http://www.fourwinds10.net 2013-05-25T11:46:56+01:00 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1368896272 May 16, 2013 The United States is building a military base in Afghanistan near the border with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Press TV reports. Press TV’s correspondent in Afghanistan said the base is being built in an area known as Chahlang in Afghanistan’s Farah Province. The site of the construction is three kilometers from the Iranian border. According to information obtained by Press TV, the US forces have already constructed a communications tower and dug some channels in the ground at the site of the base. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on May 9 that the US had demanded to keep nine military bases across the war-torn country, adding that, “We are in very serious and delicate negotiations with America. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1368277901 May 10, 2013 Families say insane rules of engagement cost their sons' lives WASHINGTON – The National Press Club in Washington fell silent as Charles Strange recalled how he leaned over to whisper into President Obama’s ear to ask if there would be a congressional investigation into the death of his son. President Obama whispered back, “We will look very, very, very deep into this.” But Strange says he hasn’t heard a word since that encounter with the president at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Aug. 9, 2011, when the remains of 30 U.S. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1367439460 Maly 1, 2013 The report Monday that the CIA regularly hands over sacks filled with hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai is only the latest episode in Afghanistan’s long and tragic encounter with US imperialism. According to the New York Times, “For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month at the offices of the president.” Following their White House meeting earlier this year, President Barack Obama and Karzai issued a joint statement declaring their intention to maintain US military forces in Afghanistan into the indefinite future under a Strategic Partnership Agreement. The two also proclaimed their respect for Afghan “sovereignty” and stated that their economic strategy for the country was “focused on investing in its human capital to lead the country’s institutions and to create an enabling environment for inclusive economic growth and investment.” As the revelations about suitcases stuffed with American dollars make clear, the US has invested heavily in “human capital to lead the country’s institutions” and without a doubt has created an “enabling environment” for a collection of CIA stooges, warlords, drug traffickers and murderers to pillage Afghanistan and terrorize its people, while filling their bank accounts with money from Washington. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1365786393 April 12, 2013 The State Department has acknowledged that five Americans killed in Afghanistan, including 25-year-old diplomat Anne Smedinghoff, were on foot when they were caught in the blast of a suicide bomber, and not in an armored vehicle as officials told bereaved relatives earlier this week. The deaths of U.S. diplomatic personnel and the State Department's changing account of how they died raise echoes for some of the security failures in Benghazi, Libya, where Islamist extremists killed four Americans in assaults on the U.S. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1365441058 April 6, 2013 Nek Muhammad knew he was being followed. Kamran Wazir/Reuters Nek Muhammad, center, was a Pashtun militant who was killed in 2004, in the first C.I.A. drone strike in Pakistan. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1363708425 March 17, 2013 The Democrats who voted to support the war and rationalized that vote by making false claims about Iraq's WMD programs - a minority of Democrats, but much over-represented in Democratic leadership councils - were responsible for allowing the Bush administration to get away with lying about Iraq's alleged threat. Here on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War, it is important to remember that it was not just those in the Bush White House who were responsible for the tragedy, but leading members of Congress as well, some of whom are now in senior positions in the Obama administration. The 4,500 Americans killed, the far larger number permanently wounded, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed and millions displaced, the trillion dollars of US taxpayers' money squandered (and the resulting cutbacks through sequestration), the continued costs of the war through veterans' benefits and interest on the national debt, and the anti-American extremism in reaction to the invasion and occupation which has spread throughout much of the world all could have been avoided if the Democratic-controlled Senate hadn't voted to authorize this illegal and unnecessary war and occupation. On this and other web sites - as well as in many scores of policy reports, newspaper articles, academic journals and other sources - the tragic consequences of a US invasion of Iraq and a refutation of falsehoods being put forward by the Bush administration to justify it were made available to every member of the House and Senate (see, for example, my cover story in The Nation magazine The Case Against a War with Iraq). The 2003 vote authorizing the invasion was not like the vote on the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin resolution on the use of force against North Vietnam, for which Congress had no time for hearings or debate and for which most of those supporting it (mistakenly) thought they were simply authorizing limited short-term retaliatory strikes in response to a specific series of alleged incidents. