While US media was discovering that St. McCain is not so saintly and missing the big story of FISA, they forgot to notice that George Bush went to Africa to discuss AFRICOM. There’s some superb coverage of events in Africa on the blog of the ONE Campaign and ONE is asking everyone to sign a petition tonight to the presidential candidates asking them to pledge to go to Africa during their first term if elected and to address the serious needs of people there.

On Bush’s trip, he seemed to back away from his plan to establish US military bases in Africa, retaining the central command for AFRICOM in Germany instead. Strong resistance from African leaders who do not want to become the next battleground as Bush and friends seek control of oil resources have been successful for the moment but it will be important for folks to push the next administration to provide humanitarian support to Africa while resisting attempts to militarize our involvement there. A great resource for staying on top of these issues is Resist Africom which is supported by friends like the Hip Hop Caucus and the always insightful Foreign Policy in Focus.

While we stay aware of the potential of future wars for oil on the African continent, the air war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues. This week’s New York Times magazine features a must read view from Afghanistan in Elizabeth Rubin’s article Battle Company Is Out There.

I went to Afghanistan last fall with a question: Why, with all our technology, were we killing so many civilians in air strikes? As of September of last year, according to Human Rights Watch, NATO was causing alarmingly high numbers of civilian deaths — 350 by the coalition, compared with 438 by the insurgents. The sheer tonnage of metal raining down on Afghanistan was mind-boggling: a million pounds between January and September of 2007, compared with half a million in all of 2006.

Rubin’s account of her time with the Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in the Korengal Valley is horrifying view of the breakdown of american forces and the increase of civilian casualties. These troops have been in Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times, often stop-lossed and suffering from PTSD, their commanding officer describes one who:

popped out of the HQ cursing and muttering. “Medicated,” Kearney said. “Last tour, if you didn’t give him information, he’d burn down your house. He killed so many people. He’s checked out.”

With a clearly impossible task, the Battle Company experience is the stuff of a surreal play – but with all too real people dying. One soldier tells Rubin after an ambush in which several of his comrades had died:

As Giunta said, “The richest, most-trained army got beat by dudes in manjammies and A.K.’s.” His voice cracked. He was not just hurting, he was in a rage. And there was nothing for him to do with it but hold back his tears, and bark — at the Afghans for betraying them, at the Army for betraying them. He didn’t run to the front because he was a hero. He ran up to get to Brennan, his friend. “But they” — he meant the military — “just keep asking for more from us.” His contract would be up in 18 days but he had been stop-lossed and couldn’t go home. Brennan himself was supposed to have gotten out in September. He’d been planning to go back to Wisconsin where his dad lived, play his guitar and become a cop.

Sandifer was questioning why they were sticking it out in the Korengal when the people so clearly hated them. He was haunted by Mendoza’s voice calling to him: “I’m bleeding out. I’m dying.” He worried that the Korengal was going to push them off the deep end. In his imagination it had already happened. One day an Afghan visited their fire base, Sandifer told me. “I was staring at him, on the verge of picking up my weapon to shoot him,” he said. “I know right from wrong, but even if I did shoot him everyone at the fire base would have been O.K. We’re all to the point of ‘Lord of the Flies.’ ” And they still had 10 months to go in the Korengal.

Meanwhile, in Iraq once again Green Zone and US forces have proven unable or unwilling to protect pilgrims as they make their way to Karbala with at least 40 killed by a bomb in a refreshment tent while Sec of Defense Robert Gates has the gall to say of the Turkish invasion of Northern Iraq (h/t Gorillas Guides):

“I think it’s important for everybody to bear in mind the importance of the sovereignty of Iraq,” he said.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

Video: a youtube shot from an Apache gunship hitting targets in the area described in the NYT article.

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  3. Doing it Right in Afghanistan: You and Whose Army?
  4. When the Women of Afghanistan Speak, Does Howard Dean Listen?
  5. The Real Price in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza