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Photo President Trump arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday after a day trip to Miami. He has given Jim Mattis, the defense secretary, the authority to send several thousand additional troops to Afghanistan. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re President Cedes Afghan Strategy to the Pentagon (front page, June 19):

I read with shock and dismay that President Trump has in effect given over the planning and implementation for the war in Afghanistan to the military, which argued to expand the military effort even though Afghanistan is an unstable country with endemic corruption. Even though Afghanistan is far from the American mainland. Even though the 3,000 to 5,000 troops are being asked to deploy without an overall strategy, let alone an endgame.

Has President Trump no feeling at all about the extreme danger to which he is subjecting these troops with apparently no interest in providing a rationale for their deployment? Is there no end to ill-conceived military exploits in a faraway land we know nothing about?

Have we not learned anything since Vietnam?

BRUCE CHADWICK, BROOKLYN

A version of this letter appears in print on June 22, 2017, on Page A26 of the New York edition with the headline: Handing Off Afghanistan.

Read more from the original source:
Handing Off Afghanistan - New York Times

ICC news June 22, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff

Afghanistan and Ireland have been approved as Full Members by the ICC, meaning they have become cricket's 11th and 12th Test-playing nations. This was signed off on by the ICC Board in London on Thursday, during the ICC's AGM.

Afghanistan and Ireland's boards had applied to the ICC to have their status upgraded from Associates, and this was put to vote at the meeting on Thursday and unanimously supported.

Ireland first gained ODI status in 2005 after finishing runners-up in the ICC Trophy tournament, which they hosted, to gain their first World Cup berth. Two years later they scored a shock upset of Pakistan on St Patrick's Day in Jamaica and they've never looked back, qualifying for two subsequent World Cups in which they defeated England and West Indies to further press their case that they could maintain competitiveness with other Test nations.

"Test cricket is the pinnacle, it's the best. Not being able to play Tests was the reason cited by some players, who weren't able to achieve that career fulfilment with Ireland, as the reason they went to England," Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom said. "That reason is now removed, we can play Tests ourselves. Who can say for certain that players won't leave in the future, but that can't be the reason for it now."

Afghanistan's rise has been even sharper having first gained ODI status in 2009 with a sixth-place finish at that year's World Cup Qualifier in South Africa. It followed three consecutive promotions over the previous year when they began in Division Five of the World Cricket League. Like Ireland, they have demonstrated the talent to stand toe-to-toe with Full Member nations, securing three straight ODI and T20I series wins over Zimbabwe as well as a win over eventual champion West Indies at the 2016 World T20. Most recently they drew their maiden ODI series in West Indies.

"Another day that we can lock in our history and be proud," Shafiq Stanikzai, ACB chief executive, said, adding there was still more work to be done. "Every achievement is great, but it opens the door to challenges. We'll be hosting our international matches in Greater Noida and Sharjah, there should be a day when we can host inside Afghanistan."

The vote is not just an endorsement of each country's respective on-field talents but a seal of approval for efforts made in recent years to build up their domestic structures. In the last three years, both countries have started a multi-day competition with each receiving first-class designation from the ICC in the last year, a harbinger of Thursday's Full Member affirmation.

Since 2005, both countries have demonstrated their readiness for five-day cricket through their dominance in the Intercontinental Cup, the ICC's first-class competition for Associates. Ireland has won four of the last five editions, with Afghanistan interrupting that streak with a victory in the 2010 tournament. The two sides currently sit in the top-two spots in the current edition of the competition, Afghanistan holding a one-point lead after securing an innings victory at Greater Noida over Ireland earlier this year.

Afghanistan have only lost once in the 20 Intercontinental Cup matches they've played, that coming in the 2013 final to Ireland. Ireland's record is just as enviable, with 24 wins, three losses and 10 draws in 37 matches. But they will now be leaving that competition behind at the end of the year, with the door to Test cricket now wide open to them.

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Afghanistan, Ireland get Test status - ESPNcricinfo.com

PENTAGON

The United States military has spilled its blood, spent immense amounts of cash and even dropped a munition called the Mother of All Bombs in an effort to root out Islamic States affiliate in Afghanistan.

But despite these efforts, the Islamic State-Khorasan problem in Afghanistan is not getting better, Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White told VOA Wednesday in her first sit-down, on-camera interview since joining the Pentagon team.

Its not getting better in Afghanistan in terms of ISIS. We have a problem, and we have to defeat them and we have to be focused on that problem, White said.

Watch: Pentagon Says Islamic State Problem 'Not Getting Better' in Afghanistan

U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is still reviewing what his commanders need on the ground in terms of the types of military forces and the number of those forces, according to White.

She added that Mattis intends to speak with his NATO counterparts in Brussels next week before finalizing his military plan, which some officials have said will likely include additional forces for counterterror operations against al-Qaida and ISIS-K.

Its very important to remember that that is within the context of a much broader strategy, and also understanding what are our partners willing to do, White said.

So far, the United States has shouldered responsibility for counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K and al-Qaida, while an international coalition has helped with a separate advise and assist mission to boost Afghan security force capabilities.

U.S. General John Nicholson, the top commander on the ground in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in February that he needs a few thousand more troops to complete his mission of supporting Afghan forces.

He said at the time that he felt he had adequate resources for the counterterror mission, but that was before ISIS-Ks recent expansion into the caves of Tora Bora in Nangahar province and its increase in attacks in northern Afghanistans Jowzjan province.

