Why I Am Not Posting The Hunter Binden Story On Twitter And Facebook

 

WNU Editor: WNU has a small following on Twitter and Facebook. And it is only in the past week that I decided to put more effort and attention to these two social media platforms. Yesterday and this morning I learned that a few of my favorite sites on Twitter have been suspended or closed because they posted links to the New York Post on the Hunter Biden story. But I was not surprised. Since yesterday I have held back from posting anything on Hunter Biden on Twitter and Facebook knowing full well that that there may be consequences. It is sad to say that my instincts were right. I know I am on Google's target list .... It Appears That Google Has A Black List Of Conservative Sites (War News Updates Is On The List) (July 22, 2020). Is it worthwhile to now be on Twitter and Facebook's black list? My answer is no. This is not the right battle to risk it all. And yes. I want all of you to know that I hate myself for making that decision. But I hate the current political and social environment even more for putting me in a position to make such a decision.  

Editor's Note

It has been a bad day today. We are all OK, it is just what I saw in my part of Montreal today was depressing. Here is a edited recap of what I wrote to a friend this afternoon.

Early this morning I read an economic report from a friend who is very sharp at predicting future macro trends. He works for a major company, and he gave me a copy of what he did. He paints a depressing picture on what is coming down in the next few months, and what the situation will be like next year. And when I looked at the reasoning for his thinking, I could not disagree with any of it. Bottom line. No vaccine for at least 18 months. Multiple waves of Covid-19 cases during this time. Most small-medium sized businesses failing. Some big companies will fall. A very strong possibility of deflation followed by high-inflation. High unemployment and astronomical personal debt will be the norm.

Reading this report occupied a good part of my morning. And to say that I was upset at what I read is an understatement. I lived through the hard times in Russia in the early 1990s. I do not want to see the same thing happening to Canada or to the U.S. right now. The people of these two great nations do not deserve it.

I then started to read up on my local news. The first article that I read was a story of a family who cannot locate their deceased mother who died from Covid-19, and the placement of a refrigerated truck in the parking lot at my local hospital. According to the article (link here), the truck was put there in case the morgue cannot take any more bodies.I shuddered when I read this. It could be anyone. It could be me. It could be you.

It was then that I decided to take the car and do some errands. Enough was enough. I needed some fresh air.

The first thing that I saw were 30 to 40 people lined-up outside of a supermarket that I always use. And the line was not even moving.

Another super-market a block away and one that I use all the time was closed. When I approached the people in front of the store they told me that some of the employees tested positive for Covid-19.

Two pharmacies near my home same story. One closed, the other had a long long long line-up outside.

It then gets worse.

Two families that I have known for years and who run successful businesses are now facing ruin. (One is a hi-end gym that I go to all the time, and the other is a family business that sells products for sail/motor boats). Both of them called me within one hour of each other. They want to know if I can help bail them out. But I know enough about their businesses to know that they will fail. Customers are not going to go to a gym for a long time. And my nautical friends are already too much in debt. When it comes to business I am always blunt. It must be the Russian in me. Needless to say my phone conversations did not end well.

But the best was the last. I had some checks to deposit so I went to my commercial bank. Security was controlling how may people can enter the bank, and there were at least 50 people waiting. To say they all looked frustrated, upset, and hostile is another understatement. I just wanted to use the ATM machine to make a deposit. But the security guard told me that the ATMs were not working, and he was right. That is why there was a long line-up outside. I then noticed the ATM machine beside the bank (which is used by people with cars) was empty, and I asked the security guard if it was working. He said no. I still went to check because I was definitely not going to wait an hour to go into a bank to make a deposit. But when I went to this ATM I noticed that it was working!!! Happy me I put in my bankcard, took my checks, and made my deposit. When I took my card out and it gave me my receipt is when everyone in the line-up realized that this ATM machine was working. They all rushed to the machine resulting in yelling matches and two fights. And the worse were the women. This was a mob of regular people completely out of control. Needless to say I rushed out of there right-away.

Sighhhh ....

People are very angry/frustrated/upset out there. The media is not covering it. Definitely not in this part of Canada.

I am driving up north to my chalet to get away from all of this. My home in Montreal is secure, but I will feel more safer in the woods far away from everyone. This pandemic and the hardships that it is causing is starting. I shudder when I think of what I may be seeing 6 months from now if this does not solve itself.

Blogging will return later this evening.

