Updated January 24, 2008
I don't usually pitch music videos on here, but what the Heck, there is always a first. I recently checked out Ken Clark's music video, "The Red Sea". I liked it a lot! Now, most of you do not know this, but I used to be a rock music critic from about 1978-1982 or so.
I interviewed some pretty big stars, including Ronnie Montrose (intriguing website here) and Judas Priest, mostly at Hollywood record companies. It's pretty fun to go a big record company to interview a rock star. Everyone is really relaxed and happy, and as a journalist, you are treated as a star also. There are all sorts of hot women working at the record companies.
Everyone is really laid back and no one worries about or gets upset about anything. When the time comes for the interview, record company AR guys come around and offer everyone bottles of expensive beer or designer spring water. You're amongst the decadent liberal Western urban elite.
No one has any problems or worries or hangups or money problems or anger issues. And for about an hour or so, it's just you (and the other journos) and the superstar.
I also used to get backstage passes a lot and that was a lot of fun too. Groupies are a blast, though they usually don't trickle down to us journalists. Amazing how many beautiful young women are dying to have sex with a musician.
At the end of the night, though, the luckiest groupies are all paired off with a musician, and then there are those that never got picked. Them and the roadies, journos and friends of the band. Too many women, and not enough men to go around. That most males should experience such difficulties!
As rock journalists, we were derided as "not serious" by our compatriots, but we never cared. The shows were often free and the bands always wanted to talk. There were also lots of free albums.
You go to the Roxy nightclub in LA and you note its filled to the brim. Everyone is there free on a record company pass. Drinks are all free too, as many as you can drink. Now tell me these entertainment companies aren't drowning in cash to toss around?
Ah, but I reminisce.
I recently checked out this neat video by an obscure artist named Ken Clark. The video is called "Red Sea" and it is very well done. The theme of the video is something along the lines of this blog - war on terror, Mideast, neocons, Iraq War, and a general progressive line running through it. If every other video on MTV was a progressive political video like this, could we change the tenor of this blighted land?
I also liked the sound of this band, but then I like rock and roll. Punk rock, hard rock, just rock, death metal, hard rock, rockabilly, country rock, folk rock, psychedelic rock...I hope to be rocking into my eighties!
For those who know rock music well, the first third or so of the Ken Clark Band sounds like Roky Erickson (especially the Roky Erickson and Aliens hard rock Evil One sound of around 1981 - great stuff if you have never heard it - I love Creature With the Atom Brain) and the 13th Floor Elevators! Bet you never heard of them. 96 Tears, anyone? Roky FAQ is here.
I don't have time to go into the fascinating contours of Roky's life - read the FAQ if you want more. Let's just say that Roky was one of rock's classic burnouts in the Syd Barrett mold - since the early 1970's, he has apparently suffered from full-blown paranoid schizophrenia.
Since 2005, he has apparently made a significant recovery from his illness, though those familiar with schizophrenia know how limited a statement like that can be. He has a neat website here. See also the interesting topic (new to me until now) of Outsider Music.
Many on the list of Outsider Musicians are apparently mentally ill, often schizophrenic, manic depressive or depressive. Others either had no talent, or never got signed despite being talented, or liked to make really weird music.
Others are just plain weird artists, who go far beyond the mold of your average strange artist type. Yes, artists are weird! I hung around them for years...List of outsider musicians here.
After that, it changes, but I can't really pin it down. I want to say Flying Burrito Brothers or ZZ Top but that's not quite it. The blurb lists the late Warren Zevon and Randy Newman, two LA singer-songwriter greats. One could hardly have better influences.
Have fun and good listening.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Sporadic Updates For a Bit
There has been no posting since June 29, 13 days ago, and posting may continue to be sporadic for a while now. I went on vacation to Yosemite National Park for a few days around the Fourth and then I have been recuperating.
My sinusitis is also still pretty bad from the Spring and I need to start irrigating my nose again. It's also blazing hot here and we only run the air conditioning 2 hours a day or so because it is so darned hot.
Anyway, just to give you some reading material to look over while I am not posting. Nell at A Lovely Promise, an interesting progressive blog I just ran across, has been doing some great work on the rape/murder of the 15-yr-old Iraqi girl in Mahmudiyah and the murder of her family to cover up the crime.
3 US soldiers have been charged with rape and murder in the case and another has been charged with dereliction of duty. Nell has been doing some great investigative and analytical reporting on the case, which is something we try to do here as well (What the heck, I do have a journalism degree).
Now, it's just fine that the vast majority of bloggers do little or no investigative reporting. At this point, even a progressive echo chamber sounds like a great idea. Let's all repeat each other's concepts and truths, and democratically (the blogosphere is nothing if not the ultimate in media democracy and punditry democracy) spread the word far and wide to masses who need to learn from us!
I'm also reading a lot of Steven Lendeman, a progressive Jewish blogger who is a fine writer and longtime activist. Lendeman's prose and research is so well-done that he is actually getting published in ZNet, one of my favorite publications. His knowledge is stunning, encyclopedic and sweeping and I love the way he "puts it all together". Like the journalistic equivalent of the epiphany we know from literature.
Steve's main theme is US imperialism, and unlike some authors (Chomsky and his acolytes at their worst) Lendeman's analysis of US imperialism is painstakingly researched and very well thought-out.
Let's say that it holds together and lights up the sky with his insight, whereas Chomsky and others overreach and try to explain far too many bad things to the US imperialist bogyman. I think he needs to work on that blog design a bit though!
If you can get your mind around it, try out Issues and Questions in the Historiography of Pre-State Zionism by Joachim Martillo, from a talk given by Martillo, a certifiable genius, to New Jersey Solidarity in October 2002, one of the most radical Palestinian solidarity organizations.
NJ Solidarity actually has a strong Leftist base, and openly supports the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). See my long post on the PFLP here for background on this interesting but very radical organization.
Regarding Martillo's piece, I do not know where to begin! It is definitely an intellectual challenge all right. For one thing, it is about 90 pages long, but it is well worth printing out. He offers a whole different take on Zionism than the standard treatment.
If you do some Internet research on Martillo, you find he is a bit of a kook, and politically he has been all over the place in the past 20 years. He has tendencies to alienate people due to his, well, fanaticism, general belligerence, and extremely opinionated nature.
Martillo is a Sephardic Jew with a deep resentment of Ashkenazi Jews that inflects much of his work. Most Gentiles don't know much about the Sephardic-Ashkenazi split amongst Jews, mostly because most US Jews (90%) are Ashkenazim.
He came from a privileged background amongst the East Coast super-elite (prep school) and then he went to Harvard as an undergrad, but apparently he dropped out. He has read more books on the subject of Zionism that the rest of us will in a lifetime, and he read many of them in their native languages!
10-15 years ago, Martillo was a belligerent neoconservative and open advocate for the recolonization by the superior West of the inferior failed states of the Third World.
Now he's gone full circle to a radical supporter of the anti-imperialist 3rd World movements. He has recently married an apparent Jewish convert to Islam, a woman who, according to the Internet, has gone off the deep end into hardline radical fundamentalist Islam.
This couple is causing titters in progressive circles in Cambridge, where he continues to be active in the Israeli divestment movement. However, after some discussions with her via email, it turns out, as far as I can tell, she is just an ordinary Muslim.
The bit about her being a fundamentalist Hamas supporter is apparently just the usual militant Jewish Zionist lies, slander and character assassination that anyone who takes these disturbed people on ends up facing.
I really don't give a damn if the guy is a fanatic. This work is fascinating (consider printing it out to read at your leisure) and is one of the most brilliant and wide-ranging attacks on Zionism I have ever read. It's not even available on the Net anymore, but I managed to snag a cached version that should be up for a while.
I spent much of my vacation dragging myself through a truly fantastic essay that has not received the publicity it should. What is Conservatism and What Is Wrong With It?, from August 2004, by Philip Agre, an Associate Professor in Information Studies (Whatever that is!) at UCLA in Los Angeles, California.
After reading this essay and thinking deeply about it, all I can say is, Wow! This essay needs to be shouted from the rooftops and run off in the 1000's of copies and distributed free all across America.
Hopefully, we will be discussing this seminal essay in future posts, but for now, let us just look a few earthshaking lines at the beginning:
In Agre's brilliant formulation, we can formulate a mass movement that cleaves into two factions, supporters of aristocratic rule (conservatives) and supporters of democratic rule (liberals or the rest of us).
In doing so, there is deep liberation and a lot of anxiety. Hopefully, in our pro-democratic rule faction we can include social conservatives of all stripes, the vast small business sector (which Agre perceptively calls "the democratization of entrepreneurship), and even the progressive Super-Rich like George Soros.
Like the odd coalitions of gun owners, the Christian Coalition, internet corporations and progressives uniting to fight to retain network neutrality and prevent the censorship of the Internet, we too can make an eclectic coalition including those who would in many cases not be on our side.
In fighting the many-headed hydra of modern-day industrial strength public relations-driven conservatism, it is reasonable to attack one head of the beast at a time.
