MetaFilter posts tagged with iraq and afghanistan

"We Don't Want You Here"

HP LaserJet P10006 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:44:38 -0800

The number of refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan seeking asylum in Europe continues to grow. Recently, despite criticism from the UN, deportations have begun. Most of those on a recent flight to Iraq were forced to return to the UK (the nationalities of some remains unclear, as does their fate). Furthermore, the move to deport has meant denying that Iraq and Afghanistan are each in a state of war.

The Poet's Obligation

adamvasco — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:31:49 -0800

Exit wounds: - It is the poet's obligation, wrote Plato, to bear witness. With the official inquiry into Iraq imminent and the war in Afghanistan returning dead teenagers; Carol Duffy, recently elected UK Poet Laureate invited a range of her fellow poets to bear witness, each in their own way, to these matters of war. More about the poets inside: The Poets: - Clare Shaw; Jane Weir; Jo Shapcott; Carole Satyamurti; Sean O'Brien; Robert Minhinnick; Daljit Nagra; Alan Jenkins; Matthew Hollis; Ian Duhig; Amanda Dalton; Gillian Clarke; Fred D'Aguiar; John Agard; Carola Luther; and Paul Muldoon It's getting dark, but not dark enough to see An exit wound as an exit strategy.

Contracting War

ornate insect — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:59:56 -0800

Jeremy Scahill talked with Bill Moyers recently about the continued role and increasing centrality of private military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq, the use of military drones, and other issues related to these two ongoing wars. According to Jeremy Scahill, newly released Pentagon statistics show that in both Iraq and Afghanistan the number of armed contractors is rising, and that contractors (armed and unarmed)* now make up approximately 50% [of the total force]. Yet, since these numbers relate explicitly to DoD security contractors, [and since] companies like Blackwater and its successor Triple Canopy (more on them here) work on State Department contracts...it is unclear if these contractors are included in the over-all statistics. In other words, the numbers could be higher. Questions of statistics aside, the larger questions--of whether the increasingly privatized US military could even function without contractors, and the degree to which the systematic reliance on contractors has become business as usual--remain. The "complex" is alive and well. (*I'm not sure the significance of this distinction, since presumably even contractors not engaged in combat or security are also armed.)

Jesus killed Mohammed: The crusade for a Christian military

chunking express — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:35:30 -0800

Jesus killed Mohammed: The crusade for a Christian military.

General Disarray

cal71 — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:08:01 -0800

The U.S. replaces the top General in Afghanistan after he'd held his post for less than a year. General McKiernan is being replaced by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who came under some criticism in the past for the treatment of detainees by his Special Operations forces under his command. He is credited with the death of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in 2006, and the Obama administrations hopes he will bring unconventional thinking to the use of force in Afghanistan. He is already working on some new ideas in military civilian collaboration, but does he play poker? Will he embrace the population-centered warfare approach? Will this General, a prominent figure in Bush's war on terror, be an effective tool in the use of Smart Power, or just make matters worse?

to take brass and fire into his mouth

batmonkey — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:21:09 -0800

Army reports highest rate of soldier suicides for three decades in 2008. Even the up-and-coming are at risk. Stars & Stripes mentions that leadership may bear some blame. Will twice the money for family programs help? [title: line from "Eulogy", PFC B. Miller 1980-2004]

Sixth generation warfare: boner pills.

mek — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:07:12 -0800

The little blue pill goes to war.

We regret to inform you.

lullaby — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:10:13 -0800

In Their Boots is a new online "magazine show" about the impact of the wars on US servicemembers and their families. The latest episode features the founder of the American Widow Project, a new documentary and an organization dedicated to helping out other war widows across the country.

Battlemind

Rumple — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:28:56 -0800

Battlemind: Armor for Your Mind is a U.S. Army website designed to help, in part, families deal with deployment, including a series of cartoons and videos intended for children whose parents may be sent to or be returning from warzones. Part of the Army's Behavioral Health program, these give intriguing insight into military culture. Cartoons featuring Mr. Poe & Sgt. Drew are oddly juxtaposed with the harrowing account of a Golden Gate suicide survivor: Thus, I ended up leaping off that bridge and at the moment of free fall, I said God, please save me, I don’t want to die. And I always used to say to me, Kevin you are in two feet of water and you are drowning, stand up. If you are in two feet of water right now stand up, walk forward, it’s okay to ask for help.

