North Korea Nullifies Armistice, Now What...

North Korea Nullifies Armistice, Key Resolve Kicks Off 03/11/2013 10:11 AM CDT North Korea Nullifies Armistice, Key Resolve Kicks Off By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 11, 2013 - U.S. and South Korean forces kicked off the annual Key Resolve exercise today, with the North Korean army's supreme command reportedly responding by nullifying the armistice agreement that has maintained peace on the Korean Peninsula for six decades. Army Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, opened the annual combined and joint command post exercise today, calling it "a critical exercise in strengthening the readiness of combined Republic of Korea and U.S. forces." The exercise, which will continue through March 21, begins during a particularly tense time in Korea. North Korea, angered by tighter sanctions the U.N. Security Council approved in response to its latest missile launch in February, has increasingly ratcheted up its threats over the past week to invalidate the armistice agreement. Today, the North Korean press reported that "the U.S. has reduced the armistice agreement to a dead paper." North Korea also reportedly cut off a phone line between North and South Korea that provided immediate communication when required to reduce tensions. Meanwhile, under scenarios developed for Key Resolve 2013, more than 3,000 U.S. participants are working with about 10,000 of their South Korean counterparts to hone the skills necessary to defend South Korea. This, officials said, includes improving the operational capabilities of combined U.S. and South Korean forces, coordinating and executing the deployment of U.S. reinforcements and maintaining South Korean military combat capabilities. Key Resolve is part of an ongoing effort to increase the alliance's readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula, officials said. U.S. Pacific Command, which is heavily involved in Key Resolve 2013, plans to participate in naval training exercises around Korea and other activities to improve the alliance's capacity to deter aggression, they reported. Thurman declared this year's exercise a major step in advancing the alliance. "This year is particularly important, because it is the first time the [South Korean] Joint Chiefs of Staff have planned and executed this combined exercise," he noted. "In doing so, they are taking great strides to assume wartime operational control of forces in December 2015." Swedish and Swiss Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission observers are on the ground to monitor the exercise to ensure it complies with terms of the armistice agreement, officials said. Five United Nations Command states also are participating: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Foreign ministers from 27 European Union nations are meeting in Brussels today to discuss a range of diplomatic issues, including imposing fresh sanctions on North Korea for its latest provocations. Thurman emphasized last week the importance of the armistice that has kept an uneasy peace on the peninsula since it ended Korean War hostilities in 1953. "For 60 years, the armistice agreement has ensured peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," he said in a statement released from the South Korean capital of Seoul. "It concerns me when any signatory to a mutual agreement makes a public statement contrary to that agreement.. "As the UNC commander, I am charged to fully enforce the conditions of the armistice," Thurman continued. "The success of the armistice has enabled the Republic of Korea to become a vibrant democracy, and we remain ready to defend the Republic of Korea."

 

Sequester, shmester...

We are facing a hard date when the government of the United States will be required to reduce spending immediately by about $85bn.  This is fraction of the massive economy of our nation, over $15.8 trillion and only a pittance of the annual federal budget, which is north of $2 trillion.  IS this a good thing or a bad thing?  I contend it is the latter.  The government continues to spend without restraint on programs of all types.  We routinely exceed the value of funds received, engaging in deficit spending which has pushed national debt over 100% of GDP.  What does this mean?  It means that if the United States did nothing but pay it’s debt, it would consume the next six to eight years of all government revenues.

 

Government debt is not like consumer debt.  It is essentially an open ended gamble on the viability of a government and its economy.  In the case of the United States, it has been a winning bet since nearly the inception of the nation.  Even in the worst of times, the economy of the United States has been the strongest, most resilient and most free of any other economy in the world.  It is diversified and driven by enormous flows of capital (both monetary and intellectual).

 

As a nation we have been spending more than 20% of GDP via the government.  This is about 6% above historical norms and represents the perceived economic need for stimulative spending.  The impact of this additional spending has been nominal at best.  It is now time to reset our spending levels to ones which are affordable in the long term and representative of a less invasive type of government. 

