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Gorbachev pessimistic over US winning the Afghan war

11/11/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

A day after he attended the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, USSR's former president Mikhail Gorbachev, the architect of perestroika (rebuilding) in the 1980’s which led to Soviet Union's dissolution spoke his thought. He said the United States would not win in Afghanistan war.

Gorbachev advised against beefing up US troops to combat the lawless Taliban--- Thinking that it would be better to withdraw, he based his advice from USSR’s experience learned from the Soviet's military campaign in the 1980’s. The Russians concluded that Afghanistan was too fractious and divided by clans, making it very hard for the poorly developed country to be united.

As the 78-year old Soviet leader said this, he was not banking that Pres. Barack Obama would heed his advice. He thought there was nothing to be gained from continued engagement with the Afghans. So in 1988 till early 1989, Soviet forces pulled out from the Afghanistan.

“Obama is considering a military request to send as many as 40,000 more U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan, on top of the 68,000 due to be stationed there by the end of the year. Other North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, comprising personnel from 42 countries, number about 36,000.”---- Bloomberg.com (11/10/09, Burns, C; Donohue, P.)

Afghanistan is struggling to control the heightened attacks of the Taliban who harbors the terrorist group Al Qaeda. Alhough Pres. Hamid Karzai is declared the winner in the contested election, his continued stay in power has to deal with massive government corruption which is difficult to eradicate. (Photo Credit: ctv.ca)=0=

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Labels: Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, Mikhaiil Gorbachev, Russia, Taliban, USSR, war

Credibility: a big factor in economic recovery

11/04/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

When Pres. Barack Obama was elected in November last year, Americans and the entire world were quick to embrace a charismatic man with a promise. Expectation was matched by soaring rhetoric and media support that made the prudent among us watchful.

There were quick infusions of capital to rescue the ailing banks, the collapsed housing market, and bankrupt auto industry---- as if the United States could buy its way out to prosperity. Short-lived jubilation came from cash-strapped Americans who believe that government entitlements would solve their money problems. They banked on Pres. Barack Obama who they thought could bring the Harvard magic and his talents to the realities of their household. At their peril, Americans suddenly learned their expectations couldn't be met as painted before the election.

A chorus of approval to Obama’s “changes” later degenerated into public insecurity. Trillions of dollars had to be paid by taxpayers on recovery plans riddled with questionable provisions. Interest groups, political allies, and large companies were direct beneficiaries while the people waited for some windfall that was hard to come by.

For instance, healthcare budget, comprising 16% of the US economy, had ominously ballooned from below $900 billion dollars to an astronomical $1.2 trillion. Many were not happy because this was not what they expected in the onset. The public saw moves to make Americans accept a plan that is very costly---a debatable proposal with hidden and confusing strings attached.

A year into Obama’s presidency, despite hopeful indications that the economy is recovering, millions of Americans are still jobless, the highest ever in 26 years. Financial experts say the recession is going away, but they are quick to qualify that the the future is uncertain and life ahead will be choppy. It's as if they don't want to be blamed if something far worse happens.

Unemployment rate has climbed to 10%. This breaks the psychological confidence of those who believe in the competence of the administration. The budget deficit has gone to the roof, worrying USA’s domestic and international business-partners. How will America be able to pay those trillions of debts from foreign lenders without mortgaging the people's future?

Despite rosy reports of improvements in US manufacturing, consumer spending has been sluggish. This causes markets to lose confidence. Investors have become panicky as the Christmas season is coming. They know tepid business will only delay the financial rebound everybody is wishing for.

“There seems to be lots of uncertainty in the markets," said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers in Hong Kong. "I'm very cautious about the U.S. economic figures. It will be very damaging to sentiment if the U.S. unemployment rate crosses 10 percent."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng led Asia's losses, falling 380.13, or 1.8 percent, to 21,240.06 while South Korea's Kospi was down 0.6 percent at 1,549.92. Japan's market was closed for a holiday.

Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.2 percent and Taiwan's market lost 0.2 percent. China's Shanghai index bucked the trend, gaining 1.2 percent to 3,114.23 with sentiment still boosted by a weekend report manufacturing expanded for an eighth straight month in October.

