Blackhawk down

Scrap the WMD hunt - back to the evil leaders.

In an attempt to silence critics who point out that a central aim of the US campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq remain unfulfilled, the US military have created a covert commando force to hunt down deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida chief Usama bin Ladin and Taliban leaders.

Known as Task Force 121, the commando is designed to react more quickly to intelligence tips about "high-value targets" and will not be restricted within the borders of Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon and military officials told The New York Times.

The covert force, the sources said, came into being after commanders realised they needed to streamline operations and that the hunt for al-Qaida, Taliban and ex-Iraqi regime members should not be restricted by international borders.

The sources, however, did not disclose whether the covert force requires the permission of a foreign government to operate in its territory. article

And then what? A moral victory? A morale victory? We can cheer and pat ourselves on the back if we find them, which will not stop the occupation resistance or continued action to get the infidel out of believer land.

And in the bargain, perhaps we can bomb the crap out of some other countries if there's a "perimssion" problem.

A friend recently told me that he was told by someone in the military bombs have a shelf-life, and that you really need to find a reason to deploy them or you have to hassle with destroying them. I don't know. Maybe that's true. But what I do know is that you can't sell more bombs if your customer is already overstocked. They need to get their inventory used up.

I don't know. Perhaps I'm just being a nattering nabob of negativity, but it really does seem like our intentions in the Middle East are genocidal. Certainly with respect to Iraq they have been. Twelve years of sanctions, targeted civilian populations (Oh, don't tell me they've been accidental or incidental - we have those super smart bombs, remember? The ones that can go right through open windows?). And don't forget bulldozing orchards and farms, and the CPA's intention to dismantle the food distribution system come January, because the CPA says it's a "dangerous socialist anachronism". I'd say instead, the CPA is a dangerous social anachronism.

In over our heads you think? Those helicopters coming down in Iraq? Surprised? Fighting a war on terror we're sure to win if we just don't lose our resolve? How about this October 20, 2001, article from when we went blasting into Afghanistan to get Osama the first time around...

The MC-130 Combat Talons that drop commandos and the AC-130 Spectre gunships that pulverize anyone standing in their way may still have to dodge the Taliban's 200 antiaircraft Stinger missiles left over from the Afghans' war against the Soviets. Last week there were no reports of Stingers being fired at U.S. warplanes, but that wasn't necessarily good news. "Our concern," an Army officer says, "is that they may be saving them for the choppers."

A war on terror is not a war we can win. It is a war we should never have started.

That's a sound bite for you people who still believe that's actually what we're doing.



...but, hey, do what you want....you will anyway.