Tag: Afghanistan

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Movie Movies

Real Life Afghan Villager Who Saved “Lone Survivor” Now Facing Death Threats

It is a great movie – Lone Survivor. I sat on the edge of my seat and watched  in horror as the events unfold, this Navy Seal fighting for his life against a group of Taliban fighters and the tremendous obstacles he faced trying to stay alive. Out of the four Navy Seals who ventured out on this special mission, only one survived and he survived only because of the help of an Afghan villager.

The movie is based on true events. The lone survivor is a Navy Seal named Marcus Luttrell and the Afghan who helped save his life is Mohammad Gulab.

Mohammad Gulab’s ordeal began in 2005, when Marcus Luttrell and three fellow Navy SEALs were ambushed by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. A fierce fight left three dead and Luttrell, the only American survivor, with a broken back and several shrapnel wounds. Luttrell credits Gulab with saving his life, as the Afghan brought the wounded soldier into his home and protected him from the Taliban until US reinforcements arrived.

The scene was depicted in the 2013 movie “Lone Survivor.” Luttrell was also a friend of Chris Kyle, the subject of the new record-smashing movie “American Sniper,” and went through sniper training with him.

Yet although Gulab’s heroism has been depicted on the big screen, life has reportedly been hard for him since saving Luttrell. He has had to leave his hometown and hide from the Taliban, and at one point, he was reportedly attacked and shot in the leg.

Now he wants to come to America, where he believes he will be safer, but his lawyer tells FoxNews.com that bureaucracy is making the process difficult and slow. Gulab has said Luttrell offered to help him obtain a green card, but the relationship between the two men appears to have become strained while Gulab was visiting the US last year for the premiere of “Lone Survivor.” When contacted by FoxNews.com, Lutrell declined to comment on Gulab or his bid for asylum.

Categories
Military News

Heart Warming – 3 Year Old Boy Defies Military Protocol – Video

Three year old Cooper hadn’t seen his mom in over 9 months because of her military service in Afghanistan. But after seeing his mother Kathryn Waldvogel getting into full formation waiting to be discharged, Cooper just couldn’t wait another second. The three-year old ran towards his mother, causing her to break formation – something that is not advised by the military.

“All of a sudden we had to file into the building and get into formation, and I just look up and Cooper and my mom are right there,” Waldvogel said.

I’m sure the military would let this one slide.

Categories
Afghanistan Bowe Bergdahl Foreign Policies News Politics Terrorism

Deserter Storm

At this point, the only relevant question I can think of asking in the tale of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is this: If he was the son of a member of the U.S. Congress, would anybody be questioning his patriotism? Perhaps in this hyper-partisan atmosphere we have the answer might be yes, but I doubt it.

As more details emerge about Sgt. Bergdahl’s captivity, it’s becoming clearer to me that a large swath of our citizenry simply has not learned the lessons of the past and is too ready to jump on anything negative in a person’s background to deny them basic human rights. Yes, he had a habit of wandering when he shouldn’t have and, yes, U.S. soldiers were killed trying to find him. It is a tragedy that those soldiers died and their families have every right to be angry over the circumstances of their deaths. That should never have happened. This kind of thing happens in war. That’s why I hate it.

The worst, unfortunately, is yet to come. Sgt. Bergdahl will come home to a town and country that is deeply divided over whether he should have even been freed, much less traded for five suspected terrorists. He will be called terrible names in person and in the media by those who believe that they are the country’s moral arbiters. I have one word for them: Vietnam.

Last week I took my classes to the New Jersey Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. It’s a trip that’s become a yearly ritual at my school, and this year it was even more valuable because it provided some historical relevance in light of Sgt. Bergdahl’s story. Vietnam veterans lead all of the tours and are available for discussion, question and answer periods, and explanations of some of the exhibits at the memorial and education center. To a man, and they were all men, they recounted their experiences as soldiers returning to a divided country in the 1960s and 1970s. They told us about being called baby killers, village burners, Nazis, fascists and murderers. They were young men, some who were drafted and some who enlisted, who saw it as their duty to fight for their country, and their country turned their back on them. Today, they are kind, thoughtful men who are proud to be grandfathers and are happy to tell the younger generation about their experiences.

I thought of Bowe Bergdahl. Not the Sergeant; just the young man, and what he faces in the near future. For the Vietnam veterans there was some strength in numbers. Bowe Bergdahl will face the country alone. John McCain met President Nixon as a hero. I hope that President Obama sticks to his position and does the same for Bergdahl. Yes, he made a terrible mistake which became a tragedy for some of his fellow soldiers. But to hang this whole tragedy on him would be a terrible mistake. Let’s hope that we haven’t forgotten the lessons of 40 years ago.

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Categories
Politics

President Obama Makes Surprise Memorial Visit to Troops in Afghanistan

President Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday for an unannounced visit with U.S. troops, officials said.

