Afghanistan

The Afghanistan war is the longest war in America's history. Since 2001 the military budget has grown to equal more then the rest of the worlds military budget combined. Afghanistan is known as the "graveyard of empires" for a reason. In the entire world history their has never been a foreign force to win a war in Afghanistan. Alexander the Great couldn't. Nor could Genghis Khan. The Prussians couldn't. The British empire couldn't along with the Soviet union. America is the latest foreign force to try to win in Afghanistan and after nine years we have made no progress. The strategy for Afghanistan is a counterinsurgency. For this to work the Afghan people have to believe the Taliban is against them and America is working for them. It is hard to do this when America accidently bombs a civilian wedding or kills children by accident. Improvised bomb incidents have increased by 94%. This at the same time General McChrystal is saying there is progress. Afghanistan has several geopolitical problems. Afghanistan is a lost cause. America needs to realize this before we stay in there for the next ten years. The real reason for the Afghan war is oil pipelines and the military-industrial complex.

The reason Afghanistan has never lost a war is the tribal people never accept a foreign occupation. This comes from the differences between the Pashtuns and the Taliban. Their culture is complex. The average American never thinks or cares about these differences. The public is under educated about our enemy. If you want to know the truth you have to learn it yourself by searching for it.

This is just the surface. Afghanistan is our generations Vietnam. To fully understand the problems for this war requires doing your home work and reading. Even Gen. McChrystal has said "We don't understand Afghanistan". This war could be over next month or keep going for years to come. Let's hope it is next month.

Iran, the next war

The U.N. has approved the fourth round of sanctions on Iran. These sanctions are an act of war. Sanctions are serious matters. They stifle economy growth and lead to deteriorating relations between the U.S. and Iran. The people of Iran suffer the most. When the lie at the Iraqi people would treat us as liberators was used to con the American people into war the reason they did not see us as liberators is this. We imposed years and years of sanctions on the Iraqi people. It is hard to know how many Iraqi people died from starvation due to the sanctions, but some reports are as high as 1 million. These sanctions will have no effect of the Iranian nuclear program. They have stated that the sanctions will not deter them from their peaceful nuclear energy program, and that is what it is. This lie that the Iranians want to produce a nuclear weapon is the same lies that were told about Iraq. Obama is lying just as much as Bush did. All 16 U.S. intelligence agencies have agreed that Iran is not trying to make a nuclear weapon. The same intelligence agencies told us that Iraq had no nuclear weapons in Iraq. The intelligence that Iraq had nukes was from a special intelligence group that Rumsfeld made up. America is lying to the world about Iran. When this war comes I will not believe the U.S. and condemn it from the start. The real reason for the war is reign change in Iran, oil, and most important of all they do not do what we tell them to.

This war is likely to start very soon. The Iranian Red Crescent has sent ships headed for Gaza. There is a possibility Iran or Turkey will have a naval escort for the ships. Even if they do not have an escort if any deaths occur the result from Iran or Israel could be the first battle in World War 3. America would get involved by helping Israel. Or, Israel or america may attack Iran first. The chances are high for a war soon.

May sucked

This month started with a failed terrorist attack and ended with an Israeli raid on a peaceful convoy of aid to Gaza. Of course the reasons why the terrorist attacked happened was horribly reported. First it was because of a recent South Park episode that represented the Prophet Mohammed as a bear. Then it was an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack. I knew as soon as the news correctly reported Faisal Shahzad was from Pakistan that the real reason for the terrorist attack was the CIA's drone attacks in Pakistan that President Obama ordered to fight the Taliban without having to order the military into Waziristan. When one of these drones kills a civilian it is called an extra judicial killing. The people in Pakistan are suffering from these drone attacks and they have no way to fight the drones. This leaves them to want revenge for their innocent loved ones, and that is the reason why Shahzad tried to kill Americans.

While all of the media was fixated of the Time Square bomber, Nashville Tennessee experienced sever flooding. The Gulf oil spill continued to grow. BP's attempts to cap the oil well failed. I think we should use a nuclear weapon on the well, its worked before.

This month the U.N. meet to revise the NPT. The first speaker, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said nuclear weapons exist to kill as many people as possible and all nuclear weapons should be destroyed. He also criticized the U.S. for still having several thousand nukes along with Israel, Pakistan and India for not signing the NPT. At the end of the event 189 countries agreed that Israel mush sign the NPT, which Israel then said they will not.

