GENERAL CARTER HAM FIRED FOR TRYING TO SAVE AMERICAN LIVES???

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/10/has_general_ham_been_fired.html

AMERICAN THINKER
October 28, 2012

Has General Ham Been Fired?

Mike Johnson

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Has General Carter F. Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command, been fired for defying Leon Panetta on Benghazi?

Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, ran a piece Saturday afternoon titled "Interesting Rumor Concerning General Carter Ham and Stand Down Order." This piece is presented as a rumor. It suggests that General Ham was told to stand down from sending aid to Benghazi, that General Ham on his own decided to proceed, and that he was then relieved of his command. Remember, all rumor at this point.

On 18 October 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta participated in a "DOD News Briefing on Efforts to Enhance the Financial Health of the Force." In his introductory remarks, Mr. Panetta said: "Today I am very pleased to announce that President Obama will nominate General David Rodriguez to succeed General Carter Ham as commander of U.S. Africa Command . . ."

I'll have a lot more to say about General Carter Ham's service in the months ahead, but let me say this. Under his leadership, AFRICOM has played a very central role in some very important missions, from the NATO campaign in Libya that led to the fall of Gadhafi; to successful counterterrorism efforts in Somalia and Yemen; to efforts that we are now involved in, in Nigeria, Mali and elsewhere. General Ham has really brought AFRICOM into a very pivotal role in that challenging region. Myself and the nation are deeply grateful for his outstanding service. This is not a rumor, but it also does not provide a reason for the change. Note that Mr. Panetta gives no insight into General Ham's future. General Ham is not quite 61 years old and so has three years left before mandatory retirement age of 64. General Ham has been commissioned for 36 years but did serve as an enlisted man prior to gaining his commission, so he might have the mandatory retirement 40 years of service.

The New York Times ran an article by Elisabeth Bumiller titled "Panetta Says Risk Impeded Deployment to Benghazi." The article refers to the night of 11/12 September and includes the following: As a result, Mr. Panetta said, he and two top commanders "felt very strongly that we could not put forces at risk in that situation." The commanders are Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Carter F. Ham of Africa Command, which oversees American military operations in Africa, including Libya. You probably have seen similar clips on TV. The impression being given by Mr. Panetta is that the three of them agreed upon the course of action.

Not how it works in the military.

Note also that the NYT piece, written eight days after Mr. Panetta's announcement, makes no mention of General Ham being replaced as commander of U.S. Africa Command. Is it not relevant?

BENGHAZI 9/11: BETRAYAL OF THE HIGHEST ORDER...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/

Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. consulate and subsequent attack several hours later on the annex itself was denied by the CIA chain of command -- who also told the CIA operators twice to "stand down" rather than help the ambassador's team when shots were heard at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Benghazi on Sept. 11.

Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods was part of a small team who was at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. When he and others heard the shots fired, they informed their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to "stand down," according to sources familiar with the exchange. Soon after, they were again told to "stand down."
Woods and at least two others ignored those orders and made their way to the consulate which at that point was on fire. Shots were exchanged. The rescue team from the CIA annex evacuated those who remained at the consulate and Sean Smith, who had been killed in the initial attack. They could not find the ambassador and returned to the CIA annex at about midnight.
At that point, they called again for military support and help because they were taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request was denied. There were no communications problems at the annex, according those present at the compound. The team was in constant radio contact with their headquarters. In fact, at least one member of the team was on the roof of the annex manning a heavy machine gun when mortars were fired at the CIA compound. The security officer had a laser on the target that was firing and repeatedly requested back-up support from a Spectre gunship, which is commonly used by U.S. Special Operations forces to provide support to Special Operations teams on the ground involved in intense firefights. The fighting at the CIA annex went on for more than four hours -- enough time for any planes based in Sigonella Air base, just 480 miles away, to arrive. Fox News has also learned that two separate Tier One Special operations forces were told to wait, among them Delta Force operators.
Watch "Special Report Investigates: Death and Deceit in Benghazi" on Fox News at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, 3 p.m. on Sunday and 10 p.m. on Sunday.
A Special Operations team, or CIF which stands for Commanders in Extremis Force, operating in Central Europe had been moved to Sigonella, Italy, but they were never told to deploy. In fact, a Pentagon official says there were never any requests to deploy assets from outside the country. A second force that specializes in counterterrorism rescues was on hand at Sigonella, according to senior military and intelligence sources. According to those sources, they could have flown to Benghazi in less than two hours. They were the same distance to Benghazi as those that were sent from Tripoli. Spectre gunships are commonly used by the Special Operations community to provide close air support.
According to sources on the ground during the attack, the special operator on the roof of the CIA annex had visual contact and a laser pointing at the Libyan mortar team that was targeting the CIA annex. The operators were calling in coordinates of where the Libyan forces were firing from.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that there was not a clear enough picture of what was occurring on the ground in Benghazi to send help.

