The Political Conundrum!

Head over to Get the Gouge to check out my latest blog there titled “Now that is Sad”. http://community.getthegouge.com/blogs/eyeonafghanistan/archive/2008/12/05/now-that-is-sad.aspx

Stripped of its national football significance long ago, the Army-Navy game remains a tactical wonder. Thousands of future officers have to be assembled several times; transported hundreds of miles; fed; ticketed; and, most important, displayed for a national TV audience.

In his latest finance report, Obama reported raising $104 million in more than five weeks immediately before and after Election Day. It was his second biggest fundraising period and a fitting coda to a successful presidential bid that shattered fundraising records.

In a speech he was delivering later on Friday, Bush defended his Middle East policies, claimed some progress and outlined his view of what President-elect Barack Obama will inherit there. Bush said state-sponsored terrorism continues to destabilize the region.

In the year since U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Ferrara was killed in Afghanistan, his mother has dedicated hours collecting items for wounded soldiers overseas. She had planned to ship the goods to a U.S. Army hospital in Germany. Instead, she's despondent over a weekend theft.

Here is a good example of what you see in the media, and then what the real truth is.

First I will post the story from http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=an&nid=1035&ad=03-12-2008

KABUL (PAN): The newly built bridge in Bala Murghab in Baghdis province was inaugurated by local elders, ANSF officers and ISAF including Com. ISAF Gen. McKiernan at a shura on Sunday Acc. to a press release by ISAF HQ on Monday the new bridge supplements an old cracked bridge across the river Murghab, uniting schools and hospitals on one riverside with the population on the opposite side of the river. The bridge was built by the Afghan National Security forces, guided by ISAF engineers, and funded by ISAF. However, the construction was not easy. The work at the Bala Murghab bridge site has been very hard, said the bridges Italian field engineer, Officer Mario Giordano. At the beginning, it was an especially dangerous place to work. We had to build trust with the local population and assure them we were there to help. General McKiernan meant the bridge was an example of the positive change that could take place in Afghanistan, adding that: This is about improving the lives and the security, the government and the economic programs in this particular district.” The shura took part near Forward Operating Base Columbus, Bala Murghab, and Afghan Security Forces and tribal elders continued to the bridge where the ribbons were cut.

And now, here is the posting from Jon, who was there as part of this bridge mission.

During my career in the military I have seen some pretty ‘effed’ up things, but none so much as letting the Taliban escort bridge equipment to the bridge’s building site. I saw this occur when I was working out of Ghormache with the ETT”s (its about 10-15 kilometers from Bala Murghab). One day in late October, we were hearing word of the escorts coming through our Area of Operations on the main road. When the convey got to the road to Ghormache we learned that the village elders were the ones escorting it. We know that these are known Taliban elders, and could not believe that their own militia were the bridge’s security. These might have been some of the same guys we fought against a few days ago.

Now, I’m not an officer and I don’t always know what goes into most of the decisions made here in this country. I’m sure it is very difficult, but I feel whoever came up with the idea of the enemy escorting the equipment for the bridge connecting the 207th to the 209th Corps areas of operation didn’t think this one through! It was a bridge that was supposed to connect people and promote a stronger Afghanistan; however the enemy took complete credit for it locally. Sure you can say that ISAF took credit, but the people of Bala Murghab saw the elders bring the bridge. So what does that look like, and what do you think that looks like to the locals….come on people.

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new communiqué from a prominent Sunni insurgent group in Iraq known as the Mujahideen Army. The statement, issued in response to a controversial recent audio address from Al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, angrily condemned Abu Hamza for spreading “hideous slander”, “fabrications”, and “falsifications” about the Mujahideen Army abandoning the cause of jihad. The Mujahideen Army insisted that they have neither joined in the Awakening movements, nor in “the methodology of fanaticism, of which [Al-Qaida is] the central pillar.” The group added, “in order to prevent our enemies from gloating over us… [and] drag[ging] our conflicts [with Al-Qaida] into the spotlight… that is the only reason why we kept silent about their actions and the crimes that their followers have committed… We didn’t kill a single one of them, although we could have if we had wanted to.” Countering with their own allegations of insurgent fratricide by Al-Qaida, the Mujahideen Army openly mocked the intelligence of Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, who “seems to believe that by randomly throwing out accusations against others, that will somehow make his fabrications come true and his imaginary illusions become real… to the extent that [he is] no longer acting out of concern for jihad, the Islamic nation, and our religion.”

A translation of the statement can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

In case you did not get a chance to listen live to the You Served Blog Talk Radio show last night, I strongly encourage you to give it a listen. It was a terrific show that lasted the full two hours. Bud Bucha was a great guest and discussed in great detail, not only what happened during the days that of March 1968 which caused his men to put him in for the Medal of Honor, which he received but also some great lessons in leadership. He also talked about using your “platform” given to you that can help further an important cause like caring for the troops (all troops as he states). Bud discussed some great lessons in leadership and what led him to serve as an adviser to President-elect Obama’s successful campaign for President.

After talking with Bud, we talked with Kim Cameron and one of her bandmates, Nik about the song they wrote called My Hero. Talk about a good example of “using your platform”. We also got an update from Kat of Operation Love from Home. It was a great show hosted by Marcus from http://www.soldiersperspective.us and myself. We missed not having CJ on again, but don’t fret. He posted a great peice last night after the show. You should head over to http://www.soldiersperspective.us/2008/12/04/pure-craziness-a-rant/ and read it.

Michael Yon has posted the new directive, sigend three days ago by Deputy Defense Secretary England, which provides the clearest statement yet of DoD policy and command responsibilities for "counterthreat finance" operations. The directive permanently institutionalizes the "threat finance cell" concept which has been the subject of joint operations between the Treasury and Defense Departments for over three years, and that I have written about for over a year here (see previous posts and my remarks on the subject to a money laundering enforcement conference on October 21). Never before has U.S. defense policy officially recognized the need to "follow the money" and the benefits of working in tandem with the Treasury Department and other relevant civilian agencies.

As you might imagine, the Defense Department cannot talk openly about the successes of the Iraq TFC, but Gen. Petraeus is taking the concept with him to Afghanistan, along with at least one of the TFC experts in the Pentagon. Senior Treasury Department officials told me in October "it's the best thing we have going." Hopefully the Congress will also recognize the benefit by providing specific and sufficient funding for the hiring, training, and deployment of experts in all departments involved.

My friend, Clara Hart has done it again. I know she doesn’t mean to get me all emotional but her postings do it. They do it because I see how much she cares about soldier and how much it hurts her to see what she does. This post is a tissue alert one, but at the same time it is also one that will make you damn proud of our soldiers, their families and fo course their caregivers.

Head over to http://gocomics.typepad.com/the_sandbox/2008/11/veterans-day.html and check it out, you will be glad you did.