White House Announces Missing Soldier Returning Home After Negotiating Questionalble Prisoner Swap With Taliban

Flanked by the parents of missing US Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, President Obama announced that he had reached a deal with the Taliban securing their son's return from the Taliban in exchange for the release of five senior Taliban leaders who were being held in Guantanamo Bay. The announcement took place during a press conference in the White House rose garden on Saturday and already has both civilian and military officials alike calling the legality of the deal into question.

In addition to the legality of negotiating for Bergdahl's release from the Taliban, a number of soldiers who served with Bergdahl at the time of his 2009 disappearance have come forward and claimed that the missing sergeant is- at best- a deserter and may have been actively collaborating with the Taliban after going AWOL. Reportedly, at least six soldiers were killed in Taliban ambushes as the unit was searching for Bergdahl leading to criticism of the release from some of the soldier's family members.

The circumstances behind Bergdahl's disappearance are murky, but what is known that Bergdahl was absent when his unit-
1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division- conducted a headcount in the early morning hours of June 30th, 2009 at a forward operating base in southern Paktika province. Bergdahl, who was originally from Idaho, expressed growing disillusionment with the US Army in Afghanistan in his correspondence with his father and reportedly made offhanded comments to his platoon-mates about just walking off into the mountains. Some soldiers said that Bergdahl likely told the Taliban on how best to place IEDs for maximum effect on US Convoys.

Bergdahl's father did nothing to allay those suspicions after sending out messages via social networking sites like twitter encouraging the release of all Taliban prisoners in US custody while following foreign fighters in Syria. Bob Berdahl was also reportedly learning to speak Arabic and Pashto- the language primarily used by the Taliban- although that may have been done in an attempt to independently secure the release of his son. The elder Bergdahl also raised eyebrows when he uttered "In the name of Allah, the merciful and compassionate-" in Arabic during his appearance in the Rose Garden with President Obama over the weekend [anybody else find it slightly curious that Obama had time to fly in the elder Bergdahl for the rose garden presser, but not notify Congress?- NANESB!]

The five Taliban detainees who were released were identified as Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Nori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari. The five were flown to the gulf state of Qatar while Bergdahl was flown to a US Army hospital in Germany.

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence committee say that the White House has broken the law by entering into negotiations with the Taliban without notifying Congress. According to NBC's senior Washington correspondent, the White House was caught off guard by the military's reaction to Bergdahl's release.

6/4 UPDATE- A couple of even stranger developments began circulating regarding the aftermath of Bowe Bergdahl's disappearance in 2009 that have only recently come to light. The first was that some of Bergdahl's platoon-mates were reportedly ordered by superiors to sign a non-disclosure agreement over Bergdahl's alleged desertion and the search for the missing GI. According to Bergdahl's team leader, an Afghan interpreter translated messages in real-time from radio chatter about a lone American in a nearby village looking for an English speaker so he could talk to the Taliban.

US Diplomatic Posts Shuttered Throughout Middle East as Lawmakers Cite 'Specific', 'Serious' Threat in Region.

In light of a number of what lawmakers called credible and serious threats, the State Department announced that they were keeping some of their embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa closed through Saturday. The State Department's closing of the diplomatic missions coincides with the end of the muslim holy month of Ramadan and a series of high-profile jailbreaks last week in Syria, Libya, Iraq and Pakistan where Taliban and Al Qaeda inmates were being held.

The State Department has announced that it will keep several embassies in the Middle East and Africa closed throughout the week “out of an abundance of caution” in the wake of terror threats that shut them down.

Posts in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antanarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali and Port Louis have been instructed to close for normal operations from Monday through Saturday, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

The State Department also said some of those embassies were already going to be closed in accordance with local customs marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Those authorized to reopen Monday are in Dhaka, Algiers, Nouakchott, Kabul, Herat, Mazar el Sharif, Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil.

Capitol Hill lawmakers, including top-ranking members of intelligence committees, on Sunday described the terror threat that closed 22 U.S. embassies and consulates across the Muslim region as the most serious one since before the 9/11 attacks and related to specific act or plot.

The sources said the chatter included Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri demanding that key leaders of the terror network in the Arabian Peninsula step up their activities in the wake of recent killings of top terrorists.

A Mideast diplomat said al-Zawahiri’s “pressuring” of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to launch new terrorist attacks on American and other Western targets is “unprecedented.”

The sources also said the U.S. outpost closings and the travel alert were prompted in part by a series of recent Al Qaeda-led prison breaks that have freed hundreds of operatives over the last month, including one this weekend in Aleppo, Syria. Other recent breaks have been orchestrated in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan and Abu Ghraib, in Afghanistan.

Canada has also shut down their diplomatic mission in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka amid growing unrest in that nation while the UK, France and Germany closed down their respective embassies in Yemen.

On Saturday, a car bomb detonated outside of the Indian consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The explosion killed nine, including children from a nearby mosque. A spokesman for India's Foreign Ministry said that no Indian officials were harmed in the attack.

Pre-Emptive Shennanigans? Military Voters Purged From Rolls in Florida; Aircraft Carrying Absentee Ballots Crashes in Afghanistan

With the 2012 Presidential campaign winding down, a number of incidents concerning active-duty members of the United States Military attempting to vote via absentee ballot have come to light.

