diachronic's Blogtag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//36362009-11-11T16:05:48ZMovable Type Pro 4.21-enShocking news: Pakistan is going against its own foes, not ourstag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.3013332009-11-11T15:58:15Z2009-11-11T16:05:48ZMr. Obama, officials said, has expressed similar concerns about Pakistan's willingness to attack Taliban leaders who are operating out of the Pakistani city of Quetta and commanding forces that are mounting attacks across the border in Afghanistan. While Pakistan has...diachronic
Mr. Obama, officials said, has expressed similar concerns about Pakistan's willingness to attack Taliban leaders who are operating out of the Pakistani city of Quetta and commanding forces that are mounting attacks across the border in Afghanistan. While Pakistan has mounted military operations against some Taliban groups in recent weeks, one official noted, "it's been focused on the Taliban who are targeting the Pakistani government, but not those who are running operations in Afghanistan." Sorry, not really shocking, but someone must be surprised at this information, since it is one of the linchpins in our war strategy in Afghanistan that Pakistan's Government needs help from us in stabilizing its border. Maybe they don't want our help. ]]>
Heart of Darkness in Fort Hoodtag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.3006632009-11-06T21:02:32Z2009-11-06T21:56:02ZIn Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," the central figure- deep in Africa, in the Central Station- is Kurtz, a "universal genius," we are told, a man in Leopold's Congo not for the sordid mercenary aims of the other Europeans in the...diachronic
It contained much rhetoric, but no practical suggestions- except, the narrator, Marlow, notes, for one scrawled postscript to the 'edifying' manuscript:
"Exterminate all the brutes!" When Marlow approaches the Central Station, he sees what seem to be round knobs on the palisade, but which are actually the shrunken heads of some of these 'brutes.' Kurtz is, we are told, "the product of all Europe." His adoring bride to be considers him to have been the perfection of every noble trait. Marlow does not have the heart to tell her the truth. The irony, then, is that of a humanitarian becoming even more inhuman than his fellow pillagers of Africa, whose motives are clearly base, under a thin veneer of bringing "progress". Is there a similar irony in this terse description of Major Hasan's impending deployment to another wilderness: An Army spokeswoman says the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings had been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan to counsel soldiers suffering from combat stress. The contradiction between Kurtz' supposed aims, and his "methods," are only too apparent in the novel. But the problem is not just Kurtz. The problem is that the "pilgrims" from Europe- and the religious connotation is deliberate and apt- are destroying what Kurtz wants to "save"- so he says, and there is no reason to doubt he means it, though his "methods" reflect the underlying horrors of the situation- the Europeans are monsters masquerading as gods. We should fight wars with drones, if we are going to be as high-minded as Kurtz about our aims, if we are going to be humanitarians in distant places we are clueless about and where we do not understand what we are supposed to do. Drones do not require psychological counsel, nor do they go berserk under stress. (Their operators do, but their numbers are smaller and more manageable.). ]]>
Are You Man Enough for Obama?tag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.3003052009-11-05T14:31:29Z2009-11-05T14:51:26ZApparently, Rep. Anthony Weiner is not:Bloomberg's meager five-point win left Democrats pondering what might have been if New York's Democratic donors hadn't turned their back on Thompson, if its politicians had worked for him, and most of all if President...diachronic
is not: Bloomberg's meager five-point win left Democrats pondering what might have been if New York's Democratic donors hadn't turned their back on Thompson, if its politicians had worked for him, and most of all if President Barack Obama had offered anything more than the lamest words of praise. "Maybe one of those Corzine trips could have been better spent in New York. Who knows?" remarked New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who weighed his own run for mayor, referring to the White House's devout attention to the New Jersey contest. "Maybe Anthony Weiner should have manned-up and run against Michael Bloomberg," shot back a White House official, who attributed the night's results across the board to anti-incumbent fervor. Not very progressive, or helpful, words from our non-progressive President's entourage. We will make progress- in spite of him, and in spite of his faction within the Democratic Party. But with a President like this, what other idiocies do you think he will be man enoughfor?]]>
An American of Principletag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2985262009-10-28T01:22:21Z2009-10-28T01:35:43ZNot the Second Coming of Herbert Hoover, Barack Obama; not his gutless AG, his militaristic Secretary of State, his gang of politically shrewd generals; but yes, we can still find an American of principle in the ranks....diachronic
we can still find an American of principle in the ranks.