 

Part of the expenditure is the growth of the “social safety net”.  In tough economic times, there is a valid and vital reason to support citizens who are broadly affected by downturns.  This support should be self limiting and focused upon returning people to productive positions in the society.  Retraining programs and small business support are some of the most effective.  Healthcare programs , different from the sporadic needs like unemployment, must be structured to be cost controlling while delivering maximum value with limited resources (remember the death panel hype?  In a truly well managed program, there would be restrictions on care offered).  Social pension programs also must be means tested and aligned to the changing life styles of the citizens who benefit from them.  All of this must be supported by a revenue stream which is predictable and as equitable as possible.  The United States has a very progressive tax scheme which is immensely complex and skewed to favor both higher income and lower income citizens.

 

In short, folks, we need a complete overhaul of our financial structures in the United States.  The blunt instrument of the sequester is a great place to start.  It should provide some clarity to just how insane our budgetary and government programs have become. 

 

Sequester is Pro-Growth

Forget me not...

Eleven years ago I sat in a conference room glued to a television as the
opening round in the West's war with extremism played out. At the time we
were hosting a conference near Norfolk, Virginia of a number of
international technicians who found themselves trapped in the Chesapeake bay
area. As the nation closed its airspace, people struggled to do what their
instincts told them to do, get home. A friend of mine, a Japanese national,
rented a U-Haul truck and drove from North Carolina to his home in Atlanta.
He was stopped by law enforcement at least three times enroute.

Watching the video remembrances of the event, it is sobering to realize just
how little we knew about what was going on at the time. Images of the White
House emptying out and Capitol Hill police officers warning off news crews
in anticipation of United flight 93 making it to its target in DC make for a
stark contrast to our present state.

It is important that we reflect on the state of the world and the progress
in the war against Al-Queada. In eleven years the nations of Iraq and
Afghanistan have been liberated (although our poorly executed departure from
Iraq, due to the current administration's inability to negotiate a proper
Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)) has likely caused more damage to the
recovering government.

The nations of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco and Syria are in
various stages of the Arab Spring. So called in that they represent the
hope of an abandonment of oppressive regimes and an emergence into a period
of open, tolerant governance. Whether this is the final outcome remains to
be seen. Syria is ruthlessly clinging to its criminal form of government
and Egypt is struggling to avoid devolving into another Iran.

Iran is perched on the precipice of confrontation with the rest of the globe
over its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons. Despite computer viruses,
magnetic assassin bombs and international condemnation, it seems clear that
Iran will achieve the development of nuclear capability. What transpires
after that is anyone's guess.

At the heart of this conflict is a fundamental disagreement about the role
of religion in governance. The forces of Al-Qaeda seek a return to the
Caliphate and law based upon Sharia. Their philosophy is regressive and
narrow. The rise of this philosophy has been aided by many of the
governments which have fallen in recent months. Their repressive approach
has reinforced the beliefs of adherents to an Islamo-centric mindset and
provided easy recruiting for new members. Nations which have more liberal
approaches to governance, Indonesia, have seen less of a rise of such
extremist factions.

The war continues, even today. There are few in the United States who truly
feel its effects of seem to grasp its implications. It is too soon to know
how the Arab Spring will affect its outcome or the ready availability of
domestic fuel via gas shale and other sources.

There is one thing certain, however, the outcome of this conflict will only
be determined by the adherents to the Islamist philosophy. It is they who
must decide if their obedience to a stagnant set of beliefs is worth
remaining outside the community of the planet and as pariahs in modern
society. We can only stand by with an open hand of welcome paired with a
gripped sword of defence.

It's still the economy stupid...

Just as the GOP will use the non-issue of gun rights to inflame their base, the democrats are using the settled abortion issue to rev up their connection with women.  From the DNC’s view, the GOP will immediately drop burkhas over women and require them to be subject to arranged marriages and victimized by honor killings.  This is the same fantasy rhetoric the GOP uses in regards to the present administration’s supposed plan to confiscate firearms and subject citizens to twenty-four hour surveillance.  The sheer absurdity of these arguments ignores the fact the in Roe v Wade and Keller (in DC) these portions of law are largely settled and it is only the outlier states and municipalities which are holdouts against universal reproductive and gun rights.

 

The problem this causes is that it creates a film though which rational people must  battle in order to have any discussion about real issues.  These are issues over the size and role of government, the type and scope of fiscal policy and whether the USA will be a nation engaged with the world from a position of strength or an isolated country.  Personally, the social debate is absurd in my mind on its face.  No president has had any influence on social issues as these are almost always driven from the population and routed through the courts.

