How I see the war in Iraq

If the US troops stay or leave the fighting will continue.

Suicide bomber hits funeral north of Baghdad, killing 50 By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer
Thu Apr 17, 5:56 PM ET



A suicide bomber struck the funeral of two Sunni tribesmen who joined forces against al-Qaida in Iraq, killing at least 50 people Thursday and reinforcing fears that insurgents are hitting back after American-led crackdowns.

The sudden spike in bloodshed this week adds to the other worries now piling up in Iraq: violent rivalries among Shiites and persistent cracks in the Iraqi security forces.

Violence across the country has declined since seven months ago, including dramatic suicide bombings like Thursday's funeral attack. American officials credit the change to the U.S. troop buildup and the rise of Sunni tribal groups known as Awakening Councils that have turned against al-Qaida-linked militants. A truce called last year by anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has also helped.

But the new bloodshed highlights how fragile those gains are.

Thursday's attack happened in the town of Albu Mohammad, about 90 miles north of Baghdad. A suicide bomber dressed in traditional Arab robes passed unsearched by guards into a tent of mourners. The occasion was a funeral for two brothers who belonged to the local Awakening Council and who were killed in an attack a day earlier.

The bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens more, said police in the nearby city of Kirkuk.

"I first heard a thunderous explosion and when I turned my eyes to the tent I saw fire and smoke coming out," said Sheik Omar al-Azawi, an Awakening Council member who arrived at the funeral just before the blast. "Panicked people were jumping and running on all sides."

Insurgents also struck against Awakening Council members in Baghdad on Thursday. Two council members were gunned down in the Sunni district of Azamiyah. Hours later in the same area, five council members and a civilian were killed by a roadside bomb. And the head of the Awakening Council in the southern Baghdad area of Dora was killed by gunmen who sprayed his car with bullets, also wounding his son, police said.

The violence came two days after a string of suicide bombings in four cities of northern and central Iraq killed 60 people — attacks that U.S. officials blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq.

There have been other sporadic bursts of dramatic attacks blamed on al-Qaida or other Sunni insurgents in past several months. It is unknown whether this week's violence signals that al-Qaida in Iraq has been able to reorganize after blows suffered from the U.S. troop surge and the Awakening Councils.

Death rates began declining significantly around September 2007 and reached an average low of 20 Iraqis killed per day in January, according to an Associated Press count. But since then, the levels have steadily climbed to an average of 41 reported killed per day last month.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said such attacks do not detract from a markedly improved overall situation. "We have said all along that there will be variants in which we will see al-Qaida and other groups seek to reassert themselves," Bergner said Wednesday.

The troubles on the Shiite front could be more dangerous. An offensive launched on March 25 in the southern city of Basra by Iraqi forces against Shiite militants — particularly from al-Sadr's Mahdi Army — touched off an uprising by Shiite militias across southern Iraq and in Baghdad's Sadr City.

Though the heaviest fighting of the operation has eased, clashes persist in Sadr City and the south, deeply straining the truce called by al-Sadr.

The Basra offensive also highlighted the continued weaknesses and divided loyalties that plague the Iraqi military, despite intensified U.S. efforts to train its forces.

The Iraqi government has acknowledged that during the Basra fighting, at least 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and police deserted or refused to fight because of intimidation from Shiite militiamen or loyalty to al-Sadr.

But details of the operation from an Iraqi army colonel in the Basra command center suggested the problems were even deeper.

The desertions came in the army's 14th Division, which is mainly composed of troops from Basra, the colonel said. Two brigades of about 600 troops each — about 40 percent of the division's forces involved in the operation — refused to fight, as did most of Basra province's 11,000 police forces.

The colonel, who spoke to the AP on Thursday on condition of anonymity in return for discussing the operation, said the soldiers' loyalties are sectarian and not to the nation.

Beyond the desertions, the offensive was hastily prepared and the Basra troops were poorly trained and badly equipped, the colonel said. "They are not professional enough, so they collapsed."

