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| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 06:15 pm |
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1st Post |
Bob Of Burleson
...And the smell of gunsmoke
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'America's Battalion' In Afghanistan
Marine General Takes Fight To The Taliban
NPR.org
Morning Edition, July 2, 2009 · The leader of some 4,000 Marines who descended early Thursday morning on the Helmand River valley in southern Afghanistan is Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, a veteran of Iraq who was seriously wounded there five years ago.
Commanding general of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Nicholson has one of those lived-in faces — creased and craggy, like a boxer's or a veteran beat cop.
And he has the scars of a Marine who survived battle.
. . .
Nicholson's challenge is fighting an elusive enemy that attacks and intimidates, then melts away. Even 10,000 Marines aren't enough.
"We're never going to have — even in our wildest dreams — we're never going to have enough Marines and soldiers to be everywhere," he said in an interview. "That's why having the locals take more responsibility in their own — hey this is my neighborhood, and I'm going to defend this neighborhood."
. . .
"Our job is to go in there and make contact with the enemy — find the enemy, make contact with the enemy, and then we'll hold on," he told his Marines.
"This is an enemy that's used to having small-scale attacks and having the coalition pull back. There is no pullback," he added. "We will stay on him, and we will ride him until he's either dead or surrenders."
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| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 06:27 pm |
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2nd Post |
BigTex
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Too bad NPR didn't ask him what he thought of John Murtha.
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| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 07:35 pm |
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3rd Post |
| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 07:41 pm |
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4th Post |
Bubba
Redneck Computer Geek
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I gotz a kick outta this reader's comments:
I'm certainly no fan of the taliban but this is yet another example of NPR's war-fevered coverage of the US's invasions of other countries. Isn't the purpose of journalism to ask questions and offer a bit of skepticism about what America is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan? Where's the independent, critical thinking that NPR brags about during every fundraiser? Where are the anti-war voices on "public' radio? Alas, MOrn. ed. is too busy acting as a mouthpiece for the pentagon to do its job.How many more Marines and soldiers will be out in harm's way till the media starts asking questions?
Yeah.... That dang'd NPR.... The "Mouthpiece of the Pentagon".... Damn the man!
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| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 07:45 pm |
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5th Post |
Stoli
Orphie is a SBWLLHCE!!!!!!!!
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Bubba wrote: I gotz a kick outta this reader's comments:
I'm certainly no fan of the taliban but this is yet another example of NPR's war-fevered coverage of the US's invasions of other countries. Isn't the purpose of journalism to ask questions and offer a bit of skepticism about what America is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan? Where's the independent, critical thinking that NPR brags about during every fundraiser? Where are the anti-war voices on "public' radio? Alas, MOrn. ed. is too busy acting as a mouthpiece for the pentagon to do its job.How many more Marines and soldiers will be out in harm's way till the media starts asking questions?
Yeah.... That dang'd NPR.... The "Mouthpiece of the Pentagon".... Damn the man!
*sigh* - I thought the exact same thing Bubba.
____________________
I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it.
Mark Twain
"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
- George Orwell
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| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 07:56 pm |
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6th Post |
jellowrestling
Messenger
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Bubba wrote: I gotz a kick outta this reader's comments:
I'm certainly no fan of the taliban but this is yet another example of NPR's war-fevered coverage of the US's invasions of other countries. Isn't the purpose of journalism to ask questions and offer a bit of skepticism about what America is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan? Where's the independent, critical thinking that NPR brags about during every fundraiser? Where are the anti-war voices on "public' radio? Alas, MOrn. ed. is too busy acting as a mouthpiece for the pentagon to do its job.How many more Marines and soldiers will be out in harm's way till the media starts asking questions?
Yeah.... That dang'd NPR.... The "Mouthpiece of the Pentagon".... Damn the man!
Typical lefty. Thinks "anti-war"=independent, critical thinking.
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For truth to prevail, we must have the courage to proclaim it. - Ronald Reagan
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| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 09:16 pm |
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7th Post |
Bob Of Burleson
...And the smell of gunsmoke
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But . . . but . . . how about the general? The article is about Gen. Nicholson -- not NPR.
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| Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 09:18 pm |
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8th Post |
Bubba
Redneck Computer Geek
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I'm glad he's on our side....
OOH-RAH!
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| Posted: Fri Jul 3rd, 2009 01:08 am |
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9th Post |
Gopher
Member
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Any word on the reported captured marine? It doesn't seem to be a concern to the Kenyon.
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Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
FBO
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Bob Of Burleson
...And the smell of gunsmoke
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As marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the population. The brigade’s commander, Brigadier General Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his marines would focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.
“We’re doing this very differently,” Gen Nicholson said to his senior officers before the mission began. “We’re going to be with the people. We’re not going to drive to work; we’re going to walk to work.”
An initial priority for the marines will be to bring back Afghan government officials and reinvigorate the local police forces. marine commanders also plan to help district governors hold shuras, or meetings of elders in the community, in the next week.
“Our focus is not the Taliban,” Gen Nicholson told his officers. “Our focus must be on getting this government back up on its feet.”
But Gen Nicholson and his top commanders recognise that making that happen involves tackling numerous challenges, starting with the lack of trust among the population. That mistrust stems from concern over civilian casualties resulting from US military operations, as well as from the fear that the troops will not stay long enough to counter the Taliban.
--FT.com
COMPLETE STORY
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