This is copied from the Marine Corps News Room...
DAHANEH, Afghanistan — The British jet called in by U.S. Marines had the Taliban position in sight, but the pilot refused to fire, a decision that frustrated Marines on the ground but was in line with new orders by the top U.S. commander to protect civilians.
http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/08/ap_marines_dahaneh_081309/
Click above link for four photos.
By Alfred de Montesquiou - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 13, 2009 9:01:47 EDT
The Marines themselves didn’t attack militants shooting at them from a compound Wednesday during the same battle because women and children were there, an approach meant to avoid civilian casualties at all costs.
“They did that on purpose,” sniper platoon leader 1st Lt. Joseph Cull, 28, of Delafield, Wis., said of the Taliban. “They are trying to bait us.”
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has made protecting Afghan civilians his top priority. The approach is a shift away from a military mindset whose traditional first response has been to kill as many militants as possible. By holding fire McChrystal hopes to avoid the massive civilian casualty cases of past months and years and help win over Afghan villagers.
Marines have been locked in battle with insurgents in Dahaneh in Helmand province after they stormed into the Taliban-held town early Wednesday. Militants have been lobbing rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and heavy machine gun fire at the U.S. troops.
The troops hope to break the Taliban grip in Dahaneh, sever smuggling routes and protect civilians from Taliban reprisals so Afghans can vote here during the Aug. 20 presidential election, which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt.
The Marines locked in on a Taliban position Wednesday in a cave in a nearby mountain, from which militants were firing heavy weapons. The troops called for an airstrike against the position, but the British Harrier jet that responded refused to fire its missiles because British rules of engagement require the pilot himself to identify the target, not just troops on the ground.
Each country in the more than 40-nation NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan has its own rules of engagement that apply to specific battle situations, but McChrystal’s order to protect civilians applies to all forces in the country.
“Sure, that’s frustrating, but we’ve got to deal with it,” said Capt. Zachary Martin, commander of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines.
Some 400 Marines and 100 Afghan troops moved into Dahaneh early Wednesday by helicopter and ground convoy. The troops took heavy fire from insurgents for most of the day, killing up to 10 militants after calling in an airstrike on an insurgent position.
But even that airstrike was carried out with great care.
Militants first started firing from the position about 5 a.m. Ground commanders wanted an airstrike called in on the position to help protect Marines receiving fire. But superior officers wanted to be certain there were no civilians there. Once Martin had established with near certainty that there were not, an airstrike hit the compound — hours after the Marines first received fire.
The Marines say they can avoid civilian casualties with the help of the sophisticated surveillance technology they have. Strict orders have also been issued for the Marines to use proportional response when attacked.
But many of the riflemen voiced frustration at the limited options they were left with when trying to expand control of the town on Wednesday. The orders to hold fire appeared to have slowed their advance in Dahaneh, where after a full day they held only a small foothold outpost.
On Thursday the Marines expected another day of intense combat as they pushed deeper into the town. Insurgents seemed unwilling to fight overnight, when they can’t match the Marines’ night vision capabilities. But after the sun came up early Thursday, the first rounds of fire erupted.
“Right on cue!” shouted Sgt. Ryan Kelsey, of Pittsburgh as the first shots rang out.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, two separate roadside blasts in southern Afghanistan killed 14 civilians, including three children, underscoring the high price paid by ordinary people in the conflict with the Taliban, officials said Thursday.
Officials blamed the blasts on Taliban militants, who have made roadside bombings their primary weapons.
A blast Wednesday on a road in the Gereshk district of Helmand province ripped through a vehicle carrying a family, killing 11 people, including two women and nine men, said Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the provincial governor.
In neighboring Kandahar province, three children were killed after they started playing with another bomb which they had found on the side of the road west of the provincial capital, police official Mohammad Shah Khan said. The victims were between 8 and 12 years old.
Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led insurgency, where thousands of additional U.S. troops were deployed this year to try to reverse the militants’ gains and create conditions for next week’s presidential election.
According to figures from the U.S.-based Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, the number of incidents from IEDs soared to 828 last month, the highest level of the war and more than twice as many as in July 2008. The majority of the victims in such attacks have been civilians.
Posted by sr on August 13, 2009 10:50 PM |
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Chaos for Glory: My Time With ACORN
Chaos for Glory: My Time With ACORN
Shared via AddThis
A young man, did some undercover investigative journalism reporting with the ACORN group in Baltimore, MD, this is the video he shot of it. Be prepared to be shocked at the content.