Let's throw down the gauntlet to the entire nation and force folks to take sides: Who do you want to rule this nation? A tiny aristocracy on top of a rigid, stratified, hierarchical class-based system where each class defers to the one above it? You call that American? Sounds like Old Europe to me? Or, do you support the American Way, democratic rule by the people themselves?
Hopefully, I will have much more to say about this profound work in the future.
I also dipped into a fascinating essay by Dr. Kaveh Farrokh, an Iranian academic, Pan-Arabism's Legacy of Confrontation With Iran. Hopefully, I will discuss this excellent but obscure work - which to be honest, needs to be much more fleshed out and deeply researched - more later on. But as a start, it is very nice.
This subject seems obscure to most folks nowadays.
But with Sunnis and Shias slaughtering each other right and left, the US and Israel threatening to attack Iran over a nuclear program it is fully within its rights to have, with the specters of Al Qaeda, Salafism, Takfirism, the Taliban, and Zarqawi's ghost haunting our world, this essay helps to light up this murky region by explaining the roots of Sunni Arab, and Sunni Muslim, rage towards Shia Arabs and Shia Muslims.
It also helps explain such anomalous situations as Saddam's persecution of the Shia, the Iran-Iraq War, the fact that the Gulf Arab states are working with the US and Israel and promote military attack on Iran. This piece is mandatory for understanding the current Hellish chaos in Iran.
Those wanting to dip further into the arcana of intra-Islamic debate may wish to check out this difficult piece, The Poverty of Fanaticism, by Abdal Hakim-Murad. It's probable not that accessible unless you have some knowledge of Islam. The very well-written and beautiful piece is coming from a Sufi point of view and the author is not a liberal at all (he supports an Islamic state).
However, he brilliantly destroys the incoherent, insipid and ultimately un-Islamic philosophy of the Muslim Takfiri and Salafist terrorist pricks who are running around blowing up so much stuff nowadays.
Among other things, he shows how Sufism, one of the finest and most beautiful and worthwhile aspects of the problematic Muslim religion, has been a part of Islam from the very start, smashing the ignorant anti-Sufi nonsense of the Salafists and Wahhabis with a few deft strokes of the pen. It isn't necessarily a choice between Irshan Manji (whom many Muslims find too liberal) and Al Qaeda.
There is also the way of the purification of the heart, that being Sufism. On this page there are some other articles by Murshad, including Recapturing Islam From the Terrorists and Bin Laden's Violence is a Heresy Against Islam. Please note that this man is a conservative Muslim and a brilliant Muslim scholar with a vast knowledge of Muslim scholarship and history. I may discuss these 2 articles a bit more in later posts.
For the infectious pustule called variously Salafism, Wahhabism or Takfirism, this angry boil flaring in Dar al Islam, there is a lance for this pus-filled blight - a lance called Sufism. Does it stand a chance against the baying hounds and serial killers of the modern-day Islamic Kharajites? I have doubts, but it's nice to know that at least some Muslims are taking a strong stand alongside us in our fight against these Muslim barbarians.
My sinusitis is also still pretty bad from the Spring and I need to start irrigating my nose again. It's also blazing hot here and we only run the air conditioning 2 hours a day or so because it is so darned hot.
Anyway, just to give you some reading material to look over while I am not posting. Nell at A Lovely Promise, an interesting progressive blog I just ran across, has been doing some great work on the rape/murder of the 15-yr-old Iraqi girl in Mahmudiyah and the murder of her family to cover up the crime.
3 US soldiers have been charged with rape and murder in the case and another has been charged with dereliction of duty. Nell has been doing some great investigative and analytical reporting on the case, which is something we try to do here as well (What the heck, I do have a journalism degree).
Now, it's just fine that the vast majority of bloggers do little or no investigative reporting. At this point, even a progressive echo chamber sounds like a great idea. Let's all repeat each other's concepts and truths, and democratically (the blogosphere is nothing if not the ultimate in media democracy and punditry democracy) spread the word far and wide to masses who need to learn from us!
I'm also reading a lot of Steven Lendeman, a progressive Jewish blogger who is a fine writer and longtime activist. Lendeman's prose and research is so well-done that he is actually getting published in ZNet, one of my favorite publications. His knowledge is stunning, encyclopedic and sweeping and I love the way he "puts it all together". Like the journalistic equivalent of the epiphany we know from literature.
Steve's main theme is US imperialism, and unlike some authors (Chomsky and his acolytes at their worst) Lendeman's analysis of US imperialism is painstakingly researched and very well thought-out.
Let's say that it holds together and lights up the sky with his insight, whereas Chomsky and others overreach and try to explain far too many bad things to the US imperialist bogyman. I think he needs to work on that blog design a bit though!
If you can get your mind around it, try out Issues and Questions in the Historiography of Pre-State Zionism by Joachim Martillo, from a talk given by Martillo, a certifiable genius, to New Jersey Solidarity in October 2002, one of the most radical Palestinian solidarity organizations.
NJ Solidarity actually has a strong Leftist base, and openly supports the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). See my long post on the PFLP here for background on this interesting but very radical organization.
Regarding Martillo's piece, I do not know where to begin! It is definitely an intellectual challenge all right. For one thing, it is about 90 pages long, but it is well worth printing out. He offers a whole different take on Zionism than the standard treatment.
If you do some Internet research on Martillo, you find he is a bit of a kook, and politically he has been all over the place in the past 20 years. He has tendencies to alienate people due to his, well, fanaticism, general belligerence, and extremely opinionated nature.
Martillo is a Sephardic Jew with a deep resentment of Ashkenazi Jews that inflects much of his work. Most Gentiles don't know much about the Sephardic-Ashkenazi split amongst Jews, mostly because most US Jews (90%) are Ashkenazim.
He came from a privileged background amongst the East Coast super-elite (prep school) and then he went to Harvard as an undergrad, but apparently he dropped out. He has read more books on the subject of Zionism that the rest of us will in a lifetime, and he read many of them in their native languages!
10-15 years ago, Martillo was a belligerent neoconservative and open advocate for the recolonization by the superior West of the inferior failed states of the Third World.
Now he's gone full circle to a radical supporter of the anti-imperialist 3rd World movements. He has recently married an apparent Jewish convert to Islam, a woman who, according to the Internet, has gone off the deep end into hardline radical fundamentalist Islam.
This couple is causing titters in progressive circles in Cambridge, where he continues to be active in the Israeli divestment movement. However, after some discussions with her via email, it turns out, as far as I can tell, she is just an ordinary Muslim.
The bit about her being a fundamentalist Hamas supporter is apparently just the usual militant Jewish Zionist lies, slander and character assassination that anyone who takes these disturbed people on ends up facing.
I really don't give a damn if the guy is a fanatic. This work is fascinating (consider printing it out to read at your leisure) and is one of the most brilliant and wide-ranging attacks on Zionism I have ever read. It's not even available on the Net anymore, but I managed to snag a cached version that should be up for a while.
I spent much of my vacation dragging myself through a truly fantastic essay that has not received the publicity it should. What is Conservatism and What Is Wrong With It?, from August 2004, by Philip Agre, an Associate Professor in Information Studies (Whatever that is!) at UCLA in Los Angeles, California.
After reading this essay and thinking deeply about it, all I can say is, Wow! This essay needs to be shouted from the rooftops and run off in the 1000's of copies and distributed free all across America.
Hopefully, we will be discussing this seminal essay in future posts, but for now, let us just look a few earthshaking lines at the beginning:
Q: What is conservatism?This article completely, with deft and class and dignity, transcends the name-calling rage that so much of the Left Blogosphere degenerates into when confronting the conservatism, pseudo-fascism and outright fascism of George Bush and his supporters.
A: Conservatism is the domination of society by an aristocracy.
Q: What is wrong with conservatism?
A: Conservatism is incompatible with democracy, prosperity, and civilization in general. It is a destructive system of inequality and prejudice that is founded on deception and has no place in the modern world.
In Agre's brilliant formulation, we can formulate a mass movement that cleaves into two factions, supporters of aristocratic rule (conservatives) and supporters of democratic rule (liberals or the rest of us).
In doing so, there is deep liberation and a lot of anxiety. Hopefully, in our pro-democratic rule faction we can include social conservatives of all stripes, the vast small business sector (which Agre perceptively calls "the democratization of entrepreneurship), and even the progressive Super-Rich like George Soros.
Like the odd coalitions of gun owners, the Christian Coalition, internet corporations and progressives uniting to fight to retain network neutrality and prevent the censorship of the Internet, we too can make an eclectic coalition including those who would in many cases not be on our side.
In fighting the many-headed hydra of modern-day industrial strength public relations-driven conservatism, it is reasonable to attack one head of the beast at a time.
Let's throw down the gauntlet to the entire nation and force folks to take sides: Who do you want to rule this nation? A tiny aristocracy on top of a rigid, stratified, hierarchical class-based system where each class defers to the one above it? You call that American? Sounds like Old Europe to me? Or, do you support the American Way, democratic rule by the people themselves?
Hopefully, I will have much more to say about this profound work in the future.