Magnum Photos' two newest nominees

madamjujujive — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:29:44 -0800

American-Dutch photographer Peter van Agtmael and English photographer Olivia Arthur are the two newest nominees recently welcomed into Magnum Photos. Agtmael's images of Afghanistan and Iraq are very powerful - he discusses his work in Conscientious. Arthur's recent work has focused on women's experiences in what she calls the Middle Distance. "The Magnum Photos selection process for new members is legendary for its toughness. Becoming a full Member of Magnum Photos is a process that takes place over at least four years, with candidates evolving from the status of Nominee, to Associate, to Member, each evolution in status requiring a vote by the Magnum Photos Members." This year, member status was granted to: Antoine d’Agata, French (many images NSFW) Jonas Bendiksen, Norwegian Alec Soth, American

...even after five agonizing years of the Iraq War, a summer blockbuster isn't prepared to say that not only is its action hero is corrupt, he's corrupt because America has become corrupt.

gerryblog — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:53:31 -0800

Iron Man, who represents an imperial America, can only win Pyrrhic victories. Spencer Ackerman of Tapped Online has a nice history of the Iron Man comics that reads the character's alcoholism, Civil-War overzealousness, and persistent blundering "into a hell of unintended consequences" as a symbol and subtle critique of American exceptionalism and what Jonathan Schell among others has called "impotent omnipotence".

The Makhmalbaf Film House

sciurus — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:58:15 -0800

The Makhmalbafs are an Iranian family of filmmakers, although Samira tends to get the most press.

The House that Mohsen Built.
Limbs of No Body by Mohsen Makmalbaf [very long!] June 20, 2001
Last year I attended the Pusan Film Festival in South Korea where I was asked about the subject of my next film. I would respond, Afghanistan. Immediately I would be asked, "What is Afghanistan?" Why is it so? Why should a country be so obsolete that the people of another Asian country such as South Korea have not even heard of it? The reason is clear. Afghanistan does not have a role in today's world. It is neither a country remembered for a certain commodity nor for its scientific advancement or as a nation that has achieved artistic honors. In the United States, Europe and the Middle East, however, the situation is different and Afghanistan is recognized as a peculiar country.
A woman's place
Samira Makhmalbaf set out to make a film about a female president of Afghanistan. The hardest part was persuading someone to play the role, she tells Geoffrey Macnab
The Digital Revolution and the Future of Cinema - Samira Makmalbaf addresses the Cannes Film Festival forum.
Under the Chador by Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jeremy Lehrer interview with Samira Makmalbaf: God and Satan in The Apple. [more on The Apple here, most of the text is linked, although it doesn't look that way.]
Gerald Peary interviews Samira Makmalbaf about her film The Blackboard
During a stay in Kurdistan with my father, we found little topics, little stories, and I preferred this story: about the journey of teachers with blackboards on their backs as they traveled Kurdistan. My father gave me the outline of the story, and I drew up the screenplay as we went along.
YouTube clips:
- Samira Makmalbaf on the purpose of cinema
- Clip from The Peddler [unfortunately, no subtitles].
- Tabeh Nosuh by Mosen Makhmalbaf [no subtitles]
- Kandahar by Mosen Makmalbaf [pre-invasion Afghanistan]

There is a ton of information within the initial link, definitely worth digging throuh.

Winter Soldier

homunculus — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:15:30 -0800

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan. "Like Vietnam vets did decades ago, a group of soldiers are poised to speak out about atrocities they say the U.S. committed in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Postings from Afghanistan: A Kandahar Journal

The Loch Ness Monster — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:45:48 -0800

"My name is Captain Doug MacNair, I coordinate the media embedding program from a desk here in Ottawa... I have embedded more than 250 journalists in our program, and no embed has given me more personal satisfaction than yours... Thanks for being handy with a pencil and a piece of paper. Thanks for writing so well about the things that are hard to draw. Thanks for leaving your family to do an important job. I know how that feels and it’s never easy. Most of all Richard, thanks for risking your life while you do all those things." Q&A with Richard Johnson. Via.

The Pritzker Military Library

Bora Horza Gobuchul — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:07:36 -0800

The Pritzker Military Library, a "public institution for the study of the citizen-soldier as an essential element for the preservation of democracy." Found while doing some after-film research on Charlie Wilson's War, the site is a trove of largely non-partisan, often refreshingly candid military perspectives. Particular highlights are video and audio interviews with Jim Lovell and Congressional Medal of Honor winners.

