ISW Discusses the Surge in Afghanistan with Recent Commanders

Institute for the Study of War ~       For Immediate Release ~

Washington, D.C. – On November 30, 2012, the Institute for the Study of War welcomed Major General (Promotable) James Huggins and Lieutenant Colonel (Promotable) J.B. Vowell to The Army and Navy Club to discuss the effects of the surge in Afghanistan and the challenges that remain.  

 

Huggins expressed hopes that Afghanistan is heading in the right direction saying, “I firmly believe that the Afghan security forces are on the right path, on the right azimuth.  I believe that the strategy we’re executing in accordance with the surge plan from ’09 is achieving the effects that we wanted it to.  It’s just that we have adjusted troop strengths, we have adjusted timelines, and we are moving as fast as we can and our soldiers are doing incredible work there.”

 

Huggins oversaw the retrograde of approximately eleven thousand forces from his area of responsibility, leaving two Stryker Brigade Combat Teams where originally there had been six BCTs.  “[A]s we downsize[d] to two Stryker brigade combat teams when I left, I told them [my higher headquarters] that was the bare minimum I think we could use and still conduct the mission as it is prescribed today.”

 

He acknowledged that difficulty remains, but stressed the importance of continuing the fight. “We face some tough decisions in what’s going to happen in the future, but I would reiterate as long as we can continue to work off of conditions that we are achieving with our Afghan security partners, to continue to cement the hard-fought gains and the sacrifices we’ll be in pretty good shape.”

 

LTC Vowell, former commander of Task Force No Slack in Kunar, Afghanistan, discussed the difficult operating environment in that province, where al-Qaeda and its affiliates continue to operate, and stressed the importance of continuing engagement in Afghanistan.

 

“I’m very happy with the mission that No Slack did, and I think there’s hope for the future in Afghanistan but I’m cautious as well that it could be reversed…We could lose what we’ve gained so far if we withdraw from our gains too precipitously and we don’t continue to support the Afghan government and the region in the roads ahead.”

Watch full video of the event and read transcripts here.

For media inquiries, please contact Maggie Rackl at mrackl@understandingwar.org
or press@understandingwar.org
(202) 293-5550 x205

For more, visit www.understandingwar.org  and join us on Twitter and Facebook.

###

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization. ISW advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives.

BREAKING NEWS: JIM DEMINT TO RESIGN

By Erick Erickson ~

Jim DeMint, the standard bearer of the conservative movement in America and conservative king maker, is resigning from the United States Senate at the end of the year.

He will succeed Ed Fuelner as President of the Heritage Foundation.

While my initial reaction was one of sadness that we are losing the clearest voice in the Senate for conservatives, the upside on Jim DeMint's departure from the Senate is mind boggling.

Please allow me to explain why and why you should be thrilled by this move →

Stop Playing Games

The Patriot Post ~

The Foundation

"It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." --Thomas Jefferson

Editorial Exegesis

Demo deficit reduction plan

"Both the White House and House Republicans are pretending that their goal is 'reducing the deficit,' which they suggest means making real spending choices. ... Since 1974, Capitol Hill's 'baseline' has automatically increased spending every year according to Congressional Budget Office projections, which means before anyone has submitted a budget or cast a single vote. Tax and spending changes are then measured off that inflated baseline, not in absolute terms. The most absurd current example is Mr. Obama's claim that his '$4 trillion' plan reduces the deficit by about $800 billion over 10 years by ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But those 'savings,' as he calls them, are measured against a White House budget office spending baseline that is fictional. Those wars are already being unwound and everyone knows the money will never be spent. But they are called 'savings' to gull the public and make the deficit reduction add up to a large-sounding $4 trillion. ... In Washington, Democrats designed this system to make it easier to defend annual spending increases and to portray any reduction in the baseline as a spending 'cut.' Chris Wallace called Timothy Geithner on this 'gimmick' on 'Fox News Sunday' this week, only to have the Treasury Secretary insist it's real. Republicans used to object to this game, but in recent years they seem to have given up. In an October 2010 speech at the American Enterprise Institute, House Speaker Boehner proposed that 'we ought to start at square one' and rewrite the 1974 budget act. But he then dropped the idea, and in the current debate the GOP is putting itself at a major disadvantage by negotiating off the phony baseline. In a press release Tuesday, his own office advertised the need for 'spending cuts' that aren't even cuts. If Republicans really want to slow the growth in spending, they need to stop playing by Beltway rules and start explaining to America why Mr. Obama keeps saying he's cutting spending even as spending and deficits keep going up and up and up." --The Wall Street Journal

Upright

"I have several pet peeves, and one of them is the idea that when Americans get to keep their own money, it somehow 'costs' the government." --columnist John J. Miller

"[T]he message coming out of Washington, especially from our leftist politicians and the news media, is that we solve our budget problems by raising taxes on the rich. If Americans were more informed, such a message would be insulting to our intelligence. There are not enough rich people to satisfy Congress' appetite." --economist Walter E. Williams

ObamaCare Decision Expected In June, But Fight To Continue For Years - Video

By ALGNewsNetwork ~

ALG Counsel Nathan Mehrens explains the decision that could be made by the Supreme Court regarding the legality of ObamaCare. Reporter Frank McCaffrey has the story on the coming battle.

