Free Talk Live

Imagine, for a moment, that a US ally that is not Israel - say, Turkey - killed an unarmed American civilian on an unarmed ship in international waters by four bullets to the head at close range.

Short blog talking about US tax dollars going to support the Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan. One "positive" take away from this story? The "Representative" US gubmint is now a little more representative.

The U.S.-led wars, albeit alleged to be "humanitarian intervention" efforts and for "the rise of a new democratic nation," created humanitarian disasters instead. For Iraqis, the death toll in the U.S.-initiated Iraq war stands at 655,000 (Tribune Business News, December 15, 2011). According to figures released by the Iraq Body Count, at least 103,536 civilians were killed in the Iraq war (Reuters, December 18, 2011). In 2011, there were an average of 6.5 deaths per day from suicide attacks and vehicle bombs (www.iraqbodycount.org).

The London Ontario Police officer who fired 19 bullets at a fleeing robber - hitting homes, sheds and decks - won't face criminal charges.

"When the US invaded Iraq in March 2003, the Bush administration estimated that it would cost $50-60bn to overthrow Saddam Hussein and establish a functioning government. This estimate was catastrophically wrong: the war in Iraq has cost $823.2bn between 2003 and 2011. Some estimates suggesting that it may eventually cost as much as $3.7tn when factoring in the long-term costs of caring for the wounded and the families of those killed."

Two International Security Assistance Force troops were killed in one of two helicopter crashes Monday in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. Separately, three police and four tribal elders were killed in a roadside bombing, police said. The first helicopter crash, during a routine operation, did not result in any fatalities, said ISAF spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff. Two died in the second crash, ISAF said.

Online rumors about a big government munitions purchase are true, sort of.

The Homeland Security Department wants to buy more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the next four or five years. It says it needs them — roughly the equivalent of five bullets for every person in the United States — for law enforcement agents in training and on duty.

Now 9 years into this occupation, coordination still remains a problem between NATO, US, and Afghan forces. Yahoo front page article contains disturbing quotes such as NATO commander Blitz "We were obviously not absolutely clear whether there were Afghan national security forces in the area."

Also last month was the deadliest for international forces since the war began, with 103 killed, including 60 Americans.

The U.S. has lost records of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, making it very difficult for anyone to know exactly what was going on over there - also blocking soldiers who have given their all from receiving disability benefits. This is what happens when no one is held accountable, this terrible and tremendous inefficiency.