The grandson of prominent anti-gun campaigner Pat Regan has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing her to death. (BBC)
Missions by special forces and air strikes by unmanned drones have "decapitated" the Taliban and brought the war in Afghanistan to a "tipping point", the commander of British forces has said.
The new "precise, surgical" tactics have killed scores of insurgent leaders and made it extremely difficult for Pakistan-based Taliban leaders to prosecute the campaign, according to Brig Mark Carleton-Smith.
In the past two years an estimated 7,000 Taliban have been killed, the majority in southern and eastern Afghanistan. But it is the "very effective targeted decapitation operations" that have removed "several echelons of commanders".
This in turn has left the insurgents on the brink of defeat, the head of Task Force Helmand said.
DKK
Telegraph UK -- Afghan insurgents 'on brink of defeat'
Iraq passed a turning point last fall when the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign launched in early 2007 produced a dramatic drop in violence and quelled the incipient sectarian war between Sunnis and Shiites. Now, another tipping point may be near, one that sees the Iraqi government and army restoring order in almost all of the country, dispersing both rival militias and the Iranian-trained "special groups" that have used them as cover to wage war against Americans. It is -- of course -- too early to celebrate; though now in disarray, the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr could still regroup, and Iran will almost certainly seek to stir up new violence before the U.S. and Iraqi elections this fall. Still, the rapidly improving conditions should allow U.S. commanders to make some welcome adjustments -- and it ought to mandate an already-overdue rethinking by the "this-war-is-lost" caucus in Washington, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
(...)
f the positive trends continue, proponents of withdrawing most U.S. troops, such as Mr. Obama, might be able to responsibly carry out further pullouts next year. Still, the likely Democratic nominee needs a plan for Iraq based on sustaining an improving situation, rather than abandoning a failed enterprise. That will mean tying withdrawals to the evolution of the Iraqi army and government, rather than an arbitrary timetable; Iraq's 2009 elections will be crucial. It also should mean providing enough troops and air power to continue backing up Iraqi army operations such as those in Basra and Sadr City. When Mr. Obama floated his strategy for Iraq last year, the United States appeared doomed to defeat. Now he needs a plan for success.
The Iranians have spent years working toward a nuclear program. And the idea that they now seek nuclear weapons because we refuse to engage in presidential-level talks is a serious misreading of history. In reality, a series of administrations have tried to talk to Iran, and none tried harder than the Clinton administration. In 1998, the secretary of state made a public overture to the Iranians, laid out a roadmap to normal relations, and for two years tried to engage. The Clinton administration even lifted some sanctions, and Secretary Albright apologized for American actions going back to the 1950s. But even under President Khatami – a man by all accounts less radical than the current president – Iran rejected these overtures.
Even so, we hear talk of a meeting with the Iranian leadership offered up as if it were some sudden inspiration, a bold new idea that somehow nobody has ever thought of before. Yet it’s hard to see what such a summit with President Ahmadinejad would actually gain, except an earful of anti-Semitic rants, and a worldwide audience for a man who denies one Holocaust and talks before frenzied crowds about starting another. Such a spectacle would harm Iranian moderates and dissidents, as the radicals and hardliners strengthen their position and suddenly acquire the appearance of respectability.
(...)
Rather than sitting down unconditionally with the Iranian president or supreme leader in the hope that we can talk sense into them, we must create the real-world pressures that will peacefully but decisively change the path they are on.
Professor Reynolds,
Thank you for the link to the NY Times report on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I am
a long term sufferer of the condition. ...
While the article mentioned cognitive issues it was really understated. Yes,
the fatigue is like nothing you have ever experienced (and if you have please
accept my heartfelt sympathy) and it drones on day after day after day after day
after day -- no matter the time of day from early morning to late evening. But
one of the silent devils is the way the illness often steals your ability to
communicate.
I blog, read you every day and have sent you things in the past. But often the
posts take hours to write. It is amazing how the mind works, here is an
example. Just last week I realized I had completely forgotten the word whose (I
just spelled it wrong there and it still looks wrong) . It kept coming out,
"whoes," and the spell check kept telling me it was wrong. I knew there was a
word whose, there had to be, I remember it from grade school for God's sake.
