Free Talk Live

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.

A bomb planted by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan has destroyed 22 Nato fuel tankers carrying supplies to coalition forces, local officials say. The vehicles were hit by a pre-dawn explosion which triggered a huge fire that engulfed them in flames, they say. At the time, the trucks were parked overnight in Samangan province, as they headed from Uzbekistan towards Nato forces in the south. Police told the BBC that the fire caused by the bomb is still burning. An intelligence official said the device was attached under one of the trucks, which were parked close together.

Scott Olsen, U.S. Vet Who Nearly Lost Life at Occupy Protest, Brings Antiwar Message to NATO Summit - We’re joined at the NATO summit in Chicago by Scott Olsen, who survived two tours in Iraq but almost died when he was hit with a police projectile at an Occupy Oakland protest last year. Olsen returned four of his medals at Sunday’s antiwar march.

On Sunday, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as members of Afghans for Peace, led a peace march of thousands of people. Iraq Veterans Against the War held a ceremony where nearly 50 veterans discarded their war medals by hurling them down the street in the direction of the NATO summit. We hear the soldiers’ voices as they return their medals one by one from the stage. "I’m here to return my Global War on Terror Service Medal in solidarity with the people of Iraq and the people of Afghanistan," said Jason Hurd, a former combat medic who spent 10 years in the U.S. Army.

The stated goal of the US-led War in Afghanistan, according to the Obama Administration, is to defeat the Taliban and establish a stable democratic government over the entire country. Critical to that goal is establishing a professional Afghan army and police force that is not corrupt, and that has the respect of the Afghan people.

The US army general, David Petraeus, made clear today that he would not be bound by Barack Obama's promise to start withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan by July next year.
In his first interview since taking command of Nato troops in the country less than two months ago, the top general said he could foresee circumstances where conditions would make it impossible for him to recommend a reduction in forces.

American-led troops were accused yesterday of dragging innocent children from their beds and shooting them during a night raid that left ten people dead.
Afghan government investigators said that eight schoolchildren were killed, all but one of them from the same family. Locals said that some victims were handcuffed before being killed.

As week-long protests against the NATO summit begin, city police have bought a potentially dangerous sound cannon

Daily News & Video @ http://RevolutionNews.US - Body-Searching Children: No for the US Army, Yes for the TSA: A US Army staff sergeant, now serving in Afghanistan, writes about the new enhanced pat-down procedure from the TSA. Summary of his very powerful message: to avoid giving gross offense to the Afghan public, and to prevent the appearance of an uncontrolled security state, the US military forbids use on Afghan civilians of the very practices the TSA is now making routine for civilian travelers at US airports...