Pakistan Taliban Murder 132 Schoolchildren in Peshewar Attack

Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked an Army-run school in the Pakistani city of Peshewar on Tuesday, killing at least 132 students and 9 members of the school's staff. With gravely injured students being treated in nearby hospitals for burns as well as bullet and shrapnel wounds, the death toll may go even higher over the next few days.

Pupils as young as nine were shot in their classrooms, or picked off as they ran for cover or begged for help. Others died when the bombers detonated their suicide vests in the playground which was packed with youngsters.

"They dragged the students from classrooms and shot them with automatic rifles," Kashif Ali, 13, one of the injured pupils, said.

Muhammad Shakoor, another injured 13-year-old, said: "The militants pulled the students from beneath the desks and tables and killed them."

A spokesman for the Taliban said it had targeted the school, which served children of the military, in retaliation for the killing of jihadist fighters by the Pakistan army.

As Pakistani troops moved in to secure the grounds of the school, horrific accounts from eyewitnesses and survivors began trickling out. In a classroom with about 60 pupils, a Taliban suicide bomber entered and blew himself up. Others tell of a teacher being burned alive by Taliban gunmen as they forced the students to watch.

According to survivors, many students were gathered for a First Aid class that was to be given by Pakistani Army medics. There were at least six attackers and they reportedly went from room to room, shooting students as they hid under desks or behind bleachers. The attackers also seemed to know that the wives of some high-ranking Pakistani Army officers were present, bolstering claims that the assailants had inside information about the school.

The attacks come about a week after the Obama Administration released the Tehrek-i-Talibani's second in command after he was captured by US forces in Afghanistan during a 2013 raid. The timing of the massacre also came shortly after Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousefzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for continuing to speak out in favor of women's education after she was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in her native Swat Valley in 2012. At age 17, Yousefzai is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize and her family condemned the Peshawar school attacks in statements to the media.

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.

At Least 80 Killed After Muslim Terrorists Attack Christian Church in Peshawar

At least 80 worshippers at an Anglican church in Peshawar, Pakistan were killed when a pair of suicide bombers detonated outside of the church as services finished over the weekend.

The attack on the All Saints Church in the city of Peshawar, which also wounded over 140 people, occurred as worshippers were leaving after service to get a free meal of rice offered on the front lawn.

A wing of the Pakistani Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the bombings, saying they would continue to target non-Muslims until the U.S. stops drone attacks in the remote tribal region of Pakistan.

The bombings raised new questions about the Pakistani government's push to strike a peace deal with the militants to end a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of people.

The death toll is expected to climb due to the severity of some of the injuries, making it one of the deadliest attacks against the nation's Christian community.

Sunday's attacks led to protests by angry members of Pakistan's Christian minority in Karachi, who blocked traffic and burned tires to protest inadequate protection from the government. While police are often assigned to protect mosques and churches, the policeman assigned to the church in Peshawar was among those killed in this weekend's attack.

The predominantly Muslim nation's Christian minority is routinely discriminated against and targeted for violence by terrorist groups who view them as enemies of Islam.

Jailbreak Wednesday- 248 Inmates Freed in Pakistani Taliban Prison Raid

At least 13 people were killed on Tuesday after Taliban fighters attacked a prison in the north-central Pakistani town of Dera Ismail Khan in what officials are calling a well-coordinated assault. The assailants used mortars and RPGs to overwhelm guards and local police before freeing inmates from the century-old, including senior Taliban commanders.

Up to 100 attackers, some wearing police uniforms, bombarded the prison with rockets and mortars before going inside.

An ensuing gun battle raged for three or four hours.

Katherine Houreld, a correspondent for Reuters news agency, told the BBC it had been a "very sophisticated attack - they blew the electricity line, they breached the walls and they set ambushes for reinforcements".

"When the shooting started, we immediately got into an armed police vehicle and parked on the road in front of the main gate," injured policeman Hidayat Ullah told AP news agency from his hospital bed.

"After this, we heard an explosion and the main gate exploded. After this, we started shooting towards the main gate from our armed vehicle.

"During this time, maybe either a rocket launcher or a mortar shell hit the vehicle. Two of our policemen were killed on the spot, and three of us were injured. We got down from the armed vehicle, and after that I don't know what happened."

Once inside the prison, the attackers used loudspeakers to call out the names of specific inmates before rigging up booby traps around the prison to cover their escape.

