War/Nation Building

Air base expansion plans reflect long-term investment in Afghanistan

Three $100 million air base expansions in southern and northern Afghanistan illustrate Pentagon plans to continue building multimillion-dollar facilities in that country to support increased U.S. military operations well into the future.

Despite growing public unhappiness with the Afghan war -- and President Obama's pledge that he will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011 -- many of the installations being built in Afghanistan have extended time horizons. None of the three projects in southern and northern Afghanistan is expected to be completed until the latter half of 2011. All of them are for use by U.S. forces rather than by their Afghan counterparts.

Overall, requests for $1.3 billion in additional fiscal 2011 funds for multiyear construction of military facilities in Afghanistan are pending before Congress. The House has approved the money, as has the Senate Appropriations Committee. The full Senate has yet to vote on the measure.

In addition, the United States has already allocated about $5.3 billion to construct facilities for the Afghan army and the national police, with most of the "enduring facilities . . . scheduled for construction over the next three to four years," according to a Pentagon news release this month

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082201670.html?hpid=topnews

Iranians Roll Out Unmanned Bomber

Defying mounting international pressure over its military ambitions, Iran on Sunday unveiled what it said was its latest battlefield advance—an armed aerial drone—a day after initiating the start-up of its first nuclear power plant.

On Saturday, Russian engineers successfully loaded nuclear fuel into the plant in the southern city of Bushehr, amid a ceremony attended by Russian and Iranian officials. Tehran said the plant would be operational within a month.

Western analysts brushed off the drone news as saber rattling amid the fresh wave of sanctions and the increasingly public debate in Israel and the U.S. of a possible military strike against Iran in the standoff.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704504204575444872540980904.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

Marines will still be 'hammering' Afghanistan next year

As U.S. combat troops complete their withdrawal from Iraq, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway addressed Afghanistan’s deadline for its similar pullout next summer during a Pentagon press briefing Tuesday.

Conway predicted that a significant number of U.S. Marines and combat forces will still be in Afghanistan “hammering” militants well past the July 2011 deadline to begin withdrawal of American forces.

Conway claimed that President Barack Obama’s timeline to begin withdrawal is "giving the enemy sustenance," telling the insurgent forces all they have to do is wait for the Americans to leave to take over control of Afghanistan.

But Conway said in some respect the deadline could work in favor of U.S. forces. Conway explained the Marines will be there well after July 2011 and implied that it could come as somewhat of a surprise to the insurgents. He asked, what the enemy leadership will say "when we're still there hammering them?"
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/24/4960859-marines-will-still-be-hammering-afghanistan-next-year

Trying to put a positive spin on the erroneous July withdrawal date?...pitiful

With U.S. Approval, Moscow Heads Back to Afghanistan

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Two decades after the Soviet army left Afghanistan in humiliating defeat, Russia is poised to spend billions in the war-wracked country to develop infrastructure, mineral and energy reserves, with new plans taking shape to boost military capability. This time around, it has America's blessing.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2012440,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

Official: U.S. may refocus counter-terrorism fight on Yemen



Washington (CNN) -- In what would mark a major shift in counter-terrorism strategy, the Obama administration is considering adding military assets to the fight against al Qaeda in Yemen, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

All options to fight the terror network al Qaeda in Yemen are under review at the White House, a counter-terrorism official told CNN. Conditions in the Middle Eastern nation have allowed al Qaeda to regroup there, said the official, who spoke about sensitive issues on the condition of anonymity.

"They've shown already that they can attack in Yemen and in the United States," the official said.

snip
CIA analysts concluded that al Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen has become more dangerous, leading senior administration officials to call for an escalation of U.S. military operations there, the Post said. That includes a proposal to add CIA drones to a clandestine U.S. air strike campaign, officials told the Post.

The CIA would not comment on the Post report, but spokesman George Little told CNN: "This agency and our government as a whole work against al Qaeda and its violent allies, wherever they appear."

snip
The terror group grabbed the attention of the West with the Christmas Day attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines trans-Atlantic flight as it landed in Detroit, Michigan.

The suspect, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who has pleaded not guilty to six federal terrorism charges, was reportedly trained and armed in Yemen.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/25/yemen.al.qaeda/#fbid=F6kaaxgB46o&wom=false

and onto Yemen to fight al qaeda...because we have been so successful thus far? Of course it is all because of the Christmas day bomber. Does anyone believe this stuff?

the undies bomber was one of the worst cases of false flag i have seen..pathetic..

We will stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 says Australian Chief of Defence

AUSTRALIAN troops will stay in Afghanistan well beyond the 2014 deadline set by the Government, the nation's top military commander says.