Russiagate Has Destroyed The Credibility Of The U.S. Main Stream Media When It Comes To Covering National Politics

Matt Taibbi, Hate Inc.: It's official: Russiagate is this generation's WMD

The Iraq war faceplant damaged the reputation of the press. Russiagate just destroyed it.

Nobody wants to hear this, but news that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is headed home without issuing new charges is a death-blow for the reputation of the American news media.

As has long been rumored, the former FBI chief’s independent probe will result in multiple indictments and convictions, but no “presidency-wrecking” conspiracy charges, or anything that would meet the layman’s definition of “collusion” with Russia.

With the caveat that even this news might somehow turn out to be botched, the key detail in the many stories about the end of the Mueller investigation was best expressed by the New York Times:

A senior Justice Department official said that Mr. Mueller would not recommend new indictments.

Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to congress summarizing Mueller’s conclusions. The money line quoted the Mueller report:

[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Matt Taibbi is a former editor of Rolling Stone and no friend of President Trump. But his analysis on how the media has behaved in covering this story is spot on. That is why his post is a must read, as well as this one that he posted yesterday .... As the Mueller Probe Ends, New Russiagate Myths Begin (Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone). Another journalist who has been proven right on Russiagate, and who has been on a tear since the release of the Mueller report is Glenn Greenwald. His Twitter feed is here.

As to what is my opinion on the release of the Mueller report and it's summary .... I am having trouble putting into words my thoughts and feelings. To begin, I was surprised that the final report was released on Friday. I thought that it was going to drag on for another year. I also expected the report would be very critical of President Trump, and would state that members of his staff were open to the idea of working with anyone from Russia who could give them an edge in the 2016 election. But as the summary clearly states ....

... [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

I did not expect that, nor did I expect the announcement that there would be no indictments. For President Trump .... this is the best result that he could have gotten. He does not even need to make a rebuttal. Robert Mueller did it for him.

I am also finding myself getting angry with each passing day. That we are where we are today because of a Hillary Clinton paid opposition research dossier that was made-up and used by the leadership in the FBI and intelligence community to target then candidate President Trump, and doubly so after he was elected. That their goal was to cripple and de-legitimize his Presidency, and to do this by working with their allies in the media and in Washington to put pressure on the White House 24/7. And they succeeded, as this poll that was released today reveals .... Despite report findings, almost half of Americans think Trump colluded with Russia: Reuters/Ipsos poll (Reuters).

In my lifetime this is the biggest hoax that I have ever seen. The fact that half of America still believes it makes it distressing. My hope is that one day those who are responsible for it will be held accountable for it , and called out. But I doubt it. The rot, corruption, and partisanship is deep. If I have any solace in this story, it is that we now have the evidence to call them out on their corruption, and to remind them on their role in the Russia-Gate hoax when the next manufactured scandal that the media wants to promote emerges.

What's My Take On The Coup In Turkey

WNU Editor: This is what I know so far. Martial law has been declared. The military generals appointed by President Erdogan have been arrested. The major broadcasters are now occupied by the military. Social media is now down. The soldiers are everywhere. The major party headquarters for the government are now surrounded by the military. President Erdogan is (apparently) appealing to foreign governments for help. The U.S. and everyone else have been caught by surprise with these developments.

My prediction .... President Erdogan has no friends abroad, and they are not going to get actively involved in helping him. They will stay neutral, and treat this as an internal Turkish affair. The impact on the war against the Islamic State is going to profound. U.S. law is very clear .... U.S. troops cannot stay in a country if a democratic government has been overthrown by a coup. How the U.S. will justify its continuing military presence in Turkey is probably going to be a sight to see in the next few days. For the Syrian rebels .... this is a serious blow. For the Kurds who are now waging war against the Turkish government/military .... they will probably stay back and see what happens next. If President Erdogan is not in custody in the next day or two .... he may have a chance to stay in power, especially if his supporters .... and he has many of them .... hit the streets. But if he is arrested, and the expected demonstrations fizzle out .... he will be out of power.

On a side note .... somewhere in the Kremlin .... Putin is smiling.

My Take On The Release Of The U.S. Senate's CIA Torture Report

My Comment: A year and a half ago NSA leaker Edward Snowden released documents that detailed America's surveillance and spy programs on our enemies, allies, and even on U.S. citizens .... airing America's dirty laundry for everyone to see .... and as a result got condemned as a traitor by the same U.S. senators who are today praising and applauding themselves for doing the same thing with the release of the CIA torture report.

