Christian convicted of aiding Muslim jihadis

Interesting report a couple of days ago in the Washington Times under the headline "Three Florida men sentenced for providing material to support to ISIS".

Way back in July of 2016, government agents at Miami International Airport stopped ex-Marine Gregory Hubbard, 54, who was attempting to get on a plane bound for Syria, where he intended to join ISIS. Apparently Mr Hubbard was impressed by the example of Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) and converted to the Religion of Peace some years ago, without, however, changing his name to something more Islamic. By 2016 he had become convinced that the sure way to Paradise (and the services of 72 virgins) was to join the jihad against infidels.

The Justice Department announced this week that Mr Hubbard would be spending the next 12 years as the guest of the state, i.e. in prison. But he won't be alone. Two co-defendants, also converts to Islam and, like Mr Hubbard, sometime residents of Palm Beach County FL, were convicted of plotting to provide guns and other help to the Islamic State, and received lesser sentences. One of them was Darren Arness Jackson, 52, who got four years. The other, who received a sentence of eight years, was 33-year-old Dayne Christian.

"Allahu akbar!" in Afghanistan - ISIS kills scores as Americans stand by

It's "EMISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" for the American-led coalition in Afghanistan, as that wretched, so-called country plans to hold democratic elections in October. Between now and then -- i.e. for the next six months -- Armpitistan's so-called security forces will continue to struggle to prevent attacks by the country's ISIS affiliate as well as the more firmly established Taliban. Both groups are for some reason opposed to democratic elections, and regularly launch attacks, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces, and ISIS targeting the country's Shia minority.

Reports coming over the mojo wire say that an ISIS suicide bomber struck a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital, Kabul, this morning, killing at least 57 people (and counting). A spokesthingy for the Public Health Ministry said another 112 people were wounded in today's attack. The Kabul police chief, General Daud "Idi" Amin, said the suicide bomber targeted civilians who had gathered to receive national identification cards. In a statement carried by its Aamaq news service, ISIS said it had targeted Shia "apostates".

If you live in Afraghanistsan and value your life, the last thing you want to do is go and register to vote. Last week, three cops responsible for guarding voter registration centres in two Afghan provinces were killed by Islamic militants. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, at least five people were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Baghlan province. A spokesthingy for the provincial police chief said four other people were wounded in the blast.

That was just today... so far! Yesterday, in Balkh province, a district police chief died of his wounds after being shot during a gunbattle with insurgents. A spokesthingy for the provincial police chief said around a dozen insurgents were also killed in the battle, which is still underway. The "insurgents" are reportedly members of the Taliban, who routinely attack police stations and plant roadside bombs (IEDs) targetting anyone who happens to be using the roads.

In the headline, I said "Americans [are standing] stand by". And so they are. About 15,000 US troops are in Armpitistan even as we speak. But wait (I hear you say), didn't President 0 bring our boys (and girls) home in 2014? Errr, no. He started "drawing down" US forces in 2014 but, as with so many other things, never quite got the job done. When President Trump took over 15 months ago, some 10,000 Yankee imperialists remained in country. In "The Forever War", Newsweek reported in November that 15,000 US troops were still in Afghanistan. And the Washington Post said in January that more would likely be sent this spring.

The problem is [Wapo, again] that no-one seems quite sure what they're doing there! Sending in the Marines is one thing, deploying them effectively quite another. Marine Brig. Gen. Roger Turner's forces in Helmand province saw indirect enemy fire about 20 times over the last few months. None of them earned the Combat Action Ribbon, a culturally important award in the service that recognizes those "who have actively participated in ground or surface combat", including facing firefights and roadside bomb explosions.

Keeping 15,000 American boys (and girls) in that shithole country is costing American taxpayers millions of dollars every day. If they're not doing anything, why not bring them home? All of them! That's Walt's innocent question of the day. Ask it of your Congressman (or Congresswoman) next time you see him (or her). Let me know if you get a sensible answer.

Civilians, shmivilians -- in the Middle East, who cares?

When I wrote about the atrocity in Kandahar, my point was that those who support the American invasion of Afghanistan should be ashamed, dismayed, even outraged... but not surprised. Massacres of innocent civilians by US troops have happened before, and will almost certainly happen again.

I gave the example of the My Lai massacre of 1968, an egregious example of the premeditated and unjustified slaughter of civilians which the US military at first denied, then covered up, then tried to excuse. One "man", William Calley, was sentenced to life imprisonment, but served just three and a half years under house arrest.

Yesterday someone reminded me of the Haditha massacre, which was carried out by American troops in the middle of the glorious war against Iraq. On 19 November 2005, 24 unarmed Iraqi men, women and children were killed by a group of US Marines in Haditha, a city in western Iraq. They were all civilians.

There again, the strategy of the US military was deny, deny, deny. An initial Marine Corps communique reported that 15 civilians were during an attack on a convoy, and eight "insurgents" were killed when the Marines returned fire. However, Time magazine didn't buy the official explanation, and hassled the Marines into investigating.

The inquiry found evidence that "supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians, including unarmed men, women and children". At least three officers were officially reprimanded for failing to properly initially report and investigate the killings. Over a year later, eight Marines were charged in connection with the "incident".

Another nine months went by. Then the authorities dropped charges against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, who has been accused of murder, and Capt. Randy Stone, accused of failing to investigate the incident. Why were the charges dropped? Because it was felt that Iraqis would be unlikely to come to the USA to testify!

Let us pause here to consider that Staff Sgt. Bob Bales, the "single individual" named as the perpetrator of this week's murders in Kandahar, has been spirited out of the Middle East to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he will undoubtedly receive a fair trial... if any Afghans can make it to the USA to testify.

Getting back to the Haditha massacre... In August 2007, the investigating officer recommended the dropping of charges against Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum. However, in October, his commanding officer decided the charges should not be dropped, but lowered to involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault.

By June of 2008, six defendants had had their cases dropped and a seventh had (to no-one's surprise) been found not guilty. Not so Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. In October 2007, the investigating officer recommended that Wuterich be tried for negligent homicide -- something less than murder -- in the deaths of two women and five children. Further charges of assault and manslaughter were ultimately dropped, and Wuterich was convicted of a single count of negligent dereliction of duty -- something less than negligent homicide -- on January 24, 2012. That's right... 2012!

Was Wuterich punished for murdering seven people? Oh yes indeed! He received a reduction in rank and cut in pay. No jail time.

Iraqis voiced understandable disbelief and outrage, after the six-year US military prosecution ended with not a single one of the Marines sentenced to jail. The Haditha massacre has been linked to the decision to withdraw US troops from Iraq at the end of 2011. Now Afghanistan's democratically elected (?) president Karzai has called for American soldiers to get out of Afghanistan, or at least out of the rural villages. No wonder.

Footnote: On 14 December 2011, the New York Times published excerpts from classified transcripts of military interviews from the investigation into the Haditha massacre. In the interviews, Marines said civilians were killed "on a regular basis". The deaths of 20 civilians is described not as "remarkable" but "routine. Maj. Gen. Steve Johnson described such things as "a cost of doing business". And then Americans wonder why they are not welcome in Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere else in the Middle East...except maybe Israel.