Chief of Defence Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said Diggers would remain in Oruzgan Province after the two to four-year mission to train local Afghan security forces had expired.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/we-will-stay-in-afghanistan-beyond-2014-says-australian-chief-of-defence/story-e6frf7l6-1225910657710



Karzai criticizes U.S. timeline for leaving Afghanistan
snip
In one statement, Karzai said that despite the "outstanding progress" that has been made in reconstruction, "we haven't progressed in the war against terrorism." He blamed two factors: a lack of focus on insurgent sanctuaries and the killing of civilians during military operations. He also said the July 2011 date that Obama set to begin a drawdown of U.S. troops "has given courage to the enemies of Afghanistan."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082603882.html?hpid=moreheadlines

The US is not exiting any time soon...and I guess Karzai didnt get the memo that the "war on terrorism" = nation building

Afghanistan drills oil for first time in north

KABUL Aug 26 (Reuters) - Afghanistan, believed to be sitting on top of billions of dollars worth of minerals and energy sources, has extracted oil for the first time and plans to pump a modest 800 barrels a day, officials said on Thursday.

Afghanistan's Mines Ministry plans to open bidding soon for contracts to refine the oil from the rugged Sar-i-Pul province in the north.

"The infrastructure existed there a long time ago. We overhauled them and this is the first time we are extracting oil," said Jawad Omar, a spokesman for the ministry.

snip
Omar said "a foreign institution" had helped with the Sar-i-Pul extraction but would not give any more information.

Sayed Anwar Rahmati, the governor of Sar-i-Pul, told Reuters the project had had Americans help but gave no further details.

Both the U.S. Embassy and USAID said they were not aware of who was involved in the project.
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFSGE67P0F620100826?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0


"Both the U.S. Embassy and USAID said they were not aware of who was involved in the project."..
BS!

Soldiers deploy under ‘Operation New Dawn’

Lt. Col. Robert Edmonson called Saturday a historic day.

“These are the first troops from Fort Gordon to participate in Operation New Dawn,” said Edmonson, commander of the 63rd Expeditionary Signal Battalion. On Saturday, 110 members of the 63rd’s Company B, departed to Iraq after a ceremony at Gym 3.

The company will provide communications support to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

“You have a level of tactical proficiency normally reserved for much larger organizations,” he said to the Soldiers. “You are trained and ready to deploy.”
http://www.fortgordonsignal.com/news/2010-08-27/Front_Page/Soldiers_deploy_under_Operation_New_Dawn.html

deploying more troops....sure it doesnt sound like combat, it the New Dawn for pete's sake, but it is deployment of troops!

this is obamas peace..war is his peace..australian deaths are rising sharply..the population wont stand for it much longer..

Afghan Official at Center of Corruption Trial is on CIA Payroll


As the Obama administration and Congress begin tying U.S. aid to anti-corruption efforts in Afghanistan, it turns out the man at the center of a corruption investigation in Kabul has been on the CIA payroll for years, several high-level officials confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.

Mohammed Zia Salehi, the chief of administration of President Hamid Karzai's National Security Council, who was arrested on corruption charges last month and then released at the behest of Karzai, is indeed paid by the United States, though for what remains unclear.

It also is true, according to several Afghanistan-based sources, that Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai, currently the governor of Kandahar province, is also paid by the CIA.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., made an emergency trip to Kabul last week to impress upon Karzai the need to not intervene in corruption proceedings against officials such as Salehi, as the United States tries to impress upon the government the need to win hearts and minds by not adding to the country's problems.

The CIA has had deep ties and assets amongst Afghan's warring factions that date back to the early 1990s. Prior to his current position, Salehi had been an aide to Karzai ally Abdul Rashid Dostum, who was also a key U.S. ally when the Northern Alliance toppled the Taliban in 2001
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/26/afghan-official-center-corruption-trial-cia-payroll/?test=latestnews

SSDD...corruption is inevitable...I wonder if this info was in the wikileaks documents?

A U.S. 'legacy of waste' in Iraq

The $53-billion reconstruction effort is not without its successes. But poor planning, violence and a failure to consult Iraqis derailed many projects, which may offer lessons in Afghanistan.

Reporting from Khan Bani Saad, Iraq — The shell of a prison that will never be used rises from the desert on the edge of this dusty town north of Baghdad, a hulking monument to the wasted promise of America's massive, $53-billion reconstruction effort in Iraq.

Construction began in May 2004 at a time when U.S. money was pouring into the country. It quickly ran into huge cost overruns. Violence erupted in the area, and a manager was shot dead in his office. The Iraqi government said it didn't want or need the prison. In 2007 the project was abandoned, but only after $40 million of U.S. taxpayer money had been spent.

snip
As U.S. combat operations officially end this week and Washington's reconstruction effort winds up, Iraqis complain that America is leaving little behind to show for an investment that President Bush promised in 2003 would parallel the post- World War II Marshall Plan in its scope and accomplishments.

