A couple of things:
First, reach out to our men and women in uniform this holiday by supporting one or more of these important charities.
- Wounded Warrior Project
- Soldier’s Angels
- Any Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman or Guardsman
- United Service Organization (USO)
- Packages From Home
Just scroll down in the right sidebar and find our links to these charities. Click on over and check out how you can help our uniformed heroes.
Year end is coming and tax write-offs are a good thing, but not as good as that nice glow you get knowing that you have made a military man. woman or family a little happier this holiday. Just do it.
Next, this article came in today from Afghanistan from Michael Yon. It reminds us of the grim truth that our job is not done when it comes to the Global War on Terror:
Happy Thanksgiving from Zabul Province, Afghanistan.
The Taliban seem to be mostly afraid of American soldiers. They do attack U.S. and inflict damage, but all around I hear from Afghans and U.S. soldiers that the Taliban are mostly trying to avoid contact with U.S., while focusing attacks mostly on Afghans. Some people see the Taliban as courageous, but I am seeing more and more that they use cowardly tactics, often hiding behind women and children.
I am tonight in Zabul Province and have been out with New York National Guard. Their morale is high and they think they are winning the fight, despite the long series of frustrations that come with the terrain of war. Especially in Afghanistan.
Our cell phones are not working tonight; the Taliban forces cell phone operators to turn off the towers at night. The Taliban are afraid of being tracked, and are afraid the Americans will interrupt their sleep. The cell towers are cut off from 5:30 PM to 7:00 AM. An American captain told me that one group of operators decided to turn off the system late one night, so the Taliban came, killed one man, and tortured two others.
On an interesting side, Americans and Afghans are giving very high marks to the Lithuanian Special Forces who operate here. They are less impressed with Romanians; Afghans and Americans say the Romanians are afraid of the Taliban, but that the Lithuanians are having a field day chasing and killing Taliban.
On the Iraq front, please read Down with Barriers, Up with Iraq.
The Iraq war is over, but the Afghan playoffs will begin in 2009. This fight is just getting started. Please send lots of Marines, and lots of training teams for the Afghan Army and police.
Your correspondent,
Michael