No surprise this pipeline exploded!

From the FBI Infragard daily alert for 12/23:

2. December 21, Fox News Latino – (International) Pipeline blast won’t affect flow of gasoline, diesel, Pemex says. The pipeline explosion December 19 in central Mexico that killed at least 28 people will not affect gasoline and diesel supplies in the country, Pemex said December 21. The national refining system has sufficient crude on hand to continue producing fuel at normal levels, Pemex said. The explosion was likely caused by fuel theft on a 30-inch segment of the Nuevo Teapa-Venta del Carpio pipeline, investigators said. They found about 100 illegal taps on the pipeline involved in the explosion, the Pemex chief said December 20. The theft of fuel from Pemex pipelines, known in Mexico as “milking,” is common, with individuals and organized crime groups involved in the illegal activity.
Source: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2010/12/21/pipeline-blast-wont-affect-flow-gasoline-diesel-pemex-says/

Netflix users, beware!

This from the FBI's Infragard alert for 12/22:

39. December 21, Help Net Security – (International) Worm blocks access to Facebook. A relatively new worm Symantec named "W32.Yimfoca" presents a never before seen modus operandi. A variant of the worm spreads via Yahoo! Messenger and, once installed, downloads and installs W32.Yimfoca on the target system. Lately, it has been noticed it specifically targets Facebook users by denying them access to their accounts if they do not complete a survey. Every time a user lands on the Facebook homepage, a window offering the surveys pops up. Also, while the victim fills out the survey, a progress bar is shown accompanied by a "threat" - "You have only 3 minutes to fill out the selected survey or you will not have access to your account." Once the user has completed a survey he/she can access his/her account. If the user does not complete the survey within 3 minutes, the worm will not allow him/her to access the account while it is running - and it resets even after a reboot of the infected computer. The worm blocks access to Facebook only if Internet Explorer is being used. Using any other browser fails to trigger the worm and a user can access his/her Facebook account without being sidetracked by pop-ups. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1575

National Council on US-Arab Relations seeks donors

December 2010

Dear National Council Friend and Supporter:

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, established in 1983, is conducting its End of the Year Fundraising Campaign. The goal is to make it possible for the National Council to continue pursuing its educational mission and contributing to the national dialogue on America's relations with the Arab world, and vice versa. I invite you to support the Council's educational programs and activities by making a tax-deductible contribution to this campaign. Your gift will help enable the Council to build as many new bridges, and strengthen as many existing ones, as possible. To this end, it will enhance the Council's ability to expand its signature educational programs and activities - specifically the:
Model Arab League/Arab-U.S. Relations Youth Leadership Development Program for University and High School Students;
Malone Fellowship in Arab and Islamic Studies Program for University Faculty and Armed Services Officers;
Student Arabic Language and Study Abroad Programs;
U.S.-Arab Relations Year-Round and Summer University Student Intern Programs;
Congressional and Public Affairs Briefings; and the
Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.
In order for the National Council to continue making a difference in American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world and Arab-U.S. relations, as well as the need to strengthen and expand the innumerable the positive and mutual benefits of both, your support is especially needed at this time. It is needed not least in light of the mounting doubts and uninformed perspectives by growing numbers of Americans whose questioning of the efficacy of these relationships is grounded largely in irrational fear and unwarranted prejudices that are unfair and cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.

In the eyes of America's foremost charity accrediting agencies, the National Council's transparency, management, and overall fiscal responsibility for administering its resources in the most effective manner possible has attracted coveted national attention. Indeed, the continuing efforts of the Council's board, management, and staff to explore ways to become ever more effective and efficient stewards of contributions received from people like you have not been without positive effect. They have made it possible in the past two years for the Council to be awarded a 4 out of 4 star rating by Charity Navigator, America's premier charity evaluator, for the Council's efficient management and growth of its finances.

Please make your tax-deductible contribution online by clicking here or on the black button to the left or below. The link will lead you to the National Council's secure donation Web site. Alternatively, you may mail a contribution to the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, 1730 M Street, NW, Suite 503, Washington, DC 20036.

Thank you for your time, generosity, and investment in what the National Council seeks to accomplish.

Sincerely,

Dr. John Duke Anthony
President & CEO

US and EU launch new website to combat counterfeiting and piracy

From the EU December News Brief:

In connection with this month's Transatlanti! c Council Meeting in Washington, DC, a new joint EU-US website was launched to help businesses across the Atlantic – particularly small and medium-sized enterprises – protect and enforce their intellectual property rights in foreign markets around the world.

"Improved IPR protection and enforcement will result in greater employment prospects and economic growth," said European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship. "Counterfeiting and piracy cause great damage to businesses, not least to small and medium size enterprises. Both the EU and US are committed to helping companies compete fairly on both sides of the Atlantic."

EU launches a new website in fight against human trafficking

From the December EU News Brief:

The European Commission launched a new website dedicated to the fight against trafficking in human beings.