I also dipped into a fascinating essay by Dr. Kaveh Farrokh, an Iranian academic, Pan-Arabism's Legacy of Confrontation With Iran. Hopefully, I will discuss this excellent but obscure work - which to be honest, needs to be much more fleshed out and deeply researched - more later on. But as a start, it is very nice.
This subject seems obscure to most folks nowadays.
But with Sunnis and Shias slaughtering each other right and left, the US and Israel threatening to attack Iran over a nuclear program it is fully within its rights to have, with the specters of Al Qaeda, Salafism, Takfirism, the Taliban, and Zarqawi's ghost haunting our world, this essay helps to light up this murky region by explaining the roots of Sunni Arab, and Sunni Muslim, rage towards Shia Arabs and Shia Muslims.
It also helps explain such anomalous situations as Saddam's persecution of the Shia, the Iran-Iraq War, the fact that the Gulf Arab states are working with the US and Israel and promote military attack on Iran. This piece is mandatory for understanding the current Hellish chaos in Iran.
Those wanting to dip further into the arcana of intra-Islamic debate may wish to check out this difficult piece, The Poverty of Fanaticism, by Abdal Hakim-Murad. It's probable not that accessible unless you have some knowledge of Islam. The very well-written and beautiful piece is coming from a Sufi point of view and the author is not a liberal at all (he supports an Islamic state).
However, he brilliantly destroys the incoherent, insipid and ultimately un-Islamic philosophy of the Muslim Takfiri and Salafist terrorist pricks who are running around blowing up so much stuff nowadays.
Among other things, he shows how Sufism, one of the finest and most beautiful and worthwhile aspects of the problematic Muslim religion, has been a part of Islam from the very start, smashing the ignorant anti-Sufi nonsense of the Salafists and Wahhabis with a few deft strokes of the pen. It isn't necessarily a choice between Irshan Manji (whom many Muslims find too liberal) and Al Qaeda.
There is also the way of the purification of the heart, that being Sufism. On this page there are some other articles by Murshad, including Recapturing Islam From the Terrorists and Bin Laden's Violence is a Heresy Against Islam. Please note that this man is a conservative Muslim and a brilliant Muslim scholar with a vast knowledge of Muslim scholarship and history. I may discuss these 2 articles a bit more in later posts.
For the infectious pustule called variously Salafism, Wahhabism or Takfirism, this angry boil flaring in Dar al Islam, there is a lance for this pus-filled blight - a lance called Sufism. Does it stand a chance against the baying hounds and serial killers of the modern-day Islamic Kharajites? I have doubts, but it's nice to know that at least some Muslims are taking a strong stand alongside us in our fight against these Muslim barbarians.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Afghanistan Wrapup for June 27, 2006
Updated January 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 27
*****
Sangin Valley, Sangin District, Helmand Province, Early AM: RPG attack on a British patrol here killed 1 British soldier. Heavy fighting ensued and another British soldier was wounded. He died of his wounds later. Altogether, 2 British soldiers were killed here and one more British soldier was wounded.
British troops fan out across the parched landscape of the Sangin District on April 17. 2 British soldiers were killed here on Tuesday, June 27, when Taliban fighters ambushed their convoy near here.
******
Sangin continues to be one of the most unstable areas of the horribly unstable Helmand Province. 13 Taliban were reportedly killed in heavy fighting, including air strikes, that followed the initial attack and went on for 4 hours. The Taliban claimed that they destroyed a number of British vehicles.
British troops return from a mission to Camp Bastian near Sangin on June 20. Note the exuberant expressions.
*****
Monday, June 26
Bagram Airbase: Suicide car bomb attack on a US convoy near here killed the bomber and wounded 2 Afghan civilians.
This is what was left over after a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked a US convoy outside the US Bagram Airbase. Note the severed limb, either an arm or a leg, of the suicide bomber in the foreground.
*****
Sunday, June 25
Pech District, Kunar Province: Fighting here killed 1 US soldier. Details were lacking. The Pech District is extremely dangerous.
Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province: The five health officials kidnapped here by guerrillas last week were released. 2 were doctors, 2 were provincial health officials and 1 was a Swedish NGO worker. Tribal elders forced the terrorists to release the hostages.
Saturday, June 24
*****
Panjwayi District, Late: A four-hour gunbattle erupted here between the Taliban and Coalition forces. 2 soldiers were wounded during the fighting but later died in the hospital. Another Coalition soldier was wounded. Altogether, 2 Coalition troops were killed and 1 more was wounded. 45 Taliban were killed in the fighting.
Canadian forces raid mud-brick homes in Zangadin, Panjwayi Province. 2 Coalition troops were killed and 1 more was wounded in fighting in Panjwayi on Saturday, June 24.
******
At first 8-10 guerrillas attacked but later fled to a compound where they were joined by a much larger group. Coalition forces then attacked the compound, killing 45 Taliban.
Afghan police patrol in Panjwayi District. The Afghan police are poorly armed; the Taliban often have better weapons.
Canadian forces in the Panjwayi District.
*****
Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province: Five Afghan medical workers were abducted while driving here in this very wild, forested, jungle-like and extremely dangerous province.
Friday, June 23
Chinoh, Shahjoy District, Zabul Province: The Taliban seized 4 men this village. a checkpoint, accused them of spying for the US, and decapitated them. Their headless bodies were found today and yesterday.
Fayzabad, Badakhshan Province: Roadside bomb attack here on a Danish military convoy carrying the Danish commander-in-chief for Afghanistan, Hans Jesper Helso, wounded 1 Danish soldier and damaged an LAV. The mysterious roadside bomb attacks in mostly-Tajik Fayzabad continue, with no reasonable explanations on who is carrying them out. The Taliban have little to no presence here.
Thursday, June 22
Near Tirin Kot, Uruzgan Province: US troops raided a cave complex here that the Taliban were using as a meeting and hiding place. 8 guerrillas were killed in the raid and 6 more were arrested. A cache AK-47's., RPG's and two machine guns was seized. There were no Coalition casualties.
Gorgeous, desolate terrain in Uruzgan Province. This terrain must be at a very high elevation.*****
Wednesday, June 21
Sangin, Sangin District, Helmand Province, early AM: A large British paratrooper force was airlifted here to retake the town from Taliban who overran it earlier, battling police and a local militia, and killing 32 people.
Canadian troops near Sangin.*****
Near Tirin Kot, Uruzgan Province: US forces intercepted a Taliban force traveling back and forth between a weapons bunker as they tried to set up an ambush of Coalition forces. The Taliban force was attacked and 17 Taliban were killed. There were no Coalition casualties.
Helmand Province: Six Taliban fighters were killed in an attack here.
*****
Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province: US troops battled guerrillas in northern Nuristan. The Taliban, Al Qaeda, Hezb-i-Islami and Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Pakistani group are all operating in this very remote and extremely dangerous province. During the fighting, 4 US troops were killed and 1 more was wounded.
US aircraft joined the attack and 2 guerrillas were killed. Calling in air support here is like calling in air strikes in Vietnam - you can hardly see the enemy at all and from the air, you can just see towering peaks, plunging valley, rocks and forested jungles.
In my opinion, bin Laden and Zawahiri are possibly hiding here in Nuristan. The tribes here have an ancient code that mandates that they protect visitors who ask to be protected from outsiders. This area was formerly known as Kafirstan, because the residents were non-Muslim pagans, until Muslims conquered it and Islamicized it in 1897.
There is a bewildering plethora of small ethnic groups in this area and many different languages are spoken. Most of these languages are related to Iranian in some way.
The region is so inaccessible that a situation similar to the Caucasus or parts of New Guinea has arisen, with tribes in deep mountain valleys speaking different languages. Since it is so hard to go from one valley to the next, the different languages persist due to limited contact. In contrast, in wide, flat areas, smaller languages tend to go out and you often end up with one language spoken over hundreds of miles.
The Muslims here have been very conservative for a long time and during the Afghan War, Salafis made strong inroads here. The Russians never really conquered this province during the war.
The women are supposedly beautiful but the few Westerners who have visited the province say that you can only see them when they are young girls, and after that, they are out of sight. Recent reports indicate that local tribal leaders are being abused by Salafist guerrillas who have overran the province and imposed their writ on the local tribes, who seem to be powerless to stop them.
****
Kandahar: A suicide attacker detonated his explosives-filled car near a military convoy in the city of Kandahar, killing one and wounding nine, Afghan and coalition officials said. Two Canadian soldiers were injured and the attacker was killed. In addition, an Afghan bystander was killed and seven others injured, including one policeman and six civilians.
Aftermath of the suicide car bomb attack in Kandahar on June 21. 2 Canadian soldiers were wounded in this attack.
Germany: Romanian soldier Sgt. Costinel Valerica Slaniceanu, critically wounded in the roadside bomb attack in Kandahar Monday night that destroyed a Romanian tank, was evacuated to a hospital in Germany for further treatment.
Shah Wali Kot District, Kandahar Province: Roadside bomb attack on Canadian convoy here wounded 4 Canadian soldiers, 1 seriously. 2 Taliban were arrested nearby and suspected of detonating the bomb.