And in the meantime .... the CIA's drone program that targets for assassination enemy threats to the U.S. .... while usually killing scores of civilians in the process .... continues .... Al Qaeda commander reported killed in drone strike in Pakistan (Long War Journal).

Am I the only who sees the double standard/disconnect here?

My Analysis On The Ukraine Conflict And On What Will Be Happening Next

Smoke rises above a new terminal of the Sergey Prokofiev International Airport after the recent shelling during fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, November 9, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

WNU Editor: First things first .... when the ceasefire among the combatants was agreed upon in September I shut my brain off when it came to analyzing the Ukraine conflict. Call it fatigue and depression .... a realization that the country that I once knew, lived in, and hoped to live in when I got older .... no longer existed. That the country that my family (on my father's side) can trace its roots back centuries .... it no longer had a place or future for me. But I still believed that some accommodation was going to be eventually reached .... that the worst case scenario that I outlined in April - May when the conflict started to escalate (full scale war, towns and cities under siege, ethnic cleansing, a humanitarian crisis involving millions, followed by a Russian military invasion to stop the carnage) .... all of this was not going to be realized.

Unfortunately .... I was wrong .... and a massive crisis that will have international repercussions is about to unfold.

This is the sequence of events that has brought me to where I am today ....

September 5, 2014: Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels sign ceasefire deal (BBC)

October 7, 2014: Ukraine Ceasefire Near Collapse

November 3, 2014: Poroshenko threatens action against ‘criminals that crowned themselves’ (Globe and Mail)

November 4, 2014: Ukraine rebel leaders sworn in, Kiev says peace plan violated (Swiss Info)

November 4, 2014: President Poroshenko threatens to scrap eastern Ukraine’s ‘special status’ after weekend elections (Euronews)

November 5, 2014: Ukraine to Freeze Payments in Separatist Areas (New York Times)

November 6, 2014: Russian President Putin Holds National Security Council Meeting On The Deteriorating Situation In Ukraine

November 7, 2014: These Disturbing Maps Show a Growing Humanitarian Crisis No One Is Talking About (World.mic)

November 7, 2014: Humanitarian operation in Ukraine most complex for Red Cross — ICRC president (ITAR-TASS)

November 7, 2014: BREAKING NEWS: Russian Tanks Followed By Artillery And Infantry Are Now Entering Ukraine.

November 7, 2014: Are Russian Military Forces Invading Ukraine?

November 8, 2014: US Not Confirming Ukraine Reports Of A Russian Tank Column Crossing The Border

November 8, 2014: Ukraine Ceasefire Is Crumbling As Fighting Flares Throughout The Region

November 10, 2014: Ukraine Ceasefire On The Verge Of Breaking Down

November 10, 2014: U.S. Raises Concerns On Russia's Military Buildup In East Ukraine

November 11, 2014: Ukraine shelling continues as top rebels visit Moscow (Irish Times)

November 11, 2014: Ukraine On The Verge Of Bankruptcy

November 12, 2014: Ukraine Expects A New Russian And Rebel Offensive In The East.

November 12, 2014: NATO: Russian Troops, Tanks, And Artillery Have Crossed The Ukraine Border

November 12, 2014: Ukraine redeploys troops, fearing new rebel offensive (Reuters)

What broke the "camel's back" were the rebel held elections a week and a half ago, and the Ukraine government's decision to cut off all assistance and payments to individuals in rebel held territories. This has precipitated a major humanitarian crisis ... more so as winter is now fast approaching. The reason why this humanitarian crisis has erupted is because of the civilian population .... primarily hundreds of thousands of senior citizens of Russian descent .... who now find themselves trapped in a conflict zone with little if any utilities, support, or even basic foodstuffs. Their pensions and payments have been stopped, there is no aid, they have no where to go, winter has just about arrived, and the war is now continuous.

The reason why this is important is that senior citizens do hold a very special place in Russian culture and society. It is hard for me to explain what and how deep this sentiment is .... it is just there .... and it is one of the things that all of us Russians can identify with. That is why stories on the suffering of these civilians is having an impact in Russia .... no one can ignore this story even if they wanted to ... it impacts every home and every family. On a side note .... this is also Putin's electoral base ....  throughout his political career he has always been committed to making sure that Russian seniors get their pensions, medical and housing benefits,and other services. And no surprise .... they in turn have always voted for him overwhelmingly.

