What the US has to say on Afghanistan
“ Afghanistan, was never going to be an easy ride, however looking at the text below makes me wonder if there ever was a strategic plan at the beginning or did the USA really go in blind in an attempt to respond to terrorism”
A top US military official has said he is not convinced his country is winning the war in Afghanistan.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee success in Afghanistan would require more civilian effort beyond the military fight.
"I'm not convinced we are winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can" - Admiral Mike Mullen
Mr Mullen said: "Frankly, we're running out of time.
“I would suggest that it is more like running out of money and the Government is about to loose the gun wielding president to a more passive candidate”
"I'm not convinced we are winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can."
Violence in Afghanistan has soared over the past two years as al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters have regrouped in the remote region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr Mullen said: "These two nations are inextricably linked in a common insurgency that crosses the border between them. We can hunt down and kill extremists as they cross over the border from Pakistan ... but until we work more closely with the Pakistani government to eliminate the safe havens from which they operate, the enemy will only keep coming."
It's nearly seven years since US-led forces toppled the Taliban after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
US commanders in Afghanistan have requested three more combat brigades, about 10,000 soldiers. About 33,000 US troops are already there, including 14,000 who are part of a 53,000-strong Nato military command.
And President George Bush this week promised more troops.
The officials said the West should do more to help Afghans with new investments in roads and other infrastructure, education and crop assistance.
Mr Mullen said: "These are the keys to success in Afghanistan. We cannot kill our way to victory."
He said Afghanistan badly needed a national security force supported by local leaders
“it’s funny that they never mentioned the Trillion Dollar oil supply in the north of Afghanistan”
Ronin will support the troops from UK and around the world in conflict, as they do not have the choice on where and when they will fight
http://www.roninreunited.com
Thursday 11 September 2008
Tuesday 9 September 2008
Ronin salute you!
“TO ALL WHO FELL”
In time of War,
they heeded the call
They took up arms
"Freedom For All"
They went to serve
in a far away land
In battles they fought,
they took a stand
In honour of Country, their duty they performed
For those who died, our Country sadly mourned
There were many who fell and gave their lives
Leaving behind children, mothers, fathers and wives
They fought the fight to "Let Freedom Ring"
In honour of that, their praises we sing
To those who died, we salute you all
And give our thanks for heeding the call
Monday 8 September 2008
churchill...He is Ronin...are you?
"We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender and even if, which I do not for the moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, will carry on the struggle until in God's good time the New World with all its power and might, sets forth to the liberation and rescue of the Old."
- Prime Minister Winston Churchill (after the fall of France)
http://www.roninreunited.com We are Ronin...are you?
Ronin
Ronin daddy
My daddy is a soldier
he’s often gone away
to some far off country
where he has to stay.
I really miss my daddy
and I’m not sure what he does
except he helps other people
who need him very much.
At night when I say my prayers
I ask to keep daddy safe
so that he can come home to us
and sit in his favourite place.
Some nights I can hear mommy cry
when she thinks I’m asleep
I know she misses daddy
and her sadness hurts real deep.
I know that a day may come
when daddy won’t come home
and it scares me even thinking
that we will be alone.
My daddy is a soldier
he’s often gone away
And I am so very proud of him
each and every day.
Come home to us daddy
When your job is done
I know that those people needed you
But they aren’t the only ones.
Friday 8 August 2008
Thanks Billy
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day".
Henry V by William Shakespeare
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day".
Henry V by William Shakespeare
Wednesday 30 July 2008
WAGS - military style
If you are a wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend or partner of a military person.....join our military community at www.roninreunited.com
Ronin pay tribute to the brave terry lloyd
Ronin recognise that it is not only the soldiers and other military units that brave the war zones across the world, however it is the media that take as many risks if not more......
Imagine the only weapon you have is a press badge or camera.....
Terry lloyd was one of the most daring reporters of the world press... he was killed on a blue on blue.....
No one will take responsibility in this outrageous incident...
UK: No prosecution over journalist death in Iraq
LONDON (AP) — Prosecutors said Monday there was not enough proof to charge anyone in the death of a British journalist in southern Iraq during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion though forensic evidence suggests he was killed by American forces.
Terry Lloyd, 50, was working for Britain's Independent Television News when his four-man team was caught in crossfire between U.S. and Iraqi forces. The four were among the few Western reporters who covered the fighting on their own instead of embedding with U.S. or British forces.