The President landed at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan at about 8:15 p.m. local time (11:45 a.m. ET).

Air Force One had secretly left Washington from Andrews Air Force Base under cover of darkness at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday night.

This is the fourth trip of Obama’s presidency and the first since May 2012, when he visited the Presidential Palace and made an address to the nation.

Others traveling with the president included National Security Adviser Susan Rice, plus advisers Dan Pfeiffer, Ben Rhodes and John Podesta, whose son is currently serving in Afghanistan. Country music star Brad Paisley also joined the group, and will perform for troops during the visit.

A pool of White House reporters and photographers accompanied the president under the strict condition that they not report on the trip until authorized, due to security considerations.

Obama was scheduled to spend just a few hours on the base and had no plans to travel to Kabul, the capital, to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has had a tumultuous relationship with the White House.

Categories
criminals Politics

What To Do With The Gun Violence Offenders – Ever Heard of The Dirty Dozen?

Have you ever wondered how to curb, or even merge violent crime prisoners here in the U.S. prison system back into a form of societal life? Have you ever heard of the movie, The Dirty Dozen? In 1967, an awesome war movie enlisted or drafted violent, life-sentence type prisoners into the Army during World War II to fight against the German war machine. It featured some of the greatest actors of that time such as Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine and living legend Hall of Fame Football running back, Jim Brown.

The premise of the movie was to take these violent criminals from prison, train them to become soldiers and send them into battle, supervised of course by a US Army Major. The goal was to get the best out of these hardened criminals.

At any rate, that’s what the U.S. could do with these prisoners here in our jails. They seem not to mind violence so why not establish a real-life “Dirty Dozen” squadron of soldiers. Put them right in the middle of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and all of the hot spots around the world. Send the violent offenders that are condemned, those on a life sentence, the rapist and extreme violent gang members that have been reeking havoc here in the States. With that, prisons would be freed up of violent offenders and would be filled with more of your “white collar” criminals instead.

Just last week, a member of Congress was thinking about re-introducing the notion of a Draft again. Really? With the dangers all over the world right now, terrorists are ready and violence are on our borders due to the drug war. Why would we even want to consider a Draft? There is another alternative, a deterrent that may work in our favor instead of the dreaded Draft.

Think about it. With violent criminals who are currently imprisoned fighting these wars on behalf of the United States, our sons and daughters would not be on the front lines. Those that seem to enjoy “killing” and violence without remorse would be risking their lives instead.

And they’re already on ‘death row’ or serving ‘life sentences’ anyway. It’s a win-win situation. Problem solved. Prison over crowding, solved. Those that commit violent crimes now would know their punishment – terminal life sentence in the Army or in the Marines. Believe me, I think these guys would have a totally different perspective when someone else is shooting back at them.

Categories
Politics war weekly address

President’s Weekly Address – Ending The War In Afghanistan And Rebuilding America

Following his meeting with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama used his weekly address to update the American people on how we will end the war in Afghanistan, and how our goal of ensuring that al Qaeda never again uses Afghanistan to launch attacks against America is within reach. The war will be over by the end of next year, and we must now focus on the task of rebuilding America, strengthening our economy, and supporting our brave troops and veterans, and the President is confident we can meet these challenges by working together as a nation.

Categories
Afghanistan

US Soldier kills 16 Afghan Civilians in Shooting Rampage

Over the last few weeks, some strange events have happened in Afghanistan. Just a couple of weeks ago, there was the accidental burning of the Quran by American troops, an act that increased an already tensed situation in the country between Afghans and American soldiers and caused the president of the United States to issue an apology. Now, we hear the story of an American soldier who opened fire on Afghan civilians, killing at least 16 men, women and children.

Although an initial report suggests that the soldier involved in the shooting went “crazy,” that wasn’t the first thought that came to my mind. Although my reasoning may seemed a bit far fetched, consider this for a moment: the war in Afghanistan is in its final phase and is coming to an end. With the war in Iraq already brought to a successful conclusion, ending this unpopular conflict in Afghanistan would boost president Obama’s favorable ratings among a war-wary American public.

In the middle of an election year with an economy moving in the right direction and with a Republican opposition party determined to make sure this president fails, would it really be that far fetched to wonder if they are behind these random acts of violence? Is it wrong to wonder if money was exchanged to cause more tension in Afghanistan so that Republicans can say, see, we were right. We should stay in Afghanistan longer, but president Obama wants to end the war. He knows nothing about being Commander In Chief. He’s wrong and we were right.

Normally, this would not be the first thing I think about hearing about these different incidents in Afghanistan, but with the current toxic nature of our politics and with the do anything to win mentality of some in Washington, I wouldn’t put it past them to use this war as a political ploy to win an election. They are, after all… politicians. They are, after all… Republicans.