"Trafficking in human beings is an extremely serious crime and a gross violation of human rights, which can be classified as a modern form of slavery," said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. "My intention with this website is to raise awarenes! s of the problem and to show what is being done at EU-level and in the Member States to fight this injustice. It is my hope that the website will also help to promote exchange of ideas and cooperation between all organizations and people involved in the fight against trafficking in human beings and the protection of victims."

The European Commission also appointed Ms. Myria Vassiliadou to serve as the first EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator.

EU Ambassador to US calls for new forms of international cooperation

From the December EU News Brief:

Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, Head of the European Union Delegation to the United States, discussed EU-US relations at the European Institute in Washington, DC. Noting that this is a moment in history when the pace of change is accelerating, he stressed the importance of new forms of international coope! ration and collective governance to deal with the challenges of globalization. "The principle of 'shared problems, shared solutions' has been at the heart of the European project for the last 50 years. In a sense, we have already managed a 'regional globalization', one that could usefully serve as a model for the rest of the world," he said.

He added that "in shaping these new forms of global governance, we, the United States and Europe, need to decide if we want the world to be shaped by our values of freedom, democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights. If that is the case, as I am sure it should be, then we must work together, combine our efforts and maximize our influence. For that to happen, we need to set aside our differences, concentrate on what unites us and move forward with a positive agenda, making full use of the potential of each of our member states as well as the EU as a whole."

Reflecting on the agonies of Afghanistan

I'm spending some time time, during this holiday season, reflecting on the 30 years of misery that have been Afghanistan's current history and present state. I'm revisiting some books I read before and reading/viewing some new stuff.

The communist take-over of the country in the late 1970s, and the diaspora that resulted, are well documented in "The Kite Runner," a powerful book and a not-so-powerful film.



When the communist regime began to falter under assault by Jihadists, the Soviet Union sent in more than 100,000 troops to prop up the swaying regime. This gave the CIA its chance to engineer a Vietnam-style debacle for the Soviet Union. The USSR lost 25,000 dead and many more wounded and sickened soldiers, before finally retreating. The collapse of the "Evil Empire" followed swiftly. This is chronicled in fascinating detail by "Charlie Wilson's War," which was made into a reasonably good film with an outstanding cast.



Here's my review of the film, published on The History Place:
By Jim Castagnera
Special to The History Place
12/23/07

Charles Nesbitt Wilson, aka Good Time Charlie, served the Second Congressional District of Texas from 1973 until 1996. Reputedly a hard-drinking womanizer, Charlie Wilson is remembered in a couple of books, and as of Friday, December 21st, in a new Mike Nichols films mainly for funding covert arms to the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan. In the summer of 1980, while California Governor Ronald Reagan was making his second bid for the White House, Wilson reportedly read an Associated Press story about Afghan refugees fleeing into Pakistan to escape slaughter by the invading Russians. In the film, Wilson visits a refugee camp, where the children-amputees, in particular, move him into action.

That action, as a member of the House of Representatives Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, was to double the CIA's "black ops" funds for the Afghan resistance. If Wilson was the Mujahedeen's Lone Ranger, his Tonto was CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, the son of a Greek-immigrant soda manufacturer from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Avrakotos aggressively lobbied Congress for his cause, the defeat of the Russians. His tactic was simple: arm the resistance with Stinger missiles. The math, as Tom Hanks, portraying Wilson, points out to his subcommittee colleagues, is just as simple: a Soviet aircraft costs something in excess of $20 million; a Stinger costs something less than $70 thousand. Go figure.

The Charlie Wilson-Gust Avrakotos partnership stands on its own as the stuff of great buddy/adventure films. What makes the Mike Nichols take on their enterprise highly entertaining is the satirical way in which Director Nichols tells their tale. The film opens with Wilson/Hanks in a Las Vegas hot tub with naked showgirls. Throughout the film Hanks and co-star Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Avrakotos) exchange quips and jibes ala Crosby and Hope in a 'Road' movie. For Dorothy Lamour, substitute Julia Roberts. Roberts portrays Joanne Herring, a born-again rich girl from East Texas, who sleeps with Wilson, raises funds to bring down the Soviet Union, is the Honorary Consul to Pakistan, and refers to the Congressman's all-female staff as "sluts."

The humor in Charlie Wilson's War is welcome in the wake of a long series of grim post-9/11 films I've reviewed which include several about the fateful day itself, as well as Spielberg's gory and morally ambivalent Munich, and such cynical works of film-fiction as Syriana and The Kingdom.

Still, Nichols never lets us stray too far from the realities of war and real politics. Charlie Wilson is not the only one whose eyes fill with tears at the sight of Afghan toddlers lacking limbs, because they picked up devices they thought were toys. One refugee-camp worker tells the Congressman, "The Russians know that it's harder to deal with a wounded child than a dead one." And so, the implication runs, better to scatter small explosives, that sever arms and legs, rather than lethal mines.

