Military Resistance:

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1.25.12

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Military Resistance 10A21

[News Of The Year, So Far]

Syria:
The Town Of Zabadani, Located A Half Hour Drive From The Capital, Has Largely Fallen, At Least Temporarily, Into The Control Of Antigovernment Fighters

The Military, For The First Time In The Nearly Yearlong Uprising, Agreed To A Cease Fire That Left The Town Out Of Its Control, At Least For Now
Armed Conflict Between Government Forces And Their Opponents Moving Closer To The Capital
JANUARY 23, 2012 & 24; By NOUR MALAS and BILL SPINDLE in Damascus; Wall Street Journal [Excerpts] The revolt against the Syrian regime has moved closer to the capital. Over the past week, the town of Zabadani, located a half hour drive from the capital, has largely fallen, at least temporarily, into the control of antigovernment fighters and local residents opposed to the regime. The military, for the first time in the nearly yearlong uprising, agreed to a cease fire that left the town out of its control, at least for now. While neither of these incidents posed any threat to Damascus itself, they showed how the armed opposition is increasingly dovetailing with the peaceful protests that have rocked the country, and how both are moving closer to one of the biggest bastions of support for the regime. Protests continued to roil parts of the country on Monday, with armed conflict between government forces and their opponents moving closer to the capital. On Monday, as many as 100,000 people marched in funeral processions in Douma, 12 miles from the capital, to mourn victims of more than three days of fighting there between army defectors and the military, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Activists said the crowd was the largest the restive suburbone of several protest hot spots that encircle Damascus has seen since protests broke out in March.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

NO MISSION; POINTLESS WAR: ALL HOME NOW

A U.S. soldier patrols in the eastern city of Jalalabad January 19, 2012. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Notes From A Lost War:

The 1,610 Mile Border That Many Frontline Soldiers Believe Is Too Rugged To Hold
Failing To Do So Would Allow More Militants To Cross Over

Security Here In The City Is Good But They Wont Be Able To Protect The Remote Areas Further East
They Are Taliban Land
Jan 23, 2012 By Daniel Magnowski and Amie Ferris-Rotman Reuters [Excerpts] COMBAT OUTPOST ZEROK/JALALABAD With snow past their ankles and their view of forbidding mountains blocked by low-slung cloud, U.S. soldiers in Afghanistans restive east are taking advantage of a bitter winter to brace for fresh fighting in spring. The extreme cold has forced a lull in fighting at rugged outpost Zerok in Paktika province, located 20 km (12 miles) from the porous, unruly border with Pakistan, which teems with insurgents linked to the Taliban. Afghanistans east has emerged as the new focus of attention as worries mount over a narrow strip of land that the United States has dubbed the most dangerous place in the world. But officials in the U.S. military and Afghan government are increasingly concerned by the challenge of securing the 2,640 km (1,610 mile) border that many frontline soldiers believe is too rugged to hold. Failing to do so would allow more militants to cross over. Drug use, hastily trained ranks and widespread corruption are hindering the Afghan police and army nationally, some Afghan and U.S. officials say. Three districts in Paktika, two of which touch the border, were handed over to Afghan control in November, while for the second tranche, four areas in eastern Nangarhar province were selected, but none are actually on the border. We have some serious cross-border threats. We keep pushing Kabul to deal with this effectively, Nangarhar deputy governor Mohammad Hanif Gardiwal told visiting reporters, saying security forces lacked heavy weapons to counter the insurgents. Further north, not far from the Pakistan border in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, local officials and ordinary Afghans bemoaned what they said is their countrys inability to secure the rugged border districts. Security here in the city is good but they wont be able to protect the remote areas further east, said shopkeeper Houmayin in the city from where U.S. commandos launched the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

They are Taliban land, Houmayin said, perched upon mounds of nuts and chocolates in his shop overlooking a busy road lined with palm trees.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION

How To Lose A War In One Hour, One Day, One Very Easy Lesson:
They Came To Discuss The Womans Concerns And Needs
Now Theyre Telling Her The Soldiers Will Burn Her Cash Crop
If You Destroy This, I Wont Have Food For My Kids
Jan 22, 2012 by Cheryle Hatch, For the News-Miner [Excerpts] KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan On patrol with infantry soldiers, Spc. Valerie Cronkhite carries her weight. At 5 feet 3 inches and 110 pounds, Cronkhite carries at least 110 pounds in gear. Her body armor and ammo weigh about 50 pounds. As a medic, she carries a rucksack packed with 70 pounds of supplies. I have to carry enough to sustain four to six people in case of casualties, she says. Cronkhite also is a member and veteran of a new program, the Female Engagement Team and the Female Search and Seizure Team. Seven women form the FET team attached to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. Cronkhite, 32, from Skipperville, Ala., and Spc. Melicia James, 25, from Jamaica, N.Y., have been with the team since its initial training at Fort Wainwright in late 2010. Pfc. Jamie Sterna, 21, from

Mequion, Wis., and Pvt. Liliana Nunez, 20, from Brownsville, Texas, are recent additions. In the morning, Sterna is among the first of the team to rise for the next mission. Before Cronkhite rolls out of bed and puts a dip of chewing tobacco in her mouth, Sterna has already showered and put on make-up. The women will accompany 3rd Platoon Bravo Company on a clearing operation in Sekecha, a town the soldiers nicknamed Sketchy. They reach a compound with only an older woman and several children living in it. Once the ANA and American soldiers have cleared the structure, Cronkhite and Sterna approach the woman with a translator. They remove their helmets and set aside their rifles. They sit on the dirt floor and face the woman. Cronkhite talks and Sterna takes notes. We are poor people. We have nothing to eat, the woman says. We make money by our farm. The soldiers discover two rooms half-filled with processed marijuana (their unconfirmed estimate: 5,000 pounds). What does she think about the women being here? Cronkhite says. Yes, were happy the women are here. Not for long. The soldiers return and tell Cronkhite to tell the woman theyre going to burn her crop. Its illegal to raise marijuana in Afghanistan. Thats the only way we have to make money, the woman says. If you want to destroy it, you must give us money. This turn of events puts Sterna and Cronkhite in a tough position. They came to discuss the womans concerns and needs. Now theyre telling her the soldiers will burn her cash crop. This is the first time we hear this is illegal, the woman says. If you destroy this, I wont have food for my kids. Just forgive us this time. We wont grow it again. Tell them to stick to wheat and grapes, Staff Sgt. Matt Huck says. The American soldiers spend the next three and a half hours shoveling the marijuana into bags, which the ANA soldiers drag outside and dump into two piles for burning.

The Americans want to use the womans straw as a fire-starter. Again the woman protests. This is for heating the house and making bread. The soldiers take some of the straw. The woman goes inside a room and does not return. The Americans give the ANA soldiers the materials to set the blaze.

Troops Invited:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or email contact@militaryproject.org: Name, I.D., withheld unless you request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.

SOMALIA WAR REPORTS

Insurgents Attack And Destroy Baladwayne Administration Headquarters Building:

The Building Housed Transitional Federal Government Lawmakers And Ethiopian And Somali Government Soldiers
Jan 24, 2012 Reuters On Tuesday, an al Shabaab fighter rammed a minibus loaded with explosives into a government building in Baladwayne, a town in central Somalia about 45 km (28 miles) from Ethiopia.

A minibus carrying explosives entered Baladwayne administration headquarters compound. Government soldiers tried to stop it by firing but all in vain, Hussein Aden, a senior military official, told Reuters by phone. Aden said there was no immediate report of casualties and the area surrounding the compound had been sealed off. Aden Abdulle, head of a militia fighting alongside Somali and Ethiopian soldiers against al Shabaab, said the building housed Transitional Federal Government lawmakers and Ethiopian and Somali government soldiers. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. We carried the car bomb successfully into the Ethiopian and Somali base in Baladwayne this morning. Our brave driver is martyred. There we killed many Ethiopian and Somali troops on a parade, said al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab. Al Shabaab said in a statement it had killed 33 Ethiopian soldiers and wounded at least 72. There was no immediate comment from Addis Ababa. Ethiopian soldiers previously went into Somalia in late 2006 and pushed the Islamist organization, Islamic Courts Union, out of Mogadishu. The Ethiopian presence helped fuel the rise of al Shabaab and the foreign troops left in early 2009. Al Shabaab, which wants to impose a harsh interpretation of sharia on the Horn of Africa nation, has waged a five-year campaign to drive the largely impotent government from power.