Southern Afghanistan: A Canadian armored vehicle rolled over, wounding 2 Canadian soldiers.
Tuesday, June 20
*****
Musa Qala, Helmand Province: US and Afghan troops battled Taliban fighters near here, killing 20 Taliban. 1 Afghan soldier was wounded.
Musa Qala, land of desolation in northern Helmand Province. 20 Taliban were killed here on Monday, June 19.
Two Afghans outside of Musa Qala waiting at a US checkpoint. Note the typical black turbans worn by the Taliban. Note also the hard, distrustful faces.
*****
Torkham Crossing, Afghanistan/Pakistan Border: A bomb attached to a fuel tanker supplying fuel to US forces in Afghanistan exploded as the vehicle crossed over into Afghanistan from Pakistan, killing six people and destroying 10 trucks. A fuel tanker behind it caught on fire and the fire spread to eight other trucks.
Bagram Valley, Bagram District,Helmand Province: British troops pushed deep into the Bagram Valley in Helmand Province, today pushed deep into rebel territories in southern Afghanistan that have not been under government control for 30 years. Troops are using small arms and artillery to battle Taliban fighters here, and Apache helicopters have been used by the British for the first time.
US forces being airdropped on top of a desolate mountain in Bagram Valley, where they planned to set up a base and cut off Taliban supply lines.
US forces take up position on a mountain ridge in the Bagram Valley, a place that has not seen Coalition forces since the fall of the Taliban. Later, US aircraft bombed a Taliban position in the valley below.
*****
*****
Sangin, Sangin District, Helmand Province: The Taliban ambushed the home of the former Helmand Province intelligence chief, Dad Mohammad Khan, setting off a 12-hour battle between the Taliban, Khan's militia and police that killed 32 people, wounded 4 more and left 10 people missing.
The ambush began when Taliban forces attacked vehicles carrying the brother a former district chief, Dad Mohammad Khan. Several hours later, around 40 of the Khan's relatives went to collect his body and were ambushed with the loss of 25 lives, Khan said.
The battle raged for 12 hours and took place only an hour from a US military base. The US troops never came to help the besieged Afghans and the relatives of the dead Afghans are furious.
*****
Monday, June 19
Kandahar, Night: Taliban militants detonated a roadside bomb on a Romanian tank, destroying the tank and killing 1 Romanian soldier, Cpl Ionel Gheorghita, and wounding 3 others. 1 of the soldiers, Sgt Costinel Valerica Slaniceanu, was critically wounded. That must have been a pretty potent bomb to destroy a tank.
Troops inspect the ruins of a Romanian tank destroyed by a roadside bomb near Kandahar. 1 Romanian soldier was killed and 3 more were wounded, 1 critically. It must have been a very powerful roadside bomb to take out a tank. Often anti-tank mines are used for bombs like this. In Iraq, guerrillas has been known to pile three 150-lb antitank mines on top of each other to destroy a US Abrams tank.
*****
*****
Zabul Province: Villagers here are finding themselves trapped between Taliban guerrillas and abusive government soldiers. In the Shajoy District, only 1 of 31 schools is open - all the rest have shut down under orders of the Taliban. In Qalat, the capital, the hospital is 50% empty. They cannot fill positions because doctors and nurses are too afraid to work there.
Ruins of an ancient castle near Qalat, capital of Zabul.******
US and Afghan forces present Zabul as a smashing success. The previously corrupt government has been thrown out and a clean one installed instead. Millions in reconstruction funds have poured into the province and the police and army have been retrained and have received new weapons.
A minefield near an ancient canal in Zabul Province, near Qalat. There is actually some vegetation growing here.******
Yet Shahjoy District is seriously overrun with Taliban and even the main Kandahar-Kabul Highway, the government's prize, is avoided by most foreigners. Government soldiers, many of whom are ethnic Tajiks, often beat and abuse locals, whom they accuse of helping the Taliban.
An incredibly desolate desert scene in Zabul Province. How do you fight a war in a place like this? Where do you hide?******
But locals complain that they have no choice but the help the Taliban when they show up in the village. US and Afghan officials said that guerrillas pouring across the border from Pakistan play a major role in the worsening security situation.
******
Sunday, June 18
****
Bagram Valley, Bagram District, Helmand Province: U.S. soldiers set up a fortified position on a mountain ridge here, marking the first time in years that soldiers had been in this area.
US forces were airlifted into a position on a remote mountaintop in the Bagram Valley in an effort to cut off the Taliban and take them by surprise.*****
This is part of a major Coalition offensive designed to cut off Taliban supply lines and, in my opinion, keep the Taliban from massing in this area, which is a route towards Herat to the northwest and Kabul to the northeast. I believe that the Taliban are massing in here hoping to eventually move towards those two main cities.
A US soldier overlooking the US position in remote Bagram Valley in northern Helmand Province.
US forces in northern Helmand Province, probably in the Bagram Valley.
******
Kandahar: There are now reports that the Taliban is threatening to attack Kandahar. Taliban sources indicate that the group has been making preparations for an assault on the city for the last three or four months. They are reportedly stockpiling weapons and hiding in Loy Wiyala, a huge slum on the northern end of town.
Helmand Province: Taliban fighters attacked a convoy carrying a former provincial chief, killing him and his 4 bodyguards.
Shahjoy District, Zabul Province: Police and Coalition forces killed 2 guerrillas and wounded 2 more in fighting here. The wounded guerrillas were arrested.
Tarin Kot, Uruzgan Province: US and Afghan forces raided a Taliban stronghold near here and battled fighters for three hours, killing 7 Taliban and wounding 4 more. The wounded fighters were all arrested. A numbers of others escaped into the rugged mountains.
Saturday, June 17
Kajaki Dam, Kajaki District, Helmand Province, Late: Taliban forces fired mortars at British troops guarding this dam. British troops fired mortars back at the Taliban, killing 6 fighters. This is one of the few hydroelectric dams in Afghanistan and guerrillas have been firing mortars at it lately.
British troops take up position fighting in the cauldron known as Helmand Province on June 21. The location is unknown, but I suspect they may be near Gereshk, 23 miles southwest of Sangin.
Kajaki Lake in Helmand Province. The Taliban has been firing mortars at the dam here lately. It's hard to imagine what would happen if the dam broke.
Kajaki Lake in Helmand Province, scene of fighting when the Taliban fired mortars at British troops guarding the dam. This huge lake looks strange in such a desolate desert. What is even more strange is that no vegetation seems to have sprouted around the edges of this lake.******
Friday, June 16
Asadabad District, Kunar Province: Roadside bomb attack on US troops here destroyed an all-terrain vehicle and killed 2 US soldiers.
Thursday, June 15
Bagram Base, Kabul: US Capt. Patrick D. Damon died here from a non-combat related cause.
June 14
*****
Musa Qala, Helmand Province: Small arms attack on a US convoy here killed US Sgt. Roger P. Pena Jr.
The desolate landscape near Musa Qala, where Sgt. Pena was killed in a small arms attack. It's hard to see how you could ambush anyone in a place like this.*****
Tuesday, June 13
Korengal, Kunar Province: Small arms attack on US forces here killed US Sgt. Russell M. Durgin.
June 5
FOB Salerno, Khost Province: The soldier who died here of a noncombat-related cause, Cpl. Derek A. Stanley, was, in my opinion, a suicide, but that has not yet been officially confirmed. At the time, the military only revealed that hostile action or foul play was not suspected. What this means, apparently, is that the soldier died of a gunshot wound.
US forces from the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment on a mountainside, probably near FOB Salerno. FOB Salerno is in Eastern Paktika Province near the Pakistani border. Note how much more vegetated it is here in Paktika than in Zabul, Helmand and Kandahar.
******
Tuesday, June 27
*****
Sangin Valley, Sangin District, Helmand Province, Early AM: RPG attack on a British patrol here killed 1 British soldier. Heavy fighting ensued and another British soldier was wounded. He died of his wounds later. Altogether, 2 British soldiers were killed here and one more British soldier was wounded.
British troops fan out across the parched landscape of the Sangin District on April 17. 2 British soldiers were killed here on Tuesday, June 27, when Taliban fighters ambushed their convoy near here.Sangin continues to be one of the most unstable areas of the horribly unstable Helmand Province. 13 Taliban were reportedly killed in heavy fighting, including air strikes, that followed the initial attack and went on for 4 hours. The Taliban claimed that they destroyed a number of British vehicles.
British troops return from a mission to Camp Bastian near Sangin on June 20. Note the exuberant expressions.Monday, June 26
Bagram Airbase: Suicide car bomb attack on a US convoy near here killed the bomber and wounded 2 Afghan civilians.
This is what was left over after a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked a US convoy outside the US Bagram Airbase. Note the severed limb, either an arm or a leg, of the suicide bomber in the foreground.Sunday, June 25
Pech District, Kunar Province: Fighting here killed 1 US soldier. Details were lacking. The Pech District is extremely dangerous.
Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province: The five health officials kidnapped here by guerrillas last week were released. 2 were doctors, 2 were provincial health officials and 1 was a Swedish NGO worker. Tribal elders forced the terrorists to release the hostages.
