The Afghan People need to Deploy to the Defense of their Nation. The USA has a Real President and a General willing to lead a victory.

If we can get past the numbers and just go forward with assisting the Aghan people to securing their nation. The troop deployment ends July 2011. No time to waste.


Map: Foreign forces in Afghanistan (click here)
Of the 71,030 NATO troops, 34,800 are from the USA (click here - bottom of page)

NATO needs to commit their troops to end the war in Afghanistan, the USA will not fight a forever war. All nations are accountable for their participation. The USA is carrying the heaviest burden to secure NATO, while building a strong Homeland Security, by sending American troops into the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan. Regions the Afghan military have to come to defend by themselves.

I am proud of my President. I wish General McCrystal success and above all valor for his commitment and dedication to his country. I thank them both.

It is my estimate there should be no weakening of the Pakistani forces in regard to their efforts, regardless, of the strategy of General McCrystal. There are methods the General can use that do not have to be disclosed to anyone. Quite frankly, it would be better if the American effort in the toughest regions of Afghanistan were left in secret while carrying out a successful campaign.

...He said (click here) that US National Security Adviser James Jones had contacted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Frankfurt and informed him about the US decision.
Mr Qureshi said that Pakistan had no objection to the increase in the number of US troops in Afghanistan, but wanted details about their deployment.
‘We want to know how they will be deployed and in which areas,’ the foreign minister said.
President Obama called President Asif Ali Zardari a few hours before the announcement of his new Afghan strategy.
According to presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, President Obama mentioned broad outlines of the new policy.
President Zardari was among the five world leaders contacted by the US president, the others being the leaders of France, Canada, Australia and Afghanistan....

The issue with al Qaeda does not exist in Afghanistan alone.

Aid workers feared kidnapped by al-Qaeda's north Africa wing (click here)
Three Spanish aid workers kidnapped in Mauritania on Monday are believed to be being held by the group linked to al-Qaeda which beheaded a British hostage in June.
By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 6:00AM GMT 01 Dec 2009
Gunmen fired shots to stop the vehicle carrying the two men and one woman, which was at the back of a 13-car convoy heading north from the capital Nouakchott to deliver aid.
"I heard my colleagues in one of the cars who said 'soldiers, soldiers, machine guns, machine guns'," Joseph Carbonell, head of the aid group Barcelona-Accio Solidaria, told Reuters....

As the noose tightens on Afghanistan Opium, the 'enterprise' of kidnapping gains momentum for the terrorist network. I looks as though Africa is choice real estate for the funding operations of al Qaeda and the Somali pirates. Something tells me 'times are getting tough' for al Qaeda.

Sahel: Al-Qaeda and the "business" of Western hostages (click here)
ennahar 01 December, 2009 03:50:00
DAKAR - For Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), always menacing but in financial difficulty, the kidnapping of Westerners in the Sahel countries constitutes increasingly a "business" to bail out, according to experts.
In less than a week, a French has been kidnapped in north-eastern Mali and three Spaniards captured in northern Mauritania: two actions usually attributed to the jihadist movement, even if they have not yet been claimed. The abductions have "multiplied in recent months, the degradation is continuous for over five years," said Alain Antil, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) in Paris....





Brown’s Bin Laden remark irks Pakistan (click here)
Azhar Masood
Arab News
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office of Pakistan expressed its surprise on Monday over the latest British demand that Pakistan should hunt Al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama Bin Laden’s second in command, Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
“We have eliminated about 7,000 pro-Al-Qaeda militants and Pakistan’s forces are still making extraordinary efforts to track down and eliminate militants,” said Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit. “We ask the British government or other NATO powers to provide us intelligence reports that suggest a presence of Al-Qaeda elements. We totally deny these inaccurate reports that Al-Qaeda’s leaders are present in Pakistan.”
Interior Minister Rehman Malik also urged the British government to pass on any information about whereabouts of Bin Laden. “If anyone has information about the presence of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, then it must be shared with our government. We would take action,” he told reporters....