Shared via AddThis
A young man, did some undercover investigative journalism reporting with the ACORN group in Baltimore, MD, this is the video he shot of it. Be prepared to be shocked at the content.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Republican, Democrat, Other? You may not be what you think!!
I received this from a friend... and thought that it was very well done, very smart, and VERY useful. So I thought that I would share it with everyone. Take a little bit of time, copy this and print or write it down, spend the time going over it, and really think about the issues, and why you have the opinions that you do. Figure out what the reasons are, and see where you stand on the issues. THEN when you have the opportunity to engage someone in a political discussion, you have the "ammo" to be able to really discuss the issue with them and why you have the opinions that you do.
(Donate to Dave's Effort here.)
I get told a lot that I should run for office. That's not something I'm interested in, but it did spur me recently to put together a list of recognizable "hot topic" political issues just to see where I would fall in the spectrum based on my beliefs. The results surprised me.
Here are some of the things I hadn't thought of before:
1. There are a lot more issues than I thought that today's politicians must deal with.
2. If you fill out how you stand on every issue here, you'll realize you're probably more or less liberal or conservative than you think.
3. If you fill out how you stand on every issue here, and your answers fall 100% to one "side" or the other, then you're suffering from blind party loyalty and need to reassess your thinking.
4. Completing this exercise proves to me that the popular definitions/labels of "Republican" and "Democrat" are a fallacy. We are Americans, and as a Free People we should be intelligent enough to think for ourselves and not fall prey to the constraints of a label or allow ourselves to get caught up in the divisiveness that government seeks to wedge between us.
Here's the list. It's worth the time to struggle through actually thinking about and writing down what you believe. I bet you'll surprise yourself too!
Abortion
Affirmative Action
Agricultural, Farm Policy, Genetically Modified Food
American Flag Desecration
Animal Rights and Wildlife Issues
Arts and Humanities
Campaign Finance Reform
Censorship
Civil Liberties
College Affordability
Congressional Term Limits
Constitutionality of the "Pledge of Allegiance"
Consumer Protection Laws
Continued US Presence in Iraq
Crime, Corporate
Crime, Individual
Death Penalty
Disaster Reponse
Drugs, Medical Marijuana
Economy
Education
Energy Issues / Policy / Dependence on Foreign Oil / Peak Oil
Environment, Cap and Trade, Kyoto, etc.
Equal Opportunity
Ethnic Cleansing
Euthanasia
Family and Children Issues
Federal Budget, Spending vs. Balance
Federal Reserve & Banking
Federal, State, and Local Relations
Foreign Aid
Foreign Policy
Gambling and Gaming
Gay Marriage / Rights
Gays in the Military (Don't Ask Don't Tell)
Global AIDS Crisis
Global Role of the U.S.
Global Warming / Climate Change
Government Sponsored Assassinations
Gun Control (See also Second Amendment Rights)
Health Care, Insurance, Malpractice Law, Patient Rights, etc.
Housing and Property Issues
Immigration
Indecency
Infrastructure
International Trade / Free Trade / Globalization
Iran's Nuclear Energy Program
Iraqi Prisoner Abuse
Israel
Justice System
Labor / Unions
Language, English as National Language
Law Enforcement
Legal System
Media Bias
Medical Research (See also Stem Cell Research)
Medicare, Medicaid
Middle East Crisis
Military / National Defense Spending
Military / National Defense Strategy
Minimum Wage (See Workers' Rights)
Moral & Ethical Values
National Debt
National Security Issues
Net Neutrality
North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program
Nuclear Testing
Offshoring
Political Corruption
Poverty - US and World
Presidential Line Item Veto
Prison Reform
Privacy
Race Relations
Racial Profiling
Retirement Age
School Uniforms
School Vouchers
Scientific Research
Second Amendment Rights (See also Gun Control)
Separation of Church and State, School Prayer
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Social Issues
Social Security
Space Exploration
Stem Cell Research (See also Medical Research)
Tax Cuts
Tax Reform
Taxes
Technology and Communication (FCC)
Teenage Pregnancy
Terrorism
Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection
Tort Reform
Torture
Transparency in Government
Transportation Issues
Unemployment
Veterans Issues
Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Welfare, Corporate
Welfare, Individual
Women's Issues
Workers' Rights, Minimum Wage / Hours / Abuses
World Hunger
WTO, IMF, UN, World Bank, Doha Round
(Donate to Dave's Effort here.)
I get told a lot that I should run for office. That's not something I'm interested in, but it did spur me recently to put together a list of recognizable "hot topic" political issues just to see where I would fall in the spectrum based on my beliefs. The results surprised me.
Here are some of the things I hadn't thought of before:
1. There are a lot more issues than I thought that today's politicians must deal with.
2. If you fill out how you stand on every issue here, you'll realize you're probably more or less liberal or conservative than you think.
3. If you fill out how you stand on every issue here, and your answers fall 100% to one "side" or the other, then you're suffering from blind party loyalty and need to reassess your thinking.
4. Completing this exercise proves to me that the popular definitions/labels of "Republican" and "Democrat" are a fallacy. We are Americans, and as a Free People we should be intelligent enough to think for ourselves and not fall prey to the constraints of a label or allow ourselves to get caught up in the divisiveness that government seeks to wedge between us.
Here's the list. It's worth the time to struggle through actually thinking about and writing down what you believe. I bet you'll surprise yourself too!
Abortion
Affirmative Action
Agricultural, Farm Policy, Genetically Modified Food
American Flag Desecration
Animal Rights and Wildlife Issues
Arts and Humanities
Campaign Finance Reform
Censorship
Civil Liberties
College Affordability
Congressional Term Limits
Constitutionality of the "Pledge of Allegiance"
Consumer Protection Laws
Continued US Presence in Iraq
Crime, Corporate
Crime, Individual
Death Penalty
Disaster Reponse
Drugs, Medical Marijuana
Economy
Education
Energy Issues / Policy / Dependence on Foreign Oil / Peak Oil
Environment, Cap and Trade, Kyoto, etc.
Equal Opportunity
Ethnic Cleansing
Euthanasia
Family and Children Issues
Federal Budget, Spending vs. Balance
Federal Reserve & Banking
Federal, State, and Local Relations
Foreign Aid
Foreign Policy
Gambling and Gaming
Gay Marriage / Rights
Gays in the Military (Don't Ask Don't Tell)
Global AIDS Crisis
Global Role of the U.S.
Global Warming / Climate Change
Government Sponsored Assassinations
Gun Control (See also Second Amendment Rights)
Health Care, Insurance, Malpractice Law, Patient Rights, etc.
Housing and Property Issues
Immigration
Indecency
Infrastructure
International Trade / Free Trade / Globalization
Iran's Nuclear Energy Program
Iraqi Prisoner Abuse
Israel
Justice System
Labor / Unions
Language, English as National Language
Law Enforcement
Legal System
Media Bias
Medical Research (See also Stem Cell Research)
Medicare, Medicaid
Middle East Crisis
Military / National Defense Spending
Military / National Defense Strategy
Minimum Wage (See Workers' Rights)
Moral & Ethical Values
National Debt
National Security Issues
Net Neutrality
North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program
Nuclear Testing
Offshoring
Political Corruption
Poverty - US and World
Presidential Line Item Veto
Prison Reform
Privacy
Race Relations
Racial Profiling
Retirement Age
School Uniforms
School Vouchers
Scientific Research
Second Amendment Rights (See also Gun Control)
Separation of Church and State, School Prayer
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Social Issues
Social Security
Space Exploration
Stem Cell Research (See also Medical Research)
Tax Cuts
Tax Reform
Taxes
Technology and Communication (FCC)
Teenage Pregnancy
Terrorism
Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection
Tort Reform
Torture
Transparency in Government
Transportation Issues
Unemployment
Veterans Issues
Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Welfare, Corporate
Welfare, Individual
Women's Issues
Workers' Rights, Minimum Wage / Hours / Abuses
World Hunger
WTO, IMF, UN, World Bank, Doha Round
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ben Stein's Diary
We've Figured Him Out
By Ben Stein on 7.24.09 @ 9:45AM
Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?
Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:
The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.
They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.
They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.
The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.
Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.
The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.
Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.
The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never will be -- a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society. Either the costs go up or the free society goes away.
These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud if believed to be caused by man.
Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.
There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America.
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes "Ben Stein's Diary" for every issue of The American Spectator.
By Ben Stein on 7.24.09 @ 9:45AM
Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?
Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:
The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.
They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.
They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.
The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.
Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.
The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.
Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.
The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never will be -- a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society. Either the costs go up or the free society goes away.
These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud if believed to be caused by man.
Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.
There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America.
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes "Ben Stein's Diary" for every issue of The American Spectator.
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