1 The cream of American manhood. Back off, pave it with carpet bombs and bring them home.

2 Afghan President: "31 US and 7 Afghan troops were killed when their helicopter was shot down in Wardak province."


US President: *hits snooze button* "I don't have to be at the golf course till 11am."

3 Bring them home.

4 Word within the milblog community is that it was 25 SEALs with 6 American crew, plus 7 Afghan SF and a military working dog.

5

This is the worst single day loss of life for Americans in the almost 10 years of the war in Afghanistan.

I know war entails sacrifice, but 10 years is an awful long time.

(Rest in peace, warriors.)

6 What is even more shitty about this tragedy is that it is a GD waste. Barky has no intention of winning anything here and plans to withdraw them when "politically" advantageous.

In short, these people dies to maintain political standing for Barky the Bastard.

7 prayers to their families

8 Right on, Vic. When did we stop trying to win wars?

9 The wrong country got invaded. The ISI hasn't stopped masturbating since we made the decision to use Pakistan as a base for an invasion of that hellhole.

10 Maybe it is time to restart testing the neutron bomb.....

I can see selected area's where it would be extremely cost effective and the message it would send would be priceless.

11

One brick at a time, slow-motion tumbling down.

12 Damn.  Double damn.

13 Taliban has really, really pissed off the wrong people.....Rest in Peace warriors...

14 Why do they put so many in a single helo? Why not several small ones like the Bin Laden raid? God bless them & their families

15 Right on, Vic. When did we stop trying to win wars? Posted by: USS Diversity at August 06, 2011 11:09 AM

August 7, 1945.

16
Are you shitting me? Obama still has not made a live statement about this?

Outrageous and unacceptable.

17 August 7, 1945.

Oops.

August 15, 1945.

God bless these young men and their families.

18 NOW can we go apeshit on that hellhole?  If not, then get the hell outta there.

19 huerfano, I think you are correct.

20 The radio network top of hour news report at 11AM: "President 0 is mourning today the loss of...." What despicable spin. How's the pullout date workin' out for us?

21 Why do they put so many in a single helo?

This is what I was wondering as well.

22 Right on, Vic. When did we stop trying to win wars?

Posted by: USS Diversity at August 06, 2011 11:09 AM (KbEJl)

I would say about 1950 under Harry Truman and the modern Democrat Party. It reached its apex in 1973 and we finally surrendered in 1975. ( I was there for that one)

23 Heartbreaking.

Most of America is at the mall (or in the case of our POS CiC on the golf course) and don't care.

24 Thoughts and prayers for their families.

25 Three words:

Glass parking lot.

26 carpet bomb the whole fuckin place, that country is not worth our best and bravest.

27 Simply horrible.

Thank you, SEALs, crew, whatever other personnel were there, for the sacrifice you made to defend your country.  Everybody in a uniform has thought about this before putting it on.  Their families too.

They did everything they could to protect us, and we owe them some damn resolve.

If we're not 100% committed to winning this war, we do need to withdraw our troops.  I would respect Obama more if he had done so.  Leaving them to languish and fight for something Obama will just yank away is the worst possible scenario.  It's like Vietnam.

Iraq was the opposite.  A president who really wanted to win, and would stay the course even if it harmed him politically. 

SEALs... ugh.  Those guys are precious.  I know that's a little callous. I'm grateful to the 88M who risks his life too.  But SEALs are particularly precious.  This is like losing an Aircraft Carrier.

28 18 NOW can we go apeshit on that hellhole?  If not, then get the hell outta there.

Posted by: Tami at August 06, 2011 11:18 AM (X6akg)

Yep. We should have learned from the Russians. If you can't fight as dirty as they do and win, how the heck can we be expected to? Hearts and minds? Bullshit. It's time to go biblical on that shithole. I mean full on Dick Nixon wrath of god Linebacker 2 shit on steroids. These backwards fucks need to be taught a lesson once and for all. You don't dare mess with us. Period.

Prayers to the loved ones of those we lost.

29 I just saw this - how awful.

Condolences and best wishes for their families.

30

16

Karzai has sent his condolences to the CiC.

I can only pray that he has personally contacted the families of our fallen warriors.  

Bring them home

RIP warriors, RIP  

31 26 Three words:

Glass parking lot.

Posted by: Jane D'oh, wearing a cute, pink suicide vest at August 06, 2011 11:23 AM (UOM4

27 carpet bomb the whole fuckin place, that country is not worth our best and bravest.

Posted by: trailortrash at August 06, 2011 11:24 AM (xllDV)

Yep and yep. They want a return to the Stone Age? Coming right up.

32 retaliation better be swift and devastating to that shit hole...any thing less than "OVERKILL" is not enough.....

33

Yep and yep. They want a return to the Stone Age? Coming right up.

Posted by: Lord Humungus Wasteland Jihadi at August 06, 2011 11:27 AM (Yv6gq)

They're pretty close to it now.  What say we give them a nudge or two in that direction.

34 8 Korea, I think. It was the first war we fought under the auspices of the UN. Afghanistan is not worth one more drop of American blood. Take off and nuke it from orbit.

35 I am grateful for our heroes who are willing to give their lives for us, but I hate it more than I can say that they are being sacrificed by Barky with stupid rules of engagement while he marks time for his politically expedient withdrawal.

36 mini-Vietnam 2.0.  ( been there forty years ago, done that )

Get out of there, now.  That country and those people are not worth the terrible cost.

If we need to go somewhere to Solve a Problem, try Somalia:  Kill the pirates

37 34 retaliation better be swift and devastating to that shit hole...any thing less than "OVERKILL" is not enough.....

Under this administration, with the ROE we have in place?  No way.

