So is that our new strategy in Afghanistan – capture innocent people just to boost numbers?
By louisehartmann
Let the white-washing of Afghanistan continue. Last year – General David Petraeus touted a successful military operation by Special Forces in Afghanistan that led to the capture or killing of over two and a half thousand rank and file Taliban fighters in a 90-day period between May and July. But – as investigative journalist Gareth Porter uncovered – that number is a crock. Turns out that nearly 90% of those “captured Taliban fighters” were ACTUALLY just innocent civilians and were released just days after capture.
That’s kind of like how a handful of prisoners at Gitmo were detained just because they were wearing the wrong Casio watch. So is that our new strategy in Afghanistan – capture innocent people just to boost numbers? Anybody remember the infamous Vietnam "enemy body counts" that included civilians in bombed villages?
This is the worst kind of history to have repeat itself.
Comments
#2
Wow! PC you either chickened out and deleted your comment or you were censored! And the question is censored by whom? Should I be paranoid here?
#3
Yes, many of those "captured Taliban" were just civilians who the US government paid money "rewards" for. And the war lords, and others, made lots of money by turning in anyone they didn't like to the US Military. The US wasted lots of money in rewards and then even more in building and running the US gulags in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Gitmo.
In the process, they created more potential enemies for the US. This, of course, is all planned and meant to replace the "Red Menace" of Communism. The Capitalist elites who used Communism as an excuse to rape the world of it's capital and commons is now using the fabricated "terrorism" excuse. The more "terrorism" the ruling elite can create the more they can get away with a "disaster capitalism" pillaging of the world. Would these criminals balk at murdering a few thousand Americans in tall buildings..or a few thousand more American soldiers to control the world? People have to get out of the mind-set that "we are too civilized" or "that could never happen here" mentality. "Our elected officials or other powerful groups would never do such a thing?" They would and they did!!! The evidence is compelling...but people just have a problem with challenging organized anything...until after the damage is done and it is really too late to do anything about it.
#4
I HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THOM!!! HE IS FREE TO ASK ANYONE ON HIS PROGRAM BECAUSE IT IS HIS PROGRAM. THAT IS NOT MY ISSUE WITH HIM. HIS GUESTS ARE FREE TO FILIBUSTER HIS QUESTION OR ANSWER AND MANY DO FILIBUSTER. THAT IS NOT EVEN THE ISSUE. HERE IS THE ISSUE. THOM, PLEASE I BEG AND PLEAD WITH YOU TO HAVE CONSERVATIVE AND REPUBLICAN GUESTS TO ANSWER HOW, WHAT, AND WHY THEY WOULD DO CERTAIN INTERVENTIONS TO RESOLVE OUR PROBLEMS. THEY DO NOT ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. I HAVE FRIENDS AND RELATIVES WHO COMPLAIN AND WHINE ABOUT OUR MANY PROBLEMS BUT THEY ALSO REFUSE TO GIVE ME A HOW, WHAT, AND WHY TO RESOLVE MANY OF OUR PROBLEMS. IS THE ANSWER IN SHARED SACRIFICES WHERE THE RICH, POLITICIANS, AND TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS PAY A HIGHER PERCENTAGE IN TAXES THAN THE WORKING CLASS SLAVES??? I SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH A GRADUATED INCOME TAX UP TO NINETY-ONE PERCENT!!!
#5
I watched the Sunday CNN show about Wikileaks and they had on some retired US General (Mark Kimmitt) to comment on the "Collateral Murder" video and other things about Julian Assange. This is the same General Mark Kimmitt who back in 2004 after the US murdered many civilians at a wedding party:
"After days of US General Mark Kimmitt saying over and over again that the US has no evidence that an Iraqi wedding party was attacked by US forces or even existed, the Associated Press gets its hands on a multi-hour video of the wedding."
"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."
"But video that APTN shot a day after the attack shows fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around the bombed out tent.
The wedding videotape shows a dozen white pickup trucks speeding through the desert escorting the bridal car decorated with colorful ribbons. The bride wears a Western-style white bridal dress and veil. The camera captures her stepping out of the car but does not show a close-up."
http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/001792.php
So this is the "expert" mouthpiece that CNN uses to counter what Julian Assange and/or Wikileaks says? Almost everything this guy says sounds so ridiculously protective of the military atrocities that it is laughable.
#6
Privatization of the entire United States of Mortal Sin is not the answer!!!!!
Do you sense a never ending feeling that someone is constantly jamming your behind whether it is on taxes, wars, bailouts, slave wages, etc. I feel a BOHICA 24/7. That is right - 24/7!!!
http://reason.com/archives/2011/06/13/obama-and-the-pursuit-of-endle
Endless wars!
