America loves its mercenaries.
Competitive-bid Pentagon contracts are a low point since the Sept. 11 attacks, giving way to the military's addiction to hard-to-trace, fast-track no-bid contracts that have encouraged waste and fraud, according to a new report.
Private military contractors, the politically correct name for everyone from hired guns to engineers and custodians, are still cashing in since the war on terror began 10 years ago.
A new "fellow the money" investigation, dropping incrementally each day this week by the Center for Public Integrity's IWatch News, shows the Pentagon's no-bid contracts jumped to $140 billion in 2010, up from $50 billion in 2001.
"While the Pentagon says its overall level of competition has remained steady over the past 10 years, publicly available data shows that Defense Department dollars flowing into non-competitive contracts have almost tripled since the terrorist attacks of 9/11," writes author and journalist Sharon Weinberger, the accomplished national security writer whose byline is on the CPI investigative report.
The Pentagon’s competitive-bid contracts declined to 55% the first half of this year based on dollars spent, the group's analysis of available public federal records show.
The big winner in both the competitive-bid and no-bid world of Pentagon spending, is the Houston-based outfit KBR, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root. KBR was competitively awarded an umbrella contract in December 2001, but was not required to compete for any subsequent contacts, the analysis revealed.
Over 10 years through the end of July of this year, KBR earned $37 billion, proving water systems, heaters, tents, and dining facilities, as well as electricians, cooks, cleaners and other civilian workers for military bases, CPI reported.
"The rush to war in the months following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 created an urgency in the Pentagon, not just for military operations but also for contracting," Weinberger writes in thge second of five installments of CPI's "Windfalls of War" series --- an update to an earlier groundbreaking investigation by the highly regarded watchdog group.
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Record Number of Americans Killed in August In Afghanistan
August is already the deadliest month for U.S. troops in the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan, with almost half of those casualties coming when the Taliban shot down a helicopter carrying elite forces and others.
Sixty-six U.S. troops have died so far this month, according to the media tally maintained by the Associated Press. The record death toll comes amid a gradual troop drawdown in a war increasingly becoming unpopular with the American people.
President Obama addresses the American Legion's annual conference Minneapolis on U.S. combat in the decade after the Sept. 11 attacks.
July 2010 had been the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, when 65 Americans were killed in the war.
So far this year, 299 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan this year, while a total of 402 coalition forces have died in that war in the past eight months.
In addition to the 66 Americans killed so far this month, more than a dozen coalation forces from other countries were killed this month in Afghanistan, including two British, four French, one New Zealander, one Australian, one Polish and four other troops of unspecified nations, AP reported.
Nearly half of the Americans were killed this month Aug. 6 when their Chinook helicopter was shot down a in eastern Afghanistan in the deadliest incident in the war. A rocket-propelled grenade fired by Taliban fighters killed 30 Americans, most of them elite Navy SEALs being flown in to reenforce Army Rangers who were under fire.
Sixty-six U.S. troops have died so far this month, according to the media tally maintained by the Associated Press. The record death toll comes amid a gradual troop drawdown in a war increasingly becoming unpopular with the American people.
President Obama addresses the American Legion's annual conference Minneapolis on U.S. combat in the decade after the Sept. 11 attacks.
July 2010 had been the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, when 65 Americans were killed in the war.
So far this year, 299 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan this year, while a total of 402 coalition forces have died in that war in the past eight months.
In addition to the 66 Americans killed so far this month, more than a dozen coalation forces from other countries were killed this month in Afghanistan, including two British, four French, one New Zealander, one Australian, one Polish and four other troops of unspecified nations, AP reported.
Nearly half of the Americans were killed this month Aug. 6 when their Chinook helicopter was shot down a in eastern Afghanistan in the deadliest incident in the war. A rocket-propelled grenade fired by Taliban fighters killed 30 Americans, most of them elite Navy SEALs being flown in to reenforce Army Rangers who were under fire.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Karzai's Brother, Drug-Dealer and CIA Informant, Assassinated
U.S. counterterrorism officials say the half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was assassinated today by a friend and body guard, will be a loss to intelligence officials in the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was shot in his own home by an assassin at close range by Sardar Mohammed. The Taliban is said to be behind the hit. The gunman was cut down immediately by other armed body guards for Karzai.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was a known drug kingpin in Kandahar, dealing mostly in locally grown and processed heroin, but he was also on the CIA payroll.