License:  Standard YouTube License

Rep. Scott Rigell on National Day of Prayer

Rep. Scott Rigell on National Day of Prayer

Education or Indoctrination?

Release of textbook review imminent! 

In about two weeks we will be releasing our textbook analysis report entitled “Education or Indoctrination? The Treatment of Islam in 6^th through 12^th Grade American Textbooks.” This report is the culmination of three and one-half years of planning, research, writing and editing.

Here’s just one example of what our research found.

When dealing with the 9/11 terrorist attack, the textbooks routinely omit any reference to the fact that the terrorists were Muslims or that they were acting in the cause of Islamic jihad. Imagine textbooks in 1951 teaching about the attack on Pearl Harbor and neglecting to mention that the attack was perpetrated by the Japanese Imperial Navy.

When the report is released, you will be able to view and download:

A 32 page Executive Summary. Early next week this will be mailed to over 70,000 school board members nationwide. The full report—nearly 230 pages long, painstakingly researched, with nearly 375 footnotes and 275 bibliography sources. Reports by publisher, in which the books reviewed are sorted by publisher.

These reports will be available on the ACT! for America Education website, www.ACTforAmericaEducation.org.

Stay tuned!

——————————————————————————————-

ACT! for America Education
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
member@americancongressfortruth.org
http://www.actforamericaeducation.com/

Every day, ACT! for America Education a 501c3 non-profit organization is on the front lines fighting for you in meeting with politicians, decision makers, speaking on college campuses and planning events to educate and inform the public about the threat of Islamofascism. To maintain and bolster our efforts, we need your continued solidarity, activism and financial support. We are only as strong as our supporters. We thank you for helping us carry on this important work.

Egyptian TV Host Insinuates that the Port Said Soccer Riots Were Instigated by Iran

Iran is behind much of the terrorism in the world today.

Egyptian TV Host Insinuates that the Port Said ..., posted with vodpod

Joe Paterno's Legacy

ploaded by MrDatJawn ~

A great man, a great legacy.

Joe Paterno's Legacy, posted with vodpod

Thank You, Joe Paterno, R.I.P

One of the best, if not the best, college football coaches of all time. Please don't ask me why I didn't put the scandal in the video. Quite frankly I don't think it defines who Joe Paterno is as a person and as a coach.

Uploaded by phillieseagles30 on Jan 24, 2012

Thank You, Joe Paterno, R.I.P , posted with vodpod

With Conservatives Like These...

By Burt Prelutsky ~  

Santorum, Gingrich and Perry, all condemned Mitt Romney's Bain Financial for putting people out of work. If anyone should be sidelined, it's Santorum, Gingrich and Perry.

For one thing, as every conservative who isn't running behind in the primaries knows, venture capitalists put their money where their mouths are. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the old adage goes. When it comes to picking winners, Bain has a far better record than the Obama administration. After all, Bain was gambling on turning around the fortunes of companies that were close to death or assisting in the birth of companies that would otherwise have been aborted. Obama, on the other hand, handed out billions of our tax dollars for no other reason than that company owners had contributed heavily to his presidential campaigns.

As Romney has admitted, there were times when Bain had no choice but to shut down companies and let the employees go, but in every case those employees kept drawing salaries for a far longer time than they would have done without Bain's infusion of cash. Clearly, those factory workers confused themselves with public sector union members. Those are the folks, let us never forget, who keep getting hired and having their salaries and pensions increased in spite of a failing economy. That's the difference between Washington, D.C. and the real world.

Another irony of the campaigns that Santorum, Perry and Gingrich, are running is that each of them promises to shut down entire departments of the federal government if they're elected president. Just how will they manage to keep that promise without handing out thousands of pink slips? While it's true that the intended victims are nothing more than Washington bureaucrats, they are still more or less human beings with children to feed and mortgages to pay.

Some people defend Gingrich's attacks on Romney, insisting that Romney has it coming because of the ads that Romney's supporters ran in Iowa attacking Mr. Gingrich. The obvious difference is that while Romney's attacks could certainly be described as vicious, they also happened to be true. In fact, they could easily have been even more hurtful.

For instance, Gingrich was a serial adulterer. And while he has insisted he is a changed man and that he regrets his sins, the same holds true for every other rascal who has ever been found out. On one occasion, he even explained his adultery by stating "Partially, I was driven by how passionate I felt about this country that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate." It's not every day, thank God, that America is basically cast as The Other Woman. Even Bill Clinton, who couldn't quite define sex, but certainly knew it when he saw it, didn't rationalize his boorish behavior as excessive patriotism.