The U.S. Israeli relations are at their worst in years. The U.S. asked Israel to sign the NPT and before that we told them to stop the building of new housing in Jerusalem. The relationship is important for several reasons, more so for Israel. Without the aid from the U.S. Israel would not last for five years in the Middle-East. Not that they would be "wiped off the map" but they would have to coexist with the Palestinians with a two-state solution. The U.S. gives about $7 million dollars to Israel every day. The IDF (Israel Defense Force) intercepted a "freedom flotilla" that tried to send 10,000 tons of aid to occupied Gaza. During the interception the IDF killed 9 Free Gaza activist. The UN held a emergence security meeting and several countries expressed the actions of the IDF as inexcusable. The UN now wants Israel to end the Gaza blockade.

The U.S. economy as a down turn. On May 6 the NYSE had a 998 point drop, the largest single point drop ever. Luckily, the stock market rebounded before the closing bell. The stock market is at the same level it was in February of this year. The European economy went through hell. Greece had to approve austerity measures as part of an EU/IMF bailout for its outstanding debts. Violent protest broke out in the streets of Greece. Not long after the EU approved close to a trillion dollar bailout for countries such as, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece. Due to the bailout the Euro is losing value fast. People are selling the Euro and buying the U.S. dollar, but our problems are far from fixed. Eventually we will go through another recession leaving the dollar even weaker. It was announced that the total cost for both wars has reached $1 trillion. Every month we spend $9 billion on the wars. The 2011 defense for 2011 is $708 billion. The cost for Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security is well over a $1 trillion. These are the biggest budget items.

The 1,000 military personal died in Afghanistan this month. This summer we are going to move into Kandahar to face the Taliban. Expect to hear about casualties from this assault, the Taliban has said they will fight. The Iraq elections failed to give a majority to any party leaving Iraq with on government. We will remain in Iraq for years to come. We may reduce troop levels, but we will continue to have air bases in Iraq until 2018. S. Korea blamed N. Korea for sinking one of their naval ships. N. Korea denied the claim and warned of "all out war" if attacked. The Tensions in the world are pointing toward war. The U.S. sent a nuclear sub into the strait of Hormuz. Israel has sent their nuclear subs into the strait of Hormuz. Israel and the U.S. claimed N. Korea is sending nuclear material to Iran and Syria. Adding the tensions over Israel's raid on the flotilla only adds to the support of Hamas and anti-Israeli/America sentiment in the Middle-East. This summer could see the start of World War 3.

More War to come

Obama promised to end to the Iraq war and bring the troops home from Afghanistan in 2006-07. Today it seems democrats are okay with the

wars and say we have to finish because Bush got us into the problem. Obama has proven even more of a war president then Bush.

In the Quadrennial Defense Review the Obama administration has made the case for continuing the current wars. The Military budget for 2011 is $708 billion dollars, an increase from the 2010 budget. The actual cost of our military is well over $1 trillion when including the intelligence agencies, homeland security etc. We spend more on the military then all other countries combined. China's military budget was $80 billion for 2010.

The reason, as given in the QDR, for the military spending is, "to

disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban." and;

Furthermore, as a global power, the strength and influence of the United States are deeply intertwined with the fate of the broader international system—a system of alliances, partnerships, and multinational institutions that our country has helped build and sustain for more than sixty years. The U.S. military must therefore be prepared to support broad national goals of promoting stability in key regions, providing assistance to nations in need, and promoting the common good.

Right now we are in two wars, but really we are already at war in Pakistan. We recently have increased the number of drone attacks in Pakistan and have troops on the ground, and don't let the media tell you they don't kill civilians. Civilian deaths are high in the bombing area of Waziristan. We have already experienced "blow-back" from these attacks with the recent terrorist attempt in New York City. The private sector is selling them thousands of bombs and dozens of F-16 to fight the Tehrik-i-Taliban. Due to the increase in military spending and the fact that Pakistan has nuclear weapons America will continue to fight in Pakistan which will only create more anti-American sentiment in the Middle-East.

The next war is likely Iran. Iran spends less then $10 billion dollars for its military. Their army and royal guard all together is about 545,000 personal. Iran poses no credible threat to America. The QDR states under "A Complex Environment"; "The rise of China, the world’s most populous country, and India, the world’s largest democracy, will continue to shape an international system that is no longer easily defined—one in which the United States will remain the most powerful actor but must increasingly work with key allies and partners if it is to sustain stability and peace." China and Iran have a business relationship. China imports between 11-17% of its oil from Iran with a total of 58% of their oil coming from the Middle-East. I wonder if America's goal of "stability and peace" also involves keeping China from building an oil-pipe line from Iran to China. Doing so would reduce the price of oil in China and allow them to grow at a even faster pace. The pipe-line would have to go through the Pakistan province of Balochistan. As long as Pakistan is allied with America this pipe-line will never happen. This is just one reason for a war with Iran. The real reason is to change their government. President Bush approved $400 million dollars to destabilize the Iranian government. America has tried covert government change and now will try overt government change.