The troops lacked proper maps and communication equipment and were forced to rely on mobile phones to communicate. In contrast, the Mahdi Army fighters "had good, precise intelligence, better than ours" and more powerful weapons — including anti-tank rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, he said. With only six tanks in all of Basra province, most Iraqi troops had only automatic weapons, he said.

With control of Basra's infrastructure largely divvied up between the city's Shiite factions, the Mahdi Army controlled the city's hospitals, meaning wounded soldiers could not be taken there, he said.

It was only because of the arrival of several military and police brigades from elsewhere in the country — including special forces — several days after the operation began that government forces were able to gain the upper hand in the city, the colonel said.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who ordered the assault, has said it was a success. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker had praised al-Maliki for his decision to strike at Shiite militias, but he acknowledged the operation ran into "a boatload of problems."

___

AP correspondents Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Yahya Barzanji in Kirkuk contributed to this report, as did the AP News Research Center in New York.

(This version CORRECTS the spelling of a name in the contributors' note at the bottom of the story.)

Who is going to fight the wars and defend our country? Lions for Lambs makes a good point that is generally the under priviledged and poor who defend our country while the well to do just sit back and complain.

More convicted felons allowed to enlist in Army, Marines By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
Mon Apr 21, 4:19 PM ET



Under pressure to meet combat needs, the Army and Marine Corps brought in significantly more recruits with felony convictions last year than in 2006, including some with manslaughter and sex crime convictions.

Data released by a congressional committee shows the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony records jumped from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007. And the number of Marines with felonies rose from 208 to 350.

Those numbers represent a fraction of the more than 180,000 recruits brought in by the active duty Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2007. But they highlight a trend that has raised concerns both within the military and on Capitol Hill.

The bulk of the crimes involved were burglaries, other thefts, and drug offenses, but nine involved sex crimes and six involved manslaughter or vehicular homicide convictions. Several dozen Army and Marine recruits had aggravated assault or robbery convictions, including incidents involving weapons.

Both the Army and Marine Corps have been struggling to increase their numbers as part of a broader effort to meet the combat needs of a military fighting wars on two fronts. As a result, the number of recruits needing waivers for crimes or other bad conduct has grown in recent years, as well as those needing medical or aptitude waivers.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, who released the data, noted that there may be valid reasons for granting the waivers and giving individuals a second chance.

But he added, "Concerns have been raised that the significant increase in the recruitment of persons with criminal records is a result of the strain put on the military by the Iraq war and may be undermining military readiness."

The services use a waiver process to let in recruits with felony convictions, and many of the crimes were committed when the service members were juveniles.

For example, in several of the Marine sex crime cases, the offender was a teenager involved in consensual sex with another underage teen. In one Army case, a 13-year-old who threw a match into his school locker was charged with arson and had to receive a felony waiver six years later.

"Waivers are used judiciously and granted only after a thorough review," said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington.

He added that "low unemployment, a protracted war on terror, a decline in propensity to serve," and the growing reluctance of parents, teachers and other adults to recommend young people go into the military, has made recruiting a challenge.

According to the Army, 18 percent of the recruits needed conduct waivers in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2007, compared to 15 percent in the 12-month period ending in Sept. 30, 2006.

"We are growing the Army fast and there are some waivers; we know that," said Army Lt. Gen. James D. Thurman, deputy chief of staff for operations. "It hasn't alarmed us yet."

He added that "the better part of making soldiers is about leadership. Somebody invested in me, you know. That's the beauty of the United States Army. It's about leadership ... You've got to give people an opportunity to serve."

Late last fall, the Pentagon quietly began looking for ways to make it easier for people with minor criminal records to join the military. The goal of that review is to make cumbersome waiver requirements consistent across the services — the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force — and reduce the number of petty crimes that now trigger the process.