Not only did Gingrich dump his first wife and their two kids, but, adding injury to insult, he refused to pay alimony or child support, thus forcing the local Baptist church to pass the hat. He eventually repaid the debt in full, though, by converting to Catholicism.

It's true that Gingrich was the first Speaker who was ever censured and fined by his congressional colleagues. And although it was for financial shenanigans, it did not, for some reason, involve the multi-million dollar book deal he had cut with Rupert Murdoch. The deal, it so happens, had far less to do with Gingrich's writing ability than with the fact that mogul giant Murdoch had a vested interest in befriending, otherwise known as bribing, the Speaker, who at the time chaired the committee that oversaw the granting of radio and TV licenses.

Lest we ever forget, Gingrich volunteered to sit on that dumb couch with Nancy Pelosi, and help her perpetuate Al Gore's hoax of global warming. He has since said that agreeing to make that TV spot was the single dumbest thing he ever did. But I think he was just being modest.

Gingrich pocketed $1.6 million of our tax dollars, thanks to the generosity of Freddie Mac, for allegedly giving them advice he claims they ignored for five years. I wonder if that gig is still available. It's a job I was born to have. After all, I'm constantly giving people advice they ignore.

Gingrich derided Paul Ryan's fiscal plan as "right-wing social engineering" and then, for good measure, insisted that when Romney said he would enjoy firing his health insurance provider if they failed to satisfy his needs, he really meant that he took pleasure in firing people who worked for him.

Now, in desperation, after finishing near the bottom in Iowa and New Hampshire, Gingrich attacks Romney for profiting from being a free market capitalist.

The good news for Newt is that once he finally drops out of the GOP race, he can sign on with David Axelrod and start getting paid to help re-elect Barack Obama.

In conclusion, a free piece of advice for Callista: Be on the alert if Newt claims he's working late at the office. By now, I think we all know -- and you, better than most -- how patriotic this guy can get.

Etta James - At Last - Video with Lyrics

Uploaded by 94ak151 on Jan 20, 2012

All content owned or licensed by EMI Music Publishing.

Youtube etta james at last with lyrics
This video is in memory of Etta James. One of Etta James's best songs and one of my favourite songs of all time.

Album - Etta James at last!
Release Date - late 1960
Noted for - its varied choice in music for jazz standards to blue numbers to doo-wop and R&B

Etta James - died at age 73 (January 25, 1938 -- January 20, 2012)

She is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
-- Etta James is the winner of six Grammys and seventeen Blues Music Awards.
-- Etta James was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008.
-- Rolling Stone ranked Etta James number twenty-two on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number sixty-two on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.

License: Standard YouTube License

Etta James - At Last - Video with Lyrics, posted with vodpod

Egyptian Child Preacher Recounts Antisemitic Hadith

This is sad. An obviously intelligent boy is corrupted by the teaching of hatred!

Uploaded by MEMRITVVideos on Jan 19, 2012

http://www.memri.org
http://www.memritv.org
Follow MEMRI on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/yiot7y)
Follow MEMRI on Twitter (@MEMRIReports)

License: Standard YouTube License




Egyptian Child Preacher Recounts Antisemitic Ha..., posted with vodpod

Former Saudi MP Muhammad Aal Zulfa: Iran's Nuclear Aspirations

Uploaded by MEMRITVVideos on Jan 19, 2012

http://www.memri.org
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3264.htm
http://www.memritv.org
Follow MEMRI on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/yiot7y)
Follow MEMRI on Twitter (@MEMRIReports)

License: Standard YouTube License

Former Saudi MP Muhammad Aal Zulfa: Iran's Nucl..., posted with vodpod

Flock Builder Exposes Jewish Terror and Anti Arab Discrimination Strikes Again

Reality presented in a funny way!

Flock Builder Exposes Jewish Terror and Anti Ar..., posted with vodpod

Penn State Joe Paterno Tribute

Uploaded by lacrosse5432 on Dec 31, 2011
A tribute to Joe Paterno. Thank you for everything that you’ve done for PSU. All of the students at Penn State love you.

Penn State Joe Paterno Tribute

    ------------------------------------------
 ~ Salem Witch Hunts deja vu ~

It's a shame and a terrible mis-carriage of Fair-Play by spineless, self-righteousness, 'carcasses' that threw JoePa 'under the bus'. 
They are also thinking of removing a statue from campus, etc. 
They didn't have to give in to the media frenzy 'feeding on' easy targets at Penn State or to other organizations who suddenly turned their backs on JoePa.
Why didn't they reach out to help the true victims of this tragedy instead of trying to make themselves look good to the small PC (Politically Correct) community?

There's more dirt becoming available on those who committed this atrocious act.
Whether I, or someone else, will publish more on this heinous subject of these back-stabbing, despicable people, remains to be seen. (I, for one, have a low gag reflex.)

lacrosse5432 speaks for all fair-minded in the world. Keep up the good work! ---ed