The Dogs Of War: Troops Obama Forgot To Mention

Recently President Obama has ordered roughly 21,000 additional troops to deploy to Afghanistan in hopes of gaining ground in the fight against the Taliban and AL-Qaeda. In the coming days, you will hear stories of the Army, Marine, and State Department personnell who will be heading to the mountains and valleys of Afghanistan. What you won't hear on the big three networks is the stories behind the already over 700 military dogs and their handlers who are deployed in Afghanistan.

Let me introduce you to the real "Dogs of War".

Click Here for the Video on these dedicated and heroic troops that bark, sniff and bite their way through Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of service.

Pro-Solution Takes a Hit

One issue "pro-solution" activists constantly face in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the question of balance. It's no secret that Israel often uses excessive force to deter its opponents, but is it justified? Some say that such overwhelming force--and even collective punishment--is exactly what is needed to stem the various enemies of the state. Others, however, say that such disproportionality only inflames the situation and creates more terrorists. This dilemma is ever lurking for peaceniks.

The most recent pro-solution activism to make its way into the news has been from a peace movement in Europe called Peace Cycle. Their mission, simply put, is to convince the EU to cut trade ties with Israel by getting its followers to participate in a bike ride from The Hague to Brussels.

The groups said in an interview with Al Arabiya: "We believe that we have witnessed extreme violations of human rights in the occupied territories and we are going to the European Parliament to tell MEPs what we have witnessed and to ask them to suspend the association agreement..."

So again, the same paradox. Many Israeli supporters would label such a group as being "anti-Israeli." Yet, as I'm typing this post, I can think of a good half-dozen Arabs who would say that cutting trade ties is worthless.

Perhaps it's just how my one time professor and ex UN big wig, John Stoessinger once said, “I know I’m being objective when I’m getting it from both sides.”

Israel under an 'Iron Dome'

I'm skeptical of anything I read on CNN's website, but I'm even more skeptical that the Iron Dome rocket shield in Israel will work. In short, the Iron Dome is a portable defense unit that shoots incoming rockets out of the sky. Though your not going to see this baby used for anything like shooting down Saddam's SCUD's, it is designed for lighter weapons—like Hamas's Qassams, Grads ETC.

But com'on, do we really think this new--and very expensive--system can stop the rockets from Gaza? Or, perhaps more to the point, how much more is it going to cost Israel to shoot down a homemade Qassam than for a Palestinian in Gaza to make it?

Oh, readership... I beg for your wisdom.

Update: ABC News has just reported that Israel has conducted 3 air strikes inside of the Sudan since January.

Hezbollah IS Rebuilding Lebanon

So, the AP has released a video that supports the rebuilding efforts and funding by Hezbollah in Beirut. One main reason why the population consistently supports this organization. Check out the video:

Click Here For the Video

Iran is most likely not far removed.

Success in Afghanistan? Could It Be?

Is there a difference between humanitarian efforts and military strategy for success in Afghanistan? Not sure, but I know there should'nt be. So do we have success stories in Afghanistan? Yep, we do, and here is one: Kunar Province.

Aparently, despite recent reports in most media outlets, the U.S. Military is reporting that Kunar Province has actually improved significantly. So what is the deal with this province? Well...

During both the Soviet occupation, and the more recent conflicts involving U.S., Afghan and NATO forces, Kunar has been a favoured spot of insurgent groups. Its impenetrable terrain, extensive cave networks and border with the semi-autonomous Pakistani NorthWest Frontier PRovince provides several advantages for militant groups. The province is informally known as "Enemy Central" by American troops.

Like many of the mountainous eastern provinces of Afghanistan, the groups involved in armed conflict vary greatly in strength and purpose. Native Taliban forces mingle with foreign AL-Qaeda (al-Qaida) fighters, while mujahadeen militias, such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, continue to operate as they did in the chaotic post-Soviet years. Another strong militia in the region is the Hezbi Islami faction of the late Mulavi Younas Khalis, who had his headquarters in neighbouring Nurestan Province.

Compounding the problems of the province is an extensive criminal trade in smuggled lumber and other natural resources. This criminal activity is often organized along tribal lines, and has led to intense deforestation in some areas.

Yes, it is true that the Province is experiencing an increase in projects and services by the U.S. military, and yes, the numbers of casualties are much less than the ones experienced under Soviet rule, but is this a good comparison? It's still poor, still dangerous, still infiltrated by insurgents. Hey, this is Afghanistan remember...we tend to leave before the mission is complete. Thinks we will follow our pattern?

Pakistan: The New "Hot" Country

Quetta, teeming refugee camps, wide open border, this is Border Region Pakistan. Love it or hate it, Pakistan will be the new headline for years to come. It is the linchpin in the Afghan war. It is the key to the struggle with the Taliban, forces that have been in and out of Pakistan for the last 30 years since the United States waged a proxy war with the Soviets through them in the 1970's.

Here we are, some 30 years after supporting the Taliban, fighting a war in Afghanistan and along the border of Pakistan, trying to make progress in a region that has a long history of resistance. So, the reason for the post is to simply outline the three main areas that need attention if we plan on making any progress in this conflict. Here they are:

1) Quetta. This is the U.S.'s and Pakistans biggest problem city. It's poor, it's dangerous, it's filled with Taliban, Al-Qaida, and tons of other criminals alike. But it is also home to millions of others whom we cannot distinguish from each other. Go get em cowboys.

2)Teeming Refugee Camps: After the Soviet Afghan War, Pakistan was left to deal with Afghani Refugee Camps filled with people who fled the counrty to escape the violence. Over the last 30 years, these camps have become home for many. Children have grown up there, adults have made it home, and Taliban have infiltrated these camps like butter on a hot biscuit. Many of the camps are only a few miles from the border, and easy safe haven for fleeing Taliban and Al-Qaida .