I still say it's basically the A-Team

Artw — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:57:52 -0800

The Losers Cover Gallery showcases the bold design sense and unique art style of UK comics artist Jock, who also produced much of the interior art for the VERTIGO series. Losely based on a WWII comic of the same name it became a fast paced action caper with a political edge under writer Andy Diggle, and the covers reflect both the themes and the cinematic style of the comic.

The Long War

StrikeTheViol — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 08:09:02 -0800

The Long War Journal. Regardless of your politics, the aggregation of info is useful, and the chief blogger doesn't seem to have been mentioned on MeFi before.

The killing of Jamie Dean

homunculus — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 22:25:26 -0800

The killing of Jamie Dean. "Police in rural Maryland staged a military stakeout and shot a troubled Army vet. As his family plans to sue, they are asking how a soldier being treated for PTSD could be shipped to Iraq."

Illegal attacks

MrMerlot — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:46:33 -0800

Ian Brown, the former lead singer with The Stone Roses has a new single out. Illegal Attacks is an anti-war song featuring Sinead O'Connor urging the US and UK governments to "bring the soldiers back home". The striking thing about the song, to my mind, is its scarcity value. The War in Vietnam brought us anti-war songs by Glen Campbell (Galveston); Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (Ohio); Edwin Star (War!); Donovan (The Universal Soldier); Steppenwolf (Draft Resister); Billy Joel (Goodnight Saigon); Bruce Springstien (Born in the USA); Jimmy Cliff (Vietnam) Nina Simone (Backlash Blues) and many, many more . Why have the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are as deeply unpopular, not generated a similar body of work?

America to the Rescue

homunculus — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:55:12 -0800

Three Generations of “America to the Rescue.”

The First Casualty of War? Truth

amberglow — Sat, 12 May 2007 13:01:47 -0800

War vs. Democracy: Untold Stories from the Lynch / Tillman Hearing -- ...U.S. soldiers whose injuries or deaths remain mired in secrecy. Pat Tillman's brother and fellow Army Ranger Kevin Tillman advocated strongly for other families still waiting for answers. ... "The family was told, it was -- quote -- 'an ambush by insurgents.' Two years later, they found out that those -- quote -- 'insurgents' happened to be the same Iraqi troops that he was training. Before his death, he told his chain of command that these same troops that he was training were trying to kill him and his team. He was told to keep his mouth shut." ... Thorough and eye-opening examination of the many ways the military spun, lied, withheld information on soldier deaths and injuries for propaganda purposes (and even delayed action until cameras were present in the Jessica Lynch rescue).

Terrorism

homunculus — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:49:52 -0800

The Iraq Effect: The War in Iraq and its Impact on the War on Terrorism. "The war has inspired a wave of terrorism around the world. Excluding Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of jihadist attacks has jumped 35 percent in the past four years. A Mother Jones exclusive study by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank."

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EarBucket — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 10:39:34 -0800

Somehow.

Psyops

andywolf — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 10:17:56 -0800

Psyops or Pyschological operations are those which "alter the behavior of an enemy, without altering his beliefs". Airborne leaflet propaganda. Airborne leaflet's Iraq 1991. Psyop leaflets over Iraq 2002 - 2003 (thumbnail index halfway down the page). Coalition Propaganda Leaflets to Iraq 2003-2004. British Propaganda Leaflets to Iraq 2003-2005. Psyop leaflets dropped over Afghanistan. More Afghanistan leaflets 2001 - 2002.

Cheney clarifies Iraq, Afghanistan on Meet the Press

shivohum — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 14:23:45 -0800

Cheney Clarifies Iraq, Afghanistan on Meet the Press. For the first time in three years, Cheney appears on Meet the Press. Transcript here. "We’ve never been able to confirm any connection between Iraq and 9/11[,]" but Iraq "...was a state sponsor of terror" and "while they found no stockpiles...[the Duelfer report claimed that] Saddam did in fact have the capability and that as soon as the sanctions were ended—and they were badly eroded—he would be back in business again." "[T]his was the place where, probably, there was a greater prospect of a connection between terrorists on the one hand and a terrorist-sponsoring state and weapons of mass destruction than any place else." "...if we had to do it again, we would do exactly the same thing..."