I watched a video (can't remember if it was the BBC or what) a while back showing Marines in Helmond Province.  They were in a ditch, watching the Taliban surround them, and weren't allowed to fire a single shot until they were fired on first.

I felt physically ill and enraged.

38 Can we please, for once, have a punitive response?

39 Please tell me that we are going to retaliate and retaliate HARD.

40 I'm pissed.  Every Soldier/Sailor/Airman who dies over there is a tragedy.  Doubly tragic now that we have decided to split on an arbitrary deadline.  What the fuck are we doing there?  For who's benefit?  Time to get out.  Now.

41 Terrible news. Condolences to the families of these wonderful warriors.

Sure sounds like an inside job, if first reports are correct. How else did the Taliban know where the helo was at night--and filled with over 30 Seals?

42 41 In your dreams. Not gonna happen with this administration.

43 When are we going to realize that hellhole is not worth it?  Those people will never form any sort of stable, democratic nation in our lifetime.  The best we can hope for is a corrupt Islamic Republic operating under Sharia law whose people hate us.  How does that justify the lives lost and the dollars being spent?  There just aren't enough Afghans willing to make the transition to a modern society.  Time to say goodbye.

44 Are we really so low on resources in theater that someone thought it wise to put 31 of our best and brightest on a single slow moving large target going into a hot LZ? 

45 Our worthless man-child CiC is too busy partying and celebrating Ramadan.

46

This sucks. It's just terrible. The losses in Operation Redwing were bad enough, now this, in almost the same way? There must not be a way to protect a chinook from an RPG.

God bless them.

47 I watched a video (can't remember if it was the BBC or what) a while back showing Marines in Helmond Province.  They were in a ditch, watching the Taliban surround them, and weren't allowed to fire a single shot until they were fired on first.

I felt physically ill and enraged.

Posted by: Jane D'oh, wearing a cute, pink suicide vest at August 06, 2011 11:36 AM (UOM4

Are you serious?? That sounds exactly like Mogadishu, remember in Black Hawk Down, the soldiers asking each other when they could fire? Buck Fbama.

48

Are you serious?? That sounds exactly like Mogadishu, remember in Black Hawk Down, the soldiers asking each other when they could fire? Buck Fbama.

Posted by: KG at August 06, 2011 11:41 AM (LD21B)

I'm completely serious.  I wish I could remember where I saw it.  I believe it was a BBC piece on YouTube.

49 46 Are we really so low on resources in theater that someone thought it wise to put 31 of our best and brightest on a single slow moving large target going into a hot LZ? 

Posted by: Aurelius at August 06, 2011 11:40 AM (hyXSl)

For Obama, any money not going to his pals is waste and therefore shalt be cut.

50 Absolutely the worst news of a week of bad news.
God bless you and your families, warriors. One of those guys is worth more than all of Afghanistan. Terrible loss...

51

Rest in Peace.

A coward dies a thousand deaths, the valiant dies but once

Thank God for the Brave.

52 21 The radio network top of hour news report at 11AM:

"President 0 is mourning today the loss of...."

What despicable spin. How's the pullout date workin' out for us? Posted by: Pecos Bill at August 06, 2011 11:19 AM

Hey girls, I'm back from the links, who wants to go out for ice cream!

53 I'm oscillating between blind rage and desperate sorrow.  Not sure which one's going to win out.

54 Whatever happened to the MBM's "Grim Milestones"? Did thieves steal them to sell for scrap? Did their template get lost in a data migration?

55 Now that I'm thinking about it, now that Teh Won is preznit I no longer see "grim milestone" news on the idiot box or war protesters like the mentally ill Cindy Shehag.  I hate the MFM with a white hot rage. 

56 IEDs force our guys onto choppers where they are sitting ducks.

Obama's ROE keep us from killing everyone that places an IED in the road.

I blame Obama directly.

57

How many times do we have to be taught the same lesson.  How many young lives must be thrown away.  Nation building third world shitholes is fruitless.  Either destroy them and start over or go home.  Yank our troops from Afcrapistan and Iraq.  Blow the hell out of the next shit hole that tries to hurt this great nation and leave.  They will come up with another crap government but one that realizes if they F*** with us they die.  Fewer of our guys will dies and, as if I give a crap, fewer of theirs will die.

May God grant peace to the warriors.  To the mothers, fathers, wives, children and other family members devasted by the loss may they someday realize serenity again and continue with their lives.

 

58 Terrible news.  RIP heroes.  My prayers.


What a week.  I have to agree with many of you, justice to the taliban and al queda for 9/11 was the goal.  That has been accomplished, time to come home with a mission accomplished sign.  Especially if the enemy is being supplied with chinese made weapons from Iran.  We can bomb from afar if we need to.  Nation building will be impossible in that place.

59 Hmm. How can I play this to my political advantage?

60 My sister and lib in-laws were always screaming "Boosh is a war criminal!!111" and are completely quiet over the deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq, and now Barky's little foray into Libya and Yemen. 

They're really, really quiet and don't dare speak to me, knowing our boy will be going this winter.

Liberalism is a mental disease.

61 Enough already. Blow them to smithereens. They have no soul. Fuck collateral damage, pull back and go Curtis LeMay on their stone age filthy asses.

62 This is going to put a downer on the next Conga line.

(sorry...may everyone of them rest in peace. I just hate the JEF)

63 OT: S&P guy on Fox

64 This is what the media fucks are comparing the Tea Party to

65 What a week, what an awful day.

I'm going to go out and clear my head for a bit.  Husband is coming home from a meeting in Hotlanta.  I'm going to have him take me out for dinner and maybe a movie.  Cowboys vs. Aliens, perhaps.  I want to see bad guys go 'splodey.

