He states the reality of the circumstances of our troops and their continuing draw down. He wants his country to autonomous. I appreciate his gratitude. I think he is genuine. I was surprised he visited a widow. That was decent of him. He states the readiness of his Afghan troops will be accelerated this year.
Do these leaders understand what readiness is? If the leadership doesn't have an understanding of readiness they can't demand it from their generals. I hope both Mr. Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah are meeting with the US military to understand what readiness is and how to demand it from military leaders. I hope they understand how important oversight by Presidential power translates into a military addressing the concerns of a sovereign country.
I think there is a missing link there. The Iraqi leaders didn't have it either. Our military trainers didn't work with the civilian leadership, they worked with the military. Just a thought. There has to be that closed loop in the relationship between the people and their military as lead by their elected civilian leadership.
Is the Afghan and Iraqi civilian leadership receiving PDBs of their own? Do they have an intelligence service of some kind?
It seems to me the civilian leadership needs to understand when their ranks of soldiers are dividing along sectarian lines and how that threatens their national security. That is not happening, is it? The military has it's own gravity and they are finding comfort zones that are traditional rather than functional.
That is what is leading to corruption. The ranks are anchored in security so much as their religious and ethnic affiliations.
The infrastructure has to be reviewed by the Joint Chiefs to be sure it is functional. These soldiers live in their villages and their villages are ethnic with village elders that carry out tribunals of order for crime and punishment. I think those elder tribunals have to have an appreciation of the ability of their nonsectarian military to provide national security. I don't think the Joint Chiefs are taking this all the way to the lower levels of local government. I suppose that is the role of the Presidents. They is a power sharing government that is an excellent example of how cooperation has to come together for national security.
The Parliament needs to be briefed as well. They are going to be approving war and peace they need to appreciate the difference and how to protect from violence and war. I think our military leadership has some homework to do.
Located at the central highlands of Afghanistan, the recently discovered Hazarchishma Natural Bridge is more than 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level, making it one of the highest large natural bridges in the world. It also ranks among the largest such structures known.
“It’s one of the most spectacular discoveries ever made in this region,” said Joe Walston, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Asia Program. “The arch is emblematic of the natural marvels that still await discovery in Afghanistan.”...