According to the data released Monday, a bit more than half of the Army's 511 convictions in 2007 were for various types of thefts, ranging from burglaries to bad checks and stolen cars. Another 130 were for drug offenses.

The remainder, however, included two in 2007 for manslaughter, compared to one in 2006; five for sexual crimes (which can include rape, incest or sexual assaults) compared to two in 2006; and three for negligent or vehicular homicide, compared to two in 2006. Two received waivers for terrorist threats including bomb threats in 2007, compared to one in 2006.

At least 235 of the Marine Corps' 350 waivers were for various types of thefts in 2007, and another 63 were for assaults or robberies that may also have included use of a weapon. The remainder included one for manslaughter in 2007, compared to none in 2006; four for sex crimes, compared to one in 2006; and five for terror threats, including bomb threats, compared to two in 2006.

The total number of sailors who received felony waivers dipped from 48 in 2006 to 42 in 2007. Most were for a variety of thefts or drug and drunk driving convictions. Two in 2007 were for terror or bomb threats compared to three in 2006.

There were no Air Force recruits with waivers for felony convictions in 2007.

Waivers must be approved by an officer who is ranked as a brigadier general or above, and recruits must have written recommendations and endorsements from community leaders showing they would be a good bet for the military.

___

On the Net:

Defense Department: http://www.defenselink.mil

Here's a new growing problem in Iraq. If you want to see a problem of what happens when troops and support are pulled out of a country watch the movie; "Charlie Wilson's War." It tell the story of the US support to push the Russians out of Afganistan.


Al-Sadr may restart full-scale fight against US in Iraq By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers
Thu Apr 24, 6:44 PM ET



Muqtada al-Sadr is considering setting aside his political ambitions and restarting a full-scale fight against U.S.-led forces — a worrisome shift that may reflect Iranian influence on the young cleric and could open the way for a shadow state protected by his powerful Mahdi Army.

A possible breakaway path — described to The Associated Press by Shiite lawmakers and politicians — would represent the ultimate backlash to the Iraqi government's pressure on al-Sadr to renounce and disband his Shiite militia.

By snubbing the give-and-take of politics, al-Sadr would have a freer hand to carve out a kind of parallel state with its own militia and social services along the lines of Hezbollah in Lebanon, a Shiite group founded with Iran's help in the 1980s.

It also would carry potentially disastrous security implications as the Pentagon trims its troops strength and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki finally shows progress on national reconciliation.

Last week, the main Sunni political bloc announced provisional plans to rejoin the Shiite-led coalition nine months after quitting the government. The Sunnis are pleased with the squeeze on al-Sadr's movement as well as an amnesty law that could free many detainees.

"Muqtada has shown a great deal of patience not calling for an all-out war yet with so much pressure on him," said Mohan Abedin, director of research at London's Center for the Study of Terrorism and an expert on Shiite affairs. "The Mahdi Army is by far the most powerful Iraqi faction. It can cause damage on a massive scale if it goes to war."

Al-Sadr's next move is still uncertain, but he clearly holds important cards.

The Mahdi Army is estimated to have about 60,000 fighters — with at least 5,000 thought to be highly trained commandos — and is emboldened by its strong resistance to an Iraqi-led crackdown launched last month in the southern city of Basra and elsewhere.

Al-Sadr's movement also holds sway over the densely populated Shiite parts of Baghdad and across the Shiite south by controlling vital needs such as fuel and running social services such as clinics.

A cease-fire declared last summer by al-Sadr has been credited with helping bring a steep drop violence.

But al-Sadr — who has been in the Iranian seminary city of Qom for the past year — is seriously considering tearing up the truce and disassociating himself from his political bloc in parliament, according to loyalists and Shiite politicians interviewed by the AP over the past two weeks.

Then al-Sadr would be free to unleash Mahdi attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces, the political insiders said.