With these dynamics now in play, it is this approaching humanitarian catastrophe that is now driving Moscow's policies and actions towards this conflict .... and since last weeks Russian National Security Council meeting .... the impression that I am receiving is that everyone is now being pressured to act as fast as possible. In the past two days I have talked to my friends in the Russian government and in the media .... and all of them are telling me that they are utterly horrified with the news and reports that they are reading and/or seeing on TV. This news has even impacted the Russian President's office .... where someone I trust told me that Putin made a decision last week to put a stop to all of this .... and while I am not sure if his information is accurate, it would not surprise me if all options are now being considered.

As to what is my prediction .... after Russian PM  Medvedev has returned from the ASEAN summit .... options for a major military offensive followed by a massive humanitarian operation will be considered .... and I am willing to bet good money that Putin will sign off on it. I expect them to deploy a few thousand soldiers (if they are not in eastern Ukraine already) whose primarily mission will be to work with local rebel forces to evict Ukrainian military forces from the Donetsk city limits .... and if the fighting escalates .... to push them back even further. I expect the Ukrainian military and the government to react strongly against this .... and Western sanctions to be intensified .... but Putin has already given up on the West .... his focus is to end this crisis, and to focus on Asia. In a few years .... when everything has cooled down .... A Russia - West rapprochement may occur .... but that is for the future .... the primary goal right now (at least in Moscow's eyes) is to end this conflict through military means, and to end it quickly.

The next few days are going to be critical on where this conflict is going to go. I am hopeful that I am totally and utterly wrong .... but sadly .... many of my dire predictions have come true in this conflict .... and I sadly suspect that I am going to be proven right again.

Another Military - Defense - National Security Website Calls It Quits

U. S. Marine Corps Capt. Ernesto Howard reads a map during a patrol in Charibaya in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Aug. 8, 2013. Coalition forces patrolled to meet with Afghans in the area and investigate the terrain. Howard is the assistant officer in charge of the Supporting Arms Liaison Team, 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tammy K. Hineline

WNU Editor: I just learned today that Time's Battleland website is shutting down. This is a sad trend .... in the past few months a number of informative and engaging Military-Defense-National Security sites have shut down .... reflecting (I guess) on declining interest and readership. Sighhhh ..... I guess it is time for me to update my links on the left side of this blog .... I know that a number of them are no longer active.

As for War News Updates .... I have been blogging for years .... thousands of hours, 50,000 posts, and millions of page views is a testament to that. And as long as I am healthy and able and there is at least one reader out there who is interested in the topics that this blog covers .... WNU is going to be around for a few more years.

Beware Of The “Intelligence-Industrial Complex”

Data Intelligence Complex Is The Real Story -- Edward Luce, Financial Times

More than half a century ago, Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans of the dangers posed by the country’s growing “military-industrial complex” – a phrase that entered instantly into everyday language.

“The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the federal government,” the outgoing Republican president said. “We must be alert to the … danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific technological elite.”

Ike was chiefly warning about the power of the Pentagon and the big defence companies that had grown up around it. Today his prescience would be applied to America’s vast army of federally-employed data analysts and the hundreds of software companies they employ.

The US spends at least $80bn a year on intelligence alone, which is more than the defence budgets of all but a handful of countries.

Read more ....

My Comment: If President Eisenhower was alive today .... he would definitely warn of the country’s growing “military-INTELLIGENCE-industrial complex”. His last speech (above video) has always been prophetic .... especially today.

Remembering The Three Who Saved Europe

Cold Warriors: President Roland Reagan, Blessed John Paul II, & Baroness Margaret Thatcher. The Blaze

Three Who Saved The West -- William Kristol, Weekly Standard

And now the last of them is gone. Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and Pope John Paul II—three who won the Cold War and, it isn't too much to say, saved the West (at least for a while!)—are no longer with us. Their examples remain.

They knew what they believed but also knew they had to justify their beliefs, and that one could adjust prudently to circumstances without yielding on principle. They stood firm when in power, and they took risks to get there, challenging the conventional wisdom and the respective establishments of their nations or institutions. They were conservative but not nostalgic, and would counsel us today against excessive nostalgia for their deeds and their days. They would rather, I suspect, urge that we act in their spirit—what one might call a spirit of unapologetic but reformist conservatism.

Read more ....

