Karazi calls for “Peace Talks” with the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, Supreme Commander of the Taliban rejects talks. Once the Taliban were ‘friends’ of the United States. They met with President Reagan, even Mullah Omar sat in the Oval Office. They met with in Houston, Texas with Unocal in 1997 to discuss the Afghanistan Pipeline Project. Houston is known as the Kabul of the United States. Read more here.

President Reagan and Mullah Omar and Taliban Delegation in Oval Office

‘The people of Afghanistan will not agree to negotiation which prolongs and legitimises the invader’s military presence in our beloved country. Afghanistan is our home,’ a Taliban statement quoted Omar as saying. The elusive leader of the militia, which were unseated in the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, accused foreign powers of seeking negotiations to ‘prolong their evil process of colonization and occupation. The cunning enemy wants to attack people’s crowded places such as mosques and other similar places in order to malign the Mujahideen,’ Omar said. The one-eyed militant commander called on his fighters to ‘guard against these activities of the enemy and fully avoid carrying out any similar activity. The well-being and prosperity of the people should be your priority.’ The United States and Britain — which have the most troops in Afghanistan — have also opened the door for talks with militants they call ‘moderate Taliban,’ or those who do not have links to Al-Qaida. Omar is a founder of the Taliban and is often referred to as its ‘supreme commander’ or spiritual leader. Many analysts and diplomats believe he is hiding out in Pakistan, although Islamabad denies his presence. Click here for more.

After 8 years of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, the British have come up with a plan (of course, with U.S. approval) to include the Taliban in Karazi’s government. Who’s running Kabul? Is President Karazi just a puppet? That is what the Taliban believe, and this makes that look true.

Taliban to play role in Afghan govt: UK

EDINBURGH (Scotland): Ending the war in Afghanistan would include senior Taliban commanders sitting in Afghan government, Britain’s foreign secretary said on Tuesday.
David Miliband also told a meeting of Nato’s parliamentary assembly that military action must be accompanied by a political surge to restore Afghans’ faith in their corruption-scarred government.
He said the vast majority of Taliban fighters were not committed to a global jihad and could be persuaded to stop fighting. He said a settlement must include the top Taliban commanders prepared to renounce violence. ‘Once reintegration gains momentum, and the insurgency is starting to fray, we will need to support President Karzai in reaching out to those commanders that can be persuaded to renounce Al Qaeda and pursue their goals peacefully within the constitutional framework,’ he said. Click here for more.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

* * *
Take Action Now: It is not too late !
Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: Stop the South Waziristan War and don’t attack Quetta, End the War(s).

How much does the War Spending cost your congressional district (if you live in the U.S.)? Find out at the National Priorities Project (click here). Only YOU can stop this.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War Now.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT DECEMBER 1, ON TELEVISION: PRESIDENT OBAMA TO LAY OUT THE PLAN HOW MORE TROOPS WILL BRING AN END TO THE WAR. FUZZY PLANNING?

“It’s my intention to finish the job,” Obama said Tuesday in the East Room of the White House at at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “I feel very confident when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we’re doing there and how we’ll achieve our goals, they’ll be supportive.”

This is our message to you, Mr. President.

Photo Denice Rehse Watson www.barewitness.org

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Take Action Now: It is not too late !
Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: Stop the South Waziristan War and don’t attack Quetta, End the War(s).

How much does the War Spending cost your congressional district (if you live in the U.S.)? Find out at the National Priorities Project (click here). Only YOU can stop this.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War Now.

BULLETIN: With the national debt now topping $12 trillion, the White House estimates that the government’s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year, even if annual budget deficits shrink drastically. Other forecasters say the figure could be much higher. In concrete terms, an additional $500 billion a year in interest expense would total more than the combined federal budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. [Ed. Note: Just on the financial costs to the U.S. for the WARS, it is enough to turn off the funds. We are not doing any good with our troops on the ground there. Read on. Sign the petition at the bottom of the Post, and call President Obama, his number is there also.]

The Top Contracts
Who Got What in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004–2006

Many Pallets of 100 US Dollar Bills are necessary to pay these contracts

Ok, let’s guess how much the top contract was for, and who got it? I want you to think about this for one moment. The Center for Public Integrity put out this study of the top 100 contracts, and also, the top 100 contractors. How much was the #1 contract worth? How much was the last one on the list, the 100th contract worth? Here’s the results:

The top contract was for $15 Billion US Dollars and it went to KBR (formerly Kellog, Brown and Root) Look at the link to see what they got this money for. KBR was a subsidiary of Halliburton during this time, Dick Cheney was CEO of this company before becoming Vice President under George W. Bush.

Contract # 100, the lowest on the list was for $51 Million Dollars to L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. That’s right readers, 51 MILLION US DOLLARS ranks 100th in the least costly contract for the Iraq-Afghanistan Wars in 2004 through 2006. More dollars are needed now to keep the war(s) going. It is estimated to be over 100 Million US Dollars every day right now, plus the loss of lives on all sides, the wounded humans on all sides, and the totally innocent lives lost while the sides continue to kill each other. Enough is Enough.

