Happy 4th of July long weekend, all kos-friends!

25 letters would really really help!

In a continuation of bizzaroworld's concept of 'Supporting the Troops", 2,000 Marines will be further 'supported' by having their tours extended.

Happy Fourth of July and remember, you're fighting for 'Freedom' - even if you yourself are being treated like an indentured servant...... oh wait - even THEY couldn't have the terms of their indenture changed...... make that "being treated WORSE than an indentured servant"

details below

Why Bush and McCain let Osama bin Laden Escape

The answer is clear. Read on.

For the second month in a row, CNN reports that US and coalition deaths in Afghanistan have surpassed those in Iraq. Tonight we honor the memories of three soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey M. Radamorales, Master Sgt. Shawn E. Simmons, and Sgt. James M. Treber, who died in a non-combat related vehicle accident in Afghanistan, and a marine, Staff Sgt. Edgar A. Heredia, who was killed while supporting combat operations in Farah Province in Afghanistan.

Please follow me below the fold to learn more about these four men who sacrificed their lives for this country.

That's the headline in this morning's Washington Post..and again I started to think about the losses.

I was born in a small town in South Georgia.  The people there are as united in their patriotism and religion as any place I have ever been.  That said, I am confident it is no different from thousands of other small towns in America where God and country come first with family a close second.  When America is in trouble, these are the towns first to send their youth to places where they will be in harm’s way.

In January, 2006 outraged that her country was illegally imprisoning people at Guantanamo, Mahvish Rukhsana — a journalist and recent law school graduate — volunteered to translate for the prisoners and eventually began representing an Afghan detainee. She has since published the stories of the detainees she has met in the newly-released book, My Guantanamo Diary. For more information, please visit http://www.mahvishkhan.com.

The work that lawyers like Rukhsana have done to advocate on behalf of these detainees contributed to a recent Supreme Court ruling to grant habeas corpus to all Guantanamo prisoners. That is why I felt so privileged to be able to talk to her about the importance of upholding the Constitution and restoring our international reputation. My interview with Rukhsana was conducted just before the Supreme Court's landmark ruling, and has been edited down to narrative form. [cross-posted from www.progressivefuture.org]

Update: The NY Times says this is the deadliest month in the entire Afghan war.

Twenty seven American soldiers died in Afghanistan in June, just three fewer than died in Iraq.  These deaths should be added to the cost of the Iraq War, because the Bush and neocon focus on Saddam Hussein drew us out of Afghanistan and caused this protracted war.

We would likely still be in Afghanistan had we not invaded Iraq, but the Taliban and al Qaeda would be nowhere near as strong or control so much of the country.  This strength and control have destabilized things to such an extent that public works, government and recovery programs are unable to succeed.  That then filters into a sense of misery for the public, who then turn to the only alternative -- the Taliban and al Qaeda.  And thus a vicious circle is born.

On Saturday we learned that the army’s official historian is about to issue the second volume of its account of the war in Iraq. The army does this sort of thing routinely so they can learn from their experience. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The first volume covered the invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein and concluded that, regardless of what one thinks about the war, it went well.

The second volume is about the ugly. How the Bush administration did not have a Plan B beyond they-will-welcome-us-as-liberators-and-immediately-become a-Western-style-democracy.

Almost five years ago, my small town lost one of it's sons in Iraq. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin C. Kimmerly died when an RPG hit his vehicle near Baghdad. He was 31 years old and left behind a wife and young son (in addition to many relatives and friends).

At the time, I wasn't yet registered here, but I diaried about his funeral on another forum, and you canread it here (if you wish).

Last Thursday, we lost another, this time in Afghanistan.

Tonight we honor the memories of three Guardsmen and a Green Beret – all killed in action in Afghanistan last week. Making the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country was completely in character for these men who all had dedicated their lives to service at an early age.

Sgt. 1st Class Joseph A. McKay, 51, of Brooklyn, NY, was born on the 4th of July. He joined the New York Army National Guard more than 30 years ago, had also served in Iraq and had guarded Grand Central and Penn Station in the days following 9/11.