Saturday, June 24
*****
Panjwayi District, Late: A four-hour gunbattle erupted here between the Taliban and Coalition forces. 2 soldiers were wounded during the fighting but later died in the hospital. Another Coalition soldier was wounded. Altogether, 2 Coalition troops were killed and 1 more was wounded. 45 Taliban were killed in the fighting.
Canadian forces raid mud-brick homes in Zangadin, Panjwayi Province. 2 Coalition troops were killed and 1 more was wounded in fighting in Panjwayi on Saturday, June 24.At first 8-10 guerrillas attacked but later fled to a compound where they were joined by a much larger group. Coalition forces then attacked the compound, killing 45 Taliban.
Afghan police patrol in Panjwayi District. The Afghan police are poorly armed; the Taliban often have better weapons.
Canadian forces in the Panjwayi District.Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province: Five Afghan medical workers were abducted while driving here in this very wild, forested, jungle-like and extremely dangerous province.
Friday, June 23
Chinoh, Shahjoy District, Zabul Province: The Taliban seized 4 men this village. a checkpoint, accused them of spying for the US, and decapitated them. Their headless bodies were found today and yesterday.
Fayzabad, Badakhshan Province: Roadside bomb attack here on a Danish military convoy carrying the Danish commander-in-chief for Afghanistan, Hans Jesper Helso, wounded 1 Danish soldier and damaged an LAV. The mysterious roadside bomb attacks in mostly-Tajik Fayzabad continue, with no reasonable explanations on who is carrying them out. The Taliban have little to no presence here.
Thursday, June 22
Near Tirin Kot, Uruzgan Province: US troops raided a cave complex here that the Taliban were using as a meeting and hiding place. 8 guerrillas were killed in the raid and 6 more were arrested. A cache AK-47's., RPG's and two machine guns was seized. There were no Coalition casualties.
Gorgeous, desolate terrain in Uruzgan Province. This terrain must be at a very high elevation.Wednesday, June 21
Sangin, Sangin District, Helmand Province, early AM: A large British paratrooper force was airlifted here to retake the town from Taliban who overran it earlier, battling police and a local militia, and killing 32 people.
Canadian troops near Sangin.Near Tirin Kot, Uruzgan Province: US forces intercepted a Taliban force traveling back and forth between a weapons bunker as they tried to set up an ambush of Coalition forces. The Taliban force was attacked and 17 Taliban were killed. There were no Coalition casualties.
Helmand Province: Six Taliban fighters were killed in an attack here.
*****
Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province: US troops battled guerrillas in northern Nuristan. The Taliban, Al Qaeda, Hezb-i-Islami and Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Pakistani group are all operating in this very remote and extremely dangerous province. During the fighting, 4 US troops were killed and 1 more was wounded.
US aircraft joined the attack and 2 guerrillas were killed. Calling in air support here is like calling in air strikes in Vietnam - you can hardly see the enemy at all and from the air, you can just see towering peaks, plunging valley, rocks and forested jungles.
In my opinion, bin Laden and Zawahiri are possibly hiding here in Nuristan. The tribes here have an ancient code that mandates that they protect visitors who ask to be protected from outsiders. This area was formerly known as Kafirstan, because the residents were non-Muslim pagans, until Muslims conquered it and Islamicized it in 1897.
There is a bewildering plethora of small ethnic groups in this area and many different languages are spoken. Most of these languages are related to Iranian in some way.
The region is so inaccessible that a situation similar to the Caucasus or parts of New Guinea has arisen, with tribes in deep mountain valleys speaking different languages. Since it is so hard to go from one valley to the next, the different languages persist due to limited contact. In contrast, in wide, flat areas, smaller languages tend to go out and you often end up with one language spoken over hundreds of miles.
The Muslims here have been very conservative for a long time and during the Afghan War, Salafis made strong inroads here. The Russians never really conquered this province during the war.
The women are supposedly beautiful but the few Westerners who have visited the province say that you can only see them when they are young girls, and after that, they are out of sight. Recent reports indicate that local tribal leaders are being abused by Salafist guerrillas who have overran the province and imposed their writ on the local tribes, who seem to be powerless to stop them.
****
Kandahar: A suicide attacker detonated his explosives-filled car near a military convoy in the city of Kandahar, killing one and wounding nine, Afghan and coalition officials said. Two Canadian soldiers were injured and the attacker was killed. In addition, an Afghan bystander was killed and seven others injured, including one policeman and six civilians.
Aftermath of the suicide car bomb attack in Kandahar on June 21. 2 Canadian soldiers were wounded in this attack.Germany: Romanian soldier Sgt. Costinel Valerica Slaniceanu, critically wounded in the roadside bomb attack in Kandahar Monday night that destroyed a Romanian tank, was evacuated to a hospital in Germany for further treatment.
Shah Wali Kot District, Kandahar Province: Roadside bomb attack on Canadian convoy here wounded 4 Canadian soldiers, 1 seriously. 2 Taliban were arrested nearby and suspected of detonating the bomb.
Southern Afghanistan: A Canadian armored vehicle rolled over, wounding 2 Canadian soldiers.
Tuesday, June 20
*****
Musa Qala, Helmand Province: US and Afghan troops battled Taliban fighters near here, killing 20 Taliban. 1 Afghan soldier was wounded.
Musa Qala, land of desolation in northern Helmand Province. 20 Taliban were killed here on Monday, June 19.
Two Afghans outside of Musa Qala waiting at a US checkpoint. Note the typical black turbans worn by the Taliban. Note also the hard, distrustful faces.Torkham Crossing, Afghanistan/Pakistan Border: A bomb attached to a fuel tanker supplying fuel to US forces in Afghanistan exploded as the vehicle crossed over into Afghanistan from Pakistan, killing six people and destroying 10 trucks. A fuel tanker behind it caught on fire and the fire spread to eight other trucks.
Bagram Valley, Bagram District,Helmand Province: British troops pushed deep into the Bagram Valley in Helmand Province, today pushed deep into rebel territories in southern Afghanistan that have not been under government control for 30 years. Troops are using small arms and artillery to battle Taliban fighters here, and Apache helicopters have been used by the British for the first time.
US forces being airdropped on top of a desolate mountain in Bagram Valley, where they planned to set up a base and cut off Taliban supply lines.
US forces take up position on a mountain ridge in the Bagram Valley, a place that has not seen Coalition forces since the fall of the Taliban. Later, US aircraft bombed a Taliban position in the valley below.*****
Sangin, Sangin District, Helmand Province: The Taliban ambushed the home of the former Helmand Province intelligence chief, Dad Mohammad Khan, setting off a 12-hour battle between the Taliban, Khan's militia and police that killed 32 people, wounded 4 more and left 10 people missing.
The ambush began when Taliban forces attacked vehicles carrying the brother a former district chief, Dad Mohammad Khan. Several hours later, around 40 of the Khan's relatives went to collect his body and were ambushed with the loss of 25 lives, Khan said.
The battle raged for 12 hours and took place only an hour from a US military base. The US troops never came to help the besieged Afghans and the relatives of the dead Afghans are furious.
*****
Monday, June 19
Kandahar, Night: Taliban militants detonated a roadside bomb on a Romanian tank, destroying the tank and killing 1 Romanian soldier, Cpl Ionel Gheorghita, and wounding 3 others. 1 of the soldiers, Sgt Costinel Valerica Slaniceanu, was critically wounded. That must have been a pretty potent bomb to destroy a tank.
Troops inspect the ruins of a Romanian tank destroyed by a roadside bomb near Kandahar. 1 Romanian soldier was killed and 3 more were wounded, 1 critically. It must have been a very powerful roadside bomb to take out a tank. Often anti-tank mines are used for bombs like this. In Iraq, guerrillas has been known to pile three 150-lb antitank mines on top of each other to destroy a US Abrams tank.*****
Zabul Province: Villagers here are finding themselves trapped between Taliban guerrillas and abusive government soldiers. In the Shajoy District, only 1 of 31 schools is open - all the rest have shut down under orders of the Taliban. In Qalat, the capital, the hospital is 50% empty. They cannot fill positions because doctors and nurses are too afraid to work there.
Ruins of an ancient castle near Qalat, capital of Zabul.US and Afghan forces present Zabul as a smashing success. The previously corrupt government has been thrown out and a clean one installed instead. Millions in reconstruction funds have poured into the province and the police and army have been retrained and have received new weapons.
A minefield near an ancient canal in Zabul Province, near Qalat. There is actually some vegetation growing here.Yet Shahjoy District is seriously overrun with Taliban and even the main Kandahar-Kabul Highway, the government's prize, is avoided by most foreigners. Government soldiers, many of whom are ethnic Tajiks, often beat and abuse locals, whom they accuse of helping the Taliban.
An incredibly desolate desert scene in Zabul Province. How do you fight a war in a place like this? Where do you hide?But locals complain that they have no choice but the help the Taliban when they show up in the village. US and Afghan officials said that guerrillas pouring across the border from Pakistan play a major role in the worsening security situation.