MILITARY NEWS

Post Traumatic Stress, Yes:

Disorder, Hell No!
Comment T
Several years ago in New York City, an Iraq combat veterans talked to a conference on problems of returning veterans sponsored by the State of New York. She told the audience, Dont you dare say we have a disorder. We have a perfectly normal reaction to a combat situation you cant even begin to imagine. We need to learn to get over traumatic stress, but we are not sick and we do not have a disorder.

She was and is right. T] **************************************************************************** January 15, 2012 By Lindsay Wise, HOUSTON CHRONICLE [Excerpts] The president of the American Psychiatric Association says he is very open to a request from the Army to come up with an alternative name for post-traumatic stress disorder so that troops returning from combat will feel less stigmatized and more encouraged to seek treatment. Dr. John Oldham, who serves as senior vice president and chief of staff at the Houstonbased Menninger Clinic, said he is looking into the possibility of updating the associations diagnostic manual with a new subcategory for PTSD. The subcategory could be combat post-traumatic stress injury, or a similar term, he said. The potential change was prompted by a request from Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Armys vice chief of staff, who wrote to Oldham last year, suggesting APA drop the world disorder from PTSD. Calling it a disorder contributes to the stigma and makes it so some folks - not all, but some folks - dont get the help they need, Chiarelli said. The general doesnt like to use the word disorder. Its not a dirty word, but I think its misused here, he said. I dont think that the post-traumatic stress that soldiers experience is a disorder. After receiving Chiarellis letter, Oldham wrote back to say he appreciated his concern, but dropping the word disorder might not be the best way to go. He said he was eager to work with Chiarelli to see what APA could do. The general invited Oldham to the Pentagon to discuss the situation. They met for about an hour and a half on Dec. 9. Oldham agreed to bring the generals suggestion to the APA work group tasked with reviewing PTSD for the next version of the associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the classification book used by psychiatrists in America. APA is finalizing the fifth edition of the manual, due in May 2013. Oldham cautioned the discussion is very preliminary but speculated that a new subcategory like combat post-traumatic stress injury might work. Although Chiarelli still would prefer to lose disorder entirely, he said a new subcategory would be a start. Im frustrated with how long this is taking to be honest, he said.

The general pointed out that PTSD has had many names over the years, from shell shock to battle fatigue. Its been called all kinds of different things and somehow we decided to go with PTSD and I think thats just wrong, he said. Stigma is a major problem. A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in October found that soldiers were two to four times more willing to report PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts if they were allowed to answer a survey anonymously, rather than put their names on a routine post-deployment screening form. Of the soldiers who screened positive for PTSD or depression, 20 percent said they werent comfortable answering honestly on the routine form. The study concluded that the Armys screening process misses most soldiers with significant mental health problems. Dr. Harry Croft, a psychiatrist in San Antonio, said the findings jibe with what he hears from veterans he treats for PTSD. Even though the rules, as I understand them, say you dont get kicked out if you get diagnosed with PTSD, depression or any other issues, a lot of veterans say, I knew damn well if I answered the questions right my chance to get promoted was gone, Croft said. Chiarelli says his main concern is getting soldiers into treatment, so if calling posttraumatic stress a disorder keeps them from seeking help, then the wording needs to change, the sooner the better. You can have the very, very best treatments in the world, but if you cant get people take advantage of them, they dont do any good, he said.

DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN MILITARY SERVICE?

Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the address if you wish and well send it regularly. Whether in Afghanistan or at a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the wars and economic injustice, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: The Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657. Phone: 888.711.2550

Outrageously Twisted Logic Would Effectively Shield Military Doctors From Ever Being Held Accountable For Negligence
This Action Is Coming From The Obama Administration, Which Trumpets Its Support For Military Families
Military Spouses Endure Plenty, But It Is Beyond The Pale To Suggest They Should Endure Injury And Death With No Way To Hold Anyone Accountable
January 30, 2012 Editorial; Army Times The Feres Doctrine, a 1950 Supreme Court ruling that bars active-duty troops from suing the government for negligence that is incident to military service, also bars family members from suing on behalf of troops who die through such negligence. The rationale is that allowing such lawsuits could subject commanders battlefield decisions to legal challenges, potentially forcing commanders to think like lawyers rather than warriors. But Feres also applies in settings outside war zones, such as military hospitals. Now the Justice Department wants to expand it even further. A U.S. attorney in Florida says Feres should bar a sailor from suing the government on behalf of his civilian wife, who died after Navy doctors allegedly failed to diagnose a cerebral hemorrhage that led to a fatal stroke. The government argues that any injury to the sailor resulting from his wifes death is incident to his service because she would not have been seen in a military hospital had she not been a military spouse. That outrageously twisted logic would effectively shield military doctors from ever being held accountable for negligence, since all who enter a military facility for treatment do so

because of their ties to military service. It also ignores the fact that the military settles numerous such cases every year for tens of millions of dollars. Its especially galling that this action is coming from the Obama administration, which trumpets its support for military families. If the government wins this case, any member of Congress who professes to be a friend of the military will have a moral obligation to change the law. Feres itself is an outrage. To expand it further is a travesty. Military spouses endure plenty, but it is beyond the pale to suggest they should endure injury and death with no way to hold anyone accountable.

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose. Frederick Douglass, 1852 The Nixon administration claimed and received great credit for withdrawing the Army from Vietnam, but it was the rebellion of low-ranking GIs that forced the government to abandon a hopeless suicidal policy. -- David Cortright; Soldiers In Revolt

Mission Accomplished

County Fair in Coeur d Alene, Idaho. The flip chart just happened to be in the background, I added my opinion. Photo by Mike Hastie 2000 From: Mike Hastie To: Military Resistance Newsletter Sent: January 23, 2012 Subject: Mission Accomplished Mission Accomplished The United States mission in war is never over until the betrayal is buried. For every American soldier who died in the Middle East, there is a lie connected to that

death. Those who survive the war do so at an insidious price. The cost of freedom becomes an illusion. Day in and day out, the veteran has to make the transition back into civilian life. However, he or she is denied entrance into the norms of society. A society that says put the war behind you, so things can return to normal. But, for the veteran, normal is an illusion. There will come a time, and it happens far too soon, when society does not want to hear about the war anymore. Why? Because Wall Street needs to start investing in the next war. A veterans toxic memory is not good for business, because the up and coming new generation of soldiers need to have a clean slate. Its always the same recipe of deceit. Those veterans who break the code of lies, are too often executed by their own sense of guilt and betrayal. War profiteering has no conscience. The American Empire sounds like outer space. When a veteran finally realizes that he or she is a victim of incest by the Fatherland, their childhood belief system and sense of morality, is trampled to death. Multiple tours for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, now become multiple wars for Vietnam veterans. Beware of the powerful word, Patriotism. Because, work will not set you free. Mike Hastie Army Medic Vietnam January 23, 2012 Photo and caption from the portfolio of Mike Hastie, US Army Medic, Vietnam 1970-71. (For more of his outstanding work, contact at: (hastiemike@earthlink.net) T) One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a sniper round went over my head. The person who fired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel, an extremist, or a so-called insurgent. The Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a citizen of Vietnam, who did not want me in his country. This truth escapes millions. Mike Hastie

U.S. Army Medic Vietnam 1970-71 December 13, 2004

This Is Where We Take Our Stand Is The Story Of Hundreds Of Veterans Who Risked Everything To Publicly Tell Their Accounts Of The Horrors They Witnessed In Iraq And Afghanistan.