 

Good and intelligent friends of mine will wind themselves up over these issues with seeming amnesia over the actual impact over the past 20 years.  None of these rights has eroded, in fact they have expanded and become more established. 

 

The economy, however, is another matter entirely.

 

Kabul, we have a problem...

The United States engaged enemy forces in Afghanistan earlier than it did in Iraq.  Afghanistan was secured (militarily) with a modest, asymmetrical force compose dof special operations units, local nationals and traditional units.  The result was a relatively swift victory in a fractured, mostly rural / undeveloped and tribal nation.  Afghanistan has no seaport, no major infrastructure, no major exports (save opium) and no real central government.  It is a nation of divergent, tribal groups barely linked by the common religion of Islam.

Prior to 2001, it was the training haven for Al Qeada.  It afforded numerous secure locations to prepare for global jihad against the forces of the West and internal enemies of a future Caliphate.  Our success in Afghanistan hinges solely on our overwhelming ability to delivery lethal force to any part of the nation within minutes.  This ability, however, will not convert an eleventh century culture into a modern society.

We are now facing peace talks with the Taliban, as we inevtibaly must and a likely premature exit in 2013.  This will result in Afghanistan devolving back into sectarian violence and partitioning.  It will also mean our presence wil be limited to a base in Khandahar or one of the -Stans from where SOCOM units will act to kill any coalescing threat which may spread outside the borders of the nation.

Michael Yon has written extensively about our challenges and now we have an Army O5 reporting his frustration with the truth on the ground.  The truth on the ground in Afghanistan is the summary of his article.

Let's just hope we can maintain that ability to decisively deliver necessary force to preserve our own security.  I fear that the security for the Afghans will remain elusive.

SOPA / PIPA slips...

January 18, 2012
Online Piracy Act Loses Support After an unprecedented day of Internet-based lobbying, a proposal to clamp down on online piracy lost support Wednesday.   The Stop Online Piracy Act and a Senate companion, the Protect IP Act, were criticized by websites such as Wikipedia and Google as being written too broadly.   Hollywood took a different view, arguing the measure is necessary to stop online pirating of movies, TV shows and other copyrighted material.   But Silicon Valley appears to have won this round, with several lawmakers backing away from the bill.   Read more about SOPA's support in Congress.     Congressional Websites Go Dark It wasn't just Wikipedia that went dark Wednesday. At least four Members of Congress "blacked out" their offiical websites in solidarity with an Internet-wide protest by opponents of bills to crack down on online piracy of music and movies.   Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenaeur (D-Ore.), Mike Honda (D-Calif.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) showed protest messages on their House.gov sites on the same day as link aggregator Reddit and online encylopedia Wikipedia.   Read more about the blackouts.   Also of Interest   * Lawmaker asks Apple to take down fake driver's license app.   * Activists ramp up lobbying before SOPA vote.   * How copyright law affected John McCain's presidential bid.   Join Us on Google Plus You can now find the same stories you enjoy in the weekly Congress.org newsletter online  on Google Plus.   Roll Call, our sister publication, has joined the new social networking platform and we'll be putting free stories up every day.   If you're on Google Plus, you can follow us by simply going to the page below and clicking "Add to Circles."   Follow Roll Call on Google Plus.   Write Congress Through Facebook!   You can now write members of Congress on whatever subject you'd like through our Facebook application.   Simply go to our Facebook page and click on the "Tell Congress" option — or go directly to the Compose Your Own Message page by clicking on this link.    What's Happening in California — Or Your State?   It can be hard to keep track of California's lawmakers.   Sen. Barbara Boxer defending the federal budget. Rep. Darrell Issa launching investigations. Rep. Jane Harman retiring.   That's why we created a Facebook page where you can track all the news about the Golden State's delegation — CongressCA.   In fact, we started 50 pages, one for each state in the union. Simply find your state in the list below, go to the Facebook page and click the thumb's up "Like" button at the top of the page.   Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Iowa | Illinois | Indiana | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Virginia | Vermont | Washington | Wisconsin | West Virginia | Wyoming   Twenty-Five Thousand Fans Can't Be Wrong   This month, Congress.org added its 25,000th fan on Facebook.   Our community of users gets the latest news on Congress and national activism every time they log in to the world's most popular social networking site.   They can also write Members of Congress on the issue of the week through our new "Tell Congress" feature — in less than a minute.   So what are you waiting for? Go to  facebook.com/congressorg and click the "Like" button" today!	Get on Your Soapbox Want to make your voice heard concerning issues important to you? Get on your soapbox and make it happen! Our Soapbox feature allows you to give exposure to your issue and lets other Congress.org users take action on the alerts you create. Registered users are now allowed four free soapbox alerts per month! Track Your Lawmakers Want to track votes cast by your Members of Congress? Sign up for our regular MegaVote newsletter. Signed, Sealed, Hand-Delivered! Did you know that you can have your message hand-delivered to the door of your Members of Congress? For a small fee, we can give your letter "Extra Impact" to help make your voice heard. Select that option when filling out your message on any topic. Add Us Don't forget to add congressorg@capwiz.com to your address book to ensure prompt delivery of this newsletter each week.
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Future Force Will be Smaller...