Somali pirates hijack Greek-flagged supertanker (click here)
Agencies
NAIROBI, Kenya: Somali pirates seized a supertanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the United States in the increasingly dangerous waters off East Africa, an official said on Monday, an attack that could pose a huge environmental or security threat to the region.
The Greece-flagged Maran Centaurus was hijacked on Sunday northeast of the Seychelles about 1,300 km off the coast of Somalia, said Cmdr. John Harbor, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force....

With a month to go in 2009, The Boston Globe starts to look back at the year that closes the first decade of the 21st Century.

Notable deaths of 2009 (click title to entry - thank you)



Harvard buys Updike archive (click here)
Collection includes late writer’s reviews, letters, manuscripts
By Tracy Jan
Globe Staff / October 7, 2009
...The university will announce today that Houghton Library, Harvard’s primary repository for rare books and manuscripts, will house the John Updike Archive, making the library the center for studies on the life and work of the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and prolific novelist, poet, and critic. College officials would not disclose how much Harvard paid to acquire the papers of Updike, who died in January at 76....

Michaele Salahi was "Miss District of Columbia" in the "Miss USA" pagent. Huh? The scandal is a political stunt. Wait and see. Where is Rove?

See it goes like this. If the Republicans can portray the Obama Administration as being vulnerable in enough buffoonery, they can start to instill more fear in the electorate in saying America is more vulnerable.

Why do you think Cheney is out there ranting and carrying on? To protect his own hide? No. To do the same exact 'Darth Vader' fear mongering that won him the war in Iraq. That is why Cheney is out there.

If this proves to be the case, the Salahis lives aren't ruined. They have made a name for themselves in a far different way than they expected. They have a 'beef' with whomever started this rumor and not anyone else.

Evidently, the Salahis may very well be very connected in "DC Social Circles" (click title to entry - thank you) and may have even been 'set up' to have this play out.

Mrs. Salahi is obviously involved in the public rhelm and may very well feel very 'at home' at a state dinner, an official function, of the White House. If that is the case, the media and everyone that jumped to faux conclusions owe them a sincere apology. I think the evidence 'on the web' speaks somewhat for itself.

Apologies to the Secret Service as well if it is discovered this was nothing more than a political trick to embarrass the President and First Lady. We await the investigation.



...The crew followed the Salahis to the White House (click here) but could not get into the dinner.
"Everything we've worked for," she told NBC, "for me -- 44 years -- destroyed."
The Salahis declined to tell NBC who invited them to the dinner, saying they had turned over documents including e-mails to Secret Service investigators....

I believe any government has the right to 'limit' the building and influence of religion as an issue of sovereignty.

The Swiss are not excluding the practice of Islam nor are they advocating for the destruction of buildings where the faith is practiced.

This is not a matter of hate or bais.

The Swiss are simply saying 'enough' Islamic structures already exist in the country considering the populous that practice the faith. No religion should ever overpower a government's right to freedom of expression or cultural standards.

Iran condemns Swiss minaret ban as "Islamophobic act" (click title to entry - thank you)
www.chinaview.cn

2009-12-02 01:37:49
TEHRAN, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tuesday condemned a Swiss referendum banning the construction of minarets in the country, local English language satellite Press TV reported.
Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast described the Swiss minaret ban as an "Islamophobic act" and a blow to the religious freedom declared in the West, the report said.
"We consider such acts as inappropriate, a move that is against the Western claims of democracy and religious freedom," he told reporters, adding that "surprisingly some of the actions of the West have Islamophobic roots."
The majority of Swiss voters on Sunday said yes to a ban on the construction of Muslim minarets. The Swiss government said in a statement that it respected the decision made by Swiss voters, and "consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted."
Minarets are distinctive architectural features of Islamic mosques. As well as providing a visual cue to a Muslim community, the main function of the minaret is to provide a vantage point from which the call to prayer is made.
Also on Tuesday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that the Swiss minaret ban is contrary to fundamental rights and freedoms.
"This is a shame for the Swiss," Gul was quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as saying at the Esenboga airport in Ankara prior to his departure for an official visit to Jordan.

Does every child have a right to life unencumbered by disease? World AIDS Day.

Happy Holidays America, compliments of Georgie and Dickie.

The Republicans will continue to attempt to derail domestic improvements in the USA, including a national health care reform strategy. They will argue the cost of the wars cannot increase the USA debt, but, must be fought while trimming domestic programs and entitlements. The Democrats maybe seeking a tax to support the remaining years of the war.

...When asked whether the Bush administration's focus on Iraq (click here) was responsible for the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Cheney reportedly said, "I basically don't," without elaborating....



...As President Barack Obama prepares to unveil his new way forward for Afghanistan which, according to reports, includes a surge of 30,000 troops, some of the greatest skeptics, interestingly enough, are to be found in Afghanistan....

...One of the Afghans' major concerns is that the additional troops will only add to the sense among Afghans that the U.S. is an occupying force....

That point of view is bogus. We are not occupying Afghanistan and they know it. The fact of the matter is, Karzai has a corrupt infrastructure and those benefitting from it don't want to lose their control or influence. The bias against NATO and the USA has to do with a corrupt nation 'hooked' on power and poppies.

It is only the beginning of the end. Why are men killing police officers so successfully and with ambush tactics?

Suspected cop killer slain by police (click here)
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY and SHANNON FEARS
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
...The officer shot and killed Clemmons, wanted for gunning down four Lakewood cops, as he fled in a Rainier Valley neighborhood.
"Everything indicates that this is the person we've been looking for," Seattle Police Assistant Chief Jim Pugel told a news conference at the scene about 5:20 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Clemmons was the sole suspect in the slayings of four Lakewood police officers as they sat in a coffee shop Sunday morning....

Clemmons should not have been out of prison in the first place. What the heck was Huckabee thinking? There is something very "W"rong here. Who was getting paid for pardons?

...Huckabee (click here) is one of the Republican Party's most popular figures, but he has been dogged by questions over the more than 1,000 commutations and pardons he issued -- more than his three predecessors combined -- during his 10-year tenure.
In his 2008 presidential campaign, he faced similar questions over the release from prison of convicted rapist Wayne DuMond, who was convicted of another rape and a murder....

The Executives of Halliburton OWE the people of Dubai a great deal of money. I suggest King Abduallah be sure they get it.

Otherwise tell them to take their business elsewhere.

5 Places Halliburton Executives Need To Know In Dubai (click title to entry - thank you)

March 15, 2007 at 12:12 PM

Gold Souk

...Dubai loves gold. Local Indians and Iranians take their wares to Gold Souk where hundreds of shops compete for your attention and dollars. You can find virtually any type of gold object you are looking for, and more often than not bargaining pays off. Even if you don't want to buy golden objects, Gold Souk is a great place to people watch....

We need more stimulus funds. The desire of the American people for sustainable energy alternatives reaches beyond available funding.

$68 million ain't 'nothin' when it comes to 'catching up' with Alternative Energy 'Supply and Demand.' The Economy awaits.

Nexamp employees installed solar panels atop NewStream in Attleboro last month. (Jonathan Wiggs/ Globe Staff)

...A $68 million state fund (click title to entry - thank you) to provide sizable rebates to homeowners and business owners who install solar panels was expected to last three or four years. But the program - offering homeowners rebates that averaged more than $13,000 - proved so popular that the $68 million was tapped out in October, just 22 months after the program began....

The problems in Dubai are due to the fact the affections of their Prince were misdirected.

It is the first time Dubai learned it has finite resources to manage its government. The Prince found out through hard lessons, "Wealth ain't all that." Literally.

