New warrior song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTs6a0ORdQU

Helping those that have chossen to protect me.

I know the title is not so grabbing but it's the best I can come up with at the moment. Many of you may be surprised by this sudden post but I want to share with you some things that have happened to me in the last week and a half.

I have been able to speak to my Warrior several times during this period and he is sounding good. Gosh he makes my day every time he calls. My sons voice is music to my ears and will always be something I will be looking forward too. Hang in there Alex and get you and your men home.

Many of you know that I am a General Manager for a small Transportation Company and I travel to many of my clients sites. This requires me to drive by Palo Alto V.A hospital. For years I have wanted to reach out and volunteer for the V.A. I have been a little frustrated with the lack of response by the V.A. so I left a message on a very good on-line friends facebook page. She hit me back introducing me to a new friend that has started an organization a few years ago supporting our wounded Warriors. Richard the founder and President of www.Bluestarriders.com came through and will be introducing some of our wounded Warriors to me next weekend.

It pains me to know our guys are putting it all out there and I am not able too. So I am going to try to help these guys the only way I can. Please know that all money that is donated goes right back without admin fees.

If you want to help out, then please visit www.bluestarriders.com and make it happen.

Larry Arnone
AKA Bluestardad

Dreams, Phone ringing and a "Hey Dad"

I know I posted last night about my soldiers delay but I wanted to update you all of recent events. I went to bed last night not knowing when my son would arrive in SFO. I did a lot of tossing and turning thinking of him and of the possible changes in his personality. I guess I finally fell asleep around 1 AM. I then remember dreaming that someone was calling me on my home phone, when I realized I wasn't dreaming I bolted for the phone only to miss the call. I saw it was a San Francisco number and when I tried calling back there was no answer. I finally went back to bed and must of fell right back to sleep only to be woken up by my home phone. I grabbed the phone and answered. From the other end I heard "Hey Dad, I'm home" and I rushed the door to greet my returning soldier. That was at 4:50 am so I guess he was able to get the last flight out of JFK. I wasn't expecting him home until around 10:30 AM but hey, who am I to complain right? He is in the shower now and then we will be off to car hunting for him. He's home and I am on cloud nine.

Bluestardad OUT!

Larry Arnone
San Francisco

AKA Bluestar (And I want to keep it that way)

Day of the Sky Soldier

I copied this from another site.

Day of the Sky Soldier

August 6, 2008

As National Director of GoE I was heartened to see that Congressman Kirk (R-IL) has requested that the President proclaim 23 August, 2008 as the Day of the Sky Soldier (see below), which is the nickname of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The Sky Soldiers are rotating home after a tough 15 month deployment in Afghanistan. They suffered losses which impacted the entire veteran’s community as a whole, while maintaining the highest standards of the American soldier. We are, therefore requesting that every member of Congress do as Congressman Kirk has done and send a similar letter to the president urging him to make this proclamation. This is an opportunity to let these brave men know that their personal and professional sacrifices have not gone un-noticed. This is also an opportunity for every member of Congress to actively support the troops with something besides words. Please call your Congressman and urge him or her to send this letter. Thank you. Manchu

July 31, 2008

BY FAX

The Honorable George W. Bush

President of the United States

The White House

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing in support of a Presidential Proclamation designating Saturday, August 23, 2008, in honor of the 173^rd Airborne Brigade. I have attached copies of correspondence sent to the White House by my constituent, Robert A. Getz, who is organizing this effort.

As you may know, the 173^rd Airborne Brigade was founded 91 years ago during World War I. The men and women of the brigade have served our country honorably during World Wars I and II, Korea, Viet Nam, and Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The brigade is currently completing their second tour of duty in Afghanistan where they lost 42 killed in action.

I respectfully request you issue a Proclamation designating Saturday August 23^rd in honor of the 173^rd Airborne Brigade.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Mark Steven Kirk

Member of Congress

MSK:epk

Enclosures

Written by Chris Hill · Filed Under Briefings, Featured

A grin from ear to ear

I sit here trying to think of what to write while at the same time I just want to shout. I think I'll choose the later. I am pleased to announce that my soldier is wheels down in Italy! Yeah baby....Hot diggity dog!
I guess I will actually be able to sleep through the night at last. Alex never called me from Manis so I hadn't received my long awaited "wheels up" call from him but thats O.K. He called and said "Hey Dad, guess where I am" I swear I was jumping up and down in my office. The office must have thought I went over the deep end. When I got off the phone with him I let out a huge and long sigh of relief and man that felt great.

