No McCain, Afghanistan came first

It has just been conveniently forgotten since for some reason Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Osama Bin Laden became unimportant...

Why again did we go to Iraq and was it worth the 4000+ US Military lives and scores of Iraqi civilian lives?

Afghanistan: The 'forgotten' war is back in the spotlight

British soldiers are welcoming Obama's trip to at least remind people that there is a war going on in Afghanistan.

read more | digg story

Here is the video that goes along with the digg post below

A Taliban viewpoint/article worth sharing

Via Charleston, please click link for entire article

Distrust is aiding Taliban

Thursday, June 26, 2008

For the first time, the number of coalition soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan exceeds the current rate of military losses in Iraq. According to The Associated Press, 36 allied troops have been killed this month in Afghanistan, while 23 have died in Iraq. That is a clear indication that the focus of the war on terrorism is shifting from Iraq to Afghanistan and, specifically, to the turbulent border with Pakistan.

Yet another top American official, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that if there is a second terrorist strike on the United States it will originate in the border tribal lands. He told reporters: "If we get struck, I think the origins and planning will come from there. Clearly, the planning is taking place."

Latest news from Afghanistan

5 foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Five soldiers from the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan have been killed in two separate attacks.

Four soldiers were killed when insurgents opened fire on their convoy following a roadside blast on the west side of Kandahar city around 8 a.m. local time Saturday, officials said.

Two other soldiers were seriously injured in the attack.

Military officials did not reveal their nationalities, but CBC News has been told that no Canadians were among the casualties

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MORE ON THIS STORY FROM THE CBC WEBSITE CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING THIS LINK

In the News: Taliban

source: The Age

General admits Taliban revival
Ann Scott Tyson, Washington
June 16, 2008
Page 1 of 2 | Single Page View
THE outgoing top US military commander in Afghanistan has described the Taliban as "resurgent" after a week when 890 prisoners — including nearly 400 Taliban fighters — were freed in a jailbreak in Kandahar.

In the worst single attack on coalition forces in Afghanistan this year, four US marines were killed by a roadside bomb on Saturday. A fifth marine was wounded in the attack.

In a sober assessment, General Dan McNeill, who departed on June 3 after 16 months commanding NATO's International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, said although record levels of foreign and Afghan troops had constrained repeated Taliban offensives, stabilising Afghanistan would be impossible without a more robust military campaign against insurgent havens in Pakistan.

The Taliban were "resurgent in the region", particularly in sanctuaries in Pakistan, and as a result "it's going to be difficult to take on this insurgent group … in the broader sort of way", General McNeill said at a Pentagon news conference.

Comprehensive data released by the NATO-led command shows a steady escalation in violence since NATO took charge of the Afghanistan mission in 2006, spurred in part by more aggressive operations by the alliance and most recently by US Marine battalions in the heavily contested southern province of Helmand.

ENTIRE ARTICLE AT THE AGE WEBSITE WHICH YOU CAN REACH AT THIS LINK

New Deployments Announced

I knew there would be more soon. Never prepared for the announcement. I do have family in the military so I often check to see what is new. Pray for all involved - families, military, civilians , emotional health, mental health, physical health, finances, wisdom.

via Iwon - complete announcement found at this link but here is a bit of information about who is going over:


Currently there are 155,000 troops, including 17 combat brigades, in Iraq.

The seven Army combat brigades and one division headquarters units that would be sent to Iraq later this year are:

- 25th Infantry Division Headquarters

- 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Carson, Colo.

- 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

- 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan.

- 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C.

- 172nd Infantry Brigade from Schweinfurt, Germany

- 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas.

- 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, from Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

The four National Guard brigades being alerted for Iraq duty are:

- 72nd Brigade Combat Team, Texas National Guard

- 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard

- 256th Brigade Combat Team, Louisiana National Guard

- 278th Brigade Combat Team, Tennessee National Guard

The unit told to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan was the 86th Brigade Combat Team from the Vermont National Guard. There are currently 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, including 15,000 serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, and 18,000 in the U.S.-led effort to train the Afghan Army and conduct counterinsurgency operations.

Pakistan: Missiles hit house, at least 20 dead

read this via USA Today, today. I wonder how many people really pay attention to what is happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan any more. - A Thinker

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A missile strike near the Afghan border destroyed the house of a suspected militant leader Sunday, killing at least 20 people, witnesses and state-run Pakistan Television said.

Seven missiles were fired in the strike in the tribal area of South Waziristan, the television report said. The Pakistani military said five or six explosions were heard near Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.

Local tribesman Rahim Khan told The Associated Press missiles were fired by an unmanned drone. At least two hit and destroyed the home of a local militant leader and Taliban sympathizer who goes by the single name Noorullah, Khan said.

Only U.S.-led coalition forces are known to have unmanned drones operating in the region. Coalition forces based in neighboring Afghanistan have also launched attacks inside the Pakistani border in the past.

Khan said the house — a huge, fortress-like compound — was known as a hub for visiting foreign militants. Four of those killed were not locals, he said without elaborating, and seven other people were wounded in the attack. Taliban supporters immediately surrounded the area