"I am very sorry because America spent a lot of money without any tangible results," said Ali Baban, Iraq's minister of planning, who is responsible for overseeing the projects now being handed over to the Iraqi government. "The Iraqi people heard a lot about American assistance, but really they didn't touch it or feel it."

Many things went wrong, officials say, looking back on seven years of missteps and successes that could offer lessons for similar efforts in Afghanistan, where reconstruction expenditures are expected to surpass those of Iraq next year.

snip
Baban said the Iraqi government has taken on only 300 of the 1,500 reconstruction projects handed over so far by the U.S. The rest have been "put on the shelf," he said, because they are too shoddy to continue, aren't needed, or are incomplete and lack the documentation such as plans and contracts that the Iraqis would need to finish them.

By no means was all of the money ill spent, Bowen said. About $20 billion has been plowed into training and equipping the Iraqi security forces, an investment he said is generally seen to have paid off, in the form of an army and police force judged reasonably capable of taking over day-to-day security as U.S. combat troops go home.

But when it comes to the broader ambitions of the reconstruction program, success is harder to pin down.

snip
There's a difference between 'could we have done better?' and 'did we do nothing at all?' I think it's somewhere in between," said Ginger Cruz, the deputy head of the Special Inspector General's office.

"There was a significant amount of waste, but there's a ton of infrastructure across the country that's paid for by America," she said.

One of the lessons of the entire effort is that big is not always best, Ries said. "The smaller the amount of money you spend, the more difference you can have," he said.

Another, said Bowen, is that trying to rebuild a country in the middle of a raging insurgency is not a good idea.

Project execution and management have improved in recent years, and the U.S. now does consult with Iraqis, he said. About $2 billion remains to be spent, and that is likely to go toward the kind of efforts that have proved effective, such as training Iraqis to carry out projects, rather than big-ticket infrastructure.

"But unfortunately," he said, "billions of dollars have already been spent and billions have been wasted."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-reconstruction-20100829,0,5306224.story?page=2

Interesting article...waste to the tune of billions! Is this waste typical? Will the US stay in Iraq just long enough to complete the projects?

China announces navy drill ahead of U.S. show of force

BEIJING — The Chinese navy will hold a live-ammunition exercise in the Yellow Sea, where Washington and Seoul announced their own plan for a military exercise that has riled Beijing, China's Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.

The Ministry said a naval fleet will stage the drill this week from Wednesday to Saturday in the sea between China and the Korean peninsula, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

"This is an annual routine training exercise, mainly involving the firing of shipboard artillery," the Ministry said, according to Xinhua.

The announcement, nonetheless, follows a pattern of China publicizing its own military exercises in parallel to those held by Washington and Seoul, which Beijing has criticized as destabilizing at a time of tensions over North Korea.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38709527/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

Beijing gets de facto control over Gilgit

NEW DELHI: In a development that would raise New Delhi’s concerns, it appears that Islamabad has effectively handed over de facto control of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to Beijing.

The region, according to reports in the New york Times, has been witnessing a “simmering rebellion against Pakistani rule and the influx of an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army.”

The article by Asia Program director at the Center for International Policy Selig S Harrison has described the development as the unfolding of “a quiet geopolitical crisis” in the Himalayan borderlands of northern Pakistan.

Given that the region is closed off to the world, Harrison has relied on reports by foreign intelligence sources, Pakistani journalists and human rights workers. The area is off limits to outsiders, hence the reliance on these sources for information.

This de facto hand over is part of China’s effort to secure unfettered road and rail access to the Gulf through Pakistan.

snip
The article suggests that the PLA soldiers in the region would be working on the “infrastructure projects” in the region. While some would be working on the railroad, others would on extending the Karakoram Highway, which was built to link China’s Sinkiang province with Pakistan. Still some others would be working on dams, expressways and other projects.

“Mystery surrounds the construction of 22 tunnels in secret locations where Pakistanis are barred. Tunnels would be necessary for a projected gas pipeline from Iran to China that would cross the Himalayas through Gilgit. But they could also be used for missile storage sites”, Mr Harrison writes.

He argues that seen together with the support for Taliban, Islamabad’s collusion in facilitating China’s access to the Gulf makes it clear that Pakistan is not a US “ally”.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/the-sunday-et/dateline-india/Beijing-gets-de-facto-control-over-Gilgit-/articleshow/6453911.cms

china getting its path "through" pakistan?