Get Your Facts Straight...

I received this response from an individual that wanted to criticize the comment that I made that PFC Manning's release of classified documents was out of line. Here is his response and mine as well to his statements...

Keith Ktwo Muhammad August 20 at 9:02pm Report

if pfc manning perorted us soldiers killing innocent civilians whats wrong with that? if the masses of the people in the US CONDONE THE KILLING OF INNOCENT people then you they r no different from the people who orchastraighted 9/11

My dear friend, I voiced nothing untoward the data that was released. I spent two tours in Viet Nam and we had the same types of atrocious incidents there.

War is hell... for the people that fight it and for the people that are caught up in it. I did not think that the invasion of Iraq was a a good thing. I did think that the invasion of Afghanistan was a good thing because the people of Afghanistan allowed a known terrorist to plan and launch an attack against the United States from its soil.

I have issues with the number of civilians that have been killed and the manner in which they died. Those soldiers that willingly killed innocence civilians have and will be punished. Those civilians that died because they were within or close to the encampments of the enemy chose to be there and paid for their choices. Make no mistake, the Armed Services of the United States are not interested in killing the very people that they are attempting to liberate, albeit, liberation appears not to be the wishes of those same people.

If PFC Manning chose to be the whistle-blower against the atrocities in Afghanistan; and he has every right to do so, then he should have done the honorable thing by getting out of the service and then requested a hearing in front of Congress. He had no right to break military law and release military documents to the public. As a serviceman, I despise him for exposing the underbelly of the Armed Services.

I truly want nothing to do with the ME. The traditions and policies that govern everyday life simply don't fit in modern day times. Muslims willing to subjugate themselves to Sharia and/or any other forms of cruel and usual punishments deserve everything that they get. I want no parts of it, the oil, nor the traditions.

In addition, whoever, or whatever gave you the idea that Americans condone the atrocities committed there is sheer nonsense. Remember one thing, the Lockerbie bomber returned to Libya with cheers. Do you see, hear, or read of any instances where Americans cheer when word comes that civilians were killed in Afghanistan or Iraq - no! Get your facts straight and understand the full picture before you attempt to brand someone based upon the position they took.

I remain adamant - Manning should be placed under the jail in a dark spot for the rest of his natural life for releasing military documents without authorization. I could care less what information those documents held and why he did it.

Anything else...

In a democracy, silence is not golden; it is condonance in the face of injustices; it is fear, where the thought of reprisal fosters control – Rodney A. Davis

Afghanistan – What should be the End-Game for Troop Withdrawal

In the midst of the confrontational fiasco that is occurring between General McChrystal and the President of the United States, everyone is also attempting to reassess where the United States is with regard to the war in Afghanistan. How are we going to extract our Armed Forces from that arena and leave a stable government in place?

Entry into Afghanistan was as legitimate as one can ever ask for, given the proceeding actions attributed to Osama bin Laden and 9/11. We should have gone there and we should have done what we did prior to our government deciding that Iraq was a better place to bomb, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld. Bad mistake! We lost the big picture and the momentum when we took our eyes off of the prize in Afghanistan to enter into armed conflict in Iraq.

The Taliban had been routed. Schools and jobs were opening to those that had been shoved to the back of the line, namely its women. A relaxation of the strict Fundamentalism thought processes seemed to be giving the country a step up and back into the modern age. Less we forget, Afghanistan was a thriving country with a monarchy in place. Thrown into chaos by the dethroning of the King, Afghanistan has never been able to return to its previous austerity.

With that, I address the real issues, as I see them, as to how we can accomplish the end-game – removing ourselves from Afghanistan with a stable government in place. The method that the was agreed to as the best way to achieve the objective of defeating the Taliban was a Counter-Insurgency whereby we entered the strongholds of the Taliban and wrestle back from them the people being held captive under Taliban rule. Simple as it may seem, the threats to achieving this goal are hidden in the troubled assets that one would need to support a Country-Insurgency.

A stable government showing credibility is a must, local and national elections that are free of corruption, a significant standing army/police forces capable of maintaining order within the country with the added ability to repel hostile forces. Afghanistan does not, has never had, these basic elements to support its governmental structure. We were able to accomplish those basics within the Iraqi government on account of the cooperation that was garnered with the different sects/sheiks controlling Baghdad and the surrounding country.

Those objectives have not been reached in Afghanistan because the tribal and territorial leaders of Afghanistan are not ready to accept the concept of a central government. In Afghanistan, there is not the infrastructure presented in Iraq… Afghanistan is far-flung and isolated – a state of being that belies any hopes of making the governmental connections needed to corral the country’s local governments.

Genghis Khan was the last true ruler of Asian. Genghis Khan accomplished his amazing feat using fear and rewards – oppose him and receive his wrath; join him and enjoy the rewards of having done so. Vice-President Biden offered the best method of doing both by suggesting that we introduce the ‘drone’ to Afghanistan as a means of striking down those whom would offer resistance to a unified Afghanistan, but even that approach would require a standing army capable of keeping the peace when the United States’ Armed Forces are withdrawn.

An example of the leadership that is necessary for Afghanistan to succeed - the Republic of South Africa. President Mandela grasped the reins of his country, averted civil war, and lead his countrymen to a successful transition of power from the elitist class to the working class gentry of that country - that is what is needed by the people of Afghanistan and nothing less will do.

Without strong leadership, a significant standing army, and local police forces there will be no opportunity to withdraw honorably from Afghanistan. A significant standing army with local police forces should be an integral part of any end-game objective!