66 Let's nuke DC from orbit.

67 The worst part of this is that our soldiers are fighting and dying while our POS president could not possibly care less about their sacrifice. 

Bush, for all his many faults, cared about those he sent to fight.  Obama doesn't. His first thought when he heard this news was not one of sorrow for the families or honor for the troops. His first thought was "well, how do I spin this so I look good."

I hate him. I really, truly hate him.

68 31, eh? I can break that on the back nine.

69 Not a word from POTUS on this.  Not a word on the downgrade.  How lone till the word "FORE!" passes his lips?

70 Three words:

Glass parking lot.
Posted by: Jane D'oh

Absolutely agree.

71 This S and P guy is terrified and sweating He's lying about something

72 If our ROE are in any way similar to what's being stated here, we are making a mistake.

We are letting the enemy scare the civilians into compliance, too.  We have to be bold.  I'm not saying carpet bomb them... but we need a better approach.  Until the country is stabilized, absolutely no one who isn't taking our orders should be allowed to have a weapon of any kind.  If they do, they are engaged instantly.  No one should be allowed out of their homes after nightfall.  If they are, they are engaged instantly.

Pakistan should either be invaded or we need to pull out.

Those SEALs were doubtlessly on their way to a very important operation, so I have to wonder if that is related to the rocket attack.  Or some random bastard got lucky this time.

Whatever their target was, we need to strike that target hard.  If we haven't already, we are idiots.

73 They said Obama would have a Historic Presidency

74

Long

 

75 That "american crew" part bothers me. My Grimmy went out on a mission and hasn't checked in yet. tho i know its unlikely he was with them, and that i havent gotten a phone call (comforting) my stomach wont unclench till he checks in. This is so fucked up. I want to hyperventilate and rock till he tells me hes safe.

I just keep telling myself "Its not his usual detail, and i think they came straight out of Kandahar, not his base."

Then that GODDAMN little voice inside adds "... I think."

Thats the hell of loving someone who cant tell you exactly what they do, or where they do it. Most of the time i dont want to know.

Right now i just want to know for sure hes ok.

76 And I just imagine what would happen if we actually did successfully turn Afghanistan into a prosperous modern country.

What thanks would we get? 

No doubt a lot of them would hate our guts, condemn our women for their freedom, etc.

The two exceptions are Japan and Israel.  Other countries we support will often stab us in the back.  IE France.

77

Kipling had a poem called "Frontier Arithmetic", referring to, coincidentally, the "Northwest Frontier" including most of Pakistan, Afghanistan, into Iran. Before WW II ended the Raj.

Young lieutenant riding down the valley, a thousand pounds of education and his regiment's pride, shot down by a ten-rupee jezail.  (Jezail being a home made musket).

And he wrote The Grave of A Hundred Dead, when a patrol of the First Shikaris took vengeance on a Burmese village when their Brit lt was sniped.

Bernard Fall in Street Without Joy regarding the French effort in SEA wrote that it was infinitely harder to replace a French regular master sergeant with twenty years' colonial experience than it was for the locals to replace the guy who sniped him.

Point is, this is a bloody, bloody business and assymetric warfare is damned hard and ought not to be undertaken without a goal.  Or continued once the goal was abandoned, I guess.

78 23 Why do they put so many in a single helo?

This is what I was wondering as well.

Posted by: Lauren at August 06, 2011 11:20 AM (HsfLZ)

saving gas. I shit you not.

79 God be with you Gushka.

I have been in your shoes a couple of times now.  Once a good buddy and once a family member.

I can't offer you much but a prayer.

80 75 If our ROE are in any way similar to what's being stated here, we are making a mistake.

We are letting the enemy scare the civilians into compliance, too.  We have to be bold.  I'm not saying carpet bomb them... but we need a better approach.  Until the country is stabilized, absolutely no one who isn't taking our orders should be allowed to have a weapon of any kind.  If they do, they are engaged instantly.  No one should be allowed out of their homes after nightfall.  If they are, they are engaged instantly.


I was thinking about that, but our military has their hands tied behind their backs and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Just get them out.

81 Praying for you Gushka.

82 78 Praying for you, Gushka.

83 Replacing those 25 will be tough.  The SF and Seals are spread mighty thinly and are doing back to back tours.

Posted by: Billy Bob, the guy who drinks in SC at August 06, 2011 11:56 AM (hXJOG)

the flight crew and security detail meant something to their families too, Billy Bob. And it takes some training to learn to fly those beasts. No man is "replaceable."

84

Hang in there Gushka, and let us know when the check-in call comes.

85 Why are Germany and Japan our allies today? What do they have in common? Could it be that we blasted their old societies to rubble, then rebuilt them on OUR terms? There seems to be a lesson there.

86 This is breaking on twitter now.  Americans are truly really upset.

87 I have to wonder if someone in the present administration leaked information about this mission as part of accommodating their Taliban buddies.  It wouldn't put it past them at all.

88 So much blood and treasure, all for some GD pederasts... We need to pull our boys out, tell the warlords that we will destroy them and everything they care about if they don't keep terrorists out or help them in any way.

89 the country is depressed enough already, reading people's twitters this is seriously further depressing them. 

90 #14, they were on an MH-47 Chinook that seats about 40. A twin-engine twin-rotor bird like the 'Nook does a lot better in most of Afghanistan. High altitudes and hot air reduce the lift the aircraft can generate to the point single-rotor birds are useless in a lot of the country. It's the same altitude consideration that channelizes a lot of our rotary-wing air traffic into the valleys. I've heard of birds catching fire from above on the ridgelines.

91 Two will get you twenty that these were Iranian supplied rockets.  We've lost sight of the real locus of trouble over there.

Requiescat in pace.

