Every time I see another article about the mess in Afghanistan it just reminds me how utterly incompetant the 1600 Crew are. As if I really needed reminding after Mess O'Potamia, illegal spying on us, Katrina ... and the list goes on. Apparently, the NATO commander in-country is asking for more troops to help ... defend against The TALIBAN. Remember them? The guys about whom Beloved Leader did a Texas Two-Step about "beating" before he went on to Mess O'Potamia?

NATO commander Gen. James L. Jones said Thursday that the military alliance needs as many as 2,500 more soldiers and additional aircraft for its sweeps in southern Afghanistan, acknowledging that officers were surprised by the force of the fight being mounted there by the resurgent Taliban militia.

Jones said in Brussels that NATO was facing a "difficult period" on the battlefield but would prevail even at its present strength. But more troops for the alliance commander would be "a cushion . . . some insurance, if you will, that he has more than enough force to do the job."

Jones declined to say which member countries he felt should provide more forces. Canadian Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor said in response to the remarks that his country had met its commitments, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

German Defense Ministry officials played down suggestions that German troops stationed in the country's north would redeploy to the south, the Reuters news agency reported.

Jones said that NATO knew it was stirring up a "hornet's nest" when it took to the field in the south, but that the "tenacity of resistance" was more than expected. The militiamen were standing and fighting rather than employing their usual hit-and-run tactics, he said.

But he said that "the ultimate solution in Afghanistan is not a military solution." It will depend instead on "the cohesion and the consistent support of the international aid structure."

So, we're now seeing the price that we're going to pay in Afghanistan for taking our eyes off the ball (again) by not first, living up to the promises we made to the Afghani people after rousting the Taliban and Osama, and secondly diverting military resources from Afghanistan while there was still one strategic objective left undone: the capture and or termination of all of the top leadership of Al-Qaeda in a very public manner.

With the 1600 Crew in charge, nothing surprises me anymore, but much saddens me. And the utter failure of the policy in Afghanistan is one of those things that makes me despair of how we'll ever be a respected world leader again as a nation.

I guess taking back Congress this autumn and then the presidency in 2008 is a start. But it's going to be long road back. Just look at the mess in Afghanistan if you need a reminder.

Having been a recruiter, this leaves me a bit cold.

Bill Schulz flipped through a list of Army careers, carefully watching the reaction of Tim Mathis, the 19-year-old construction worker perched next to him. When the potential recruit shrugged in disinterest, Schulz quickly moved to the next job, pointing to those that had the highest signing bonuses or might generate the kind of experience future employers will value.
...
To Serco and MPRI Inc., it is good business. The two Virginia-based firms have more than 400 recruiters assigned across the country, and have signed up more than 15,000 soldiers. They are paid about $5,700 per recruit.

The companies have tried to apply business savvy to the work. They cut the military's typical seven-week training program for new recruiters to three weeks. And MPRI is using about 20 percent fewer people in the average recruiting station to get the same amount of work done, according to program manager Don Tarter.

The one thing about recruiters was they got the same deal everyone else did (for the most part, we won't go into the infamous "Freeman Plan" and how fucked up that turned out to be in some cases). A recruit might run into his/her recruiter someday as a fellow soldier/sailor, whatever and talk about their experiences good, bad, indifferent.

These contractors that the Army is using are all ex-Military and have certainly "been there and done that", but I doubt when they were on Active Duty many of them sought out recruiting duty as a "first choice". Also, the disparity in pay certainly has to make the active duty men and women assigned to recruiting duty now, wonder what the deal is with the whole program, if not look forward to getting out and making some truly significant cash doing what they do now for what is basically minimum wage (in the 24/7/365 world of the military).

It's gonna be interesting to watch this.

OMG.

Attaturk.

Do not drink anything while reading.

Enjoy. Nominate for a Koufax.

He he. I know, it's always wrong to spark an Apple-PC flame war. But this is just too good. After reading all the press about how Microsoft would not have an OS out for the holiday shopping season, thus helping to spark new computer sales (it's hoped), they release the release timeframe for "Vista".

Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday its Windows Vista operating system will cost the same as comparable editions of Windows XP, the current system.

The company priced the consumer edition of the new operating system, Windows Vista Home Basic, at $199. For consumers already running Windows XP, upgrades will cost $99.95.

But Microsoft hopes most consumers will opt to spend $239 for Windows Vista Home Premium, which offers entertainment capabilities such as the ability to record live television and connect to Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console.

Windows Vista Business, geared toward use at work, will cost $299; the company set the price for upgrades at $199.

Of course with the release will come that excellent, stellar tech support from Microsoft, which goes something like this: "Please call your PC manufacturer for help"...press one to kiss Bill's ass, two to kiss Steve's.

Or, if you have an issue with OS X, you can make a reservation at one of the growing number of "Genius Bars" at an Apple store, and get help from a real person. For free. Now that's a vista I like to see, as someone who uses both OS's and has for years.

In Virginia, how "Macaca" Allen and Jim Webb spent their Labor Day.

U.S. Sen. George Allen (R), who is fighting to keep his seat for six more years, rode down Magnolia Avenue on a horse named Bubba, wearing a cowboy hat and western boots as he waved to thousands of people who lined up for the annual Labor Day festivities.

His Democratic opponent, former Navy secretary James Webb, skipped the event to spend time with his son, Jimmy, a Marine lance corporal who is to deploy to Iraq this week.

Quite a comparison. Quite a contrast. Don't you think?

Preznit No Water Bottles:

The Bush administration proclaimed significant progress in the war on terror Tuesday but said the enemy has adjusted to U.S. defenses and that "America is safer but we are not yet safe."

1. The Afghan dilema
   
2. Huh?
   
3. "Dick"-genesis
   
4. Be a Beta Tester...
   
5. Compare and Contrast
   
6. Uhhh, no.