Out of Iraq, Into the Gulf by Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt, November 23, 2009

They report: “So here’s the mystery. You have a country that only recently had upward of 300 military bases, monster to micro, in a single war-torn land, Iraq. It probably now has something like 300 bases combined in Iraq and Afghanistan (where base-building is on the rise). Outside of those war zones, it has perhaps 800 more “facilities” (as they’re called) around the globe and thousands more at home. Some of them are absolutely enormous, the equivalent of small American towns with all the amenities of home.”

No more money for base expansion. Cut 10 bases a month for one year, how much will that save?

Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan Google Image 2009

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

* * *
Take Action Now:
Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: Stop the South Waziristan War and don’t attack Quetta, End the War(s).

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War Now.

Zardari and Aides Granted Immunity in Graft Cases
[Ed. Note: Several weeks ago, we predicted that President Zardari's days as President of Pakistan are limited due to these corruption/graft cases that were dismissed by President Musharraf two years ago. Now, the cases are active again, due to the Parliament rejecting the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)]

Pakistan President Zardari and photo of Past-President Musharraf

UPDATES: LAHORE: PML-Q Secretary-General Mushahid Husain Syed has demanded that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani should seek resignation from the ministers who have benefited from the National Reconciliation Ordinance. And Corruption and the NRO.

Who’s running this Country and Why? Noam Chomsky dissecting state propaganda slogans.”Support our Troops”, Excerpt from “Class War: he Attack On Working People” (1998). Thanks Anna Ng.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

* * *
Take Action Now:
Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: Stop the South Waziristan War and don’t attack Quetta, End the War(s).

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War Now.

Lou Dobbs “Mr. President, bring ALL the troops home now, not just from Iraq and Afghanistan, but from Germany, Italy, Japan, and every country they are stationed in“

Michael Moore says “We need to leave, this is not our business. No more Troops, bring the troops home. It is unwinnable. The President of Afghanistan’s brother is a leader in the Opium trade? When is this going to stop?”

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

* * *
Take Action Now:
Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: Stop the South Waziristan War and don’t attack Quetta, End the War(s).

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War Now.

OUR FIRST RE-RUN: On October 1, 2009 we posted the following story. It is the most sought after story by TAGS on our site so we are reposting it today for a portion of the day. There’s a following story that is on topic also.You can also read “Blood Borders: Kurdistan, Pashtunistan, Balochistan, and other Ethnic homelands divided are the problem; Britain ended its military mission in Iraq; Pakistan Poll: “U.S. greater danger than India” HERE.

BULLETIN:Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s second in command, has sung the praises of former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud on a videotape produced by As Sahab and distributed on jihadi forums. Zawahiri used Baitullah’s death to praise the Taliban’s fight against NATO and the US in Afghanistan. This story outlines what al Qaeda believes about the Pakistan Government and Military, that they work for foreign governments, not for the people.]

Artificial lines separating Tribes are causing the problems that can not be solved with guns/bombs/drones.

Two of the Huge Problems that no one is facing in Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan are due to artificial borders laid out years ago. The Iraq problem is what to do with the Kurds, who lay claim to Kirkuk (after Saddam sent Iraqi’s into Kirkuk and chased out/killed many Kurds so now the population is not a high majority of Kurds like it was before Saddam’s action), the richest underdeveloped oil fields in Iraq. Who gets this oil? Will the Iraqi’s kill all the Kurds? Will the Turks help out as many Kurds are in what is known as Turkey? The Turks battle and kill Kurds when they please. Read our story 40 Million? Leyla Zana speaks for them.

Kurdish Woman's headdress

Pashtun Women in headdress

The splitting up of land masses and calling the areas within artifical lines “Countries” has led to much damage in Central Asia and many other places. Let’s look at Pashtunistan, an area of land that is made up primarily of people of Pastun descent. It happens to not be a country at all. It was divided by an artificial line, the Durand Line in 1893. Pashtunistan is now the area that is under the most fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan as Pastunistan covers most of what is now called Afghanistan, and a majority of the lands now called Pakistan, which was known as British India before Pakistan was cut out of India. Here’s Pashtunistan:

The Green Area is Pashtunistan (2007 map) The Green line is the Durand Line with a small change since 1893

Let’s take a quick look to Kurdistan. The Kurds have a small area of Iraq on the North that they are left to self-govern. This is all of the recognized areas that the Kurds now have, even though there are over 40 Million Kurds in four different countries, all held down by their new Nation. Here’s what Kurdistan should look like:

A different map of Kurdistan Area

Balochistan and the other three areas that should be countries

Gowar Shakar Bibi, founder of Baloch Women Panel(BWP) at a press conference in January 2005 condemning the Pakistani operation against Baloch people in New Kahan.

Action YOU can take:

Congress Should Vote "No" on 2010 Military Budget! To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: Vote No on the Military budget. End the War(s).

