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While launching the 500-day countdown to the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney, Prince Harry said he felt "guilty" when he was evacuated out of Afghanistan in 2008 after an Australian magazine violated a news blackout and revealed his location in the country.

"I could no longer stay with my soldiers as it would have put them at greater risk," said Harry, 32. "It was a decision over which I had no control, but the guilt of having to leave my guys behind was something I felt hard to swallow as anyone who has served would understand."

Harry served two tours of duty in Afghanistan during his time in the British Army.

He said in his Sydney speech he resolved on the flight home from Afghanistan to create an event that would ultimately change his life and create a lasting impact on other veterans and wounded service members and their families.

"In these challenging times, we can all benefit from positive and inspiring stories from which to draw strength," Harry said. "The Invictus Games shows us that it is possible to overcome adversity and that the impossible is possible, if you have the will."

Harry, who was a captain in the British Army, founded the Invictus Games in 2014 to raise awareness for wounded service members.

The Paralympic-style sporting event, which will this fall be held in Toronto, is an annual opportunity for injured military personnel to compete internationally against other soldiers, including some they fought with side by side on the battlefield.

Harry's overseas trip began on a somber note after the terror attack in London Saturday that left eight people dead and dozens injured. Harry opened his remarks in Sydney by discussing the attack.

Can I start by also sending my thoughts to those affected by Saturday's attack in London Bridge, Harry said. Australians form an important and vibrant part of the fabric of life in London and we are reminded of that in good times and bad. Our hearts go out to the victims, their friends and families.

Harry also noted the role wounded warriors played in helping the survivors of the blast at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, last month that left 22 people dead.

This spirit, championed by the games, extends far beyond the competition; when a bomb left a number of people with life-changing injuries in Manchester last month, wounded veterans, including Invictus team members, immediately offered themselves up to provide advice and support to the victims through their recovery process," he said. The commitment to serve is ingrained in every member of the Armed Forces and is the embodiment of the Invictus spirit.

Harry began his goodwill tour over the weekend with a stop in Singapore, where he participated in a charity polo match to raise funds for his charity Sentebale.

The charity was formed to honor his late mother, Princess Diana, a pioneer in the fight against AIDs. Harry and his brother, Prince William, have been involved in various activities this spring to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their mother's death in Paris in August 1997.

Harry has made it a point throughout the royal tour to honor the fallen.

Let peace and harmony prevail in communities all over the world, Harry said.

In Singapore, Harry joined young Muslim youth who were breaking their Ramadan fast in a bid to show communities of all faiths coming together as one in light of the tragedy.

He also visited a children's home which helps recovering addicts and the homeless.

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Prince Harry says he felt 'guilty' leaving Afghanistan after being exposed by press - ABC News

The Guardian

The Taliban Still Control Large Parts of Afghanistan and ISIS Has Established a Foothold New York Times The United States spent almost $700 billion in the first 13 years of the war in Afghanistan. Still, Afghan forces lack the manpower, equipment and training needed to take back large areas of territory from Taliban control, says Caitlin Forrest, a ... Afghanistan holds peace conference amid violence and protestsThe Guardian Why More Troops Won't Help AfghanistanThe New Yorker The Latest: Bombing in western Afghanistan kills 7Sacramento Bee Aljazeera.com -Chicago Tribune -Reuters all 383 news articles »

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The Taliban Still Control Large Parts of Afghanistan and ISIS Has Established a Foothold - New York Times

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

US soldiers patrolling in Afghanistan. (Photo: DVIDSHUB)

We are nearing the 16th year of the Afghan War, which began on October 7, 2001, with the US military invasion of the country. The assault was jingoistically dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom. Today, the longest war in US history still has no end in sight.

Alarmingly, according to the New York Times, Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster are urging President Trump to initiate a new surge of troops. This would add thousands more soldiers to the 8,400 who are still currently serving there, should Trump approve the plan.

In a commentary in Consortium News, James W. Carden writes:

In his 2014 bookRestraint: A New Foundation for US Strategy, [Barry] Posen correctly observes that U.S. objectives in Afghanistan are "probably unachievable." After all, "despite much US and NATO instruction" Afghanistans "military, and police remain poorly trained, inadequately armed, sometimes corrupt, and only intermittently motivated."