According to an October 26th Associated report, a cargo plane crashed while on approach to Shindad Air Force Base in Afghanistan on October 19th. The plane was carrying an estimated 4700 pounds of mail at the time, and military investigators believe that this likely included a number of absentee ballots on board. The plane was reportedly carrying inbound mail and the ballots on board had yet to be filled out. All the mail on board was destined for a single APO Zip code and the plane was a civilian aircraft from a company that had been contracted to fly in supplies and mail to the base.

Over in Florida, active-duty military voters from the Tampa area were startled to learn that they had been purged from the roll of registered voters while they were deployed overseas. Valrico resident and Navy Captain Peter Kehrig, who has been abroad for five years tells 10 News he feels cheated by a system that removed him from the rolls.

Florida State Law requires county supervisor of elections offices to perform regular "maintenance" on its voter rolls to eliminate voters who have been convicted of felonies, moved out of the county, or may have died.

Voters who miss two consecutive general elections (2010 and 2008, for instance) are mailed a letter to their residence warning them they will be removed from the rolls. But since the post office only forwards mail for six months, Kehrig never got it.

Meanwhile, a couple from Palm Beach County, FL but stationed at Camp Lejune in North Carolina said they had yet to recieve their absentee ballot from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections. When reached for comment, an official with the Supervisor of elections told a local TV station they were 'working on it' but declined to elaborate.

According to a recent Military Times poll, Republican nominee Mitt Romney enjoyed support from active duty and reservist members of the United States Military by a 66% margin compared to 26% for President Obama.

During the 2000 Presidential Campaign, lawyers for the Gore campaign fought to get absentee ballots from overseas disqualified from the recount as many of them were from soldiers, Marines, sailors and Airmen stationed overseas who had voted in support of Bush.

More recently, elections officials in Illinois and New York state had failed to mail off absentee ballots in time for the 2010 mid-term elections in violation of the 2009 MOVE act.

[Hat tip: Wyatt Earp]

CNN Founder Ted Turner: High Suicide Rate Among US Servicemen in Afghanistan is "Good"

Between 'Superstorm Sandy', the closing week of the 2012 election and the White House's deceptive narrative on the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Benghazi unrabelling, i though this short but rather telling snippet of video from CNN last week seems to have been lost in the shuffle.

In an interview with his own network's Piers Morgan, the TV show host pointed out to Mr Turner that the rate of suicides among American soldiers in Afghanistan was actually higher than combat-related casualties.

This is what billionaire media mogul Ted Turner had to say in response:



If you notice around the 9 second mark, after Morgan asks "Shocking, isn't it?" he begins to say "No, I think it's ter-" before apparently correcting himself and saying "I think its good" before spouting some touchey-feeley New Age crapola about how people are inherently hard wired to be compassionate and helpful to one another.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Turner issued an 'apology' through a spokesman shortly afterwards.

During my recent interview on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, I inadvertently used the word "good" when asked for my thoughts on the increasing rate of suicide among U.S. military soldiers in the Middle East. It was certainly not my intent to imply that suicide is "good." Rather, I was implying that it is good that the public is more aware of these tragedies and is more averse to war and war-related fatalities.

My message has always been one of peace, I believe that we're born programmed to love and help each other, not to kill or hurt each other. I strongly support our U.S. troops and would never intentionally say anything to harm the brave men and women serving our country. I deeply apologize for any misunderstanding caused by this comment

I'm really not sure what I could possibly write to follow this up, other than I've gone from pitying CNN in their race to the bottom of the ratings heap to openly despising them.

US Army Debuts His And Hers Body Armour

US Army Corporal Kristine Tejada keeps watch while securing the site of the ancient Sumerian Ziggeraut in Ur, Iraq. SSgt. Jeremy J. Fowler photo

Ladies of the Unites States Army- Tired of trying to stop bullets and shrapnel with a 40 year old flack jacket that was clearly made with somebody a foot taller and 80 lbs heavier than you in mind?

The you're in luck! The US Army is getting ready to begin field testing of body armour specifically designed for female soldiers this month. The GIs in question are part of the Ft Campbell, KY based 101st Airborne Division.Think of it as the 'Secret' of body armour- Stong enough for a man, but made for a woman.

"Most females tend to have a narrow or thinner waist as it relates to the chest area, so we pulled the waist area in," said Lt. Col. Frank J. Lozano, the product manager for Soldier Protective Equipment.

"Some women will want more room in the waist area, so we allowed for adjustability in the cummerbund in the back, which can be pulled in tighter or let out more than on the standard [Improved Outer Tactical Vest]."

Bringing the shoulder area closer to the neck helped accommodate narrow female shoulders and opens the area around the armpits. That opens up the mobility for the shoulders and upper arms so that female soldiers can properly hold their weapons against the shoulder

The female body armor also has a shorter bottom for a better fit, since the average torso length of women is shorter than that of men. That shorter length prevents the armor from chafing the hips female soldiers as they walk, and also avoids the blood circulation issue caused by the front armor plate.

A group of 30 female soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division will get 100 prototypes to try out in September or October. Their suggestions will then help finalize the body armor that deploys more broadly by next summer.

