Amateur Radio Officer in Kabul will be Missed

I heard about this attack in the news. And as sometimes happens, I later read in the ham radio news that one of the people involved was an Amateur Radio operator.



James McLaughlin, WA2EWE/T6AF, Killed By Afghan Pilot

04/27/2011
James McLaughlin, WA2EWE/T6AF, was one of several Americans killed in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, April 27. News sources say that eight American troops and a US contractor died Wednesday after an Afghan military pilot opened fire during a meeting in an operations room of the Afghan Air Corps at the Kabul airport -- the deadliest episode to date of an Afghan turning against his coalition partners, officials with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISF) in Afghanistan said. McLaughlin -- a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel -- was a contractor serving as a flight instructor for Afghan pilots.

Licensed since 1972, McLaughlin was a career US military officer. Bob Magnani, K6QXY, told the ARRL that McLaughlin was just in the US a week ago, visiting his family: "His son Adam, KD6POE, works for me. He told me that his dad had been in Afghanistan and Iraq many times over the past few years, most currently serving as a flight instructor.” McLaughlin posted on his qrz.com page that “almost every day, I operate at around 1230 - 1430 UTC. Sometimes I am QRV until around 1500 UTC.”

Voice of America Correspondent Steve Herman, W7VOA/T6AD/HL9OA -- currently in Seoul, South Korea -- remembers meeting McLaughlin for the first time. “I first met Jim in August 2009 when we were the only two hams operating in Kabul,” he wrote in an e-mail. “We exchanged tips on operating in our unusual environment. Jim had put together a fine radio shack in his quarters and was especially enthusiastic about his RTTY and PSK capabilities, as well as the ladder line-fed wire dipole he had managed to string up at a height of 50 feet through some trees.

“Less than 24 hours after our initial discussion, a suicide bomb went off in Kabul near the spot where we had arranged to meet. The blast killed seven people and injured nearly 100. The explosion site was also close to Jim’s QTH and it blew out windows in his residence adjacent to the US Embassy. It was obvious from spending time with Jim that ham radio was an important morale-boosting pastime and he usually spent a couple of hours per day QRV, logging thousands of QSOs” As of March 26, 2011, McLaughlin had logged 4359 QSOs, most of them on RTTY and PSK.

McLaughlin was also an active MARS operator. “He was one of our most dedicated MARS members in Army MARS Region 11,” Dan Wolff, KA7AGN/DL4VCW/AEM1WF/AEA1RD, told the ARRL. Wolff is the MARS Region 11 Director. “He relayed and delivered literally hundreds of MARSgrams every year for our region. I’ve known him for many years and he was always devoted to supporting our deployed service members. He will be deeply missed on MARS circuits and the ham bands as well.” -- Thanks to Russ Bentson, K6KLY, CNN and Fox News for the information

A brave man, and so much to admire about him. My condolences to his family.

The photo is from his page listing on QRZ.com. You can do a search there for his call sign, to see his page.
     

Afganistan: Russia returns as America departs

Russia Returns to Afghanistan with the U.S.'s Blessing

[...] Mounting Russian concerns that Islamist militancy and cheap drugs emanating from Afghanistan are a threat to its national security have made Moscow refocus on the region even as the U.S. and its NATO allies maneuver to draw down. Two decades after the Soviet army left Afghanistan in humiliating defeat, Russia is poised to spend billions in the war-wracked country to develop infrastructure, mineral and energy reserves, with new plans taking shape to boost military capability. This time around, it has America's blessing.

Mutual interests intersect in the former Cold War battleground. Nearly nine years on, the Taliban-led insurgency is costing the U.S. more lives and money than ever before. With a July 2011 deadline looming for troops to begin their withdrawal, the Obama Administration has been angling for regional partners to step in and shoulder a greater share of the burden.

[...]

Large-scale investment may also enter Afghanistan to help shore up the embattled Karzai regime - and to make money. Russian companies are currently trying to secure deals to upgrade dozens of Soviet-era installations, among them a $500 million plan to reconstruct hydroelectric plants and a similarly ambitious bid to build wells and irrigation systems in the Afghan countryside. Rosneft, the state-owned oil and gas giant, is exploring potentially lucrative gas fields in the north, while other companies are said to be hunting for minerals such as iron and aluminum. With big bucks to be made in a war economy, Russian officials and business leaders make no secret that they are out to help themselves to the spoils.