Q&A With Directors and Vets at New York And DC Screenings

Both the February 1 screening at the IFC Center in New York and the February 2 screening at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC, will be followed by discussions with the Directors and veterans from the film. In New York, all three (count em, three!) Directors--Bestor Cram, Mike Majoros and David Zeiger--will discuss the film along with Selena Coppa, one of the veterans featured in the film.

In Washington, DC, Director David Zeiger will discuss the film with Geoff Millard, also featured in the film. There will also be veterans from the Winter Soldier Investigation at both screenings. So please join all of us for a lively, informative, and challenging evening.

In New York, the February 1st 7 pm screening will be at the IFC Center 323 Avenue of the Americas at West 3rd Street
For more information go to http://www.ifccenter.com/films/this-is-where-we-takeour-stand/ Tickets are $15 general admission, $13 seniors, and $12 IFC Center members For advance tickets go to http://www.ifccenter.com/

In Washington, DC, the February 2nd 6 pm screening will be at Busboys and Poets 2021 West Fourteenth Street For more information call 202-387-7638 or go to http://www.busboysandpoets.com/
This is Where We Take Our Stand is the story of hundreds of veterans who risked everything to publicly tell their accounts of the horrors they witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In March of 2008, two hundred and fifty veterans and active-duty soldiers marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by gathering in Washington, DC, to testify from their own experience about the nature of the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. It was chilling, horrifying, and challenging for all who witnessed it. Against tremendous odds, they brought the voices of the veterans themselves into the debate. This is Where We Take Our Stand is the inside story of those three days and the courageous men and women who testified-a story thats as important to tell today as ever. These brave soldiers and veterans are challenging a public silence that runs very deep, underscoring a willingness to accept unspeakable horrors-as long as we dont know about them. www.thisiswherewetakeourstand.com

How Corrupt African Dictators Allied With The Obama Regime

Are Inspiring Insurgents To Organize Armed Rebellion To Fight Them:

If You Mischaracterize A Local Islamist Rebellion As Global Terrorism, Thats Eventually What Youll Face
Secret Underground Prison In Mogadishu
No One Gets Out Of Here, Says The 26Year-Old. They Dont Know What To Do With Me. They Cant Let Me Out And Risk Me Talking About This Place
The 50 men held there are all terrorism suspects abducted from across East Africa by security services working with the U.S. In the underground jail, he met Abdullahi, whom he recognized from Nairobi. Dahir also saw five white men dressed in combat gear and carrying weapons at the compound. Dont tell anyone what you saw here. We can get to you wherever you are. Dec. 19, 2011 By Alex Perry, Maiduguri. With reporting by Alan Boswell / Nairobi and Miamey, Mohamed Dahir / Mogadishu and Karen Leigh / Ouagadougou [Excerpts] The moment Nigerias Islamists graduated from local to international threat can be dated almost precisely, to just before 11 a.m. on Aug. 26. Mohammed Abul Barra, 27, a car mechanic and father of one from Maiduguri in Nigerias northeast, had just turned into the diplomatic enclave in Nigerias hot, dusty capital, Abuja. As he passed by embassies and empty lots, Barra presented an unremarkable sight: his car was a Honda Accord sedan, and Barra dressed and drove conventionally.

