I'll read some more of the House Health Care Insurance Reform Bill tomorrow.

...until then...

It is kind of a strange day. September 11, 2009. 8 years and the perpetrators are still a danger to us.

There is this report. It was published by Voice of America and I didn't see this content many other places. The 'map' to click on in the article is more than interesting. And when looking at this article and the map I think it is wrong to have an emotional reaction, but, one has to study the map a minute to realize its implications. In my opinion.

Taliban Control Spreads in Afghanistan (click here)
By Steve Herman New Delhi

11 September 2009

Eight years after the terror strike on the United States, which prompted an invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban, there are indications that the insurgents are continuing to widen their reach inside the country. Meanwhile, some high-ranking British and American officials are expressing mounting concern about Afghanistan's fraud-tainted election process.

A respected international think tank has released a new map showing, for the first time, the Taliban have a "permanent presence" in 80 percent of Afghanistan. "Permanent presence" in a province is defined as one or more insurgent attacks - lethal and non-lethal - per week...

The years of a diverted war has literally left Afghanistan to the Taliban. They have been having a heck of time 'tearing up' the place. What I find interesting about the map at first glance is the location ONE, and only ONE, Taliban Base in the Tanji Valley. It is remarkably close to Kabul and the lousy encampment is still there. Tell me that makes sense? What the heck has been going on that an enemy's encampment is in such close proximity to Kabul.

It is also understandable for the Taliban to attempt to 'hold on' to every inch they took away from decency and democracy. They nearly own the blasted country when one looks at it from this perspective.

But, there are also portions of the country that aren't even touched by the Taliban. They are along the northern region where former Soviet nations share a border with Afghanistan.

..."We're now seeing Taliban control across the country. And one of the most significant things that we're seeing in this latest map is the increased level of Taliban presence in the north of the country. Provinces such as Kunduz and Balkh, which previously were relatively stable, are now seeing very high levels of Taliban activity," he said....

The movement into the northern region has to do with Pakistan's actions to eliminate the insurgency there and it is where the NATO and USA troops conduct their supply lines. Basically, I think the strongest reason for the Taliban to be migrating north to attempt to dominate the area is to cut off the supply lines to Western Troops.

Even to disrupt the supplies is a victory for them. The other day, the Taliban were taking a stolen fuel tankers to kill the German PEACEKEEPERS. As a result the tankers were exploded. Now, while there are supposed to have been innocent civilians involved there was also precious fuel destined for the troops. So even though the Taliban failed at executing their directive, the fuel was still gone.

What I find even more fascinating about the land in the northern region is the complete and absolute absence of Taliban attacks on the narrow strip of land bordered by Tajikistan and Pakistan. They must be doing something right otherwise the Taliban would be far more invasive.

I believe Tajikistan and Pakistan are doing so much right that it supplies a buffer to the rest of Afghanistan. If one notes, the TWO regions immediately west of this area, Badakhshan and Takhar is still seeing 'relief' from the Taliban than other areas. Not only that, but, there is also another small province, Panjshir, bordered by those TWO regions I mentioned in the previous sentence that is again completely absent of Taliban violence.

For this to be true, Pakistan and Takikistan must be exerting a good amount of force and that brings me to my next observation.

Considering Pakistan is having a great deal of success in combating the violent occupation of The Taliban. And it would appear Tajikistan is taking a hard line with any possibility of migration of the Taliban into their country. Also, this 'buffer zone' exists with the efforts of both these countries to secure their own borders, along with the reality of the Supply Line presence as allowed by Russia. It is obvious, at least to me, that the Taliban are under stress in most of the other areas of Afghanistan because it is the only place they have any 'elbow room.'

There are others in the military that can speak to this better than I, but, it appears to me the Taliban are contained. But. They are contained in Afghanistan where our troops are facing most of the violence the Taliban can muster. The reality the Taliban are contained, the escalation in the war in Afghanistan should have been expected.

The issue is this. And it is an issue that would require a 'regional' perspective, in that, while Afghanistan is absorbing all the Taliban and their violence as they try to reassert themselves, what does the rest of the region look like? The Taliban are virtually removed from any influence in Pakistan and the military in that country continues to be successful with the remnants of the Taliban militas.