We have a volunteer military service and the persons who join it are true patriots. What do we do with our patriots? We screw them and take them off of help so there would be more money for endless wars. Where is the shared sacrifice by the transnational corporations, the rich, and our politicians??? Let these three groups pay more in taxes!!! Since they have the most to lose, they should pay a much higher percentage in taxes!!!
http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=133039
The Anti-Life Party wants to screw our military veterans!!!!!
#7
The Great Eight
I need to share with you a dream I had. President Obama had sent his secret service staff to take me to Washington, D.C. I was taken to Camp David in the mountains of Maryland. The president said to me when we met that he had read some of my comments and he wanted me to put together a team to share information with him in helping our world move forward, especially the United States. I could not leave Camp David until I had a list of names to be on my team.
I have many names for the list but I wanted to keep the team small enough to be a workable team. Here are the names for the team – Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (a peace activist cleric), Thom Hartmann, Paul Craig Roberts, Ray McGovern, Stephen Lendman, Rachel Maddow, Karen Kwiatkowski (a retired military officer), and Joan Walsh (writer and editor for Salon magazine). These eight names are the core for my team.
I have four names to be called in as consultants from time to time – Doug Soderstrom, to offer inspirational words, Ed Schultz, to offer passionate pep talks on various subjects, Robert Reich, to share his economic information, and John Perkins, to keep us informed as to the United States’ predatory ways to take control over a country’s human and natural resources.
At the start of each meeting we would read the lyrics from John Lennon’s song, “Imagine.” Some words may be altered to meet current times but the central theme of his song will be evident to all who read the words.
The date, time, and place were not set because my wife in her melodic voice asked me a question that awakened me from my dream, “Jerry, what time is it?”
#8
Thom mentioned in today's program that we should check out the Charlie Rose interview of Sir James Goldsmith. YouTube has a multi-parter on this starting at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PQrz8F0dBI
the audio is not too good and I have been trying to find a transcript.
#9
// //
Below are John Lennon's lyrics to "Imagine"
I would say that there is a heaven! There is also the "Golden Rule" to serve as some form of religion.
Imagine there's no heaven - wonder you can
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
It`s easy if you try
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
#10
Ignorance
St. Jerome said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” Bush, the neoconservatives, the kkkevangelicals, many in today's Supreme Court justices, politicians, and the current administration are ignorant of the Scriptures and so they are ignorant of Christ. The Scriptures reveal God’s love. The cabals from Ronald Reagan to the present reveal hatred, killing, torture, wars corruption, and lies.
The cabals have decreed the death of God and they and their minions have set themselves up as judge and judges of what is good or evil. The primary good is life but the cabals' domestic and foreign policies reveal evil ways to Satan's delight!
God must be at the center of our life, not money, nuclear weapons, and false prophets, like Bush who said that God speaks to him. God and man walk together in life and throughout history, past, present, and future.
#11
Leadership
Coach K, the head coach of Duke, says that the most important word for leadership is TRUST. If you do not trust the leadership, how can a person lead?
Can you honestly say that you can trust Reagan, Bush, the current Mafia in the Supreme Court, and the Anti-Life Party? There is no way they can be trusted. Their incessant lies make it impossible for them to be trusted. Many Americans are beginning to realize that the United States of Mortal Sin is lying to you and me. Their whole life has been one big lie from their appointments to various influential positions as president, justices, House and Senate membership, and their failed domestic and war policies. We can also add failure to their names in addition to liars.
The devil incarnate nation has lying and failed despotic dictators controlling our failed and miserable country. Americans are mirror images of Reagan, Bush, the Supreme Court Mafia, the Anti-Life politicians in the House and Senate, and their failed domestic and war policies.
Everything starts with basic trust. Without basic trust a person cannot reach the final stage of integrity. In Erickson’s, “The Eight Stages of Human Development,” he stresses the importance of basic trust.
#12
Pride
Americans are a proud people. They believe that they are right and they cannot do any wrong. Pride is a cardinal sin. It is one of seven cardinal sins. Americans are also angry, greedy, impure, and intemperate.
I do not consider Americans lazy or gluttons. The medical field says that Americans are too fat. I do not believe that they are fat by choice. For most Americans food is the only enjoyment that they have in life. They do not have the money to belong to a spa, a gym, play golf, play tennis, etc. that would help them to exercise more because they do not have the money for many enjoyable activities. Food is their major enjoyable activity.
America has a lock on 5 cardinal sins. Americans have abused seven of Ten Commandments. They have abused 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10. As you can read Americans have a lock on 5 cardinal sins and abusing 7 of the commandments. Is America an evil and sinful place?
