Anne and those with her were attacked by the Taliban terrorists who woke up that day not with a mission to educate or to help, but with a mission to destroy. A brave American was determined to brighten the light of learning through books, written in the native tongue of the students she had never met, whom she felt it incumbent to help.Secretary of State John Kerry • Discussing the death of Anne Smedinghoff, a 25-year-old U.S. Foreign Service Officer who was killed when delivering books to a school in Afghanistan. (Her group was ambushed by the Taliban, and she was one of six Americans killed Saturday.) Kerry, who had met the Illinois native just two weeks ago while on a trip to the country, said that she was ”a selfless, idealistic woman who woke up yesterday morning and set out to bring textbooks to school children, to bring them knowledge.” Her parents offered up a similar statement on the tragedy. Smedinghoff’s death is the first of a U.S. diplomat since last year’s Benghazi’s attack.
I did not hear the train at all. I did not hear the horn as it was approaching the intersection. I only heard it right about three seconds before it slammed into the back of the tractor-trailer.Midland, Tx. resident Joe Cobarobio • Discussing the train accident during the parade he was filming on Thursday — a Show of Support parade for veterans of war. Four people died in the accident on Thursday. A dozen of the victims in the accident — whether killed or injured — were veterans of the Iraq or Afghan Wars.
I would expect it will be significant, which means thousands, not hundreds, but I would not expect it to be the majority.British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond • Discussing the planned troop withdrawals out of Afghanistan next year. Roughly 500 troops will get removed by the end of 2012, leaving about 9,000 still in the country — so based on Hammond’s statement, as many as 4,500 troops will get withdrawn in 2013.
Afghanistan: US hands over Bagram jail
BBC News: The US military has handed control of a controversial prison housing more than 3,000 Taliban and terrorism suspects to the Afghan authorities, Afghan officials say. Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai has hailed the planned handover, disagreements with the US remain.
Photo credit: AFP via bbc.co.uk
Today in the U.S. losing patience (part two): While Hillary Clinton was toughening up her stance against Bashar al-Assad, Leon Panetta was getting similarly tough on Pakistan, which he claims is ”allowing terrorists to use their country as a safety net in order to conduct their attacks on our forces.” Panetta has been tough on Pakistan in the past, particularly their inaction regarding fighting terrorism, despite the U.S. giving the country billions of dollars in aid. Pakistan’s relationship with the U.S. was recently strained when they jailed a doctor who helped American forces find Osama bin Laden. (Above: Panetta with Afghan Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak, via the Secretary of Defense’s Flickr page)
Afghan peace council member killed: Arsala Rahmani, a former Taliban official who switched sides and became part of the country’s peace council to negotiate a peaceful end to the war, was shot and killed Sunday morning while he was on his way to work. The Taliban has denied responsibility. (photo by Reuters)
“These days, it takes only seconds for one picture to suddenly become an international headline.” That’s what our boy Leon Panetta has to say about the recent spate of videos, photos and incidents that have come out of the Afghan War lately. Panetta’s ship certainly isn’t a clean one — between videos showing soldiers urinating on bodies, soldiers inadvertently burning copies of the Koran, and a series of graphic photos the Los Angeles Times got a hold of, the Defense Department is feeling a lot of pressure to prevent more incidents like these — and has issued a crackdown to that effect. “Those headlines can impact the mission we’re engaged in, they can put your fellow service members at risk, they can hurt morale, and they can damage our standing in the world,” Panetta says. (photo by Jim Greenhill) source
Bruce’s wife tragically witnessed her husband’s death during one of their regular Skype video-chats on Monday. At the time of the incident, the family was hoping for a rescue and miracle, but later learned that it was not to be.Bradley Taber-Thomas, brother-in-law of U.S. Army Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark • Discussing the distressing way Clark’s wife learned of her Afghanistan-stationed husband’s death earlier this week — while the two were having a video chat on Skype. ”Although the circumstances were unimaginable, Bruce’s wife and extended family will be forever thankful that he and his wife were together in his last moments,” Taber-Thomas said. So sad. (via Stefan Becket)
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Before most people knew Obama was in Afghanistan, many rumors abounded about whether or not he actually was there. The White House’s national security team went on the offensive in an attempt to squash the stories, which started when an Afghan news source reported the president had landed in the country. (The president was actually in transit at the time, not in Afghanistan.) But that didn’t exactly calm nerves in the White House, which called up journalists asking them to take down tweets and stories in an effort to keep the president out of danger. Pretty crazy, right? On a side note, be sure to check out what the president signed yesterday.
It’s a document with a pretty intimidating name, that’s for sure. Obama’s trip to Afghanistan early Wednesday local time seemed loaded with mystery — few knew he was there until he was actually there. He was there to sign a document that many watching the news had no idea existed until today. And the document itself is the definition of how a long-standing war will finally end, thirteen years after it started — at least as far as combat troops go. This document, just eight pages, was so important that the White House had to release a fact sheet to explain it to the average joe. What does it mean to you, anyway? Here are three things you should take from the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement:
» So what’s the end date? The end of the document says this clearly: “It shall remain in force until the end of 2024.” (It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time this end date has been bandied about.) Which means, at that rate, the events around the Afghan War will be completely said and done 23 years after it started, though combat troops should be long gone. Hopefully.
I recognize that many Americans are tired of war. I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security. But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.President Barack Obama • Speaking in a televised speech in Afghanistan, hours after landing at a military base near Kabul in a surprise visit. While emphasizing the need to end the war — the last combat troops are expected to leave in 2014 — he spoke of the importance of seeing the mission through. “The goal that I set, to defeat Al Qaeda and deny it the chance to rebuild, is now within our reach,” he said. While in Afghanistan, the president signed a document with Afghan president Hamid Karzai “Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement,” meant to clarify the American role in the country after the war.
The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan is under-reporting the number of times that Afghan soldiers and police open fire on American and other foreign troops.
The coalition routinely reports attacks in which a coalition soldier is killed by an Afghan in uniform. But it does not report the instances in which an Afghan wounds U.S. or NATO troops or misses his target.
So, what don’t we know? Do we want to know?
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