What to do? Send in more troops, as per Mattis and McMaster? No: the wisest course of action would be for the U.S. to moderate its goals, which, according to Posen, "means ratcheting down the US counterinsurgency, nation-building project in Afghanistan at the earliest possible time."

As the latest iteration of the counterinsurgency debate kicks off this week, the time to consider serious alternatives to Americas current (and failed) strategy in Afghanistan is now.

In a May 6 column in Politico, journalist Douglas Wissing -- who was embedded in Afghanistan three times -- observes:

Afghanistan today remains the largest U.S. military foreign engagement. From the peak of about 100,000 boots on the ground during the Obama-era surge, there are still almost 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, plus up to 26,000 highly paid contractors for the Department of Defense and other agencies. Each soldier costs about a million dollars a year. Economists estimate the Afghan war has already cost U.S. taxpayers around a trillion dollars. For the 2017 fiscal year, U.S. military and State Department operations in Afghanistan are costing about $50 billionalmost a billion dollars a week. (As a reference, the initial budget request for operations against ISIS in Syria was only $5 billion.)

Of course, that's the financial cost. The cost in lives and casualties is grim. The Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University estimates:

About 104,000 people have been killed in the Afghanistan war since 2001. More than 31,000 of those killed have been civilians. An additional 41,000 civilians have been injured since 2001.

These are conservative estimates. There are likely to be countless unrecovered bodies, and record-keeping is difficult in a largely rural country. Recent grisly deaths -- including those resulting from the US dropping the most powerful non-nuclear bomb on a suspected ISIS site, as well as a terrorist attack in downtown Kabul -- indicate that the nightmare of death in Afghanistan will not end anytime soon. The whole nation remains an arid and dusty killing field, pitting the Taliban and allied forces against each other in an interminable war in which civilians and combatants are often indistinguishable.

In addition, as of this month, there have been more than 2,200 US military deaths and 20,000 service men and women wounded in action, according to US Department of Defense figures. What does one tell a family who loses a child in Afghanistan? What are these soldiers dying "for"? Can anyone in the White House or Pentagon articulate the current US mission in Afghanistan? Is one of their motivations for still being there a Vietnam War-era notion that the most powerful military force in the world can't afford the "shame" of losing a war?

The New York times article ends with this foreboding warning:

Still, Mr. Trumps heavy reliance on military commanders risks a repeat of what some critics viewed as a weakness of the Obama administrations troop debate...: its overemphasis on a military solution.

"This whole decision is being seen too narrowly, through a military prism," said Daniel F. Feldman, who served as special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under Mr. Obama. "It has to be seen in a more integrated way. It requires a more aggressive diplomatic component."

The original US invasion of Afghanistan was supposedly meant to punish the Taliban rulers for harboring al-Qaeda prior to 9/11, and to precipitate regime change. What is the goal now that the war is entering its second decade?

Douglas Wissing cogently writes in his Politico commentary:

There is a truism that generals always fight the last war, but in the case of the unending Afghanistan war, the last one is still this one. It appears the generals want to re-escalate with the same failed 21st-century way of war, which governmental and corporate beneficiaries have perverse incentives to continue. Military, intelligence and development corporations need contracts. And elected officials need campaign contributions from those corporations lobbyists.

Wissing raises the notion that we should look to the military-industrial complex itself for an explanation of the continuing US occupation of Afghanistan. If Trump decides on a new surge to back the Kabul government, just remember that the Pentagon-corporate revolving door will be a large factor in the decision.

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After Nearly 16 Years in Afghanistan, One More "Surge" Won't End the Bloodshed - Truth-Out

Officials say a truck exploded on one of the busiest streets in the Afghan capital. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

Wounded men lie on their beds in Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 31, 2017, after a massive explosion rocked a highly secure diplomatic area of Kabul.(Photo: Associated Press)

A group of Arizona State University students is organizing a vigil for the victims of recent attacks they believearen't getting the recognition they deserve: Those killed by recentbombings in Afghanistan.

More than 150 people were killed in multiple explosions in Kabul, thecapital of Afghanistan, in the past week.

"Its absolutely tragic, and what hurts more is you hear these things going on like the Manchester tragedy and bombing in London and you see this outcry. ... It just kind of feels like there is this kind of selective mourning going on," ASU student Fara Arefi said.