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Richard N. Haass Agrees with Metag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2952572009-10-10T12:06:16Z2009-10-10T13:31:56Zthat the Obama Administration has it backwards when it claims that it must stabilize Afghanistan in order to stabilize Pakistan:The United States is doing a great deal in Afghanistan -- and is considering doing more -- because it sees the...diachronic
has it backwards when it claims that it must stabilize Afghanistan in order to stabilize Pakistan: The United States is doing a great deal in Afghanistan -- and is considering doing more -- because it sees the effort as essential to protecting Pakistan. But this logic is somewhat bizarre. Certainly, allowing the Taliban and al-Qaeda to reestablish a sanctuary in Afghanistan would make it harder to defeat them in Pakistan. But the Taliban and al-Qaeda already have a sanctuary -- in Pakistan itself. And further: It is the government of Pakistan that is tolerating the very groups that the United States is fighting in Afghanistan in the name of Pakistan's stability. It is worth noting, too, that Pakistani officials are not asking the United States to commit additional troops to Afghanistan, in large part because many Pakistanis view Afghanistan as one of several fronts in their struggle against India and see the Taliban as foot soldiers in that contest.Pakistan's future will be determined far more by its willingness and ability to meet internal challenges than by anything that emanates from across its border. ]]>
Haass' (much watered down for WaPo and Obama Admin officials) recommendations are as follows: 1) Redirect the training of Afghan security forces to be loyal to their local and tribal affiliations, rather than Karzai's discredited central government. 2) Spend money on paying off the Taliban (rebranded as "Pashtun nationalists,' much as "Sunni insurgents" became the "Sunni Awakening" in Iraq). 3) Concentrate U.S. forces in the capital and major population areas. (I.e., make a strategic retreat in the face of evidence that current offensives are not only not working, but are actually worsening the situation.) 4) Consult with a regional consortium on all of these moves (including Iran, Russia, and India). And over the border the Pakistan, take the following steps: 1) Spend more money in aid to Pakistan than Afghanistan. (But, of course, though Haass does not get into this, spend it with a modicum of wisdom. We need to be aware that the outrage sparked by the seemingly common-sensical Kerry- Lugar Bill is a reflection of a real crisis that we have carefully ensured would happen from years of assuming that the world revolved around us- and that the only terrorists were those who struck our shores and soldiers. Yesterday, for those keeping track, was "doomsday" in Pakistan, and this morning has been quite ominous as well.) 2) Spend much more time and diplomatic resources defusing the gravest threat to stability in the region, the relationship between India and Pakistan. The last suggestion is the key to this particular patch of South/Central Asia, not the nearly nonexistent al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The reason for Pakistan's support of terror networks (including Taliban-affiliated ones that we are fighting so bitterly in Afghanistan) is because it cultivates these groups against India, and furthermore fears that the U.S. is trying to destabilize Pakistan in the name of stabilizing it, secretly taking India's side- even of trying to foment a civil war within Pakistan. Steve Coll's observation that when he was in Afghanistan in the 80s that shots fired against Soviets he was interviewing were funded on the American taxpayer's dime is even more true now than it was then- except they are being fired against our own soldiers now. That is the perverse logic of Obama's "necessary war." Consider the outcry of the Pakistani military against the seemingly innocuous Kerry-Lugar Bill. They are upset that plank #1 in Haass' program to get us out of Afghanistan forces accountability on how Pakistan spends the billions we send them. They will not be able to blithely fund the people we are fighting a supposed "war of necessity" against- and what is this "necessity?" To prevent the people subsidizing them from "destabilizing" them! Clearly more than a mere 'strategy' is needed here. The Peace Laureate must reverse himself now on his whole policy on the war. Haass paints this, misleadingly in my opinion, as a 'middle way' in Afghanistan. He is doing this because he knows Obama's love of splitting the difference. But what he calls it is no matter.
(And as a kind of postscript, consider this accusation the Afghan Government just hurled at Pakistan. It is very likely true- but in any case refutes the foolish suggestion that all we need is to stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan will be a more secure nuclear-armed nation, with a reliable friend in Kabul. The Obama Administration has given many ludicrous rationales for continuing this war, but that one is the most egregious.)]]>
8tag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2944212009-10-06T23:52:19Z2009-10-07T00:06:21Zdiachronicclean, clear & bright, 8 a.m., 8 stones placed on graves, this is war's New Year.]]>
McChrystal/ MacArthurtag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2940812009-10-05T18:18:27Z2009-10-05T18:31:41ZI find Gates to be, of all Admin officials, the most candid and least gaffe-prone. So I have to wonder why he said "the military will fall in line" behind Obama's decision, whatever it will be....diachronic
"the military will fall in line" behind Obama's decision, whatever it will be.