3)Wide Open Border: I'm not even sure this needs explanation. The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is worse than swiss cheese, at least the cheese tastes good on bread. Neither side is doing even a decent job at policing the few border checkpoints that do exist. Fix this first and foremost.

So that's the quick and dirty on Pakistan Border regions.

Think 17,000 troops will solve the problem? I don't. But I guess it's a start.

UPDATE: Obama administration has ordered 4000 additional support elements to deploy to Afghanistan. Many are billitted to train the Afghan Army and police force.

I still think it will take more than just an additional 21,000.

The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering International Terrorism

So check it out people, the British government today published its new strategy for counter terrorism, which is being referred to as Contest Two. Created by the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, the report outlines the plan for the UK's counter terrorism agenda.

Touted by Londonstani on the popular blog Abu Muqawama as "possibly the most eagerly awaited government report in the UK since Tony Blair's government made the case for the war in Iraq by "borrowing" big chunks of an Arab American's postgraduate research." the report, which was rumored to include many controversial elements, appears to have toned itself down.

Yet the report is not without its dubious and sometimes perverse moments of clarity within...

The Roosters comments after reading the first 40 pages or so:

"It will be interesting to see how they plan to separate foreign policy critics from the fold of promoters of extremism. A scary part of the document: "revocation of citizenship" for those deemed a "threat"...

Interesting new department: The police: Prevent Strategy and Delivery Plan with 300 new "ringfenced" staff being recruited in 24 forces to work alongside the national and regional counter-terrorism policing structure and with neighbourhood policing teams."

I'm curious how religious and political freedoms advocates will respond to the report.

Most interesting part so far in my opinion:

"The internet presents significant challenges for CONTEST in general and Prevent in particular. The Government has taken action here to explore ways of addressing the widespread dissemination of terrorist related material. This material is usually hosted outside this country. Further action is being taken with counterparts overseas and with multilateral organisations, including the European Union and the United Nations."

Is this a precursor to a new era of cyberwarfare? International Internet rules and regulations, and U.N. WWW regulating agency? I'd like to see a legitimate International World Court with some actual teeth first."

Check out the report and sound off in the comments section, if you dare...

From Tel Aviv to Beirut: A surfing odyssey through the Eastern Mediterranean

Dear Readership,

This is a draft of a little something I am working on. Enjoy!

Two years ago, bouncing in a taxicab just outside of the war-torn city of Beirut, I noticed something that many travelers overlook—the shackin’ sandbar barrels of the Lebanese shore. Perhaps it was fate that detoured me to the makeshift road after an airstrike took out the northern bridge. It was at this moment I knew I would be back to surf this slice of the Mediterranean.

I am a 24-year-old surfer and writer who grew up in Santa Barbara, CA. My youth was filled with flyin’ down the highway to catch the evening glass at Rincon. Driving the California coast is as natural to me as setting up for a frothy winter barrel. But I’m not just a surf adventurist. I am the editor of the cutting-edge Middle Eastern blog www.bloggingthecasbah.com, and have published many articles ranging from the Santa Barbara Independent to the Ma’an News Agency, the largest Palestinian news outlet.

This June I’m taking advantage of my nominal Jewishness by going on a subsidized trip to Israel, where I plan to write a travel piece about surfing the biblical coastline that has been hastily divided into Israel and Lebanon. The looming irony to this travel is that the distance between these two surf breaks is no farther than what I am used to driving in California. Yet, in the Middle East, I am going to have to go through a number of countries to get there.

Keep in mind that the border between Israel and Lebanon is closed, as is the border between Israel and Syria. So, I will surf the Israeli coast as my starting point. Then I will move eastward, through the occupied West Bank, over the King Hussein Bridge into Jordan. I will then go to the Jordanian airport to obtain an entry visa that will make my second American passport look like I entered the Middle East via Jordan. Why the second passport, you may ask? Because those humorless Syrian border guards slam the gate on every Tom, Dick and Harry with an Israeli stamp or suspicious gap in their passport. Oh, the politics!

When I get to the Syrian border, I will have to wait all day in the wax-melting Arabian sun for a transit visa to Lebanon, where I will then depend on local hospitality to carry me to the salty shores of the Lebanese Mediterranean. What is just a simple coastal drive in California is a detour of absurd proportions in the Middle East.

Yet the allure of this trip is not just the crazed concept of surfing the Eastern Mediterranean, it is a modern-day odyssey through an ancient land that has truly been slandered by dry political pundits and divided by warring factions. Armed with the charm of a California surfer, I will present the readers with a fusion of revealing banter, political passport shuffling, ancient-to-modern culture and a healthy dose of satire and smartassery.

Gates, F-22 and the Military Industrial Complex

A little update on Gates and his jihad against the Military Industrial Complex. Can you believe the Boston Globe Editorial staff has it out for this guy?

Most important of all is the common-sense practicality Gates has displayed in discussing the defense-spending choices America must make. Obvious as it may sound to the average taxpayer, Gates is piercing an elaborate marketing mythology each time he observes that the government should not buy high-tech weapons that are useless in the actual counterinsurgency conflicts Americans are fighting - and are likely to be fighting in the future.

Gates was uncommonly candid in congressional testimony last month about one of the most expensive items in the Pentagon budget, the F-22 Raptor fighter plane. "The reality is we are fighting two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said, "and the F-22 has not performed a single mission in either theater." This is not what mavens of the military-industrial complex want lawmakers to hear from a secretary of defense. The Air Force has thus far bought nearly 200 F-22s for more than $62 billion. Yet this is a state-of-the art flying machine built to match up against fighter planes that only the United States possesses.