Afghanistan

[Lamplighter]

Re Richard Holbrooke, I don't know if it's true or not...but the first reports of his "last words"
before surgery and his death were said to be: "You've got to stop the war in Afghanistan".

Later a white house aide tried to spin Holbrooke's words into saying he was just making a joke.

This reminded me of a certain TV talk show back during Viet Nam War
when a frequent question from the "hawks" to the "doves" was a sarcastic:
"How do you propose to get us out of Viet Nam ?
Of course, the hawks believed it was so complicated and difficult their would be no answer to the question.
The answer from that weird actress, Shirley Maclaine, was: "By boat."

Of course it was had it's humorous affect, but it also cut through to what later became evident.
That war had past the point of being "winnable" and it was time to make specific plans for withdrawal.
But without those plans, the end went on to become a publicity fiasco for the US,
and a true disaster for many of our Vietnamese allies.

For far, I'm unable to see a path to the end of the "War on Terror".
Maybe an un-ending war is what some actually want. I hope not.

Meanwhile, I'm listening for some viable arguments or ideas...

[Lamplighter]

Please give us the true quotation and context of his words...

[TheMercenary]

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley attempted to correct the record on the Holbrooke quote. He elaborated on the ambassador's words, which were apparently part of a lengthy exchange during which Mr. Holbrooke bantered with hospital staff.

“I can't relax. I'm worried about Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said, lightly, when the medical team asked how they could make him comfortable before his heart surgery.

After some additional exchanges, someone in the medical staff said, “Well, tell you what: We'll try to fix this challenge while you're undergoing surgery.”

“Yeah,” Mr. Holbrooke replied. “See if you can take care of that, including ending the war.”

Was it a great joke? Not really. But it was a brave joke to make. Its author was brave to be joking at all. He knew the serious nature of the surgery he was about to undergo and he sought to lighten the mood for everyone around him.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1843188/

And here:

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/ken...ized-lefty-mot

And here:
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132087...kes-Last-Words

A simple Google search will give you plenty of sources.

[Lamplighter]

Well, I see the White House now suddenly has gained credibility.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Well, I see the White House now suddenly has gained credibility.

Really? How so?

[Lamplighter]

Didn't you just source them as the true quote ?

(P.J. Crowley: Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs)

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Didn't you just source them as the true quote ?

(P.J. Crowley: Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs)

Oh, I get it. No they lack credibility. Point taken. But on the same note the ability of the liberal media to cherry pick the last words of a man who does not know he is about to die are quite different from those of a dying man.

[TheMercenary]

Time to kill off Rolling Stone magazine. What pieces of shit.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/03/2...l-teams-is-bs/

[Griff]

Rolling Stone has been showing up at my house due to some promotional nonsense. I don't know the background on this but the mag, it is crap.

[glatt]

Is it addressed to Edwin Tapia? Because that's the name on our Spin magazine we never ordered. Thanks again, Edwin, wherever you are.

[anonymous]

Afghanistan is a country.

[anonymous]

ok, That's kind of funny.

Maybe, I would have added how I had worked with someone from India once and talked about the tea.

[TheMercenary]

Afghan insurgents hang 8-year-old boy

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...3a946d861c51db

[BigV]

??? need a better link.. don't see that story.

[gvidas]

Michael Yon:

26 July 2011
Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan

Over the past several days there have been news stories here in Afghanistan about the Taliban strangling an 8-year-old boy. The reports say that his father refused to turn over a police vehicle to the enemy, and so they murdered his son. Late last night, a courageous Afghan journalist named Mustafa Kazemi emailed an image of the boy that Mustafa said had been murdered. Afghans are enraged. They hate this behavior as much as we do. The boy appears to have had his eyes gouged out before being strangled to death. This image is graphic. (please scroll down)

And so last night I walked to the Headquarters of 4-4CAV here in Zhari District, the most active district in Afghanistan at this time. I asked what was going on tonight. A noncommissioned officer filled me in on the day’s events. We had been in a minor ambush resulting in a slight injury and a damaged MRAP, so I knew about that one. But then he explained about a boy whom he said the Taliban forced to step on an IED just down the road from here. Apparently, according to Afghans, the Taliban may have been testing a new bomb made from a soda bottle. The boy’s name is Jalil, and our people estimate that Jalil is 6 to 8-years-old. Jalil was picking grapes with his brother when the Taliban, according to reporting, told the boy to step on the bomb. It blew off his right leg below the knee, leaving hamburger on the stump, and fractured his femur. Afghans brought Jalil to the nearby American base called COP Kolk, where 4-4CAV Soldiers treated him. A helicopter took Jalil and his father to Kandahar Airfield for advanced treatment.