You know on refection of the past 15 months, it has been this Blog and a few others ( You all know who you are ) that have kept me sane. I think I will continue this Blog even while Alex is in Italy now. He did re-up to stay with the Herd and last I heard Alex was approached by his N.C.O. asking Alex if he wanted to transfer to one of the line units. He explained that by doing so Alex would operate I believe ( it's been a very long time since I've served ) a M224 60mm mortar system as opposed to the 120mm mortar system. He also mentioned that Alex would move up in rank a lot faster. I have mixed feelings about this but then again when I reflect back in the day when I was serving I went full out so I suppose I can understand my son in his thinking. I remember the day we were at the recruiters office and they gave him his MOS ( Job ) options from Artillery to re-arming gunships and he said "Hell no, if I am going to do this I am going to do it right, put me in as an 11B Airborne Infantry" his recruiter didn't want him to do it but Alex insisted. I still stay in touch with his recruiter, he is a pretty good guy and father.

Well, I guess this will be the turning point of my Blog now that our guy's are back in Europe. I promise never to forget those that have fallen. It really has been a hard deployment but even more difficult for many families who will not hear those great words "Hey Dad, guess where I am"

Relieved,

Larry Arnone
San Francisco

AKA Bluestardad ( and I want to keep it that way )Publish Post

O.K. the forgotten war has really hit home

In my previous posting I had cut and pasted a fathers letter to friends and family. I am not sure if it was a friend or family member who was ( I'm sure ) trying to be compassionate. Here is the kicker ( You ready for this ) The Title actually read "

A letter from a Father who's son was shot in Iraq

I changed it to read Afghanistan knowing better as it is obvious in the letter as the Dad is speaking about Chosen Company of the 2nd-503rd 173rd ABCT and the date on the post. I can't believe they confused the country. This kind of stuff just burns my ass. Makes me want to take out an add on the first page of every major newspaper in the country saying "U.S. Forces arrive in AFGHANISTAN for combat operations in retaliation of 9/11/2001 7 YEARS AGO and they are still there". Ahhhhh! I'm still waiting on a wheels up from my boy which reminds me, please remember tomorrow July 31st. Take two minutes of your day and remember a Sky Soldier that fell on this date. 1LT Ben Hall of the United States Army Platoon leader, Destined Company, 2nd-503rd P.I.R. 173rd ABCT Vehicle Patrol Base Serey, Kunar Province, Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan.

Thank You,

Larry Arnone
San Francisco
AKA A BlueStarDad (and I want to keep it that way)

A letter from a Father who's son was shot in Afghanistan

I picked this up when I was searching Blogs today and thought I would share it with you all.




Sunday, July 27, 2008

“Hello family,

I am sorry I missed an update yesterday. I know everyone is anxious for news. The computer room that I was using was locked when I got there. Walter Reed, we are discovering, becomes an entirely different place on weekends. They kind of “roll up the sidewalks” on the weekend.” What is normally a very bustling place, looks more like a ghost town unless you are actually in a ward. There, the business of healing goes on non-stop, 24-7. This is truly an amazing place. You really have to be here to comprehend the high level of professionalism, and yet everywhere there is compassion, consideration, and kindness. Even the housekeeping people, if they see you looking lost, which happens a lot in my case, stop what they are doing and either direct or take you to where you need to go.

Yesterday I went to another floor and another ward to check on one of Andy’s friends. He was not in his room but a very pleasant young nurse met me as I came back through the door and offered to let them know that I came by. She seemed so very young. As I walked back down the long hall I realized that everyone here seems so very young: doctors, nurses, Army staff. Finally I realized why I had been feeling so old. It is because I go for a grandfather among all these “kids.” Forty years old is “old” in the Army.

But, I also have begun to realize that I have underestimated the potential that young people have when they are directed and devoted to what they are doing. And I have now observed and remembered again the vast, I said the vast, amounts of energy that they bring to whatever they are doing. No wonder I feel like an antique. I am an antique when measured beside them on the energy meter.

As I write this, Andy is getting another CT Scan. Then they are going to roll him outside, literally, to a courtyard on the fifth floor for a while. He continues to cooperate with the healing process and, when he can get away with it, to direct it. He is still in and out a lot, but he is resting noticeably better. Thanks so much for your prayers for that.

He has some pancreatitus, but the doctors are right on top of it and they say that it should not impact his surgery on Tuesday. That is the next big milestone toward which we are moving. After that surgery and recovery process he will have much more freedom of moment without the temporary brace that he is now wearing.

His arms are becoming stronger by the day. Their movement is beginning to be more deliberate and look more normal.

We have discovered that Andy really played down, in his phone conversations with us over the last 15 months, the level of activity that he was engaged in. I remember what he said when I took him to the airport to return from his last leave, he said, “Don’t worry about me Dad. I’m just going to work.” I know that he wanted to spare us the worry, but I have now “read him the riot act” that he is never to do that again. It pains me now that I was not somehow engaged at the same emotional level that he was.

Andy is in 3rd platoon, c (Chosen) company, 2 Battalion of 503 Infantry (The 173rd Airborne Brigade ) We found out just today that Andy’s unit “The Rock” has been awarded 6 Silver Stars, 48 Bronze Stars with valor, more than 140 Army Commendation Medals with valor, 98 Purple Hearts, more than 150 other awards have been submitted for approval, including 2 for Medals of Honor, 3 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 3 more for Silver Stars as of June 30th. Obviously not the stuff of business as usual.