#15
Here is a memorial. At first you will see it as a belief and it is a belief for the whole world. I do not want to judge another person and the purpose of this memorial is not intended to judge but I do wish to share with my disgust for wars, all wars. Human life is precious for all of God’s children. By you viewing this memorial you will know why!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70bJHNTxtZU&feature=related
Here is precious human life!
#16
Depleted Uranium
Scientists are going to study depleted uranium and its effect on the American population. As depleted uranium filters into Iraqi oil, many gallons of Iraqi oil will be brought to America to help America continue her gluttonous ways.
As the depleted uranium is let out through exhaust fumes, it will be in the air and on land for 4 billion years causing many, many health problems in the years to come. Americans will die, become sick, and babies will be born deformed. America’s environment will be deadly for 4 billion years.
Insurance companies will be happy because there will be no need for insurance. Born in America will mean that you have a pre-existing condition and you are not entitled to health coverage.
America’s attack upon Iraq will bring forth unintended consequences. Terrorism will come to America through Bush’s policies and exhaust fumes from Iraqi oil. Bush’s non-scientist board will say to not worry about Iraqi oil. It is safe. Right!
Project for a New American Century will be elated because their goal of a planet with only 500 million people will be well underway.
#17
Do we have real proof of that ? I wonder We must leave Libya now and end the Afghan war very soon Our Mission was Accomplished by Obama NOT Bush Admin who gave up looking .
#18
IPS ? who and what are they and why should we trust this info ? I am a true skeptic
#19
"So is that our new strategy in Afghanistan – capture innocent people just to boost numbers?"
Well it is the same strategy used by police in America, so why not? You can even be unarmed, mentally ill and killed by police and it's no big deal.
XXXXX
#20
Speaking of numbers I wonder just how many troops, tanks, unmanned drones, manned aircraft, satellites and all other fighting resources the Taliban actually has to justify all the vast resources we expending to fight them. Just how big is the Talibans Army?
#21
What happens if you are having a war and no one comes? Capture innocent civilians! It's a Military Industrial........."COMPLEX"!
#22
Since we have a Democratic President who is "to the right of Nixon", it makes perfect sense. The rethugs are even worse.
Necessity has proven to us (as has our death spiral,- aka - Roman Empire II) that WE MUST , from the grassroots level up, "reinvent the election wheel." We must field more Parties. Hell, we currently have two RW parties to choose from. The rethugs are as disenfranchised as we are.
The majority of the electorate want a candidate who is for the majority of the electorate. I worked my ass off for candidate Obama. President Obama has proven to me that he is a "corporate candidate", just like the rethugs have.
#23
Hello Gerald, I think it's great you have a strong faith in God. I'm a little lazy when it comes to religious matters but certainly have Deist leanings. I found something in a recent reading that you might enjoy, it's a quote by Roger Williams "17th century Rhode Island", here goes......"Monstrous that God's children should persecute God's children, and that they hope to live together eternally with Christ in the heavens should not suffer each other to live in this common air together". I think this is one of those great timeless quotes!
#24
IMO, we have a "Volunteer Military" that happens to be much like the draft. If you are poor, undereducated (you want to go to College) and your aspirations are higher than a McJob can take you. Join the military, see the world and kill interesting folks..
My Father was a Viet Nam vet. My cousin spent 30 years in the Army band and was recently recalled to do intelligence work. My daughter is military and after High School, my son wants to be a SEAL...
I grew up knowing war. My Father taught at Ft. Benning, School of the America's for awhile after Nam. When I was a child he was a Drill Instructor at Ft. Campbell, Ky. He eventually became a progressive before he passed. Kind of like Smedley Butler, he realized.
#25
@2950-10K, Thank you for the quote! I am definitely saving it because it is a timeless quote. Let me say that I try to share information and it is not my goal to convert anyone. Here are three important behaviors to consider - the Golden Rule, Jesus' Eleventh Commandment (Love one another as I have loved you!), and the words of St. Ambrose, "I shall pass this way but once. Any good that I can do let me do it now because I shall not pass this way again." If we could practice these behaviors or even two behaviors for non-Christians, we would live in a better world. But everyone can practice the Golden Rule!!!!!
#26
@dotymed, as I read your comment, your family is truly patriotic and no one should ever drop health care for our veterans because they need the money so they can keep fighting in endless wars. Thank your family for me!!!!!
Join the military, see the world and kill interesting folks. From your words I sense your frustration about war. War does not resolve problems but it creates more problems. I shared a comment on Depleted Uranium and its life expectancy is four billion years. As we keep using biological and chemical weapons, we are contaminating our planet and the contamination will reach a point when all human life on this planet will cease.
