Where's the good news?

Heads up, again. The GWOT that was almost renamed WOE, which, last week, became GSAVE is back to GWOT or WOT for short. The Prez didn’t like GSAVE and nobody ran it by him before announcing it. Oops.

Is anyone in charge?

GWOT: Global War on Terror
WOE: War on Extremism
GSAVE: Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism
WOT: War on Terror

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From Iraq: Twenty-one Marines have been killed in the last 3 days. This morning 14 were blown to eternity by a roadside bomb.

How’s the vehicle armor acquisition coming along for these people? Why are these people sent out in lightly armored vehicles when we know that roadside bombs are what’s chewing them up, week after week and month after month?

Six Marine snipers were killed in an ambush on Monday. One of the six Marines was dragged away from the rest of his group and was possibly beheaded or so claims Ansar Al Sunna, the group claiming responsibility for the ambush. His body was recovered later.

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What do we call it when an Iraqi detainee dies of “asphyxia due to smothering and chest compression”, after having been brutally beaten with fists, a club, and rubber hose, over a period of several days, then stuffed into a sleeping bag and bound, and beaten some more until he stops moving?

An accident.

Col. David A. Teeples, who then commanded the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, told the court he believed the “claustrophobic technique” was both approved and effective. It was used before, and for some time after, Mowhoush’s death, according to sources familiar with the interrogation operation.

"My thought was that the death of Mowhoush was brought about by [redacted] and then it was unfortunate and accidental, what had happened under an interrogation by our people,” Teeples said in court, according to a transcript.

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For anyone thinking about traveling abroad: The State Department has issued a new warning.

Ongoing events in Iraq have resulted in demonstrations and associated violence in several countries; such events are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Nation-wide elections in Afghanistan scheduled for mid-September may also trigger violent anti-American actions.

Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics to include assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings.  Extremists may elect to use conventional or non-conventional weapons, and target both official and private interests. The latter may include facilities where U.S. citizens and other foreigners congregate or visit, including residential areas, business offices, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels and public areas.

In the wake of the July 2005 London bombings and the March 2004 train attacks in Madrid, Americans are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems. In addition, extremists may also select aviation and maritime services as possible targets.

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What do you suppose the world would be like had we concentrated on Afghanistan, supplied the proper troop strength necessary to defeat the Taliban (completely), tracked Osama bin Laden to earth, and rebuilt the nation instead of leaving a half-done job behind in order to invade Iraq?