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War Now.

What Kurdistan Could Look Like, 40 Million People Deserve their own Country

The Kurdistan Alliance, however, has rejected giving any special status to Kirkuk simply because it has a Kurdish majority. If the oil-rich area is given special status, then, by equal measure maintains the Alliance, so should other disputed territories where Kurds happen to be minorities. To implement a quota system would indeed be profoundly undemocratic. Read it all here.

It’s Kirkuk OIL, the largest field yet to be explored in Iraq. Delovan Barwari writes at the Kurdish Herald “According to various studies, Kurdistan sits on 43.7 billion barrels (bb) of proven oil and 25.5 bb of potential reserves. In addition, the majority of the estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of gas in Iraq is reported to be in Kurdistan Region. Against the backdrop of challenges by the Iraqi central government over the past few years, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has granted over 30 contracts to foreign companies for the exploration, development, and production of petroleum in the Kurdistan Region, and has began exporting crude oil via Turkey. In addition, a number of refineries are currently being built to meet its domestic energy needs.” Read his full story here. Great Map of the Oil Fields in the Kurdish region of Iraq is presented here.
A KIRKUK OIL Map for your viewing:

Fringing Reef (Oligocene) of Kirkuk Oil Field (Dunnington, 1958)

There should be an Independent Kurdistan, much larger than the current Iraq Kurd area. There should also be an Independent Pastunistan, since 2/3 of Afghanistan’s area is Pashtun populated, Pashtuns number over 40 Million and have no home country. There should be an Independent Balochistan, with over 7 Million population, and over 45% of the Pakistan country lands. The Durand Line that cut up parts of Central Asia in 1893, and other political divisions were wrong. See our Durand Line story here.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

* * *
Take Action Now:
Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: Stop the South Waziristan War and don’t attack Quetta, End the War(s).

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War Now.

Dainel Ellsberg and Matthew Hoh brought to you by Brave New Conversations. Please listen to their conversation about our involvement in Afghanistan, and why we need to get out now. Please send this to all your mailing list.

Thank you Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films. Join their cause and help get the truth out.

To further understand the Pastun society that Matthew Hoh refers to, read Thomas Johnson and M. Chris Mason’s work entitled ” No Sign Until the Burst of Fire”, Understanding the Pakistan-Afghanistan Frontier”. It is a MUST READ to see how futile our efforts are in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

CIA Chief Leon Panetta in Islamabad

[Ed. Note: Leon, tell President Zardari that we're leaving, but we will give them 5 Billion a year to keep up the fight. Get out now, dear friend, Leon Panetta, tell President Obama "It's not worth it". We are propping up a Failed State and Zardari only has support in the Teens, under 20% approval rating. Stop the killing of innocents.]

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call your Member of Congress and tell them to support Rep. Barbara Lee’s bill “To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.” Bill # H.R.3699. Do it now please. Then call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. Tell them to support Barbara Lee’s bill HR 3699. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

As-Sahab Media Foundation: Interview with Dr. Ahmad Farooq This comes from www.nefafoundation.org, visit their site. This interview is worth your time to read. It will allow you to view their perspective and will add to your knowledge base of why al-Qaida exists, and what are their goals and objectives. The interview is full of terms unfamiliar to non-Muslims and is not easy to read, but is worth your viewing. Please comment on this and other stories on this post at the end of the post. Your comments are welcome.

[This document is the transcript of a communiqué produced by Al-Qaida’s official As-Sahab Media Wing. It was obtained by NEFA investigators on behalf of the NEFA TerrorWatch subscription service. The As-Sahab Media Foundation is the official propaganda arm of Al-Qaida and is the exclusive source of audio and video recordings of Bin Laden, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, and other high-ranking Al-Qaida leaders in South Asia. This transcript is provided for educational and informational purposes only.]

From Dawn.com: MIRAMSHAH:

The Taliban hit back Wednesday at claims that towns in their mountain bastion have fallen to Pakistan army control, vowing their guerrilla war would defeat troops waging a major assault.

Azam Tariq, (C) spokesman for the TTP, is flanked by his guards a during meeting with local journalists in South Waziristan.—AFP photo

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

From Times of India: ISLAMABAD:

A majority of Pakistanis see the United States as a greater threat to their country than traditional arch-rival India or the dreaded Taliban, a new opinion poll has revealed.

* * *
Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call your Member of Congress and tell them to support Rep. Barbara Lee’s bill “To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.” Bill # H.R.3699. Do it now please. Then call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. Tell them to support Barbara Lee’s bill HR 3699. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Overwhelmingly approved on Sunday (Nov. 15) by the California Democratic Party’s 300-member statewide executive board, the resolution is titled “End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan.” Our thanks go out to Norman Solomon, Karen Bernal, Marcy Winograd, and Dr. Bill Honigman for their great organizing, and thanks to all the members of PDA and the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party for this terrific effort. Keep the pressure on now. Other States, pick up this resolution and get your state party to adopt it also. Add fuel to the Peace Fire NOW.