#27
http://www.opednews.com/articles/SOCIAL-SECURITY-IS-FINANCI-by-John-Basel-110613-37.html
Yes, it is!!!
Paul Krugman in a NY Times article says that Medicare actually saves money!!!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/No-Justice-in-Kafka-s-Amer-by-Chris-Hedges-110613-286.html We are a police state!!!
#28
From an interview of Julian Assange by Hans Ulrich Obrist sometime last month.
http://e-flux.com/journal/view/232 (for part 1)
http://e-flux.com/journal/view/238 (for part 2)
"In 2008, one of the richest men in the UK, Nadhmi Auchi—an Iraqi who grew rich under one of Saddam Husain’s oil ministries and left to settle in the UK in the early 1980s—engaged in a series of libel threats against newspapers and blogs. He had been convicted of corruption in France in 2003 by the then magistrate Eva Joly in relation to the Elf Aquitaine scandal.
HUO: She was the investigating judge. I remember reading about it when living in France at the time. It was in the daily news every day.
JA: Right. So Nadhmi Auchi has interests all over the world. His Luxembourg holding company holds over 200 companies. He has companies under his wife’s name in Panama, interests in Lebanon and the Iraqi telecommunications market, and alleged involvement in the Italian arms trade. He also had a $2 billion investment around Chicago. He was also the principle financier of a man called Tony Rezko, who was one of Obama’s most important fundraisers, for his various pre-presidential campaigns, such as for the Senate. Rezko was also a fundraiser for Rob Blagojevich, the now disgraced Governor of Illinois. Rezko ended up being convicted of corruption in 2008. But in 2008, Barack Obama was involved in a run against Hillary for the presidential nomination, so the media turned their attention to Barack Obama’s fundraisers. And so attention was turned to Tony Rezko, who had been involved in a house purchase for Barack Obama. And attention was then turned to where some of the money for this house purchase might have come from, and attention was then turned to Nadhmi Auchi, who at that time had given Tony Rezko $3.5 million in violation of court conditions. (my emphasis)Auchi then instructed Carter-Ruck, a libel firm in the UK, to go after stories mentioning aspects of his 2003 corruption conviction in France. And those stories started to be removed, everywhere.
HUO: So they were literally erased from the digital archive?
JA: Yes. The Guardian pulled three of the stories. The Telegraph pulled one. And there are a number of others. If you go to the former URLs of those stories you get a “page not found.” It does not say that it was removed as the result of a legal threat. As far as we can tell, the story not only ceased to exist, but ceased to have ever have existed. Parts of our intellectual record are disappearing in such a way that we cannot even tell that they have ever existed."
"In the cases of these Nadhmi Auchi stories, there were eight that were removed, but actually this removal of material as a result of political or legal threats, it’s happening everywhere. This is just the tip of the iceberg. And there are other forms of removal that are less intentional but more pernicious, which can be a simple matter of companies going under along with the digital archives they possess. So we need a way of consistently and accurately naming every piece of human knowledge, in such a way that their name arises out of the knowledge itself, out of its textual, visual, or aural representation, where the name is inextricably coupled to what it actually is. If we have that name, and if we use that name to refer to some information, and someone tries to change the contents, then it is either impossible or completely detectable by anyone using the name."
#29
http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/the-crisis-enters-year-five
Our tsunami depression will worsen!!!!!
#30
The United States of Mortal Sin's demise is well on its way! Biological and Chemical warfare! Old nuclear plants contaminating the air and water! Depleted uranium lives for four billion years and deformed human beings are brought to the surface! Endless wars! Yes, living in our Anti-Christ nation is truly a glorious experience and time! My prediction of the United States of Mortal Sin's demise is on schedule for 2065!!! With our demise and possibly the world's demise we hope to see happier days in heaven for persons who have made God the center of their life!!!!!
#31
WE MUST NEVER FORGET THAT THE UNITED STATES IS THE DEVIL INCARNATE NATION!!!!!
#32
A must read article!!!!!
http://original.antiwar.com/tom-mullen/2011/06/13/the-founders-were-antiwar/
#33
Please, I beg and plead with you to go to the antiwar.com website for June 14, 2011 and read some articles. Yes, the Anti-Christ nation is an evil and a sinfull hell-hole!!!!!
#34
Why do most Americans relate with Michelle Bachmann? Bachmann is ignorant as are most Americans! BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER!!! Most discerning Americans have known for some time that the United States is in a toilet. Is Bachmann the GOP's hopeful for being America's toilet flusher???