The first indication of anything unusual was when he swerved into the exit lane of a 100m driveway leading to U.N. House, the international organizations four-story headquarters. He bounced over one speed bump, then another. Then he drove straight at a 3-m sliding steel security gate, hitting its right edge so that it popped off its rail and fell harmlessly to one side. Barra repeated the maneuver with a second gate a few meters on and, the way now clear, drove on at U.N. House with the same deliberate, unhurried speed. He crashed into the lobby. The car, finally halted by a wall, bounced back. Barra did not try to get out. To one side, a security guard stood frozen. Others U.N. staff, security personnel ran away, then turned back. Barra stayed at the wheel. Was he having second thoughts? Was he praying? asks U.S. Ambassador Terence McCulley in Abuja, reconstructing the scene based on surveillance-camera footage he has viewed. Was he searching for the detonator? After a full 16 seconds, the car exploded. Debris killed perhaps a dozen people. Most of the other 24 dead and 115 wounded, nearly all Nigerian, suffered massive internal injuries as a blast wave big enough to flatten a water tower 100 m away crushed their insides. An FBI forensic team later determined the bomb was colossal, and clever. Around 150 kg of plastic explosives had been placed inside a metal cone a shaped charge to focus its force. This was very, very carefully planned, says Nigerias national-security adviser, General Andrew Owoeye Azazi. This was not just a local guy from Maiduguri. The continent is home to three main Muslim militant movements. All are also based in the Sahara or the Sahel, the semidesert that runs beneath it. Maiduguri, Barras hometown, is on the southern edge of the Sahara in Nigerias northeast. Hot, poor, and with some of the worlds worst levels of education and health, Maiduguri has been a fount of Islamic revolution since the early 19th century, when Muslim rebels overthrew the ruling Hausa dynasties, accusing them of un-Islamic corruption. That dynamic antiauthoritarian, revivalist Islamic movements challenging an avaricious, secular elite endures. Its latest manifestation is Jamaatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad, Arabic for People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophets Teachings and Jihad, better known as Boko Haram, meaning Western Education Is Sacrilege. The movement has its religious foundation in the Izala sect, a group of Islamic preachers founded in the 1970s and led, by 2005, by a man called Mohammed Yusuf, who had studied in Saudi Arabia. Why bother with Western education, Yusuf would ask in sermons, when there were no jobs even for graduates? Hadnt Western influence given them Ali Modu Sheriff, a state governor who spent little on his people but built himself a palace of marble pillars and golden gates in Maiduguri? Yusuf set up a camp called Afghanistan to train volunteers for his revolution.

The spark for a full-fledged insurgency came in late July 2009. After a clash between police and Boko Haram members resulted in three deaths, riots erupted across northeast Nigeria. On July 28, the army surrounded Yusufs compound in Maiduguri, arrested him, then executed him. By July 29, 700 people were dead, including enough militants to stall Boko Harams insurgency. But by 2010, Boko Haram was back. This Nov. 5, at least 67 people died in a Boko Haram attack on the city of Damaturu. One mistake made by both sides in the wars that followed 9/11 was how they often overlooked the detail and peculiar dynamics of the places in which they fought. In Afghanistan, the U.S. initially all but equated al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and in Iraq many Americans saw little difference between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Will Africa make the same mistakes? Nigerias President Goodluck Jonathan certainly seems susceptible. Rather than focusing on addressing Boko Harams grievances regarding underdevelopment and corruption, Jonathan a Christian from southern Nigeria describes his country as an unfortunate bystander caught in the cross fire of an international war. Boko Haram are just like other terrorist attacks in the world, he said on Nov. 10. If you misread a problem, you cant fix it. If you mischaracterize a local Islamist rebellion as global terrorism, thats eventually what youll face. Left to stew, this trend of internationalization is inevitable, says a Western diplomat in Abuja. The Abuja bomb is proof that the causes of Nigerias militancy have been left unaddressed for long enough that some fighters are now thinking bigger, and Jonathans misperception is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. National-security adviser Azazi says the attack was most likely carried out by a Boko Haram faction led by a man called Mamman Nur, whom he describes as having sophisticated bombmaking skills and links to Islamists in Mali, Algeria, Somalia and Yemen. Look at what happened between the crackdown in 2009 and their return in 2010, says Azazi. Suddenly they can do IEDs and wire cars. This is something thats been festering and is suddenly exploding.

Secret Underground Prison In Mogadishu

All that experience of extremism hasnt always made those fighting it any wiser.

