War Of The Worlds Gets A Revamp Some 34 Years After The First Invasion Of Earth

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Netizens In China Are Coming Into Their Own And This Signals A Social Revolution

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Illegal Downloads Are Still Embarrassingly Frequent

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The US Surge Is Over, Mr Karzai. Now What Are You Going To Do From Now On?

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Claud Monbar writes from Kabul: The last of the 33,000 US surge troops hit continental America this week and, as everyone knows, President Hamid Karzai needs to start getting used to the idea that from now on it’s increasingly his war.

There’s no hiding in Kabul from the reality of the US exit from Helmand. We all knew they were going. They said so months ago. We all feel just as safe. In other words, we never felt safe anyway.

But the toughie comes now: what will the US do with the 68,000 troops it has left? The answer: they’ll do everything possible to keep them alive and not end up on the Taliban score sheet. If that makes it all sound some sort of game then you’ve hit it in one. That’s what this whole thing has been since 2001 – a mean, bad and ugly game played by the Americans and their mostly European yes men.

A whole shed-load of US and British officers have gone to Afghanistan in search of promotion. Show a soldier a war and he has to go. That’s what he is hired to do but with no Afghan row of medals, then he may as well take a career break.

Sad to say, in all wars it’s mostly the dudes who get killed in action on their service records. The ranchers get to be one, two and maybe even three stars. The irony is that however high or low you get on the military pay-grade in that overwhelmingly beautiful country, you still don’t fix the war.

At one time the blatantly obvious cliché-ridden one star with a name to make would spew out the conventional wisdom that there was no military solution to Afghanistan, only a political one. No one stood up and said wait a minute: without a military solution there cannot be a political one. In other words what are we doing in yet another fire fight that everyone knows we’re going to quit when shrouds get as common as empty gum wrappers?

So it has been with the surge. Talk to the Afghan insiders and they’ll tell you bluntly that they weren’t too happy when the surge troops arrived and they’re hardly sorry now that they’ve gone. If that sounds illogical considering the curb on Taliban activity during the surge, then it is not. It is part of the considerable opinion that says the American surge alienated many Afghans and that the Taliban capitalised on that US unpopularity.

This ignores the fact that many towns and cities in Kandahar and Helmand are better off from the big US influx that sent the Taliban going for cover. Now the last helmets are hung up in the US, the people there are waiting for the Taliban’s return. The statistics tell us something we have to learn about this war.

Afghanistan is split into about 400 districts. Between 45 and 50 per cent of all attacks on the people, the government and the ISAF forces take place in the ten southern districts. Want to see a war? That’s the place to go. Always has been. And don’t be fooled by the ISAF-NATO numbers.

The truth is this: killings are as great as when the surge troops arrived. In the first six months of 2010, 1267 civilians were killed. In the first six months of 2012, 1145 have been killed. Not much in it if you’re trying to claim success.

So who covers the US pull out? In theory, Afghan troops. British and American commanders tell pliant TV crews that the ANA are fine soldiers and the training has done a good job. They do not say that unlike the Taliban who are dedicated fighters, the ANA and especially the police are not dedicated. No commitment. Commitment gets you killed.

Simply, the ANA and police have not filled the gap left by the departed US surge troops and worse, they never will whatever the ISAF hand outs tell you.

The Taliban have a saying: “the Americans have all the watches and we [Taliban] have all the time”. In other words, when ISAF goes we will take over. Better believe it.

–End–

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http://www.stirringtroubleinternationally.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/goinghome-300x169.jpg comedy, news, satire September 25, 2012 at 12:19AM via Posterous http://kohlerfyre.posterous.com/the-us-surge-is-over-mr-karzai-now-what-are-y

China Washes Its Dirty Linen In Public. And Sends Conflicting Signals

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The US Surge Is Over, Mr Karzai. Now What Are You Going To Do From Now On?

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Around The World With ITAR-TASS: Of Deadly Bounties And Factory Brawls

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Why Is It That Republicans Love The Duchess Of Cambridge So Much?