92 Thank you for your prayers. I usually am pretty mellow about this crap since he used to flat out lie to me about what he did. But now i know enough to be fucked up and uncertain.

I have friends who are SEALS and God bless the crazy bastards, but you know, every man on the helo was precious to someone.

An op like that takes several kinds of guys all working together like a well oiled machine to go down perfectly, and even the dude who fueled, and the mechanics who maintained the helo are important in their own way.

I was taught by the old Marine who raised me that there is no job to low to be for anyone, because it all has to get done, eventually.

But then, those who do more are worth more.

Thats why liberals hate the military.

Deep in their hearts they know this, and hate them for their shame.

93 Just learned a close friend was not on board, so I am relieved... but it's strange to feel relief that my buddy is ok, when other peoples buddies are not ok... I've had quite enough of that rotten piece of earth.

94 Gushka, if your husband flies for the unit I think it was, if you're FTCKY and not 3rd Batt at HAAF, and I can help, let me know. I know that unit is REALLY good at closing ranks with its own, but the offer's out there.

95 Nuke the population centers, burn their crops, salt the earth, put sterilants in their water supply. Problem solved.

96 No wonder he's hiding at Camp David.

97 Dan can i talk to you in something other than an open forum?

98 All prayers for you now, Gushka. I hope all is well.

99 Gushka, I'm not a religious man, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

100

God, I just heard. Sending out prayers in multiple directions.

Oh and Obama is a traitorous piece of shit, just throwing that out there.

101 If you have some time on  your hands, I recommend reading the ArthurK post just below the ONT on 'Thank God for the A-Bomb'. In fact, read the whole pdf he links to. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the war on Japan and the current war on islam.
 
The biggest difference I see is our allowing sharia crap to be incorporated into the Iraq and Afghan constitutions.  Compare it, say, to the current fad in the US and Europe that THIS time we will implement socialism correctly. Really? Same thing with sharia law -- Really?
 
We've won both ME wars, but we didn't change any minds there. So now they both slide back into the ideology that we tried to eliminate. We did not give Japan that choice....now they are a prosperous Westernized ally.
 
May the families of the lost ones on that helo flight find comfort and ease for their sorrow.

102

Gushka, you are in my prayers.

RIP to the brave warriors who died. This news is heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking.

103 @88 Exactly. If we are gonna do this nation-building bullshit than at least build a decent civilization. Ban Islam. Hang the imams. Ban the veil, hijab, etc, etc.

We should have de-Islamicized these shitholes just like we had to de-Nazi Germany. Instead we wrote Islam into their goddamn constitution.

Of course, I don't think we should nation-build these Mohammedan goat-fucker societies. Instead we should just level them.

More rubble, less trouble.

104 Not to worry the CiC will still get reelected because the GOP are the real terroists or something.   http://www.specialops.org/

105 Many of the dead were from SEAL Team 6? That's reminiscent of how a large number of the SAS troopers who took part in the famed hostage rescue of the Iranian embassy siege in 1980 were subsequently killed in a helicopter crash during the Falklands war in 1982 (although that was probably due to a bird strike and not filthy mediaeval pederasts.) Heroes put themselves in harm's way, repeatedly, and sometimes the dice come up snake eyes. It's sickening, but it's a constant in warfare. It's why so many Medals of Honor and Victoria Crosses are posthumous.

As for me, if GWB had ordered the entirety of Afghanistan to be slagged down with 1500 megatons of Trident warheads on 12 Sep 2001, well, I'd have had some qualms, but I'd have seen the logic in it. It certainly would have shut the fucking Pakistanis up.

106 SGT Dan Do you use the AOSHQ yahoo group? I would rather say something to you there. Not out in a public forum. I figure i will be notified if its bad. But its just waiting for the Email or IM to tell me that wasnt his detail.

107 My son is cavalry, but he did an air assault last week on a Chinook. Dropped eight feet off the ramp into a ditch in a grape field, and jacked up his leg. Still carried on with his mission. I read this headline to my wife, and instantly her question was 'Where is he?'. Well, today, he's still on the FOB, doing fine...and going out again, soon. Today, as I write this, we are relieved, shocked, grieving, apprehensive, and so indescribably proud of that fine young soldier, all the excellent Americans he serves with, and those heroes that fell in the service of all of us.

108 stay strong gushka, prayers out to you needed or not, and to the families of the fallen.

had to take a break after hearing this, wife has no idea why im so mad, dont want to upset her.

109 From The AP:

"The operators from SEAL Team Six were flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment."

"22 SEALs, three Air Force air controllers, seven Afghan Army troops, a dog and his handler, and a civilian interpreter, plus the helicopter crew."

110
that's a big helicopter

111 HE JUST CHECKED IN!!!!!
see? prayer works.

112 awesome gushka!!

113 Prayers for you, Gushka, for those who died, and for their loved ones. As others have said, please keep us posted about Grimmy. God bless.

114 Great news, Gushka!

115

A glass parkinng lot is probably too much to hope for, but a Hellfire storm would be very appropriate.  Barky could at least tell the boys in the trailers in Nevada - "If it moves and it has a gun, it dies.  No need to ask first."

116

The April convoy was tracked from Iran into Helmand province and led a fierce firefight that destroyed one vehicle, according to the official analysis. A second vehicle was reportedly found to contain small arms ammunition, mortar rounds and more than 650 pounds of C4 demolition charges.

A second convoy of two vehicles was spotted on May 3 and led to the capture of five occupants and the seizure of RPG-7mm rockets and more than 1,000 pounds of C4, the analysis says.

Also among the munitions are components for the lethal EFPs, or explosive formed projectiles, the roadside bombs that U.S. officials say Iran has provided to Iraqi insurgents with deadly results.