Each member of our family seems to relate a little differently to what has happened to Andy. This new awareness of the level of his combat environment has stirred what I know to be, on some level, irrational questions in me. Really they are probably better described as instincts: “If I could just have been there.” “Could better preparation have been made in their position?” “Did they choose the right defensive position?” “Were they careful in their planning?” “How could I have fixed this?” Those are really the same instincts that were practiced and expressed a thousand times when Andy was still at home and safe with us. But they were just all rolled in to one short sentence each time he went out the door: “Be careful, Andy.”

I think our children never really understand the careful soul searching of the parents who watch for them. They don’t know what it’s like to be constantly watchful. They will, maybe, but they don’t understand it as a child. They think life is a hoot. We see it as the great adversary. So, when they get in their cars to go off somewhere out of our sight we always say, with way more anxiety than they know, “Be careful.” But within that simple admonition are all of the questions of “is everything all right?” “Is it safe?” “Have I covered all the bases?”

Somewhere along the way I became a “father” to all of my children. It didn’t happen the day they were born to me. It happened later as I became aware of what I was supposed to do for them. Somewhere I came to know that I was supposed to protect them, to keep them safe, to provide what they needed, to be their first line of defense against the harshness of this world.

And somewhere along the way this fathering thing stopped being a thought process and started being an instinct. It is always there. It never sleeps. And it comes to life and reacts instantly, and sometimes not very rationally, concerning the issues of my children.

So, that is going on now, in this place. It is certainly not unmanageable but I would appreciate your prayers as I sort through these issues in what represents a really tough situation for all of us who are used to being “their protection.”

As I prayed this morning the Lord reminded me of the early verses of Psalm 40. There the psalmist said that he cried out to God and that God inclined his ear to him and heard him. He said that God lifted him from the pit and the miry clay and set his feet on a rock and put a new song in his mouth. We are today anticipating the time to sing again.

Thank you all for waiting so faithfully with us. It is coming. God will make it so. Love in Christ, Larry, Donna, and Family

Joint al Qaeda and Taliban force behind Kunar base attack

By Bill RoggioJuly 14, 2008 9:03 PM

Kunar provincial map. Click to view.

Yesterday's deadly complex attack on a joint US and Afghan outpost in Kunar province was carried out by a large, mixed force of Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied extremist groups operating eastern Afghanistan.

Sunday's assault occurred just three days after 45 US soldiers, likely from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 25 Afghan troops established a new combat outpost in the town of Wanat. The troops had little time to learn the lay of the land, establish local contacts, and build an intelligence network. The fortifications were not fully completed, according to initial reports.

A complex attack

The assault was carried out in the early morning of July 13 after the extremist forces, numbering between 200 and 500 fighters, took over a neighboring village. "What they [the Taliban] did was they moved into an adjacent village - which was close to the combat outpost - they basically expelled the villagers and used their houses to attack us," an anonymous senior Afghan defense ministry official told Al Jazeera. Tribesmen in the town stayed behind "and helped the insurgents during the fight," General Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh, the provincial police chief, told The Associated Press.

The Taliban force then conducted a complex attack, coordinating a ground assault with supporting fires. Approximately 100 enemy fighters were reported to have moved close to the base while under a heavy barrage of machinegun fire, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars. The fighters advanced on the outpost from three sides.

Taliban fighters breached the outer perimeter of the outpost but were repelled. US troops called in artillery, helicopter, and air support to help beat back the attacking force. Casualties were heavy on both sides, with nine US soldiers and 40 Taliban fighters killed during the assault. Fifteen US and four Afghan soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

An extremist alliance

The assault on the Wanat outpost was conducted by an alliance of extremist groups operating in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to reports. A senior Afghan defense official told Al Jazeera that "various anti-government factions including Taliban, al-Qaeda and the Hezb-i-Islami faction were involved" in the strike.

Tamim Nuristani, who served as governor of Kunar before President Hamid Karzai relieve him of his post for criticizing a US airstrike that is thought to have killed Afghan civilians, said Taliban and Pakistani groups banded together for the attack. "The (attackers) were not only from Nuristan but from other districts," Nuristani said.

"They are not only Taliban. They were (Pakistan-based) Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hezb-i-Islami, Taliban and those people who are dissatisfied with the (Karzai) government after these recent incidents," Nuristani said, intimating the attack was revenge for the US airstrike. "They all came together for this one."

Kunar hosts a major infiltration route and a witches' brew of extremist

Activity in Kunar province has been particularly fierce over the past year. According to an Afghan security report obtained by The Long War Journal, Kunar suffered 963 attacks in 2007, making it the second most active province for insurgents, after Kandahar. The data for 2008 shows the same trend, with Kunar behind only Kandahar in the number of Taliban-related attacks.