The jailbreak is the third major attack in Pakistan in the span of a week- two bombs at a marketplace in the border town of Parachinar reportedly killed 57 people and 9 people were killed in an attack targeting the offices of Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency on July 24th. This is also the third major jailbreak in an Islamic majority nation in a week following a brazen prison raid in Iraq and more than 1000 prisoners being freed in Benghazi, Libya over the weekend. In May 2012, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistani freed more than 400 inmates from a prison compound in Bannu- about two hours from Dera Ismail Khan- after blowing up the front gate of the prison with anti-tank weaponry and spiriting away inmates on waiting motorcoaches.

Officials say they had received intelligence about a possible jailbreak several weeks ago and moved certain high-value inmates to more secure facilities. However, the jailbreaks have led some to question whether or not the Taliban could count on a certain amount of complicity or collusion from prison officials.

Feds Arrest Four Southern California Men Accused of Plotting Violent Jihad

Four Southern California men were arrested this weekend and charged on Monday with plotting a violent jihad against the United States according to a criminal complaint filed in a US District court.

One of the men, Sohiel Omar Kabir, 34, allegedly traveled in July to Afghanistan, where he arranged for terrorist training to be conducted with Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives.

Kabir, who lived in Pomona, is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, federal authorities said.

In 2010, Kabir allegedly introduced Ontario resident Ralph Deleon, 23, and Upland resident Miguel Alejandro Santana, 21, to "radical and violent Islamic doctrine," according to the complaint.

"Kabir influenced Santana and Deleon to convert to Islam," the complaint said.

The complaint said the men studied Internet essays and lectures by Anwar Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric and U.S. citizen who was killed in Yemen in 2011 by missiles fired from a U.S. Predator drone aircraft.

After arriving in Afghanistan, Kabir told the two men that he had arranged for them to travel to that country for terrorist training, the complaint alleged.

Santana and Deleon are accused of telling a confidential source working for the FBI that they planned to go to Afghanistan to take part in "violent jihad," the complaint said. Santana is a permanent resident born in Mexico, authorities said, and Deleon is a permanent resident born in the Philippines.

In September, the two men recruited Riverside resident Arifeen David Gojali, 21, to travel overseas with them and join Kabir for terrorist training, according to federal authorities. Gojali is a U.S. citizen.

Santan, Gojali and Deleon were apprehended Friday by authorities with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. They appeared before a magistrate Monday in federal court in Riverside.

Kabir was taken into custody in Afghanistan. The investigation is ongoing. If convicted, the men face up to 15 years in federal prison.

Authorities allege that Kabir kept in touch with his co-conspirators in Afghanistan via Skype and social networking sites. The four men were reportedly interested in training at a Taliban camp near Jalalabad and waging jihad against foreign targets in Afghanistan or Yemen using explosives. Federal agents reportedly moved in to make the arrests when a confidential informant told them that Santana, Gojali and Deleon had sold off posessions to purchase plane tickets from Mexico City to Istanbul with the intention of travelling on to Afghanistan from there.

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.

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.

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.

Luxury Hotel Attacked by Suicide Bombers and Gunmen in Afghan Capital

Suicide bombers and gunmen launched a coordinated attack on the Intercontinental hotel in Kabul Tuesday night. Afghan sources say that 10 people were killed in the attack so far, but that number was unable to be verified independently.

An Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman says initial reports indicate three or four suicide bombers and at least two gunmen attacked the hotel. Multiple explosions have been heard on the property.

Sediq Sediqqi said Tuesday that all the bombers either blew themselves up or were killed. Two gunmen continue to fire from the roof of the hotel, he said.

"There are foreign and Afghan guests staying at the hotel," Sediqqi said. "We have reports that they are safe in their rooms, but still there is shooting."

Azizullah, an Afghan police officer who uses only one name, told The Associated Press at the scene that at least one bomber entered the hotel Tuesday night and detonated a vest of explosives.

Afghan police were battling the assailants with machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades as tracer rounds went up over the blacked out building. The police have secured the area around the hotel, which is one of Kabul's most heavily guarded.

Jawid, a guest at the hotel, says the attack occurred as many people were having dinner in the hotel restaurant. He says he heard gunfire throughout the several story building.

"I was running with my family," he said. "There was shooting. The restaurant was full with guests."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that their operatives killed some of the hotel's guards in the initial attack and entered the property from there. Afghan police say that there are at least two gunmen firing from the roof.

The attack comes less than a week after President Obama announced the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan within the year.