"These clearly have the hallmarks of the Iranian Revolution Guards' Quds force," said Jones.

117 Watch how Obama responds. His language will not even approach that with which he refers to Republicans and the Tea Party.

118 Wow, Gushka, just saw the good news. (And I won't question the timing!)

119 I had been sitting here waiting like a neurotic freak. Im so relieved i could cry.

120

Link to above story of Iran supplying Taliban

http://tinyurl.com/ywfg8a

121 Who and where did they get these rockets? This is the type of weapon that drove the Russians out of Afghanistan.

122 FNC reported the Dick regime's press release about the downgrade:  Lofty phrases and platitudes.  Nothing about the downing of the chopper.

123 oh and it was 37.

124

Stop wasting our "Blood and Treasure" in these 7th Century Countries.

Our Military Patriots are needed here.  We still have the "Big Stick" and we don't have to be in their country to use it.

125

It is unbelievably stupid to have that many people in one helicopter in a war zone.  They are so easy to shoot down.

This is more proof that the term "military intelligence" is a non-sequitor.

 

126 "The operators from SEAL Team Six were flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. That's according to one current and one former U.S. official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because families are still being notified of the loss of their loved ones."

127 114 HE JUST CHECKED IN!!!!!
see? prayer works.

Posted by: Gushka is wearing her crankypants... at August 06, 2011 12:33 PM (QNeKQ)

Thank God.  Prayers for all the families of those who were lost.

128 This breaks my heart. Many prayers for these brave heroes families and friends. RIP. Thank you for your sevice.

129

It is unbelievably stupid to have that many people in one helicopter in a war zone.  They are so easy to shoot down.

This is more proof that the term "military intelligence" is a non-sequitor.

 

Posted by: NW Bob at August 06, 2011 12:50 PM (zT4Ss)

 

Bad shit happens in war.  They probably needed a lot of boots on the ground at one time in order to kill or capture their target.  The terrrain, if you'd research it a bit, precludes spreading everyone out in more than one chopper.  Sometimes it's just the way it is.   

130

Oh Gushka, I'm so very glad that you heard from your loved one!  As another poster said, happiness that your loved one is still here; extreme sadness for those who won't be coming back.

What a horrible day.

131 God damn it.

132 If we're going to be over there then there needs to be a severe retaliation for this kind of thing. It shouldn't just be business as usual. There should be a reckoning.
Hearts and minds? Screw that. They don't need to love us; they just need to piss themselves every time the word 'America' even passes through their inbred little brains.

133 135 If we're going to be over there then there needs to be a severe retaliation for this kind of thing. It shouldn't just be business as usual. There should be a reckoning.
Hearts and minds? Screw that. They don't need to love us; they just need to piss themselves every time the word 'America' even passes through their inbred little brains.

Posted by: Grayson at August 06, 2011 01:19 PM (mCOXJ)

i sorta agree with you.

oh and also a "Shoot first" policy. i would like that very much and i would sleep so much better at night.

134 128

That wasn't Intel; that was an Ops decision.

And not a stupid one.  As somebody mentioned, the reason we need so much rotary-wing lift is because the roads are almost unusable.  (I know a little something about that personally.)  And Chinooks are not like Doritos: you can't just go to the store when you need some more of 'em.  So, it's a cause-and-effect thang: IEDs close the roads, but the supply runs still need to get done.  Airlift is the answer, but the limited number of heavy helos means that when you CAN use one Chinook to carry that many operators, you MUST.  The others are simply unavailable.

It wasn't dumb.  It was necessary.

135 Fuck. What a goddamned terrible shame. God bless those guys and their families. Those guys have more courage and honor in their pinkies than the rest of use do in our entire being. And don't even get me started on that piece of shit vacationing at Camp David.

136 When Osama was killed, Navy Seal Team Six was mentioned in the operations. Did that not put them in jeopardy?  I know this could have happened to any brave unit of ours over there but I just feel that they were targeted on purpose. I have no doubt that Afghans working with Americans would share intel with the Taliban.

I just feel that Obama fucked up by spilling the beans on the entire Osama mission. He was trying to score political points but fucking over many people in return.

137 I agree with blindgoose.

Big mouths were the direct cause of this.  At least I am going to assign the blame to them.  This is one thing they do deserve blame for.

You know what I wonder about?  Those pictures Obama had taken with the team members.  Who had custody of those pictures?  It would be very easy for a spotter in Afghanistan to identify them at a base and notify Taliban when there was movement.

138

oh and also a "Shoot first" policy. i would like that very much and i would sleep so much better at night.

Posted by: Gushka is wearing her crankypants... at August 06, 2011 01:22 PM (QNeKQ)

Yes, I can definitely agree with that.

I'm also glad your loved one is alright.

139 Happy news Gushka! Bluesman and Jand D'Oh, our prayers will continue for your loved ones over in the zone. I am so sick about this, Everyone here has said what I thought, just more eloquently. I can't add anything but my prayers for the families and friends. And for this bloody, damn war to end. Not because I am anti-military, but because I am anti-using them stupidly.

140 Gushka, just checking back in.  I'm so thankful your man is okay. 

I can't even think about the CiC without feeling uncontrollable rage.

141 "I just feel that Obama fucked up by spilling the beans on the entire Osama mission. He was trying to score political points but fucking over many people in return." This is Obama's fault! He is the CIC! It would be nice if someone, anyone in the fucking Republican leadership who is not running for POTUS could just fucking say it and say it frequent and loud enough that people start getting it.

142 Great news, Gushka--I went through the same thing with a friend of mine in the Pentagon on 09/11.  Now it's time for some payback,and that's not going to be for some candy-assed juiceboxer.  So it's time to sideline the JEF.  Give him a few new balls and clubs and send his sorry ass out to play golf or hide the wiener with the down-lower of his choice--just get him the Hell out of the way and let grown-ups do this. 

Start by letting Pakistan know that they will no longer get a cent from us, unless they borrow it from the Indians.  Anything the Indians do in Kashmir or Pakistan proper is fine with us; the Pakis are on their own.  Anyone identified as ISI will be considered Taliban; any of the above can and will be killed or maimed and left to die on sight.  Anyone offering sanctuary to them can expect to suddenly and violently become at the very least homeless--make those assholes radioactive and toxic.

Tell the EPA to go screw itself and start on real energy independence--drill, mine and build nuclear plants.  None of this "green" crap--the granola-crunchers need to understand that their time is over, and this needs to be painfully reinforced as often as possible even if not necessary.  This in turn will allow us a free hand to deal with the Muzzies as they need to be dealt with.

Ground Zero mosque?  Bend over--it's coming sideways, followed by a pineapple.  Sharia?  Get on the damn boat and take that crap back to your old shithole--try to cross our border again with that and be prepared to be crab food.  Oil?  Glad you asked there, Sheikh Goatfucker!  Your's is worthless--we have our own.  Good luck growing your own food, and don't call us until we call you.  Any questions, Mr. Wants a Hellfire Suppository?  I thought not.  Don't give us a reason to really get pissed--pretend you don't exist.  Because otherwise, you won't....

143 And everybody that says 'kill 'em all' simply doesn't understand COIN.  The whole game, really, the entire fight, revolves around ONE CONCEPT: if the Man in the Street is with you and not the Bad Guys, you can't lose.  If he IS the Bad Guy, you can't win.  And the code of Pashtun Wali in those Afghan hills is literally stronger than Islam or even fear.

That code is based on the concept of REVENGE and HONOR.  And honor, to them, demands that every insult or injury be answered in kind, and simply won't accept anything else.  So every time we zap some booger-eater, all his nephews, all his cousins, all his friends, anybody he worked for or anybody that worked for him ALL have to load their rifles, get out on that hillside, and try to get their precious honor back by trying to kill my son and/or my wife (both active duty, both with Afghan mud on their boots).

My son is operating out of the same FOB that was the home of 'The Kill Team', that gang of psychotic assholes that were sport-killing the locals, and there is NOTHING that will ever make those people anything but lethal enemies, forever.  So, when you blithely say we should be killing errbuddeh what ain't wearin' Uhmerkin yewneeforms, you are trying to get my family killed.  Remember why we won in Iraq: the Sunnis flipped sides.  They did this for two reasons: they believed we'd stay until we were done (the ONE THING the Bush administration did right in Iraq, and it was crucial), and we were LESS brutal than aQ.

IF...IF...IF we can get the locals to come over to us, we can win.  Frankly, I think it is now impossible, because they know we're leaving (and THAT is the ONE THING that Obama could do that will un-do ANY 'correct' move we might have made, but haven't, because he's an incompetent bufoon).  And if we start the killin' assembly line as some are calling for, well, the entire country, ALL of it, will be against us, and then you may refer back to Para #1, and what happens when you can't get that local guy to help you, and can't make him stop fighting you.

144 Checking out Jawa Report now... some interesting thoughts.

Last 10 years Taliban never demonstrated this capability, so someone provided the weapons for this hit job. Who? Pakistan, being humiliated by the death of Osama provided the surface to air weapon for this job.

145

You can still drill for oil through glass, no?

 

146

Obama should present a menu of options that shall ensue upon completion of an investigation into this tragedy. I mean, he should announce in advance what we are going to do if we find treachery, what we shall do if we find collusion, etc. Since our enemy understands revenge and honor, as mentioned in an earlier post, we need to make it clear that we too deal from that stack. We also need to introduce the concept of the multiplier to these foes. They have attacked our tribe, and using the rules that they wish to apply and live by, we are justified in anything that we do to satisfy our honor and sate our revenge.

147 Osama is dead. Tell me what target is worth so many special ops guys. Nobody in that shithole is worth putting so many spec ops guys in one aircraft.

148 @152 Osama is dead. Tell me what target is worth so many special ops guys.

You know, I had a similar thought.  My first thought upon hearing that Seal Team 6 guys were killed was "what stupid ass mission did Obama send them on in an effort to boost his polls?"  I hope to goodness that's not true, but I really wouldn't put anything past that guy. 

149 IF...IF...IF we can get the locals to come over to us, we can win.  Frankly, I think it is now impossible, because they know we're leaving (and THAT is the ONE THING that Obama could do that will un-do ANY 'correct' move we might have made, but haven't, because he's an incompetent bufoon).  And if we start the killin' assembly line as some are calling for, well, the entire country, ALL of it, will be against us, and then you may refer back to Para #1, and what happens when you can't get that local guy to help you, and can't make him stop fighting you.

Posted by: Bluesman at August 06, 2011 01:43 PM (m6peC)

I totally agree with you. They have to feel confident that you will be there and that they will be protected from reprisals for cooperating. If for nothing else i hate certain people with a blinding rage for hanging those folks out to twist in the wind.

FWIW: i have friends who are afghans. They are great people run an awesome business and the who family is great. I love them all. Not all afghans are bad, folks. But theres some bad actors goin in and making life hard for them and us. If we bug out those bad guys will  kill them all and start in on terrible things for the women and kids.

I wouldnt leave my dog to them.

Much less some of those nice folks.

BUT if our guys feel some people approaching are a threat, they should be allowed to shoot first. And this business of disengaging if theres a woman or kid with the Tangos just encourages kidnapping and dragging innocents along on warparties. If a tactic didnt work. they would stop with it.