President Donald Trump authorized Mattis to increase the military presence in Afghanistan earlier this month. The defense secretary has promised lawmakers a new strategy by mid-July.

Three American service members based in eastern Afghanistan were killed in April during operations targeting Islamic State militants, according to the Pentagon.

Visit link:
Pentagon: Islamic State Problem 'Not Getting Better' in Afghanistan - Voice of America

The Islamic States affiliate in Afghanistan continues to thrive despite several U.S. and Afghan military efforts to annihilate the group, Pentagon Chief Spokeswoman Dana White told Voice of America Wednesday.

ISIS in Afghanistan has morphed from anascent band of militants in 2015 to a full fledged threat in the eastern province of Nangarhar.The group controls a relatively small amount of territory but has used it to launch multiple complex attacks on the capital city of Kabul, killing hundreds withits brutal tactics.

Several U.S. troops have died in Nangarhar province in recent months on missions targeting the terrorist group. The U.S. considered defeat of the insurgentssuch a priority it droppedthe largest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal on ISISs cave network, killing approximately 100 fighters.

Its not getting better in Afghanistan in terms of ISIS. We have a problem, and we have to defeat them and we have to be focused on that problem, White declared. Whites statement contradicts the Pentagons recent report on the state of war in Afghanistan which claims that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) recent efforts as well as pressure from the Taliban, and a lack of support from the local populace have diminished ISIS-Ks influence and caused it to decline in size, capability, and ability to hold territory.

The report however admits that ISIS in Afghanistan remains a threat to security in Afghanistan and the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and a threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and ISIS-K retains the ability to conduct high-profile attacks in urban centers.

ISIS is just a small facet of the problem facing the U.S. and ANSF in the Afghan war. Taliban insurgents control more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the war began in 2001, and ANSF is suffering historic casualties.

President Donald Trump granted Secretary of Defense James Mattis authority June 13to set troop levels in Afghanistan. Mattis is likely to approve the request of both commanders in charge of the Afghan war, who have publicly testified before Congress that they believe a few thousand more troops are necessary to break the current stalemate.

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan focuses on training, advising, and assisting ANSF in the fight against the Taliban and ISIS. Both the U.S. and Afghan goal is to tire the Taliban and force it reconcile with the government. Mattis stressed before Congress that any troop increase would be paired with a broader regional strategy to bolster the reconciliation effort. The strategy has yet to be unveiled, and it may not come with the expected troop increase announcement.

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'We Have A Problem:' ISIS In Afghanistan 'Not Getting Better' As US Mulls Thousands More Troops - The Daily Caller

After a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Doc Todd suffered from PTSD. With his new album Combat Medicine, he hopes to show other veterans that they're not alone. ZoomWorks Photography/Courtesy of Doc Todd hide caption

After a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Doc Todd suffered from PTSD. With his new album Combat Medicine, he hopes to show other veterans that they're not alone.

There is no one sure way to reach combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or substance abuse. But a new hip-hop album called Combat Medicine, released Wednesday, might help. It was written and performed by George "Mik" Todd, who goes by the name Doc Todd. He's a former Fleet Marine Force corpsman essentially a combat medic who served alongside the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.

Todd's style is tough and direct in a way that only one veteran can be to another. In the song "Not Alone," he urges veterans to take action in their own recovery.

Take those bottles out, dog

and pour 'em in the sink.

Take the needles out of your arm

And the gun away from your forehead.

It's time, man.

You've been through enough pain.

Stand up.

It's time to stand back up.

Todd says the song is about empowerment, "about taking charge of your life, taking charge of your transition" from the combat zone to civilian life.

In his own transition, Doc Todd went through many of the issues other veterans face: shame, isolation, self-abuse. For Todd, it began in 2009 after he was in a large and dangerous battle in Afghanistan. Many of his friends were seriously wounded. His roommate was killed. Todd was medically evacuated to Germany after he fell seriously ill with pneumonia.

"That tore me up so bad, because I felt like I was alienated from the guys I served with," Todd recalls. "I felt like there was an asterisk next to my deployment. I felt like it would've been better if I got shot because that would've been more heroic."

George "Mik" Todd seen here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in July 2009. He served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. Courtesy of Doc Todd hide caption

George "Mik" Todd seen here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in July 2009. He served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.

Todd says it took him several years before he got help for his PTSD. He was depressed and started drinking heavily. Eventually, he realized what he needed to be doing was helping other veterans. With savings from his job as a money manager and help from his wife, he was able to quit his job. He'd been making music since he was a teenager. Now, he wanted to use his music to help veterans heal. And he had plenty of material for his lyrics.

The struggle is real

Found a feast

And lost a soul

Eventually my drinking

It got out of control

There in darkness, I roamed

Struggling to find home

See Suddenly death didn't

Feel so Alone

In the video for "Not Alone," a young veteran gets out of bed and immediately reaches for the bottle. That scenario is all too real, says former Marine Zach Ludwig who served with Todd in Afghanistan and is now working through his own PTSD.

"He knows what to say and how to say it," Ludwig says, pointing to Todd's combat experience. "What the man says is just blunt force truth."

Todd says facing the truth, no matter how difficult, can do more to help veterans than "coddling" them. His mission with Combat Medicine is to show vets they're not alone and to urge them to get help.

"We have to be responsible for empowering our own lives. And it doesn't really help when the overwhelming narrative is victimization and brokenness," he says.

See the original post:
Combat Veteran Fights PTSD Through Hip-Hop : Shots - Health ... - NPR