According to intelligence reports, Pakistan Army and ISI, their spy service, are directly involved with supporting, plotting, and carrying out attacks on American soldiers.

Chairman of the Republican Party Michael Steele made some awkward comments about Obama’s policy in Afghanistan, irking the right wing. With reaction from the left no better, we see that the War in Afghanistan is simply not a left/right issue at all.

Part of understanding propaganda is knowing its intended audience. The recent Pentagon leak on Afghanistan’s mineral wealth is no different. While it appears desperate and comical, it is highly effective and specifically targeted propaganda.

Fifty-eight congressional candidates and 20 activist organizations are opposing any more funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and inviting more candidates, incumbents, and organizations to join them.  The 58 candidates, from 25 different states, include 19 Democrats, 18 Greens, 17 Libertarians, 2 Independents, 1 Republican, and 1 Socialist.

The government is broken, in Afghanistan and the United States, and if we don’t use government the way it’s supposed to function, if we continue to play media games with our politics, the death toll will only get worse.

McChrystal and Eikenberry’s plan for measuring progress is absolutely required if we care at all about the truth in Afghanistan. However, the variable in this plan is not necessarily the ability to produce these assessments, but access to the reliable, accurate information sources which provide the backbone of these assessments.

The alleged Times Square Bomber, Faisal Shahzad, has apparently claimed that the US drone strikes in Pakistan were part of his motivation to carry out the failed car bomb attack. This has brought on a serious, thought-provoking discussion by many in the foreign policy community on whether or not, or rather how exactly, the war in Afghanistan provides impetus for terrorist attacks against the United States and our allies. Since Shahzad brought it up, we should look at how the policy of drone strikes affects us personally.

California’s budget crisis is actually much less than they’re spending on the war in Afghanistan. $26 billion for the budget vs $38 billion for war. And what do they get for it? It’s not better to live in California thanks to the war. It’s actually getting much, much worse.

Mayhill Fowler, formerly with the Huffington Post’s OffTheBus program, has crossed the line from gossipy blogger to citizen journalist covering the war in Afghanistan. She’s advocating for a radical policy like military aggression in Afghanistan and Pakistan in complete ignorance. And she admits it!

Rather than spending billions of your tax dollars on the war, tell politicians how they could take just a little of that and have a big impact in your community and return the “Peace Dividend.”