Center for a New American Security

What about Foust?

What about Foust?

Not insulted! At least not

Not insulted! At least not necessarily. But I'm not a reporter, and I don't pretend to be.

Meanwhile, reporters and ISAF seem to be unable to agree whether people fled Marjeh or not, and whether the routes out were mined or not, and whether the Taliban is staying and fighting, or not. It would be kind of cool for the ISAF version of events not to clash so radically with the reporter version of events, don't you think?

Tintin, Chivers is running copy from Marjeh. I think I clash with Ex here, since I think Chivers has more to say. Filkins is just quoting officials in Kabul declaring it a success after eight hours. No need to even be in Afghanistan for that, I say.

Dude, just say

Dude, just say "Chandrasekaran". If you find the 'ethnic' names of reporters on your own team too hard to spell, isn't that just more ammo for the durkadurkastanis?

Of all the articles, Chivers

Of all the articles, Chivers had the most info, as well as offering the most hope.

Mind you this is being sold very heavily in the US Press. Maybe the UK Press as well?

Fnord,

Are they our thugs, as opposed to the enemy thugs? Maybe the plan is to break their backs to bring them to the table. As far as development - I doubt they'll ever stop growing smack, and I find it fascinating we built the place as a development project in the 1950's. But maybe it'll work. Probably not in 1-2 years though.

About France v. Ireland: it

About France v. Ireland: it is not too late to watch it !

Elf why don't you just tea

Elf why don't you just tea bag Fnord and get it over with?

Tea bag party in Fnord's

Tea bag party in Fnord's mouth!!!

Wow, talk about Western

Wow, talk about Western attention spans... Real questions: will ISAF go on some sort of anti-opium crusade in the next couple years in Marja and drive the people to the Taliban? More grow-this-even-if-there's-no-distribution-channels-to-market? Will Karzai attempt to take such a large toll of the opium money that it stifles the new local government, who will need it to give the police and administrators real salaries? Follow the money, don't follow the fighting. Westerners can't grasp that things play out over years and decades or they would have been prepared for the resurgence of the Taliban.

There was no cheer in that

There was no cheer in that update, although it was just a matter of time before the Big Red dropped one to one of the real dregs of the Ivy League. . .

Big stumble for Cornell sports this weekend (hockey lost to Yale). . . And really, losing at anything to our inferior Penn is just disgraceful.

"speaking of tea bags, what

"speaking of tea bags, what is the difference between a tea bag and the All Blacks?"

People who annoy you:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/749090/

A bungled Nato missile

A bungled Nato missile strike that killed 12 Afghan civilians has cast a shadow over the first phase of a massive air and ground assault by thousands of US and British forces in Helmand.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7026753.ece

(so much for protecting the population and swimming in the sea, now let's dip our hairy nuts inside Fnord's mouth. tea bag!!!)

At the very least, I'm happy

At the very least, I'm happy our enlisted are reading and contributing (tea bags, and shit knives?) to this blog.

Himars?!!! Excalibur: http://

Himars?!!!

Excalibur:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-lj5QvZYBo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyOluee0zcM (at BAE, we don't make fancy ass artillery rounds, we make it better)

Gee uh Pizzaro, there's no

Gee uh Pizzaro, there's no gold except the white gold. And it comes with a curse. There's green silver (hemp) that comes with the curse of you never move out of your parents basement or get a real job, except blogging. Purportedly it also slows down ANA making formation, etc...

No pyramids, architecture (that they haven't blown up). Culture consists of war and beheading goats. And war.

If we're gonna stay, and really really want to give them jobs, you have to give them a job they can respect and get behind.

Make them Gurkha's. Quite serious, offer to make them well paid professional soldiers. The Officer Corps can consist of Americans of the same Asian ethnic groups we find in AF/PAK. With today's economy in the US-and more importantly tomorrow's likely economy once this carry trade scam with the dollar collapses- we can find more than enough American Officers to make up the optimal 5% of the unit that Officers should be kept to...and any shortfalls can be made up by Americans who have learned Dari or Pashtu. For instance NLT 2013 certain think tankers will be looking about for employment. And it's more like say around Jan 2011 unless they've made friends on the other side...