My Comment: Growing up in the former Soviet Union I was in awe of all three individuals. I knew even then that they were on the right side of history .... and with time I had the opportunity to see with my very own eyes how these three leaders transformed the Europe that I grew up with into something better. And what is even more remarkable is that they did it not with guns or brute force .... but with logic, reason, morality, conviction, and the will to persevere against those who wanted to maintain the status quo and their privilege.

I cannot express enough my gratitude and thanks for what they did. They put into motion events that helped to set me free from the shackles of a regime that had no place for me and what I wanted to do in my life. And while problems and difficult times still exist in Eastern Europe .... they pale in comparison to what life was like during the height of the Cold War .... for now we have hope that the future will not only get better .... but more importantly ..... also be more free.

They are all gone now .... but they will be remembered for the ages.

Pictures Of The Russia That I Know

Glorious view: Sergei Semenov's Golden Eagles over Moscow is a beautiful panorama of the country's capital

Meanwhile In Russia . . . The Astonishing Photographs That Reveal The Beauty And Poverty Endured By Its 143Million People -- Daily Mail

This is a year in the life of Russia, as seen by its keenest photographers.

The country may be in the midst of a fractious period, with widespread civil unrest over Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's plans to return as President at next month's polls.

But this showcase of astonishing photographs reveals the beauty, and also the chronic poverty, endured by its 143 million citizens.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is not a war/defense related post, but regular readers of this blog know that my nationality is Russian, and that even though I am now a Canadian citizen living in Quebec (and I love being a Canadian), my ties to the old country are still there.

These pictures of Russia sums up perfectly what life is like over there today. Extreme poverty mixed with extreme wealth. Old mixed with new. Cold winters and humid summers.

Sighhh ....

I will be in Russia/Ukraine this summer for at least a month. Looking forward to .... yes .... going back home for a while and trying my best to size up what is happening there, and how it will affect us in the West.

A Graphic Video That Illustrates The Human Misery That Is Happening In Syria Today

My Comment: Because this blog covers wars and conflicts .... I have had my share of seeing videos and pictures of the dead and injured. Fortunately .... there is something about me that enables me to tune it out, and that I can easily move on to next story and/or issue that I am focused on. But because I know that others are not like me, I have made it a rule that I do not post these videos .... I let the story and my comments paint the picture. But the above video impacted me on the brutality of what is happening in Syria today .... and .... believe it or not .... this is the "sanitized" video. There are more videos from this same hospital that are just too horrible to post.

Am I angry .... you betcha.

Assad and his supporters will lose this conflict, and they will be brought to justice. But before that happens we can only expect more carnage and destruction .... and videos of children wondering what did they do to deserve this.

Update: Too graphic for the internet: Shocking footage of children caught up in Syria violence -- The Telegraph

Stories That Caught My Eye During My Vacation (As Well As Some Personal Thoughts)

(A view of wine country that I have always liked)

WNU Editor: Just a few random thoughts.

At the bottom I have listed a brief (a very brief) list of news stories that caught my attention during my 2 week vacation. Financial crisis, war in Afghanistan, DADT, START Treaty, budget debts, terrorism, Wikileaks, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, wars in Africa/Hamas and Israel/civil war in Pakistan/drug cartel wars/etc. .... sighhh .... in a certain way nothing has changed. But .... the world is changing. There are now more stress points for conflict, and with the U.S. now perceived as a declining super power, the restraining influence that the U.S. has always played will now disappear with the result that wars and conflicts between nation states and their proxies will start to increase.

My brief hiatus from this blog has been a good thing. It gave me a chance (and the time) to look at what is happening in the world from a detached point of view, and a clearer realization that the world is now rushing to go somewhere ..... and where that 'somewhere is' .... hmmmm .... only time will tell. But I am a betting man, and I cannot help but feel that storm clouds are coming our way.

On a side note, a special thanks to my brother and his family who gave me a wonderful time in San Francisco. Also, a special thanks to some old friends at Stanford University, and a special thanks to a winery in Sonoma and one in Napa who tolerated my arrogance and presence when it came to arguing about how they make wine while freely drinking their vintage stock in their cellars.

Sighhhh .... if only the rest of the world could live like this.