******
Sunday, June 18
****
Bagram Valley, Bagram District, Helmand Province: U.S. soldiers set up a fortified position on a mountain ridge here, marking the first time in years that soldiers had been in this area.
US forces were airlifted into a position on a remote mountaintop in the Bagram Valley in an effort to cut off the Taliban and take them by surprise.This is part of a major Coalition offensive designed to cut off Taliban supply lines and, in my opinion, keep the Taliban from massing in this area, which is a route towards Herat to the northwest and Kabul to the northeast. I believe that the Taliban are massing in here hoping to eventually move towards those two main cities.
A US soldier overlooking the US position in remote Bagram Valley in northern Helmand Province.
US forces in northern Helmand Province, probably in the Bagram Valley.Kandahar: There are now reports that the Taliban is threatening to attack Kandahar. Taliban sources indicate that the group has been making preparations for an assault on the city for the last three or four months. They are reportedly stockpiling weapons and hiding in Loy Wiyala, a huge slum on the northern end of town.
Helmand Province: Taliban fighters attacked a convoy carrying a former provincial chief, killing him and his 4 bodyguards.
Shahjoy District, Zabul Province: Police and Coalition forces killed 2 guerrillas and wounded 2 more in fighting here. The wounded guerrillas were arrested.
Tarin Kot, Uruzgan Province: US and Afghan forces raided a Taliban stronghold near here and battled fighters for three hours, killing 7 Taliban and wounding 4 more. The wounded fighters were all arrested. A numbers of others escaped into the rugged mountains.
Saturday, June 17
Kajaki Dam, Kajaki District, Helmand Province, Late: Taliban forces fired mortars at British troops guarding this dam. British troops fired mortars back at the Taliban, killing 6 fighters. This is one of the few hydroelectric dams in Afghanistan and guerrillas have been firing mortars at it lately.
British troops take up position fighting in the cauldron known as Helmand Province on June 21. The location is unknown, but I suspect they may be near Gereshk, 23 miles southwest of Sangin.
Kajaki Lake in Helmand Province. The Taliban has been firing mortars at the dam here lately. It's hard to imagine what would happen if the dam broke.
Kajaki Lake in Helmand Province, scene of fighting when the Taliban fired mortars at British troops guarding the dam. This huge lake looks strange in such a desolate desert. What is even more strange is that no vegetation seems to have sprouted around the edges of this lake.Friday, June 16
Asadabad District, Kunar Province: Roadside bomb attack on US troops here destroyed an all-terrain vehicle and killed 2 US soldiers.
Thursday, June 15
Bagram Base, Kabul: US Capt. Patrick D. Damon died here from a non-combat related cause.
June 14
*****
Musa Qala, Helmand Province: Small arms attack on a US convoy here killed US Sgt. Roger P. Pena Jr.
The desolate landscape near Musa Qala, where Sgt. Pena was killed in a small arms attack. It's hard to see how you could ambush anyone in a place like this.Tuesday, June 13
Korengal, Kunar Province: Small arms attack on US forces here killed US Sgt. Russell M. Durgin.
June 5
FOB Salerno, Khost Province: The soldier who died here of a noncombat-related cause, Cpl. Derek A. Stanley, was, in my opinion, a suicide, but that has not yet been officially confirmed. At the time, the military only revealed that hostile action or foul play was not suspected. What this means, apparently, is that the soldier died of a gunshot wound.
US forces from the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment on a mountainside, probably near FOB Salerno. FOB Salerno is in Eastern Paktika Province near the Pakistani border. Note how much more vegetated it is here in Paktika than in Zabul, Helmand and Kandahar.Monday, June 26, 2006
Possible Location of Tucker/Menchaca Torture Lair Revealed
The latest death toll figures from Hurricane Katrina can be seen on this website here.
The torture deaths and bodily desecrations of 2 US soldiers, Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker in Jurf as Sakhr, Iraq (not Yusufiyah, as frequently claimed in the media), have been all over the news since their bodies were discovered late Monday, June 19. The type of torture that was inflicted on them or their bodies is the subject of much speculation.
A US soldier from the 4th Infantry Division searches a wheat field near Jurf as Sakhr in April.
The US military has revealed very little in the way of details. However, leaked details of the nature of the tortures inflicted on the men have been revealed and are propagating across the blogosphere. A comprehensive summary of the exact nature of the men's tortures, complete with sources, can be found on this blog here.
One thing that no one has yet discussed anywhere is where the men or their bodies were taken to be tortured. Note that recent US military statements cast doubt on whether the men were killed in action and later had their bodies desecrated or where captured alive and tortured to death.
First, let us note the location of the initial attack that led to this debacle. The attack occurred at a checkpoint on a bridge where a canal meets the Euphrates River on the outskirts of a town called Karagol, near Jurf as Sakhr, which is in the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad (excellent, detailed map of the Triangle of Death on this blog here).
US soldiers found the bodies on the evening of June 19, lying in a ditch by the side of the road near a power plant in Jurf As Sakhr.
Reports from Dallas Morning News journalists embedded with the military talk about a large base, Forward Operating Base Iskan, or Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, in or near Jurf as Sakhr, and mention a prominent power plant in the middle of town.
US forces handing out candy to Iraqi children near Jurf as Sakhr in April.
This lines up with reports about the bodies being found near a power plant in Jurf as Sakhr and reports that the soldiers were part of a contingent from a nearby large US base. FOB Iskandariyah is right next to a huge power plant.
The power plant in Jurf as Sakhr is in the center of town and dominates it. The aging plant, built in the 1970's with Soviet technology, pours black smoke constantly and spills crude oil all over the area around it via oil bubbling to the surface, often a ways away from the plant. The police station in Jurf as Sakhr was first blown up by guerrillas last year. The police station was rebuilt this year, and guerrillas blew it up again. It is now being rebuilt for the second time.
A roadside bomb explodes near US military patrol in Jurf as Sakhr in April. Fortunately, the bomb was not close enough to the patrol to cause any damage. The Jurf as Sakhr area is totally hostile.
US troops withdrew from Jurf as Sakhr on Tuesday, June 20, and as they withdrew, they set fire to warehouses next to the power plant where the bodies were discovered. Residents later put out the fires. Reports of the behavior of US troops during the search do not report extensive property destruction in the area, nor do they report random beatings and shootings of civilians.
Therefore, the fact that the troops set those warehouses on fire just before they left is peculiar. No doubt these warehouses were searched around the time the soldiers were found dead.
If evidence of the men's torture deaths or bodily desecrations (blood on the floors or walls, etc.) was found, isn't it possible that the troops may have reacted to this by setting the warehouse-torture centers on fire just before they vacated the town? I can't think of any other reason to set the warehouses on fire. Consider that:
Update: We now have a second witness report from Iraqis who witnessed the attack on the 3 US troops in their Humvee on Friday, June 16 - the attack that set off the ensuing nightmare. This gives us three alternative scenarios regarding the capture of the troops:
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
The torture deaths and bodily desecrations of 2 US soldiers, Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker in Jurf as Sakhr, Iraq (not Yusufiyah, as frequently claimed in the media), have been all over the news since their bodies were discovered late Monday, June 19. The type of torture that was inflicted on them or their bodies is the subject of much speculation.
A US soldier from the 4th Infantry Division searches a wheat field near Jurf as Sakhr in April.The US military has revealed very little in the way of details. However, leaked details of the nature of the tortures inflicted on the men have been revealed and are propagating across the blogosphere. A comprehensive summary of the exact nature of the men's tortures, complete with sources, can be found on this blog here.
One thing that no one has yet discussed anywhere is where the men or their bodies were taken to be tortured. Note that recent US military statements cast doubt on whether the men were killed in action and later had their bodies desecrated or where captured alive and tortured to death.
First, let us note the location of the initial attack that led to this debacle. The attack occurred at a checkpoint on a bridge where a canal meets the Euphrates River on the outskirts of a town called Karagol, near Jurf as Sakhr, which is in the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad (excellent, detailed map of the Triangle of Death on this blog here).
US soldiers found the bodies on the evening of June 19, lying in a ditch by the side of the road near a power plant in Jurf As Sakhr.
Reports from Dallas Morning News journalists embedded with the military talk about a large base, Forward Operating Base Iskan, or Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, in or near Jurf as Sakhr, and mention a prominent power plant in the middle of town.
US forces handing out candy to Iraqi children near Jurf as Sakhr in April.The power plant in Jurf as Sakhr is in the center of town and dominates it. The aging plant, built in the 1970's with Soviet technology, pours black smoke constantly and spills crude oil all over the area around it via oil bubbling to the surface, often a ways away from the plant. The police station in Jurf as Sakhr was first blown up by guerrillas last year. The police station was rebuilt this year, and guerrillas blew it up again. It is now being rebuilt for the second time.
A roadside bomb explodes near US military patrol in Jurf as Sakhr in April. Fortunately, the bomb was not close enough to the patrol to cause any damage. The Jurf as Sakhr area is totally hostile.US troops withdrew from Jurf as Sakhr on Tuesday, June 20, and as they withdrew, they set fire to warehouses next to the power plant where the bodies were discovered. Residents later put out the fires. Reports of the behavior of US troops during the search do not report extensive property destruction in the area, nor do they report random beatings and shootings of civilians.