"He was a necessary evil. Many will be glad to see him gone, but security in Kandahar may also take a nose dive," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official told The Baz File.
President Hamid Karzai, at a press conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy did not seem to be surprised by the news of his half-brother's death.
"This is the life of all Afghan people," Karzai said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke by phone to President Karzai today to extend her "deepest condolences to him and to his family."
"The United States condemns this murder in the strongest terms. For too long, the people of Afghanistan have suffered under the threat of violence, intolerance, and extremism," Clinton said.
It harkened back to the assassination earlier this year of the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, Salman Taseer, who was whacked by one of his machine-gun wielding bodyguards in Islamabad. The turncoat assassin was miffed that Taseer defended a Christian woman sentenced to death.
"You can't hire good help these days, as Karzai's brother and Pakistan's Punjab governor can attest to," the counterterrorism source quipped.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was shot in his own home by an assassin at close range by Sardar Mohammed. The Taliban is said to be behind the hit. The gunman was cut down immediately by other armed body guards for Karzai.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was a known drug kingpin in Kandahar, dealing mostly in locally grown and processed heroin, but he was also on the CIA payroll.
"He was a necessary evil. Many will be glad to see him gone, but security in Kandahar may also take a nose dive," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official told The Baz File.
President Hamid Karzai, at a press conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy did not seem to be surprised by the news of his half-brother's death.
"This is the life of all Afghan people," Karzai said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke by phone to President Karzai today to extend her "deepest condolences to him and to his family."
"The United States condemns this murder in the strongest terms. For too long, the people of Afghanistan have suffered under the threat of violence, intolerance, and extremism," Clinton said.
It harkened back to the assassination earlier this year of the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, Salman Taseer, who was whacked by one of his machine-gun wielding bodyguards in Islamabad. The turncoat assassin was miffed that Taseer defended a Christian woman sentenced to death.
"You can't hire good help these days, as Karzai's brother and Pakistan's Punjab governor can attest to," the counterterrorism source quipped.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Amercans Support Afghan Drawdown; Fewer Fear Terror Attack
A majority of Americans are not afraid that withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan will open up the United States to terrorist attacks, the Gallup poll reports.
Some 55% of Americans say they are not worried about terrorist attacks as a result of President Obama's plan to begin the drawdown, an increase from the 43% who said they did not fear a terrorist attack back in December 2009, when the President first announced his intent to start withdrawing troops in 2011, the survey indicated.
"Though Americans remain supportive of the war effort in Afghanistan, they appear ready to wind down the war, given the broad support for Obama's plan for withdrawal and a belief by most that the U.S. has accomplished its mission there," Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones wrote.
"Though many who argue for continuing the war effort cite the possibility of increased vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorist attack as justification, a majority of Americans do not share that concern," Jones concluded.
Obama's address to the nation last week failed to give him a bump in job approval, but Americans overwhelming support his plan to begin withdrawing U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year, Gallup reports.
Asked about the plan that calls for about 30,000 troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of next summer, with the remainder out by 2014, some 72%, of Americans are in favor, while 23% are opposed, the poll showed.
Americans favor the withdrawal plan across the political spectrum -- even more Republicans favor it than oppose it, the survey showed.
More Americans -- 43% say pulling out the 30,00 troops (it is actually closer to 33,000, according to the Obama plan) is about right, while 29% call it too low, and 19% too high.
However, the timetable for troop withdrawal is where the support gets fewer cheers -- 30% of Americans say the timetable is about right, 33% say it should happen soon, while 31% say there should be no timetable at all.
The party line breakdown over the timetable is predictable, with more Democrats with Obama, followed, in diminishing order, by Independent voters and Republicans.
Then survey is good news for the White House, but the positive reaction to the withdrawal plan does not translate into a bump in Obama's job approval rating.
The new Gallup poll suggests he succeeded in satisfying public opinion, with 72% of Americans broadly in favor of his plan. Yet, scratching beneath the surface, the poll also suggests he did not go far enough to fully satisfy Democrats' and independents' desire for a swift withdrawal," Gallup analyst Lydia Saad writes.
"This may partly explain Obama's lagging job approval rating over the past 10 days, or at least why his June 22 speech announcing his 'way forward in Afghanistan' did not help to raise it out of the mid-40s," Saad explained.
And, of course, even though Gallup does not cite it as reason, everything Obama does now is seen through the prism of the economy first.