Stop letting the bad guys run the game.

150 I've got a girlfriend whose husband is on his 10th deployment (!!).  She's a tough little cookie (concealed carry, too).  She looks harmless, but I pity the jackass who ever messes with her.

151 Last 10 years Taliban never demonstrated this capability, so someone provided the weapons for this hit job. Who? Pakistan, being humiliated by the death of Osama provided the surface to air weapon for this job.

Posted by: blindgoose at August 06, 2011 01:46 PM (BqdfG)

Pak or Iran could both have given them shit. six to one, half dozen to the other.

152 A lot of stuff is coming from Iran. 

Meanwhile, Birfday Boy is having a nice weekend at Camp David, chillaxin.

153 153 @152 Osama is dead. Tell me what target is worth so many special ops guys.

You know, I had a similar thought.  My first thought upon hearing that Seal Team 6 guys were killed was "what stupid ass mission did Obama send them on in an effort to boost his polls?"  I hope to goodness that's not true, but I really wouldn't put anything past that guy. 

Posted by: Y-not at August 06, 2011 02:20 PM (5H6zj)

well to put a more benign spin on it, did you ever think since the media is trying to out these guys that it might be safer for them if they were "dead?"

Now im not saying they didnt die. I just head 37 guys died. but its really not our business which ones.

and it might be safer for some people to be dead and live one as somebody else, somewhere else. And its not our business if they do. IYKWIMAITYD?

154 I want to know who leaked this that 'the taliban got its revenge!' crap.

Who leaked that seal team 6 were the ones who died?  We don't get info like that from soldiers who aren't in a special forces unit for months.  Whoever is responsible for giving the taliban a big victory should be exposed and delt with.

This is so horrible and disgusting.  To give the taliban a victory at the same time.. unbelievable.  This should have been kept secret.  I wouldn't put it past the pedocrats surrounding Obama to leak this to take heat off him from the rating downgrade.

Now, who would do this?  I want to know

I also think we need to turn that country into a gigantic mirror.  It would be awesome, and we could solve the worlds heroin problem at the same time.  Make it uninhabitable.  That would achieve our goals.  Nuke them into oblivion

155 @158
I hope it's that scenario.

It's sad to have so little confidence in the CinC.  I don't know how our men and women in the military can stand working for that asshat.

156 160 @158
I hope it's that scenario.

It's sad to have so little confidence in the CinC.  I don't know how our men and women in the military can stand working for that asshat.

Posted by: Y-not at August 06, 2011 02:32 PM (5H6zj)

people really did die. A lot of them. Too many.

But i think this is why they are yelling SEAL TEAM 6! SEAL TEAM 6!!! at the top of their lungs. Now they can disappear.

157 159 I want to know who leaked this that 'the taliban got its revenge!' crap. Posted by: Reid and Pelosis' xanax dealer .. and tea party terrorist at August 06, 2011 02:32 PM (eXQfZ) Isn't it ironic that the administration that has prosecuted more leakers than any other also leaks the most when it seems momentarily convenient to them (even if it costs others their lives)? What a stupid, stinking waste. IMHO and I sure as Hell don't know every damned thing, we had a good plan in Afghanistan at the beginning, command and control, hearts and minds, and then somehow screwed it all to hell by letting the Pakistanis host the Taliban and dinging ourselves out of ability to control territory. And when I saw that it was SEAL 6, I had that particularly cold feeling. Probably paranoid.

158 Awful.  Prayers for the families and friends.

159 But i think this is why they are yelling SEAL TEAM 6! SEAL TEAM 6!!! at the top of their lungs. Now they can disappear. Posted by: Gushka is wearing her crankypants... at August 06, 2011 02:36 PM (QNeKQ) I hate that it happened at all, but if someone's making some good come out of it that's not as bad as it could be. Now, in a truly conspiratorial world, the helicopter could be remotely piloted and filled with bound, captured ISI and Taliban troops... but that would be mean.

160 About 7000 dead Americans and $4,000,000,000,000 spent in Iraq / Afghanistan and on future health care for the vets. We should have kept our kids home and paid off the debt instead.

161 164 But i think this is why they are yelling SEAL TEAM 6! SEAL TEAM 6!!! at the top of their lungs. Now they can disappear.

Posted by: Gushka is wearing her crankypants... at August 06, 2011 02:36 PM (QNeKQ)

I hate that it happened at all, but if someone's making some good come out of it that's not as bad as it could be.

Now, in a truly conspiratorial world, the helicopter could be remotely piloted and filled with bound, captured ISI and Taliban troops... but that would be mean.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at August 06, 2011 02:46 PM (bxiXv)

they arent good at keeping secrets like that any more.

BUT, they are still real good at getting papers mixed up... or lost. A girl can hope cant she?

Im so sad for the families that didnt Get a skype tellin em to chill out look im fine, but instead got a phone call telling them that there would be a giant hole in their life from now on. Nothing worse than that. Nothing at all.

162 about 7000 dead Americans and $4,000,000,000,000 spent in Iraq / Afghanistan and on future health care for the vets. We should have kept our kids home and paid off the debt instead.

Should have sent you and your fellow travelers and sympathizers over there so you could talk and hug away terrorism.

163 God Bless them and keep them.
I hope we never have this useless a Commander in Chief ever again.

164 The Code Pinko faction of this country has wanted a Dien Bien Phu in order to justify tucking tail and running.

I expect Barry will use this as his "America can't be the world's policeman" moment.

165

The original deal was not to tell who killed Bin Laden, remember?

http://tinyurl.com/6hxhuvl

 

166

I don't know what to think.  I'm terribly sorry for the family and loved ones of the dead.