Moscow's decade-long occupation of Afghanistan from 1980 to 1989 may have left the Russians with advantages. Many Soviet-educated Afghans who fled the country under the Taliban have since returned, adding a degree of competence to a fledgling government - with perhaps more affinity for Moscow than for Washington. And, according to Haroun Mir, director of Afghanistan's Center for Research and Policy Studies, ex-communists heavily represented in the upper ranks of the national police and army remain the backbone of the security establishment. "They are knowledgeable and well-trained and we have to rely on them until a new corps can fill the vacuum," he says.

Faced with bigger worries and less reliable neighbors, the U.S. and NATO appear willing to accept growing Russian influence. "At this point, we can't afford to be too selective in terms of where we get help," says one Western diplomat in Kabul. Indeed, the gathering flurry of activity in Afghanistan is a sign: Russia is back.

Afghan president questions US timeline for leaving

[...] A statement by Karzai's office said the Afghan leader told the U.S. delegation that significant progress had been made in rebuilding the country after decades of war.

But he said the campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaida had faltered because of ongoing civilian casualties during NATO military operations and a lack of focus on "destroying the terrorists' refuge" across the border.

Karzai also said President Barack Obama's announcement that he would begin withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan in July 2011 has given "the enemy a morale boost" because they believe they can simply hold out until the Americans leave.

Rep. Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina and one of the four U.S. congressmen who attended the one-hour meeting, said Karzai focused primarily on criticism of private security contractors and the role of Afghan forces in the war.

Karzai has ordered all Afghan and international security contractors to cease operations by the end of the year, saying they have abused Afghan civil rights and undermined the authority of the state.

Karzai also emphasized that Afghans should take the lead in going into villages to clear out Taliban, with U.S. soldiers behind them playing a supporting role, Inglis told The Associated Press.

"I was glad he said that because it indicated a level of ownership and commitment to Afghans taking charge of the task," Inglis said. But, "I think it's an open question as to whether the Afghan security forces (are) at that level as of yet."

Karzai also raised concerns about Taliban hideouts in Pakistan, Inglis said, asking the lawmakers to provide more help in trying to stop attacks from across the border.

"He seemed pretty pumped up, very determined and energetic and optimistic, which was not the way I thought we'd find him," Inglis said.

Inglis said the lawmakers raised the issue of corruption and that Karzai assured them he is working on it. Karzai tried to describe the difference between low-level corruption and high-level corruption, but the lawmakers told him both were unacceptable, Inglis said. [...]

Yeah, whatever. I'm sure the Russian's won't bother Karzai with those pesky corruption complaints. As for the terrorists across the border in Pakistan. Russia may deal with them, IF they think it's in their interest to do so. Or perhaps they will make an alliance with them, to try to gain a foothold in Pakistan. The Russians are always over-reaching, so who knows?

Anyway, we won't have much to say about it once we are gone.
     

TIME magazine cover shows Taliban atrocity

TIME Cover Depicts the Disturbing Plight of Afghan Women

Our cover image this week is powerful, shocking and disturbing. It is a portrait of Aisha, a shy 18-year-old Afghan woman who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws. Aisha posed for the picture and says she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan, many of whom have flourished in the past few years. Her picture is accompanied by a powerful story by our own Aryn Baker on how Afghan women have embraced the freedoms that have come from the defeat of the Taliban - and how they fear a Taliban revival. (See pictures of Afghan women and the return of the Taliban.)

I thought long and hard about whether to put this image on the cover of TIME. First, I wanted to make sure of Aisha's safety and that she understood what it would mean to be on the cover. She knows that she will become a symbol of the price Afghan women have had to pay for the repressive ideology of the Taliban.

[...]

But bad things do happen to people, and it is part of our job to confront and explain them. In the end, I felt that the image is a window into the reality of what is happening - and what can happen - in a war that affects and involves all of us. I would rather confront readers with the Taliban's treatment of women than ignore it. I would rather people know that reality as they make up their minds about what the U.S. and its allies should do in Afghanistan. (See the cover story "Afghan Women and the Return of the Taliban.")