Obama: Future Force Will be Smaller, Agile, Ready 01/05/2012 12:43 PM CST   Obama: Future Force Will be Smaller, Agile, Ready By Cheryl Pellerin American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2012 - At a moment of national transition, the United States is reshaping defense priorities and its military force to sustain U.S. global leadership and respond to changing security and fiscal needs, President Barack Obama said this morning at the Pentagon. Obama, the first president to address reporters in the Pentagon briefing room, joined Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to introduce a new military strategy that sets priorities for a 21st-century defense. "The United States of America is the greatest force for freedom and security that the world has ever known," Obama said. "In no small measure, that's because we've built the best-trained, best-led, best-equipped military in history -- and as commander in chief, I'm going to keep it that way." Even as the tide of war recedes and U.S. forces prevail in today's missions, he added, "we have the opportunity and the responsibility to look ahead to the force we need for the future." Looking beyond the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and long-term nation-building with large military footprints, Obama said, the United States will be able to ensure its security with smaller conventional ground forces and by investing in capabilities that include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and the ability to operate in environments where adversaries try to deny access. "Yes, our military will be leaner," he said, "but the world must know the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats." Panetta said the department would need to make a strategic shift regardless of the nation's fiscal situation. "We are at that point in history," the secretary added. "That's the reality of the world we live in." But he stressed that the U.S. military will remain capable across the spectrum. "We will continue to conduct a complex set of missions ranging from counterterrorism, ranging from countering weapons of mass destruction to maintaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent," Panetta said, adding that the department will be "fully prepared to protect our interests, defend our homeland and support civil authorities." The Defense Strategic Guidance document released today says the future force will be led by the world's finest, best cared for and battle-tested all-volunteer military -- one that will be smaller, but that also will be flexible, agile and ready. The force will be leaner, further reducing the cost of doing business and finding efficiencies in overhead, business practices and other support activities, according to the guidance. It also will be technologically superior, the document adds, and networked across the services as well as with diplomatic, development and intelligence agencies, allies and partners. The strategy also outlines a force that will be able to regenerate and mobilize for an unpredictable future, preserving the U.S. industrial base. "As a global force, our military will never be doing only one thing," Panetta said. "It will be responsible for a range of missions and activities across the globe of varying scope, duration and strategic priority. This will place a premium on flexible and adaptable forces that can respond quickly and effectively to a variety of contingencies and potential adversaries." With the end of U.S. military commitments in Iraq and the drawdown under way in Afghanistan, the secretary said, the Army and Marine Corps will no longer need to be sized to support the kind of large-scale, long-term stability operations that have dominated military priorities and force generation over the past decade. Continuing investments in special operations forces, in new technologies such as ISR and unmanned systems and in space and especially cyberspace capabilities will help the force "retain and continue to refine and institutionalize the expertise and capabilities that have been gained at such great cost over the last decade," Panetta said. Most importantly, the secretary added, "we will structure and pace reductions in the nation's ground forces in such a way that they can surge, regenerate and mobilize capabilities needed for any contingency." Building in reversibility and the ability to quickly mobilize will be critical, he said. "That means re-examining the mix of elements in the active and reserve components," Panetta said. "It means maintaining a strong National Guard and Reserve. It means retaining a healthy cadre of experienced [noncommissioned officers] and midgrade officers, and preserving the health and viability of the nation's defense industrial base." The strategy, Dempsey said, is sound. "It ensures we remain the pre-eminent military in the world," the chairman told reporters, "it preserves the talent of the all-volunteer force, it takes into account the lessons of the last 10 years of war, [and] it acknowledges the imperative of a global, networked and full-spectrum joint force." The strategy calls for innovation -- new ways of operating and partnering, Dempsey said, adding that it rebalances the defense focus by region and mission and makes important investments in emerging and proven capabilities such as cyber and special operations. "Fundamentally," the chairman said, "our strategy has always been about our ability to respond to global contingencies wherever and whenever they happen. This does not change. We will always provide a range of options for our nation. We can and will always be able to do more than one thing at a time. More importantly, wherever we are confronted and in whatever sequence, we will win." All strategies accept some risk, he acknowledged. "Because we will be somewhat smaller, these risks will be measured in time and capacity," the general said. "However, we have to be honest -- we could face even greater risks if we did not change from our current approach." The outcome is not perfect, the chairman said, but "it gives us what we need -- in this world and within this budget -- to provide the best possible defense for our nation at a time of great transitions. It prepares us for what we anticipate needing in 2020." The nation faces a difficult fiscal situation and in many ways is at a crisis point, Panetta said. "But I believe that in every crisis there is opportunity," he added. "Out of this crisis, we have the opportunity to end the old ways of doing business and to build a modern force for the 21st century that can win today's wars and successfully confront any enemy and respond to any threat and any challenge of the future. "Our responsibility -- my responsibility as secretary of defense -- is to protect the nation's security and to keep America safe," he continued. "With this joint force, I am confident that we can effectively defend the United States of America."   Biographies: Leon E. Panetta Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey Related Sites: Defense Strategic Guidance Related Articles: Obama: Defense Strategy Will Maintain U.S. Military Pre-eminence   Defense Department News Through Facebook On American Forces Press Service's Facebook page, you can post comments and share news, photos and videos. Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Forces-Press-Service/65137437532 or search for American Forces Press Service at Facebook.com. Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time by clicking on your 'User Profile' page at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOD/subscriber/edit?preferences=true#tab1. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please e-mail support@govdelivery.com. Have another inquiry? Visit the online FAQ at http://www.defense.gov/landing/questions.aspx for up-to-date information. Get the help you, your family, and fellow servicemembers need, when you need it. Visit www.WarriorCare.mil to learn more. Check out the National Resource Directory at www.nationalresourcedirectory.org, a new web-based resource for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them from the Departments of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs. This service is provided to you at no charge by U.S. Department of Defense. Visit us on the web at http://www.defense.gov/. Updates from the U.S. Department of Defense