Pakistan Announces Cuts in US Military Presence After Bin Laden Raid

I can't be the only one thinking that America would be better served by cutting back on the estimated $18 billion in aid money we send to Pakistan.

Apparently, SEAL Team 6 notwithstanding, The US Military presence in Pakistan is currently limited to about 300 advisers and liaison officers. Not surprisingly, Pakistan's military and Inter-services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) are unhappy with a unilateral US special ops raid.

However, given that the Navy SEALs were able to swoop in undetected on a compound housing the world's most wanted man that was 70 miles from the Pakistani capital and a few hundred yards from the Pakistani equivalent of West Point, this also gives both the Pakistani military and ISI black eyes and bloody lips.

If the Pakistani Army or ISI were searching for Bin Laden like they has assured many Western nations, then they had failed miserably. If they were seeking to protect Bin Laden from the US Military, then they had failed spectacularly.

Pakistan is calling for cuts in the U.S. military personnel inside the country after U.S. Navy SEALs killed Usama bin Laden in his Pakistan compound -- without Pakistan's help or prior knowledge.

The siege has only increased the strain on relations between the two countries, as some U.S. lawmakers are calling for cuts to the $1.3 billion in U.S. aid to Pakistan for its failure to locate bin Laden. The Al Qaeda leader was found and killed in a large $1 million compound in an army town not far from the capital of Islamabad. Lawmakers have suggested Pakistan was either too incompetent to catch bin Laden or was complicit in protecting him.

In a statement Thursday, Pakistan's army fired back, saying U.S. military personnel inside the country would be reduced to the "minimum essential" levels to protest the American commando raid that killed bin Laden early Monday local time. The army also threatened to cut cooperation with Washington if it stages more unilateral raids on its territory.

The statement from Pakistan's army was issued after a meeting of top generals. The statement gave no details on the numbers, and a spokesman declined to elaborate.

The statement said the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, or ISI, had given initial information to the CIA about bin Laden, but claimed the "CIA did not share further development of intelligence on the case with the ISI, contrary to the existing practice between the two services."

The raid on bin Laden has sharpened tensions between the two countries. Despite the calls from some U.S. lawmakers for cuts in aid to the country, the Obama administration and British Prime Minister David Cameron have indicated they would continue with their policy of engaging with the country.

So when all is said and done, this is basically an empty gesture on Pakistan's part meant either for domestic consumption or to raise sovereignty issues as a means of deflecting questions about Osama Bin Laden living unmolested only a few hundred yards from the front gate of Pakistan's national military academy.

BREAKING: Osama Bin Laden And Associates Killed in US Special Ops Raid on Pakistani Compound

This has been coming in pretty rapid fire (pardon the expression) all night, and it's been difficult to keep up with the various reports and rumors that have been going on.

In an unscheduled news conference from the East Room of the White House earlier tonight, President Obama announced that fugitive al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a Navy SEAL raid on a mansion in northern Pakistan.

Unlike previous strikes over Pakistan, this reportedly involved a prolonged firefight between helicopter-borne SEALs and Bin Laden along with his couriers and one of his sons at a compound in the city of Abbotabad, some 30 miles from the Pakistani capitol of Islamabad and less than 5 miles away from the Pakistani Military Academy in Kakul.

The U.S. had been monitoring the compound in Abbottabad for months after receiving a tip in August that Bin Laden might be seeking shelter there. He had long been said to be in the mountainous region along the Afghanistan, Pakistan border, hiding in a cave as the U.S. sought to kill him with drone strikes from above. Instead, he was in a house eight times larger than its neighbors, with a seven-foot wall and valued at $1 million. The house had no phone or television and the residents burned their trash. The house had high windows and few points of access, and U.S. officials concluded it had been built to hide someone.

According to U.S. officials, two U.S. helicopters swept into the compound at 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Twenty to 25 U.S. Navy Seals under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command in cooperation with the CIA stormed the compound and engaged Bin Laden and his men in a firefight, killed Bin Laden and all those with him.

Two Bin Laden couriers were killed, as was one of Osama Bin Laden's son, as was a woman reportedly used as a shield by one of the men. Other women and children were present in the compound, according to Pakistani officials, but were not harmed. U.S. officials said that Bin Laden himself did fire his weapon during the fight.

One of the U.S. helicopters was damaged but not destroyed during the operation, and U.S. forces elected to destroy it themselves with explosives.