There are so many historical examples of this being wise policy for dealing with unruly warrior tribes that it screams from the pages of history. It works great as long as they're not picked to guard your own homeland, which really shouldn't be a problem, we have the oceans as natural barriers, no real enemies North or South, and plenty of unruly semi tribal well armed rednecks as the core of our own nation and armed forces for that to be a serious concern.

It also solves the long term corruption and governance problem for Astan. Who's the only institution worth a damn in Iraq? The Army. What long term cultural imprint did we leave on the Iraqi's if any? What impressed them about the strongest tribe? Our military culture, the warrior ethos.

And who's going to be the only semi honest and efficient organization in Astan if this works? IF. The ANA. If they win it will take them about 30 seconds to reach the conclusion that the old horse warlords must go.

We can't build honest govt there...we'd be lucky to build honest govt in the USA. Muster out, get elected, clean things up in the USA first. Then run about the hinterlands telling the Brown Brothers you feel compelled to patronize how to run an honest Social Democracy.

They will not, not put down the guns or stop smuggling - and smack is the most lucrative commodity for criminals by weight - give up the power and prestige of being a warrior, settle down in trailer parks cashing a check every month and be good little brown social democrats...no, it won't work. Give them a job they'll want. I know some people may raise religion as an objection. But since all our bestest and brightestest know that economics and personal self image are what's really important...you offer them a job where they can be the Jolly Green hefty boys with the big body armor and the tricked out toys...and they'll get right behind it. JUST LIKE THE IRAQI'S DID. The one thing they really, really got behind.

Elf: Maybe Im wrong, but I

Elf: Maybe Im wrong, but I still think there are sufficient numbers of real muslims to be engaged to build a civil servant core. We just need to promote sons of terps, etc, in their homedistricts. Your dad can go out and serve and the family gets benefits no matter what. Service equals family rank. Since we are building a ANA, we might as well employ some tricks of the later roman legions. But we need desperatley a mobile revisor core. Logistics are not just about units from A to B, its also about cohesion of effort. And if the COIN perspective is the main narrative, then it needs to be filled out with practical tricks so that you deliver instant goodies, or at least promies of such, into the areas you are dominating.

Elf, Have you seen this

Elf,

Have you seen this video yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w96UR79TBw

Let me know your thoughts...

He's the Pope, Bradford.

He's the Pope, Bradford. He's above politics. He's a Buddha, an enlightened being. Can you imagine a Buddha running with or against Sarah Palin? He only eats one Blueberry muffin and a hard boil egg a day, for Chrissakes!

you can never go wrong with

you can never go wrong with less intelligent hot females, even the muslims know this.

and low intelligence hot

and low intelligence hot females!!

[Fnord, I wasn't talking about "Muslims". I was talking about Afghans. Then again I am biased against people in the heroin trade. Sorry I can't get past that part. ]

In all seriousness. Why is it that just because a girl is hot and has normal desires that she's considered less intelligent? It would seem contrary to what we know of breeding habits...that is...more intelligent men make more money, power, war, etc. They have their pick of the litter, wouldn't they? And since they would tend to breed, wouldn't their trophy offspring inherit the traits?

This assumes (as do many here) that women are naturally dumb, not my position BTW.

So in conclusion - clearly the hockey stick data show that hot girls who give the best BJ's are clearly the most qualified.

Never, ever say I'm not a liberated man. You sexist pigs.

V is for 72

V is for 72 Virgins......

Look, the enhanced interrogation you describe would indeed be awkward for them. Like they wouldn't know what to do with it, how to process it. On the other hand you asked what I know...the answer is not enuf, I need more data. I think I'll apply for a stimulus grant to study it further, with me as a control group. Perhaps CNAS can lubricate the wheels of govt.

Snake Plissken had asked my thoughts on the UC hecklers; I think that the state university system extends welfare to those who should be forced to work. Which was my first thought on seeing those bums. I also think we should follow the lead of Sarkozy regards the burqa, hijab, etc. It's a article of uniform or gang colors, take your pick.

That BTW is my considered opinion. The one I deleted is far worse.

It's impossible for anyone to

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