Another satisfied customer!

According to the US Army's own estimates, women currently make up 14% of all active-duty personnel. While women aren't technically allowed to serve in any combat arms fields (i.e. infantry, armour, artillery) there are a number of support MOS's where female soldiers do serve and are considered high-risk; such as Military Police or Combat Medic.

The female-only body armor is not to be confused with 'tactical corsets' which purportedly seeks to combine the practicality and convenience of a modern-day Load Carrying Equipment (LCE) harness with the Victorian era grace and elegance of a corset.

Anti-War Landlady in Boston Refuses To Rent Apartment to Veteran

To say this makes me angry would be the understatement of this relatively young 21st Century.

Remember this shit the next time the American left tries weaseling out of their blood libel of the US military over the last decade with the standard 'I support the troops, but not the war' platitudes.

Sgt. Joel Morgan, 29, tried to rent a two-bedroom apartment in the Savin Hill section of Dorchester from 63-year-old Janice Roberts.

“I’ve been deployed so many times, I really haven’t had much of a home,” he told WBZ-TV.

Morgan didn’t get the apartment.

According to the lawsuit, Roberts told Morgan his war service and her peace activism presented a “conflict of interest.”

“Because of what you told me about the Iraq war… we are very adamant about our beliefs… it’s just not comfortable for us… and I’m sure now that you know this, it would not be comfortable for you,” Roberts said in a voicemail to Morgan.

“I would suggest you do the right thing and look for a place less politically active or controversial.”

The divorced father has a young son and is training to be a Boston firefighter so he needs to live in town.

He was shocked and confused and that led him to sue.

“I’ve never been in that situation (being turned down for an apartment), so it was like, ‘I don’t understand what you mean, I just want to give you a check and rent an apartment,” Morgan told WBZ-TV.

“(It) just really, really disgusted me,” he said.

“It really freaked me out that ‘Is this what I’m going to be facing? Should I not let people know that I’m a combat vet?’

Military service members and veterans are part of a protected class in Massachusetts and, therefore, they cannot be discriminated against.

Since Sgt Morgan is studying to be a Boston firefighter, I wonder how Janice Roberts would feel about if her building caught on fire in the not-too-distant future and the first truck to show up had Morgan and another veteran on it. Would she stand by her principles and refuse their help knowing that at least one of them was a soldier who fought in a war she objected to?

How much do you want to bet that despite all the lip service being paid to 'honoring our returning vets', Janice Roberts and people with her worldview are perfectly happy voting for the politician whose idea to curb record unemployment among veterans is to dump them out in the wilderness in a rehash of the Depression-era CCC.

And for those of you who might object and say 'But Fenway- that's just one anti-war landlady. Don't you think it's unfair to paint a whole group with a broad brush based on the actions of one person?...where exactly were you with your objections when attendees at Tea Party raiilers were being judged on the basis of one or two birther signs? I've honestly stopped caring about the sensibilities of people who have made it quite unambiguous that they hate my guts LONG ago.

[Hat Tip: Weasel Zippers]

Pakistani Doctor Who Helped USA Confirm Bin Laden's Location Recieves 30+ Year Prison Sentence For Treason Against Pakistan

A Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA and US Navy SEAL commandos pinpoint the whereabouts of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden recieved a 33 year prison sentence for treason against the state of Pakistan on Wednesday.

Dr Shakil Afridi ran a vaccination program in which he was able to collect DNA from the fugitive Al Qaeda leader and confirm that he was hiding at a compound in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbotabad. Bin Laden, his son and an al Qaeda courier were killed and three of his wives were captured along with a treasure trove of intelligence after President Obama authorized the Navy SEAL raid on Bin Laden's Abbotabad compound in May 2011.

The unilateral raid was considered an international embarrassment for Pakistan, since Bin Laden's compound was located less than a kilometer from the front enterance to Pakistan's military academy. While senior Pakistani officials claimed to not know of Bin Laden's whereabouts, many analyists speculate that the Pakistani Interservices Intelligence Directorate (ISI) aided in harboring the fugitive Al Qaeda leader.

Afridi's conviction comes at a sensitive time because the U.S. is already frustrated by Pakistan's refusal to reopen NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. The supply routes were closed six months ago in retaliation for American air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Afridi was detained sometime after the May 2, 2011, raid, but the start of his trial was never publicized.

He was tried under the Frontier Crimes Regulations, or FCR, the set of laws that govern Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region. Human rights organizations have criticized the FCR for not providing suspects due process of law. There is no right to legal representation, to present material evidence or cross-examine witnesses.

The verdict was handed down by a Khyber government official in consultation with a council of elders, according to Nasir Khan, a government official in the Khyber tribal area, where the doctor was arrested and tried.

A senior U.S. official with knowledge of counter-terrorism operations against al-Qaeda in Pakistan said the doctor was never asked to spy on Pakistan.

In addition to the lengthy prison term, Afridi was also fined the equivalent of $3500 and may get an additional three years added to his sentence if he is unable to pay his fine.

