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Camp Bastion, Turning Point against NATO in Afghanistan

 
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Kuros



Joined: 27 Apr 2004

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 6:10 am    Post subject: Camp Bastion, Turning Point against NATO in Afghanistan Reply with quote

Attack on Camp Bastion: The Destruction of VMA-211

Quote:
Late on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, a Taliban insurgent force of sappers attacked the NATO ISAF base, Camp Bastion, in Afghanistan, resulting in the worst loss of U.S. airpower in a single incident since the Vietnam War. Two Marines, including VMA-211�s commanding officer, were killed in the attack, and nine other personnel (eight military and one contractor, reportedly) were wounded. By the time the base was secured roughly five hours later, six U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) AV-8B+ Harrier �jump jets� had been destroyed, and two more �significantly� damaged. In addition, three refueling points were destroyed, and six �soft-skinned� aircraft hangers were damaged to some degree. As a result of this attack, the air strength of Marine Attack Squadron 211 (VMA-211 � �The Avengers�) presumably 10 aircraft, was almost completely destroyed.


Quote:
When the sun rose the next day, the deadly cost of the Taliban raid began to be seen. Fourteen of the 15 insurgent sappers were killed, along with two of their support force outside the fence. One insurgent was wounded and captured, and is providing useful information on this latest �Green on Blue� Taliban attack. The Allied casualties, however, are proving heartbreaking. Killed during the attack were Lt. Col. Christopher �Otis� K. Raible, USMC (the commander of VMA-211) and Sgt. Bradley W. Atwell (from Marine Air Logistics Squadron 13), both based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Ariz.

Maj. Gen. Gregg Sturdevant, USMC, commander of Marine Aircraft Wing Three (Forward), has announced that replacements for the lost aircraft and personnel will be �brought forward,� suggesting VMA-211 will be reconstituted in place. While VMA-211�s executive officer, Maj. John �Strut� Havener, USMC, has been named the interim squadron commander, it is possible another Harrier squadron will be deployed and the Avengers returned to their home base at MCAS Yuma. The only �good� news about the attack was that Prince Harry was unharmed. He appears to have been one of the targets of the Taliban attack (his birthday was Sept. 15), and was taken to a �safe area� of the base and given extra security.

Whatever the organizational outcome, the Sept. 14, 2012 attack on Camp Bastion is arguably the worst day in USMC aviation history since the Tet Offensive of 1968. The last time VMA-211 was combat ineffective was in December 1941, when the squadron was wiped out during the 13-day defense of Wake Island against the Japanese.


This massive attack got lost in the midst of the maelstrom of the U.S. Elections.

The Taliban has destroyed 7% of the entire USMC Harrier fleet. Worse, NATO has restricted coordination between Afghan Army and NATO personnel below the battalion level.

Quote:
NATO troops in Afghanistan have been ordered to halt some joint operations with Afghan security forces after a spate of attacks by their local allies and amid fallout from a controversial anti-Islam video.
"Most partnering and advising will now be at the battalion level and above," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday. "This does not mean there will be not partnering below that level. The need for that will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis."
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caniff



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://tinyurl.com/cgqdonj

Quote:
The latest news from Afghanistan only underscores what�s been clear for quite some time: that there is no light at the end of the tunnel in this war, no noble way out, not much point to staying in.

In the 11 years we�ve been fighting there, our official war aims have been ratcheted down to adjust for what�s possible, and now it seems even the minimal goals may have slipped out of reach.


Karzai is totally corrupt, so I fail to see the point of continued efforts to bolster his government. He and his cronies are a major recruitment boon for the Taliban.
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Titus



Joined: 19 May 2012

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 6:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

caniff wrote:
http://tinyurl.com/cgqdonj

Quote:
The latest news from Afghanistan only underscores what�s been clear for quite some time: that there is no light at the end of the tunnel in this war, no noble way out, not much point to staying in.

In the 11 years we�ve been fighting there, our official war aims have been ratcheted down to adjust for what�s possible, and now it seems even the minimal goals may have slipped out of reach.


Karzai is totally corrupt, so I fail to see the point of continued efforts to bolster his government. He and his cronies are a major recruitment boon for the Taliban.


Kinda off topic (and kinda not), but this is interesting:

Gerald Posner, a formerly Miami based writer, wrote a book called Miami Babylon. He was later chased out of town when it was discovered he heavily plagiarized it. Where did he end up?

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/07/06/what_the_heck_is_gerald_posner_doing_in_afghanistan
Quote:
Maybe it was all the excitement with the Russian spies last week, but somehow we missed one of the more intriguing things to grace the Wall Street Journal's letters page in a while: A full-throated defense of Hamid Karzai's brother, Mahmood Karzai, written by Gerald Posner. Posner, you may recall, was an investigative reporter for the Daily Beast until February, when he resigned after being caught plagiarizing from the Miami Herald and other news sources. In the letter -- which concerns an unflattering recent story about Karzai ferrying cash out of Afghanistan -- Posner identifies himself as "Gerald Posner, Attorney at Law," and refers to Karzai as "my client." Huh?


Karzi's family are "said to be" the single largest primary dealers of heroin on earth.

Funny how some people always land on their feet.