As trading got under way in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was off 1.3 percent, Germany's DAX lost 1.4 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 1.5 percent. Stock futures pointed to losses Tuesday on Wall Street. Dow futures were down 49, or 0.5 percent, at 9,686 and S&P Futures dropped 5.9, or 0.6 percent, to 1,033.20." ----Philstar.com (11/02/09)

Aside from the economic front, there is doubt in how Untied States is dealing with the nuclear issue of North Korea and Iran which use deceitful diplomacy to proliferate weapons of mass destruction. With little options, USA is forced to deal with these rogue nations.

Lately, Obama has accepted the reinstatement of Pres. Hamid Karzai, known to have won in a rigged election which left his chief rival withdrawing in protest. Afghanistan, the center of the 911 disaster, is experiencing a resurgence of Taliban activity. Bomb attacks, killing soldiers and civilians are on the rise.

Pres. Barack Obama is ambivalent on his foreign policy in spite of the tough fight US military men are facing lately. He can only promise more US servicemen for troubled Kabul, but their number will be short of the 40,000 top US commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal is asking for to stablize the militant Islamists' lair.

Like in Afghanistan, the Al Qaeda and Taliban threats in Iraq and Pakistan continue to boil with no certainty of how to solve the terrorism problem which brazenly kills scores of innocent victims. Car bombs and suicide bombers continue to bring death and destruction the civilized world finds hard to comprehend.

If Pres. Obama can’t reverse this credibility problem, it will be hard for him to accomplish his election promises. As the public starts to know his liberal and socially progressive agenda with little laudable result, his approval rating (especially among conservatives) has gone low alienating many of the voters who supported his election early on.

His ardent supporters like US ex-president Jimmy Carter blames Obama's floundering support on race--- an assertion that many don't believe. If it is because the president is black that is a problem, how come so many Americans gave him overwhelming mandate in his election?

Obama's style of governance is creating more political divisions that make a bipartisan cooperative work difficult. Many observe the president has the tendency to blame problems on others without facing them squarely. His assistants in Washington seem out of touch with the people they serve. In the meantime, some say the president has become scrawny and fast losing weight. =0=

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Labels: Accountability, Al Qaeda, credibility, deficit, nuclear hazard, politics, recession, recovery, Taliban, terrorism, Totie Mesia, trust

14 US troops killed in Afghanistan

10/27/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

As the Obama administration mulls on what policy to pursue for American troops in Afghanistan, 10 Americans including three Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were killed in a bloody helicopter crash on Monday, October 26, 2009.

The US military aircraft was on its way from a firefight with suspected Taliban drug peddlers in Western Afghanistan. In addition to the 10 casualties, 4 other American troops died when two helicopters collided in a separate incident in Southern Afghanistan.

“The crash came less than a week after a U.N. report found that the drug trade is enabling the Taliban to make more money now than when they ruled Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion in 2001. The DEA sent more agents to Afghanistan this year to take part in military operations against insurgents who use drug smuggling to raise funds for their war against NATO and its Afghan allies.”----http://apnews.myway.com (10/16/09, Reid, R.H; Vogt, H.)

The deaths of US servicemen brought a discouraging blow to the morale of troops serving in the battlefield. The Obama administration had been debating whether to send additional US forces to Afghanistan, but doubts had been high following a national election that was deemed to have been riddled with fraud.
Casualties from the DEA were the first since they started serving in 2005 in a troubled country known for its massive opium trade.

U.S. military officials believed the crashes were not the result of enemy engagement, but Taliban forces insisted they shot down a U.S. helicopter in the western province of Badghis. (Photo Credit: wil) =0=

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Labels: Afghanistan, aircraft, casualties, Drug Enforcement Agency, drug war, drugs, helicopter crash, opium, Taliban, Totie Mesia

Taliban suicide bomber kills 23 in Afghanistan attack

9/02/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

The Taliban claiming responsibility, a suicide bomber detonated himself killing 23 people in a a crowded Mosque in Mehtarlam, Laghman Province, about 100 miles from the capital city of Kabul.

The deaths coincided with rising dispute on who won the recent presidential election which had served as the Afghanistan’s deputy intelligence officer. The government and the United Nations (UN) condemned the attack. Pres. Hamid Karzai (47.3%) leading against his rival Abdullah Abdullah (32.6%) on recent vote count.