One can't help but come to the conclusion that the plight of Dr. Afridi serves as a powerful disincentive for foreign nationals to provide the CIA with critical intelligence now that he has been identified and imprisoned by his home country. I'm also wondering why the Obama Administration and the State Department weren't prepared to whisk Afridi and his family out of Pakistan at a moment's notice.

Documents Seized From Bin Laden's Compound Show Al Qaeda's Media Adviser Disappointed After Keith Olberman Fired From MSNBC

According to documents seized by US Navy SEALs during the raid of Osama Bin Laden's hideout in Abbotabad, Pakistan, Al Qaeda hates FOX news with a passion and was dismayed to learn of Keith Olbermann's dismissal from MSNBC last year.

When MSNBC discarded Keith Olbermann, al-Qaida mourned.

So reports David Ignatius, the Washington Post columnist who has gained exclusive access to some of the documents recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

In his Wednesday column in the Washington Post, Ignatius reported on the details of a 21-page letter to bin Laden written by al-Qaida media adviser Adam Gadahn. Though the letter was undated, Ignatius says that it was likely written sometime after November 2010.

Laying out the current media landscape for the now waterlogged terrorist kingpin, Gadahn, an American-born Jewish convert to Islam, lamented the “firing” of Olbermann from MSNBC.

“In the letter, the media adviser focuses on ‘how to exploit’ the 10th anniversary of 9/11 on television,” Ignatius writes.

“He worries that CNN ‘seems to be in cooperation with the government more than the others,’ though he praises its ‘good and detailed’ Arabic coverage. ‘I used to think that MSNBC channel may be good and neutral a bit,’ he continues, but then notes the firing of Olbermann.”

Olbermann was fired from MSNBC and his Countdown show was cancelled shortly after Comcast completed the purchase of a majority stake in MSNBC's parent company, NBC-Universal, from General Electric in early 2011. Since being ousted from MSNBC, Olbermann wound up with his own show on Current TV, a cable network that has the financial backing of former Vice President Al Gore.

Afghan President- American Troops are 'Demons'

I'm reasonably certain that I'm not the first one to ask this, but with 'allies' like Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai who needs the Taliban?

(NY Times) — The Americans in Afghanistan are “demons.”

They claim they burned Korans by mistake, but really those were “Satanic acts that will never be forgiven by apologies.”

The massacre of 16 Afghan children, women and men by an American soldier “was not the first incident, indeed it was the 100th, the 200th and 500th incident.”

Such harsh talk may sound as if it comes from the Taliban, but those are all remarks either made personally by the United States’ increasingly hostile ally here, President Hamid Karzai, or issued by his office in recent days and weeks.

The strongest such outburst came Friday. “Let’s pray for God to rescue us from these two demons,” Mr. Karzai said, apparently holding back tears at a meeting with relatives of the massacre victims, and clearly referring to the United States and the Taliban in the same breath. “There are two demons in our country now.”

Karzai's comments come after no less than six American troops in the last month and 13 NATO soldiers in 2012 have been killed by members of Afghanistan's police and military. Afghan soldiers from Kharzai's regime have turned their weapons on their US and NATO counterparts a number of times in recent years- acts that the ISAF refers to as 'green on blue'.

US Army Names Suspect in Massacre of Afghanistan Villagers

US officials have identified a US Army sargeant from Joint Base Lewis McChord who turned himself in after allegedly massacring nearby Afghan villagers in the early morning hours of March 11.

The shooting took place at 3 a.m. in two villages in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province, a hotbed for the Taliban insurgency against U.S. forces. The two villages are a short walk away from the U.S. base where the soldier was stationed.

Photos from the scene show blood-splattered floors and walls inside a villager's home, one of three believed to have been attacked, and blood-soaked bodies of victims, including the elderly and young children, wrapped in blankets and placed in the backseat of a van.

Some of the bodies appear to have been burned, and some witnesses said the soldier set fire to some of his victims after shooting them.

The shooter reportedly left the base heavily armed and with night-vision equipment while dressed up in traditional Afghan clothing over his US Army battle dress uniform. A headcount was taken and the assailant was discovered missing at that time. While other soldiers from the outpost were searching nearby for the AWOL assailant, he had returned to the base to turn himself in.

Although some Afghan officials insist that the shooter couldn't have possibly acted alone, a number of witnesses that night reported seeing just one assailant.

A few days later the shooter was flown out of Afghanistan to Ft. Leavenworth, KS by way of Kuwait last week Army officials identified him as Staff Sgt Robert Bales.

In addition to military attorneys, Bales will reportedly be represented by Seattle-based defense attorney John Henry Browne, who's previous clients have included Ted Bundy.

Toulouse Massacre Update- Neo-Nazi Former Soldiers Cleared; French Authorities Corner Algerian al Qaeda Operative

In the hours after yesterday's killing spree in front of a Jewish school in southwestern French city of Toulouse, investigators had focused their attention on three former soldiers in the French Army who were neo-Nazis and had also served in the same unit as the three soldiers who were gunned down at an ATM earlier this month.

According to reports published Monday, French police investigating the fatal shootings of a teacher and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse were searching for the three soldiers, who were dismissed from the army a few years ago after being photographed while giving Nazi salutes in front of a Swastika flag.

