Free Talk Live - Afghanistan

Did We Just Kill a Kid?: A Drone Operator’s Story

Deslock Darkstar — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:26:57 +0000

Bryant saw a flash on the screen: the explosion. Parts of the building collapsed. The child had disappeared. Bryant had a sick feeling in his stomach. “Did we just kill a kid?” he asked the man sitting next to him. “Yeah, I guess that was a kid,” the pilot replied. “Was that a kid?” they wrote into a chat window on the monitor. Then, someone they didn’t know answered, someone sitting in a military command center somewhere in the world who had observed their attack. “No. That was a dog,” the person wrote. They reviewed the scene on video. A dog on two legs?

Why the United States Might Never Leave Afghanistan

Jking8767 — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 01:51:49 +0000

In autumn 2001, America’s initial purpose in Afghanistan—which made perfect sense—was to destroy or incapacitate al Qaeda and punish the Taliban government that hosted it. This was accomplished 11 years ago. Today, the purpose of the U.S. mission is ill-defined, but clearly involves nation building. What the coalition desperately needs is an achievable, realistic endgame, not an indefinite timeline that commits thousands of U.S. troops to Afghanistan until or beyond 2024.

As Obama & Romney Agree on War, 3rd Parties Give Alternative View

ecigarettes — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:42:44 +0000

As Obama and Romney faced off for the last time before the general election, we once again broke the sound barrier by inserting Jill Stein of the Green Party and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party into the discussion. Before a live audience in San Rafael, California, we aired the Obama-Romney debate and paused the tape to give Stein and Anderson a chance to respond in real time to the same questions put to the major-party candidates.

Taliban bomb destroys 22 Nato fuel tankers

ecigarettes — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:39:45 +0000

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 Brings Antiwar Message to NATO Summit

ecigarettes — Tue, 29 May 2012 01:40:08 +0000

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.

US Soldiers Disarmed For Leon Panetta Speech in Afghanistan

ZEUSLGN — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:41:00 +0000

US soldiers were asked to disarm during a speech by Leon Panetta, the American defence secretary, in a sign of grown concern over spates of seemingly random violence in Afghanistan. Around 200 troops who had gathered in a tent at Camp Leatherneck were told "something had come to light" and asked abruptly to file outside and lay down their automatic rifles and 9mm pistols.

Air Conditioning the Military Costs More Than NASA's Entire Budget

XD45 — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 14:54:26 +0000

According to Steve Anderson, a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. Petraeus' chief logistician in Iraq, the Department of Defense spends $20 billion air conditioning tents and temporary structures for the military. That's more than NASA's entire $19 billion annual budget.

General Petraeus Apologizes For Murder

libertas7213 — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:00:27 +0000

General Petraeus apologizes for the deaths of Afghani children though the week prior he suggested that some children whose parents say sustained burns in that airstrike might have been maimed by their own parents, so as to blame American forces.