Some 55% of Americans say they are not worried about terrorist attacks as a result of President Obama's plan to begin the drawdown, an increase from the 43% who said they did not fear a terrorist attack back in December 2009, when the President first announced his intent to start withdrawing troops in 2011, the survey indicated.
"Though Americans remain supportive of the war effort in Afghanistan, they appear ready to wind down the war, given the broad support for Obama's plan for withdrawal and a belief by most that the U.S. has accomplished its mission there," Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones wrote.
"Though many who argue for continuing the war effort cite the possibility of increased vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorist attack as justification, a majority of Americans do not share that concern," Jones concluded.
Obama's address to the nation last week failed to give him a bump in job approval, but Americans overwhelming support his plan to begin withdrawing U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year, Gallup reports.
Asked about the plan that calls for about 30,000 troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of next summer, with the remainder out by 2014, some 72%, of Americans are in favor, while 23% are opposed, the poll showed.
Americans favor the withdrawal plan across the political spectrum -- even more Republicans favor it than oppose it, the survey showed.
More Americans -- 43% say pulling out the 30,00 troops (it is actually closer to 33,000, according to the Obama plan) is about right, while 29% call it too low, and 19% too high.
However, the timetable for troop withdrawal is where the support gets fewer cheers -- 30% of Americans say the timetable is about right, 33% say it should happen soon, while 31% say there should be no timetable at all.
The party line breakdown over the timetable is predictable, with more Democrats with Obama, followed, in diminishing order, by Independent voters and Republicans.
Then survey is good news for the White House, but the positive reaction to the withdrawal plan does not translate into a bump in Obama's job approval rating.
The new Gallup poll suggests he succeeded in satisfying public opinion, with 72% of Americans broadly in favor of his plan. Yet, scratching beneath the surface, the poll also suggests he did not go far enough to fully satisfy Democrats' and independents' desire for a swift withdrawal," Gallup analyst Lydia Saad writes.
"This may partly explain Obama's lagging job approval rating over the past 10 days, or at least why his June 22 speech announcing his 'way forward in Afghanistan' did not help to raise it out of the mid-40s," Saad explained.
And, of course, even though Gallup does not cite it as reason, everything Obama does now is seen through the prism of the economy first.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Maybe Afghanistan Isn't Going That Well, After All?
Updated at 3 p.m. edt
President Obama insists "the tide of war is receding," in Afghanistan, but admits there will still be some attacks like today's Taliban suicide mission at the Inter-Continental hotel in Kabul that killed 18 people.
"We understood that Afghanistan is a dangerous place, that the Taliban is still active, and that there is still going to be events like this on occasion," Obama told a White House news conference.
"And that will probably go on for some time. Our work is not done," he added.
end update
---[
President Obama will likely face questions at a news conference today on just how much progress has really be made in the war in Afghanistan after a brazen suicide attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul left 18 people dead — including all eight attackers.
Two police officers were among the dead.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the attack on "mercenary terrorists who enjoy the bloodletting of innocent human beings."
NATO helicopters with Special Forces aboard were called in to take out the heavily armed Taliban gunman who were positioned on the roof of the hotel that is frequented by diplomats and other Western officials. The attack helicopters killed at least three of the gunmen.
Afghan forces swept through the hotel, going room-to-room, floor-by-floor during nearly five-hour firefight looking for the Taliban gunmen, who were armed with rocket-propelled grenades, rifles, and explosive suicide vests.
The attack came just days after Obama declared gains had been made in the war and announced some 33,000 U.S. troops would be pulled from Afghanistan through next year.
President Obama insists "the tide of war is receding," in Afghanistan, but admits there will still be some attacks like today's Taliban suicide mission at the Inter-Continental hotel in Kabul that killed 18 people.
"We understood that Afghanistan is a dangerous place, that the Taliban is still active, and that there is still going to be events like this on occasion," Obama told a White House news conference.
"And that will probably go on for some time. Our work is not done," he added.
end update
---[
President Obama will likely face questions at a news conference today on just how much progress has really be made in the war in Afghanistan after a brazen suicide attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul left 18 people dead — including all eight attackers.
Two police officers were among the dead.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the attack on "mercenary terrorists who enjoy the bloodletting of innocent human beings."
NATO helicopters with Special Forces aboard were called in to take out the heavily armed Taliban gunman who were positioned on the roof of the hotel that is frequented by diplomats and other Western officials. The attack helicopters killed at least three of the gunmen.