Proof of that lies behind a cage door at the back of the pink offices of the National Somali Security Intelligence, next to the presidential palace in Mogadishu. The door opens into a staircase leading down to a basement. At the bottom, according to one source, is another metal door that opens into a central corridor, flanked by 14 jail cells. There is no light, no windows, and the floors and walls are filthy. The place stinks. The 50 men held there are all terrorism suspects abducted from across East Africa by security services working with the U.S. Ahmed Abdullahi is an ethnic Somali with one leg who was snatched from Nairobi by Kenyas security services in September 2009. They came to my place in Nairobi, kicked my door down, blindfolded me and took me to the airport and on to Mogadishu, he says. On arrival, he says, he was interrogated by Somalis and unidentified Western personnel for a few weeks. They then lost interest. Abdullahis been held ever since. No one gets out of here, says the 26-year-old. They dont know what to do with me. They cant let me out and risk me talking about this place. TIME learned of this secret underground prison in Mogadishu, and Abdullahis account of East African rendition, through a freelance photographer from Mogadishu, Mohamed Dahir, who has been briefly jailed there, twice. The second time, this March, Dahir was accused of belonging to al-Shabab. In the underground jail, he met Abdullahi, whom he recognized from Nairobi. Dahir also saw five white men dressed in combat gear and carrying weapons at the compound. That night, Dahir persuaded a guard to call his clan elders. They vouched for him, and he was released the next day. His captors apologized but warned: Dont tell anyone what you saw here. We can get to you wherever you are. Dahirs account conforms to a pattern, documented in previous TIME reports and by human-rights groups, of forced rendition of hundreds of terrorism suspects from Kenya and Somalia to jails in Kampala and Addis Ababa. Kenya is making other mistakes too in its own war on terrorism. On Oct. 16 it sent around 2,000 soldiers into Somalia in pursuit of al-Shabab. Kenyas attack was ostensibly in retaliation for the killing of a British tourist, the kidnapping of two more a Briton and a French woman, who later died and the abduction of two Spanish aid workers, all of which Kenya blamed on al-Shabab. U.S. diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks show that Kenya has, in fact, been planning such an incursion for years.

Its long-term Somali strategy using southern Somalias clans, the countrys last real authority to create an autonomous buffer state in the south has some merit, but alShabab has melted away and the advance has been slow. Kenya is also ignoring well-founded suspicions that the foreigners were snatched by professional kidnappers, and dismisses doubts over its military strategy, such as the wisdom of attacking al-Shababs 2,500 fighters fighters who saw off a much larger Ethiopian force in 2009 with fewer than 2,000 men, or doing so in the rainy season, or during a famine, which war can only exacerbate. E.J. Hogendoorn, Horn of Africa specialist for the International Crisis Group, says: A lot of analysts, myself included, fear Kenya is going to get bogged down in a much more prolonged occupation and thats going to cost them a lot in blood and treasure, and, of course, has the potential to create a backlash from Somalis. By joining the dots across Africa, U.S. General Ham may be speculating about the future, rather than describing present reality. Ham overstated, says a Western diplomat in Abuja. Hes extrapolating. We see training. We do not see operational links. Africom employs aid specialists alongside soldiers, and stresses intelligence sharing, advisers and training over armed confrontation. Those are so far limited to one theatre Somalia and one type of strike: assassination, by drones, missiles or attack helicopters. Kenyas military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir agrees with the need to think bigger in the fight against al-Shabab. Nigerias Azazi even accords the enemy some respect. I have had communication with a few of them, he says. If we cant offer them jobs and good leadership, we cannot solve this problem.

ANNIVERSARIES

January 25th, 1991:

Honorable Anniversary:
Veterans Organize To Support Resistance Among U.S. Troops In Germany

[Stars and Stripes Newspaper, January 25, 1991] [Thanks to Dave Blalock, GI Caf Kaiserslautern, Jan 15, 2011]

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

CLASS WAR REPORTS

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Last Week, A Group Of Rebel Fighters Carrying Banners Complaining About The Treatment Of The Wounded Blocked The Main Highway In Benghazi With Trucks
They Rattled Off Rounds Of Gunfire Into The Air And Detonated Sound Bombs
A Burgeoning Protest Movement Is Challenging The Legitimacy Of The Ruling Authorities
Provisional Government Accused Of Impeding A Program For Those Wounded In The Eight Months Of Fighting To Be Treated Overseas

