maps from North America to the Middle East. Wherever they found themselves, the Vikings never hesitated to apply their limited but well practiced skills to gaining mastery of the situation. Like other conquerors in the past, they never lost confidence that their basic tactics and tools would be sufficient to gain victory over whatever foe they faced, and were successful more often than not.
The Vikings had a very strong concept of the dark fate they called "rok," the understanding that every man has his death hour and there is nothing that can be done to change it. In a way, the Viking Age was the last hurrah of stoic pagan fatalism over a paranoid monotheism which attributed all ills to a wrathful God and valued piety over valor. This strange interaction bore perhaps its most interesting fruit during the First Crusade, during which cynical Viking/Normans accompanied a horde of fervent Christians seeking to profit from their attempt to liberate the tomb of Christ.
If you are looking to get lost in some history on this sad day when the revolution seems to be floundering, I got some tales to tell you.
This diary completes a series regarding the significance of the constant infliction of civilian casualties by American and other Western forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I chronicle the functioning of the Pentagon machinery of denial and obfuscation that kicks in after every instance of a mass civilian casualty attack that attracts Western media attention. I also attempt to make clear that when civilian casualties are anticipated, planned for, and when entire departments exist to spin them away, then they can no longer be described away as "accidental." These casualties constitute an inevitable and planned for result of American policy.
The truth is that thousands of civilian casualties a year from American actions may be regrettable but do not rise to the level of negative consequence necessary to motivate the Pentagon to change its tactics, or to motivate the Obama Administration to alter its strategy, or to motivate the American public to put any pressure on its leadership to change its policy. As such, they must be viewed as an accepted consequence of American actions, and anyone who still supports the "AfPak" war must admit that they too view this as a small price to pay to achieve America's goals in the region.
Poll 17 votes Show Results Realizing that the Afghan War has thousands of civilian casualties as its anticipated consequence Makes me less inclined to support the war Makes me more inclined to suppor the war Makes no difference to me, because this is a necessary war and collateral damage is a sad necessity in this war Makes me proud of our troops for having the courage and the will to stain their hands with the blood of innocents in order to demonstrate our iron will to the enemy and to deny it safe havens Makes me a bit angry at the diarist for harping on them Makes me hungry for pie 17 votes Vote Now! Realizing that the Afghan War has thousands of civilian casualties as its anticipated consequence Makes me less inclined to support the war 9 votes Makes me more inclined to suppor the war 0% 0 votes Makes no difference to me, because this is a necessary war and collateral damage is a sad necessity in this war 2 votes Makes me proud of our troops for having the courage and the will to stain their hands with the blood of innocents in order to demonstrate our iron will to the enemy and to deny it safe havens 4 votes Makes me a bit angry at the diarist for harping on them 6% 1 vote Makes me hungry for pie 6% 1 vote
Don’t you know that we are your Pope, for our Pope is the Sword, and our Pope is never far from you.
In many ways, the Northern Crusades, a general term applied to the campaigns undertaken by various Catholic powers in Germany, Poland, the Baltics and Finland, though obscure today, produced the longest lasting and most significant consequences of any of the medieval Crusades, and also gave birth to traditions and institutions that lasted well into modernity. The need to recruit Crusaders from Europe to come and take part in never-ending warfare at the edge of the world also caused the evolution of very creative war fighting and marketing techniques that survive to this day.
The most fascinating of these were the Reisen, the great safari like trips that the Teutonic Order organized and marketed in the West to lure Western knights to this desolate land to take part in a great chivalrous adventure and hone their martial skills while cleansing their souls with the blood of the unbelievers. The deliberate mythology of the Reise, cultivated by the Teutonic Order, spread to every corner of Europe and the "Reysa" is even mentioned by Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales. Curious?