News Stories That Caught My Attention In The Past Two Weeks

Holbrooke's Last Words: "You've Got to Stop this War in Afghanistan" -- CBS News

Venezuela acquires 1,800 antiaircraft missiles from Russia -- Washington Post

Afghan Bombs Kill, Wound 3,800 Troops in 2010 -- The Danger Room

Second X-37B Prepared For Launch -- Ares/Aviation Week

OpenLeaks aims to provide a more transparent alternative to WikiLeaks -- Deutsche Welle

'Prepare for all-out cyber war' -- The Independent

'Stupid and reckless blunder' which left Camilla cowering on car floor after being hit with stick by anarchist mob -- The Daily Mail

Pakistani forces 'hamper' U.S. Embassy -- Washington Times

N.Korea 'will rely on nuclear might for defence' -- Breitbart/AFP

More Christians Flee Iraq After New Violence -- The New York Times

Japan Plans Military Shift to Focus More on China -- New York Times

Were anti-Christians behind pilgrimage site attack? 2,000-year-old Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury is cut down -- The Daily Mail

Dozens of suspected Afghan insurgents killed in rare wintertime fighting -- Washington Post

China’s Army of Graduates Struggles for Jobs -- New York Times

Hackers Rise for WikiLeaks -- Wall Street Journal

Leaked cables suggest growing North Korean, Burmese nuclear cooperation -- Washington Post

U.S. fiscal health worse than Europe's: China adviser. -- Reuters

Iran Placing Medium-Range Missiles in Venezuela; Can Reach the U.S. -- Hudson New York

WikiLeaks supporters disrupt Visa and MasterCard sites in 'Operation Payback' -- The Guardian

House acts to block closing of Gitmo -- Washington Times

Why the U.S. Ended Push for Israeli Building Freeze -- New York Times

Barack Obama fails to meet President Karzai in Kabul -- The Telegraph

Catch and release in Afghanistan -- Long War Journal

Yet Still Another Embarrassing F-35 Problem -- Strategy Page

Russian spy found working in UK parliament -- The Australian

WikiLeaks sold classified intel, claims website's co-founder -- World Net Daily

Frankenbombers are 'new kind of terrorism': Al Qaeda hopes to surgically implant bombs into thugs -- New York Daily News

Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega dubbed 'Chavez Mini-Me' in leaked U.S. cables -- L.A. Times

A Map to Break Your Heart: Mexico Bleeds -- Red State

Lockerbie bomber's family 'preparing to sue Britain for false imprisonment' -- The Telegraph

Report: Gitmo transfers return to terrorism: Count is 150 and still rising -- Washington Times

War News Updates Editor: This Is Why I Do What I Do

From his home in Stone Mountain, Ga., Michael White, the founder of iCasualties.org, logs deaths among coalition forces. Erik S. Lesser for The New York Times

Close Watch On Casualties In Afghanistan And Iraq -- New York Times

“EVERY morning I wake up and go looking for dead people,” says Michael White, a computer programmer from Stone Mountain, Ga., who publishes the Web site iCasualties.org, which tracks deaths and injuries among coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is grim work of trolling through news sites and official releases about each episode, assessing the reliability of those accounts and then entering the details about the wounded and killed into a database.

Mr. White, 54, has done so since the 2003 invasion of Iraq — “when everything was flowers and chocolate,” he said. Yet he had a hunch that events might not continue so smoothly.

Read more ....

My Comment: When reading this article I could not help but feel that I was reading about myself. Like Mr. Michael White, I do what I do because it is a calling .... nothing more or nothing less. I wake up every morning scanning and reading numerous blog posts, news web sites, and official announcements. I hunger for information .... especially information that everyone else has ignored. There is uttlerly no financial gain in this work .... the gain is all spiritual and intellectual and a satisfaction that others appreciate what this blog is trying to do.

Kudos to the New York Times in revealing the man behind iCasualties .... this recognition is warranted and long overdue.

If for some reason iCasualties cannot continue .... I will carry that baton because it is necessary and essential to preserve the legacy of what our men and women in the armed forces have gone through and must go through every day, and to those who want to remember them.

WNU Editor: My Commentary For What Will Be The Most Important Story For 2009

The mansions of Afghan officials in the Sherpur neighborhood of Kabul are a curiosity not only for their size, but also because government salaries are not very big. Danfung Dennis for The New York Times

For Afghans, A Price For Everything, And Anything
For A Price -- The New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — When it comes to governing this violent, fractious land, everything, it seems, has its price.

Want to be a provincial police chief? It will cost you $100,000.

Want to drive a convoy of trucks loaded with fuel across the country? Be prepared to pay $6,000 per truck, so the police will not tip off the Taliban.

Need to settle a lawsuit over the ownership of your house? About $25,000, depending on the judge.