They include members of the 30-seat Sadrist faction in parliament and members of rival Shiite parties, including two who saw al-Sadr recently in Iran. All requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

"The emphasis is now on weapons and fighting, not politics," said one of the lawmakers in the Sadrist bloc. "(Al-Sadr) now only communicates with the Mahdi Army commanders."

Any Mahdi Army offensive could have serious repercussions. Mahdi fighters engaged in fierce battles with U.S. forces in 2004 and then were blamed for waves of roadside bombings that were once the chief killer of American troops.

Mahdi militiamen also fought Iraqi security forces to a virtual standstill last month in Basra before an Iranian-supervised truce.

It's unknown how much al-Sadr's Iranian hosts are shaping his views.

Al-Sadr, who is in his mid-30s, is studying in Qom under the supervision of Ayatollah Kazim al-Haeri, a reclusive Iraqi cleric close to Iranian hard-liners.

Washington accuses Iran of aiding Shiite militias in Iraq, including so-called "special groups" with murky ties to the Mahdi mainstream. Iran denies the allegations.

But Iran has obvious and well known connections to the main Shiite political groups in al-Maliki's government. During the recent battles in Basra, Iran supported al-Maliki's crackdown on so-called "criminals" but did not make a clear statement on the spillover confrontation with the Mahdi Army.

Backing a Mahdi Army uprising would allow Tehran to effectively play both sides in a Shiite showdown.

A flurry of recent statements by al-Sadr has emphasized his first public role: as a firebrand militia leader after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

In a statement posted Saturday on his Web site, al-Sadr gave a "final warning" to the government to halt its crackdown or face an "open war until liberation."

Senior Mahdi Army commanders, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy with media, said they have taken delivery of new Iranian weapons, including sophisticated roadside bombs, Grad rockets and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.

The militia's top field commanders, they said, were senior members of the special groups.

One commander, who identified himself by his nickname Abu Dhara al-Sadri, said scores of militia fighters were prepared to carry out suicide bombings against U.S. forces. Suicide bombings are the signature attacks of Sunni militants in Iraq's conflict, but the tactic was introduced against Americans in Lebanon by Shiite militants in the 1980s.

Sadrist lawmakers and aides have sent compromise-seeking proposals to al-Sadr in Qom. The ideas seek to appease al-Maliki enough to forestall his threat: barring al-Sadr's followers from running in this fall's key provincial elections unless al-Sadr disbands the Mahdi Army.

But the proposals have gone unanswered, said al-Sadr's aides.

One offer, they said, would allow for creation of a new political party with no formal links to the Mahdi Army. Another would permit candidates sympathetic to the Sadrists — but with no direct links — to run as independents in the fall election.

One of the authors of the proposals, moderate cleric Riyadh al-Nouri, was gunned down April 11 in Najaf, the spiritual center for Shiites in Iraq. The reason for the slaying was not clear.

Lawmakers and politicians told the AP that al-Sadr's more belligerent tone is motivated, in part, by his wish to secure a place for himself in history as a nationalist leader and anger over the recent arrests of hundreds of supporters despite his unilateral cease-fire.

At talks this month in Qom between al-Sadr and former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the young cleric vowed never to disband the Mahdi Army while U.S. and other foreign forces remain in Iraq, according to Shiite political figures familiar with the meetings.

Al-Jaafari has said he was mediating an accommodation between al-Sadr and al-Maliki's government.

Salah al-Obeidi, al-Sadr's chief spokesman in Iraq, acknowledged that al-Sadr and the Iranians were at present bound by close ties and common goals.

However, he was quick to add that while al-Sadr and the Iranians shared common interests — namely fighting the Americans in Iraq — the cleric was nobody's puppet.

Vali Nasr, an expert on Shiite politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, said the Iranians may want al-Sadr to stay in Qom to keep him in check for the moment.

"Muqtada is forcing everyone's hand right now when they (the Iranians) may not be wanting their hand forced," said Nasr.