Afghan forces swept through the hotel, going room-to-room, floor-by-floor during nearly five-hour firefight looking for the Taliban gunmen, who were armed with rocket-propelled grenades, rifles, and explosive suicide vests.
The attack came just days after Obama declared gains had been made in the war and announced some 33,000 U.S. troops would be pulled from Afghanistan through next year.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Obama: Time to End Afghanistan War & Rebuild US
Full Transcript of President Obama's Speech on the Beginning of the End of the War in Afghanistan as Delivered in the East Room of the White House at 8:01 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Nearly 10 years ago, America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor. This mass murder was planned by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, and signaled a new threat to our security –- one in which the targets were no longer soldiers on a battlefield, but innocent men, women and children going about their daily lives.
In the days that followed, our nation was united as we struck at al Qaeda and routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. Then, our focus shifted. A second war was launched in Iraq, and we spent enormous blood and treasure to support a new government there. By the time I took office, the war in Afghanistan had entered its seventh year. But al Qaeda’s leaders had escaped into Pakistan and were plotting new attacks, while the Taliban had regrouped and gone on the offensive. Without a new strategy and decisive action, our military commanders warned that we could face a resurgent al Qaeda and a Taliban taking over large parts of Afghanistan.
For this reason, in one of the most difficult decisions that I’ve made as President, I ordered an additional 30,000 American troops into Afghanistan. When I announced this surge at West Point, we set clear objectives: to refocus on al Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban’s momentum, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country. I also made it clear that our commitment would not be open-ended, and that we would begin to draw down our forces this July.
Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment. Thanks to our extraordinary men and women in uniform, our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, we are meeting our goals. As a result, starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point. After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security.
We’re starting this drawdown from a position of strength. Al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11. Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda’s leadership. And thanks to our intelligence professionals and Special Forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al Qaeda had ever known. This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11. One soldier summed it up well. “The message,” he said, “is we don’t forget. You will be held accountable, no matter how long it takes.”
The information that we recovered from bin Laden’s compound shows al Qaeda under enormous strain. Bin Laden expressed concern that al Qaeda had been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that had been killed, and that al Qaeda has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam -– thereby draining more widespread support. Al Qaeda remains dangerous, and we must be vigilant against attacks. But we have put al Qaeda on a path to defeat, and we will not relent until the job is done.
In Afghanistan, we’ve inflicted serious losses on the Taliban and taken a number of its strongholds. Along with our surge, our allies also increased their commitments, which helped stabilize more of the country. Afghan security forces have grown by over 100,000 troops, and in some provinces and municipalities we’ve already begun to transition responsibility for security to the Afghan people. In the face of violence and intimidation, Afghans are fighting and dying for their country, establishing local police forces, opening markets and schools, creating new opportunities for women and girls, and trying to turn the page on decades of war.
Of course, huge challenges remain. This is the beginning -- but not the end –- of our effort to wind down this war. We’ll have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we’ve made, while we draw down our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government. And next May, in Chicago, we will host a summit with our NATO allies and partners to shape the next phase of this transition.
We do know that peace cannot come to a land that has known so much war without a political settlement. So as we strengthen the Afghan government and security forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan people, including the Taliban. Our position on these talks is clear: They must be led by the Afghan government, and those who want to be a part of a peaceful Afghanistan must break from al Qaeda, abandon violence, and abide by the Afghan constitution. But, in part because of our military effort, we have reason to believe that progress can be made.
The goal that we seek is achievable, and can be expressed simply: No safe haven from which al Qaeda or its affiliates can launch attacks against our homeland or our allies. We won't try to make Afghanistan a perfect place. We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. That is the responsibility of the Afghan government, which must step up its ability to protect its people, and move from an economy shaped by war to one that can sustain a lasting peace. What we can do, and will do, is build a partnership with the Afghan people that endures –- one that ensures that we will be able to continue targeting terrorists and supporting a sovereign Afghan government.
Of course, our efforts must also address terrorist safe havens in Pakistan. No country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists, which is why we will continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing a more peaceful future for this war-torn region. We'll work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we will insist that it keeps its commitments. For there should be no doubt that so long as I am President, the United States will never tolerate a safe haven for those who aim to kill us. They cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they deserve.
My fellow Americans, this has been a difficult decade for our country. We've learned anew the profound cost of war -- a cost that's been paid by the nearly 4,500 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq, and the over 1,500 who have done so in Afghanistan -– men and women who will not live to enjoy the freedom that they defended. Thousands more have been wounded. Some have lost limbs on the battlefield, and others still battle the demons that have followed them home.