US forces have stepped up their presence in Kunar and neighboring Nuristan province since 2005, building remote outposts and bases along established smuggling routes used by insurgent forces. According to one regional report, the US recently finished construction on a vital outpost near the notorious Ghahki Pass, a narrow gorge connecting Pakistan’s Bajaur tribal agency with Kunar province.

The Ghahki Pass has remained a vital extremist infiltration route since the conflict began. In October 2001, more than 1,000 Pakistani jihadists flooded through the narrow canyon into Afghanistan and joined the Taliban in their fight against Coalition forces. Seven years later, the local population remains openly hostile to both the Afghan government and US forces, making it an ideal area for extremist activity to thrive.

A host of Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied extremist groups operate inside Kunar and in the Bajaur tribal agency in neighboring Pakistan. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Younus Khalis's Hezb-i-Islami factions operate in Kunar and in neighboring Bajaur. The Kashmiri-based Lashkar-e-Taiba also operates in the border region. Al Qaeda's senior leadership, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, are thought to shelter in the region.

Bajaur is a strategic command and control hub for al Qaeda. The tribal agency is administered by Faqir Mohammed, the local leader of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM - the Movement for the Implementation of Mohammad's Sharia Law) and the deputy leader of Baitullah Mehsud's unified Pakistani Taliban movement. The TNSM sent thousands of fighters into Afghanistan to fight US forces in 2001 and 2002, and continues to sponsor attacks in Afghanistan.

Pakistan remains a sanctuary for extremist leaders, as raids in early February demonstrated. After capturing Mansoor Dadullah in the southern part of the country, Pakistani security forces arrested several senior al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban commanders from Kunar during raids in Swat and Peshawar.

Pakistan is the Taliban's training ground

The Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied extremist groups, collectively called AQAM or al Qaeda and Allied Movements by various military and intelligence sources, have established their base of operations inside Pakistan’s tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province.

The peace agreements signed between the Pakistani government and the Taliban, which have been ongoing since March 2006, have given AQAM the time and spaced needed to establish a series of camps throughout the Northwest Frontier Province.

Terrorist groups have set up a series of camps throughout the tribal areas and in the settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. "More than 100" terror camps of varying sizes and types are currently in operation in the region, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. As of the summer of 2007, 29 terror camps were known to be operating in North and South Waziristan alone.

Some camps are devoted to training the Taliban's military arm, some train suicide bombers for attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, some focus on training the various Kashmiri terror groups, some train al Qaeda operatives for attacks in the West, and one serves as a training ground the Black Guard, the elite bodyguard for Osama bin Laden.

Al Qaeda has also reformed Brigade 055, the infamous military arm of the terror group made up of Arab recruits. The unit is thought to be commanded by Shaikh Khalid Habib al Shami. Brigade 055 fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance and was decimated during the US invasion of Afghanistan. Several other Arab brigades have been formed, some consisting of former members of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards, an intelligence official told The Long War Journal.

Al Qaeda's elite forces were likely involved in the planning and execution of Sunday's sophisticated attack in Kunar.

Sources:

• The Long War Journal: Taliban launch deadly attack on a combat outpost in Afghanistan's Kunar province
• The Long War Journal: Afghan Taliban leaders nabbed in Pakistan
• The Long War Journal: "More than 100 terror camps" in operation in northwestern Pakistan
• Al Jazeera: Taliban fighters storm US base
• The AP: Deadly attack on US base sends worrying signal
• The AP: 9 U.S. soldiers killed in Taliban assault on base
• Program for Culture and Conflict Studies: Kunar Province briefing

Read this and you tell me what may have happened at that lone outpost.

AP IMPACT: Pakistan militants focus on Afghanistan

By KATHY GANNON – 23 hours ago

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — In early June, about 300 fighters from jihadist groups came together for a secret gathering here, in the same city that serves as headquarters to the Pakistani army.

The groups were launched long ago with the army's clandestine support to fight against India in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. But at the meeting, they agreed to resolve their differences and commit more fighters to another front instead: Afghanistan.

"The message was that the jihad in Kashmir is still continuing but it is not the most important right now. Afghanistan is the fighting ground, against the Americans there," said Toor Gul, a leader of the militant group Hezb-ul Mujahedeen,d in an interview at the beginning of July. The groups included the al-Qaida-linked Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, banned by Pakistan and branded terrorists by the U.S., he said.

The U.S. military says militant attacks in eastern Afghanistan have increased 40 percent this year over 2007. And for two straight months, the death toll of foreign troops in Afghanistan has exceeded that of Iraq. On Sunday, nine U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, the deadliest single attack for the U.S. since June 2005.

Pakistani military and European intelligence officials, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the information is sensitive, confirmed the June meeting and said it was the second such gathering this year. A senior military official described the inability to prevent the meetings as "an intelligence failure."

Despite growing pressure on Pakistan to quell Islamic militancy, jihadist groups within its borders are in fact increasing their cooperation to attack U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, according to interviews with a wide range of militants, intelligence officials, and military officers.

Militants say they operate with minimal interference, and sometimes tacit cooperation, from Pakistani authorities, while diplomats say the country's new government has until now been ineffectual in dealing with a looming threat.

