OpEdNews » HAMAS AND THE TALIBAN--WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS ON A BUDGET, WHILE WE PISS AWAY BILLIONS

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Tag(s): Afghan War; Afghanistan; Afghanistan; Children; Hamas; Hamas; Jim Freeman
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February 15, 2008 at 14:41:34

HAMAS AND THE TALIBAN--WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS ON A BUDGET, WHILE WE PISS AWAY BILLIONS

by Jim Freeman Page 2 of 2 page(s)

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Until it is, until we are there in person to hand over the means of sustaining life, those who are will kick our butts with one tenth of a percent of our costs.
That, along with the fact that we come as aliens from space (speech-wise, and otherwise) is why we will never overcome Muslim fundamentalism until we represent America one-on-one.

Hamas provided the only services available in Palestine and when there was an election--surprise--they won overwhelmingly. Our immediate response was to cripple their democratically elected government (as we espoused democracy in the region), then back the loser and support the cutoff of their mandated funding.

This is the winter of the frozen Afghan family and the dying child, courtesy of American military and diplomatic stupidity. I am not only frustrated, but extremely angry that this international disaster is being perpetrated (there is no other word) in the name of my country.

In October of 1987, the nation focused in on Midland, Texas, and became captivated by the story of 18-month-old Jessica, who had fallen in a well. Thousands of journalists descended upon the region to tell the story of the girl in the well, and cameras were fixed on the scene when a dirt-soiled baby Jessica, after 58 hours, was pulled out of the well. The entire nation held its breath.

When you pull the covers of your children snugly up to their chins tonight and kiss their innocent little faces, give just the briefest of thoughts to the Afghan Jessicas, for whom no one is captivated.
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Jim Freeman's op-ed pieces and commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, International Herald-Tribune, CNN, The New York Review, The Jon Stewart Daily Show and a number of magazines.

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2 comments

Dave Kisor was an Aviation Electrician, USN / USNR, starting in 1971, working on A-4F Skyhawks & A-7E Corsair 2s ashore and afloat on the USS Hancock & USS Coral Sea. AA Speech Communications, the BA and MA in Geography and presently working for the US Forest Service as a Physical Science Technician. It's not just an adventure, it's a job. He's politically & progressively Green, and owned by his magnificent cat, The Empress Panthera.
Dave KisorDave Kisor was an Aviation Electrician, USN / USNR, starting in 1971, working on A-4F Skyhawks & A-7E Corsair 2s ashore and afloat on the USS Hancock & USS Coral Sea. AA Speech Communications, the BA and MA in Geography and presently working for the US Forest Service as a Physical Science Technician. It's not just an adventure, it's a job. He's politically & progressively Green, and owned by his magnificent cat, The Empress Panthera.

Billions for Helliburton & Scumwater

The Bush administration is a regime that neither knows, understands or cares about its own citizens, and has absolutely no concern for those freezing and starving half a world away. The Katrina Rita debacle should be an indication of their levels of concern for those who aren't filthy rich.

if you recall, a large number of troops were pulled from Afghanistan and sent to Iraq, because that's where the money was. After all, the war was started for profit: the big name contractors, not ours.

What we need are diplomats who speak their language, not airborne brigades.

by Dave Kisor (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 135 comments) on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 4:23:44 PM

UW Army ROTC, English Major, Patriot, and Libertarian.
drew nevinsUW Army ROTC, English Major, Patriot, and Libertarian.

Hold up...

My cadre officer in my ROTC unit was the company commander for an Infantry Battalion in Iraq a little over two years ago. In Baghdad, they would drive into the poorest neighborhoods and distribute frozen chickens through the Iraqi military police, with US Army oversight, (to make sure the mobs didn't get out of hand).

The Army has lots of missions such as these, but it is very hard to hear about them. His experience with the press is that they are always first on the scene of a tragedy, but never show up when something good is going on. (A search for YouTube Iraq videos is evidence of this, he says after every IED, inevitably there will be some media foreign or local media there within minutes, shooting video and conducting interviews... sometimes before the bomb even goes off).

My point is that there are good things happening, it is just that we don't hear about them. And unfortunately, the bureaucracy involved is slow to respond and recognize the needs of many civilians created by the war.

by drew nevins (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments) on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 10:58:03 PM