WASHINGTON — In April 2001, seven months after the Navy destroyer Cole was bombed in Yemen, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was staying at a Qaeda guesthouse in Afghanistan when he is alleged to have laid out how he had planned the whole thing.
One of those houseguests was later captured, and he told F.B.I. agents the story of those boasts and implied that he could be a star witness if Mr. Nashiri were tried for the murder of the 17 American sailors killed in the attack.
My Comment: An interesting examination and analysis on why some Guantanamo detainees must be put in front of a military tribunal. I was surprise to find this article informative and an interesting read.
Two men, alleged to be al-Qaeda terrorists, have won the right to hear the secret evidence against them or be released.
Both men are in prison but if the government refuses to release the information they would be freed on bail with minimal restrictions.
One of the men, who can only be referred to as “U”, is allegedly an associate of Osama bin Laden who was once a senior al-Qaeda instructor and one of the world’s most wanted terrorists.
My Comment: As much as I complain about the U.S. legal system when it comes to throwing terrorists into jail .... the U.S. legal system pales when compared to the insanity of the U.K. system and the ruling Labor party that helped put this travesty together. The above story is just one more example of this nuttiness.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to cadets during a nationally televised address at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, December 1, 2009. Obama is announcing a plan to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan over six months in a bid to beat back the Taliban and bring a quicker end to a costly and unpopular eight- year war. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS)
Obama To Send More Troops, Seek Afghanistan Exit -- Reuters
WEST POINT, New York (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he is sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan by next summer to speed the battle against the Taliban and plans to start bringing some home in 18 months.
The accelerated timetable Obama unveiled in a high-stakes speech surprised some Pentagon planners who expected a 12- to 18-month period for deploying forces to bolster the 68,000 U.S. troops already in the war zone.
Barack Obama's War: The Final Push In Afghanistan -- The Guardian
• New troops to be in Afghanistan within six months • US to begin pullout in summer 2011 and end in 2013
Barack Obama is to set an ambitious timetable for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, with the first troops pulling out by July 2011. The announcement is aimed at countering US public fears that the country is being sucked into a Vietnam-style morass.
Reflecting the increased sense of urgency, Obama is to speed deployment of an extra 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan within the next six months – a much faster timetable than the 12 to 18 months that had been briefed by US officials up until today.
Mullah Omar vs. Barack Obama -- Ahmed Rashid, Globe And Mail
The Taliban leader has launched a pre-emptive strike as the President prepares to unveil his new Afghan strategy.
President Barack Obama's crucial speech today, in which he will lay out a strategy for how the United States will defeat the Taliban, will have to satisfy many different audiences around the world. It will need to be finely balanced to appease U.S. and European audiences that want a time frame for a pullout of troops from Afghanistan and Afghans who want a sustained U.S. commitment to rebuild the country.
Obama's Plan: Send 30,000 New Troops To Afghanistan, Begin Leaving By July 2011 -- L.A. Times
The president will outline his strategy tonight in a speech at West Point. It calls for a swift buildup of forces in Afghanistan and a date for beginning their withdrawal.
Reporting from Washington and West Point - President Obama has ordered the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, officials said today, yet the president also will announce tonight that the U.S. will begin withdrawing forces from the country in July 2011.
U.S. Army Master Sgt. Santiago Perales inspects a flag display set up at Eisenhower Hall for President Barack Obama’s visit to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to speak about adding troops in Afghanistan, Dec. 1, 2009. Perales is the academy's noncommissioned officer-in-charge. U.S. Army photo by Tommy Gilligan
From The Sun-Sentinel:
BRUSSELS (AP) — President Barack Obama is asking European members of NATO to contribute up to 10,000 additional troops to the international force in Afghanistan, officials with the military alliance said Tuesday.
A diplomat from a European nation said the troop figure was included in an official NATO document compiled on the basis of information received from Washington before Obama's planned announcement later Tuesday of new U.S. troop deployments.
My Comment: NATO and our other allies are not going to respond with the numbers that President Obama is requesting. Australia is not sending any additional soldiers. Canada is leaving Afghanistan at the end of 2011, with (maybe) non-combat soldiers being left behind. Britain is under pressure to leave .... but they have committed 500 additional soldiers. France may send 1,000+ troops .... maybe. Germany is under pressure to leave .... and are not going to boost their numbers. Smaller states may add some troops, but their numbers will be too small to be noticed.
The USS Cole
