Pentagon Names 30 American Servicemen Killed in Downed Afghan Chopper
30 faces that are now burned into your retinas. A sad image to look at.
Update: Now the AP reports that “that none of the Navy SEALs who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan had participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, although they were from the same unit that carried out the bin Laden mission.” Additionally, ABC News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz tweets that: “There are only about 2000 SEALS. Losing more than 20 is unbearable.”
Worth noting. (Earlier report here)
A helicopter crash in Wardak province, Afghanistan this morning killed 31 special forces soldiers and 7 members of the Afghan National Army. Most likely the worst single loss of life for the US in the whole decade of the Afghan war. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for shooting down the Chinook. Read the news stories at Reuters and the Guardian. (AP photograph of a US Chinook outside of Spin Boldak in 2009.)
We cooperate and we fight as hard as we can, because there will perhaps be disappointment but there will be no shame.A specialist in the 655th TC, writing to Jon Stewart • In a letter Stewart mentioned on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show.” Stewart used the episode to pay tribute to the soldiers fighting overseas after he paid a visit to Khandahar this past weekend. After displaying several t-shirts that he had promised to wear, he read some of his observations and thank yous. Stewart then read this quote from a letter from a young specialist, from one of the nicest letters he’s ever received. source (via • follow)
Mayor Ghulam Haidar Hamidi was killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a corridor near Hamidi’s office, Zalmay Ayoubi, the spokesperson for the Kandahar provincial governor, said on Wednesday.
“It appears the bomber was carrying the bomb in his turban,” Ayobi said.
If at all things become difficult, we will just get all our forces back. If Americans refuse to give us money, then okay. I think the next step is that the government or the armed forces will be moving from the border areas. We cannot afford to keep military out in the mountains for such a long period.Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar • Discussing American aid to the Pakistani military. The U.S. spends about $2 billion per year in military aid to Pakistan, and as we mentioned over the weekend, the U.S. wants to withhold $800 million of that, the stated reason being a response to the Pakistani government’s limiting of visas for U.S. personnel, and removing U.S. military trainers. This is a situation we rather expected, as the discovery of Osama bin Laden within Pakistan put a big strain on relations, and left many Americans wondering what they were paying for. The tone of Mukhar’s reply strikes us, honestly, as pretty snarky and passive-aggressive (acknowledging the possibility of a rough translation), especially in light of the huge sums the U.S. has paid Pakistan for military aid over the past decade or so. This is, as much as anything, an implied threat — give up the money or the Taliban runs wild. source (via • follow)
Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai’s half-brother assassinated by bodyguard: Ahmad Wali Karzai, a powerful guy in his own right who survived numerous prior assassination attempts, was reportedly killed at the hands of the Taliban. source
» Why would they do such a thing? This attack, one of the more disturbing we’ve heard in a while, is shocking, but not an unheard-of tactic by insurgents looking to covering their tracks — and possibly because they’re desperate. Only the girl died, by the way.
» That’s a little high for David Petraeus’ liking: Obama is putting the finishing touches on a speech where he plans to outline the plan for what the country will do about getting troops out of Afghanistan — roughly 100,000 are there now, and Obama could remove roughly 30,000 by late 2012 or early 2013 — the first 10,000 or so this year. Which means, of course, that we’ll still be there a long while no matter what our boy Obama decides.
Six-in-ten (60%) say the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has contributed a great deal to the size of the debt. About four-in-ten (42%) say the same about the condition of the national economy.
By comparison, just 24% say increased spending on domestic problems has contributed greatly to the nation’s debt and even fewer (19%) cite the tax cuts enacted over the past decade. While half or more say spending and the tax cuts contributed at least a fair amount to the debt, 31% say increased domestic spending did little or nothing to increase the debt and 38% say the same about the tax cuts.
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted May 25-30 among 1,509 adults, finds widespread opposition to number of proposals aimed at reducing the deficit and the national debt, including reducing funding for the states for education and roads (73% disapprove) and gradually raising the Social Security retirement age (59%).
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
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#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
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Oh Felix Salmon, your cocksureness serves you well right now. Too bad reports are conflicting and the BBC report is old (though lots of people fell for it). (And with that, we’re out for the evening. Even with news this big, we’re very close to drooling on our keyboard this evening. Sorry kids.)
The photos appear in stark contrast to the discipline, professionalism and respect that have characterized our soldiers’ performance during nearly 10 years of sustained operations (in Afghanistan).A statement from the U.S. Army • Regarding a series of photos released by German magazine Der Spiegel which show U.S. soldiers taking photos with a man illegally killed in Afghanistan. The “kill photos” were reportedly part of a large series of thousands of photos the Army has tried to keep under wraps, fearing the result could be an even bigger black mark than Abu Ghraib. Some of the soldiers are already being prosecuted for their actions, which involved defenseless Afghan civilians whose deaths were reportedly staged to look like combat casualties. But things could get far worse from here. (Also: If you want to see the photos, look elsewhere.) source (via • follow)
If we cut Planned Parenthood the $$ saved could sustain the war for 3 hrs 51 mins. $75 mil for 800 clinics a yr or 4 hrs of war. Priorities?
Wow. To point in a different direction, This is why they continued to sponsor the NASCAR vehicle – it would’ve only paid for like twenty minutes of the war, but it paid for itself hundreds of times over in terms of getting people to enlist, despite how hypocritical it looks.
So, it’s one thing to attack people living lives in normal conditions. That’s pretty awful on its own. But when you attack those who are starving and attempting to receive food from the World Food Program in Pakistan, that’s a whole new world of evil you’re entering. We feel awful for those who were hurt, and get behind Obama’s statement on this: ”Killing innocent civilians outside a World Food Program distribution point is an affront to the people of Pakistan, and to all humanity.” The more than 43 people killed and 100 injured didn’t deserve treatment like this from anyone. source
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