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Pakistan Seizes the Moment, Decriminalizes Corruptiontag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2923312009-09-25T03:05:30Z2009-09-25T03:30:59Zdiachronic
This is amusing, I guess.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The U.S. Senate approved legislation Thursday to triple civilian financial aid to Pakistan to $7.5 billion over five years, underscoring the country's vital role in the war in Afghanistan and the broader fight against international terrorism. The legislation had been held up for months amid partisan wrangling, and the breakthrough came as the Friends of Democratic Pakistan assistance forum met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, co-chaired by President Barack Obama. As the U.S.-led campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan falters, cooperation from neighboring Pakistan is crucial because Pakistan is the headquarters, a refuge and a source of financing and other support for al Qaida, for Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and for other Afghan insurgent groups...... Separately on Thursday, an anti-bribery watchdog, Transparency International, warned that Pakistan has dismantled its laws against official corruption, a development that's likely to concern Washington and other countries that are pledging billions in additional aid to Pakistan. No, it isn't going to concern Washington, and Pakistan knows it. As long as the generals ask for more troops and extremists find havens all over their country, we are a perfect way to make that dismantled law pay dividends. The Pakistanis, unlike us, know the virtues of expediency.]]>
NYT Points Out the 'Frustrating Paradox' in Afghanistantag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2920472009-09-24T02:30:03Z2009-09-24T02:42:01ZHere it is:the more the administration wrestles publicly with how substantial and lasting a military commitment to make to Afghanistan, the more the ISI is likely to strengthen bonds to the Taliban as Pakistan hedges its bets....diachronic
Here it is:
the more the administration wrestles publicly with how substantial and lasting a military commitment to make to Afghanistan, the more the ISI is likely to strengthen bonds to the Taliban as Pakistan hedges its bets.
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A curiousity: murdered Afghan intelligence chief was a wanted man in Pakistantag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2883172009-09-05T19:06:53Z2009-09-05T19:33:08ZThe assassination of Abdullah Laghmani, deputy director of Afghan intelligence, on September 1, was described in the NYT as "a severe blow to the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda."One feature of Mr. Laghmani's resume leaped from the story:...diachronic
was described in the NYT as "a severe blow to the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda." One feature of Mr. Laghmani's resume leaped from the story: Laghmani was described as having "helped determine the link between the bombers who attacked the Indian Embassy in Kabul in July 2008 and the Pakistani intelligence service, tracing a cellphone found in the wreckage to a facilitator in Kabul who was in direct contact with a Pakistani intelligence officer in Peshawar." Needless to say, this did not endear him to the Pakistani Government, and they actually asked Karzai to hand Laghmani over to them, so he could face charges in Pakistan (charges unspecified, other than that of "undermining national security"). One other piece of this puzzle: in the NYT article, the sources cast doubt on the claim that the Taliban performed the assassination, on the grounds that its methods and brutality were more a hallmark of Al Qaeda: Despite the Taliban's claim of responsibility, Mr. Mashal, the provincial governor, said that the bombing was so brutal that foreign jihadists were probably involved. "I am sure it is extremists, these so-called global jihadists, and Al Qaeda has a definite hand behind this incident," he said at the scene of the explosion. The obvious speculation was that Pakistan ordered the hit (though of course the Times implied nothing of the kind). Now, several days later, the speculation has surfaced among analysts. Bill Roggio at Threat Matrix cautions that the matter is still one of speculation, but that The Haqqani Network, which was behind the bombing at the Indian embassy, is close to the ISI and has been behind most of the complex attacks in eastern Afghansitan [see list]. The odds are high that the Haqqanis were also behind the Laghmani assassination. At the very best, Pakistan's refusal to move against the Haqqani Network, which is based in North Waziristan, allows the Haqqanis to continue their campaign in Afghansitan. The worst case scenario, as in the case of the Indian embassy bombing, the ISI ordered the hit. Presumably, Mr. Roggio is trying to extract information from this incident, regardless of whether it serves the cause of the Long War. It would be an incomplete account without examining what I presume may bedisinformation, or at least clutter in the signal-to-noise ratio, to make the story more amenable to the dominant Western, Obama Administration narrative: It was his sleuthing that ran down links between the Pakistani intelligence services and the bombers of the Indian embassy in Kabul in 2008. This success made Laghmani powerful enemies in Pakistan, especially those in the intelligence apparatus who still secretly back the Taliban. The Taliban, too, celebrated the kill. "We were looking for him for a long, long time, but today we succeeded," exulted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Did the Taliban perform this assassination, as Time proclaims, or did "foreign jihadists," whether Al Qaeda or not, as the original, less refined story had it, perform it- with the aid of the intelligence services of our supposed ally, Pakistan?
