"We're F%^*king Losing This Thing" - drug trade - 590 billion to 1.5 trillion - war is a racket - vietnam to Afghanistan

Note: General McChrystal without doubt, was fully aware of the (not necessarily knowing of the Crown Agents) control of the drug trade originating in Afghanistan from the production of poppy seeds, and by giving an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, would seem gave himself a diplomatic way out of Afghanistan. This is just speculation but certainly does seem plausible. There have been similar instances of American military commanders being removed from the theater of operations for 'insubordination', so his resignation is certainly not that unusual.

“War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses." --Major General Smedley Butler
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Source: OpEdNews.com

McChrystal Trying to Tell Us Something? "We're F%^*king Losing This Thing"

Now that the McChrstal Affair looks more like a combination of theater and high-command hari-kari in which McChrystal has removed himself from the role of General William Westmoreland in the history books, it would be a shame to lose what else McChrystal's team was telling us in all drunken frankness. Evidence is building that McChrystal knew perfectly well what was going to go into the Rolling Stone article. [Speculation: McChrystal became aware of the control of drug production/heroin and set this up to diplomatically extracate himself from Afghaistan] Editor Eric Bates said on Morning Joe on June 22 that "everything" had been run by McChrystal and his aides during the week-long fact-checking process, and McChrystal did "absolutely not" push back or voice any objection. Hastings told CNN:

"I had a tape recorder and notepad out the entire time, so it was all very clear that it was on the record."

GlobeNews24.com reports:

"Eric Bates, the magazine's editor, said during an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that McChrystal was informed of the quotes prior to its publication as part of Rolling Stone's standard fact-checking process -- and that the general did not object to or dispute any of the reporting. Asked if McChrystal pushed back on the story, Bates responded: "No, absolutely not." "We ran everything by them in the fact-checking process as we always do," the Rolling Stone editor said.

One person who doesn't miss much is filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who has made a video (below) calling attention to what else came out during the interview which may be the swan song McChrystal wanted us to hear, whatever his faults, and in this war and in the Pentagon there are no innocents.

"If Americans pulled back and started paying attention to this war, it would become even less popular. -- McChrystal aide"

That doesn't sound like a general particularly positive about the prospects for the next year. Why didn't he just say "Psst! Pull the hell out now!"

The mime lays bare what should be clear to most people by now: the policy in Afghanistan is there ain't no policy, except to keep it going. Fewer civilian casualties? More American casualties. More firepower and more civilian casualties? More hatred, more Taliban. The official policy for Afghanistan is to keep the money flowing, no matter what is happening, for Halliburton and Dyncorp, Xe-Blackwater and General Dynamics, who all pony up quite nicely at election time. That's as much of a policy as there is.



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The opportunity presented itself on this blog/subject to present the following videos alternating between the Winter Soldier (Vietnam) testimonies given by former veterans of the Vietnam War, and similar testimonies given by veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Winter Soldier (Iraq/Afghanistan), on the brutality and atrocities perpetrated on the people of Vietnam and on the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Not surprising at all after listening to the testimonies of veterans of their experiences in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. After viewing these videos, alternating between testimony from Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan, separated by roughly thirty years, consider the recent discussions at Hawks Cafe concerning control of poppy fields in Afghanistan and what entities ultimately control the this drug trade.

The IMF estimated global money laundering to be between 590 billion and 1.5 trillion dollars a year, representing 2-5 percent of global GDP. (Asian Banker, 15 August 2003). A large share of global money laundering as estimated by the IMF is linked to the trade in narcotics. This is what General McChyrstal was up against; imagine even attempting to go up against trying to control violence in a country supported by a world-wide drug trade with a sophisticated infrastructure in place running in the billions of dollars?

Indeed, General McChrystal is probably correct, "We're F%^*king Losing This Thing"












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Further reading and viewing:

Afghanistan - 600,000 international troops fighting less than 100 Al Qaida. 90% of the world's heroin supply protected.