Here's more unsettlng news about the war if Afganistan spreading to Pakistan. This is really scary because Pakistan and India are nuclear powers and constantly do artillery shellings of each country. India and China often exchange artillery fire daily.

Pakistani army vows to oust Taliban militants
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Slideshow:Pakistan Play Video Pakistan Video:AP Top Stories AP Play Video Pakistan Video:Pakistan vows to defeat Taliban militants AP AP – A local resident of Buner in Pakistan's troubled Swat valley walks past the destruction caused by fights … By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer Riaz Khan, Associated Press Writer – 40 mins ago
MARDAN, Pakistan – Pakistan's army vowed Friday to eliminate militants from a northwestern valley but warned that its under-equipped troops face thousands of Taliban extremists who have seized towns, planted bombs made from pressure cookers, and dragooned children to be suicide bombers.

As air force jets roared overhead and gunbattles raged, terrified civilians from the Swat Valley and neighboring districts accelerated their exodus, with U.N. and Pakistani officials predicting 1 million refugees will soon burden the turbulent Afghan border region.

The army formally announced Friday that an offensive was under way. It has drawn praise from U.S. officials alarmed at the Taliban's recent advance to within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad.

Washington describes the militants as an existential threat to nuclear-armed Pakistan itself, as well as to U.S. chances of destroying al-Qaida or of winning the war against their insurgent allies in neighboring Afghanistan.

"The army is now engaged in a full-scale operation to eliminate the militants, miscreants and anti-state elements from Swat," said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, chief army spokesman. "They are on the run and trying to block the exodus of civilians from the area."

There are doubts about the ability and resolve of the army and the government to sustain the kind of grinding counterinsurgency warfare needed to defeat extremists whose rhetoric resonates widely in a Muslim nation deeply skeptical of U.S. goals in the region.

Abbas sought to counter portrayals of the military as ill-trained, saying that they had learned a lot in eight years of fighting along the border. But he said they need helicopters, surveillance drones and night-vision equipment, which the U.S. is scrambling to provide.

Pakistan's army is fighting to wrest Swat and two neighboring districts from militants who dominate the adjoining tribal belt along the Afghan frontier, where U.S. officials say al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is likely holed up.

The army announced its offensive after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the government would wipe out groups trying to "take Pakistan hostage at gunpoint." Battles and bombing runs by helicopters and jets have been going on all week.

Abbas said Friday that more than 140 militants and two soldiers had been killed in Swat in the last 24 hours — roughly doubling the number of casualties reported so far.

The latest figure included 100 militants killed in bombardments of remote training camps and arms dumps. Abbas didn't explain how the body count was done. Fighting in neighboring Buner and Lower Dir killed another 31 militants and three soldiers, he said.

Officials say they are unable to confirm accounts from fleeing civilians of innocents killed and wounded by indiscriminate gunfire and shelling. Abbas said troops were advancing slowly to try to minimize such collateral damage.

But the stream of civilians seeking safety appeared to have intensified, leaving Pakistan facing a humanitarian emergency.

The mayor of Mardan, the main district to the south of the fighting, said an estimated 250,000 people had fled in recent days. Of those, 4,500 were staying in camps, while the rest were with relatives or rented accommodation, he said.

On Friday, the U.N. refugee agency said provincial officials had told them 500,000 had fled, were on the move, or were trying to flee. About a half-million have already been made homeless elsewhere in the border region since August 2008, when the army launched its last major anti-Taliban operation in the Bajur border region.

Tens of thousands of people are trapped in Mingora, Swat's main town. Some have accused the Taliban of not allowing them to leave, perhaps because they want to use them as human shields. Others came under attack even as they fled.

Siraj Muhammad, a 19-year-old mechanic among the exhausted multitude who made it to Mardan on Friday, said a shell exploded near people trying to walk to safety, killing two and wounding him, his mother and two siblings.

After struggling on for several miles, they flagged down a truck, joining scores of others escaping over a mountain pass, he said.