"Where there were embers seven years ago we are now fighting flames," a serving Western general told The Associated Press, referring to both Afghanistan and Pakistan's border regions. He agreed to be interviewed on condition his identity and nationality were not revealed.

A Pentagon report released late last month described a dual terror threat in Afghanistan: the Taliban in the south, and "a more complex, adaptive insurgency" in the east. That fragmented insurgency is made up of groups ranging from al-Qaida-linked Afghan warlords such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's radical Hezb-i-Islami group to Pakistani militants such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, the report said.

Hekmatyar's is the strongest rebel group in Afghanistan's Kunar province, where Sunday's deadly ambush occurred. His group has also had close contacts with jihadi groups in Pakistan.

In the past, the Taliban were suspicious of the mujahadeen groups with close associations to the Pakistani military and intelligence. But now Gul, who fights alongside Hekmatyar's men in Kunar province, said they are united in the fight for Afghanistan. He told the AP he had been to Kunar in the last two months but refused to be more specific.

Mark Laity, NATO spokesman in Afghanistan, said Pakistan's new civilian government has reduced its preventive military action and is trying to negotiate peace deals with the militants. He expressed concern that the deals were leading to "increased cross border activity."

The Pakistani government also appears to be loosening its grip on the volatile northwest, where the influence of Islamic extremists is expanding. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere along the rugged, lawless Afghan-Pakistan border.

Pakistan's Mohmand and Bajaur tribal areas are emerging as increasingly strong insurgent centers, according to Gul, the militant. His information was corroborated by Pakistani and Western officials. Both those tribal areas are right next door to Afghanistan's Kunar province.

"Before there were special, hidden places for training. But now they are all over Bajaur and Mohmand," he said. "Even in houses there is training going on."

A former minister in President Pervez Musharraf's ousted government, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, said insurgents were being paid between 6,000 and 8,000 rupees — the equivalent of $90 and $120 — a month in Mohmand and grain was being collected to feed them. He did not identify the source of the donations but said Pakistan's army and intelligence were aware of them.

Maulvi Abdul Rahman, a Taliban militant and former police officer under the ousted hardline regime, said jihadist sympathizers in the Middle East are sending money to support the insurgents and more Central Asians are coming to fight. Rahman said under a tacit understanding with authorities, militants were free to cross to fight in Afghanistan so long as they do not stage attacks inside Pakistan, which has been assailed by an unprecedented wave of suicide attacks in the past year.

"It is easy for me now. I just go and come. There are army checkposts and now we pass and they don't say anything. Pakistan now understands that the U.S. is dangerous for them," he said. "There is not an article in any agreement that says go to Afghanistan, but it is understood if we want to go to Afghanistan, OK, but leave Pakistan alone.'"

The Taliban appears to have considerable latitude to operate. Last month Baitullah Mehsud, the chief Pakistani Taliban leader, held a news conference attended by dozens of Pakistani journalists in South Waziristan tribal region. Authorities did nothing to stop it, although the Pakistani government and the CIA have accused Mehsud of plotting the December assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Journalists who attended said there were no security forces to be seen as a convoy of as many as 20 vehicles passed into the Mehsud's hideout — not far from where the army itself had taken an entourage of foreign journalists just a week earlier.

Tensions in Pakistan's anti-terror alliance with the United States are growing. U.S. airstrikes during a border clash with militants on June 10 killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops — the deadliest incident of its kind, prompting a sharp rebuke by Pakistan's army to Washington.

Pakistan's army vehemently denies giving covert aid to militants and points out that 1,087 of its soldiers have died in the tribal regions since 2002 — more than the U.S. military and NATO have lost in Afghanistan.

"If anyone says the army is providing sanctuary, nothing could be further from the truth," army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said. He criticized the U.S. and NATO forces for failing to capture insurgents when they cross into Afghanistan or stop them from coming into Pakistan.

"Is it the responsibility of only one side to stop the border crossings?" he asked.

A senior government official also said Pakistan — which once backed the Taliban but formally abandoned its support after the Sept. 11 attacks on America — has become the scapegoat for U.S. and NATO failures in Afghanistan.

"They don't want to tell their bosses that they've made a mess of it in Afghanistan, where there is no governance, corruption is everywhere and the Afghan government is involved up to the hilt in heroin smuggling, gun running," said the official, who had the authority to speak only if his name was not used. He denied the army was helping militants.

"Maybe one or two individuals are allowing things to happen, but as a policy it makes no sense to me. Just because we were in bed with them once doesn't mean we are today."

However, the Afghan government has directly accused Pakistani intelligence of plotting a recent assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai and the July 7 bombing outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed at least 58 people.

Such allegations are virtually impossible to substantiate. But retired Pakistani general Talat Masood said the army still treats militants and Afghan rebels as "assets" because of its deep conviction that India is expanding its influence in Afghanistan and using its consulates there to foment an ethnic rebellion in Pakistan's troubled southwest Baluchistan province.