The Americans took Bin Laden's body into custody after the firefight and confirmed his identity. According to a senior administration official, the U.S. is "ensuring it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition. It's something we take seriously and therefore it's being handled in an appropriate manner."

According to Pakistani officials, the operation was a joint U.S.-Pakistani operation, but U.S. officials said only U.S. personnel were involved in the raid.

On eary Monday, Pakistani television network GEO TV broadcast images of the mansion believed to have housed Bin Laden engulfed in flames.
News of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack mastermind's demise was greeted with cheers by crowds in front of the White House in Washington DC and in Times Square and adjacent to Ground Zero in New York City. Among the celebrants were members of the FDNY and NYPD- 343 Firefighters and 60 police officers were among the first responders killed in the 9/11 attacks.

So as it turns out, it wasn't a drone strike like many had predicted (on the assumption Bin Laden was even still alive) or porcine-induced rectal trauma like I had really really hoped he would have inflicted on him in his final hours, but if confirmed then this is good news indeed.

UPDATE: Multiple outlets are reporting that this op has been in the works since 2007.

The operation had been in the works for years. Since 9/11, the CIA gathered leads on those in bin Laden’s inner circle, including personal couriers. During interrogations and questioning, various detainees flagged individuals who may have been providing support to OBL and Zawahiri. One courier in particularly was identified by detainees as one of the few al Qaeda couriers who had bin Laden’s trust. He was identified as a “protégé” of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj al –Libbi, the former #3 of al Qaeda, who was captured in 2005. There were even indications the courier may have been living with bin Laden.

In 2007, intelligence officers discovered his identity. In 2009, intelligence officials identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operate – but they were still unable to pinpoint precisely where.

In August 2010 came a big break. Intelligence identified a compound that aroused their suspicion – eight times larger than other homes in the area, built in 2005, on a property valued at $1 million. But access to the compound was severely restricted, with elaborate security and 12 to 18 foot walls topped with barbed wire. Incongruently, the compound has no phone service or televisions. The main building had few windows and a seven foot wall for privacy. Residents burned their trash.

Intelligence officials concluded that unit was “custom built” to hide someone. A third family was identified as living there – and the size and makeup matched the bin Laden family members most likely with him. The location and design of compound were consistent with what experts expected his hideout might look like. Their final conclusion: there was a strong probability that this was bin Laden’s hideout.

Personally, I think it would be kinda cute if we could plant a couple hundred thousand in cash in the form of Euros or US Dollars on a couple of the remaining Al Qaeda higher ups, bundled with little strips that would have a cryptic message in Arabic or Urdu about a 'job well done', only to have the cash discovered by subordinates.

9 Americans Killed After Afghan Air Force Officer Opens Fire at Kabul Airport

A veteran officer in Afghanistan's Air Force opened fire on American and Afghan troops during a meeting at Kabul's airport on Wednesday, killing 8 US troops and an American contractor.

The Afghan officer, who was a veteran military pilot, fired on the Americans after an argument, the Afghan Defense Ministry said.

All nine killed were American, according to a senior U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been made public.

The shooting occurred in an operations room of the Afghan Air Corps at Kabul airport.

"Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, shooting started," said Afghan Air Corps spokesman Col. Bahader, who uses only one name. "After the shooting started, we saw a number of Afghan army officers and soldiers running out of the building. Some were even throwing themselves out of the windows to get away."

It was the seventh time so far this year that members of the Afghan security forces, or insurgents impersonating them, have killed coalition soldiers or members of the Afghan security forces.

Before the airport shooting, the coalition had recorded 20 incidents since March 2009 where a member of the Afghan security forces or someone wearing a uniform used by them attacked coalition forces, killing a total of 36. It is not known how many of the 282,000 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in these type of incidents.

Nearly 500 Taliban Captued Taliban Freed in Afghan Jailbreak

Afghan Police on Scene of 2008 Jailbreak Attempt in Kandahar- File Photo

Taliban militants managed to spring at least 480 inmates from a Kandahar prison Sunday night after digging a 1,000 foot tunnel from a residence within sight of the prison's guard towers.

Officials at Saraposa prison in the city of Kandahar only discovered the breach about 4 a.m., about a half hour after the Taliban said they had gotten all the prisoners out.

The militants began digging the tunnel about five months ago from a house within shooting distance of the prison guard towers. It was not immediately clear whether they lived in the house while they dug. They meticulously plotted the tunnel's course around police checkpoints and major roads, the insurgent group said in a brazen statement.