Yet tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding. Fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm’s way. We’ve ended our combat mission in Iraq, with 100,000 American troops already out of that country. And even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance. These long wars will come to a responsible end.
As they do, we must learn their lessons. Already this decade of war has caused many to question the nature of America’s engagement around the world. Some would have America retreat from our responsibility as an anchor of global security, and embrace an isolation that ignores the very real threats that we face. Others would have America over-extended, confronting every evil that can be found abroad.
We must chart a more centered course. Like generations before, we must embrace America’s singular role in the course of human events. But we must be as pragmatic as we are passionate; as strategic as we are resolute. When threatened, we must respond with force –- but when that force can be targeted, we need not deploy large armies overseas. When innocents are being slaughtered and global security endangered, we don’t have to choose between standing idly by or acting on our own. Instead, we must rally international action, which we’re doing in Libya, where we do not have a single soldier on the ground, but are supporting allies in protecting the Libyan people and giving them the chance to determine their own destiny.
In all that we do, we must remember that what sets America apart is not solely our power -– it is the principles upon which our union was founded. We’re a nation that brings our enemies to justice while adhering to the rule of law, and respecting the rights of all our citizens. We protect our own freedom and prosperity by extending it to others. We stand not for empire, but for self-determination. That is why we have a stake in the democratic aspirations that are now washing across the Arab world. We will support those revolutions with fidelity to our ideals, with the power of our example, and with an unwavering belief that all human beings deserve to live with freedom and dignity.
Above all, we are a nation whose strength abroad has been anchored in opportunity for our citizens here at home. Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times. Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource –- our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industries, while living within our means. We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy. And most of all, after a decade of passionate debate, we must recapture the common purpose that we shared at the beginning of this time of war. For our nation draws strength from our differences, and when our union is strong no hill is too steep, no horizon is beyond our reach.
America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home.
In this effort, we draw inspiration from our fellow Americans who have sacrificed so much on our behalf. To our troops, our veterans and their families, I speak for all Americans when I say that we will keep our sacred trust with you, and provide you with the care and benefits and opportunity that you deserve.
I met some of these patriotic Americans at Fort Campbell. A while back, I spoke to the 101st Airborne that has fought to turn the tide in Afghanistan, and to the team that took out Osama bin Laden. Standing in front of a model of bin Laden’s compound, the Navy SEAL who led that effort paid tribute to those who had been lost –- brothers and sisters in arms whose names are now written on bases where our troops stand guard overseas, and on headstones in quiet corners of our country where their memory will never be forgotten. This officer -- like so many others I’ve met on bases, in Baghdad and Bagram, and at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital -– spoke with humility about how his unit worked together as one, depending on each other, and trusting one another, as a family might do in a time of peril.
That’s a lesson worth remembering -– that we are all a part of one American family. Though we have known disagreement and division, we are bound together by the creed that is written into our founding documents, and a conviction that the United States of America is a country that can achieve whatever it sets out to accomplish. Now, let us finish the work at hand. Let us responsibly end these wars, and reclaim the American Dream that is at the center of our story. With confidence in our cause, with faith in our fellow citizens, and with hope in our hearts, let us go about the work of extending the promise of America -– for this generation, and the next.
May God bless our troops. And may God bless the United States of America.
END 8:16 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Nearly 10 years ago, America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor. This mass murder was planned by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, and signaled a new threat to our security –- one in which the targets were no longer soldiers on a battlefield, but innocent men, women and children going about their daily lives.
In the days that followed, our nation was united as we struck at al Qaeda and routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. Then, our focus shifted. A second war was launched in Iraq, and we spent enormous blood and treasure to support a new government there. By the time I took office, the war in Afghanistan had entered its seventh year. But al Qaeda’s leaders had escaped into Pakistan and were plotting new attacks, while the Taliban had regrouped and gone on the offensive. Without a new strategy and decisive action, our military commanders warned that we could face a resurgent al Qaeda and a Taliban taking over large parts of Afghanistan.
For this reason, in one of the most difficult decisions that I’ve made as President, I ordered an additional 30,000 American troops into Afghanistan. When I announced this surge at West Point, we set clear objectives: to refocus on al Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban’s momentum, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country. I also made it clear that our commitment would not be open-ended, and that we would begin to draw down our forces this July.
Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment. Thanks to our extraordinary men and women in uniform, our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, we are meeting our goals. As a result, starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point. After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security.
We’re starting this drawdown from a position of strength. Al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11. Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda’s leadership. And thanks to our intelligence professionals and Special Forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al Qaeda had ever known. This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11. One soldier summed it up well. “The message,” he said, “is we don’t forget. You will be held accountable, no matter how long it takes.”
The information that we recovered from bin Laden’s compound shows al Qaeda under enormous strain. Bin Laden expressed concern that al Qaeda had been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that had been killed, and that al Qaeda has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam -– thereby draining more widespread support. Al Qaeda remains dangerous, and we must be vigilant against attacks. But we have put al Qaeda on a path to defeat, and we will not relent until the job is done.
In Afghanistan, we’ve inflicted serious losses on the Taliban and taken a number of its strongholds. Along with our surge, our allies also increased their commitments, which helped stabilize more of the country. Afghan security forces have grown by over 100,000 troops, and in some provinces and municipalities we’ve already begun to transition responsibility for security to the Afghan people. In the face of violence and intimidation, Afghans are fighting and dying for their country, establishing local police forces, opening markets and schools, creating new opportunities for women and girls, and trying to turn the page on decades of war.
Of course, huge challenges remain. This is the beginning -- but not the end –- of our effort to wind down this war. We’ll have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we’ve made, while we draw down our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government. And next May, in Chicago, we will host a summit with our NATO allies and partners to shape the next phase of this transition.
We do know that peace cannot come to a land that has known so much war without a political settlement. So as we strengthen the Afghan government and security forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan people, including the Taliban. Our position on these talks is clear: They must be led by the Afghan government, and those who want to be a part of a peaceful Afghanistan must break from al Qaeda, abandon violence, and abide by the Afghan constitution. But, in part because of our military effort, we have reason to believe that progress can be made.
The goal that we seek is achievable, and can be expressed simply: No safe haven from which al Qaeda or its affiliates can launch attacks against our homeland or our allies. We won't try to make Afghanistan a perfect place. We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. That is the responsibility of the Afghan government, which must step up its ability to protect its people, and move from an economy shaped by war to one that can sustain a lasting peace. What we can do, and will do, is build a partnership with the Afghan people that endures –- one that ensures that we will be able to continue targeting terrorists and supporting a sovereign Afghan government.
Of course, our efforts must also address terrorist safe havens in Pakistan. No country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists, which is why we will continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing a more peaceful future for this war-torn region. We'll work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we will insist that it keeps its commitments. For there should be no doubt that so long as I am President, the United States will never tolerate a safe haven for those who aim to kill us. They cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they deserve.
My fellow Americans, this has been a difficult decade for our country. We've learned anew the profound cost of war -- a cost that's been paid by the nearly 4,500 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq, and the over 1,500 who have done so in Afghanistan -– men and women who will not live to enjoy the freedom that they defended. Thousands more have been wounded. Some have lost limbs on the battlefield, and others still battle the demons that have followed them home.
Yet tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding. Fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm’s way. We’ve ended our combat mission in Iraq, with 100,000 American troops already out of that country. And even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance. These long wars will come to a responsible end.
As they do, we must learn their lessons. Already this decade of war has caused many to question the nature of America’s engagement around the world. Some would have America retreat from our responsibility as an anchor of global security, and embrace an isolation that ignores the very real threats that we face. Others would have America over-extended, confronting every evil that can be found abroad.
We must chart a more centered course. Like generations before, we must embrace America’s singular role in the course of human events. But we must be as pragmatic as we are passionate; as strategic as we are resolute. When threatened, we must respond with force –- but when that force can be targeted, we need not deploy large armies overseas. When innocents are being slaughtered and global security endangered, we don’t have to choose between standing idly by or acting on our own. Instead, we must rally international action, which we’re doing in Libya, where we do not have a single soldier on the ground, but are supporting allies in protecting the Libyan people and giving them the chance to determine their own destiny.
In all that we do, we must remember that what sets America apart is not solely our power -– it is the principles upon which our union was founded. We’re a nation that brings our enemies to justice while adhering to the rule of law, and respecting the rights of all our citizens. We protect our own freedom and prosperity by extending it to others. We stand not for empire, but for self-determination. That is why we have a stake in the democratic aspirations that are now washing across the Arab world. We will support those revolutions with fidelity to our ideals, with the power of our example, and with an unwavering belief that all human beings deserve to live with freedom and dignity.