"There are certain (militant) groups that have the full blessing of the army, some to which they are neutral and some they are against," he said.

Although Pakistan has received some $10 billion in mostly military aid since 2001, the army mistrusts the United States — worried it could one day abandon Pakistan and even turn its guns on a country where it has repeatedly voiced concern that al-Qaida's leadership is regrouping.

"They still believe in the same thing — that America will leave them tomorrow," Masood said. "And we'll be left high and dry with India strong, and a hostile government in Afghanistan and that we will have no friends."

Two faced Pakistan and we still funnel how many Billions to them to fight Terror

(CBS) Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday directly accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of being behind a recent series of attacks by Taliban militants that have killed scores of people, reports CBS News' Sami Yousafzai.

After a high level meeting with his aides and cabinet members focusing on the country's diminishing law and order, Karzai blamed the premier spy agency of Pakistan, ISI and Pak army for the increasing insecurity and lawlessness in Afghanistan.

A press release from the cabinet sent to CBS News said Afghanistan had done its best during the last six-and-a-half years to stay away from a war of words with Pakistan and did everything it could do to have a friendly relationship with its neighbor. But, according to the statement, the intelligence agency and Pak army sustained its interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.

The press release added that Afghanistan suffered tremendous losses due to the intrusion of Pakistani spies and their atrocities.

"Every day, in each and every corner of the country our children, women, Ulema, teachers and workers of international community have been killed by the plots of the ISI agency," the release said. "Our schools and hospitals are being torched."

"The people of Afghanistan and the international community are now quite sure that Pakistan has not only become a safe haven for terrorists but it also exports terrorism."

"We supported the recent elections in Pakistan with the hope that the new government would watch the activities of ISI and would take practical steps in stop ISI from interfering in the internal dealings of Afghanistan."

The release cited the Kandahar jailbreak, the beheading of Afghans in Bajaur and Waziristan, the recent suicide blast in Urozghan and the bombing of the Indian embassy as being the work of the Pakistani spy agency.

Karzai warned that unless Pakistan can convince him that they'll reel the spy agency in, talks scheduled between the two countries about assistance on the border and economic cooperation in the coming would be postponed.

An Afghan political analyst Ahmad Saad Saedi, who served recently as diplomat in Pakistan told Yousafzai Karzai should take a clear stand on Pakistan's interference in Afghanistan's domestic affairs.

"Pakistan plays the role of an arrogant and self-seeking regional power and believes strongly that Afghanistan would harm Pakistan, which is why it does not want peace in Afghanistan,” Saedi added.

Saedi believes the U.S. should pressure Pakistan to stop inciting violence in Afghanistan.

In a sign that tensions between the two countries is coming to a head, a couple of Karzai's ministers suggested the Afghan ambassador to Islamabad be recalled temporarily as a sign of protest, according to a source inside the Karzai palace.

By Sami Yousafzai
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

173rd Airborne heading for home

Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, July 12, 2008

Dave Melancon / U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dave Garver, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), his wife, Jill, and 15-month-old son, Payton, leave for home following a welcome home ceremony held for about 250 Vicenza, Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team soldiers Thursday. Dave Melancon / U.S. Army Family members greet returning Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team soldiers during a welcome home ceremony Thursday evening.

With the advance parties safely home, the bulk of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team’s six battalions are starting to return.

After a trying 15 months in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. Army Europe’s only airborne unit should be completely redeployed over the next several weeks.

Many of the returnees have spent two of the last three years supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

More than 250 members of 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), returned to Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, on Thursday night, bringing the number of safely returned troops to 530, said Jon Fleshman, public affairs officer for U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza.

The 530 are about a quarter of the 1,900 due back in Italy by the beginning of August, Fleshman said, adding that another group of paratroops is due Friday.

Also returning Friday is a large group cavalrymen from 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany.

Now this just pisses me off

Putting Her Foot Down and Getting the Boot

Former Arlington Public Affairs Director Gina Gray, whose boss said she acted inappropriately. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo

TOOLBOX Resize Print E-mail Yahoo! Buzz Save/Share + Digg Newsvine del.icio.us Stumble It! Reddit Facebook myspace COMMENT washingtonpost.com readers have posted 262 comments about this item. View All Comments » POST A COMMENT You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register Why Do I Have to Log In Again? Log In Again? CLOSE We've made some updates to washingtonpost.com's Groups, MyPost and comment pages. We need you to verify your MyPost ID by logging in before you can post to the new pages. We apologize for the inconvenience. Discussion Policy Discussion Policy CLOSE Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Who's Blogging » Links to this article

By Dana Milbank

Thursday, July 10, 2008; Page A03

The ghost of Rummy is proving difficult to exorcise.

This Story

• Putting Her Foot Down and Getting the Boot
• Transcript: Washington Sketch

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tried to sweep out the symbols of his predecessor's capricious reign, firing acolytes of Donald Rumsfeld and bringing glasnost to the Pentagon.