Monday's deadly shooting came just days after three soldiers — from the same 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment with which the dismissed trio served — were shot dead in broad daylight in Montauban 30 miles away last Thursday. Two of the murdered soldiers were Muslim.

But France Info's report, published Tuesday, said the three neo-Nazis were located by police and cleared of any suspicion. A police official told the website that two of the former troops were interrogated after the shooting attack on the Jewish school, while the third was questioned after the attack in Montauban.

Ynet's correspondent in Toulouse added that according to reports in France, one of the three neo-Nazis voluntarily reported to a police station to be interrogated.

Investigators from the DRCI (Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence) were focusing on 24 year old Mohammed Mera, a French national of Algerian descent who had reportedly travelled to the tribal area in Pakistan's North West Frontier province to fight alongside the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Merah was reportedly arrested by authorities in Afghanistan for planting bombs and sentenced to 3 years in prison, but was part of a massive April 2011 jailbreak that freed hundreds of inmates and captured Taliban fighters.

The DRCI had reportedly found Mera after checking e-mail correspondence from the first known victim. Mera was reportedly exchanging e-mails under a false account with a French soldier who was gunned down in a residential area of Toulouse earlier this month. Investigators traced the e-mails to a computer using the IP address of Mera's brother. Ballistics experts also conclusively matched bullets used in the school shooting as coming from the same one used to shoot the paratroopers.

On Wednesday morning, Mera exchanged gunfire with heavily armed police officers as they moved in to raid his Toulouse home- which was near the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school. Three officers were wounded and Mera barricaded himself inside his residence as he attempted to negotiate his surrender as the neighborhood was cordoned off.

CCTV footage from the schoolyard massacre also showed the shooter appeared to have some sort of digital camera around his neck to film the attack as it took place. DRCI investigators believe that Mera was ultimately going to post the footage of his attacks online at a jihad website.

Also on Wednesday morning, funeral services were held in Jerusalem for the four victims slain at the school. Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 30, his sons Arieh, 5, and Gabriel, 4, and 7 year old Miriam Monsonego were laid to rest with at least 2000 mourners present at the massive Gavit Shaul cemetary west of Jerusalem.

STRATFOR: Osama Bin Laden Routinely in Contact With Top Pakistani Intelligence Officials

According to e-mails leaked by online whistleblower site Wikileaks, Osama bin Laden maintained contact with top officials from Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency while at his compound in the eastern garrison town of Abbotabad.

The fugitive Saudi millionaire and al Qadea leader and his associates were killed in a surprise nighttime raid by US Navy SEALS in May 2011.

According to one of the e-mails, the firm was shown the information papers collected from bin Laden's Abbotabad compound after the US special forces attack last May that resulted in his death.

The e-mail, from a Stratfor analyst, suggested that up to 12 officials in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency knew of the al-Qaeda leader's safe house.

The internal email did not name the Pakistani officials involved but said the US could use the information as a bargaining chip in post raid negotiations with Islamabad.

"Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil General that had knowledge of the OBL arrangements and safehouse," the email said of the officers involved. "I get a very clear sense we (US intel) know names and ranks."

Although many military and intelligence analysts expressed doubt that Bin Laden could be hiding less than a kilometer away from the front gate of the Pakistani Military Academy without the government, military or ISI knowing about it, Pakistan has denied knowing of Bin Laden's whereabouts prior to the American raid.

Founded in 1996, STRATFOR- short for Strategic Forecasting, Inc- is a San Antonio, TX based think tank and security firm that provides detailed threat assessment and frequent intelligence briefings to individual and corporate subscribers [full disclosure- while not a subscriber myself, STRATFOR provided some of the details regarding Mexican organized crime and the ATF's Operation Fast & Furious in earlier Borderline Psychosis updates on this blog- NANESB!].

The STRATFOR correspondence was obtained from by hackers known as Anonymous in late 2011 and posted on WikiLeaks earlier this week. WikiLeaks founder and Kremlin mouthpiece Julian Assange has accused STRATFOR of being involved in a number of legally and ethically questionable intelligence gathering activities on behalf of corporations.

Maybe President Obama Isn't Apologizing Fast Enough- Car Bomb Kills 9 At Afghan Airport, Taliban Claims Blast Is 'Revenge' For Koran Burnings

Nine people- most of them Afghan civilians- were killed after a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle at the gates of a NATO air base adjacent to the Jalalabad airport in Eastern Afghanistan on Monday.

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the gates of a NATO base and airport in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, triggering a blast that killed nine Afghans, officials said. The Taliban claimed the attack was revenge for U.S. troops burning copies of the Koran.

The bombing in the city of Jalalabad follows six days of deadly protests in the country over the disposal of Korans and other Islamic texts in a burn pit last week at a U.S. military base north of Kabul.

Six Afghan civilians, two guards and an Afghan soldier were reportedly among those killed in the blast. The Taliban immediately took credit for the attack, claiming that the bombing was a reprisal for US forces disposing of korans taken from the detention facility at Bagram Air Base.

The bombing comes a few days after gunmen shot and killed two US Military advisors in a heavily guarded Afghan government building on Saturday.

Obama apologizes as Protests Rage Over Quran Burning, Afghan Soldier Guns Down 2 US troops

Lest you think I'm being unfair and engaging in over-the-top hyperbole in order to try and portray President Obama in the worst possible light, that is the headline from Thursday's Washington Post verbatim.

