Small Wars Journal

20 September SWJ Roundup

Mon, 09/20/2010 - 7:12am
Afghanistan

Observers Debate Legitimacy of Afghanistan Election - Voice of America

After Afghan Vote, Complaints of Fraud Surface - New York Times

Officials Portray Afghan Election as Success - Los Angeles Times

Attacks and Threats Deter Afghan Voters - Wall Street Journal

'Serious Concern' Over Fraud at Afghan Elections - Associated Press

U.N. Says Premature to Call Afghan Poll a Success - Reuters

Fraud Casts Doubt Over Afghan Election - BBC News

Afghan Poll Figures Fiddled 'to Cover Fall in Voting' - Daily Telegraph

Afghanistan Counts Votes From Parliamentary Election - Bloomberg

Fraud Could Delay Result for Months, Observers Warn - The Guardian

Discrepancy Calls Afghan Voter Turnout Into Question - CNN News

Fraud and Turnout Weigh on "Miracle" Afghan Poll - Reuters

Why the Next Parliament Won't Check Karzai - Christian Science Monitor

Karzai Abandons Plan to Visit Kandahar, Disappointing Election - Globe and Mail

Afghanistan: Bullets and Ballots - Sydney Morning Herald

Bodies of Three Kidnapped Election Workers Found - Washington Post

U.S. Shifts Afghan Graft Plan - Wall Street Journal

U.S.-led Troops Push Into Rural Kandahar - Washington Post

U.K. Troops Leave Helmand's Sangin - BBC News

British Troops Leave Volatile Afghan District - Associated Press

U.K. Hands Over Violent Afghan District to U.S. Troops - Reuters

Members of U.S. Platoon Accused of Killing Civilians for Sport - Washington Post

5 U.S. Soldiers Accused of Killing Afghan Civilians - New York Times

Army Monitored Stryker Brigade for Signs of Stress - Washington Post

Regulators Ignored Warnings About Afghan Bank - New York Times

Pakistan

Pakistan Taliban Threats to West Limited, Analysts Say - Washington Times

Floods Leave Pakistan in Dire Economic Straits - Los Angeles Times

Kids Without Food in Pakistan Floods Face Death - Associated Press

U.S. Missile Strike Kills 5 Militants in Pakistan - Associated Press

Iraq

Iraqi Political Theater, Even as Democracy Struggles - New York Times

Car Bombs Kill at Least 29 People in Iraq - Voice of America

Car Bombings Kill Dozens, Injure More than 100 in Baghdad - Washington Post

Dozens Dead After Baghdad Car Bombs - New York Times

Syria, Iraq Attempt to Warm Relations - Voice of America

Lost Iraqi Artifacts Are Found in Storeroom - New York Times

Iran

AP Interview: Ahmadinejad Says Future Is Iran's - Associated Press

Ahmadinejad Appears to Dismiss Peace Efforts - Washington Post

Iran's Mullahs Push Back - Associated Press

Clinton Urges Iran to Reject Military Expansion - Associated Press

Iranian Leader Casts Doubt on Release of Other American Hikers - VOA

Freed U.S. Hiker Appeals for Others' Release - Washington Post

American Asks Iran to Free Others - New York Times

American Released From Iran Prison Says She's No Spy - Reuters

Iran's Identity Crisis - Washington Post opinion

United Nations

U.N. Struggles to Prove its Relevance - Washington Post

U.N. Poverty Goals Face Accountability Questions - New York Times

Nuclear Issues To Be Featured In Obama U.N. Speech - Voice of America

UNICEF's Idea - New York Times editorial

Africa

U.N. Millennium Development Goals Out of Reach in Africa - Los Angeles Times

Village Becomes Lab for Curing Africa's Problems - Associated Press

MI5: Somalia, Yemen Pose Increasing Threat to Security - Voice of America

Radio Stations Seized in Somalia - BBC News

New Questions About Nigerian's Grip on Power - Associated Press

Ethiopia Cited for Gains in Access to Education - Voice of America

Zuma Faces Battle At S.Africa's ANC Policy Meeting - Reuters

Americas and Caribbean

Mexico Daily Cuts Drug War Coverage After Slaying - Associated Press

Why Clinton was Right About Colombia and Mexico - Los Angeles Times opinion

Colombian Forces Kill 22 FARC Rebels - BBC News

Venezuela: Chavez Foes Face Obstacles Ahead of Vote - Associated Press

Cuba Resets the Revolution - New York Times

Layoffs in Cuba - Washington Post editorial