Categories
Barack Obama Politics Rick Santorum United States

Santorum Criticizes President Obama For Quran Burning Apology

Rick Santorum, the present Republican flavor of the month,  is now criticizing President Obama for apologizing to the Muslim world for American troops accidentally burning Qurans in Afghanistan.

 The Associated Press Reports: Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum criticized President Barack Obama’s apology for the burning of Qurans in Afghanistan, adding that Afghanistan should apologize to the U.S. for the deaths of four U.S. soldiers during six days of violence sparked by the incident.

“There was nothing deliberately done wrong here,” Santorum said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”. “This was something that happened as a mistake. Killing Americans in uniform is not a mistake. It was something that deliberate.”

More than 30 people have been killed in clashes since it emerged Tuesday that copies of the Muslim holy book and other religious materials had been thrown into a fire pit used to burn garbage at Bagram Air Field, a large U.S. base north of Kabul. Protesters angry over Quran burnings by American troops lobbed grenades Sunday at a U.S. base in northern Afghanistan and clashed with police and troops in a day of violence that left seven international troops wounded and two Afghans dead.”

But is President Obama the first president to issue an apology? If you only listen to Santorum and the other Republican presidential hopefuls, you’ll think he is. But even George W. Bush and the Republican god Ronald Reagan, issued apologies.

President Ronald Reagan was initially reluctant to apologize to Japanese-Americans who were imprisoned in camps during World War II. He did so after Congress issued its apology and provided for reparations.

Bush apologized for abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib after the photographic evidence was seen around the world. He called it “a stain on our country’s honor and our country’s reputation”

Categories
Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Politics Republican United States

Mitt Romney Changes His Position On Whether He Changes His Position

Apparently Mitt Romney thinks the people in the Republican party are fools, or maybe he think they’re easily fooled. Why else would he make this statement?

“I’m not going to change my positions by virtue of being in a presidential campaign.”

That statement smacks the truth about Romney’s record dead in its face. Mitt Romney has changed his posting on every single major issue discussed in today’s politics. From the Individual Mandate,to gays in the military, to immigration, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heck,even name represents his changing – from Willard to Mitt because politically,Mitt may be more accepted.

Changing position is what Mitt does. He’s not called Mitt the flip flopper for no reason.

Categories
Iraq troops war

Finally. The War In Iraq Officially Ends Today

Another promise kept, as Republicans continue chastising the president for following through on  his word to end the unpopular war.

“After nearly nine years of war, tens of thousands of casualties –including 4,500 dead — and more than $800 billion spent, the U.S. military on Thursday formally ended its mission in Iraq and prepared to leave the country,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

New York Times: “The tenor of the farewell ceremony, officially called ‘Casing the Colors,’ was likely to sound an uncertain trumpet for a war that was launched to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction it did not have and now ends without the sizable, enduring American military presence for which many officers had hoped. The tone of the string of ceremonies culminating with the final withdrawal event on Thursday has been understated in keeping with an administration that campaigned to end an unpopular war it inherited.”

In all fairness, the decision to leave Iraq was made between the Bush administration and the leaders of Iraq. But this important little fact means absolutely nothing to Republicans, as they continue accusing this president of wrongly bringing this war to an end.

Finally.

Categories
Politics Republican United States

Ron Paul: Republicans Think They’re Such Great Fiscal Conservatives

Libertarian Ron Paul, who caucuses with the Republicans in Congress, criticized the Republicans push this week to defund NPR – National Public Radio. He said that Republicans would be satisfied with $10 million savings, which would do nothing for the budget, but will allow them to “go home and brag about how they’re such great fiscal conservatives.”

“There’s a serious question of whether [eliminating NPR funding] will even cut one penny, but at least the fiscal conservatives are going to be overwhelmingly in support of slashing NPR, go home and brag about how they’re such great fiscal conservatives.”

“The very most they might save is $10 million. That’s their claim to fame for slashing the budget. At the same time they won’t consider for minute cutting a real significant amount of money.”

Republicans have promised their Teaparty members that they will cut over $60 billion from the budget. They have proposed cuts in areas like nutrition for infants and pregnant women. Economists from both political sides of the aisle have predicted that if these cuts go through, the American people will suffer.

The Washington Post:

Zandi, an architect of the 2009 stimulus package who has advised both political parties, predicts that the GOP package would reduce economic growth by 0.5 percentage points this year, and by 0.2 percentage points in 2012, resulting in 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of next year.

Ron Paul said it best – what these Republicans are doing is just for bragging rights.

Categories
Politics United States

What Americans Want From The 112th Congress This Year

According to a new Gallup Poll, a whopping 83% of Americans want Congress to do something about an energy bill favoring clean energy or alternative energy. This same poll also finds that 76% of Americans want the tax system overhauled, and 72% want a speedy withdrawal from Afghanistan.

See more from Gallup

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