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Barack Obama apologized to Afghans on Thursday for the burning of Qurans at a U.S. military base, trying to assuage rising anti-American sentiment as an Afghan soldier gunned down two American troops during another day of angry protests.

The U.S.-led military coalition says the Muslim holy books were sent by mistake to a garbage burn pit at Bagram Air Field and the case is under investigation. The explanation and multiple apologies from U.S. officials have yet to calm outrage over the incident, which has also heightened tension between international troops and their Afghan partners.

Thousands of protesters, some shouting “Long live Islam!” and “Death to America!” staged demonstrations across Afghanistan for a third day. Protesters climbed the walls of a U.S. base in the east, threw stones inside and adorned an outside wall with the Taliban’s trademark white flag.

At other sites, demonstrators burned tires or American flags. Afghan police and international troops fired guns in the air to disperse the crowds.

The protests sparked clashes with Afghan security forces that left at least five demonstrators dead. A Norwegian soldier was wounded by a hand grenade hurled into a coalition compound.

If President Obama was the least bit serious about re-election, he should probably avoid doing anything that would project weakness to the this nation's enemies, but attempting to placate the Taliban and radical muslims throughout the world is nothing new for this Administration.

Instead, when they're not placating despotic regimes or sanctioning the trafficking of weapons to Mexican drug cartels, the Obama Administrations seems to be focusing on American citizens they brand as 'extremists' and wealthy people who aren't donating to his re-election campaign.

Mid February Iron Horse Roundup- EMD Announces Closure of London Plant; Steel Silk Road in the Works? 'New' Power For Farmrail, New Brunswick Southern

Two EMD SD80ace's are seen on flatcars outside of Canadian Rail Collision and Refubish's Toronto, ON facility. The locomotives- destined for Brazil- have just been repainted and are part of the last order constructed at EMD's London, ON facility before Progress Rail announced they were closing down the facility. Photo- Oscar Majcher

EMD/PROGRESS RAIL- After a month-long lockout and standoff with the Canadian Auto Workers over a new contract, EMD parent company Caterpillar [NYSE: CAT] announced they were shutting down their London, Ontario plant this month.

Electro-Motive Canada announced it was shutting down its plant, wiping out the jobs of 475 locked out workers as well as 200 non-union staff.

Sixty-two years after it started making locomotives in the city and two years after it was purchased by a subsidiary of heavy equipment giant Caterpillar Inc. the plant was history.

It’s the biggest plant closure the city since 1994 when the Northern Telecom plant employing 2,200 shut down.

It will likely cause another spike in the London-St. Thomas unemployment rate which dropped to 9% last month, but is still the second highest of any major city in Canada.

The lockout of the London workers had been a lightning rod for protests with the company asking employees to take as much as a 50% wage cut. A rally on Jan. 21 drew more than 5,000 people.

According to Caterpillar, a key sticking point with the CAW was wages and temporary hiring of outside non-union contract employees to deal with large orders. While the decision to shut down the London plant has understandably sparked outrage throughout Canada [including calls for the seizure of Caterpillar's assets in Canada- NANESB], it's also worth pointing out that whether it was General Motors, Greenbriar Equity or Caterpillar, EMD remained an American company that happened to have a major plant in Canada the whole time the London facility was open.

Prior to Caterpillar's announcement, members of the CAW Local 27 had blockaded flatcars carrying some of the locomotives from the final order from London's plant before leaving of their own accord. The locomotives are destined for Brazilian mining and logistics firm Companhia Vale do Rio Doce [NYSE- VALE] which operates more than 8700 km of track through three subsidiaries in eastern Brazil.

According to Canadian Railway Observations, EMD also received orders for new power from Norfolk Southern, Brazil's VALE and Union Pacific as well as freight and mining railroads in the UK, Australia, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, Canadian Pacific announced that they selected Progress Rail to undertake an extensive rebuild of their aging fleet of four-axle GP9s and six-axle SD40-2s.

Shortly after the announcement regarding the London plant, Progress Rail hosted a job fair for it's Muncie, IN plant and announced a second one set to take place in early March. Coincidentally, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels had signed a right-to-work bill a few days prior to Caterpillar shutting down the London plant. The bill makes the Hoosier state the first 'rust belt' state with right-to-work laws.

A Russian-built locomotive brings in freight from across the border with Uzbekistan to the frontier town of Hairatan. Photo- Railways of Afghanistan/Asian Development Bank

AFGHANISTAN- Operations began on a new 45 mile rail line in Afghanistan linking the city of Mazar-i-Sharif with the Uzbekistan border at Hairatan earlier this month.

The inaugural load comprised nine wagons of flour from Kazakhstan and three of timber from Siberia. Unloading began shortly after the train arrived at Naibabad, which lies just east of Mazar-i-Sharif airport.

Nominally operational since mid-2011, the line saw its first test trains reach Mazar-i-Sharif in late December, following further work to reinforce the trackbed and improve security. The line is being operated by Uzbekistan’s state railway under a three year concession signed on August 4, but UTY had been waiting for formal safety approval before starting commercial operation.

