This Lieutenant Colonel visited Zharay and Panjwai districts where I was about one year ago and the news is not good on escalating the war in Afghanistan.

Politicians never seem to tell the truth. I saw first hand that many units were afraid and did not leave their bases. That was nearly 2 years ago. The surge has been a failure.

Either bring the troops home or send them East, into the Taliban nest - Pakistan.

I was born in San Jose and lived 30 years in California, including what used to be Southern California, which I regard as Northern Mexico. I tried Florida and Texas. Both were too far from my family. I was seeking a low tax state. Washington state, near Seattle is where I live mainly due to family in the area. King County where I live is infested with liberal worms, crawling all over the place and leaving slimy trails of liberal ideology. When I got back from Afghanistan, I noticed a lot fewer Obama bumper stickers out here than before I left. I plan to move out of the liberal county to somewhere more rural. The roads and infrastructure are better here, and crime seems to be less of an issue. The air is cleaner too.

As for Afghanistan, it was a privilege to serve over there. I always endorsed kicking ass on terrorists and the Taliban, but this war has turned into a giant welfare program for Afghanistan. If I told you the complete experience about what I witnessed about taxpayer money and how it was used by the Army in Kandahar Province, you'd be very angry. Most of the construction projects I was involved in that included Afghan citizens essentially were 50% deals where cash went to the Taliban, 50% for the Afghan worker, the rest was protection money to the Taliban, who used it to buy bomb making material and bullets to attack us. Incredibly stupid policy! The country is jacked up. Our corpsman told me a story about a young girl, maybe 12 years old who came to one of their COIN medial clinics for health care. They found bomb making residue on her hands.

The military has it's limitations, and that has become abundantly clear in Afghanistan. I worked on projects for the 101st Airborne (I'm a Navy Seabee), securing highway 1 in Kandahar Province, building COPs and concrete walls to keep the filthy Paki Taliban out and keep the villagers safe from threat. We secured the province, but the enemy started moving to other parts of the country to attack, mainly at Kabul.

While I respect General Petraeus and what he did in Iraq, he did not have the policy latitude under the hope and change President to really bring the war to where it needs to be waged, in Pakistan.

Haha! LOL! I fled California 5 years ago. When I got to Kuwait before my tour in Afghanistan, they were training us on the COIN, referencing General Petraeus as being the author. I openly told one of my superior Petty Officers I thought it was shame that was what were focused on. when we built a combat outpost at Sangsar, the villagers told our interpreter that they couldn't cooperate with us because they were afraid the Taliban would hurt their families. The COIN wasn't going to work when you allow the enemy - the filthy unwashed Taliban Pakistani fighters to live. focus on what the military does best: 1. Destroy the enemy, 2. After the enemy is destroyed, administer the area until civilians can take over. That simple! What a joke. Petraeus obviously has sold out to the culture of corruption in Afghanistan and here in Washingtonistan.

Using our excellent military for nation building is a waste. The COIN is a losing proposition when people view you as occupiers/invaders. Unfortunately, as soon as ISAF leaves Afghanistan, the country will probably collapse due to corruption.

I closed my account and stopped doing all business with Bank of America in 2007.

I guess it WAS A FREE COUNTRY, until the Food Stamp President, Hope and change, used car salesman became President. This guy is a petty piece of @#$#%$.

Buffet is a turd. He is two faced cynical man.

Looks like the Salt Vampire from the 1960s Star Trek episode:
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/mult...

I am so glad I left California 5 years ago. I have been visiting friends and family late last year and the Bay Area is in obvious visual decline: more graffiti, the roads and highways are worse, prices are higher, ground and air pollution are worse, and my friend's place was robbed. So glad I move out of that tax hellhole! And I was born ther and lived there 35 years!

I can understand these Marines. If someone tried to kill me or had wounded or killed my fellow service members, well urinating on a dead enemy corpse is completely harmless. Of course, I've been shot at and these Pakistani dirtbags tried to kill me and my those in my unit in Sangsar, so maybe I understand human nature better than those who have never served and been shot at.