Therefore, the fact that the troops set those warehouses on fire just before they left is peculiar. No doubt these warehouses were searched around the time the soldiers were found dead.
If evidence of the men's torture deaths or bodily desecrations (blood on the floors or walls, etc.) was found, isn't it possible that the troops may have reacted to this by setting the warehouse-torture centers on fire just before they vacated the town? I can't think of any other reason to set the warehouses on fire. Consider that:
- There was little random property destruction by US forces in the area
- The warehouses were right next to the where the men's bodies were found
- The mutilated bodies were probably not moved very far from where they were tortured, killed and eviscerated
- As a last act before vacating the city, US forces inexplicably set fire to the warehouses
Update: We now have a second witness report from Iraqis who witnessed the attack on the 3 US troops in their Humvee on Friday, June 16 - the attack that set off the ensuing nightmare. This gives us three alternative scenarios regarding the capture of the troops:
- An Iraqi initially reported that there were three Humvees at a checkpoint near a fruit grove. Guerrillas attacked the checkpoint from the fruit grove and two of the Humvees took off into the grove after the guerrillas. The guerrillas retreated into the grove, apparently to draw the two Humvees away and isolate the third Humvee.
Seven guerrillas clad in black athletic suits and masks then swarmed the third Humvee. Two guerrillas were armed with RPG's and one was armed with a heavy machine gun. In the course of swarming the vehicle, Spc. David J. Babineau was killed and Menchaca and Tucker were wounded. The guerrillas then led Menchaca and Tucker off to two waiting vehicles and sped away. One vehicle was later found abandoned with bloodstains on the back seat. - US forces dispute this account, saying only that the three soldiers were manning a checkpoint with the rest of their patrol when the other vehicles in the patrol left to go check traffic, leaving the lone Humvee at the checkpoint.
- We now have a third account. On Wednesday, June 21, Reuters quoted Omar Abdullah as saying that there was a US patrol in the area with numerous vehicles in it. A lone Humvee fell behind the rest of the patrol by about 300 yards. At that point, it was swarmed by about 30 guerrillas in Land Cruisers and Toyotas. The attack stirred up a lot of dust, so the rest of the patrol could not see what was going on. The driver was quickly killed. After a bit, Menchaca and Tucker were overwhelmed and taken prisoner.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
New Details on How Menchaca and Taylor Were Killed
The latest death toll figures from Hurricane Katrina can be seen on this website here. The famous Russian neo-Nazi video is on this blog here.
Updated January 23, 2008:
New details have emerged on how 2 US soldiers, Pvt. Kristian Menchaca and Pvt. Thomas L. Tucker, were killed in Iraq. The 2 men were captured and taken prisoner by Iraqi Al Qaeda at a checkpoint on a bridge over a canal. The location was near where a canal meets the Euphrates River on the outskirts of the town of Karagol, near Jurf As Sakhr, in the Triangle of Death.
For the location of the Triangle of Death, see the map in my prior post on the Death Triangle, one of the best on the Internet.
A Marine stands guard in Yusufiyah next to a young Iraqi boy in this photo from December 2004. Menchaca and Taylor were seized in Karagol, about 17 miles south of Yusufiyah. Their bodies were found in Jurf as Sakhr, a larger town next to Karagol. Yet many news reports are insisting that the men were both seized and found in Yusufiyah, which is a ways to the north.
A US soldier takes aim at unknown targets in Yusufiyah in December 2004 as an Iraqi girl peeks around the corner.
An Iraqi man preparing to vote in Yusufiyah in January 2005 is frisked by election guards. The despicable Sunni terrorists actually attacked polling places in this town where people were trying to cast votes.
US soldiers were tipped off by Iraqis, who were the first to find the bodies. The Iraqis warned US troops that the bodies may be boobytrapped. Early Monday evening, June 18, US troops discovered the bodies of the soldiers. The bodies were lying in a ditch by the side of the road near a power plant in Jurf As Sakhr.
Troops heeded the warnings of the Iraqis that the bodies may be boobytrapped, so they established a perimeter and waited until dawn to call in a bomb squad. Consequently, it took 12 hours to remove the bodies because there were a large number of roadside bombs scattered along the road and near the bodies.
What is interesting about this piece of information is that it flies in the face of the raging pro-terrorist rhetoric fulminating our way from the Idiot Wind known as the Rightwing Blogosphere. In the past few days, I read call after call on these blogs to carpet bomb the entire Triangle of Death, to level the whole area, to nuke it, and in general to kill civilians randomly in the area.
The basis for these calls was supposedly that the Death Triangle civilians almost all support the killers of the soldiers. The truth, as usual, is much more complicated.
Being complicated, it is hence beyond the capacity of most rightwingers, who believe rather than think, who lack critical thinking skills, who are afflicted with extreme levels of intellectual dishonestly and who demonstrate a general dislike of science, education and intellectuals.
For more on this dynamic, see the superb essay, Thinkers Versus Believers, by Tony Ward, a Political Science professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.
Now let us look at the facts in this case.
US troops cross a river (possibly the Euphrates) or more likely a canal, on Monday, June 19, in a sadly futile search for the missing 2 US POW's. The soldiers' bodies were found later that day in Jurf as Sakhr, not Yusufiyah as countless reports insist. Although crossing a river with all that equipment looks like a drag, in 130-degree temperatures it might actually be refreshing.
Initial reports by an Iraqi defense official said the 2 men were killed "in a barbaric way" and there were "signs of torture on their bodies". Later, IAQ released a statement that credited the new circus freak leader of the Islamofascist IAQ, Abu Hamza al-Mujaher, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, with "slaughtering" the POW's himself.
However, the Counterterrorism Blog recently noted that IAQ issued a statement that appeared to imply that the previous statement crediting the IAQ leader himself with the execution of the 2 POW's was not credible. The Webmaster of the Tajdeed Forum on which the announcement took place has recently been attacked by Saudi Al Qaeda as an informant for British intelligence.
On the other hand, one can clearly see the Iraqi Al Qaeda logo on the homepage of that forum. Furthermore, if you look around that forum you will see various banners, including a banner with the classic Saudi Al Qaeda logo. There is also a logo of a horse with Arabic writing next to it. Many Al Qaeda logos utilize a horse.
There is another banner on the site with a picture of Saudi Arabia next to an AK-47. I assume this page is associated with the Saudi Arabian Al Qaeda organization.
The language in the supposedly fake posting seemed to have intimate knowledge of the fate of 2 soldiers soon after they were killed, when almost no information about the deaths was available. That implies that even if the posting was fake, the posters clearly had knowledge of the killing of the 2 soldiers. The fact that the posters were intimately connected with the killers renders the debate largely moot.
US military spokesmen noted that the bodies were "remains" that were so badly disfigured and mutilated that they were not able to determine the cause of death. The bodies were sent back to the US for DNA identification and this morning the families of both soldiers were notified that the remains had been positively ID's as those of Menchaca and Tucker. There will also be an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
An article in the Houston Chronicle quoted a relative of Menchaca's as saying that an Army spokesman had told him on Tuesday morning that both men had in fact been decapitated. The MSM is now quoting Army officials confirming that one, or possibly both men were decapitated.
Apparently, the initial results of the autopsy are being leaked. According to a group called Sons of Washington, the decapitation of Menchaca and Tucker was the coup de grace, and was done while they were still conscious.
However, a New York Times article on Friday, June 23, quoted Menchaca's relatives as saying that the military had told them that both soldiers were probably killed in the gunbattle at the scene. The bodies were then desecrated afterwards to make it appear that they had been tortured to death. This would contradict a witnesses' statement who said he had seen guerrillas away from the scene and placing them in cars.
The relative also said that only one soldier had been decapitated, not both.
On Wednesday afternoon, a post on the Free Republic website quoted Fox News military analyst Colonel David Hunt as saying that the 2 men had had their toes and fingers chopped off and their livers and intestines were removed and spilled onto the ground. According to the blog Blue Star Chronicles, the men also had their tongues cut out.
A Fox News columnist, E.D. Hill, said that the soldiers had their hearts cut out, their eyes gouged out, their noses and ears cut off and their penises and testicles cut off and stuffed in their mouths. Malott's Blog said the soldiers were burned with cigarettes and had their arms pulled out of their sockets.
There are also reports that they were dragged behind vehicles.
The blog The Further Adventures of Indigo Red reports that they were covered in garbage and surrounded by several roadside bombs.
These guys sound like Hannibal Lectors, not guerrillas.
There are claims that the government is covering up the details of the torture done to Menchaca and Tucker to protect their families. That seems reasonable enough, but the details are bound to get out anyway.
Nice people, those Iraqi Al Qaeda guys.
This blog issues its deepest condolences to the friends and family of the 2 murdered soldiers.
Other soldiers were injured and killed in the search for Tucker and Menchaca. Spc. Joshua Gutierrez was driving a Bradley armored vehicle north of Iskandariyah (see my map linked in the first paragraph) as part of the mission to search for the troops when the vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
The cockpit area of the Bradley was engulfed in flames and Gutierrez was unable to open the hatch at the back to let the troops out. Nor could he get himself out, because both of his legs were broken.