 

The Closing Of The Year...

Too long since posting here. We are now at the end of this tumultuous year at the precipice of another period of intense change and flux. At least there remains hope.

Merry Christmas and Happy New year.

The Biology Files: Huffington Post: Irresponsible mouthpiece for the ...

Science is an art, it is a well defined and precise art, but it is an art nonetheless. Regrettably, some media outlets imagine that they have some unique insight into this complex realm which enables them to post ridiculous statements which not only are false, but bear the risk of harming the public through the spread of misinformation and fear generating myths.

The Biology Files: Huffington Post: Irresponsible mouthpiece for the ...: Huffington Post is notorious for publishing anti-science garbage. But I don't think anything they've vomited into the Webosphere is as egre...

Apologies Not Accepted...

Nothing has been as controversial as the revisionist approach to the only wartime use of nuclear weapons as that by the United States against Japan in World War II. Now, thanks to Wikileaks, we see that President Obama had intended to apologize at Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the very necessary use of these weapons by the United States. It may be fairly argued that the use of these weapons prevented an even greater conflict after the war in which nations may have been equally armed and inclined to use them in a more remote theater of war. Think tactical use by the United States in Korea or Vietnam, deployment to battlefield troops by the Russians in Cuba or even use by the Chinese in Cambodia or Laos.

It is customary for American naval vessels to never dip their flag in salute to any other nation;s vessel, I would have hoped the Commander in Chief had kept this in mind when traveling abroad.

Apologies Not Accepted - Investors.com

UPDATED: Boiron vs Blogzero...

UPDATE 24 AUG 11: Boiron has written a letter in which they state they will not pursue legal action. The wording is interesting in which they claim to be open to debate but leaving the classic argument that science has not reached the realms of the "infinitely small".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boiron is a multi-billion dollar manufacturer of homeopathic concoctions. They have subjected an Italian blogger for daring the criticize their product Oscillococcinum. This is promoted as a treatment cure for the flu and cold (although in the United States it bears the FDA required disclaimer that it is "not intended to treat or cure any disease"). ANY company which provides a product to the public is subject to critical review by the public and hence the markets.