But in one area, Rummy's Rules still pertain: the attempt to hide from public view the returning war dead.

When Gina Gray took over as the public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery about three months ago, she discovered that cemetery officials were attempting to impose new limits on media coverage of funerals of the Iraq war dead -- even after the fallen warriors' families granted permission for the coverage. She said that the new restrictions were wrong and that Army regulations didn't call for such limitations.

Six weeks after The Washington Post reported her efforts to restore media coverage of funerals, Gray was demoted. Twelve days ago, the Army fired her.

"Had I not put my foot down, had I just gone along with it and not said regulations were being violated, I'm sure I'd still be there," said the jobless Gray, who, over lunch yesterday in Crystal City, recounted what she is certain is her retaliatory dismissal. "It's about doing the right thing."

Army Secretary Pete Geren, in an interview last night, said he couldn't comment on Gray's firing. But he said the overall policy at Arlington is correct. "It appears to me that we've struck the right balance, consistent with the wishes of the family," the secretary said.

Gray, in tank top, jeans, Ray-Bans over her Army cap and flip-flops revealing pink toenails, struck an unlikely figure for a whistle-blower yesterday as she provided documents detailing her ill-fated and tumultuous few months at Arlington. She worked for eight years in the Army as a public affairs specialist in Germany, Italy and Iraq, then returned to Iraq as an army contractor doing media operations. While working with the 173rd Airborne in Iraq in 2003, her convoy was ambushed and, she says, she still has some hearing loss from the explosion. The 30-year-old Arizonan was hired to work at Arlington in April.

Just 10 days on the job, she was handling media coverage for the burial of a Marine colonel who had been killed in Iraq when she noticed that Thurman Higginbotham, the cemetery's deputy superintendent, had moved the media area 50 yards away from the service, obstructing the photographs and making the service inaudible. The Washington Sketch column on April 24 noted that Gray pushed for more access to the service but was "apparently shot down by other cemetery officials."

Gates had his staff inquire with the cemetery about the article and was told that "the policy had not in any way changed," Gates's spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said yesterday. Geren, the Army secretary, added that "the policy has not changed, and I understand the practice hasn't, either."

That, however, is false. Through at least 2005 -- during Rumsfeld's tenure, no less -- reporters were placed in a location where they could hear the prayers and the eulogies and film the handing of the folded flag to the next of kin. The coverage of the ceremonies -- in the nearly two-thirds of cases where families permitted it -- provided moving reminders to a distracted nation that there was a war going on. But the access gradually eroded, and Gray arrived to discover that it was gone.

And soon, so was Gray. After Gates's inquiry into The Post column, Gray, still days into her new job, began to get some rough treatment. "Gina, when you leave the building let me know," said a one-line e-mail from her supervisor, Phyllis White, on May 2. Then Gray was instructed not to work overtime without written approval, and then was ordered to take down a Marines poster from her cubicle wall. "Please change your title from public affairs director to public affairs officer," White instructed in a June 9 e-mail.

Gray complained to Arlington's superintendent, John Metzler, and was briefly removed from White and Higginbotham's supervision. But on May 27, White sent an e-mail announcing that "Mr. Metzler changed his mind, I will continue as your supervisor." The acrimony increased. Gray went to the hospital complaining of stress-related headaches; while she was recovering, her BlackBerry was disconnected "to alleviate you from stress," as White put it.

Arlington's problems with the burial of the Iraq dead go far beyond Gray; the cemetery is looking for its fourth public affairs director in the past few years. Gray contends that Higginbotham has been calling the families of the dead to encourage them not to allow media coverage at the funerals -- a charge confirmed by a high-ranking official at Arlington, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Gray says Higginbotham told staff members that he called the family of the next soldier scheduled for burial at Arlington and that the family, which had originally approved coverage, had changed its mind. Gray charges that Higginbotham admitted he had been making such calls to families for a year and said that the families "appreciated him keeping the media out."

Higginbotham, White and Metzler did not respond to e-mail messages yesterday seeking their comment. An Army spokesman said Higginbotham and other Arlington officials call families only if their wishes regarding media coverage are unclear.

On June 27, Gray got her termination memo. White said Gray had "been disrespectful to me as your supervisor and failed to act in an inappropriate manner." Failed to act in an in appropriate manner? The termination notice was inadvertently revealing: Only at Arlington National Cemetery could it be considered a firing offense to act appropriately.

Now this just pisses me off

Putting Her Foot Down and Getting the Boot

Former Arlington Public Affairs Director Gina Gray, whose boss said she acted inappropriately. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo

TOOLBOX Resize Print E-mail Yahoo! Buzz Save/Share + Digg Newsvine del.icio.us Stumble It! Reddit Facebook myspace COMMENT washingtonpost.com readers have posted 262 comments about this item. View All Comments » POST A COMMENT You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register Why Do I Have to Log In Again? Log In Again? CLOSE We've made some updates to washingtonpost.com's Groups, MyPost and comment pages. We need you to verify your MyPost ID by logging in before you can post to the new pages. We apologize for the inconvenience. Discussion Policy Discussion Policy CLOSE Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Who's Blogging » Links to this article

By Dana Milbank

Thursday, July 10, 2008; Page A03

The ghost of Rummy is proving difficult to exorcise.