California delivered 55 Electoral votes to the Obama-Biden ticket; Which state will be next to adopt this Resolution?

The resolution “End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan” supports “a timetable for withdrawal of our military personnel” and calls for “an end to the use of mercenary contractors as well as an end to air strikes that cause heavy civilian casualties.” Advocating multiparty talks inside Afghanistan, the resolution also urges Obama “to oversee a redirection of our funding and resources to include an increase in humanitarian and developmental aid.” Read more here.
A special thanks to Marine Corporal Rick Reyes for his working to stop the war, and to Rethink Afghanistan for their efforts to visually bring this war to the people whose name it is being fought. And Matthew Hoh (see our Hoh interview Post here), we applaud your efforts and await others with your beliefs to step forward and follow the truth and resign their positions also. The handwriting is on the wall: End the War(s) NOW.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

The children of Falluja Doctors are dealing with an increase in chronic deformities in infants in Falluja, where heavy munitions were used in 2004 Many areas of Iraq and Afghanistan have Depleted Uranium dust covering the ground after being released into the air when the shells exploded, releasing the uranium into the air. How many other areas are like Falluja? If this is not a War Crime (the use of Depleted Uranium), there is no such thilng as a War Crime. Who made the decision to allow Depleted Uranium to be used on shells? Who was in charge at the time? Who gave final approval? When was this approved? These innocent babies are the result of this policy to allow Depleted Uranium to be used in making armaments (howitzer shells and bombs). These are our babies.

What will be the condition of our troops that served in Falluja? Another Agent Orange? Using Depleted Uranium is a War Crime waiting to be charged.

* * *
Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call your Member of Congress and tell them to support Rep. Barbara Lee’s bill “To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.” Bill # H.R.3699. Do it now please. Then call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. Tell them to support Barbara Lee’s bill HR 3699. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

And the Pakistan Military action spreads to Orakzai Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Area.: ‘Taliban’s Orakzai positions bombed’ was a front-page headline in this newspaper yesterday and there is every indication that the ongoing campaign of aerial bombing will continue to chip away at the TTP’s strongholds in the area. Following Operation Rah-i-Nijat in South Waziristan, it has emerged that not just the top leadership of the TTP but even many of its foot soldiers had already escaped from South Waziristan and fled, it is believed, mainly to Kurram and Orazkai agencies.

Orakzai Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan

Orakzai in particular has become the focus of analysts because of its links to Hakeemullah Mehsud. Hakeemullah is believed to have laid his claim to the TTP leadership slot on the back of the fiefdom he established in parts of Orakzai, making the agency a natural hiding place for TTP militants on the run. Hakeemullah’s second wife is also from Orakzai.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

Afghanistan has been rated by Transparency International as the second-most corrupt nation in the world, with public sector corruption worsening for the second consecutive year.

Only war-torn Somalia rates worse on the Berlin-based organisation’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 180 nations, which was released on Tuesday.The group said of Afghanistan: “Examples of corruption range from public posts for sale and justice for a price to daily bribing for basic services. “This, along with the exploding opium trade – which is also linked to corruption – contributes to the downward trend in the country’s CPI score.” [Ed. Note: The U.S. Government has spent over 231 Billion Dollars in Afghanistan since 2002. Enough is Enough. End the War(s) NOW.]

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Matthew Hoh tells why he resigned and why U.S. troops are not doing any good in Afghanistan. The people are fighting the U.S. troops because they have invaded their country. No good can come of the troops remaining there. Sending more troops will only lead to more troops being wounded and killed, and for innocent lives to be lost along with the “Taliban” dying also.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

Open Letter From the Peace Movement to President Obama on His Upcoming Decision Regarding the Afghan War By Cynthia McKinney:

Dear Mr. President:

According to press reports, you intend to decide between November 7 and November 11 whether or not to send tens of thousands of American soldiers to Afghanistan. We are writing in advance of that decision to add our voice to those of Sen. Feingold, many House Democrats, and of a clear majority of Americans in urging you not to escalate this war, but rather to announce an immediate cease-fire followed by a withdrawal of all US troops in the fastest way consistent with the safety of our forces. We urge you to end the policy of using Predator drones to assassinate Pakistani civilians on the territory of their own country, in defiance of all concepts of international law. We also call upon you to cease all covert CIA and Pentagon operations in Afghanistan,Pakistan, and Iran.

No vital American interest is at stake in Afghanistan. Former Marine and State Department official Matthew Hoh is right: the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan have come to be viewed as invaders and occupiers, and the resistance they encounter has nothing to do with international terrorism. This war is futile, and now doomed to failure. There is no military solution to the problems that beset Afghanistan. Afghanistan and the rest of this tragically war-torn region need a Marshall Plan of peaceful economic development, through which some of the 15 million unemployed workers in our own country could find productive jobs. We have no confidence in the advice being given to you by military leaders like Gen. McChrystal, who has been implicated in torture in Iraq. Read the Full Letter Here.