If our Blogzero friend is saying something untrue, this site's most popular post is related to the efficacy of Sinupret, then by all means he should retract or correct it. If he is making fundamentally true statements, which I believe he is, then Boiron is engaging in cyber-bullying.

This is a free speech issue. Read for yourself and decide!

Boiron vs Blogzero (English page) :B-log(0)

A Child's Tribute to his father...

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols was a Kansas ANG pilot of the downed Chinook CH-47 “EXTORTION 17” which crashed under fire in Afghanistan earlier this month.  His son, 10 year old Braydon, posted his concern that other members of the crew, aside from the USN DEVGRU team, were not recognized.  Officially the names have not been released by DoD, but in the transparent world in which we live – they are all known.  What is most wrenching to me is the haunting picture of Braydon, in a smaller version of his father’s class A uniform next to his beaming dad.  Even at this very young age, he seems to understand the moral imperative under which his father took up service.  He somehow seems to realize that the nature of our nation is, indeed, unique on this planet and that at times we must make sacrifices to sustain that ideal.

 

No one, least of all members of the military, want war to come to their doorsteps.  Each member of our nation’s armed services wrestles with their conflicting commitments to family and the nation they serve.  Each family must also decide whether to support that member or not.  If they can not, then it is impossible for that military member to fulfill their dual oaths to family and country.  Braydon has demonstrated, at the delicate age of 10, this understanding of his father’s commitment.  Braydon has also fulfilled that oath, even having never taken it himself or being asked to do so.  As each member serves, so too do their immediate families.  As we remember the courage, devotion and loyalty of CW2 Nichols, let us also reflect upon the courage of his son.

 

Family Matters Blog: Child's Tribute Stirs Emotion
Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:19:00 -0500

Family Matters Blog: Child's Tribute Stirs Emotion American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2011 - I was on call last weekend when the news broke about the downed helicopter in eastern Afghanistan. As the morning waned, it soon became clear that the nation had suffered a devastating loss. Thirty U.S. service members and eight Afghans lost their lives in the Aug. 6 Chinook crash.  I was deeply saddened by the loss and for the loved ones left behind. But without a personal connection and with a job to do, I began to think of the fallen as a number to report rather than as individuals with faces and names.  For me, it took a child to humanize this terrible loss. A 10-year-old who lost his father in the crash posted a picture of his dad on CNN's iReport on Aug. 9 to ensure he wouldn't be forgotten. His father was the pilot of the Chinook. The picture shows his dad seated next to a four other soldiers. His father, he wrote, was the farthest to the left. This heartfelt tribute since has gone viral, stirring up emotions across the nation. People have reached out to reassure this boy not only that his father wouldn't be forgotten, but also that he'd be remembered as a hero. I studied this picture and felt for this young boy, who would be growing up without a dad. And I thought about the selflessness and call to service that led his father to make the ultimate sacrifice for his nation. I'm grateful for this child who took the time to honor his father in such a bold way. He reminded me that behind each loss, each tragedy of war, is a person with a rich past who is leaving behind a legacy of heroism and sacrifice.

Related Sites: Family Matters Blog

 

Know your Foe, Taliban Brutalizing Young Children...

Michael Yon, my favorite embedded, freelance author has a sobering report on the level of barbarism being perpetrated by the Taliban against fellow Afghan civilians.  When the population understands the choices between a possibly more free nation with western support or a repressive theocracy under Islam, let’s hope they make the right choice.

 

Subject: Taliban Brutalizing Young Children

 

Greetings,
Incredible horrors are happening here.  In the last few days (just that I know of), one 8-year-old was strangled to death.  It appears that his eyes were gouged out after his father refused to turn over a police vehicle to the enemy.
Yesterday, the battalion I am with (4-4CAV in Zhari District), treated a boy who is about 6-8 years-old after the Taliban apparently forced him to step on a bomb.  It blew off his leg.  I was elsewhere and so was not a direct witness.  Our people treated him then flew the child to Kandahar Airfield with his dad for advanced treatment.  Am told that his family is livid and has turned against the Taliban.
Please see this.
Michael Yon
Zhari District, Kandahar, Afghanistan