U.S. Maj. Gen. Harold Greene Is Buried With Full Honors At Arlington

Goodbye Dad: Heartbroken Family Of Highest Ranking Soldier Killed By 'Insider' In Afghanistan Ambush Kiss His Casket As He Is Buried With Full Honors At Arlington -- Daily Mail

* A service featuring full military honors was held for Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday
* Major Greene was shot by an Afghan military policeman in an ambush on two weeks ago
* He was the highest-ranking Army officer to die in Afghanistan
* His killer was hiding in a bathroom waiting for Greene and 20 other military personnel

The highest-ranking U.S. military officer killed in combat since the Vietnam War was buried with full honors Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony attended by his family and platoons of fellow warriors.

Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene was killed Aug. 5 when a gunman believed to be an Afghan soldier opened fire at a military academy near Kabul.

During the ceremony, Greene's adult son tightly clasped the hands of his mother and sister as soldiers folded the flag that had draped his father's casket. While the U.S. Army Band played 'America the Beautiful,' Army First Lt. Matthew Greene handed a tissue to his mother, who dabbed at her eyes.

The 55-year-old two-star general went to Afghanistan in January. It was his first deployment to a war zone.

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My Comment: I know that he is on vacation .... but considering the fact that U.S. Maj. Gen. Harold Greene is the highest ranking officer in the U.S. military to be killed in a war zone since the Vietnam war .... President Obama as Commander in Chief should have attended this funeral.

Marine Barred From Wearing Uniform At Graduation Killed In Afghanistan

Brandon Garabrant (Photo from Facebook)

NH Marine Killed In Afghanistan -- CBS

BOSTON (CBS) – A Marine from New Hampshire has been killed in Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Brandon Garabrant, 19, was one of three U.S. service members killed by a roadside bomb Friday morning.

“The entire State of New Hampshire is devastated by the tragic loss of Lance Corporal Brandon Garabrant, who was bravely serving his nation in Afghanistan,” Governor Maggie Hassan said in a statement. “Our service men and women courageously sacrifice every day to protect their fellow citizens and defend the enduring value of freedom that is our very core, and in doing so, Lance Corporal Garabrant made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Garabrant graduated from ConVal Regional High School in Peterborough last year. He had requested to wear his uniform during graduation, but the school did not allow it.

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My Comment: In a time like this he should be remembered and recognized for his service to his country and his community ....not on the stupid and biased actions of some in his high school.

Attack On US Base In Afghanistan Kills 9 Americans

From Yahoo News:

KABUL, Afghanistan - A multi-pronged militant assault on a small, remote U.S. base close to the Pakistan border killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15 Sunday in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years, officials said.

The attack on the American troops began around 4:30 a.m. and lasted throughout the day. Militants fired machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars from homes and a mosque in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

"Although no final assessment has been made, it is believed insurgents suffered heavy casualties during several hours of fighting," NATO said in a statement.

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More News On Taliban Attack That Killed 9 U.S. Servicemen

Official: 9 US troops killed in Afghanistan -- Breitbart
9 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Attack in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Scores die in wave of attacks in Afghanistan -- CNN
Nine US soldiers killed in Afghanistan as Taliban attacks base -- Times Online
Ten international soldiers among scores killed in Afghan attacks -- AFP
Insurgents kill 9 U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- Reuters
Nine US soldiers killed in Afghanistan as Taliban attacks base -- Jawa Report
Taliban launch deadly attack on a combat outpost in Afghanistan's Kunar province -- Long War Journal

My Comment: As soon as the opium season ended, fighting has been escalating from month to month. With the successful prison break of 1100 prisoners from Kandahar prison last month, this fighting has increased exponentially.

An insurgency in Afghanistan is now the norm for almost half of the country. The Taliban itself must now number in the tens of thousands, fully financed from the narcotics trade, and now flushed with fighters coming from Iraq and elsewhere. It is only a matter of time before command and control for this army is in place for a full scale war .... if not already ...... and this is a war that they are now clearly prepared to fight to the death.

Critics have been blaming the West for this escalation in the war .... that not enough time and resources were dedicated to fighting the Taliban. That Iraq was a distraction.

I disagree.

To achieve the supremacy that the Taliban now have in much of the countryside of Afghanistan took years of preparation, training, and an implementation of a strategy. The safe haven to do this were the mountains of Pakistan, and the government that permitted this development were and are members of the Pakistani Government.

The bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul was a wake up call for everyone to now be aware that while many in the Pakistani Government are fighting against these religious fanatics, there are also many who now support them. This now opens numerous and uncomfortable options. The Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies must be defeated. But to defeat them you must now go to their sanctuaries and homes. Unfortunately ...... their homes are in Pakistan.

As I had mentioned before .... it is not Iraq that will be the headache for the next American President ..... it is Afghanistan and Pakistan's Tribal areas. This is where Bin Laden and his supporters are .... and rest assure that once they feel secure in their position (which they probably are right now) .... their priority will be to strike us again .... to match if not surpass 9/11.