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Who says the Arabs are not doing enough to fight terrorism? Here’s Arab Princes and Sheikhs that are coming to Pakistan to help. Pakistan government agrees with 10 Princes, gives them licenses to kill. The War is over? It is safe in Pakistan?

Rich Arab Princes get licenses to bring 450 Falcons to Pakistan to kill the endangered Houbara Bustard bird

KARACHI: The government has issued 10 licences to Arab princes and sheikhs, allowing them to bring 470 falcons into the country to hunt endangered bird species, Daily Times learnt on Saturday. The sources said the provincial wildlife department usually charges large amounts for issuing such licences but the Arab dignitaries had not been charged anything. The document said the government had allowed Sheikh Ali Bin Abdullah Thani Al-Thani, member of the Supreme Council of the Royal Family of the State of Qatar, to bring 50 falcons; Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, prime minister and foreign minister of the State of Qatar, 50; Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the heir apparent of the State of Qatar, 30; Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayad Al-Nahyan, 10 and 15 for Prince Fahad Ben Sultan Ben Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, governor of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

The January 2010 elections in Iraq will not solve the problem of the City of Kirkuk. This is the major oil field that the Kurds believe belongs to them and they want the oil revenues. Iraq says it belongs to Iraq. Iraqi Kurdistan is the problem. The Kurds want it to be an independent Kurdistan, and cover a larger area than just what is inside Iraq. [See our many Kurdistan stories under the topic on the right of this page.]

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

French Journalist stands by kickbacks report: “Today we are absolutely sure that Mr Zardari received a lot of kickbacks from this contract signed in Sept 1994, with DCN: French journalist Guillaume Dasquie.—”

President Zardari and photo of his assassinated wife, Benazir Bhutto, photo by REUTERS/Toby Melville

From Dawn.com: ISLAMABAD: It’s a scandal and a label that refuses to go away. Allegations of kickbacks to the tune of ten per cent on government deals have come back to haunt the beleaguered president. But the investigations do not come from within Pakistan but have been unearthed by a French court and released in French newspaper Liberation.Standing by his story, French journalist Guillaume Dasquie says: ‘Today we are absolutely sure that Mr Zardari received a lot of kickbacks from this contract signed in September 1994, with DCN, the builder of the submarine.’He was referring to a deal between France and Pakistan for French state contractor DCN to build the subs in Karachi. It was during Benazir Bhutto’s second tenure and the infamous era where Asif Zardari earned the nickname Mr Ten Per Cent. It’s claimed Mr Zardari received up to $4.3 million in kickbacks. An amount of $49.5 million is what the military (or the then top man in Navy) allegedly received as part of the same deal. Some of the transactions were uncovered by Swiss Judge Vincent Fournier during separate investigations into money laundering by the late Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

From The Times of India:Taliban blow up Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) building, the place they were ‘Created’. ISI is Pakistan’s CIA (Central Intelligence Agency, USA).

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Justforeignpolicy.org announces “Demonstrations in 100 cities against war escalation: Read the whole story here: Note that the strategy of asking 100 cities to announce demonstrations now on the same day as the President’s speech isn’t about trying to reach the big national media, which will continue to ignore or ridicule anti-war protests, as is their wont. It’s about trying to move Members of Congress by getting into local media reports of the President’s speech, and it’s about undermining the ability of the White House to try to sell escalation to the American people – already an extremely difficult task, as the White House acknowledges.

A large part of the American population watches local TV news, reads a local newspaper, or listens to local radio news, and especially in smaller cities, local TV and newspapers and radio are often very willing to cover local protests that are tied to a major national political event. Imagine that many Americans are watching their local TV news, and the top story is the President’s speech, and the next story is “but local protesters say that escalation is not the answer.” Might that deter the White House? I think it might. [Ed. Note: Call President Obama (202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121) and your Member of Congress today and tell them you will be demonstrating in the streets if President Obama adds any troops to the wars in Central Asia. It only takes a few minutes but the office staff will be talking about it and your Member of Congress will hear about it.]

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

Veterans for Common Sense Reports (read the whole report here) DoD Fact Sheet: 89,457 Service Member Battlefield Casualties AND Estimated TBI and PTSD Casualties: Traumatic Brain Injury: 370,000 Soldiers (19.5% of 1.9 million deployed) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: 350,000 Soldiers (18.5% of 1.9 million deployed)

Sources: Department of Defense: Afghanistan War (Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF), Casualties from Oct. 7, 2001, through Oct. 31, 2009; Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF), Casualties from Mar. 19, 2003, through Oct. 31, 2009; RAND: “Invisible Wounds: Mental Health and Cognitive Care Needs of America’s Returning Veterans,” Apr. 17, 2008. Note: As the number of service members deployed to the war zones rises, then the RAND estimates of TBI and PTSD casualties also rise. [Ed. Note; ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For what? More Oil?]

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s).We will demonstrate in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia ! Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. Tell them you will march in 100 cities if President Obama sends ANY troops to Central Asia. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Seymour Hersh says that the U.S. is ready to fly into Pakistan on 4 hours notice to “protect” the nuclear weapons held by Pakistan if there is a terrorist disturbance and attack on the weapons locations.
The U.S. attack group is called FEST for “Foreign Emergency Support Team” . Read more here.

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

Pakistan President Zardari accused of getting a kickback of 10% of the price of three submarines bought by the Pakistan Military from the French Government.

[Ed. Note: This is the corrupt cesspool of Central Asia politics. Those that rule rip off the funds generated by the government. It is impossible to change this by changing the rulers. It runs the countries. It is a way of life. The U.S. military can protect the leaders because they feel the alternative leaders are worse, that is, won't follow U.S. policy. The U.S. is there to protect the oil fields, and the oil pipeline and future pipeline routes.]

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has listed a graft as well as a criminal case against President Asif Ali Zardari for hearing on November 16 and 17, raising fresh questions about his fate. The two cases are from 1998 and 1999. Are there fresh cases coming next? Asif Ali Zadari, President of Pakistan (known as Mr. 10% as people claim that when his wife was Prime Minister, any big contract with the government, he got 10% of the revenues. The press can not call him Mr. 10% in Pakistan)

Malalai Joya’s story will be on our Blog every day for the next month. Please buy her book and visit her site.. Read her San Jose Mercury Opinion: “U.S. is doing no good in Afghanistan” here.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

Karzai hits back against critics

[Ed. Note: This is how the U.S. plans to withdraw from Afghanistan. Gordon Brown agrees with President Obama, Afghanistan has six months to stop the 1,000's of years of corruption. The U.S. has drafted a plan to Stop Corruption and will be making Karazi follow it or lose the funding and backing of the U.S. government. This is a tiger without teeth position]

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Leading article: Why we must leave Afghanistan an Opinion from The Independent On Sunday [New poll in England shows 75% of citizens want all troops out within one year]

One by one over the past eight years, the arguments for the continued presence of Nato troops in Afghanistan have fallen away. The last one, which held us back until now from calling for withdrawal, was the need to police the Afghan election in August. That election process is now over: last week the president’s main opponent pulled out, and Hamid Karzai was formally re-elected. That is not a happy outcome. For British soldiers to be deployed in support of a president whose position is bolstered by ballot-rigging tips the balance of our view from reluctant backing for the mission in Afghanistan to regretful opposition.

The Independent on Sunday is proud of Britain’s armed forces, and has led the way in demanding that the Government honour – on behalf of the British people – its side of the military covenant, to provide troops with the equipment that they need and the support that they and their families deserve. On this Remembrance Sunday, we reassert our belief that our forces are entitled, above all, to clear and believable war aims.

…Ultimately, we should make a British decision in the British interest. And that decision should be to wind down combat operations over a period – say, by Remembrance Sunday next year – and to restrict the mission to training the Afghan army and police force. Special forces operations should continue, especially on the Pakistan border, to disrupt any attempt by al-Qa’ida to return. But beyond that it is time to act on the observation of David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, that there can be no military solution in Afghanistan.

It is time, on this solemn day on which we remember the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our freedom and security, for a change in policy. It is time to say that this war is ill conceived, unwinnable and counterproductive. It is time to start planning a phased withdrawal of British troops. Read the full Opinion here.

Malalai Joya’s story will be at the end of this Post every day. Please buy her book and visit her site.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Our story on Malalai Joya can be seen here. Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website here for more information on how you can help.

Our story showing Daniel Ellsberg’s interview is being replayed here as it is important for all to view.
Daniel Ellsberg: “No Victory in Afghanistan. Just take the Pentagon Papers and use the word Afghanistan instead of Vietnam, and you have the same thing.” Ellsberg points out that it will take about 600,000 to 700,000 troop increase (Afghan Military and U.S. and NATO troops) to have an effective counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Ellsberg says that the only reason that we are stil there is the Pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan. [See our Pipelinestan stories here.] Ellsberg believes that President Obama will cave in to the McCrystal request of 40,000 troops because he will not want the Military to revolt against him. He picked these military leaders, gave them the task of coming up with a “plan”, and now that they did, Pres. Obama is stuck with adding more troops. This will only lead to more deaths on all sides.

[Ed. Note: Please pass this on to all your friends. It is a "MUST SEE", and see if you can get it up the chain of command to your military friends and government official friends. Send a copy to your members of Congress and U.S. Senators. Demand that they listen to Daniel Ellsberg, the man who is responsible for the Vietnam War ending with the release of the Pentagon Papers]

Final thought: There are people in the know that have information like the Pentagon Papers. Please step forward and End the War(s) NOW. Your country will be grateful.