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1363620286 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1362502390 March 3, 2013 DEFENCE force chief General David Hurley has offered his condolences to the families of two boys killed during an incident involving Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. But General Hurley says it is ''premature'' to determine how the incident occurred or who was responsible. Defence is working with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan authorities to determine the facts surrounding the deaths in northwestern Oruzgan province on Thursday. Australian soldiers from the Special Operations Task Group were conducting a routine liaison patrol when the incident occurred, General Hurley confirmed in a statement today. ''We deeply regret that the International Security Assistance Forces were responsible for the unintended death of two young Afghan boys during the operation,'' he said. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1362423321 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1361928670 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1360155926 Feb. 5, 2013 Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, talks to Laura Flanders about the economic and social conditions in Afghanistan and what the US "departure" and a "light-footprint strategy" look like to Afghans. The war in Afghanistan is America's longest war. It's also the most invisible. In eight hours of grilling of the man who would be the next Defense Secretary, the subject barely arose. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1358775813 Jan. 17, 2013 Exactly as predicted, the ongoing French “intervention” in the North African nation of Mali has spilled into Algeria – the next most likely objective of Western geopolitical interests in the region since the successful destabilization of Libya in 2011. In last week’s “France Displays Unhinged Hypocrisy as Bombs Fall on Mali” report, it was stated specifically that: “As far back as August of 2011, Bruce Riedel out of the corporate-financier funded think-tank, the Brookings Institution, wrote “Algeria will be next to fall,” where he gleefully predicted success in Libya would embolden radical elements in Algeria, in particular AQIM. Between extremist violence and the prospect of French airstrikes, Riedel hoped to see the fall of the Algerian government. Ironically Riedel noted: Algeria has expressed particular concern that the unrest in Libya could lead to the development of a major safe haven and sanctuary for al-Qaeda and other extremist jihadis. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1357147226 Dec. 29, 2012   Associated Press/Fareed Khan - Pakistani volunteers carry a wounded bus passenger following a blast in Karachi, Pakistan on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. The blast that ripped through the bus set the vehicle on …more (http://news.yahoo. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1356716069 Dec. 27, 2012 Author’s Note Washington’s intent goes beyond the narrow objective of “regime change”. The thrust of US foreign policy consists in weakening the central government and fracturing the country.  The ongoing US drone attacks under the banner of the “Global War on Terrorism” are part of that process. This article first published five years ago in December 2007 focuses on the historical process of collapse of Pakistan as a nation state following the assassination of  Benazir Bhutto. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1356539401 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1356365302 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1355764973 Dec. 16, 2012 Manual warns soldiers in Afghanistan not to talk about certain subjects A new Army manual that warns American soldiers in Afghanistan to avoid talking about certain topics has unwittingly acknowledged that Western taboos such as pedophilia are an inherent part of Islamic culture. “By mentioning that pedophilia and women’s rights and saying that soldiers should not mention such things they are tacitly admitting that those things are indeed part of Islam,” said Robert Spencer, founder of Jihad Watch. According to the Wall Street Journal, a new 75-page Army manual suggests U.S. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1355243654 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1354817485 Dec. 4, 2012 In October, the US launched an airstrike in Afghanistan that killed three children [1] – ages 8, 10, and 12 -while they were gathering firewood (or by some accounts [2], dung to burn as fuel). NATO issued its usual dismissive statement, admitting it may have “accidentally killed three innocent Afghan civilians.” But now, according to the Military Times [3], the US military includes children on their list of who they’re allowed to murder with impunity. …a Marine official here raised questions about whether the children were “innocent. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1354150604 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1353780032 Nov. 24, 2012 To all those now hailing the re-election of Barack Obama as a triumph of decent, humane, liberal values over the oozing-postule perfidy of the Republicans, a simple question:   Is this child dead enough for you?   