Meanwhile Back in Afghanistan

“ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan warned U.S. troops not to intrude on its territory Friday, after the two anti-terror allies traded fire along the volatile border with Afghanistan.

Thursday's five-minute clash adds to already heightened tensions at a time the United States is stepping up cross-border operations in a region known as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

The clash — the first serious exchange with Pakistani forces acknowledged by the U.S. — follows a string of other alleged border incidents and incursions that have angered many here.

Speaking in New York, Pakistan's president tried to downplay the incident, saying only "flares" were fired at foreign helicopters that he said strayed into his country from Afghanistan.

U.S. and NATO military officials said the ground troops and helicopters were in Afghan territory.

Meanwhile, a bomb blast caused a train to derail in eastern Punjab province, killing four people and wounding 15 others, authorities said. The prime minister said he had ordered an investigation into the blast.

The escalating violence in Pakistan was also felt as far south as Karachi.

Police raided a militant hideout Friday in Pakistan's largest city, triggering a shootout during which three suicide bombers blew themselves up. The body of a man held in handcuffs was found in the rubble, police said.

The three men were suspected of planning an attack on a "high-profile" target in Karachi, said Sindh police chief Babar Khattak, giving no more details. The police raided the house in Karachi on a tip from a leader of an al-Qaida-linked militant group, Khattak said.

"Police definitely averted a big attack from happening in this city," he said.

Police seized at least 22 pounds of explosives, two suicide jackets, seven pistols and 12 hand grenades from the Karachi house, which was badly damaged by the explosions.

The prisoner whose body was discovered in the rubble was identified as a wealthy supplier of fuel and goods to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, senior police official Aleem Jaffry told The Associated Press.

Pakistani government spokesman Akram Shaheedi urged U.S.-led coalition forces "not to violate territorial sovereignty of Pakistan as it is counterproductive to the war on terror."

"It has been Pakistan's policy that we will not allow anyone to violate our sovereignty, and we will continue to defend our territorial sovereignty," he said Friday.

The clash occurred as new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was in New York meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai was scheduled to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday.

Two American OH-58 reconnaissance helicopters, known as Kiowas, were on a routine patrol in the eastern province of Khost when they received small arms fire from the Pakistani border post, said Tech Sgt. Kevin Wallace, a U.S. military spokesman in Bagram. There was no damage to aircraft or crew, officials said.

Sarwar Shah, a 45-year-old bus driver who witnessed the incident, said two foreign choppers and a military vehicle were involved.

"I heard gunshots, but it lasted only for six or seven minutes," he told The Associated Press.

He said he was happy to see the Pakistan army firing at the helicopters, "If the army needs our help, we will help it against the Americans," Shah said.

U.S. Central Command spokesman Rear Adm. Greg Smith said the helicopters had been escorting U.S. troops and Afghan border police. When the helicopters were fired on, the ground forces fired rounds meant not to hit the Pakistani troops, but "to make certain that they realized they should stop shooting," Smith said from Centcom headquarters in Florida.

The Pakistani forces fired back during a skirmish that lasted about five minutes. The joint patrol was moving about a mile inside Afghanistan, with the helicopters above, Smith said.

The Pakistani military disputed the U.S. version, saying its troops fired warning shots when the two helicopters crossed over the border — and that the U.S. helicopters fired back.

"When the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistani territory, own security forces fires anticipatory warning shots. On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back," a Pakistani military statement said.

In New York, Zardari said his military fired only "flares" at foreign helicopters that he claimed had strayed across the border from Afghanistan.

Zardari said before his meeting with Rice that his forces fired only as a way "to make sure that they know that they crossed the border line."

Later, in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Zardari vowed to continue the fight against terrorists but warned against allied incursions into Pakistan.

"Just as we will not let Pakistan's territory to be used by terrorists for attacks against our people and our neighbors, we cannot allow our territory and our sovereignty to be violated by our friends," Zardari said.

"Unilateral actions of great powers should not inflame the passions of allies," he said.

The Pakistani military said the matter was "being resolved" in consultations between the army and the NATO force in Afghanistan. A NATO statement said the militaries were "working together to resolve the matter."

The shooting comes amid a string of cross-border incidents, including a highly unusual raid by American commandos into Pakistan's tribal areas on Sept. 3 that left at least 15 people reportedly dead, and the apparent crash landing because of possible mechanical failure of a U.S. spy drone this week in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a Pakistani army spokesman, said last week that Pakistani field commanders have previously tolerated international forces crossing a short way into the country because of the ill-defined and contested nature of the mountainous frontier.

"But after the (Sept. 3) incident, the orders are clear," Abbas said. "In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire."

Talat Masood, a military and political analyst, warned the cross-border raids were undermining support for American in Pakistani and risked destabilizing the country, where the new government was still asserting its authority.