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

I admit, I find it surprising how much Iraq recedes in our view as 2010’s drawdown grows nearer; I suppose there’s only so much ink for a (electronic) page, and Afghanistan is in everyone’s minds. But Iraq remains a fragile state, and the US presence there is significant still. So, a few pieces from here and there that I thought I’d bring to your attention.

First, it did not go unnoticed that the Iraq parliament succeeded in passing election reform [WSJ]:

Lawmakers agreed Sunday on the key sticking point — how the vote will be held in the oil-rich area of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, which is claimed by Sunni Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds.

“We didn’t get everything we wanted, but at least it’s done now,” said Fryad Rawandoozi, spokesman for the Kurdish bloc.

Despite the eleventh-hour agreement, Iraq’s election commission said Sunday that it still didn’t have enough time to prepare for the January 2010 vote. The commission can’t delay the poll unilaterally, however, and Parliament’s agreement appears to have put the election back on track.

In the agreement hammered out over Kirkuk, eligible voters will be determined by 2009 voter-registration records, a condition supported by the Kurds. But a technical committee will be set up to review the votes. If there are a certain number of irregularities, the elections will be repeated in a year, a condition pushed by the Arabs and Turkmen.

I think the key word in the phrase “appears to have put the election back on track” is “appears,” though wrestling with the Kurd bloc is certainly a step in the right direction. Kurdistan has always fascinated me, an island unto itself, almost. However, if things truly proceed only a fortnight or so behind schedule, it shouldn’t compromise the US military withdrawal; though I still remain concerned that security in Iraq is of the smokescreen variety.

From Army News we learn of a key-giving ceremony, granting more MNF-controlled land back to, well, the Iraqis:

The Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, part of Joint Area Support Group-Central, helped contribute to that progress, Oct. 25, when they handed the keys to two large properties inside Baghdad’s International Zone back over to the Iraqi government — a symbolic gesture that transferred the property to the Iraqis.

“In terms of square footage of habitable structures, Essayons and Freedom Compound are the largest we’ve turned over so far,” said the 32nd Brigade’s Maj. Gregory Schlub, who is the officer in charge of real properties for Joint Area Support Group-Central, in Baghdad.

The two properties, formerly used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, include about 25 acres of land and buildings with about 380,000 square feet of floor space.

I really hope I’m not the only person rather uncomfortable granting a “key to the city” to the people who in fact possess it; methinks a press pool officer might’ve thought a bit harder about that one.

Stratfor, sharing my wariness about January 2010, writes of Iraq: A Rebounding Jihad:

The Sunni sheikhs are using the [Islamic State of Iraq] to send a message to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that the Sunnis must be accommodated if there is to be real peace and stability in Iraq. One sticking point for the Sunni elders is that a large percentage of the Awakening Council members have not been integrated into the security forces as promised. Of course, the Shia and Kurds then use these attacks as an excuse for why the Sunnis cannot be trusted — and it all becomes a vicious circle.

The political situation that is driving the security problems in Iraq is complex and cannot be easily resolved. There are many internal and external players who are all trying to influence the final outcome in Iraq for their own benefit. In addition to the internal squabbles over power and oil wealth, Iraq is also a proxy battleground where the United States and Iran are attempting to maintain and assert influence. Regional players like the Saudis, Syrians and Turks also will take a keen interest in the elections and will certainly attempt to influence them to whatever degree they can. The end result of all this meddling is that peace and stability will be hard to obtain.

This means that terrorist attacks likely will continue for the foreseeable future, including attacks by the ISI. If the attacks in August and October are any indication, the remainder of the run-up to the January elections could prove quite bloody.

Granted, had IED defenses not been put into place, the attack on Oct. 25 in Baghdad could have done significantly more damage, but in a sense this is the crucible in which ISF will indeed prove itself. Can ISF keep its citizens secure as the Americans leave? Can it prevent politically motivated terrorist conflict? Can it do so and remain a strong independent force not subject to corruption?

I hope so. But the first quarter of ‘10 will be an important time to watch Iraq, I think.

Finally, Alissa Rubin’s column in the New York Times, From Iraq, Lessons for the Next War:

And victory in Iraq almost always begets revenge.

In my five years in Iraq, all that I wanted to believe in was gunned down. Sunnis and Shiites each committed horrific crimes, and the Kurds, whose modern-looking cities and Western ways seemed at first so familiar, turned out to be capable of their own brutality. The Americans, too, did their share of violence, and among the worst they did was wishful thinking, the misreading of the winds and allowing what Yeats called “the blood-dimmed tide” to swell. Could they have stopped it? Probably not. Could it have been stemmed so that it did less damage, saved some ofthe fathers and brothers, mothers and sons? Yes, almost certainly, yes.

Ricks tipped me off to this article, and while I find it to be one of the least compelling styles of journalism–personal experience masked as opinion masked as news–I do find it interesting to read in the context of the leavetaking that is being prepared. Lessons learned, people? Bring ‘em here.