Fox News has learned that there were two military surveillance drones redirected to Benghazi shortly after the attack on the consulate began. They were already in the vicinity. The second surveillance craft was sent to relieve the first drone, perhaps due to fuel issues. Both were capable of sending real time visuals back to U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. Any U.S. official or agency with the proper clearance, including the White House Situation Room, State Department, CIA, Pentagon and others, could call up that video in real time on their computers.
Tyrone Woods was later joined at the scene by fellow former Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, who was sent in from Tripoli as part of a Global Response Staff or GRS that provides security to CIA case officers and provides countersurveillance and surveillance protection. They were killed by a mortar shell at 4 a.m.Libyan time, nearly seven hours after the attack on the consulate began -- a window that represented more than enough time for the U.S. military to send back-up from nearby bases in Europe, according to sources familiar with Special Operations. Four mortars were fired at the annex. The first one struck outside the annex. Three more hit the annex.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/#ixzz2AQn1isXo

and covered by the Christian Science Monitor on OCT 28...

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/1027/Benghazi-attack-Urgent-call-for-military-help-was-denied-by-chain-of-command

 

Benghazi attack: was US consulate plea for military help 'denied' by government?

Brad Knickerbocker | The Christian Science Monitor | Oct 28, 2012

Citing “sources who were on the ground” in Benghazi, Libya, Fox News is reporting that an urgent request for military help during last month’s terrorist attack on the US consulate there “was denied by the CIA chain of command.”

 

THE GAEL...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U89Qtbnk-Q4&feature=list_other&playnext=1&list=RD02hg1xqAjQ5e4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b11-37Me_a4&feature=list_other&playnext=1&list=RD02M0d4qM7gCH8

GHAZALA JAVED WAS PUKHTUNKHWA'S NIGHTINGALE SO THEY KILLED HER

Note: The TTP are another faction of a contagion that is now sweeping the globe in the name of Islam. These orthodox literalists want to silence the music, kill anything beautiful and murder schoolgirls who want to go to school. They are diehard ideologues and there is NO ROOM for negotiation w/such scum.

 

With Ghazala Javed’s death, music is subdued in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Kiran Nazish | 3rd September, 2012   DAWN

 

http://dawn.com/2012/09/03/with-ghazala-javeds-death-music-is-subdued-in-khyber-pakhtunkhwa/

A little over two months ago, news of a popular Pashtun female singer’s death streamed local and global media, fuelled by rumours of the Taliban’s involvement in her murder. Ghazala Javed, 24, and her father were shot dead on June 18, in Peshawar’s Dabagari Garden area.
“She was shot six times by gunmen as she left a beauty salon,” said a police officer working on the case. These shots were not fired by the Taliban. The police claim that her ex-husband, who had remarried and would force his first wife to quit singing, was the prime suspect and was hence arrested last week. Her sister, who filed the FIR said, “When Ghazala found out that he had a second wife, she asked for a divorce. This really annoyed him as it is against family honour for a husband to be asked to

