World-News

Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service: 'During his intensive initial round of media interviews as commander in Afghanistan in August 2010, Gen. David Petraeus released figures to the news media that claimed spectacular success for raids by Special Operations Forces: in a 90-day period from May through July, SOF units had captured 1,355 rank and file Taliban, killed another 1,031, and killed or captured 365 middle or high-ranking Taliban. But it turns out that more than 80 percent of those called captured Taliban fighters were released within days of having been picked up, because they were found to have been innocent civilians, according to official U.S. military data.'

http://www.truth-out.org/ninety-percent-petraeuss-taliban-captures-were-civilians/1307972220

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Secret US/Afghan Talks Could See Troops Stay for Decades
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/13-8

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The Afghan war is lost. So now who will take the blame?

There is no single villain. The military did the disastrous deed, but it was civilians who created and defined the mission.

http://bit.ly/jMG8dk


From Information Clearing House

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Time to get out of Afghanistan

Campaign For Liberty Campaign For Liberty
by Doug Bandow
06/13/11

After September 11 the U.S. intervened in Afghanistan to kill Osama bin Laden, dismantle al-Qaeda, and punish the Taliban. Washington finally has succeeded at all three tasks. It is time for American forces to come home. For many people Afghanistan started out as the good war. Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda turned Taliban-ruled Afghanistan into a sanctuary as they plotted the death of thousands of Americans. The Central Asian state - in contrast to Iraq - was an appropriate target for military retaliation...

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1460


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Afghanistan
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Petraeus
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Osama+bin+Laden
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Special+Operations+Forces
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Taliban
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=9/11
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=retaliation
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Gareth+Porter
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Jason+Burke
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Doug+Bandow
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