THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, April 15, 2010

MAIL BOAT from 4

is your conscience and the fact that you totally ignored the wishes of “We The People.” The call is, “Destined to Win in 2010.” The theme will be, “Vote them out!” During these difficult times, we need patriotic and freedom lov- ing citizens who will rep- resent us in Congress in a spirit of truth, honor and integrity. The American voters are frustrated, mad as hell, and tired of being completely ignored by the members of Congress. How can they pretend to represent our values? What the American people are hearing is spin, spin, spin, saying whatever it takes to stay in office. Our treasured senior

citizens and baby boom- ers will feel the impact of this bill, making health care and doctors an acute shortage, thus effecting our well being and longev- ity. The next generation will be the ones who will really take a huge hit on health coverage and the spiraling cost that comes with it. The realities of it all will set in and dictate our standard of living and health coverage. Big government wins - the American people lose! But the great consolation is we can repeal this insane bill by putting people in Congress who truly care and love this country, and want only the best for the

MOFFETT from 26

the ubiquitous Kabul road dust, but more likely so that the Taliban couldn’t identify them.

We waited in the Bakwa

compound for reports back from the assault teams. Eventually the objectives were secured and detain- ees were brought back to the Kilo Company position. There were no casualties. Darkside 6 was pleased.

My impromptu hosts were tense and I picked up on their unease when traffic came to a stop. They discussed danger areas and sites of previous bombings. I was in uniform and without a weapon and didn’t relish the notion of having to move on foot with

people. For in the midst of difficulty lies great oppor- tunity. We will seize that moment and prevail! What the American peo- ple expect and demand: Congress must focus on

the economy and saving jobs. That’s key to our prosperity as a nation. We need Fiscally Con- servative members of Con- gress who will stop the out of control spending. Stop the expanding role

of the Federal Govern- ment that is intruding in our lives I l legal immigrat ion needs to be stopped in its tracks. No more excuses. Get it done! Cap and Trade - it will

be the demise of our econ- omy. Countries like China and India will be the bene- ficiaries since they are not capping their emissions. It will be a boom for their economy with manufac- turing jobs going to their respective countries. A strong national de-

fense and security that we will never have another 9/11 on our shores. We demand that our

members of Congress abide by the Constitu- tion and the Bill of Rights following it to the letter. Anything less will be un- acceptable to the Ameri- can people.

Larry Pelland Concord, NH.

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rule of law may be coming anyway. Notably -- in this male-

dominated, largely tribal and xenophobic society -- two American women are a prominent part of the effort to build Afghans’ faith in legitimate gover- nance. Drug Enforcement Administration Adminis- trator Michele Leonhart, here on an inspection visit last week, has committed nearly 100 of her special agents and other special- ists to shutting down the narco-networks that fund the Taliban and govern- ment corruption. Julie Sh- emitz, an experienced fed- eral prosecutor, is in her second year as a U.S. De- partment of Justice senior legal adviser to the most effective law enforcement entity in Afghanistan, the counter-narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force. The ef- forts of these women and their colleagues may well be the key to a positive outcome in Afghanistan. Here’s how it works: DEA intelligence resourc-

es identify “nexus targets” -- individuals involved in the narcotics trade who also are connected to the Taliban and/or engaged in government corruption. Working with Afghanistan’s National Interdiction Unit and special investigations units, the DEA apprehends suspects, and evidence is collected -- usually with

all my stuff. But we eventu- ally closed in on the embas- sy. Traffic stopped again and tension arose. We were in a prime location for trouble, but eventually got to the gate, through the gate, and then to and through yet another gate. Weapons were trained on us at all times. Edgy. Finally we got to yet another gate and my patrons stopped and helped me unload my gear. I was on American soil! I was soon met by reserve Marine LtCol “Fighting Joe” Kenney, a former N.H. state senator and 2008 Republi- can gubernatorial candidate, who was working as mili- tary liaison at the embassy. “Live Free or Die!” said Ken- ney as we shook hands. Kenney escorted me and my gear to his “hooch,” a one

room pre-fabricated struc- ture surrounded by sand- bags on the USAid section of the embassy grounds. I wondered how much he might have preferred to be living at the Bridges House in Concord, the official gov- ernor’s residence. He ar- ranged for an extra bed to be placed in his small hooch and I finally got a good night’s sleep, after five days of travel. I can’t remember if I had vivid dreams that night, but vivid experiences were soon to follow.

Next week – From Kabul

to Camp Leatherneck to a former Taliban stronghold.

the help of U.S. and Afghan special operations units, often in very dangerous circumstances. Detained suspects are

delivered to a dedicated Central Narcotics Tribu- nal in Kabul, where 35 Counter-Narcotics Police investigators, 28 prosecu- tors and 14 special judges adjudicate each case. Over the course of the past six months, more than 260 narco-traffickers have been convicted by the CNT, a success rate of better than 95 percent. The average sentence handed down is 16 years. Hundreds of tons of opium, heroin, mor- phine, hashish and precur- sor chemicals have been destroyed before the Tali- ban could benefit. None of this has been

easy. International donor support for purchasing forensic equipment and training investigators, prosecutors and judges was initially slow in com- ing. Afghan CNT prosecu- tors continue to be woefully underpaid. Some Interna- tional Security Assistance Force military commands still do not comprehend how taking down nexus targets improves security and popular support. Nor is it without risk. Last

October, three DEA agents were killed in action, and

27

last month another was wounded, during an op- eration in Marjah. Judges and prosecutors regularly receive threatening phone calls and attempts at in- timidation. In September 2008, assassins murdered Alim Hanif, the chief judge of the CNT. Yet armored vehicles for transporting key CNT personnel have not been delivered. Despite the dangers and

the difficulties in pulling all this together, those involved on the ground maintain that taking nexus targets off the battlefield is worth the cost. Col. Mike Killion, operations officer for the Marine expedition- ary brigade in Helmand province, says: “Every time they lock up a narco-traf- ficker means somebody we don’t even know won’t plant IEDs. They are saving the lives of our Marines.” High praise from a crusty

warrior and kudos for the work being done by two American women and their colleagues to bring rule of law to Afghanistan. Pay at- tention, Mr. Karzai.

Oliver North is the host of

“War Stories” on Fox News Channel, the founder and honorary chairman of Free- dom Alliance, and the au- thor of “American Heroes.”

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