[Ed. Note: This is a very important story and will remain up for a second day. Malalai tells the story of how it was to be raised in Afghanistan and life over the past 30 years in her country. A story everyone should know, especially the decision makers in the White House before a decision is made on adding more troops. If you know high-ups, please pass this to them. Thank you Malalai Joya for all you have done and are doing to free your people in Afghanistan.]

On Saturday, Nov. 7, Malalai Joya was at a gathering at San Jose State University in California to promote her book “A Woman Among Warlords” and to gather support for her people in Afghanistan. Malalai is a very brave woman to take on her own government and also the U.S. government, the occupiers of her country.

Malalai Joya signing her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, a JB photo

Buy a copy of her book, “A Woman Among Warlords” here, or at your favorite bookstore. A great Holiday gift idea. The subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice”. Visit Malalai’s website: www.malalaijoya.com for more information on how you can help.

From the dustcover of her book:

From the Introduction of “A Woman Among Warlords” buy it here:

…When I was a baby in my mother’s arms, the Soviet Union invaded my country. When I was four years old, my family and I were forced to live as refugees in Iran then Pakistan. Millions of Afghans were killed or exiled, like my family, during the battle-worn 1980’s. When the Russians finally left and their puppet regime was overthrown, we faced a vicious civil war between fundamentalist warlords, followed by the rule of the depraved and medieval Taliban.

After the tragic day of September 11, 2001, many in Afghanistan thought that, with the ensuing overthrow of the Taliban, they might finally see some light, some justice and progress. But it was not to be. The Afghan people have been betrayed once again by those claiming to help them. More than seven years after the U.S. invasion, we are still faced with foreign occupation and a U.S.-backed government filled with warlords who are just like the Taliban. Instead of putting these ruthless murderers on trial for war crimes, the United States and its allies placed them in positions of power, where they continue to terrorize ordinary Afghans.

[Ed. Note: If Malalai Joya is coming to your town, make sure to see her. She is a very powerful voice for her people, the citizens of Afghanistan. Buy her book here, and pass this post to your friends.

Go in Peace, Malalai Joya, the bravest woman in Afghanistan.

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You can help Malalai Joya -Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Member of Congress Eric Massa says End the Afghan War Now

Support Congress Member Eric Massa, “Enough is Enough”. Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Also Read: Robert Fisk: America is performing its familiar role of propping up a dictator (thanks Pubali). He’s our Dictator.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.

Watch Finbarr O’Reilly and hear his comments embedded with Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Thanks to Globalpost.com: Video: Embedded with Canadian troops, photographer Finbarr O’Reilly captures the confusion and chaos of a worsening conflict. GlobalPost Editor’s note: Finbarr O’Reilly is a Reuters photographer based in Africa. He has made three trips to Afghanistan over the past three years, embedding each time with the Canadian army and their Afghan counterparts operating in Kandahar Province’s Panjwaii and Zhari districts, from where the Taliban originated. This audio slideshow captures some of the chaos and confusion of a worsening conflict.

‘US drone strikes may break international law’ from Dawn.com:

Grim Reaper, with 4 Hellfire Missiles, 2 sidewinder air to air missiles, and 2 GBU Paveway laser guided bombs, can fly at 60,000 feet, controlled from Nevada, USA by computer

40 Million Kurds want their own Country. See our other Kurdistan stories here and here.

What is Mine is Mine; What is Yours is Negotiable KurdishMedia.com -By Dr. Rashid Karadaghi

Daniel Ellsberg: “No Victory in Afghanistan. Just take the Pentagon Papers and use the word Afghanistan instead of Vietnam, and you have the same thing.” Ellsberg points out that it will take about 600,000 to 700,000 troop increase (Afghan Military and U.S. and NATO troops) to have an effective counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Ellsberg says that the only reason that we are stil there is the Pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan. [See our Pipelinestan stories here.] Ellsberg believes that President Obama will cave in to the McCrystal request of 40,000 troops because he will not want the Military to revolt against him. He picked these military leaders, gave them the task of coming up with a “plan”, and now that they did, Pres. Obama is stuck with adding more troops. This will only lead to more deaths on all sides.

[Ed. Note: Please pass this on to all your friends. It is a "MUST SEE", and see if you can get it up the chain of command to your military friends and government official friends. Send a copy to your members of Congress and U.S. Senators. Demand that they listen to Daniel Ellsberg, the man who is responsible for the Vietnam War ending with the release of the Pentagon Papers]

Final thought: There are people in the know that have information like the Pentagon Papers. Please step forward and End the War(s) NOW. Your country will be grateful.

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Take Action Now: Pass our link to your friends right now. Call President Obama: To reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 Leave a message: No more Troops. End the War(s). Call Leon Panetta at (703) 482-0623, CIA headquarters, leave a message: No More Drone Assasination attacks, and don’t attack Quetta. End the War(s) NOW.

Today, please tell your member of Congress and U.S. Senators to End the War in Afghanistan, sign this petition. If you live outside the United States, write to your leaders, End the War(s) Now.