Poll 107 votes Show Results Marcion should: Write more historical diaries like this Write more Chronicles of the Good War and other mocking exposes of modern American militarism Write more about his utopian vision of a world where artificial scarcity is abolished Not write any more diaries because heÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>s a bad writer and his diaries are boring, preachy and one-sided Not write any more diaries because heÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>s not a good Democrat and has no place on the DailyKos 4 and 5 Maike his diaries shorter Learn to proofread or hire a proofreading monkey Eat some pie and shut up 107 votes Vote Now! Marcion should: Write more historical diaries like this 78 votes Write more Chronicles of the Good War and other mocking exposes of modern American militarism 4% 4 votes Write more about his utopian vision of a world where artificial scarcity is abolished 5% 5 votes Not write any more diaries because heÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>s a bad writer and his diaries are boring, preachy and one-sided 1% 1 vote Not write any more diaries because heÃ<em>f</em>¢â,¬<sup>TM</sup>s not a good Democrat and has no place on the DailyKos 0% 0 votes 4 and 5 0% 0 votes Maike his diaries shorter 5% 5 votes Learn to proofread or hire a proofreading monkey 5% 5 votes Eat some pie and shut up 8% 9 votes
You might remember the recent American bombing that killed around 100 Afghan civilians in the western Farah province of Afghanistan. But have you ever wondered, what kind of bomb does it take to kill so many people at once, and has the Western coalition taken any steps in order to minimize such high casualties when they bomb residential compounds.
Well, I found the answer (the Brits blabbed), and it turns out that the Pentagon has intentionally modified both aircraft and shoulder fired missiles with chemical warheads that are designed to spread a high pressure wave through an entire building, going from room to room, killing everybody in the targeted compound and then burying them under a collapsed roof. Aren’t you happy knowing that with every use of these weapons on residential compounds, we are that much closer to victory over the terrorists that stalk us? Would you like to know more about these underreported weapons of freedom?
Poll 52 votes Show Results Using thermobaric weapons against residential compounds in Iraq and Afghanistan is: Bringing us every closer to victory. Look at Iraq, we totally won that already thanks to our awesome firepower. Will finally end the cycle of grief and retribution that follows the killings of family members, by burying the entire family all at once. As they say, one suspected Taliban fighter spoils the whole batch of civilians and condmens them all to death. Now that they are being used on Obama's orders, I don't have a problem iwth them, but wish they would now be called ThermoBarrack weapons I have some concerns. But what are you gonig to do, Bin Laden was known to be in Afghanistan as recently as 8 years ago. American liberation campaigns operate on the principle of "give them liberty or give them death." Since we can't really give them liberty, you do the math. Look, I feel bad for these hundreds of people, suddenly buried together and forced to watch their loved ones die in horrying pain, but this is the time for health care reform, so let's not distract Obama with these unforturate trivialities. War is hell and these missiles are called Helffire, so everything seems to add up. What's Pashtu for "zero tolerance?" Those civilians have it coming for being unable to stand up to the heavily armed bands of militants who enter their villages. While these weapons may be brutal, we cannot afford to fall behind in our arms race with the Taliban. A lot of them have automatic rifles now. Can we please consider maybe scaling this war down a little, maybe take the atrocities against civilians down 10 percent? Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now. I have to go wash my hands, they have spots on them. Thermobaric pie is designed to burn you beyond recognition and bury you. In flavor. 52 votes Vote Now! Using thermobaric weapons against residential compounds in Iraq and Afghanistan is: Bringing us every closer to victory. Look at Iraq, we totally won that already thanks to our awesome firepower. 5 votes Will finally end the cycle of grief and retribution that follows the killings of family members, by burying the entire family all at once. 5 votes As they say, one suspected Taliban fighter spoils the whole batch of civilians and condmens them all to death. 2% 1 vote Now that they are being used on Obama's orders, I don't have a problem iwth them, but wish they would now be called ThermoBarrack weapons 6 votes I have some concerns. But what are you gonig to do, Bin Laden was known to be in Afghanistan as recently as 8 years ago. 0% 0 votes American liberation campaigns operate on the principle of "give them liberty or give them death." Since we can't really give them liberty, you do the math. 4% 2 votes Look, I feel bad for these hundreds of people, suddenly buried together and forced to watch their loved ones die in horrying pain, but this is the time for health care reform, so let's not distract Obama with these unforturate trivialities. 2% 1 vote War is hell and these missiles are called Helffire, so everything seems to add up. 5 votes What's Pashtu for "zero tolerance?" Those civilians have it coming for being unable to stand up to the heavily armed bands of militants who enter their villages. 2% 1 vote While these weapons may be brutal, we cannot afford to fall behind in our arms race with the Taliban. A lot of them have automatic rifles now. 4% 2 votes Can we please consider maybe scaling this war down a little, maybe take the atrocities against civilians down 10 percent? 0% 0 votes Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now. 18 votes I have to go wash my hands, they have spots on them. 6% 3 votes Thermobaric pie is designed to burn you beyond recognition and bury you. In flavor. 6% 3 votes
Here is part 2 of my eagerly unawated series on the parallels between the Crusader states of the Near East and Israel.
