U.S. USED PSY-OPS ON LAWMAKERS VISTING AFGHANISTAN

"... military personnel deployed to win Afghan hearts and minds were instructed over their own objections to carry out “psychological operations” to help convince visiting members of Congress to increase support for the training mission there... Psychological operations and deception... are understood as being aimed at adversarial or neutral audiences — not at Americans."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/world/asia/25military.html

PETRAEUS: AFGHANS BURNED THEIR OWN CHILDREN

"To the shock of President Hamid Karzai's aides, Gen. David H. Petraeus suggested Sunday at the presidential palace that Afghans caught up in a coalition attack in northeastern Afghanistan might have burned their own children to exaggerate claims of civilian casualties... (Petraeus is quoted as saying) that in the midst of the [operation] some pro-Taliban parents in contact with a government official decided to create a civilian casualty claim to pressure international forces to cease the [operation]. They burned hands and legs of some of their children and sent them to the hospital."

"... U.S. and Afghan officials are investigating what happened during the three- to four-day operation in the mountains of Ghaziabad district... U.S. military officials said there is no evidence that civilians died. The governor of Konar, Fazlullah Wahidi, disagreed, citing reports from villagers that dozens of women and children perished. Karzai's office placed the civilian death toll at 50..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022104514.html

NATO KILLS 22 WOMEN AND 26 YOUNG BOYS

"The governor of Afghanistan's Kunar province said Sunday that 64 people, including some civilians, were killed in a joint operation by NATO's International Security Assistance Force and Afghan security forces over the past few days.... the dead included 16 insurgents, 22 women, and 26 young boys..."
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/afghanistan.civilians.killed/index.html?iphoneemail

DID CONGRESS APPROVE THIS LONGEST WAR?

"Obama... doesn't assert that the constitution gives him the unilateral power to make war and peace. Nevertheless... Obama is not simply winding up a war he did not start; he has expanded it – bringing in more troops than ever before. Meanwhile, Congress is nowhere to be found.

"... almost all the insurgent leaders... are in the tribal areas of Pakistan, not Afghanistan. Is this really the basis of Obama's right to determine the future conduct of America's longest war?... When Congress responded to the tragedy of the twin towers, it was authorising a limited war in Afghanistan – not a 100-year struggle against terrorism-in-all-its-forms. By pretending otherwise, we are speeding down a slippery slope that cuts future Congresses out of all serious participation in the big decisions on war and peace..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jan/27/afghanistan-congress

MONEY FOR AFGHAN SECURITY FACILITIES AT RISK OF WASTE

"... the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction concluded that the... United States is at risk of wasting roughly $11.4 billion unless it comes up with a plan for constructing and maintaining nearly 900 Afghan National Security Forces facilities... the money is "at risk" because of "inadequate planning" and the lack of a "long-range construction plan" for the facilities... (the investigation began because) the NATO mission in Afghanistan was unable to provide documents "describing the size, location or use of Afghan National Security Force facilities, such as Afghan National Army garrisons."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/27/sigar-afghan-aid-security-waste_n_814733.html

BASE CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS DELAY NATO WITHDRAWAL

"... Building Afghanistan's security forces almost from scratch is the cornerstone of allied plans for a gradual withdrawal from the country.... (but) hundreds of new Afghan outposts, barracks and garrisons are "seriously behind schedule, making it doubtful that the construction efforts would keep pace with recruitment and training." Of 884 projects for completion over the next two years, only 133 are finished. Another 78 are under way, but 673 have not begun... Poor planning, weak management and corruption were behind the delays..."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8281330/Plans-for-Nato-withdrawal-could-be-hit-by-base-construction-delays.html

WAR IN AFGHANISTAN UNWINNABLE

"... the Obama administration has to decide what 'winning' is. If winning is denying al-Qaeda to Afghanistan, we have won. That's according to the CIA, which says no more than 50 al-Qaeda are ever in Afghanistan.

"If it's defeating the Taliban, then we need to know who the Taliban is. The CIA estimates there are 17,000 Afghan Taliban, mostly farmers who get paid $10 a day to shoot at U.S. and NATO forces. In opposition to the 17,000 'Taliban' are 550,000 international and Afghan personnel working to provide security in Afghanistan—100,000 U.S. military, 40,000 NATO, 60,000 U.S. contractors, 175,000 Afghan National Army, 175,000 Afghan National police. If it is a military 'win' the U.S. is looking for, then with that overwhelming number challenging the Taliban, we have to be winning—and if we're not, why?

"The answer is that there is no military solution, as expressed by virtually all the leaders of the countries that have been a part of the international coalition—except U.S. leaders..."

--Retired Colonel Ann Wright Discusses Why the War in Afghanistan is Unwinnable, Maui Times, January 19, 2011
http://www.mauitime.com/Articles-i-2011-01-20-75645.113117-Retired-Colonel-Ann-Wright-Discusses-Why-the-War-in-Afghanistan-is-Unwinnable.html