The diggers finally broke through to the prison cells around 11 p.m. Sunday night, and a handful of inmates who knew of the plan unlocked cells and ushered hundreds of inmates to freedom without a shot being fired.

The city's police mounted a massive search operation for the escaped convicts. They shot dead two inmates who tried to evade capture and re-arrested another 26, said Tooryalai Wesa, the provincial governor.

But there was no ignoring that the Taliban had pulled off a daring success under the noses of Afghan and NATO officials.

A man who claimed to have taken part in the jailbreak told the Associated Press via telephone that inmates were able to obtain copies of keys to some of the inmate's cells ahead of their cohorts outside tunneling through and inferred that there was complicity on the part of some of the prison guards.

Exit question for those of you in favor of closing down Guantanamo Bay- still think it's a good idea for a civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed while transferring inmates from Guantanamo to prisons in the continental United States?

[Hat Tip: Pundit Press]

Feds: Computer Evidence Ties Jailed Anylist to Wikieaks

The Army Private thought to have provided more than 70,000 classified documents to left a series of angry, brooding messages on his Facebook page earlier this year, lashing out at the Army, his ex-boyfriend and 'society at large'. [Yes....the article reads 'ex-boyfriend'. How long before 'Dont Ask Don't Tell' is to blame for the Wikileaks fiasco?- NANESB!]

Manning, who is half British and went to school in Wales, appeared to sink into depression after a relationship breakup, the Daily Telegraph said. It quoted Manning as posting he didn't "have anything left" and was "beyond frustrated."
In an apparent swipe at the Army, Manning also wrote: "Bradley Manning is not a piece of equipment," and quoted a joke about "military intelligence" being an oxymoron, the Telegraph said.
Manning began his gloomy postings on Jan. 12, saying: "Bradley Manning didn't want this fight. Too much to lose, too fast," the Telegraph said.
At the beginning of May, when he was serving at a military base near Baghdad, the Telegraph said, he changed his status to: "Bradley Manning is now left with the sinking feeling that he doesn't have anything left."
Five days later he said he was "livid" after being "lectured by ex-boyfriend", then later the same day said he was "not a piece of equipment" and was "beyond frustrated with people and society at large," the paper said.
The Telegraph said Manning's personal page tagline reads: "Take me for who I am, or face the consequences!"

And despite assurances from sanctimonious anti-war radical leftist and WikiLeaks founder Julius Assange that all sensitive information was redacted prior to the document dump, leaked information in the documents includes the names and addresses of Afghans who had been cooperating with US and NATO forces and intelligence-gathering methods.

A somber-faced Julian Assange, editor of WikiLeaks, said he was "disappointed in what was left out" of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' comment. Gates "spoke about hypothetical blood," Assange said, reading from a statement, "but the grounds of Iraq and Afghanistan are covered with real blood."
Assange went on to accuse the Pentagon chief of overseeing "the killing of thousands of children and adults" in Iraq and Afghanistan, and criticized him personally for not announcing a criminal investigation based on the the leaked document.

[Which would be like Assange bitching about the RAF not investigating the firebombing of Dresden after he just leaked detailed plans that include the names of Allied spies in Germany or how the Allies plan on crossing the Rhine- NANESB]
Assange changed his story at least once to say that he tried contacting the White House to get their input on any information they'd want withheld, but went ahead with the document dump when he never heard back from them.
And as for 'Hypothetical blood', I highly doubt it will be 'hypothetical' that much longer given the overall history of that part of the world.....that's if the leaked information hasn't already been acted upon by the Taliban.

Terrorists That Martha Coakley Says Aren't In Afghanistan Attack Targets in Kabul

Taliban Launches Brazen Attack on Afghan Capital:

KABUL — Taliban militants wearing explosives vests launched a brazen assault on the heart of Kabul today, as suicide bombings and gun battles near the presidential palace and other government buildings paralyzed the capital for hours. Afghan police and NATO troops managed to restore security after at least three blasts and machine-gunfire that echoed across the mountain-rimmed city. Given what might have been, the casualty toll was relatively low: 12 killed including seven attackers.

Look- I disagree with about 95% of President Obama's policies, but as far as I know, even he isn't naiive enough to think that Afghanistan is free of terrorists. Or is Martha Coakley simply going to re-brand Taliban suicide bombers that target US and NATO troops and Afghan civilians as 'freedom fighters'?