Above all, we are a nation whose strength abroad has been anchored in opportunity for our citizens here at home. Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times. Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource –- our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industries, while living within our means. We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy. And most of all, after a decade of passionate debate, we must recapture the common purpose that we shared at the beginning of this time of war. For our nation draws strength from our differences, and when our union is strong no hill is too steep, no horizon is beyond our reach.
America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home.
In this effort, we draw inspiration from our fellow Americans who have sacrificed so much on our behalf. To our troops, our veterans and their families, I speak for all Americans when I say that we will keep our sacred trust with you, and provide you with the care and benefits and opportunity that you deserve.
I met some of these patriotic Americans at Fort Campbell. A while back, I spoke to the 101st Airborne that has fought to turn the tide in Afghanistan, and to the team that took out Osama bin Laden. Standing in front of a model of bin Laden’s compound, the Navy SEAL who led that effort paid tribute to those who had been lost –- brothers and sisters in arms whose names are now written on bases where our troops stand guard overseas, and on headstones in quiet corners of our country where their memory will never be forgotten. This officer -- like so many others I’ve met on bases, in Baghdad and Bagram, and at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital -– spoke with humility about how his unit worked together as one, depending on each other, and trusting one another, as a family might do in a time of peril.
That’s a lesson worth remembering -– that we are all a part of one American family. Though we have known disagreement and division, we are bound together by the creed that is written into our founding documents, and a conviction that the United States of America is a country that can achieve whatever it sets out to accomplish. Now, let us finish the work at hand. Let us responsibly end these wars, and reclaim the American Dream that is at the center of our story. With confidence in our cause, with faith in our fellow citizens, and with hope in our hearts, let us go about the work of extending the promise of America -– for this generation, and the next.
May God bless our troops. And may God bless the United States of America.
END 8:16 P.M. EDT
Obama to Begin Withdrawing Troops from Afghanistan
President Obama is set to announce tonight the beginning of the end of the longest war in American history -- the decade-long Afghanistan conflict that came after Al Qaeda struck on Sept. 11, 2001.
Obama is expected to announce troop withdrawals of at least 5,000 personnel at first, and another 5,000 in coming months. By the end of next year, most, if not all of the 30,000 troops representing the surge force Obama sent to Afghanistan will pull out, leaving about 70,000 troops there.
The White House denied reports last night that Obama was still deliberating over the number of troops he plans to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan. "No, (Obama) has made the decision," a senior administration official said last night.
The overseer of the troop drawdown will be CIA director Leon Panetta, who was confirmed in a unanimous vote yesterday in the Senate to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Panetta will take over the top Pentagon post in a couple of weeks.
The war has become hugely unpopular with the American people because of its cost in lives and taxpayer dollars at a time when the Treasury is tapped out, polls repeatedly show.
At least 1,522 members of the U.S. armed forces have died and another 12,002 have been wounded in Afghanistan.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the taxpayers at least $1.3 trillion. The U.S will spend $120 billion in Afghanistan alone this year.
The polls also show many Americans believe the war against the Taliban is not making them any safer at home, especially since Al Qaeda boss Osama Bin Laden was killed this spring by the 20-man SEAL Team Six in Pakistan.
Since President George W. Bush refused to raise taxes to pay for the wars, their costs are blamed for sending the U.S. budget deficit through the roof, decimating the $127 billion surplus President Bill Clinton left when he exited the White House.
The U.S. has a $1.4 trillion deficit and $14.3 trillion national debt.
The war deficit combined with Bush's laissez-faire approach to Wall Street and the banking industry led to the global economic crisis of 2008, which Obama inherited. The American taxpayers were then forced to pay for a massive socialist program to bail out Wall Street and the banks.
At the outset, Washington and most of America was gung-ho for the war, but along with most people in the country, now mayors and even many formerly hawkish Republican federal lawmakers have turned on the wars because of its costs.
The days of Dick Cheney quacking and Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer standing at the podium of the White House briefing room eviscerating the patriotism of anyone who questioned the beat of the war drums in Washington are left to the documentarians and historians to reflect upon.
Obama is expected to announce troop withdrawals of at least 5,000 personnel at first, and another 5,000 in coming months. By the end of next year, most, if not all of the 30,000 troops representing the surge force Obama sent to Afghanistan will pull out, leaving about 70,000 troops there.
The White House denied reports last night that Obama was still deliberating over the number of troops he plans to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan. "No, (Obama) has made the decision," a senior administration official said last night.