Point is, there's more going on w/r/t Karzai and the powers that be in America than we're told. A huge amount of drug money is flowing out of Afghanistan and into somewhere. I'm always reading that Afghanistan is strategic for this and that but never have figured out why it is strategic for America.
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Titus



Joined: 19 May 2012

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
One of the strongest defense hawks in Congress says the United States should withdraw its forces from Afghanistan amid increasing signs that even Republican proponents of the war believe it's no longer worth the cost.

Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., said in an interview this week that "we're killing kids who don't need to die."

Young's comments reflect the growing weariness with a conflict that has dragged on for more than a decade, with polls showing more than 60 percent of Americans opposing the war and military fights drawing little of the public's attention. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney didn't even mention the troops or the war in his convention acceptance speech last month, a striking omission for a GOP candidate.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Friday that the 33,000 additional U.S. troops that President Barack Obama had sent to Afghanistan roughly two years ago to counter the Taliban attacks have left the country.

That leaves close to 100,000 NATO troops, including 68,000 Americans.

Even the fiercest backers of the war in Congress have been unnerved by the increasing wave of deadly insider attacks in which Afghan Army and police troops, or insurgents dressed in their uniforms, have turned their guns on U.S. and NATO forces. This week, commanders imposed new limits on when NATO and Afghan troops can patrol together.

Fifty-one coalition troops have been killed in such attacks this year.

"I think we should remove ourselves from Afghanistan as quickly as we can," Young told the editorial board of the Tampa Bay Times on Monday.

http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2019221644_apuscongressafghanistan.html

A bit late.
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JustinC



Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How many schools are we building there?
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Titus



Joined: 19 May 2012

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JustinC wrote:
How many schools are we building there?


http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/afghan_08_28/a0_20055039.jpg

She voted. Almost fixed.
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caniff



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Titus wrote:
Point is, there's more going on w/r/t Karzai and the powers that be in America than we're told. A huge amount of drug money is flowing out of Afghanistan and into somewhere. I'm always reading that Afghanistan is strategic for this and that but never have figured out why it is strategic for America.


I've heard it said that the heroin trade provides a huge money-laundering operation for many major banking operations. The Taliban had basically shut down the poppy growers, so that was a major reason for why they had to go.

At this point, I'd believe it.
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Titus



Joined: 19 May 2012

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

caniff wrote:
Titus wrote:
Point is, there's more going on w/r/t Karzai and the powers that be in America than we're told. A huge amount of drug money is flowing out of Afghanistan and into somewhere. I'm always reading that Afghanistan is strategic for this and that but never have figured out why it is strategic for America.


I've heard it said that the heroin trade provides a huge money-laundering operation for many major banking operations. The Taliban had basically shut down the poppy growers, so that was a major reason for why they had to go.

At this point, I'd believe it.


Why wouldn't you.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/dec/13/drug-money-banks-saved-un-cfief-claims
Quote:
Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/los-zetas-laundered-money-bank-america_n_1658943.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/21/drug-cartels-banks-hsbc-money-laundering

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/30/hsbc-700m-money-laundering-apology

Or do we all believe that the tens of billions in drug money is kept in 20$ bills in pillow cases?

Story in Miami now is the cartels are buying up heaps of Brickell condos.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/5-Busted-in--125576373.html

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/07/brothers_allegedly_laundered_2.php

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2012/07/05/the-mexican-drug-wars-have-brought-a-lot-of-money-into-miami.php

Etc. The revenue from drug money is enormous. The British fought Opium Wars for the India-based Sassoon crime family. The Americans may well be doing the same in Mexico, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Fast and Furious suggests that the CIA etc are trying to pick winners and losers in Mexico. More is going on.

http://www.stripes.com/polopoly_fs/1.175079.1335006270!/image/2068593404.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_490/2068593404.JPG

Sure wish Ron Paul had won.
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Leon



Joined: 31 May 2010

PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe the C.I.A are dealing again. Maybe they missed the glory days of Ollie North and Yayo by the planeload. Anyway, here's hoping that we can learn from mistakes and realize the futility of these sorts of wars in the future.
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rollo



Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: China

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Read Robert Kaplans new book "The revenge of Geography" it explains why the major powers Russia, Britain and now the U.s. have all gotten involved in Afghanistan. Also you could study 19th century history and look at the "Great Game" that was played then Nothing has changed. Recently re read Churchhills account of a British expedition into Afghanistan in the 19th century , nothing has changed.
India and Pakistan are engaged in a proxy war in Afghanistan and Nato is caught in the middle of it. Russia is also messing around there.

The Chinese control the world's heroin trade, actually the Hakka people who live in China . Karzai was the Chief of the largest Pushtun tribe, he was the only game in town.
The Taliban made billions on opium. they supressed some groweres because they were on the wrong side politically but they always sold opium. So the choice was that
Aghanistan be absorbed by Pakistan which India nor Russia would never allow, probably a real shooting war between India and Pakistan would have followed. Karzai who had the best chance of uniting the country was the only option. The place is a black hole and eventually the WEst will leave. The whole drug money is the reason they are there story reminds me of " They only invaded because American oil companies wanted to build a pipeline story, which was also false. Nato needs to get out but if they do expect more war and chaos and opium. Oh yeah the Sassoons were Shanghai based originally, since they were Iraqi jews they were excluded by the British from most avenues of trade, the helpful Chinese showed them the way to wealth which was opium.
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rollo



Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: China

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you wonder where the opium money is look at Vancouver which is now the heroin capital of the world. Vancouver also has some of the highest housing prices in the world because one ethnic group inflated prices by buying vast amounts of high end housing.
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