"These incursions strengthen the hands of the militants, that is the result of this," Masood said. "You don't want to strengthen them, you want to weaken them."”

“I think there is much more to this than what meets the eye. A 5-6 minute shootout with US choppers and no one was injured. Whatever you think of our being there, I think we all know that if we wanted to take out a border post that Pakistan would have 1 less border post.

I torn about what this really is. Maybe it really is Pakistan not wanting US troops operating within its borders. Another possibility is that the Pakistan President is doing this to shore up his Muslim support to show that he is not a puppet of the US but at the same time, with all the terrorist actions taking place within Pakistan now (even before the Marriott bombing), that perhaps some people inside pakistan would like to see a stop put to Al Quieda using pakistan as a base and start wondering if its serves pakistan better to work with the US to clear out the terrorist.

It was that kind of think that made the surge work. Enough troops to make the locals believe we really wanted to help them and wouldn't just walk out on them.”

“Same problems as here; Too few guns,bankers and lawyers and too many,'Freak Went flyer Miles'.”

“Well, I went home with the waitress
The way I always do
How was I to know
She was with the Russians, too

I was gambling in Havana
I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns and money
Dad, get me out of this

I'm the innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck

Now I'm hiding in Honduras
I'm a desperate man
Send lawyers, guns and money
The #&%!$ has hit the fan

Send lawyers, guns and money...”

“Why can't they just be straight up for once?

Pentagon source: strike killed 30 Afghan civilians, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan on Aug. 22 killed some 30 civilians, far more than the military has previously acknowledged, defense officials said Wednesday.

The probe found that the strikes against a suspected Taliban compound in the western province of Herat killed about 30 civilians —not the five to seven the U.S. originally acknowledged, according to a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. The New York Times first reported the new finding in its Wednesday editions.”

“We can't count bodies, but opium profits, well that's different story.”

“expendable”

“The Taliban have been disowning AQ. That's a step in the right direction.”

“Things like that make them consider us as expendable.”

“What's with the basketball, is that another racist reference like fried chicken?”

“perhaps you don't pay much attention to Obama's non sloganeering. Obama himself makes a big deal of his basketball skills. Bill O'Reilly and Obama talked about it where Obama said he would spot Oreilly 9 points in a game to 10 LOL. Someone else asked him if he could take Sarah Palin. he waffled around the answer but I think he said he could take her too. Its one of the more amusing parts of this campaign season where people from both sides are having fun with each other without rancor. well except for people who look at any comment about Obama that isn't gushing love for him has to be racist.”

“MaRkO dUmBo”

“
Joint Chiefs chairman: Afghanistan getting worse
by Roxana Tiron
Posted: 10/09/08 11:44 AM [ET]

The situation in Afghanistan will worsen next year unless the U.S. adjusts its policies, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“The trends across the board are not going in the right direction,” Mullen told reporters at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor. “It’s been very tough fighting this year and it will be tougher next year unless we adjust in a way to get at all aspects of the challenges in Afghanistan.”

”

“Still getting 'excited' every time an American dies, tiltTiltBLAM?”

“as far as I can see both candidates plan to put more troops into afganistan. Both candidates plan to get other governments involved. Both candidates plan to change how things are being done over there. Which candidate do you think will get it right? Which one will listen to his ground commanders? Which one knows how command structure works?”

“what kind of sicko thinks "ooooo, bad stuff about America, let's post it on the internet!"?”

“That one goes in the archives.”

“Ummm, it's no secret. It's already posted on the Internet and published in numerous periodicals.

But just in case your a select reader, or are part of the "America can do no wrong crowd" watching Faux Snooz, it's an attempt to try and tell you what's going on.


Hard to fathom, I know Sarge...”

“
Misc quotes from "The War Briefing":


"We're out of Schlitz."

"Frankenstein has gotten of the table."

”

“Good article, I thought, by A. Huffington.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/why-joe-biden-should-resi_b_320929.html?alacarte=1”

“LOL”

“George Will probably did get it right. That's what I'd like to see as well. I find it interesting that the HP is agreeing with Will, when it means ratcheting up drone strikes. Does this mean they won't be wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth in weekly articles over all the poor innocent civilian deaths we're causing?
last edited: 10/15/09 11:50:07 AM”

“T*lt needs to be posting his 'death counts' again.”

“So, Was Michael Steele correct about Afghanistan being Barack's Own Colony now? Come on all you big monger men, does Uncle Sam need your help again?”

“As much as I loathe to agree with Ron Paul on any matter in geopolitics, he's right to support Steele's comments.