#35
It is our duty as Christians and as American Patriots to get the job done, no matter what it takes, even if it means breaking all ten of the Commandments and going against everything that Jesus said. You always have to obey the Bible, but don't let that distract you from going against the Bible whenever the government tells you to. Oh, and one more thing: when you go to foreign countries, butt into their sovereign affairs, murder people for no particular reason, imprison and torture other people for no particular reason, destroy their culture, destroy their water and food supplies, bomb their electrical generating plants, hospitals, and schools, and steal everything in their museums, just remember that what you are doing is called service. Yes sir, it's service to our country. You are not murdering people, you are serving. You are not destroying countries, you are serving. What a noble thing you are doing, serving your country by doing those things. So make us proud: go on over there and kill some people.
#36
The Twain Report
All The News That Mark Twain Says He Would Report If He Was Alive Today
Washington DC- In an interview with the Twain Report, leaders of the DNC today indicated why they have chosen to prosecute Anthony Weiner for sending women photos of his, ah... weiner, and they also revealed why they plan to prosecute other democrats. Here is the DNC's statement:
"The prosecution of every democrat is on the table. Of course to do this right, we will have to take turns prosecuting each other, with select members, so to speak, of the Democrat Party being released from prison so they can facilitate the prosecution and imprisonment of other members even if they have not sent strange women photos of their members. We believe that by sending all of our members to prison- including members who do not have members, and including every member who currently holds, has held, or may at some future time hold public office, we are setting a bright and shining example for the republicans, who have assured us that once every democrat has begun serving life in prison without chance of parole, the Republican Party will prosecute every republican who has violated his or her oath of office, engaged in ethics violations, or had sexual relations with circus animals, as long as the republicans in question comply with the process by pre-emptively providing absolute proof of their own guilt, along with full, notarized confessions."
We here at the Twain Report can only applaud this long-overdue but brilliant political maneuver, which was designed by leading Democrat strategist Nancy Pelosi, who as the hard-nosed architect of the non-impeachment of George Bush, struck fear into the hearts of republicans everywhere.
#37
It seems we didn't learn our lesson from Vietnam when the military lied to the President, the President lied to the people, and young folks got killed in the thousands while money that could have been much better spent went to the military industrial complex. Those who don't learn the lessons of history ......etc. We should never have been in the middle east at all and the sooner we disengage from this expensive and deadly boondoggle the better.
#38
reply to #36 David, I echo your sentiment regarding the hypocrisy of it all. The thing thats really sad is ,due to economic woes, many of the young people serving are simply there for employment and educational opportunities. I have a nephew and friends whose kids serve. I assure you, my nephew could care less about religion or politics, he just wants to be an auto mechanic. As usual a few of our so called leaders, due to bad judgement and greedy intentions, "big oil" , have lead many innocent citizens to a hellish nightmare with far reaching consequences for both them and the so called enemy, most of whom, as you know, are impoverished innocent victims themselves.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
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Mueller's favorite place to pray (written about in "Prophet's Way"), and the roof of the room where the Last Supper is reputed to have happened.
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
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Yes...this is very scary when you consider how Fahad Hashmi has been treated for mostly just, and justifiably, speaking out against the criminal acts of the US.
quotes from the article:
"We no longer have freedom; there is only the appearance of freedom. We are consumed by an endless and vague war on terror in which the perfidiousness of our enemy, whose number, location and nature are never clearly defined, justifies the shredding of constitutional rights, torture, kidnapping, detentions without charges or trials and an occult-like battle against an absolute evil. And if you think the state intends to limit itself to the persecution of Muslims, especially once there is an increase in domestic unrest and instability, you know little about human history."(my emphasis)
“special administrative measures,” known as SAMs. SAMs are the legal weapon of choice used by the state when it seeks to isolate and break prisoners."
"SAMs, which were renewed by Barack Obama (my emphasis) in October, severely restrict a prisoner’s communication with the outside world. They end calls, letters and visits with anyone except attorneys and sharply limit contact with family members. Fahad, once in this legal straitjacket, was not permitted to see much of the evidence against him under a legal provision called the Classified Information Procedures Act, or CIPA. CIPA, begun under the Reagan administration, allows evidence in a trial to be classified and withheld from those being prosecuted."
"Anyone who has contact with a prisoner under SAMs is prohibited by law from disclosing any information learned from the detainee. This requirement, in a twist Kafka would have relished, makes it illegal for those who have contact with an inmate under SAMs—including attorneys—to speak about his or her physical and psychological condition."
http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/no_justice_in_kafkas_america_20110613/