Afghanistan Through My Eyes

The Military is on the move. Things are progressing in Afghanistan according to the plan and what the American people know and what I know. It's strange, but in this day of eventful unstable governments the US Military is proceeding on track. I am in awe. Am I brainwashed?

U.S. PULLS BACK FROM AFGHAN VALLEY The U.S. military has begun pulling forces back in a rugged  mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, an effort to focus  on more populous areas. The move marks a change in the  strategy in Afghanistan: The area of the Kunar province, known  as the Pech Valley, once was considered vital to winning the  war and provides the Taliban with an opportunity to claim a victory.

Afghanistan Through My Eyes - Petraeus

I'm not a bit surprised by this if it proves to be true. Also it's my understanding that the David Hasting's is not allowed to embed. It's not because of his articles but because did something unwarrented specified by the embed agreement...

Rolling Stone Article about Brainwashing Angers Petraeus

February 24, 2011 | 2:04 PM | By Beth Ford Roth

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Life in the Military, War, Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, Gen. William Caldwell,Rolling Stone

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Gen. David Petraeus

The magazine Rolling Stone is once again rocking the boat at the Pentagon. An article called “Another Runaway General: Army deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators” has prompted General David Petraeus to order an investigation into the story. According to writer Michael Hastings (the same reporter whose article about General Stanley McChrystal got the general fired), there’s all sorts of Manchurian Candidate-type stuff going on in Afghanistan:

The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in “psychological operations” to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war,Rolling Stone has learned – and when an officer tried to stop the operation, he was railroaded by military investigators.

Petraeus, the Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, has appointed an investigator to take a closer look at the “facts of issues” raised in the Rolling Stone article. According to a news release sent out by the Department of Defense:

Afghanistan Through My Eyes - Petraeus

PETRAEUS OFFENDS AFGHAN GOVERNMENT: General David Petraeus apparently caused offense to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s aides in a closed-doors meeting by suggesting Afghan citizens burned their own children and then blamed the U.S. His exact remarks are unknown, but The Washington Post heard about them from several people in the room. At dispute is a U.S. operation in Afghanistan’s Ghaziabad district. The U.S. says no civilians died, but people in Ghaziabad say 50 civilians died.

The trouble with this comment is who knows what context it was made in or how many people were in the line of the actual report. I do know for a fact that the Afghan people do burn their children. You see young men in the Afghan National Army with hideous scars and disfigurement on their faces. I saw this with my own eyes and it was confirmed by several interpreters.

Afghanistan Through My Eyes - Veterans

Yesterday while skiing in Montana at the breathtaking Whitefish area I had an epiphany. I'm writing this book about the person behind the uniform. Who where they, who are they once they put it on and who have they become after they take it off.

I realized that there are Veterans all over the world, but I don't know about them. I need to go to other countries and meet with these Veterans. I need to meet them and get their stories too. I want to hear from them and talk to them. This horror of war cannot be just entwined within the US psyche.

Afghanistan Through My Eyes - Lashkar Gah

Lashkar Gah is a city built by the US in the 1950's. It is north of the Nowa district where I was in Afghanistan. It was modeled after the Tennessee Valley Authority. Scientists and teachers came and taught the American children who lived in the model houses and the Afghans. There were 27 schools and education was thriving. The valley was being cultivated and there were big plans for agriculture.

The Afghan people were and still are very poor. While they welcomed the American's with their Pastun traditions there was little in common. It was given up and mostly destroyed with the Soviet Invasion. But been rebuilt and now considered the Las Vegas of Afghanistan.