Haitians Cry in Letters: 'Please Do Something!' - New York Times

Asia Pacific

China and Japan Escalate Standoff Over Fishing Captain - New York Times

Disputes in Sea Sparks Breakdown in China and Japan Talks - Washington Post

Japan: China Hasn't Informed of Break in Contacts - Associated Press

China Media Warn Japan Over Escalating Sea Row - Reuters

Q&A: Where Is The China-Japan Sea Dispute Headed? - Reuters

As China's Wealthy Grow in Numbers, So Do Protectors - Washington Post

Philippine Troops Kill Wanted Militant - New York Times

Thailand: Protesters Return to Bangkok Streets - New York Times

Thailand's Red Shirts Rise Up Again - Washington Times

Thailand's Red Shirts Mark Coup Anniversary - Associated Press

Little End to Humanitarian Crisis in Eastern Burma - Voice of America

Central Asia

23 Soldiers Killed in Tajikistan Ambush - Associated Press

Tajikistan Blames Islamist Militants For Ambush - Reuters

Europe

Suspect in Denmark Bombing Masks ID - Washington Times

Dutch Police Hold British Terror Suspect in Amsterdam - BBC News

Dutch Question Alleged U.K. Terror Suspect - Associated Press

Dutch Arrest British Terrorism Suspect At Schiphol - Reuters

Swedish Anti-Immigration Party Claims Seats - New York Times

Center-right Alliance Wins in Sweden; Far Right Gains - Washington Times

Armenians Worship in E. Turkey, For Some it's Bittersweet - Los Angeles Times

Turkey: Kurdish Rebels Extend Cease-Fire - Associated Press

Turkey's Constitutional Change - Washington Post editorial

Complicit in Russia's Crimes - Washington Post opinion

Middle East

Hillary Clinton Faces Huge Challenge in Mideast Talks - Los Angeles Times

MI5: Somalia, Yemen Pose Increasing Threat to Security - Voice of America

Israel's Foreign Minister says Israeli Arabs Belong in Palestine - Voice of America

Russia to Sell Missiles to Syria - BBC News

Bahrain Revokes Citizenship of Top Shiite Cleric - Associated Press

South Asia

U.S. Firms Vie to Protect India - Washington Post

Indian Lawmakers Visit Kashmir to Address Unrest - Associated Press

MPs in Kashmir to Defuse Crisis - BBC News

Indian Kashmir Death Toll Reaches 100 - Voice of America

3 Protesters Are Killed in Kashmir - New York Times

Australia And U.S. Warn Citizens as India Probes Shooting - Reuters

Taiwanese Tourists Shot in New Delhi - New York Times

Tourists Shot Near Delhi Mosque - BBC News

Air India Bomb Plotter Convicted - BBC News

Ghost Of Communal Riots Haunts India Mosque Verdict - Reuters

All Is Ready for Big Games in India, Except What Isn't - New York Times

Comments

carl (not verified)

Mon, 09/20/2010 - 4:53pm

Regarding my comment above, this story has been published in the Army Times.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/09/army-lewis-mcchord-platoon-charge…

It states that 3 Staff Sgts. have been charged and the platoon leader and platoon Sgt. have been removed from the platoon. It states also that the young soldier who eventually reported all this confided in a Sergeant First Class who apparently ratted him out to the gang of killers.

carl (not verified)

Mon, 09/20/2010 - 1:32pm

Stories today and yesterday detail charges against 5 American soldiers who apparently organized themselves into a ring of thrill killers. Three Afghan civilians were allegedly killed by the Stryker brigade soldiers, the ringleader of whom was a Staff SGT. There may have been one other Staff SGT. involved. The story is a bit unclear. The allegations are very nasty and include things like dismemberment, skull and bone collecting and the severe beating of another soldier.

My question to those who have military experience (of which I have none) is this: how could the leadership of the platoon/company to which these soldiers belonged allowed or been unaware of this? Where were the platoon sergeant, platoon leader, coy. commander and company first sergeant? According to the stories, the MPs were the one who discovered things. It seems to me that there was something very wrong with this unit.