I have wanted us out of a land war in afghanistan for some time now. I wanted us to use any number of regional countries to stage air power and special forces for identifying and eliminating organized terrorist activity. Afghanistan is not done by a long shot, but I agree the current land war is not winnable in this political and economic climate. Obama is a damn fool to ramp up operations under the guise of pulling us out quickly, more so that he LIED about his intentions (violin, have the guts to admit that? didn't think so). There are other, more important issues we need to be dealing with right now, and no, NASA reaching out to the muslimes is not one of them.”

“You'll be talkin'' bout bringing troops home from all over soon, It's going to bankrupt us if we don't start making the rest of the world pay for their OWN SECURITY. Get out of the world police biz---NOW!!!!!”

“start making the rest of the world pay for their OWN SECURITY

Consider Australia, Japan, India, Turkey, Britain, and Brazil. Which direction are they moving, salebored? Toward more dependence on US power or less? Which direction is Old Europe moving? More dependence or less?

You're whining about an anachronism, salebored. Inform yourself: the world is decreasingly uni-polar.”

“Why do less than 5% spend more than the rest of the world on military? You can't BS your monger ways with numbers like that. We think we own the face of the earth and that has to change.

Our own Military Industrial Complex has trained the rest of BIGBIZ how to buy the world into dependence on the Great American War Machine.

Keep them weak, not too unlike the 'America's Drug War', keep them dependent on what they think are the international cartels which are really just puppets of our own gov. and it's greedy control.”

“LOL - I was just saying we should END a war, salebored. The only "mongering" here is your irrational fear mongering.

And the answer to your question is obvious: America's strategic interests, to an extent far exceeding any other country, span the globe. Presence and force projection are the backbone of our geopolitical toolkit and the foundation of global commerce. Technological and operational superiority is expensive, but well worth the costs.”

“YOu know Sale is so caught up in his myopic view of history. Yeah we have lost a couple thousand lives by intervening in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the cost could have been greater. MUCH greater.

Personally I would love it if when a nation or "terrorist organization" made some attack we would go to their country of origin and in quick order leave it a smoking depopulated desert.

Sorry but the Germans and Japanese haven't had ONE Iota for violence since 1945. I think HISTORY speaks for itself.”

“At what cost? Are you now feeling the cost of being a helpless superpower that can't stand up to anything but history while time flies through you like you're a puff of Chrysler Smog-ah, Fiat Smog.”

“It's a shame these bozos allowed Bush to waste so much time on our old buddy Saddam.


"Cuz he tried ta KEEL mah Daddy."

– Your Dimbulb


They did their best to guarantee defeat against the actual enemy in Afghanistan/Pakistan.”

“9/11/01 or 4/20/10, make up your mind which is really the enemy.”

“I sure you were told 9/11/01 was the enemy by the ones that caused 4/20/10? Am I right or maybe left, which is wrong in the minds of the wrong minded Rite?”

“Tilt is still bitter that Obama kept Bush's foreign policy pretty much intact, and even ramped up the wars.

Excuse me while I LMMFAO @ Tilt!”

“Yes, but tell us why the Bush Bunch made sure it would be this way, do you think Obama had an option about anything that was dumped in his lap?”

“Salebored, the point is, Obama promised big changes, and then kept Bush's policies and wars humming along. It makes me grin ear to ear to imagine the cognitive dissonance tilt's experiencing.”

“He wants to see his two girls in the future, one does what the mongers want or one becomes an ain't. The Military Industrial Complex is King and doesn't get elected to office, it is your representative whether you like it(you do)or not(I hate it).”

“Afghan police toking up before going on patrol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MZWPCrI4RU”

“WOW..to see the aging Debris crowd from the 60's desperately trying to recreate the protest era...sadly most of them are desperately hoping this time they might actually get some "action"”

“Right...so the best solution is to just surrender and offer no opposition?


WOW..um Sale, please tell me when that tactic ever was "successful"....”

“The way to win the war on Terror is much like winning the war on Drugs. Drugs; You become the drug dealer and run the rest out of biz. And Terror; You become the terrorist and run the rest out of biz. Don't have to have a Phd to be an Hpd, what ever thoot is, because capitalism works when you use to do good things rather than tell others how to live.”

“We don't dare become terrorist it'll give the corps a bad name and they'll all have to Run 24 hour lying ads about how ECO they really are and fare to the lower ones too.”

“A Crop rotation of wheat, canola and poppies could solve a big part of the Taliban finance, but, oh no, not as long as I have my bible and rifle it won't, by gawd.”

“Ahhh, a decade of failure...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101006/ap_on_re_as/as_afghan_nine_years_of_war”

“Some serious factual errors in that article. The taliban did not "collapse", and they were not "overthrown" in the classic sense of the word. They declined to fight, instead performing a strategic retreat to regroup in order to fight a guerrilla war.

Bush can be blamed for a lot of the "failure" as you put it, but Obama was too pathetically weak to stand up to the Pentagon, even though he is CIC, and he prolonged the failure.”