“It is very shameful, but probably I will pay the bribe,” Mohammed Naim, a young English teacher, said as he stood in front of the Secondary Courthouse in Kabul. His brother had been arrested a week before, and the police were demanding $4,000 for his release. “Everything is possible in this country now. Everything.”

Kept afloat by billions of dollars in American and other foreign aid, the government of Afghanistan is shot through with corruption and graft. From the lowliest traffic policeman to the family of President Hamid Karzai himself, the state built on the ruins of the Taliban government seven years ago now often seems to exist for little more than the enrichment of those who run it.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is probably just the tip of the iceberg. In my business dealings with companies and government corporations throughout Asia .... the problem of corruption has always been in the forefront for any deal to be consummated (and this was twenty years ago) .... the problems and corruption are many times worse today.

I escaped being snared into this web by primarily dealing with only senior officials on the federal level (in China), or with family contacts in Korea and Japan. (WNU Editor: I am a white Canadian whose nationality is Russian who has grown up in French Quebec but who was adopted as family by a number of Korean and Japanese families .... it sounds complicated and it is .... but that is another story at another time).

In Afghanistan .... this problem of corruption has only gotten worse .... and it now permeates every level from the Municipal, to the Provincial .... and now the Federal level. The U.S. can send 500,000 soldiers into the country and spend a trillion dollars, but this corruption would undermine everything that they would be able to do .... lets face it, the Afghan culture will not change.

Is the mission doomed in Afghanistan, I will have to say yes.

My reasons for saying this is that I am looking at this conflict from a perspective that is different from what Nato military commanders and their political masters are looking at. They look at it from a military stand point .... an insurgency that needs to be won. I do not see it this way. I have never served in the military and I do not have a clue to what is involved in counter insurgency. I have still read thousands of books, tens of thousands of articles, and have discussed military issues with men who have served .... but a military man I am not.

My specialty is politics, history, and the importance that culture has in shaping the battlefield before weapons, intelligence, and the soldiers and officers become involved in fighting the battle. Nope .... what I know is how politics, economics, corruption, and a society's culture can impact a successful war with minimum casualties, or produce a long drawn out affair with heavy casualties that will not resolve the situation.

Afghanistan .... like Vietnam and the previous Soviet occupation of Afghanistan .... is rapidly becoming a failed state with all the worse that war can produce. Tonight .... while Afghan bureaucrats and politicians build mansions for themselves .... there are millions of hungry Afghan refugees living in tents who are hungry. The Taliban may be splintered into hundreds of gangs with very little central control .... but Al Qaeda is unified and they have the will to win. This will to win is what has unified the Taliban this year, and I predict that in 2009 is when they will start to strangle the the small villages and towns in the country. In 2010 is when they will start to enter the cities.

Afghans are losing the will to fight for their country, and it is easy to understand why. How can they fight for a cause when their leaders are inept and corrupt .... and the enemy is perceived to be not only just and righteous but who are also fighting with God on their side. If I was an Afghan soldier or policeman.... I would not fight for this culture of corruption.

If I was an American soldier .... I will be wondering what I am doing in a mission when the only thing that I am protecting is an Afghan government that treats its civilians harshly with no sense of justice or moral standing. This is something that will be very difficult to reconcile. The American soldier (for the most part) perceives himself as a just and moral person who is fighting the right and moral battle. His will to fight for immorality and injustice will sap away with each passing month.

Is President Obama the right man to lead our nation to victory in Afghanistan. The answer is equally no for the simple reason that he represents to many on what is so wrong in American political culture today. Chicago politics and its political culture is terribly corrupt .... and a man who rose from that culture cannot possibly work to then undermine it. Afghan political and social culture is also equally corrupt .... but unlike the situation in Chicago, Afghanistan has a determined group of men who have the will to fight using violence as a means to get rid of this culture. And this is the problem.

Like President Johnson and the Vietnam war .... President Obama is going to be sucked into a regional conflict that the U.S. cannot possibly win .... even if they kill 1 million Afghans and spend hundreds of billions of dollars.

Intentions will be good .... they always are. But the failure to act in eliminating the ingredients that makes Afghanistan a failed state will create the storm that will doom his Presidency, and severely damage the U.S. military and their moral stature.

This war is already lost. The surge is not going to be effective. A few thousand U.S. Servicemen and 100,000 Afghans are going to lose their lives in the next two years .... and for what?