Sgt. 1st Class Matthew L. Hilton, 37, of Livonia, MI, had been a reservist for 18 years and served in Iraq prior to volunteering for his most recent mission to Afghanistan.

Spc. Mark C. Palmateer, 38, of Poughkeepsie, NY wanted to serve his country all his life and his daughter recalled he would do anything for anybody.

Staff Sgt. Travis K. Hunsberger of Goshen Indiana, may have only been 24, but had accomplished much in that time – excelling as a Green Beret on his second tour in Afghanistan.

Please join me beyond the fold to celebrate their lives and mourn their loss.

The domain of foreign policy credentials and qualifications is purported to be a strength of John McCain. I doubt there are too many members of this site who see it that way. Obviously, what needs to be addressed is how to effectively communicate our misgivings. The weaknesses in the McCain portfolio would probably require a book to list, yet we saw this weekend how difficult it is to even raise the question of McCain's experience. In that light, I want to examine those issues which can and cannot be addressed profitably in this regard.  

Compared to 20th century conflicts, there is remarkably little iconic war imagery from Iraq and Afghanistan. Battlespace collects some striking photos -- I can only look at a few of them at a time.  Below the fold there's a video podcast from Daylight Magazine, with narration from photographer Michael Kamber; and today's image from Battlespace.

"He stayed as long as he could, and then came back the next day, and the next, and every day since."

Does anyone still doubt that George W. Bush never made capturing Osama bin Laden a priority in this "War on Terror"? If so, you can lay those doubts to rest.

ABC News:

The Pentagon has drafted a secret plan that would send U.S. special forces into the wild tribal regions of Pakistan to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, but the White House has balked at giving the mission a green light, The New York Times reported today.
...
Although the special forces attack plan was devised six months ago, infighting among U.S. intelligence agencies and among White House offices have blocked it from being implemented, the Times reported.

Follow me below the fold for more.

  Intuitively, a lot of people understand that war and a fragile economy are related. But, nothing brought home the connection better than the death of Andrew Seabrooks. His life, and death, speak more about what we face than any politician's rhetoric.

Today on CBS' Face the Nation, Senator Joseph Lieberman offered a blunt reason for why we should vote for Senator John McCain instead of Senator Barack Obama;

"Our enemies will test the new president early," said Lieberman.  "Remember that the truck bombing of the World Trade Center happened in the first year of the Clinton administration. 9/11 happened in the first year of the Bush administration."

Jonathan Martin of Politico comes away from that statement with the following observation;

That is some statement -- and one that I doubt Lieberman just hatched over coffee in the Green Room.

Now for my response.

Has the Bush Administration learned nothing from 9/11?   A pre-occupation with Iraq before 9/11 distracted the Administration from focusing on the threat posed by al-Qaeda.  Now, as the Administration seems pre-occupied with Iran, the New York Times reports on how Washington infighting is allowing al-Qaeda to reconstitute and regenerate in Pakistan.

It is a good read and it highlights the deep divisions within the government concerning how and where to use manpower and resources.  But deep in the story is a quote from US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker that I hope we never come to regret:

“I do wonder if it’s in fact the case that Al Qaeda has really reconstituted itself to a pre-9/11 capability, and in fact I would say I seriously doubt that,” said Mr. Crocker, the American ambassador to Pakistan between 2004 and 2006 and currently the ambassador to Iraq.

“Their top-level leadership is still out there, but they’re not communicating and they’re not moving around. I think they’re symbolic more than operationally effective,” Mr. Crocker said.

However, the boots on the ground beg to differ.

This weekend Paddy Ashdown was interviewed in the BBC's Hardtalk strandabout Afghanistan. In it he predicted that there would have to be western military involvement in the country for thirty years just to deny it as a base for training Al Qaeda.

Lord Ashdown is no armchair expert on the country. At one stage he was proposed as the UN representative in Afghanistan, having been UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2006. A former leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, he was also approached to join the  Gordon Brown government. He declined but wrote a briefing paper for Brown on Afghanistan.

The program's home page (link above) does not have details up as yet but watch for it on the various BBC stations as it is broadcast internationally as well as on the BBC News channel.