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A Provocative Addition to the Iranian Cabinettag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2880062009-09-03T18:24:57Z2009-09-03T19:37:47ZIran is a country in deep trouble, having been condemned by the international community and by its many dissidents- condemned by everyone, it seems, except of course its close ally Iraq, and that other 'Axis of Evil' outpost, North Korea.Now...diachronic
Now Ahmadinejad has put together his Cabinet, and he has made one extremely clever choice. I refer, of course, to his Defense Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, a man wanted by Interpol for terrorist activities in Argentina in 1994, and the one man, I think, who could restore the reputation of Ahmadinejehad's tawdry regime, both with the international community, and with a fair (possibly overwhelming) number of Iranian dissidents.]]>
If Israel bombs Iran, that will redeem Ahmadinejehad 's fanatic, vote-stealing, torturing ways (Iran's own Dick Cheney). Just like the British fell behind Churchill as London was blitzed, not out of love of Churchill but out of hate of their 'unsporting' (the Afghans' evocative phrase for the British who bombed Kabul post-WWI in an attempt to stem their own empire's ebb) enemy, Iranians will coalesce behind their cunning leader in the face of an Israeli blitz (for which Israel's strafing of Beirut in 2006 was a dry run). I am not in any way equating Churchill with Iran's hick figurehead. Only that nations that are blitzed do not react kindly to the destruction raining from the sky. And the international community will coalesce around Iran, of course. How could it not? Does a terrorist Defense Minister constitute a legitimate casus belli? Does NATO, already resentful that they are forced to help us police Afghanistan, want to express approval for an unprovoked (in the conventional sense) Israeli attack, or are they less eager for the Rapture than we are? (Mike Huckabee would love this attack, as would most of Congress, either Family members or wannabes, or Joe Lieberman and his ilk, or... Well, let's forget about the rest, crypto-Communists who hate America.) Can American troops get out of the crossfire fast enough? Can the crippled American economy withstand the closing of the Persian Gulf? Would Iraq declare its solidarity with its strafed neighbor, and show Americans what a tragic farce the last decade of endless war has been? (It's a tragic farce anyway. But it could always be worse.)
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Is Gonzo Threatening Cheney?tag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2876102009-09-01T19:13:55Z2009-09-01T19:26:36ZI think Gonzo was one of the worst AGs of all time, behind only Michael Mukasey (who was actually qualified for the job, and therefore deserves to be held more accountable).But it appears that he collected some useful information in...diachronic
But it appears that he collected some useful information in his inglorious tenure, and i have no doubt that he has plenty more stashed away, useful in case (as I hope) he has decided to turn State's evidence.
So, I am extremely interested in what Gonzo's statement endorsing Holder's probe may mean. I think Emptywheel's interpretation is about right. Gonzo may need some Secret Service agents at his next public appearance.]]>
Opportunity Lost at NPR Yesterdaytag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2868322009-08-26T19:10:39Z2009-08-26T20:04:45ZNPR can be truly maddening. On the other hand, a show like 'All Things Considered' can be read as an unfiltered look into the disinformation machines, operated with great skill by politicians of all stripes. ATC's Melissa Block is an...diachronic
NPR can be truly maddening. On the other hand, a show like 'All Things Considered' can be read as an unfiltered look into the disinformation machines, operated with great skill by politicians of all stripes. ATC's Melissa Block is an especially helpful conduit, considering that she never asks the obvious or departs from a script that is so narrow that it, itself, seems like it might have been crafted by Eric Holder.
Block's interview with Rep. Hoekstra, my expectations were low:the idea of an experienced Republican politician being given a platform by the credulous Ms. Block made me think of the sound waves turning into a deceptively calm sewage canal. Then, suddenly, I heard something that bubbled through the sludge BLOCK: So Congressman, Eric Holder, the attorney general, was clear yesterday that this investigation will be limited to those who are acting without legal authorization, without the legal guidance. So it's not nearly as broad as you seem to be portraying. Rep. HOEKSTRA: Well I'm not portraying it, I think you're right. We - they're looking at the ones that operated outside the law. These people have been evaluated and dealt with. Eric Holder is going back and reevaluating them. But one of the things we've learned with special prosecutors is the original parameters don't necessarily always define the scope within they act. All you need to do is ask former President Bill Clinton, all you need to do is ask Scooter Libby, these special prosecutors tend to develop a life of their own, an independent voice that doesn't report to anybody. And I think that's one of the things that we need to take a look at and we need to be aware of. BLOCK: Congressman Hoekstra, thanks. Rep. HOEKSTRA: Hey, thank you. BLOCK: That's Congressman Peter Hoekstra of Michigan. He's the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. What bubbled through the sludge was, of course, Hoekstra's invocation of the prosecution of President Clinton as an example of a 'special prosecutor' gone wild. Consider, first, that this prosecutor gone haywire induced the House of Representatives to impeach him. Consider, next, that the man denouncing Kenneth Starr's witch huntvoted to impeach the President as a result. This is a matter of public record, and if Block did not know offhand Hoekstra's voting record, she could have asked him if he voted for the President's impeachment. No, the man's total hypocrisy went unchallenged by this journalist. The opportunity was lost to discredit him, by the asking of a quite simple question. If this happens on NPR, it must be far, far worse on other news outlets.