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Ben Delicious writes from London: If you are one of those mugs who roll their eyes and squeal with delight when they hear about the Duchess of Cambridge, formerly Kate Middleton, then this one is not for you. You can go back to watching trash on the box or reading celeb magazines. But if you have a cynical view of that supposed ‘match made in heaven’, then let me entertain you with a bit of sarcasm on the subject.

Why do you think republicans love Katie so much? Because, ladies and gents, she suits their cause perfectly. I mean, only seriously thick people might be under the impression that she is a perfect match for the second in line to the throne. In fact, if we are ruthlessly blunt about it, she was probably least fitted to be Prince William’s consort and future queen. She may have been suitable as his mistress for eight long years, although I have my serious doubts about it, but becoming a member of the Royal Family was a disaster.

The biggest giveaway of the conspiracy by the republicans to plug Kate Middleton as the new best thing for the British monarchy is the campaign in the media to promote a stupid idea that she has made the Royal Family look ‘exciting and vibrant and modern’. The problem with Katie is that she is plain and simple and all attempts to make her look like some fashion and style icon fail miserably, just as it sounds absolutely absurd when she is compared to Princess Diana. Even more preposterous are the claims that Buckingham Palace is worried that this unremarkable woman would – wait for it – ‘overshadow’ Prince William. This is a bit like saying that the Beatles were worried about competition with Cliff Richard. So stupid it sounds.

The Duchess of Cambridge can only appeal to people who watch Eastenders and Coronation Street religiously, as they can associate themselves with her. Her story is a chav’s version of the Cinderella story. You know, a simple, unremarkable woman is suddenly propelled into royalty. That is why every time Katie comes out in some high street dress all the simpletons rush to buy it. (I will never believe that intelligent women want to look like the duchess.)

The problem with this whole ‘fairy tale marriage’ is that it has nothing of a fairy tale about it. Ms Middleton was quite determined in her quest to ‘bag her prince’ and used every trick in the book to get him to marry her. It was a cold, calculating operation on her part and if Prince Charles had had any sense he would have put an end to this relationship once and for all. The interests of the British monarchy had nothing to do with the ambitions of the Middleton family to become related to the royals. It’s not some Monaco where the local royals marry actresses and stewardesses, seeing nothing wrong with it.

The recent scandal with the duchess’ topless photos proved once again that the republican lobby is firmly on her side, using her to drag the Royal Family down. I actually think that she is going to spell the end of the British monarchy. Don’t get me wrong, it will continue to exist but it will lack any substance and be insignificant, just like all those mainland European monarchies. The republicans, who are currently staying quiet, having concluded that the Queen is simply way too popular to be attacked openly, are bracing themselves for the change of monarchs. And then they will go on the offensive and scale down the monarchy to the level of some farcical tourist attraction. And Katie would play into their hands perfectly.

– End –

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http://www.stirringtroubleinternationally.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/williamandkate2-300x169.jpg comedy, news, satire September 24, 2012 at 05:33PM via Posterous http://kohlerfyre.posterous.com/why-is-it-that-republicans-love-the-duchess-o

Why Is It That Republicans Love The Duchess Of Cambridge So Much?

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Arab Spring Has A Lot To Do With The Violence Over The Anti-Islam Film

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Bin The iPhone 5. It Hasn’t A Clue Where We Are But We’re Surely Heading For The Wrong Place.

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What’s New On The British Music Scene? Well, For One, The South Koreans Are Here

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Imagining Things. Like The CIA Waterboarding The Producer Of That Anti-Islam Movie

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Asking: How Many Of Those Protesters Actually Saw That ‘Offensive Film’?

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The MOBO Awards Roll Into Town. The Nominations Are Announced.

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In The News In UK: Man Says Things To Another Man At A Gate. Masses Are Outraged

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Georgia B: A star Is Born In Trevor Nunn’s Must See Show – Ayckbourn’s

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Shaken Not Stirred. Adele To Sing In The New James Bond Film

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To Redistribute Or Not To Redistribute: That Is The Question Facing Americans

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Why Is It That People Fall For Trashy Singing And Dancing Contests On The Box?

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