Ghazala Javed – Image taken from YouTube video grab

leave.” Although Javed’s family did not specify their suspect, local police claimed her ex-husband’s involvement with much confidence.
Ghazala’s death has raised several questions about the law and order condition in KPK, the government’s responsibility in dealing with the issue of security and the threat of extremism, all of which squeezes the margin of survival of musicians and artists in the area.
Ghazala who originally hailed from the Banrr village in Swat, which fell to Taliban rule in 2007, had fled to pursue her music career away from their tyrannical insolence and continued to sing in Peshawar, 170 kilometres away from her hometown.
She enjoyed tremendous following in the region, not just among boys and girls but middle-aged and elderly locals as well. She sang of youthful love and desire, mostly self-written. The threats she faced from the Taliban were easily countered by the respect she enjoyed from her progressive ethnic Pashtun fans, both for her music and her boldness. Ghazala would travel to Dubai for her recordings, in order to keep the music-related activity to a minimum in the Taliban-threatened region.
One of her seniors in the music industry, who does not want to be named said, “Ghazala Javed was a remarkably talented young lady. When she entered the music industry, she instantly developed a fan following, not just in Peshawar, but across Pakistan.”
Perhaps it was her beauty that initially attracted most listeners, but her fans kept growing in the region for her angelic voice and the sense of ethnic music. She defied the Taliban and continued to take on whatever problems came with it. “As a musician I know that is not easy, not something I will be able to keep up with,” said the musician.

Even though Ghazala was not killed by the Taliban, but the constant threats she received have overshadowed the plot. She was that quintessential inspiration for an artist in KPK and her tragic murder will have a pronounced impact on the careers of young singers. Especially the female singers who want to pursue their career in music, in the deeply orthodox society of KPK.
One of Ghazala’s fans and recent students, Anila says that she might not have the courage to sing after loosing her mentor and teacher to an unknown death. “It shocked me, it made me cry, but it also made me fear in the wonder, if I will be able to have a safe career if I pursue the things my mentor taught me.
“They talk about freedom of expression. What is it? Freedom of expression does not necessarily come with writing or activism. To me, singing is my freedom. And that I don’t have. But I have decided to certainly try to pursue what I am passionate about.”
Most other female singers in the area did not express their pain openly as they felt the fear of a backlash. A close friend of Ghazala’s also a singer anonymously said, “We could be targeted for saying anything for or against her, but I would just like to pay my due respect to her. She was certainly a role model for many young singer and a great fellow of mine.”
KPK is an in-friendly domicile for artists, musicians or poets and is mostly obsessed with conventional social and religious constraints. Apart from the religious justifications against such professions, there are other social and family pressures. Additionally the security concerns from different militants and extremists groups usually overshadow the talent that the Pushtoon community has the potential to enjoy.

Considering how recently the Taliban poetry is making rounds in the local and global media, it becomes increasingly intriguing, what really is the benchmark behaviours they expect from people.
There are about 150 known musicians in different areas of KPK, most of whom will not say anything about their conditions in public out of the fear. A 22-year-old harmonium player, Imran Khan from the district of Dabagari, was abrasively beaten up by an unknown group for speaking openly about Ghazala’s grief. “I just spoke about the unnecessary fear that creative people in our town generally have to face. Everyone should have the freedom to choose their profession, as freely as in the rest of the country.” Imran who got scars from the beating concluded, “If music serves my soul, then my soul should die, or I should die.”
What killed Ghazala could be a prevailing patriarchal mindset and indeed, in some way, the Taliban ideology now deeply ingrained in the Pashtun society. 

HUBRIS OR EXTREME NAIVETE? IMRAN KHAN"S WAZIRISTAN PEACE MARCH

Imran Khan should have quietly retired to focus on charity work after his career of playing cricket. The man is so far removed from his Waziristan roots (on his mother's, a Burki, side) that he doesn't have a clue about Pushtunwali and what it entails. If he did he wouldn't dream of arrogantly announcing to the public that he would lead a "Peace March" to Waziristan to protest the "evil drone strikes."

What makes his actions even more egregious is that he is taking gullible Westerners (mostly female) along for his suicidal ride. I doubt the Paks will let him proceed...more showmanship at the expense of the Waziristanis who have been pawns in a dangerous game hosted by the Pak Army.  

Imran Khan has the right to claim to be a Pushtun by ancestry (the Burkis even today mostly marry within the tribe or tribes they are closely aligned with), but culturally and due to his life in Lahore (Punjab) he thinks more like a Punjabi than a Pushtun. The proof is clear in this Quixotic like endeavor (to go to Waziristan).

First rule of Pushtunwali is that every man worth his salt must defend his zar, zan and zamin. Yes, IK's mother has roots in SWA but not his father. And, his first and crucial error was that he didn't--behind the scenes-- confer with the maliks and spin ghiris (white beards) to try to get them to put forth an invite to their zamin. Placing the cart before the horse, he declared to the world his hairbrained Waziristan trip as though it was his God given right!!