Lloyd's Lebanese translator also was killed and the body of a French cameraman has never been found. A Belgian colleague survived.
A 2006 British inquest ruled that U.S. forces unlawfully killed the reporter by shooting him in the head as he lay in the back of an improvised ambulance. But Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said Monday it was not possible to say who fired the fatal shot.
"There is insufficient evidence at the current time to establish to the criminal standard the identity of the person who fired the bullet that killed Mr. Lloyd," said Sue Hemming, chief of the prosecution service's counterterrorism division.
She also said there was not enough evidence to single out anyone "responsible for the chain of events" that led to Lloyd's death.
ITN said it was disappointed by the decision and accused American authorities of being uncooperative.
The Pentagon previously said that an investigation into Lloyd's death was completed in May 2003 and "determined that U.S. forces followed the applicable rules of engagement."
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Monday that the Defense Department has never deliberately targeted noncombatants, including journalists, but added that "it has been an unfortunate reality that journalists have died in Iraq."
"We will continue to work with news organizations to do everything realistically possible to reduce the risk on an inherently dangerous battlefield, but we must remember that there are inherent risks in covering a war," he said.
Lloyd's team was traveling to the southern Iraqi city of Basra to investigate a rumor that an Iraqi armored brigade had surrendered when they came under Iraqi attack, forcing them to turn around. American forces, mistaking their cars for enemy vehicles, opened fire.
A civilian minibus taking Lloyd and wounded Iraqis to the hospital was attacked — apparently by American forces, Hemming said.
Forensic evidence showed he was killed by a bullet fired from a U.S. weapon, she said, suggesting he was first injured by a shot from the Iraqis and then was hit by a bullet fired by the Americans at the minibus.
"This was an extremely complex and difficult investigation into what happened in a war zone," Hemming said, adding that "every care was taken in pursuing lines of inquiry and reviewing the evidence."
All at ronin pay tribute to terry and wish his family peace!
Imagine the only weapon you have is a press badge or camera.....
Terry lloyd was one of the most daring reporters of the world press... he was killed on a blue on blue.....
No one will take responsibility in this outrageous incident...
UK: No prosecution over journalist death in Iraq
LONDON (AP) — Prosecutors said Monday there was not enough proof to charge anyone in the death of a British journalist in southern Iraq during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion though forensic evidence suggests he was killed by American forces.
Terry Lloyd, 50, was working for Britain's Independent Television News when his four-man team was caught in crossfire between U.S. and Iraqi forces. The four were among the few Western reporters who covered the fighting on their own instead of embedding with U.S. or British forces.
Lloyd's Lebanese translator also was killed and the body of a French cameraman has never been found. A Belgian colleague survived.
A 2006 British inquest ruled that U.S. forces unlawfully killed the reporter by shooting him in the head as he lay in the back of an improvised ambulance. But Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said Monday it was not possible to say who fired the fatal shot.
"There is insufficient evidence at the current time to establish to the criminal standard the identity of the person who fired the bullet that killed Mr. Lloyd," said Sue Hemming, chief of the prosecution service's counterterrorism division.
She also said there was not enough evidence to single out anyone "responsible for the chain of events" that led to Lloyd's death.
ITN said it was disappointed by the decision and accused American authorities of being uncooperative.
The Pentagon previously said that an investigation into Lloyd's death was completed in May 2003 and "determined that U.S. forces followed the applicable rules of engagement."
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Monday that the Defense Department has never deliberately targeted noncombatants, including journalists, but added that "it has been an unfortunate reality that journalists have died in Iraq."
"We will continue to work with news organizations to do everything realistically possible to reduce the risk on an inherently dangerous battlefield, but we must remember that there are inherent risks in covering a war," he said.
Lloyd's team was traveling to the southern Iraqi city of Basra to investigate a rumor that an Iraqi armored brigade had surrendered when they came under Iraqi attack, forcing them to turn around. American forces, mistaking their cars for enemy vehicles, opened fire.
A civilian minibus taking Lloyd and wounded Iraqis to the hospital was attacked — apparently by American forces, Hemming said.
Forensic evidence showed he was killed by a bullet fired from a U.S. weapon, she said, suggesting he was first injured by a shot from the Iraqis and then was hit by a bullet fired by the Americans at the minibus.
"This was an extremely complex and difficult investigation into what happened in a war zone," Hemming said, adding that "every care was taken in pursuing lines of inquiry and reviewing the evidence."
All at ronin pay tribute to terry and wish his family peace!
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