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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sea_urchin who wrote (15966)	8/8/2007 7:58:58 PM
From: sea_urchin	Respond to of 22250

Investigators Probe Whether Government Lab Deliberately Released Virus Foot and mouth outbreak another act of biological terrorism against British farming community? prisonplanet.com

To: sea_urchin who wrote (15966)	8/9/2007 4:26:21 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 22250

Re: ...the spread of the virus was probably caused by human movement from the laboratory facilities that was either "accidental or deliberate." So you're saying this was CIA-inspired. But why then did they leave a trail of evidence pointing straight to the lab? Because CIA spooks thought they were still operating in Tony Blair's Britain... They overlooked/underestimated the "regime change" brought about by Gordon Brown. Keep in mind that NOBODY would ever have heard about a "trail of evidence pointing straight to the lab" if British authorities had wanted it so... It's just a matter for the British PM to enjoin a blackout on the investigation. Likewise, the report on the 7/7 London bombings that openly criticizes Scotland-Yard-exec-cum-Mossad-mole Hayman: Message 23758668

To: sea_urchin who wrote (15966)	8/9/2007 5:36:47 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 22250

Re: It's clear the "terrorist" attack on Glasgow airport and the "car bombs" in London didn't warn him enough because he has removed his troops from Basra and has stated he wants UK soldiers out of Iraq altogether... ...while keeping trigger-happy yanks at arm's length in Afghanistan: British military asks U.S. forces to leave Afghan province By Carlotta Gall Published: August 8, 2007 SANGIN, Afghanistan A senior British commander in Afghanistan's Helmand Province said he had asked the U.S. military to withdraw its special forces from his area of operations because the high level of civilian casualties they have caused was making it difficult to win over local people. A U.S. military spokesman denied the request was ever made, either formally or otherwise, but the dispute underlined differences of opinion among NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan on tactics for fighting Taliban insurgents and concerns among soldiers on the ground about the consequences of civilian casualties. A precise tally of civilian casualties is difficult to pin down, but one reliable count puts the number killed in Helmand this year at close to 300 - the vast majority of them caused by foreign and Afghan forces, rather than the Taliban. "Everyone is concerned about civilian casualties," the senior British commander said. "Of course it is counterproductive if civilians get injured, but we've got to pick up the pack of cards that we have got. Other people have been operating in our area before us." After 18 months of heavy fighting, British commanders say they are finally making headway in securing key areas, like this town, and are now in the difficult position of trying to win back the support among people whose lives have been devastated by aerial bombing. American special forces have been active in Helmand since U.S. forces first entered Afghanistan in late 2001, and for several years they maintained a small base outside the town of Gereshk. But the foreign troop presence was never more than a few hundred men. British forces arrived last spring and now have command of the province: About 6,000 soldiers are deployed, with small units of Estonians and Danish troops. American special forces have continued to assist in fighting insurgents, operating as advisers to Afghan security forces. It is those small teams that are coming in for criticism. Their tactics rely heavily on airstrikes for cover because they are unable to defend themselves if they encounter a large group of insurgents. Special forces teams have often called in airstrikes in Helmand and elsewhere and civilians have subsequently been found to have suffered casualties. In just two cases, airstrikes killed 31 nomads west of Kandahar in November 2006 and 57 villagers, half of them women and children, in western Afghanistan in April. In both cases U.S. special forces called in the airstrikes. British officers on the ground in Helmand, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Americans had caused the lion's share of the civilian casualties in their area. They expressed concerns that the Americans' extensive use of air power was turning the people against the foreign presence. The chief British press officer in Helmand, Colonel Charles Mayo, defended the American special forces, and said they were essential to NATO's efforts to clear out Taliban insurgents. An American military spokesman said the special forces would continue to operate in Helmand for the foreseeable future. He denied that the special forces' tactics had caused greater civilian deaths and blamed the Taliban for fighting from civilian compounds. "U.S. special forces have a tremendous reputation not only in combat operations, but also in training and advising the Afghan National Security Forces," Lieutenant Colonel David Accetta, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in an e-mail from the Bagram Air Base. The special forces also provide development and medical assistance, he said, which with their combat missions "can be said to have 'turned the tide' in Helmand." But the senior British commander, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that in Sangin, which has been calm for a month, there was no longer a need for the special forces. "There aren't large bodies of Taliban to fight anymore," he said. "We are dealing with small groups and we are trying to kick start reconstruction and development." [snip] iht.com