This Story

• Putting Her Foot Down and Getting the Boot
• Transcript: Washington Sketch

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tried to sweep out the symbols of his predecessor's capricious reign, firing acolytes of Donald Rumsfeld and bringing glasnost to the Pentagon.

But in one area, Rummy's Rules still pertain: the attempt to hide from public view the returning war dead.

When Gina Gray took over as the public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery about three months ago, she discovered that cemetery officials were attempting to impose new limits on media coverage of funerals of the Iraq war dead -- even after the fallen warriors' families granted permission for the coverage. She said that the new restrictions were wrong and that Army regulations didn't call for such limitations.

Six weeks after The Washington Post reported her efforts to restore media coverage of funerals, Gray was demoted. Twelve days ago, the Army fired her.

"Had I not put my foot down, had I just gone along with it and not said regulations were being violated, I'm sure I'd still be there," said the jobless Gray, who, over lunch yesterday in Crystal City, recounted what she is certain is her retaliatory dismissal. "It's about doing the right thing."

Army Secretary Pete Geren, in an interview last night, said he couldn't comment on Gray's firing. But he said the overall policy at Arlington is correct. "It appears to me that we've struck the right balance, consistent with the wishes of the family," the secretary said.

Gray, in tank top, jeans, Ray-Bans over her Army cap and flip-flops revealing pink toenails, struck an unlikely figure for a whistle-blower yesterday as she provided documents detailing her ill-fated and tumultuous few months at Arlington. She worked for eight years in the Army as a public affairs specialist in Germany, Italy and Iraq, then returned to Iraq as an army contractor doing media operations. While working with the 173rd Airborne in Iraq in 2003, her convoy was ambushed and, she says, she still has some hearing loss from the explosion. The 30-year-old Arizonan was hired to work at Arlington in April.

Just 10 days on the job, she was handling media coverage for the burial of a Marine colonel who had been killed in Iraq when she noticed that Thurman Higginbotham, the cemetery's deputy superintendent, had moved the media area 50 yards away from the service, obstructing the photographs and making the service inaudible. The Washington Sketch column on April 24 noted that Gray pushed for more access to the service but was "apparently shot down by other cemetery officials."

Gates had his staff inquire with the cemetery about the article and was told that "the policy had not in any way changed," Gates's spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said yesterday. Geren, the Army secretary, added that "the policy has not changed, and I understand the practice hasn't, either."

That, however, is false. Through at least 2005 -- during Rumsfeld's tenure, no less -- reporters were placed in a location where they could hear the prayers and the eulogies and film the handing of the folded flag to the next of kin. The coverage of the ceremonies -- in the nearly two-thirds of cases where families permitted it -- provided moving reminders to a distracted nation that there was a war going on. But the access gradually eroded, and Gray arrived to discover that it was gone.

And soon, so was Gray. After Gates's inquiry into The Post column, Gray, still days into her new job, began to get some rough treatment. "Gina, when you leave the building let me know," said a one-line e-mail from her supervisor, Phyllis White, on May 2. Then Gray was instructed not to work overtime without written approval, and then was ordered to take down a Marines poster from her cubicle wall. "Please change your title from public affairs director to public affairs officer," White instructed in a June 9 e-mail.

Gray complained to Arlington's superintendent, John Metzler, and was briefly removed from White and Higginbotham's supervision. But on May 27, White sent an e-mail announcing that "Mr. Metzler changed his mind, I will continue as your supervisor." The acrimony increased. Gray went to the hospital complaining of stress-related headaches; while she was recovering, her BlackBerry was disconnected "to alleviate you from stress," as White put it.

Arlington's problems with the burial of the Iraq dead go far beyond Gray; the cemetery is looking for its fourth public affairs director in the past few years. Gray contends that Higginbotham has been calling the families of the dead to encourage them not to allow media coverage at the funerals -- a charge confirmed by a high-ranking official at Arlington, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Gray says Higginbotham told staff members that he called the family of the next soldier scheduled for burial at Arlington and that the family, which had originally approved coverage, had changed its mind. Gray charges that Higginbotham admitted he had been making such calls to families for a year and said that the families "appreciated him keeping the media out."

Higginbotham, White and Metzler did not respond to e-mail messages yesterday seeking their comment. An Army spokesman said Higginbotham and other Arlington officials call families only if their wishes regarding media coverage are unclear.

On June 27, Gray got her termination memo. White said Gray had "been disrespectful to me as your supervisor and failed to act in an inappropriate manner." Failed to act in an in appropriate manner? The termination notice was inadvertently revealing: Only at Arlington National Cemetery could it be considered a firing offense to act appropriately.