The bombing which occurred in Ramadan apparently targeted Abdullah Laghmani who served as Afghanistan’s deputy intelligence officer. (Photo Credit: Travelblog.com) =0=

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Labels: 2007 election, Abudullah Abudullah, Afghanistan, casualty, Hamid Karzai, killings, Naga Camarines Sur. Totie Mesia, Ramadan, suicide, suicide bombing, Taliban, UN, United Nations

Suicide bomber kills 16 military recruits in Swat Valley

8/31/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

A suicide bomber who trespassed a training compound for military recruits blew himself, killing 16 would-be police officers in Swat region of Pakistan. The bloody attack which wounded an undetermined number of trainees came three days after 27 security men died in another attack in the country’s Khyber region.

The violence in unstable Mingora, Swat’s major village may be an attempt of Taliban militants to reclaim the area they control after their stronghold of three years was disrupted by military forces early in May 2009.

It was estimated 1,800 Islamic rebels and suicide bombers died during the offensive. A million civilians escaped the area, but returned when some measure of stability was achieved by the anti-Taliban forces.

Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the attack, vowing to continue the fight against the Taliban insurgents who caused the senseless deaths of about 3,000 people in the last two years. (Photo Credit: Nizam Khan) =0=

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Labels: explosion, Islamic militants, killings, militant, military, Pakistan, suicide, suicide bombing, Swat Valley, Taliban, Totie Mesia

Taliban steps up violence as election draws near in Afghanistan

8/19/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

Trying to thwart the election scheduled on Thursday, August 20, 2009, Taliban forces increased their campaign of violence in the capital city of Kabul in Afghanistan killing at least 8 people and leaving about 50 wounded. Two Afghan staff of the United Nations and one foreign soldier were among the latest casualties.

A suicide bomber directed an explosive-bearing vehicle in a busy highway. Missiles were fired close to the presidential palace and defense ministry. In Uruzgan province, an insurgent attacked a polling station, leaving four Afghan soldiers and two civilians dead.

“For the election, some 300,000 Afghan and international troops and police officers, are tasked with protecting 29,000 polling stations, with what the government describes as a four-tier ring of security.”---Voice of America (08/18/09, Herman, S.)

Dubbed as "a day of peace, the election is expected to allow about 80% of electorates to cast their votes. A huge electoral participation will help in bringing unity, curtail corruption and reconciliation among warring ethnic groups. The Afghan government and international security forces have prepared for more attacks on election day.(Photo Credit tanweer1) =0=

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Labels: Afghanistan, casualty, election, Kabul, killings, security, suicide bombing, Taliban, Totie Mesia

Militants bombed luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan

6/10/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

The bombing that killed about 50 people last year in Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was reminiscent of the recent carnage in Pearl Continental Hotel a plush and popular hotel, the hang-out of foreigners and well-to-do Pakistanis.

Using a truck carrying deadly explosives, the suicide bombers brought down portion of the luxury hotel into rubble and caused a huge crater on the parking lot. The destruction claimed the lives of at least 11 people, injuring about 70 others, at least 9 individuals in critical condition. Several foreigners were among the dead and wounded.

“The violence was the latest in a string of powerful bomb attacks and ambushes in Pakistan's major cities while the country continues to wage an offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley and surrounding regions. Pakistani authorities have characterized the attacks as retaliation by the Taliban for major gains made by Pakistani troops against militants since the military operation began in late April.” The Chicago Tribune/ LA Times (06/09/09 Zulfiqar Ali, Alex Rodriguez)

“U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the "heinous terrorist attack" in "the strongest possible terms," U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said at U.N. headquarters in New York.”-----The Huffington Post / AP (06/09/09 Khan, Riaz)

The gunmen with their explosives barged into security at about 10 PM on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 as nightlife started in Peshawar, Pakistan’s largest Northeast city with a population of 2.2 million. The chaos that followed brought extensive loss of property, injuries, and senseless deaths.

The attack by terrorists was linked to the threats made public by the Al Qaeda-linked Taliban fighters who sought revenge against the bloody campaign they face against Pakistani security forces in Swat valley, a location close to the cities of Peshawar and Islamabad.