Does the reality, at this point, reflect a successful war to secure the region with a 'hot spot' concentrated in Afghanistan. Because if they are 'contained' in Afghanistan, squeezing them will result in more chaos within their ranks and eventual collapse of any infrastructure that facilitates violence.

One of the great failures in fighting the Taliban or any of the international criminal networks in this region is their ability to 'liquidate' their presence and migrate back around any advancement of Western troops. These networks sort of disband and meld into the landscape of civilians while they reconstitute in areas where Western Troops have finished operations.

If the reality is that the region is MORE stable than in anytime in the last decade that cannot be ignored. The reality that these networks are actually impuned from some of the northern regions speaks to their decreasing ability to carry out chaos as a strategy. In other words their operating/staging area is limited and closing in on them.

If that is not the reality of the region then the advancement of the Taliban speaks to 'civilian loyalty' and whether they are accommodating the Taliban in favor or the Afghanistan government.

The corrupt election and no one should be denying at this point the Afghanistan election was corrupt. There appears significant evidence to that by most. The corrupt(ed) election is more evidence of the desperation of the Taliban and their influence among the electorate. I might add, that even though the elections were corrupted, they still are 'intact' enough to find 'majority' candidates. It is a concern IF the corruption was actually carried out by the leading candidates themselves and that is another issue.

If I could have my way, I would like to see a 'final election' with two candidates. It would give the nation one more time at conducting intact elections. It would give the 'observers' and I am assuming there are observers, a real chance at finding the corruption and those involved, because it will show up more when there are only two candidates running. If, however, President Karzai and the Afghanistan election board could prove his successful election with more than 50% of the vote, there should be a court to certify the win. But. If President Karzai has less than the required 50% then a court needs to certify that as well.

I realize there is conjecture regarding President Karzai's administration and a brother engaged in somewhat of a warlord status engaged in the Poppy Culture. But. I point to the fact, the Poppy yields are lower and the export is diminishing, therefore, in that reality there is less 'financial infrastructure' to lend support to the violence of the networks currently 'surviving' in Afghanistan.

I also won't speculate on WHY there is diminished capacity in the Poppy market place as it could be Climate Change and/or an inflitration of those that would like the culture to disappear. Just speculation.

Bottom line is, here we are eight years after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the occupation of Afghanistan has reached critical mass. It is due to the negligence of the Bush/Cheney years to the 'real war' to secure our nation. But, is the 'critical mass' we are witnessing in Afghanistan 'the end' of the Taliban regime and violence OR growth of a strengthened network?

I hold a wish for peace for all the survivors and families of the victims of September 11, 2001.

The contracture of the economy is slowing.

This recovery is going to be different than any recovery in the past history of the USA with some exception of the FDR administration. The reason is the 'character' of the stimulus which is titled, "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." This stimulus wasn't just dumping money into the economy through tax cuts or rebates as was practiced in the past eight years, this is a 'reinvestment' stimulus.

While jobs were definately saved with this stimulus there are also new jobs 'being' created. As the NEW American infrastructure takes place job growth results. Example: Constructing high speed rail in at least thirteen hubs around the country, there first has to be design/architects and all the technical folks doing their part. When plans are in place there is usually a significant government process that has to be mounted to begin any construction. Once all the permits and objections are answered and resolved, then the construction can actually begin. The most job creation will result far later than a 'quick infusion of money' result. The long term recovery is best because it is sustainable employment that creates jobs with longevity and can't be outsourced.

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fell to 550,000 Last Week (Update2) (click title to entry - thank you)
By Courtney Schlisserman

...Applications fell by 26,000 to 550,000 in the week ended Sept. 5, lower than economists forecast, from a revised 576,000 the week before, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance declined to the lowest level since April....

Link to chart (click here)
Also known as insured unemployment. This is an actual of the number of individuals who are unemployed and are currently receiving unemployment benefits. These are the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits at least two weeks ago. Weekly initial jobless claims is the number of people who have filed for unemployment benefits for the first time. To file a claim you must be eligible and meet five (5) guidelines. 1. Meet the requirements of time worked during a 1 year period (full time or not). 2. Become unemployed through no fault of your own (cannot be fired). 3. Must be able to work; no physical or mental holdbacks. 4. Must be available for work. 5. Must be actively seeking work.

Calif. State Assemblyman Mike Duvall stepped down after being caught bragging about sex with two lobbyists on a live microphone. (AP)