After looking online the actual word whose just did not look correct, that word
had been removed from my mind completely forgotten. I substituted, "who's," as
the only alternative that looked like an actual word and cleared the spell
check. It was disturbing at the time but later as I was reading one of my older
pieces something clicked and I just knew there was something wrong yet I
couldn't figure out what it was. When I asked a friend it was pointed out to me
and I was shocked that I had used the incorrect term for weeks, repeatedly.
I went about corrected them (got stumped in one where who's was the correct word
for about 20 minutes) as tears flowed as the realization again sunk in that
neither of my two degrees mattered, my awards for public speaking were useless,
and I ran the risk everyday of my blog shattering my pride and making me look
illiterate.
There really are few things in the world as horrifying as the experience, and it
isn't quite like dementia because some days it is okay and I think, gee, this is great.
Then the next day I get stuck in a post having written the same thing three times -- full paragraphs one after the other as if they were new thoughts -- all the while spelling and grammar making rare appearances, if ever.
For now I will continue blogging thinking it will help to keep my mind sharp,
but deep down I know that it may prove to be a futile effort.
Anyway, i just wanted to thank you again for your post and share my experience.
Have a great day,
David
HELENA, Mont. - Here's some very good news about oil that the manipulators on Wall Street don't want you to know: there could be as much as 40 billion barrels of crude lying untouched in eastern Montana.That's billion with a "b" - as in a ball-breaking amount for those speculators who are purposely pushing oil higher for their own selfish reasons.
Who says? Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer does, adding that his state - with fewer than 1 million residents - would be thrilled to bail the US out of its current energy predicament.
(...)
As it is today, Americans are being cheated on the price of oil. I've been writing about this for the past couple of years and now even a do-nothing Congress is getting concerned, although its ire is misplaced.
Wall Street speculators, aided by cheap money from the Federal Reserve and an ill-informed press, have kidnapped oil in much the same way that the Hunt brothers cornered the silver market in the 1970s.
The only difference is that the Hunt escapades didn't come close to ruining the country's economy. Congress is blaming the oil companies, which certainly are benefiting from the surge in oil prices. President Bush did his part by groveling to the Saudis for more oil - and was offered a token increase, but was essentially turned down.
But maybe if we start digging in Montana, we just might get our national dignity back - and even save our economy.
Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less!
DKK
For the week of May 16-23, there were 300 "violent incidents" in Iraq. That's down from 1,600 last June and the lowest recorded since March 2004. Al Qaeda has been crushed by a combination of U.S. arms and Sunni tribal resistance. On the Shiite side, Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army was routed by Iraqi troops in Basra and later crumbled in its Sadr City stronghold.
In Colombia, the 44-year-old FARC guerrilla movement is now at its lowest ebb. Three of its top commanders died in March, and the number of FARC attacks is down by more than two-thirds since 2002. In the face of a stepped-up campaign by the Colombian military (funded, equipped and trained by the U.S.), the group is now experiencing mass desertions. Former FARC leaders describe a movement that is losing any semblance of ideological coherence and operational effectiveness.
In Sri Lanka, a military offensive by the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has wrested control of seven of the nine districts previously held by the rebel group LTTE, better known as the Tamil Tigers. Mr. Rajapaksa now promises victory by the end of the year, even as the Tigers continue to launch high-profile terrorist attacks.
All this is good news in its own right. Better yet, it explodes the mindless shibboleth that there is "no military solution" when it comes to dealing with insurgencies. On the contrary, it turns out that the best way to end an insurgency is, quite simply, to beat it.
DKK
WSJ -- There is a Military Solution To Terror
"John McCain spent five years in chains listening to anti-American propaganda, and he paid a dear price.Barack Obama spent twenty years sitting in a pew listening to anti-American propaganda, and he happily paid for the privilege."
Jake Tapper's blog Political Punch:
DKK
Via: Say Anything Blog -- Quote of the Day
More immigrants choose to leave U.S., go homeDKK
Tired of making little money, feeling lonely and fearing arrest, more Latin American immigrants are voluntarily returning home.