"We had a home, we had a family, we had happiness, we had prosperity, and all we have now is tears, fear and a dark future," he said, lying on a plastic sheet in a refugee camp.

Taliban militants seized much of the area under a peace deal, even after the government agreed to their main demand to impose Islamic law in the region.

U.S. officials likened the deal to a surrender. Pakistani leaders said the agreement's collapse had opened the eyes of ordinary citizens to the extremist threat.

Abbas wouldn't say how long it would take to clear the valley of 4,000 or 5,000 militants, including small numbers of foreigners — Tajiks and Uzbeks — as well as Punjabi extremists and tough Waziri fighters.

He said the military was reinforcing the 12,000 to 15,000 troops already in Swat. He gave no details, but he predicted a tough fight against militants who exploited the peace deal to regroup, descend from mountain hideouts and seize most of Swat's towns.

The troops faced guerrilla tactics, including remotely detonated homemade bombs made of explosives, steel pellets and nails packed into pressure cookers, Abbas said. Mines have been laid in Mingora.

Insurgents had forcibly recruited young boys from poor families in Swat, and sent some of them to train as suicide bombers in the South Waziristan tribal region, he said.

"We have seen with the capture of Mingora that the initiative has been taken by the militants," said Nasim Zehra, a fellow of Harvard University's Asia Center and a prominent Pakistani security analyst. "It's obviously an operation that is going to take weeks, or more."

She said strong support from Pakistan's fractious politicians and divided civil society will be vital to the army, whose previous operations have largely failed.

___

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad in Islamabad and an AP reporter in Mingora who was not identified for security reasons contributed to this report.

Personally I dont see why there are parties. Republicans and Democrats alike both need to become less close-minded. In the society we live in today, ignorance is the cause of economic downfall and hatred towards others. It is very sad to see individuals fighting for a cause that is not theyre own. For instance the Iraq war. That was not Americas war, that was the people of Iraq who had to deal with that situation. There are various other instances in which I could state, but I would prefer to leave that up to the individual opinion.

The war has created a deep humanitarian crisis in Iraq and a deep political crisis in the international system.

The exact same thing happened after the japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, the States wasn't going to do anything about helping out the 'brits' etc, until they were directly effected.iraq and iran were warring for years previously.
Al-Queada crossed a line, a big one and Bush and citizens understandably were angry, but they spent over 900 billion dollars a year under bush administration there, and went in without an exit strategy. There always was and always will be war, agreeably. But lets stop and think about what we're fighting about. Canada and America has oil too, but there are more steps, therefore making it more costly to refine, to pour it into our cars, machinery,etc,. Why arent they doing anything to help out any african nations, who are going thru the same civil wars, and dictatorships? They dont have as much to pillage?

Saying Bush is stupid is just a given to me. How many presidents need daddy to help them through university? Think the world gets pissed how America 'picks and chooses' their battles. What about Africa? Same shit going on there, they dont send troops to help out the peope there? hmm..why?

The reason no one and I mean NO ONE wants to help Africa is because they don't give a shit.
It's a terrible thing to say but it's accurate, since the fall of the colonial European powers, France, Belgium, Great Britian and others, the African people have not been able to set up stable govts or govts that nations will openly support. Of couse, South Africa is an exception but they are still going through growing pains of a republic. Zimbabwe, after a horrible start began to make progress but has now slipped futher into tribalism conflicts recently.
An American or an America Allied soulution will never work. The solution must come from the people of Africa and with support from Arab nations. Much of Africa is Muslim and the Muslim nations must help.
The real problem is the history of tribal warfare and conflict. The same thing that is going on in the Iraq/Turkey Kurdish conflict and the Sunni and Shite conflit throught out Iraq and Iran occur throughout Africa.
Humanity, first eveolved in Africa. Civilization in Iraq. Tribal warfare has existed since humainty first walked the planet and in these regions of the world tribal bloodlines and beliefs are what define a person and not those of ability. A few of the first requirments for a civilization are a common language, spoken and written, and beliefs for a common goals. In a county where neither exists and education is limited to only a selected few these goals will never be reached.
Education of all the people is required and a basic sound infrastructured is also required. Human needs must be met and sanitaion needs are also required. Clean water and untainted food is paramount requirement.
Africa is a continent made up of tribal nations and until a nation can unite all it's people together there will never be cohesion in the population. Once a state can unify, the nation can develop but for a continent to develop all the nations must do so first.
Africa has the blood diamond trade, pirates in controll of a country, warlords replace governments. Nigeria is under the control of Al Queda, Niger is the worst country in the world. Poaching of animals for sell of horns and paws...Africa is still considered the "Dark Continent" and it's not because of race. It is because is the People still butcher one another and it's an accpeted way of life.
Rent the moive "Hotel Rawanda" and you'll see the story of why no one will help.

