Seven American Soldiers Die in Afghan Chopper Crash (R.I.P.)

http://www.allproudamericans.com/Seven-American-Soldiers-Die-in-Afghan-Chopper-Crash.html ^

[Lazamataz]

August 16, 2012: Seven American soldiers were killed Thursday when their helicopter crashed in Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, although the insurgency often exaggerates its victories and is quick to claim responsibility for any incident involving foreign troop deaths.

The area where the helicopter went down is an insurgent hotbed and supply route, lying north of Kandahar city near volatile Zabul and Uruzgan provinces.

This story is still developing. R.I.P.

[NKP_Vet]

This SOB should be waterboarded.

[Chgogal]

: )

My mother was a 16/17 year old in Berlin during the Allied Bombing and the Russian/British/French/American occupation of Berlin. Yup, by some miracle she survived the Russians.

My father lived just a few miles away from Arnhem during Market Garden.

The Yanks were/are considered Heroes by both sides. Russia was hated by the Germans and hoped America would reach Berlin first. The US during WW2 was never really worried about civilian casualties as they are now. Look how the Muslims react when errors are made by the Coalition Forces in A-stan? Look how we make amends with our tail between our legs almost immediately. Look how the female Soldier has to wear the Hajib while on duty in A-stan? The difference between then and now, The Coalition Forces made sure the enemy (Germany and Japan) knew it was defeated completely (physically and emotionally). Now we leave the impression that the enemy survived just enough to fight another day. So, after a few months/years they are back to fight another day.

[Chgogal]

http://www.moonbattery.com/hijabs-on-american-soldiers.jpg

[fabian]

Yes, reset coming. It is going to be rough though.

[rlmorel]

"...The US during WW2 was never really worried about civilian casualties as they are now..."

That is true, because of two factors: it was understood in total warfare that innocents were hurt even if not targeted, and there wasn't a network of people with video cameras who were looking for propaganda material (THAT would be ABC, CBS, NYT, etc)

"...Look how the Muslims react when errors are made by the Coalition Forces in A-stan? Look how we make amends with our tail between our legs almost immediately. Look how the female Soldier has to wear the Hajib while on duty in A-stan? The difference between then and now, The Coalition Forces made sure the enemy (Germany and Japan) knew it was defeated completely (physically and emotionally). Now we leave the impression that the enemy survived just enough to fight another day. So, after a few months/years they are back to fight another day..."

I agree with most of this, except for the characterization of the enemy. I don't believe most Afghans were the enemy, as their only crime for the vast majority was to have the Taliban living on their land, and they couldn't get stand up to them. In Germany and Japan, the populace was actively and positively engaged in the warmaking capability, just as ours was, from picking up pieced of tinfoil and metal to recycle, to building tanks. They became targets.

It is a different world today, no doubt.

[TheGunny]

Well said. America would not have sat by while the President did nothing in response to 9-11. I was overseas when it happened, and have been back several times. I know intellectually and emotionally that the only language folks in that part of the world understand is OVERWHELMING POWER! If a portion of the population doesn’t want to concede to what circumstances are communicating to him, you inflict more damage and pain until he does. Ive been thinking to myself...”there has got to be a reason that Sun Tzu is still on my recommended reading list????” “Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War,

[KTM rider]

"Could someone kindly identify the strategy and the national interest which it advances for which these seven Americans died?

Yes, it's the politicians playing war as enhanced means to justify their existence, got a big army may as well keep it busy, gotta keep that military industrial complex fighting "wars" with no intention or goal

our government is completely idiotic

[KTM rider]

exactly

no war will ever be won by "winning hearts and minds"

wars are won by blowing minds so bad they will never even think about fighting again

[apoliticalone]

Agreed. Politicians always like a good war on their resume while they sit back in their secure war rooms. If only the first wave of attack was made up of politicians and their staff and families we wouldn’t be frittering away our country and its young lives like we’ve done.

Get us out of the Middle East altogether and let each of those countries all figure out how they want live and get along with each other. It isn’t our job to be protector and policeman. We don’t need their oil and we don’t need their constant problems. But we do need to fix the USA.

[OldEarlGray]

Laptops don’t control opiates or secure the ability of the royal kleptocracy to build pipelines and such.

http://www.amazon.com/Anglo-American-Establishment-Quigley-Carroll/dp/0945001010

Same Ol’

[OldEarlGray]

>>Anybody here at FR remember exactly who started this war?

Yeah.

ZBig is the POS whose policy funded and instigated the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&biw=1600&bih=706&source=hp&q=Brzezinski+Cyclone+Iran+Shah+"George+Ball"+1978

[af_vet_rr]

Ten years ago, I could've ID'd it. Now, I have no earthly idea WTF we're doing there.

Ten years ago, the majority of us knew that we would be in Afghanistan for many years to come. The British and the Russians learned it the hard way, and we have as well.

[af_vet_rr]

Thing is, many of these people screaming longly and loudly about us being there at all are the same people who would have screamed longly and loudly had we done nothing.

I respect and value what our military have done and have tried to do over there. What they have done is right, and it reflects well on us that we have tried. We haven’t done it well in some cases, and we have done it poorly in some cases.

But I don’t, and never have subscribed to turning the place into glass. As an American, I can be proud to say who I am and where I am from.

As you said, if it weren’t for 9/11, we wouldn’t have been there in the first place. I understand and appreciate your sentiments, though it seems few others do.

Amen to that. It pains me that we are still there, mainly because my son is in Afghanistan, and little did we know in 2001 that 10 years later he would be there, but it is what it is. We knew it was not going to be easy.

It bothers me that many people think we can just jump in and out of war, it says a lot about whether they served or are paying attention to the world at large.

If it was going to be quick and easy, our folks would have been in and out before Bush left office, and to come back and to now be against the war in Afghanistan simply because a democrat is in the White House is ridiculous. We fight them over there or we fight them over here. We'd like to wave a magic wand and have everything wrapped up nice and neat, but it's not going to happen that way.

If we pull out now, the Taliban ultimately wins, and they will be able to focus on killing Americans in America once again, and then the government can use the attack to strip even more of our freedoms away, while sending another generation off to fight.

[rlmorel]

Thanks for saying so. I understand why people take the stance that they would like to just blow up everything, I get it. I understand the anger.

But in the real world, it isn’t the answer. I will keep your son in my prayers, af_vet_rr.