In a democracy, silence is not golden; it is condonance in the face of injustices; it is fear, where the thought of reprisal fosters control – Rodney A. Davis

Why Afghanistan is the New Viet Nam

On October 7 of 2001, the invasion of Afghanistan began. The aim of that invasion, as clearly stated by then President Bush, was to find Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and put them on trial, to destroy the whole organization of Al-Qaeda, and to remove the Taliban regime which supported and gave safe harbor to Al-Qaeda. This is the eighth year of our involvement in Afghanistan with no clear end in sight.

Since no clear exit strategy has ever been developed for Afghanistan, one is left with no hope that we will ever get out of Afghanistan. The Taliban were allowed to return to a position of strength in the rural areas of Afghanistan while the Bush Administration turned to new opportunities to bomb other countries with no exit strategy in place again. The invasion of Iraq (March of 2003) was the turning point in the war in Afghanistan.

At issue, whether we can ever walk away from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is more like Viet Nam for these reasons:

1. Lack of a strong government in place.
2. Lack of a disciplined standing Army.
3. Widespread political corruption.
4. No local authoritative forces to protect the people.

Refreshing the memory of those, that view Viet Nam as history, consider that the invasion of Viet Nam was not conventional in any way. Our involvement began as ‘military advisors’ to the South Vietnamese Army and escalated to direct involvement with the placement to a puppet government that never gained the confidence of the Vietnamese people.

“While the country was plunged in unprecedented turmoil and on the verge of collapse, the government adopted a strange attitude, a silence that was hard to understand except for a few appearances on TV and radio by President Thieu. People asked themselves questions and they tried to answer them themselves. Rumors circulated in place of government announcements. The Ministry of Information was mute, because the minister himself did not know much about the situation and did not know what the president’s intention was. Furthermore, he didn’t dare to take the initiative and talk about the things the president might not like or agree with.”

President Karzai is contributing to his country’s downfall by his obsession with retaining control with bribes and fraudulent election results. Much of what Karzai is doing mirrors the mistakes that President Thieu made by during the Viet Nam war. He is blaming the United States for failures consistent with what the government of Afghanistan has failed to accomplish… building a standing army, protection of the people of Afghanistan, and creating an atmosphere that would promote the agricultural strengths of Afghanistan. The poppy crop has continued to grow under the direction of members of Karzai’s family with impunity. The profits from narcotics is fueling the efforts of the Taliban because local governments can't stop the cultivation.

The insurgency, occupying tribal parts of Pakistan, is similar in scale to that of Viet Nam with the influx of guerrilla troops from neighboring Laos and Cambodia. The United States is ignoring these similarities at its peril. It's been reliably reported that Iran is also shaping the complexity of the war in Afghanistan as well.

The parallel is so similar between the two countries that it is frightening. Frightening because the United States is committing the same mistakes with zeal… we are assuming that we are superior! The countryside is in the hands of the enemy as with Viet Nam. The influx of American troops to shore up the government is another classic mistake, in that no local forces are being prepared to hold ground taken by U.S. forces.

With predictability, we will lose the war in Afghanistan if we cannot effectively reverse the trends that led to the capitulation of Viet Nam. We must withdraw from Iraq at a suitable time. Reducing the fronts will allow re-distribution of troops and resources. Strengthening the outlying provincial villages will take time, but should be a priority if we are to control the reach of the Taliban and gain the trust of the people of Afghanistan.


In a democracy, silence is not golden; it is condonance in the face of injustices; it is fear, where the thought of reprisal fosters control. – Rodney A. Davis

Here Is My Take

Iraq/Afghanistan

It is absolutely imperative that we divorce ourselves of the responsibility of ‘waiting’ until the Iraqis decide to unify under one flag and redistribute the profits from oil as one nation. A major problem with tribal nations is their inability to overcome the obstacles to unification that has been embedded in their minds since birth. We can’t wait; the President must declare an ultimatum and allow the chips to fall as they may. In doing so, we quickly release our armed forces from further obligations to Iraq; reduce the Defense budget outlay for the war in Iraq which in turn will give us an opportunity to address the dire situation in Afghanistan.

We must quickly ramp up our armed forces in Afghanistan; seal the border electronically between Afghanistan and Pakistan and patrol by fly-over a two mile wide zone in the mountainous border area. With the border under surveillance, we should put the backs of our troops to the mountains and move east eradicating the Taliban and Al Qaeda as we move eastward. It will take a year to eighteen months to secure the border.

We should use that downtime to rest the troops coming from Iraq. Once we have gotten the two mile zone depopulated (Afghans must move out of the de-populated zone) and fully under electronic surveillance, we should insert the troops and began the sweep to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. If the same amount of troops that were used at the height of the occupation of Iraq is use, this operation could be over in less than three years after mass troop insertion.

Employment and Re-tooling of the Work-Force

The Economy of the United States is ‘trickle-up’ and the current state of affairs on Wall Street and Main Street proves it to be just that. When credit dries up, the only thing that will open the doors to credit again is cash flow. We have to get the consumer spending again and the only way to do that is make jobs available to the workforce. We need the same kind of nationwide work projects that jumpstarted the economy the way the interstate highways did back in the late fifties and sixties. The new projects should be mass transit and the modification of the types of fuels that we use to produce energy.

Mass Transit

We have to reduce our dependence on oil and the method to complete it is three-fold. We must re-invent the way we get from point A to B. Applying the same intensity to mass transit that we applied to developing the interstate would give us the relief that we need in least than three years time. We must demand that our automotive engines meet new design specifications that make it possible to triple the miles per gallon that we currently accept. All vehicles should meet these new design specifications within three years from setting the mandate – no exceptions!

We must, in addition to reducing our dependence on oil, re-invent the way we produce energy. Mass usage of wind, gas, hydro-electric, and solar energy is the answer to achieving a reduction in the use of oil and, as a by-product, the reduction of pollutants in our atmosphere. Integrating these solutions into the workforce equation will further increase the employment of our workers in jobs that cannot be shipped overseas.