Agree with you Paulh50!
Africa seems to be land of no hope (and I know that land not just from TV programs). Some time ago I have seen TV program comparing Malezia with Ghana. Strange comparisson - well, yes but the reason was that Malesia and Ghana gained independence at same time and with basically same economy. And where is Malesia now and where Ghana? And still Ghana is one of the best developed countries, so what that tells us about the rest?
Continous tribal wars, corruption, nepotism, laziness, blaming colonial rule for all bad things, continously waiting for hand outs from the West...list goes on.
The only thing I disagree with you is somewhat optimistic comment about South Africa. South Africa is goind down the drain! Just wait few years to see it happend. 12 years ago Zimbabve was great tourist destination. Good food, cheap, relatively safe (apart from Harare), great game parks, well developed tourist industry, not bad economy.
All went to the drain in no time at all.

History's repeating itself in both Iraq & Afghanistan (see the Viet Nam war). I realize the current administration will put a 'spin' & deny there's any correlation, but their denial is just another lie from Obummer. If the Russians could'nt win their war in the Middle East, wot makes the USA think they can? Obviously, America has'nt paid attention to recent past history. All they're gonna accomplish is wasting $ & getting people killed & maimed as the Iraqis & Afghan people will continue fighting among themselves after America leaves. They've been fighting among themselves for thousands of yrs & will do so in the future regardless. The day that any country steps foot in either country & tries to impose its will is the day they lost (again, see the Viet Nam war). Just as Russia lost, so has America (who really won the Viet Nam war?).

Who won the war in Vietnam? The people of Vietnam did. Have you been to Vietnam lately? It's still two divided countries both idealogically and ecconimally. Ho Chi Min City is a shinning example of captalism and tourism at it's best and it is all because of the U.S. presence and influence, there, during the war.
People who are in countries where Americans and their Allies are fighting are getting some of the best treatment and respect as individuals that they have never had before. The mere prolonged contact with Fredom loving individuals that the locals have the more they realise there is more to have. Once they realise that and start to learn that they are the ones who have to fight for it they become their own benifactors.
The wars in Iraq and Afganistan will never be won until the tribal nations realise that they are no longer an isolated nation and must assume a National Idenity as a nation until then their problems contiue and no one can stop them.
Have you seen the movie "Charlie Wilson's War", we had the time and the opportunity to step in and help to establish a central government then and blew it.
Our hope is to show them there is a better way of living that which they are binding themselves to by denying education and medical treatment to all except those who tribal leaders designated. The seeds of education, questioning un-flinchting fanatical loyalism and the desire to want more not for themselves but for their children is the war we need to win, and Vietnam might be called a loss but the South Vietnames will say they won.

The communists, as well as the Viet Nam people, won the Viet Nam war. The Iraq & Afghan people will win that war & continue fighting among themselves regardless wot America wants. In essence, America has already lost that conflict, as well. America does'nt have the rite to continually stik its nose in other countries buusiness. All it accomplishes is getting men & women killed & wasting $.