But another soldier jumped out and pulled Gutierrez out of the vehicle. Gutierrez suffered serious injuries in the attack and had part of one of his legs amputated.
During the search, US troops swarmed into the area around Jurf as Sakhr, an area that has not seen many US troops in recent days. A resident said there was a Humvee in front of every house.
US forces are launching an investigation to determine why the soldiers' Humvee was alone outside their base. In Iraq, most US military vehicles, even Abrams tanks, tend to travel in pairs. Apparently, the other vehicles in the soldiers' patrol left Menchaca and Taylor alone while the other vehicles were inspecting traffic. This is possibly a violation of the Army procedure above that all US military vehicles travel at least in pairs.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
Updated January 23, 2008:
New details have emerged on how 2 US soldiers, Pvt. Kristian Menchaca and Pvt. Thomas L. Tucker, were killed in Iraq. The 2 men were captured and taken prisoner by Iraqi Al Qaeda at a checkpoint on a bridge over a canal. The location was near where a canal meets the Euphrates River on the outskirts of the town of Karagol, near Jurf As Sakhr, in the Triangle of Death.
For the location of the Triangle of Death, see the map in my prior post on the Death Triangle, one of the best on the Internet.
A Marine stands guard in Yusufiyah next to a young Iraqi boy in this photo from December 2004. Menchaca and Taylor were seized in Karagol, about 17 miles south of Yusufiyah. Their bodies were found in Jurf as Sakhr, a larger town next to Karagol. Yet many news reports are insisting that the men were both seized and found in Yusufiyah, which is a ways to the north.
A US soldier takes aim at unknown targets in Yusufiyah in December 2004 as an Iraqi girl peeks around the corner.
An Iraqi man preparing to vote in Yusufiyah in January 2005 is frisked by election guards. The despicable Sunni terrorists actually attacked polling places in this town where people were trying to cast votes.US soldiers were tipped off by Iraqis, who were the first to find the bodies. The Iraqis warned US troops that the bodies may be boobytrapped. Early Monday evening, June 18, US troops discovered the bodies of the soldiers. The bodies were lying in a ditch by the side of the road near a power plant in Jurf As Sakhr.
Troops heeded the warnings of the Iraqis that the bodies may be boobytrapped, so they established a perimeter and waited until dawn to call in a bomb squad. Consequently, it took 12 hours to remove the bodies because there were a large number of roadside bombs scattered along the road and near the bodies.
What is interesting about this piece of information is that it flies in the face of the raging pro-terrorist rhetoric fulminating our way from the Idiot Wind known as the Rightwing Blogosphere. In the past few days, I read call after call on these blogs to carpet bomb the entire Triangle of Death, to level the whole area, to nuke it, and in general to kill civilians randomly in the area.
The basis for these calls was supposedly that the Death Triangle civilians almost all support the killers of the soldiers. The truth, as usual, is much more complicated.
Being complicated, it is hence beyond the capacity of most rightwingers, who believe rather than think, who lack critical thinking skills, who are afflicted with extreme levels of intellectual dishonestly and who demonstrate a general dislike of science, education and intellectuals.
For more on this dynamic, see the superb essay, Thinkers Versus Believers, by Tony Ward, a Political Science professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.
Now let us look at the facts in this case.
- A local gave an excellent description of the attack on the US soldiers, including descriptions of the attackers, the weapons they used, the outcome of the attack, and the vehicles used to drive the POW's away.
- Locals informed US troops that they heard that the POW's were being held in Jurf as Sakhr. It turns out that that is precisely where they were held.
- When locals discovered the soldiers' bodies, they promptly informed US troops and warned troops that the area was probably booby-trapped.
- Although there are clearly many guerrilla supporters in the area, including supporters of Iraqi Al Qaeda, news reports on the town where the abduction occurred, Karagol, describe Iraqi Al Qaeda Headquarters in the area a place where locals live in utter terror of Iraqi Al Qaeda.
- Considering that any cooperation with US troops is often met with threats, beatings, torture, and frequently death, wouldn't you say that the citizens above were cooperating with US troops, and hence putting their lives at risk?
US troops cross a river (possibly the Euphrates) or more likely a canal, on Monday, June 19, in a sadly futile search for the missing 2 US POW's. The soldiers' bodies were found later that day in Jurf as Sakhr, not Yusufiyah as countless reports insist. Although crossing a river with all that equipment looks like a drag, in 130-degree temperatures it might actually be refreshing.Initial reports by an Iraqi defense official said the 2 men were killed "in a barbaric way" and there were "signs of torture on their bodies". Later, IAQ released a statement that credited the new circus freak leader of the Islamofascist IAQ, Abu Hamza al-Mujaher, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, with "slaughtering" the POW's himself.
However, the Counterterrorism Blog recently noted that IAQ issued a statement that appeared to imply that the previous statement crediting the IAQ leader himself with the execution of the 2 POW's was not credible. The Webmaster of the Tajdeed Forum on which the announcement took place has recently been attacked by Saudi Al Qaeda as an informant for British intelligence.
On the other hand, one can clearly see the Iraqi Al Qaeda logo on the homepage of that forum. Furthermore, if you look around that forum you will see various banners, including a banner with the classic Saudi Al Qaeda logo. There is also a logo of a horse with Arabic writing next to it. Many Al Qaeda logos utilize a horse.
There is another banner on the site with a picture of Saudi Arabia next to an AK-47. I assume this page is associated with the Saudi Arabian Al Qaeda organization.
The language in the supposedly fake posting seemed to have intimate knowledge of the fate of 2 soldiers soon after they were killed, when almost no information about the deaths was available. That implies that even if the posting was fake, the posters clearly had knowledge of the killing of the 2 soldiers. The fact that the posters were intimately connected with the killers renders the debate largely moot.
US military spokesmen noted that the bodies were "remains" that were so badly disfigured and mutilated that they were not able to determine the cause of death. The bodies were sent back to the US for DNA identification and this morning the families of both soldiers were notified that the remains had been positively ID's as those of Menchaca and Tucker. There will also be an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
An article in the Houston Chronicle quoted a relative of Menchaca's as saying that an Army spokesman had told him on Tuesday morning that both men had in fact been decapitated. The MSM is now quoting Army officials confirming that one, or possibly both men were decapitated.
Apparently, the initial results of the autopsy are being leaked. According to a group called Sons of Washington, the decapitation of Menchaca and Tucker was the coup de grace, and was done while they were still conscious.
However, a New York Times article on Friday, June 23, quoted Menchaca's relatives as saying that the military had told them that both soldiers were probably killed in the gunbattle at the scene. The bodies were then desecrated afterwards to make it appear that they had been tortured to death. This would contradict a witnesses' statement who said he had seen guerrillas away from the scene and placing them in cars.
The relative also said that only one soldier had been decapitated, not both.
On Wednesday afternoon, a post on the Free Republic website quoted Fox News military analyst Colonel David Hunt as saying that the 2 men had had their toes and fingers chopped off and their livers and intestines were removed and spilled onto the ground. According to the blog Blue Star Chronicles, the men also had their tongues cut out.
A Fox News columnist, E.D. Hill, said that the soldiers had their hearts cut out, their eyes gouged out, their noses and ears cut off and their penises and testicles cut off and stuffed in their mouths. Malott's Blog said the soldiers were burned with cigarettes and had their arms pulled out of their sockets.
There are also reports that they were dragged behind vehicles.
The blog The Further Adventures of Indigo Red reports that they were covered in garbage and surrounded by several roadside bombs.
These guys sound like Hannibal Lectors, not guerrillas.
There are claims that the government is covering up the details of the torture done to Menchaca and Tucker to protect their families. That seems reasonable enough, but the details are bound to get out anyway.
Nice people, those Iraqi Al Qaeda guys.
This blog issues its deepest condolences to the friends and family of the 2 murdered soldiers.
Other soldiers were injured and killed in the search for Tucker and Menchaca. Spc. Joshua Gutierrez was driving a Bradley armored vehicle north of Iskandariyah (see my map linked in the first paragraph) as part of the mission to search for the troops when the vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
The cockpit area of the Bradley was engulfed in flames and Gutierrez was unable to open the hatch at the back to let the troops out. Nor could he get himself out, because both of his legs were broken.
But another soldier jumped out and pulled Gutierrez out of the vehicle. Gutierrez suffered serious injuries in the attack and had part of one of his legs amputated.
During the search, US troops swarmed into the area around Jurf as Sakhr, an area that has not seen many US troops in recent days. A resident said there was a Humvee in front of every house.
US forces are launching an investigation to determine why the soldiers' Humvee was alone outside their base. In Iraq, most US military vehicles, even Abrams tanks, tend to travel in pairs. Apparently, the other vehicles in the soldiers' patrol left Menchaca and Taylor alone while the other vehicles were inspecting traffic. This is possibly a violation of the Army procedure above that all US military vehicles travel at least in pairs.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
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