For the past weeks, about 15,000 Pakistani troops battled 7,000 Taliban Islamic militants prompting thousands of civilians to flee as the number of the dead mounted. A militia composed of civilians had been formed to kick out the Talibans in the area. (Photo credits: AFP Graphics; Reuters/ Ali Imam) =0=

Perseveranda So, a Filipina among the casualties in the Peshawar bombing

The 52-year-old Filipina Unicef worker devoted to education was unlucky to have been killed during the explosion that damaged the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Before her death, So, a dedicated Unicef Chief of Education helped in large measure the schooling of Filipinos through a program called Child Friendly School System. Her demise was announced by authorities of Unicef where she worked since 1994. =0=

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Labels: Al Qaeda, Islamabad, Islamic militants, killings, militant, military, mortality, Pakistan, Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar, suicide bombing, Swat Valley, Taliban, terrorism, Totie Mesia

1.4 million civilians trapped as fighting between the Pakistani military and the Taliban continues

5/19/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

As a result of the fighting between Pakistani military forces and the Taliban, the United Nations has reported an estimated 1.4 million refugees have been driven from their homes this month in Swat valley in the Northwest region of the country. This adds up to about 2 million people displaced since August 2008. It is believed that many civilians have been trapped in Mingora, a terrorist haven which is about 80 miles from the capital city of Islamabad.

The United Nations expects a rapidly changing humanitarian crisis lasting for months as the Pakistani government pursues its campaign against Taliban militants. An appeal for international aid is expected to be raised by the UN as the crisis grows worse---probably as bad as the emergency experienced by Rwandans in the 1994 African genocide,.

The Pakistani offensive has broad support from the people. United States is heavily invested in having the Zadari government prevail over the Taliban in part because of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal which may fall on the wrong hands. (Photo Credit: Stefabua Zamparelli) =0=

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Labels: government, Islamabad, nuclear weapons, Pakistan, refugees, Taliban, Totie Mesia, United Nations, war

More Taliban fighting in nuclear-armed Pakistan

5/07/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

There is cause to worry when about a million Pakistanis abandon their villages as Taliban extremists occupy their homes and put landmines in buildings. It is feared that if Pakistan's nuclear arsenal get into the hands of the Taliban radicals, the risk of a nuclear catastrophe becomes increasingly real. Aside from the Islamic insurgency, Pakistan faces border threats from neighboring India.

“Pakistani security forces killed 35 militants on Wednesday in fighting in a mountain valley 100km (60 miles) northwest of the capital, a paramilitary force said.”----Telegraph.co uk. (05/06/09, Wilkinson, I)

Clashes between the Taliban and Pakistani forces come as a consequence of the failure of a 3-month truce forged by the two opposing sides. The curtailment of the Taliban has been the focus of the US government which lends support to Pakistan's faltering campaign versus violence and extremism.

“The tribal areas of the Northern West Frontier Regional Province (NWFP) that border Afghanistan are steadily falling to a creeping Taliban-led militancy. Military operations have proved ineffective and the militants have rejected offers of any ceasefire while government offices, the Chief Minister's house and military camps are now under attack in the area as well.”----http://wwww.adnkronos.com

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan president Hamid Karzai met with Barack Obama today to talk about the campaign against the Taliban. The Islamic militanta swept the Swat Valley and Buner areas about 60 miles from the Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad. As a consequence, 500,000 civilians had been caught in the crossfire, forcing them to leave villages and homes destroyed by a rebellion that wants to impose Islamic law.

“Acknowledging that 'the road ahead will be difficult,' Obama said he has made a 'lasting commitment' to not only defeat extremism in both countries but to salvage their shaky democracies.”----AP (05/06/07, Hurst, S)

Faced with a weak Zadari government and corruption in Afghanistan, the United States is left to work with its allies to counter the growing influence of the Taliban. Most of the military offensives done against the Taliban in recent years are inconclusive, needing more sustained effort and financial aid. America is saddled with this long and expensive war whose end remains unclear.(Photo Credit: Tanweeer x 2) =0=

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Labels: Afghanistan, insurgency, Islamabad, Islamic militants, nuclear hazard, Pakistan, Swat Valley, Taliban, Totie Mesia, war

UP Ibalon Bicol

Gorbachev pessimistic over US winning the Afghan war

Credibility: a big factor in economic recovery

14 US troops killed in Afghanistan

Taliban suicide bomber kills 23 in Afghanistan attack

Suicide bomber kills 16 military recruits in Swat Valley

Taliban steps up violence as election draws near in Afghanistan

Militants bombed luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan

1.4 million civilians trapped as fighting between the Pakistani military and the Taliban continues

More Taliban fighting in nuclear-armed Pakistan

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