In addition to supplying NATO forces in Afghanistan and domestic customers, an expanded rail line could also play a role in transporting much of Afghanistan's untapped mineral wealth to markets in Asia and elsewhere for export.

FARMRAIL/GRAINBELT- According to a press release, Farmail subsidiary Grainbelt Corporation has taken delivery of five additional GP38 diesels.

The press release didn't mention where the GP38s came from, but the prior batch of GP38s were purchased by the western Oklahoma railroad secondhand from the Iowa Interstate Railroad. This brings the total number of units in service on the Farmrail/Grainbelt system to 31, including some of the former

Although agricultural traffic on the 300+ mile Farmrail/Grainbelt system has taken a hit due to drought conditions throughout Texas and Oklahoma late last year, this has been offset by increased drilling activity and shipments of crude oil throughout the Anadarko Basin.

Former Grand Trunk Western GP40-2s seen with a Fort Worth & Western genset at Hodge yard in Ft Worth, TX on Dec 31st, 2011. Photo, JT Leal

FORT WORTH & WESTERN- The Fort Worth & Western acquired a pair of former Grand Trunk Western GP40-2s (nee Detroit, Toledo & Ironton) from Rail Management leasing.

The 1972-built roadswitchers join a fleet of about a dozen second-generation roadswitchers and two gensets on the 275-mile Texas carrier. In addition to being repainted in the FW&W's yellow and blue paint scheme, the locomotives will also receive the name of a historical figure or locale along the route as is custom for the Fort Worth & Western.

NEW BRUNSWICK SOUTHERN- JD Irving's New Brunswick Southern has taken delivery of their first-ever 6-axle locomotives. The Canadian National delivered Helm Leasing SD40-3s #6200 and #6318 to the NBSR in January.

Although one of them has already reportedly been repainted in NBSR colors, both locomotives are currently on short-term lease from Helm and being evaluated for service on the mainline between St John, NB and Brownsville, ME.

[Hat tip- Canadian Railway Observations; Railways of Afghanistan]

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

Perhaps its just me, but there seems to be a much more profound and marked sense of loss between Veteran's Day (or Rememberance Day for those of you in Canada) last year and this year's fairly easy to remember 11/11/11.

Aside from the fairly recent loss of a WWII veteran in our own family, it seems as though we aren't aware of figures such as America's last WWI veteran or one of the remaining Navajo code talkers until they've left us. Even though more famous individuals such as Family Circus cartoonist Bill Keane and Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Feller served honorably in our nation's armed forces, that only seems to be highlighted in their obituaries.

And that's not even including the veterans of more recent conflicts such as Iraq or Afghanistan, who are currently facing an inexplicably higher unemployment rate than the civilian population. I'm not quite sure what to make of that either, since you'd assume that recently discharged veterans would have a certain amount of training, experience in much more stressful situations and leadership skills that potential employers would find desirable.

While the Senate recently passed legislation that would provide tax credits for companies that hired recently discharged veterans, I don't see how it would do much good until the economy in general improves.

While this humble blogger did serve in the United States Army, this was in the epoch before pixellated camouflage, velcro nametags or unit patches and Stryker brigades. In fact, since my honorable discharge, my former division has moved on the bigger and much more audacious things.

For those of you that have served, I can only offer my sincere gratitude and appreciation.

Thanks you and may God bless America.

Man's Best Friend Until the Very End

Tumilson and Hawkeye in happier times

In the same vein as Hachiko in Japan or Greyfriars Bobby in Scotland, a photo taken at the funeral of one of the Navy SEALs killed when their Chinook helicopter was shot down by an RPG shows a dog laying quitely by the SEAL's casket.

Lisa Pembleton, a cousin of SEAL Jon Tumilson photographed the Petty Officer's loyal Labrador retriever Buckeye at his master's side one last time as the dog lay motionless next to the casket at Tumilson's funeral throughout the service. The funeral was held in Tumilson's hometown of Rockford, IA.

Pembleton wrote on Facebook that Hawkeye was Tumilson’s loyal pet who wouldn't leave his master’s side during the funeral in Rockford, Iowa.

“I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn't make it or couldn't see what I could from the aisle,” Pembleton wrote.

Tumilson lived in San Diego for eight years before becoming a member of SEAL Team 6. A memorial fund has been set up in his honor and donations can be sent to Frogman 238 Memorial Fund at:

First Security Bank and Trust
201 West Main Ave.
Rockford, IA 50468

Buckeye will remain with friends of Tumilson's in Nebraska who had watched after the lab during the SEAL's previous deployments.

Pentagon Releases Names of US Servicemen Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash

Funeral service for SEAL Team member Rob Reeves at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Shreveport, LA on Saturday August 14- Henrietta Wildsmith/Shreveport Times

On Thursday, the Pentagon released the name of all 30 American servicemen killed when their CH-47 Chinook was shot down by Taliban fire during a nighttime mission over Wardak province on Aug 6th.

The following SEALS have been identified as among the dead:

*Lt. Cmdr. Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.
*Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.,
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn.

The five Navy special operations troops were:

*Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii.
*Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W. Va.
*Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah.
*Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.
*Cryptologist Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.