The overseer of the troop drawdown will be CIA director Leon Panetta, who was confirmed in a unanimous vote yesterday in the Senate to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Panetta will take over the top Pentagon post in a couple of weeks.
The war has become hugely unpopular with the American people because of its cost in lives and taxpayer dollars at a time when the Treasury is tapped out, polls repeatedly show.
At least 1,522 members of the U.S. armed forces have died and another 12,002 have been wounded in Afghanistan.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the taxpayers at least $1.3 trillion. The U.S will spend $120 billion in Afghanistan alone this year.
The polls also show many Americans believe the war against the Taliban is not making them any safer at home, especially since Al Qaeda boss Osama Bin Laden was killed this spring by the 20-man SEAL Team Six in Pakistan.
Since President George W. Bush refused to raise taxes to pay for the wars, their costs are blamed for sending the U.S. budget deficit through the roof, decimating the $127 billion surplus President Bill Clinton left when he exited the White House.
The U.S. has a $1.4 trillion deficit and $14.3 trillion national debt.
The war deficit combined with Bush's laissez-faire approach to Wall Street and the banking industry led to the global economic crisis of 2008, which Obama inherited. The American taxpayers were then forced to pay for a massive socialist program to bail out Wall Street and the banks.
At the outset, Washington and most of America was gung-ho for the war, but along with most people in the country, now mayors and even many formerly hawkish Republican federal lawmakers have turned on the wars because of its costs.
The days of Dick Cheney quacking and Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer standing at the podium of the White House briefing room eviscerating the patriotism of anyone who questioned the beat of the war drums in Washington are left to the documentarians and historians to reflect upon.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Quran Burning Highlights American Extremism
As we have seen from the majority of the mainstream media coverage and commentary, the controversial burning of the Quran by a fundamentalist preacher reminded the world that in America we have the right to hate, but to what advantage does one gain by being hateful?
The Rev. Terry Jones, the leader of the World Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., burned a Quran as part of a videotaped mock trial of Islam on March 20, triggering for the past three days deadly protests and widespread condemnation of the act.
The highly respected U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petreaeus called the burning of the Quran "hateful, extremely disrespectful and enormously intolerant."
The Quran-burning was part of an elaborate stunt trial in which the Islamic holy book was put on trial by the members of Jones' fringe fundamentalist Christian sect. It was meant to anger Islam, and with the help of Islamic fundmentalists, like the Taliban, Jones succeeded.
“It was intended to stir the pot; if you don’t shake the boat, everyone will stay in their complacency,” Jones said in an interview with The New York Times.
Jones has received death threats and his enemies are said to have have put a million-dollar bounty on his life. “I don’t right now feel personally afraid,” Jones told the newspaper. “But we are armed.”
Many people also blame Afghan President Hamid Karzai for fanning the flames by calling attention to it in remarks a few days later, apparently inciting a riot that led thousands of protesters Friday to overrun a United Nations compound in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 12 people.
Congress is pondering whether it can take action that would punish Jones, but in reality there is not much that can be done, short of abolishing the first amendment to the constitution. It was a truly strange happening for someone who purports to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, especially during Lent.
The Rev. Terry Jones, the leader of the World Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., burned a Quran as part of a videotaped mock trial of Islam on March 20, triggering for the past three days deadly protests and widespread condemnation of the act.
The highly respected U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petreaeus called the burning of the Quran "hateful, extremely disrespectful and enormously intolerant."
The Quran-burning was part of an elaborate stunt trial in which the Islamic holy book was put on trial by the members of Jones' fringe fundamentalist Christian sect. It was meant to anger Islam, and with the help of Islamic fundmentalists, like the Taliban, Jones succeeded.
“It was intended to stir the pot; if you don’t shake the boat, everyone will stay in their complacency,” Jones said in an interview with The New York Times.
Jones has received death threats and his enemies are said to have have put a million-dollar bounty on his life. “I don’t right now feel personally afraid,” Jones told the newspaper. “But we are armed.”
Many people also blame Afghan President Hamid Karzai for fanning the flames by calling attention to it in remarks a few days later, apparently inciting a riot that led thousands of protesters Friday to overrun a United Nations compound in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 12 people.
Congress is pondering whether it can take action that would punish Jones, but in reality there is not much that can be done, short of abolishing the first amendment to the constitution. It was a truly strange happening for someone who purports to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, especially during Lent.
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