This not only goes against the grain of Pushtunwali traditions; worse it is akin to a slap in the face for all tribes in the area.

You just don't invite yourself to tea in the Tribal Belt. And, the only time you consider such an uninvited "trip" is if you are a desperate fugitive seeking panah by invoking "nanawatai." That too carries a heavy load.

Second, only after the TTP responded that they would kill the liberal" -i.e. IK-- should he dare enter their motherland, did IK seek the approval of the spin giris and maliks.

Third, and worst of all, he invited westerners (i.e. kufar) from liberal (read: non-believing) groups who comprise mostly of women!!!

Imran Khan is a dangerously naive man being used by the powers that be in Pakistan who are leveraging his rather large ego for their own ends.  If he isn't careful his demise will sadly be at the hands of his own Pushtun kin who perceive him as "compromised."

Some recent quotes from the papers (take heed):
“Imran Khan’s decision to hold the peace rally was merely a sentimental move,” KP Governor Barrister Masood Kausar said adding: “Imran is an ignorant man and likes to live in his dreams but the government is fully cognisant of its responsibilities and cannot allow any adventurism in the tribal areas where the situation is already fragile.”

Waziristan is a complex place these days...one where the Pakistan Army played havoc with the populace, which has yet to recover and remains (to a large extent) displaced from their motherland. IK is perceived to be close to the Army. Enough said.

I don't wish the man ill...but one does condemn him for his arrogance and naivete that will get people killed if he isn't more cognizant of the cultural and social land mines that await his motley group.

It would have made far more (logical) sense to lead a "peace parade" to the Islamabad's diplomatic enclave and deliver a letter of protest to the US Ambassador outside the Embassy. Mission Accomplished. But this man's stupid, and rather large, ego and propensity for the limelight will get many innocents on either side killed.

Hope I'm proven wrong in 48 hours and that the melmastia post facto offered by some maliks and spin giris will trump the feelings of the militants. But this was a foolish, unnecessarily reckless/childish endeavor by a man who wants to be "king" in a region which holds him in suspicious regard because he refuses to condemn the Pakistani Army who forced a majority of the Mahsud and Burki populace from their motherland in 2009 while protecting their proxies in NWA and elsewhere. Its all a dirty business and the people are the ultimate victims who IK pretends to care about.

USMC Hymn: HALLS OF MONTEZUMA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJlNw0myBG4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycCucQwQBKk
 

 

 

From the Halls of Montezuma,

To the shores of Tripoli;

We fight our country's battles

In the air, on land, and sea;

First to fight for right and freedom

And to keep our honor clean:

We are proud to claim the title

Of United States Marine.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze

From dawn to setting sun;

We have fought in every clime and place

Where we could take a gun;

In the snow of far-off Northern lands

And in sunny tropic scenes;

You will find us always on the job

The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps

Which we are proud to serve;

In many a strife we've fought for life

And never lost our nerve;

If the Army and the Navy

Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;

They will find the streets are guarded

By United States Marines.

Arithmetic on the Frontier-Kipling

Rudyard Kipling

Arithmetic on the Frontier

A great and glorious thing it is
  To learn, for seven years or so,
The Lord knows what of that and this,
  Ere reckoned fit to face the foe --
The flying bullet down the Pass,
That whistles clear: "All flesh is grass."

Three hundred pounds per annum spent
  On making brain and body meeter
For all the murderous intent
  Comprised in "villanous saltpetre!"
And after -- ask the Yusufzaies
What comes of all our 'ologies.

A scrimmage in a Border Station --
  A canter down some dark defile --
Two thousand pounds of education
  Drops to a ten-rupee jezail --
The Crammer's boast, the Squadron's pride,
Shot like a rabbit in a ride!

No proposition Euclid wrote,
  No formulae the text-books know,
Will turn the bullet from your coat,
  Or ward the tulwar's downward blow
Strike hard who cares -- shoot straight who can --
The odds are on the cheaper man.

One sword-knot stolen from the camp
  Will pay for all the school expenses
Of any Kurrum Valley scamp
  Who knows no word of moods and tenses,
But, being blessed with perfect sight,
Picks off our messmates left and right.

With home-bred hordes the hillsides teem,
  The troopships bring us one by one,
At vast expense of time and steam,
  To slay Afridis where they run.
The "captives of our bow and spear"
Are cheap, alas! as we are dear.