"It feels like Afghan blood has become really cheap, because every time it is spilled, people dont seem to care."

She and the Afghan Student Association at ASU are organizing #AFGBleeds, a vigil to mourn those lives lost, on the university's Tempe campus Monday evening.

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghanisaid Tuesday thata suicide bomb that exploded in Kabul's diplomatic quarter on May 31killed at least 150 people and injured at least 300,possibly making it one of the deadliest attacks in the country since the American invasion in 2001.

A demonstration at the bomb site on June 2 drew at least 1,000 people and turned violentas protesters threw rocks at police and police shot and killed several protesters, according to TheAssociated Press.

On June 3, multiple explosions killed at least six people who were attending a funeral in Kabul for one of the protesters.

After Ghani's statement Tuesday,The Associated Press reported that a bombkilled at least seven people and wounded eight near a mosque in the city of Herat, which is about 400 miles west of Kabul.

Afghans mourned the loss of family members, friends and colleagues on June 1, 2017, a day after a truck bomb exploded in Kabul.(Photo: The Associated Press)

Arefi, a23-year-old senior majoring in biological sciences,was born in the United States, but her family is from Afghanistan. She has helped organize many interfaith events on campus, recently fundraising for an Islam Awareness Week at ASU.

The vigil, planned from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday at Old Main on the Tempe campus,is open to the public. It will include an opening speech, a moment of silence, speakers from various faith groups, and possibly an open mic where "people from the community can come express their grief and viewpoints," Arefi said.

She will end the event by reciting a spoken-word poem about Afghanistan.

"The point of the vigil is basically to bring awareness and offer those souls a moment of silence, a prayer some peace, hopefully," Arefi said.

READ MORE:

Explosions kill at least 6 attending Kabul funeral

Horrific bombing highlights stalemate in longest U.S. war

Rush-hour bombing near embassies kills 90 in Kabul

Why women wore scarves on World Hijab Day

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#AFGBleeds: ASU students to host vigil for Afghanistan bombing victims - AZCentral.com

The Armys top general said Wednesday that he would support additional troops in Afghanistan and a residual force in Iraq, but hesitated on recommending more troops sent to South Korea.

During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on defense,Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey GrahamArmy chief recommends more troops in Afghanistan, but unsure on Korea Senators press Trump not to return compounds to Russia Senate trying to insert Russia sanctions into popular Iran bill MORE (R-S.C.) asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley if he supports increasing the Armys troop presence in Afghanistan as an insurance policy against another 9/11.

Milley said he would support such an increase but would not offer specific numbers as the Trump administration is still deciding whether to send up to 5,000 more troops to add to the 8,400 currently deployed there.

Graham also asked Milley if he would recommend that America leave a residual force in Iraq should Mosul be taken back from the Islamic State. Milley said he would if the government of Iraq will consider that.

But when asked whether more troops are needed in South Korea as threats from North Korea grow, Milley said that was a very difficult question, full of all kinds of nuances. So I can't think of a yes or no.

Milley added that the situation required forward presence, in the region to respond quickly to any issue not necessarily more troops.

The Armys $166.1 billion fiscal year 2018 request funds a total force of 1,018,000, including 476,000 active-duty soldiers.

The service is primarily focused on building combat readiness for that force rather than growing it, Milley told lawmakers.

A hollow force only puts the Army and the nations security at risk, he said. Combat is very unforgiving and it is even more unforgiving on armies that are not manned, trained, equipped and well-led.

He added, however, that if more money became available and we were able to make sure we could maintain the readiness, we do have an additional request which would increase the end strength capacity of the force.

The chief was referring to the Armys nearly $12.7 billion wish list sent to Congress last week, which asks for 17,000 additional troops.

The list of unfunded weapons, equipment, troops, maintenance and development activities that wasnt included in the services budget request asks for $3.1 billion to pay for training, sustaining, housing and equipping the extra troops.

Milley also said he believes the Army should be a force of 540,000 to 550,000, the Army National Guard an end strength of 350,000 to 355,000, and 205,000 to 209,000 soldiers for the Army Reserve.

Originally posted here:
Army chief recommends more troops in Afghanistan, but unsure on Korea - The Hill