This little boy was named Naeemullah. He was in his house — maybe playing, maybe sleeping, maybe having a meal — when an American drone missile was fired into the residential area where he lived and blew up the house next door.   As we all know, these drone missiles are, like the president who wields them, super-smart, a triumph of technology and technocratic expertise. We know, for the president and his aides have repeatedly told us, that these weapons — launched only after careful consultation of the just-war strictures of St. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1353696983 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1351179264 Oct. 23, 2012 Afghan President Hamid Karzai has confirmed today that a weekend raid by US troops against the Logar Province ended with troops killing four innocent children who were tending livestock in a field. Karzai’s statement condemned the killings, saying that “repeated pledges by NATO to avoid civilian casualties” were not being met, while expressing anger at continued strikes against residential areas. Locals reported the children were killed in “missile attacks” during what NATO officials say was a raid aimed at capturing two militants. NATO would only say that it was “aware” of the situation and was investigating the claims. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1350845544 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1350658061 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1350575449 Oct. 17, 2012 Despite statements by Vice President Joe Biden, the State Department is about to begin formal negotiations over the extension of U.S. troops past 2014, a top State Department official said Tuesday. Last week, U. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1350575189 Oct. 17, 2012 Cellphone video recorded earlier this year at an operations center of a U.S. defense contractor in Kabul, Afghanistan appears to show key personnel staggeringly drunk or high on narcotics, in what former employees say was a pattern of outrageous behavior that put American lives at risk and went undetected by U.S. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1347546195 FW 9/13/12 http://DraftJesseVentura.com http://www.facebook.com/63DocumentsTheGovernmentDoesntWantYouToRead http://www.facebook. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1341925669 July 6, 2012 Video released on internet appears to show US helicopter crew singing before blasting Afghans with a missile A video has surfaced online that appears to show a US helicopter crew singing "Bye-bye Miss American Pie" before blasting a group of Afghan men with a Hellfire missile. The footage comes in the wake of a string of damaging videos and pictures showing US forces in Afghanistan urinating on the bodies of dead insurgents, and posing with the remains of suicide bombers and civilians killed for sport by a group of rogue soldiers. If it is proved to be authentic, it could further undermine the image of foreign forces in a country where there is already deep resentment owing to civilian deaths and a perception among many Afghans that US troops lack respect for Afghan culture and people. The posting says the video was recorded in Wardak province, which lies south-west of the capital, Kabul, in September 2009. The caption refers sarcastically to a group of "innocent farmers planting poppy seeds in the middle of the road". text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1341415131 July 1, 2012 KABUL -- The United States is spending $92 million to build Afghanistan a new "Pentagon," a massive five-story military headquarters with domed roofs and a high-tech basement command center that will link Afghan generals with their troops fighting the Taliban nationwide. But when Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak asked for a bigger office in the building -- a change that would cost about $300,000 -- he got a firm "no." Such changes cost time and money, U.S. military officials said, and in Afghanistan, both are in ever-shorter supply. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1340063759 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1339000161 June 5, 2012 Abu Yahya Al-Libi, a top Al Qaeda operative was killed in a U.S. drone strike Monday, Fox News confirms. Al-Libi, known as a rock star in the jihadist world with his videos and lectures going viral on the Web, was the intended target of the strike, U.S. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1338001076 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1337879113 May 23, 2012 Interviews with survivors, relatives of the civilians massacred in Panjwai on March 11, and with other local residents add new evidence suggesting that the massacre was linked to the response by the US Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit to a roadside bomb that had blown up a US troop carrier three days earlier. Sgt. Robert Bales, who has been accused of the massacre, was in charge of security for the SOF base at Camp Belambay, and evidence now suggests he may have decided on the killing after learning of an operation in Najiban the night of March 11 aimed at killing a man suspected of being connected with a roadside bomb explosion on March 8.   The brother of one of those killed along with ten other relatives from a single house in the village of Najiban said in an interview with Truthout that the victim had been warned by a US soldier at a checkpoint near the Special Forces camp that the Americans knew his vineyard was very close to where the improvised explosive device (IED) exploded. That warning suggests that the Green Beret unit at Camp Belambay had checked on the identity of those who owned and worked on land near the site of explosion. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1337787101 May 22, 2012 Washington, May 21 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement as world leaders meet in Chicago for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit. “The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is not a benevolent organization. NATO is not about the North Atlantic and it’s not about our collective defense. “NATO is a cost-sharing organization that finances aggressive military action. By hiding behind the claim that the organization provides for ‘common defense,’ NATO allows us to wage wars of choice under the guise of international peacekeeping. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1337698891 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1337697933 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1337615651 May 20, 2012 CHICAGO — President Obama was struggling to balance the United States’ relationship with two crucial but difficult allies on Sunday, after a deal to reopen supply lines through Pakistan to Afghanistan fell apart just as Mr. Obama began talks on ending the NATO alliance’s combat role in the Afghan war. As a two-day NATO summit meeting opened in Chicago, Mr. Obama remained at loggerheads with President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, refusing even to meet with him without an agreement on the supply routes, which officials in both countries acknowledged would not be coming soon. Mr. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1337441470 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1336403514 May 7, 2012 KABUL — The United States has for several years been secretly releasing high-level detainees from a military prison in Afghanistan as part of negotiations with insurgent groups, a bold effort to quell violence but one that U.S. officials acknowledge poses substantial risks. As the United States has unsuccessfully pursued a peace deal with the Taliban, the “strategic release” program has quietly served as a live diplomatic channel, allowing American officials to use prisoners as bargaining chips in restive provinces where military power has reached its limits. But the releases are an inherent gamble: The freed detainees are often notorious fighters who would not be released under the traditional legal system for military prisoners in Afghanistan. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1336394597 May 7, 2012 Breaking news: "One year since Osama's death." Oh really? Seems the media is giving Obama brownie points just like they did with the Nobel Peace Prize. Folks, this is total hogwash, here is testimony that Osama has been dead for over 10 years!!!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZiUjhsEAK4&feature=related   http://www. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1336236931 May 2, 2012 While the President and Commander in Chief of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama "celebrates" the first anniversary of the alleged death of bin Laden, the substantive issue as to WHO WAS OSAMA BIN LADEN remains unheralded.  (Remarks by President Obama in Address to the Nation from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, see video at foot of article) Through lies and fabrications --which he intends to use in his election campaign-- president Obama`s carefully scripted speech upholds a world of total fantasy, in which "bad guys" are lurking and "plotting acts of terror". Meanwhile, Islamic "jihadists" are said to be threatening Western civilization.  Each and every statement in Obama's May 1st speech at Bagram Air Force base regarding the role of Al Qaeda is a fabrication: (below are excerpts from Obama's Remarks in italics, author's comments are indicated inside square brackets [ ] ):   It was here, in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden established a safe haven for his terrorist organization [Osama bin Laden was recruited by the CIA, Al Qaeda was set up with the support of the CIA. Osama's safe haven was protected by US intelligence] . text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1336096097 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1336055917 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1336055832 May 1, 2012 Breaking News Alert The New York Times Tuesday, May 1, 2012 -- 3:07 PM EDT ----- On Surprise Visit to Kabul, Obama to Sign Partnership Agreement With Karzai President Obama landed in Kabul, Afghanistan, on a surprise visit, to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan meant to mark the beginning of the end of a war that has lasted for more than a decade.                                                 Mr. Obama, arriving after nightfall on Tuesday under a veil of secrecy at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, flew by helicopter to the presidential palace, where he was to meet President Hamid Karzai before both leaders signed the pact. It is intended to be a road map for two nations lashed together by more of than a decade of war and groping for a new relationship after the departure of American troops, scheduled for the end of 2014.                                                 Mr. text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1335455702 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1334972868 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1334859087 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1334803912 text/html 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.fourwinds10.net http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/war/afghan_war/news.php?q=1334699327