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Bob Baer's Pertinent Questiontag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2864402009-08-24T21:21:39Z2009-08-24T22:38:35Zdiachronic
TPMuckraker helpfully links us to, Bob Baer makes many relevant points, but among these is one pertinent question: This leads to the question of what the CIA saw in Blackwater that the public still has not. Ithink I can answer that question: Porter Goss hired them.
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his WaPo story that includes some interesting material: "In September, you are going to have a hurricane coming through Washington that is aimed right at the intelligence community," warned Porter J. Goss, the CIA's director from September 2004 to May 2006. He noted that a Justice Department inquiry is also pending into whether laws were broken when CIA officers destroyed videotapes of the harsh interrogations.... Goss said he had not been fully briefed on the details of the CIA activities in question, many of which are classified, so he could not confirm the reported involvement of Blackwater, now known as Xe Services LLC. A spokeswoman for the firm did not return a phone call Thursday, but two former intelligence officers familiar with the effort said the company had received millions of dollars for helping train and equip teams to undertake the killings. Goss alluded to that effort, stating that "my standing orders were 'field-forward' mission." "We wanted to catch the people who brought down the trade centers and killed innocent people and wanted to kill more," he said. "And we wanted to have every possible legal means at our disposal that we could to deal with them. That was certainly in my vision statement, and that is the briefing that was given to members of Congress" during his tenure. "In my view, we should constantly be looking at all our options in terms of national security," Goss said. "Suppose you got a high-value guy, a terrorist, part of al-Qaeda, a radical fundamentalist trained to kill innocent people, who you cannot talk down from the tree. What happens when you actually find that guy? Do you send the FBI? That's probably not the best option for the tribal areas" in Afghanistan and Pakistan. One motive the CIA might have for hiring contractors may be to add personnel without officially enlarging its bureaucracy, Goss said. "But it's also the case that there are some folks at retirement age who still feel like they have some horsepower left, so they go off into a consulting business and make themselves available." A former intelligence official familiar with the effort said the decision to outsource a substantial portion of the program stemmed partly from the agency's close ties to Blackwater, which hired several of the agency's top executives, including former CIA counterterrorism chief Cofer Black and former deputy director for operations Robert Richer. Well, Goss is invoking the GOP's standard excuses: Outsource our most vital secrets to mercenaries in order to keep down the "bureaucracy" (well, maybe Goss didn't realize that as a bureaucrat, he should have been outsourced too- but Republicans' distaste for bureaucracy and its attendant ossifications and taxpayer burden is curiously at odds with this fascinating detail regarding Goss' previous job before becoming CIA bureaucrat-in-chief- Goss had planned to retire from Congress at the end of his last term, but Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney asked him to remain. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R- Illinois, arranged for a change in House rules that limit committee service to allow Goss to stay on the committee and to chair it.). Hmmm. Goss' connections go to the very top. Seems like he really, really had to be on that House Intelligence Committee, and was willing to be persuaded- admittedly, by high-powered persuaders- to overcome his own scruples about term limits. His resume is an illustrious one: here aretwo links to get you started. There really is no end to his story, once you start delving into it.]]>
"That secret operation was an excellent idea"tag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/diachronic//3636.2853322009-08-18T03:27:26Z2009-08-18T04:24:56ZThis interview with sometime Obama adviser Zbignew Brzezinski (from 1998) acquires more and more ironic (and bitter) resonance with every day that passes. But even pre-9/11, Brzezinski's insouciant reference to "some stirred-up Moslems" drew the disbelief of his interviewer.It certainly...diachronic
interview with sometime Obama adviser Zbignew Brzezinski (from 1998) acquires more and more ironic (and bitter) resonance with every day that passes. But even pre-9/11, Brzezinski's insouciant reference to "some stirred-up Moslems" drew the disbelief of his interviewer. It certainly makes interesting reading on a day when Obama calls Afghanistan our war of necessity- nearly eight years on....