As a leader in an Arab nation, it is easy to indulge, but far, far more difficult to actually manage. The infrastruture of the small nation was never built, so much as 'indulged' in 'accommodation' allowing its wealth to be diverted to 'services' rather than investment.

As a result the only recourse it has is to pump more and more oil wealth out of the ground, on the treadmill of failure. The Prince needed to love the future of his children more and discipline his indulgences. He listened to the "W"rong people. He listened to all those that would use the wealth of his nation for their own purpose, rather than the benevolence and benefit of his own people.

He should understand this, the people of the USA are designing a future where oil is a mistake of history and a new leader will releave them of their own indulgences to believe they could live a life of indulgence as well, without regard to the future of their children. The price of oil will never attain the prices of the past and we will need less and less from now on. Dubai should adjust its vision accordingly.

Dubai tried to 'piece together' a functional infrastructure. No one ever 'lead' the Prince and his associates in a direction of 'sustainable growth,' so much as 'infrastructure dysfunction' that would sap the country of its wealth. Collapse was inevitable.

No one ever cared about the Dubai people enough to tell them the truth. They were disregarded as important to the lust for money by Oil Barrons.

...In a statement Sunday (click here),

the UAE's central bank said it had sent notice to Emirati banks and foreign banks with branches in the country making clear they would have access to "a special additional liquidity facility."
The offer comes after Dubai World, the conglomerate that has long been the chief engine behind Dubai's explosive growth, on Wednesday announced it needed at least a six-month reprieve from paying its roughly $60 billion debt. The news sent global markets tumbling.
The UAE has been guaranteeing bank deposits since October 2008, but the pledge for new help at generous terms stems from concern that UAE banks have some of the biggest exposure to Dubai World's debt. Several have been downgraded by international ratings agencies or been placed on review for downgrades....

The USA got Halliburton back again? Dear God, what did we ever do so "W"rong? Protests and plenty of them!

The slime balls will be demanding government contracts again to make up for what they lost in Dubai. No, No, No more Halliburton. Water board them!

I few months back I jokingly said that Halliburton (click title to entry - thank you) would move its headquarters back to Houston. In light of recent events I no longer think it's a joke. Here's why.

Many, if not most of these senior-level managers took the leap and bought super-expensive houses and condos when they left for Dubai 2 years ago, at the peak of the Dubai bubble. Dubai real estate is now cascading down a cliff, where I think it will crash down a full 90% from peak value.

Put yourself in the shoes of a Halliburton fatcat. The asset they bought via an onerous mortgage for, say, $2 million, is now worth two thirds what they paid. The value of that asset continues to bleed. In most of the world, the options for the Halliburton fatcats are civil in nature, at most involving foreclosure....

Get out of my country and stay out of my country!

We don't want you here anymore ! You're nothing but blood sucking parasites !

2009 Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 6, 2009

HALLIBURTON AWARDED INTEGRATED TURNKEY DRILLING CONTRACT FOR SOUTH GHAWAR (click here)

Five-year project, with an option for an additional five years, to drill and complete oil wells utilizing the turnkey concept -->
HOUSTON and DUBAI - Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) has been awarded the integrated turnkey drilling contract in South Ghawar. Located approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the city of Dhahran, the Ghawar field is the world's largest oil field and the contract would involve work in Uthmaniyah, Haradh, Hawiyah and Shedgum.
The five-year contract, with an option for an additional five-year period, calls for the provision of drilling rigs, directional and horizontal drilling, logging while drilling, cementing, mud engineering, wireline logging, completion, perforating, and other well construction activities, including engineering and management of the entire drilling operations. The project is expected to utilize three to four rigs, and will involve between 153 and 185 oil production, water injection and evaluation wells.
This contract is Saudi Aramco's first-ever award for an integrated turnkey drilling contract and is an important part of Saudi Aramco's plan to explore new avenues of collaboration with major oil field services providers....