The much publicized release of classified documents by WikiLeaks has already ratcheted up the debate about the war. Our story and the haunting cover image by the distinguished South African photographer Jodi Bieber are meant to contribute to that debate. We do not run this story or show this image either in support of the U.S. war effort or in opposition to it. We do it to illuminate what is actually happening on the ground. As lawmakers and citizens begin to sort through the information about the war and make up their minds, our job is to provide context and perspective on one of the most difficult foreign policy issues of our time. What you see in these pictures and our story is something that you cannot find in those 91,000 documents: a combination of emotional truth and insight into the way life is lived in that difficult land and the consequences of the important decisions that lie ahead. [...]

Seeing is believing:



More on Aisha's story:

The Grossman Burn Centers Provides Care and Hope for Bibi Aisha from Afghanistan

At 16, her father promised her hand in marriage and she was handed over to a large family, who she claims were all members of the Taliban in Oruzgan province. "I spent two years with them and became a prisoner," she says. Tortured and abused, she couldn't take it any longer and decided to run away. Two female neighbors promising to help took her to Kandahar province. But this was just another act of deception. When they arrived to Kandahar her female companions tried to sell Aisha to another man. All three women were stopped by the police and imprisoned. Aisha was locked up because she was a runaway. And although running away is not a crime, in places throughout Afghanistan it is treated as one if you are a woman. A three-year sentence was reduced to five months when President Hamid Karzai pardoned Aisha. But eventually her father-in-law found her and took her back home. That was the first time she met her husband. He came home from Pakistan to take her to Taliban court for dishonoring his family and bringing them shame. The court ruled that her nose and ears must be cut off. An act carried out by her husband in the mountains of Oruzgan where they left her to die. But she survived. And with the help of an American Provincial Reconstruction Team in Oruzgan and the organization Women for Afghan Women (WAW), she is finally getting help. The United Nations estimates that nearly 90 percent of Afghanistan's women suffer from some sort of domestic abuse. "Bibi Aisha is only one example of thousands of girls and women in Afghanistan and throughout the world who are treated this way. Aisha is reminded of that enslavement every time she looks in the mirror. But there still times she can laugh. And at that moment you see her teenage spirit escaping a body that has seen a lifetime of injustice. [...]

Such monstrous, unnecessary cruelty. She is being brought to the US for reconstructive surgery. And, I hope, to make her story more widely known.

I'm not a big fan of TIME magazine, but their decision to feature Aisha's story on the front cover, does literally put a human face on what is happening there. And yet, what is the best way to do something about it? That will be the debate.
     

An email from a soldier in Afghanistan

From Neal Boortz: IS THIS ANY WAY TO FIGHT A WAR?

Are you a loyal George Will fan? You should be ... he's brilliant. Will's latest Washington Post column refers to an email he received from a soldier serving in Afghanistan. A real eye-opener.

First .. you DO remember that Obama has pledged to begin withdrawing American troops next Spring, don't you? Well, if you don't remember this .. the Taliban certainly does, and they're just building their strength so that they can move in and regain control of Afghanistan as soon as Obama runs. In the meantime, they'll continue to kill as many American troops as they possibly can.

So ... how are we fighting this war? Here are a few examples from the soldier's email to George Will. ...

"Returning from a mission, his unit took casualties from an improvised explosive device that the unit knew had been placed no more than an hour earlier. "There were villagers laughing at the U.S. casualties" and "two suspicious individuals were seen fleeing the scene and entering a home." U.S. forces "are no longer allowed to search homes without Afghan National Security Forces personnel present." But when his unit asked Afghan police to search the house, the police refused on the grounds that the people in the house "are good people."

"On another mission, some Afghan adults ran off with their children immediately before the NCO's unit came under heavy small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and the unit asked for artillery fire on the enemy position. The response was a question: Where is the nearest civilian structure? "Judging distances," the NCO writes dryly, "can be difficult when bullets and RPGs are flying over your head." When the artillery support was denied because of fear of collateral damage, the unit asked for a "smoke mission" -- like an illumination round; only the canister falls to earth -- "to conceal our movement as we planned to flank and destroy the enemy." This request was granted -- but because of fear of collateral damage, the round was deliberately fired one kilometer off the requested site, making "the smoke mission useless and leaving us to fend for ourselves."

