http://news.antiwar.com/2012/06/20/top-us-general-accused-of-obstructing-corruption-probe-for-obamas-sake/
In the interest of protecting his supposed close relationship with President Obama and of concealing major missteps “during an election cycle,” Lt. Gen. William Caldwell allegedly blocked a Defense Department investigation into an alleged criminal drug-running enterprise and senior-level abuse of Afghan medical staff.
The US troops selected a collection of religious texts they believed were being used to “fuel extremism,” including several copies of the Quran itself, and had them thrown into a burn pit for subversive literature.Afghan workers discovered the desecration of the religious texts, sparking mass riots across the nation.
Top US General Accused of Obstructing Corruption Probe For Obama’s Sake
Lt. Gen. Caldwell blocked inquiries into widespread Afghan mismanagement and abuse to aid Obama's 'election cycle'
by John Glaser, June 20, 2012
The top US Army general in charge of training Afghan security forces is being accused of obstructing an investigation into widespread corruption and abuse by Afghan security forces and military medical staff that he managed.
In the interest of protecting his supposed close relationship with President Obama and of concealing major missteps “during an election cycle,” Lt. Gen. William Caldwell allegedly blocked a Defense Department investigation into an alleged criminal drug-running enterprise and senior-level abuse of Afghan medical staff.
Scores of millions of US taxpayer dollars are alleged to have disappeared off of the Afghan Army medical corps balance sheets. Other allegations include illegally selling pharmaceuticals meant for Afghan troops, hiring physicians based on political connections for higher pay, and terrible neglect and abuse of patients.
Air Force Col. Schuyler Geller, who served under Caldwell, has claimed that Caldwell and there high-level officials knew about the rampant abuse and corruption, but kept it under wraps.
“How could we think to invite the DOD IG [the Pentagon inspector general] in during an election cycle?” Caldwell allegedly screamed at subordinate officers who favored an investigation into the abuse. Caldwell is said to have demanded the call for an inquiry be retracted.
As support for the Afghan war sinks to all-time lows, rampant corruption and failure have become the norm along with constant needless death, waste, and abuse. Given how poor the public image of ‘Obama’s war’ is, this additional pock mark is unlikely to harm the administration any further.
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http://news.antiwar.com/2012/06/20/us-likely-to-let-militarys-quran-burners-off-the-hook/
US Likely to Let Military’s Quran Burners Off the Hook
Personnel Might Receive 'Written Reprimand'
by Jason Ditz, June 20, 2012
The already strained US relationship with the people of occupied Afghanistan is likely to get even worse going forward, with the revelation that the official recommendation for the handling of the February burning of Qurans at the Bagram Air Force Base.
The US troops selected a collection of religious texts they believed were being used to “fuel extremism,” including several copies of the Quran itself, and had them thrown into a burn pit for subversive literature.Afghan workers discovered the desecration of the religious texts, sparking mass riots across the nation.
The final decision hasn’t been made on what to do with the soldiers who were involved in the burnings, but the official recommendation is for them to receive a “written reprimand,” but no actual punishment, and that no one face criminal charges over it.
The Afghan investigation concluded that the burnings were intentional, though the US insists that it was a “mistake” to include Qurans in what was an organized religious book burning. Afghan officials have warned that any light sentence would spawn more unrest, and this is liable to be doubly so with no sentence at all.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/officials-10-afghans-killed-in-suicide-bombing-against-international-convoy/2012/06/20/gJQA93vipV_story.html
Suicide attack on checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan kills 3 US soldiers, 18 Afghans
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber killed 21 people including three U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint in a packed market in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday — the third assault targeting Americans in as many days.
The daily violence is threatening to undermine international hopes of an orderly handover to Afghan forces at the end of 2014. Although American officials stress successes in establishing pockets of governance in some areas, the east and south continue to be plagued by regular attacks and clashes.
Wednesday’s attack took place in a marketplace in the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border and about 90 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The assailant approached on foot through the shops and taxi stands packed with people and then detonated his explosives as he approached Afghan and U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint, said Baryalai Wakman, a spokesman for the Khost provincial government.
Three U.S. soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were killed, according to American officials. A convoy in the area responded to the attack, said Maj. Martyn Crighton, a spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Besides the interpreter, 17 Afghans also were killed, according to the Afghan president’s office. Two were police officers and the rest were civilians, Wakman said. Another 32 people were wounded — all civilians, he said.
Eleven bodies were brought to Khost’s main hospital, said hospital director Majid Mangal. He said those included a police officer and a 15-year-old. Another six bodies were brought to the private Badari Clinic in Khost, said Mohammad Ayub Jan, a doctor at the clinic.
In nearby Logar province earlier Wednesday, a roadside bombing killed three women and four children crammed into a wagon pulled by a tractor. Four men were also wounded in the blast on a road outside the city of Pul-i-Alam, said provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwesh.
The bombings came a day after militants carried out two attacks in southern Afghanistan, storming a NATO military base and attacking a police checkpoint. An unspecified number of U.S. troops were wounded in the attack on the NATO base, officials said.
On Monday, three gunmen dressed in Afghan police uniforms killed one American service member and wounded nine others in Kandahar’s Zhari district. Nearly 1,900 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began more than a decade ago.
Fighting usually picks up during the warm summer months, when it becomes easier for insurgents to travel into and around the mountainous country. This summer is particularly important for the international effort in Afghanistan, as it is the last fighting season before a significant U.S. military drawdown.
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John Allen, has to withdraw 23,000 American troops by the end of September, leaving about 68,000 U.S. military personnel in the country. Allen is then expected to put together an recommendation for Obama on how troop withdrawals should proceed next year.
Last year was the deadliest on record for civilians in the Afghan war, with 3,021 killed as insurgents stepped up suicide attacks and roadside bombs, according to the United Nations. The number of Afghan civilians killed dropped 36 percent in the first four months of this year compared with last year, though U.N. officials have said that a likely cause of the drop in violence was the particularly harsh winter.
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