While they were technically up against numerically and logistically stronger foes who were fighting on their home turf, both Israel and Outremer had initial advantages that led to quick early victories. However, as the Muslim opponents grew accustomed to these tactics, they were able to adjust, negate, and in time, begin to overcome the initially stronger invaders. In less than a century, the military advantage that the knights had enjoyed during the First Crusader was completely gone as a result of the evolution of enemy tactics and power structure. The failure of the Crusader state to adapt in turn was rooted in its chaotic political system and in demographics.
How these same factors will play out for Israel remains to be seen, but I’ll try to figure out on the other side.
As Obama's strategy for Afghanistan takes shape and the new commanders (well, not so much new as reassigned or given a good talking to) hit the ground running, let's find out how things are going. The Taliban spring offensive is underway, the levels of violence have never been higher, April set a record for airstrikes and corresponding civilian casualties, disputed and unsubstantiated of course. Tens of thousands of American soldiers are pouring in to the most volatile areas, pushing deep into Taliban controlled territory and setting forward operating bases where their job will be to draw constant fire.
In historic times like these, it's important to pay attention to what is happening so that we may more fully appreciate the brilliance of our Commander in Chief in escalating and conducting this war. This edition of the Chronicles answers such important and interesting questions as: What's the deal with constant overblown Afghan claims regarding civilian casualties? Who is the new commander, Gen. McChrystal and why is he awesome? How are our troops feeling? and Where is the Taliban getting its weapons? Would you like to know more?
Poll 46 votes Show Results Are we going to win this war or what? Hell yeah! After a long struggle, our more powerful will, intellect and morality shall prevail. With God on our side, we cannot lose. Obama says we will knock them out! You just gotta trust this guy, he knows things. This is a long war, but our grandchilden will probably win this one as long as we raise them right after our children die at the front. A few more Bush era commanders might have to be replaced before I feel hopeful. This war is unwinnable. It was winnable in 2001, but then Bush screwed it up. Damn you, Bush! Graveyard of Empires doesn't sound good. I'm a little worried. Once we finish the withdrawal from Iraq sometime in 2028, we should really consider a drawdown in Afghanistan as well. We never had a chance. Withdraw now before more people die. Non-blueberry pie. I could have sworn I put in a bunch of blueberries in there, but the US military was only able to confirm 3. Sorry about that. 46 votes Vote Now! Are we going to win this war or what? Hell yeah! 9% 4 votes After a long struggle, our more powerful will, intellect and morality shall prevail. 7% 3 votes With God on our side, we cannot lose. 5 votes Obama says we will knock them out! You just gotta trust this guy, he knows things. 7% 3 votes This is a long war, but our grandchilden will probably win this one as long as we raise them right after our children die at the front. 4% 2 votes A few more Bush era commanders might have to be replaced before I feel hopeful. 7% 3 votes This war is unwinnable. It was winnable in 2001, but then Bush screwed it up. Damn you, Bush! 6 votes Graveyard of Empires doesn't sound good. I'm a little worried. 7% 3 votes Once we finish the withdrawal from Iraq sometime in 2028, we should really consider a drawdown in Afghanistan as well. 5 votes We never had a chance. Withdraw now before more people die. 10 votes Non-blueberry pie. I could have sworn I put in a bunch of blueberries in there, but the US military was only able to confirm 3. Sorry about that. 4% 2 votes
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