Obama is the Commander in Chief. Do you think there is any way we would have prevailed in World War II if things had been handled this way?

If our soldiers won't be given the support they need, bring them home.
     

Afganistan, Iraq wars, worse than useless

Diana West received a letter from one soldier, who is very frank in his assessment of what we have done in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's devastating:

How Muslims Defeated the United States

Today, I am posting an extraordinary letter from a soldier currently stationed in Iraq, a sometime penpal of mine to whom I sent my three-part series on the aftermath of the surge to elicit his opinion. Knowing how thoughtful he is, I expected a substantive response. Given his time constraints alone, I did not expect an essay of this scope and I decided, with his permission, to present it here. It is unlike any commentary I have read from Iraq; it is both coolly reasoned and deeply passionate, and certain to challenge and disturb readers across the political spectrum: PC-believing liberals, Iraq-as-success-believing conservatives, Islam-as-a-religion-of-peaceniks of both Left and Right. [...]

She prints his letter in it's entirety. It's not what most of us would like to hear. I don't agree with everything he says, but enough of it rings true to find it very disturbing. What have we done, what are we doing, and what are the likely long-term consequences? If this soldier is correct, we may not like the answers to those questions. In any case, we shall see as time goes on.
     

"Sabi", MIA military dog, found in Afghanistan

An American soldier knew Sabi was not a
stray when she responded to commands.
Dog back after a year MIA in Afghanistan

(CNN) -- An Australian special forces dog has been found alive and well more than a year after going missing in action in Afghanistan.

Explosives detection dog Sabi was recovered by a U.S. soldier who found her wandering near an isolated patrol base in the desolate southern province of Oruzgan last week, according to the Australian Government Department of Defense.

John, the U.S. soldier, who was identified only by first name, knew his Australian counterparts were missing an explosive detection dog. He knew immediately that Sabi was not a stray.

"I took the dog and gave it some commands it understood," he said.

When she disappeared, the black Labrador was nearing the end of her second tour of duty in Afghanistan. She went missing in September 2008 when insurgents ambushed a combined Australian, U.S. and Afghan army convoy. Nine Australian soldiers, including Sabi's handler, were wounded during the gunbattle.

Trooper Mark Donaldson, currently in the United Kingdom after meeting Queen Elizabeth, said Sabi's return closed a chapter of their shared history.

"She's the last piece of the puzzle," Donaldson said. "Having Sabi back gives some closure for the handler and the rest of us that served with her in 2008. It's a fantastic morale booster for the guys." [...]

I love happy dog stories. She still needs to be checked out for diseases though, before they will let her return. Most likely she will return. They are planning to award her some canine medals! Follow the link for video.


Also See:

Dogs welcoming home their soldiers


     

What Europe gave us? Or what they DIDN'T...

From Pat at Tammy Bruce's blog:

No Conflict Too Small - Many Too Big for Our President

Obama tells us it was an unprecedented accomplishment at the NATO summit to receive a pledge for 5,000 more NATO troops to Afghanistan. Golly, he hadn't even asked for them and this really wasn't a pledging session. Baloney. His administration has been pressing for more combat troops for some time now. The amazing NATO pledges are not for combat troops. Some of those troops will be there only for temporary security duty during the Afghan elections. Some troops included in the promised new total are actually part of a contingent already in Afghanistan. NATO countries did pledge $100 million to fund the Afghan army, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Obama is attempting to inflate the significance of getting a commitment to, dare I say it, distract from its meager content. I respect every member of the NATO military who serves in Afghanistan in any capacity and thank them for their service. The painful reality is NATO effectively tossed some coins at Obama as much as to say, "Here, that's all you're going to get now stop bothering me." The much vaunted agreement to the strategy is an acknowledgment that it's important not to lose in Afghanistan. Europe wishes us well in accomplishing that, but holds back on helping. [...]

There's more. When you look at the facts, I don't think this trip has been nearly as successful as the media hype keeps telling us it is.

We've made many concessions, and don't have much to show for it. Unless you think that having Europe "like" us more is important. Yeah, right. Everyone loves a sucker; so easy to take advantage of, and walk all over. That's why I've always preferred respect over popularity.