The five soldiers killed were identified as:

*Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo., who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment in Aurora, Colo.;
*Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in New Century, Kan.
*Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb., who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment in Grand Island, Neb.
*Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, New Century, Kan.
*Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in New Century, Kan.

The three airmen who died were:

*Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla., who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.
*Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif., who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.
*Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa. who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.

[Hat tip: And So It Goes in Shreveport]

38 Killed In Afghan Helicopter Crash, Including at least 20 US Navy SEALS

A US military helicopter carrying American and Afghan soldiers was reportedly shot down by Taliban fire on Saturday, with all 38 on board killed. The helicopter was on a nighttime mission in the Wardak province west of Kabul when it was said to have been struck by a RPG and crashed.

Among those killed in the crash were members of the Navy's SEAL Team 6, although officials stated none of the men who participated on the May raid of Osama Bin Laden's Pakistani compound were aboard the chopper.

One current and one former U.S. official said that the dead included 25 Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six, the unit that carried out the raid in Pakistan in May that killed bin Laden. They were being flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because families are still being notified.

A total number of 38 people died in the crash, killing 7 Afghans and one interpreter.

The death toll would surpass the worst single day loss of life for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 -- the June 28, 2005 downing of a military helicopter in eastern Kunar province. In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban. Three of the SEALs being rescued were also killed and the fourth wounded. It was the highest one-day death toll for the Navy Special Warfare personnel since World War II.

NATO confirmed the overnight crash took place and that there "was enemy activity in the area." But it said it was still investigating the cause and conducting a recovery operation at the site. It did not release details or casualty figures.

"We are in the process of accessing the facts," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman.

With its steep mountain ranges, providing shelter for militants armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eastern Afghanistan is hazardous terrain for military aircraft. Large, slow-moving air transport carriers like the CH-47 Chinook are particularly vulnerable, often forced to ease their way through sheer valleys where insurgents can achieve more level lines of fire from mountainsides.

Thinking back to the Bin Laden raid, not even a full day afterwards, I had expressed concerns that trade secrets would be given away in the euphoria and afterglow of the operation's success- and I know I can't be the only one. I'm hoping this isn't the case, but in this epoch of wikileaks and state secrets frequently showing up in the front page of the New York Times, one can't be too sure.

I really and truly am at a loss for words over the loss the Navy Special Warfare family and the US Military in general has just suffered.

And So It Goes in Shreveport is reporting that at least two of the casualties identified on Saturday are from the northwestern Louisiana city.

Highway of Heroes- A Canada Day Tale From Not Another New England Sports Blog

Photo- Military Mom At Home

In honor of Canada Day today, I thought it would be appropriate to look into the Highway of Heroes phenomenon in the province of Ontario.

For the Canadian military, it is standard practice to have an autopsy performed on any serviceman or woman killed in the line of duty. The bodies of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan are flown to the CFB Trenton Air Force Base and then driven about 100 miles to the west where the autopsy is performed at the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto.

The procession has been taking place since 2002 and is always given a police escort the entire way. Much of this journey includes Ontario Highway 401, a freeway sometimes known as the Kingsway.

With the very first of the casualties being repatriated one final time, Pete Fischer- a photographer for Northumberland Today- noticed a crowd of about 30 onlookers, including a pair of policemen, gathered on an overpass and saluting as the hearses made their way down the 401. From there, the crowds from the townships and counties the procession passed through would steadily grow. Canadian flags, handmade signs and ribbons would adorn some overpasses while police officers or firefighters in uniform would park their vehicles alongside the 401 or an overpass and salute the procession.

In his bid to have the province officially recognize the Trenton-Toronto stretch of the 401 as the Highway of Heroes, Fischer recounted:

Every person who stands on a bridge will tell you it’s a feeling like no other. As you wait, you talk with people who have been there before, who you’ve come to know. People smile, share feelings, talk about how many times they’ve stood on various bridges. It’s a mix of pride and sadness.

When the convoy of vehicles is seen approaching, murmurs in the crowd can be heard: “Here they come.” There’s silence as people get ready. Then, there’s a sudden sea of arms waving Canadian flags, wanting to let family members in the procession know we are there for them, that we share their pain and are proud to be Canadian.

It’s not unusual to see a soldier’s hand waving a beret from a hearse, or a family member waving from a limousine, to acknowledge the people on the bridge. Those waves are simple gestures, but more than enough for everyone on a bridge to know in that split second that everyone has made a connection to the people in those vehicles.

Rain or shine, an impromptu, grassroots honor guard is present along ramps and overpasses of the 401 to pay their respects for the fallen one final time.

In August 2007, those advocating for official recognition got their wish as the province unveiled new signs along the 401 designating the 100-mile stretch the Highway of Heroes.

More recently, a stretch of the Trans-Canada highway through British Columbia was also re-named the Highway of Heroes at the urging of the Royal Canadian Legion, veterans and family members of the more than dozen BC natives killed in Afghanistan.

Keep in mind that aside from the Winter Olympics or Don Cherry, Canadians by and large tend to shy away from wearing their patriotism on their sleeves. I have nothing else to add other than I thought that was a very moving and sincere gesture by the folks living in some of these towns along the 401 to pay their last respects to Canada's fallen soldiers.