Chairman of the Libyan National Transitional Council Abdul Jalil surrounded by protesting veterans, who were wounded from the war, at the NTC headquarters in Benghazi. I am hoping that the council will listen to the people and be transparent, he said, accusing leaders of not taking the street seriously. We are hoping that it will settle down, he added. But Benghazi is always the place where everything starts. January 24 By Alice Fordham, Washington Post [Excerpts] BENGHAZI, Libya As Libyas interim government struggles to bring security, stability and democracy to the country, a burgeoning protest movement is rocking the fragile nation, venting grudges and challenging the legitimacy of the ruling authorities. The movement is at its strongest in the eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising Rebel fighters began battling government forces here in February last year. They controlled most of the city within a few days, and a transitional governing council began operating before the end of that month as the city became the base for the revolution. But almost a year later, support for the council, which has shifted its operations to Tripoli, is rapidly evaporating. People complain of shaky security, delays in reopening schools and courts, and flaws in the interim constitution and proposed electoral legislation, as well as the continued presence of Gaddafi-era officials on the council.

For more than a month, hundreds of angry demonstrators have gathered nightly in Tree Square in the city center to chant, dance, sing and discuss their grievances. What we are asking for is not privileges, said Saleh el-Haddar, a businessman at a recent protest. We want the courts to work, we want the followers of Gaddafi to go ... and our main concern is transparency. The simmering discontent bubbled into violence on Saturday, when thousands rallied outside a government building where members of the transitional council were meeting local politicians. Protesters threw grenades and homemade bombs, while the councils chairman, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, remained inside, demonstrators said. Speaking at a news conference after the clash, Abdel Jalil called for patience. His remarks were swiftly followed by the resignation Sunday of Abdul Hafidh Ghoga, the deputy head of the transitional council. He was head of the lawyers union under Gaddafi and was regarded by some as discredited by his association with the late leader. In Benghazi, we were very lucky we did not suffer as they did in the west of Libya, said Zahi el-Meghrabi, a professor of politics in Benghazi, referring to months of fighting between rebels and Gaddafi loyalists that left thousands dead. The transitional council had support, but the honeymoon did not last. Now, people are frustrated by the confusing ways the government makes decisions and issues legislation, Meghrabi said. Delays in unfreezing Libyas assets abroad also were creating shortages of cash for the government, causing payments to the poor to be suspended and impeding a program for those wounded in the eight months of fighting to be treated overseas, Meghrabi said. Last week, a group of rebel fighters carrying banners complaining about the treatment of the wounded blocked the main highway in Benghazi with trucks. They rattled off rounds of gunfire into the air and detonated sound bombs. The example of Benghazis protests have been followed, although with fewer participants and less violence, in Tripoli and the city of Misurata, where protesters have pitched tents and staged marches, largely peaceful but sometimes violent, calling for the correction of the revolution. As in Benghazi, they draw support from a broad base: nascent civil society organizations, political activists and former rebel fighters. Among the shattered buildings and posters hailing fallen rebels in Misurata, which saw some of the wars fiercest fighting, a few tents are pitched in an intersection known as Freedom Square.

Protests and sit-ins have called mainly for elections for the local council, which was appointed by consensus after Gaddafis forces were largely defeated in May. About 200 people participated in marches and camped out, with success: An electoral committee has been set up and a local vote is set to be held in a month. Thus far in Misurata and in a small encampment in Tripolis central Algeria square, protesters demands have not been as strident as their counterparts in Benghazi. Most people still support the interim government, but they want to ensure it stays on the right track, said Mohammed Benrasali, formerly of the Misurata city council. We made Gaddafi what he was by not standing up to him, he said. We need to make Abdel Jalil realize that he cannot take the country by any road but democracy. In Benghazi, the situation remained explosive after the weekends events, said Haddar, the protester in Tree Square. I am hoping that the council will listen to the people and be transparent, he said, accusing leaders of not taking the street seriously. We are hoping that it will settle down, he added. But Benghazi is always the place where everything starts.

POLITICIANS CANT BE COUNTED ON TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WARS

The single largest failure of the anti-war movement at this point is the lack of outreach to the troops. Tim Goodrich, Iraq Veterans Against The War

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