Panetta vs. Karzai; slap fight
ROS sends us a link that tells the story how Leon Panetta, the US Secretary of Defense, got huffy when Afghan president Hamid Karzai suggested that American forces should be focusing on terrorists in Pakistan rather than terrorists in Afghanistan;
“We have made progress in Afghanistan because there are men and women in uniform who have been willing to fight and die for Afghanistan’s sovereignty,” Panetta snapped, as he spoke with reporters traveling with him to South America. “Those lives were lost fighting the right enemy not the wrong enemy and I think it would be helpful if the president, every once in a while, expressed his thanks for the sacrifices that have been made by those who have fought and died for Afghanistan, rather than criticizing them.”
The uncharacteristic shot from Panetta comes as tensions between the two countries have escalated over the increase in insider attacks, where Afghan security forces or insurgents dressed in their uniforms have turned their guns on coalition troops. And it raises the temperature on the heels of the announcement that, as of last weekend, 2,000 U.S. troops had lost their lives in the war.
Yeah, well, welcome to the fight, Leon, but you people tolerated Karzai’s complaints about US troops for so many years, at this point, your fake support for our operations in an election year ring pretty hollow.
Karzai spoke at a press conference, complaining that if NATO troops want to go after terrorists they need to go where their safe havens are. And he also expressed frustration that Afghan forces aren’t getting the weapons they need from NATO allies, suggesting Afghanistan might have to go to other countries such as China and Russia to get them.
Hey, Hamid, I hear Afghanistan has it’s own Army – so why don’t YOU go after the Haqqani network in Pakistan.
Category: Terror War
Karzai’s days are numbered.
He is burger meat when we pull out.
As mamma used to say, never kick a gift horse in the mouth…
Karzai is saying exactly what Ahmad Shah Massoud said before he was killed by suicide bombers on September 9, 2001. In fact, his death is considered the preparatory act to September 11th by al Quaeda.
http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/09/08/karzai.massood.amanpour/index.html
This is not a new issue, so I am sur[prised that Panetta doesn’t have a better response at this point.
Karzai may be anti-American at this point in his political career, but there is no doubt that the Taliban is based out of Pakistan. Bush failed to understand that and now Obama is too.
Pakistan has done nothing for us. They have done plenth for al Quaeda and the Taliban.
Unfortunately, comrade panetta is just parroting the “dear leader’s” asinine political spin. I have sent Gov. Romney, once he’s elected president, and Sen. McCain my concerns about keeping our boys and girls in that goat raping nation. Fuck them and their goats. There isn’t one American life worth 100,000 afghan, pakistan or any sand monkies lives.
So, Syria and Turkey are lobbing stuff at one another and Panetta is trying to calm them down. Meanwhile, Israel blasted a drone out of its airspace. There’s trouble in River city.
Anyone up for Doomsday Conspiracy stuff? How about something regarding the election results? An election results conspiracy theory might go like this (use your imagination). On Election Day, November 6, Mercury begins its 20-day retrograde period. The election results are soon afterwards modified. In other words, they are found to be inaccurate. This doesn’t happen just once, but it seems to be a repetitive phenomenon over the next few days. People start noticing a pattern, and on Saturday and Sunday, November 10-11, rumblings start to be heard that the election has been tainted by fraud. The final results are held up until these allegations are investigated. The next week (as the new moon unfolds in the very, very secretive sign of Scorpio) more incidents of irregularities or manipulation are revealed. The rumors – the conspiracy theories – take on a new life as both sides accuse the other of malevolent intent. These only escalate into threats from November 14-16, with outrage starting boil out of control. By November 27, the threats escalate, but they are not limited to just the United States. War threats are being shouted in the Middle East as Iran (or is it Israel?) fire a missile at the other. (After all, when Mars is in Sagittarius and Capricorn, military threats and confrontations between Israel and her neighbors reach a peak historically.) The results of the election are finally announced. There are a couple of possibilities here: 1) Mitt Romney wins. Violence and riots break out across the USA and the results are not accepted. Martial law is declared. Financial markets are closed. The Election results are disputed and calls for a new election get underway. 2) Barack Obama wins. There are no riots immediately, but calls for Obama’s impeachment start up as the nation faces the prospect of war as Israel and Iran start theirs, but Obama refuses to take sides. Tensions mount between the two parties and what to do about the Iran-Israeli conflict. 3) The election results are put on hold as war breaks out in the Middle East. A winner is not declared… Read more »
Sorry about being so long-winded on last post.
Karzai may be anti-American at this point in his political career, but there is no doubt that the Taliban is based out of Pakistan. Bush failed to understand that and now Obama is too.
Karzai is only pro one thing–Karzai. Anything that keeps him alive and relevant is what he’ll support at any given moment. We knew that, having had dealings with him since he got run out of the ‘Stan when the Soviets were running roughshod over the place.
And anyone who thought the Taliban WASN’T based out of Pakistan, raise your hand. I mean, what’s a little ISI support to keep you on your toes in a region where the Paki government hasn’t even tried to assert control since the formation of Pakistan back in 1947?
The issue with Bush (and now Obama) is that we’re too much of a bunch of pussies to dare piss off our only Muslim “ally” (hah!) in the region to tell Ashraf, the ISI, or who the fuck ever is in charge there that 1–they need to clean their own house, 2–if they don’t, we’ll do it for them, 3–if they don’t like it and try to retaliate by pulling route/supply access, all that money and all those pretty little toys we’ve been giving them will dry up and then India will have no problem just rolling right over their goat-raping asses.
Cambodia 1969, Pakistan 2012. Gee, who saw that coming?
The jihadist al Masri has been extradited to New York from London and is now in jail in NYC.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/al-masri-extradition-a-huge-win-article-1.1176474
If this link doesn’t work, try http://NYDAILYNEWS.com//al-masri-extradition
I’m not going to let Panetta off the hook for towing the administration’s line for so long, but I am glad he spoke up. Surely too little and too late.
Remember, Panetta started his adult life as a Republican and a first-generation son of immigrants. He was an Army officer and his son is now a Naval Intelligence officer. I think this outburst is coming from his true DNA and he is just old enough where he doesn’t give a fuck if he occasionally actually says what he’s thinking.
And for someone who has a personal relationship with Karzai, Panetta should start packing heat just to make sure that the Head Tard of the ‘Stan doesn’t go green-on-blue on his ass at their next meeting.