It did cross my mind that this was a stunt to "kill off" Seal Team 6, but I don't want to trivialize it if it did in fact happen that they were hunted down by those miserable jihadi fucks.

So much anger.  While we still have a functioning military, we should clean the goddamn house.

167 Nuke Mecca and Medina.

168

Every time I see a 2012 shit for brains sticker on a fucking car I want to smash the damn thing with a tire iron or run it off the road.  How can anyone think that 4 more years of this feckless fuck will be any better than the last 2.5?  ItÂ’s beyond belief.   When the media dissected the osama kill mission over and over again on TV, identifying the Team, where they lived, which bar they hung out in, etc., they absolutely knew what they were doing.  It will not surprise me in the least if the traitors surrounding shit for brains leaked this mission to the enemy with his full knowledge and consent.  He is that evil.  

God, will this nightmare never end.  18 Veterans commit suicide EVERY FUCKING DAY in this country.  Too many ARE OEF/OIF, 18-35 age group, highest numbers in order:  Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy.  WTF!!!  I truly believe itÂ’s because “America is at the Mall” and the media has made sure that ALL victories not needed to score political points for shit for brains have been minimized or ignored and the negative events are repeated in a never ending loop. The fucking democrats/progressives/liberals wanted a “Vietnam” and by God, their making their wet dream a reality.  God DAMN them all to hell. 

169 20 more SEALs to guard the gates of Heaven. Payback is gonna be a bitch for this.

170 www.barnhardt.biz

171 14 Why do they put so many in a single helo? 23 This is what I was wondering as well. 46 Are we really so low on resources in theater that someone thought it wise to put 31 of our best and brightest on a single slow moving large target going into a hot LZ? 81 saving gas. I shit you not. 68 They put so many in one copter to make less noise and for the element of surprise. The Seals and SF guys almost do night raids exclusively. Gen Petruis started this about a year ago. It terrifies the Taliban and has kicked their asses. The hit was a luck shot from an RPG. (Also see 137, 152, 153) 43 Sure sounds like an inside job, if first reports are correct. How else did the Taliban know where the helo was at night--and filled with over 30 Seals? 68 & others, I'd have to take ya'll's word for the why on one copter, but I had no doubt (what 43 said) the moment I heard the news. They were set up. 175 www.barnhardt.biz 90 I have to wonder if someone in the present administration leaked information about this mission as part of accommodating their Taliban buddies. It wouldn't put it past them at all. 159 I want to know who leaked this that 'the taliban got its revenge!' crap. Who leaked that seal team 6 were the ones who died? 175 www.barnhardt.biz Am I crazy to think she's not? 75 Those SEALs were doubtlessly on their way to a very important operation, so I have to wonder if that is related to the rocket attack. Or some random bastard got lucky this time. Whatever their target was, we need to strike that target hard. If we haven't already, we are idiots. Rescue or reinforcement according to CNN 40 Can we please, for once, have a punitive response? 41 Please tell me that we are going to retaliate and retaliate HARD. 44 In your dreams. Not gonna happen with this administration. Yup! What 44 said. Ann strikes me as right about the ways of the Marxist. God save America, God bless those who serve, and God comfort the families of all who have fallen.

172 In 1942 The cruiser USS Houston was sunk in the Java Sea and over 1100 men went missing. The world wasn't told what happened until the war was over.

173 As awful as this news is, it's just as bad knowing in our heart of hearts that Obama will soon be spinning this politically. My prediction is a reaction similar to that of Clinton when the Cole was attacked. Empty platitudes about how this will not be allowed to stand, those responsible will be punished, etc., etc. Followed by nothing much at all.

174 _{about 7000 dead Americans and $4,000,000,000,000 spent in Iraq / Afghanistan and on future health care for the vets. We should have kept our kids home and paid off the debt instead.}

Should have sent you and your fellow travelers and sympathizers over there so you could talk and hug away terrorism.

The above should have read:

Should have sent the fellow travelers and the sympathizers over there so they could talk and hug away terrorism.

I had an insert/delete/dumbass moment.

I proofread about as well as I break-dance.

175 God bless all our soldiers who are doing the toughest job in the world in spite of the incompetence and indifference of President Man-child.  My condolences to those who lost loved ones over there.

Zog

176 Its Pleasure to understand your blog.The above articles is pretty extraordinary, and I really enjoyed reading your blog and points that you expressed. I really like to appear back over a typical basis,post a lot more within the topic.Thanks for sharingÂ…keep writing!!!

177 31 of our bravest and best... and Obama golfed.

178

Borrowed from a commentor at Michelle Malkins site:

Johnny Jennings

The Navy Seal Prayer

Dear FATHER IN HEAVEN,

If I may respectfully say so sometimes you are a strange God. Though you love all mankind, It seems you have a special predilections too.

You seem to love those men who can stand up alone who face impossible odds, Who challenge every bully and every tyrant ~

Those men who know the heat and loneliness of a calvary. Possibly you cherish men of this stamp because you recognize the mark of your only son in them.

Since this unique group of men known as the SEALs know calvary and suffering, teach them now the mystery of the resurrection ~ that they are indestructible, that they will live forever because of their deep faith in you.

And when they do come to heaven, may I respectfully warn you, Dear Father, they also know how to celebrate. So please be ready for them when they insert under your pearly gates.

Bless them, their devoted Families and their Country on this glorious occasion.

We ask this through the merits of your Son, Christ Jesus the Lord, Amen.”

179 This whole thing smacks of a consipracy,Was this nessary t5o satisfy the Pakistanies,for not asking them if could kill Bin Laden.Someone has the answers the move was too stupid and obvious.someone has to pay pay pay not later but now.Start killing soon the guilty are waiting.