Upon the Soviet evacuation of Afghanistan, Avrakotos, ever the realist, savors the ultimate victory at a party thrown by Wilson only briefly, before cautioning the Congressman that a Soviet-free Afghanistan must be rebuilt. Gust tells his sidekick in a balcony scene, the party in full flare behind them, that the radical fundamentalists are moving into the political vacuum left by the Russian retreat.

In the end, Wilson is depicted struggling ineffectively to pry a million or two from his subcommittee to rebuild Afghan schools. "We always leave," he complains to his colleagues' deaf ears. Did Wilson really say that? Did he really see what was in store for a liberated Afghanistan? Or are Nichols and Aaron (The West Wing) Sorkin, who scripted the film, exercising poetic license with 20/20 hindsight?

No matter, Charlie Wilson's War, ends the laughter and elation of victory with the ominous foreshadowing of the Taliban terror in the offing. The look on Charlie Wilson's face, as his Congressional colleagues decline to invest so much as a measly million in the Afghan infrastructure, is reminiscent of the look on Dustin Hoffman's face at the end of the Nichols classic, The Graduate. Hoffman, having just run off with the love of his life, sits with her at the back of a bus, her groom and half her wedding party panting along behind them. Both Hanks and Hoffman tell filmgoers, "There's worse to come."

I can recall reading back in 1969 a magazine article speculating about what that look might have meant for Hoffman's graduate: the military draft, criminal charges of one sort or another brought by his girlfriend's fiancée and their families, financial destitution. With regard to Afghanistan no such speculation is necessary. Uncle Sam is there today and is likely to remain there for the foreseeable future, finishing the job only half accomplished by the vanquishing of the Soviet army.

A final note: Almost as intriguing as the film itself are the video clips included on the movie's official Website. These include snippets from a 1988 60 Minutes profile of the real Good Time Charlie, firing a machine gin and riding horseback in native costume on the Pakistan-Afghan border, as well as bits from Courage Is Our Weapon, the propaganda film produced by Joanne Herring in 1981.

Charlie Wilson's War may rekindle the controversy about how big a role he, and for that matter Ronald Reagan and the "Reagan Doctrine" of opposing the Soviets everywhere, played in the crumbling of the Evil Empire. But the 60 Minutes and Courage clips attest to the fact that Wilson, Herring, and Avrakotos were real-life Cold Warriors extraordinaire.

Rated R for strong language, nudity/sexual content and some drug use.

Jim Castagnera is the Associate Provost/Associate Counsel at Rider University. His novel about 19th and 21st century terrorists is available at www.lulu.com

Then, of course, the Jihadists dislodged the Commies and the Taliban took over. Afghanistan became "terrorism central" with the climax coming on 9/11. Next came the US invasion. This war has been going on for some 9 years now. In 2009 it was thoroughly documented by two terrific writers.



Here is my review of "Restrepo":

By Jim Castagnera
Special to The History Place
7/5/10

Sebastian Junger hit the big time 13 years ago with The Perfect Storm, a non-fiction best-seller that morphed into a major motion picture starring no less a celestial light than George Clooney. Some reviewers dubbed Junger the new Hemingway. But since then, his output – at least on the bookshelves – has been modest. Fire was a collection of magazine articles, notably including a few on America's Afghan War. A Death in Belmont came next. A combination childhood memoir and murder mystery, the book recounts the Junger family's proximity to the Boston Strangler killings and speculates on whether Albert DeSalvo was 'who done it.'

With Restrepo and a new book entitled War, Junger raises his Afghan reporting for Vanity Fair from journalism to art. Reviewing War for The Washington Post back in May, Philip Caputo, whose 1977 A Rumor of War captured the grunt’s reality in Vietnam, wrote: “He thus becomes a kind of 21st-century battle singer, narrating the deeds and misdeeds of his heroes while explaining what makes them do what they do. These reflections, drawing on his wide-ranging research into military history, biology and psychology as well as on his personal experiences, overreach once or twice. Otherwise, it's the best writing I've seen on the subject since J. Glenn Gray's 1959 classic, 'The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle.' "

Caputo might also have mentioned War Historian John Keegan’s 1976 The Face of Battle, another Yeoman’s effort at putting our imaginations alongside the boots on the ground. But what now distinguishes Junger from all of these predecessors is Restrepo. Virtually a companion piece to War, the film was reportedly self-financed by Junger, until National Geographic stepped up to the plate late in the game. Tim Hetherington, Junger’s photographer on the Vanity Fair pieces, shares credit as co-director. The title derives from the outpost in the viciously contested Korengal Valley, where the two journalists/filmmakers were embedded. The base was named after a combat medic, Pfc. Juan Restrepo, who had been killed in action. As Junger told news media enroute to winning an award at the Sundance Film Festival, "It's a completely apolitical film. We wanted to give viewers the experience of being in combat with soldiers, and so our cameras never leave their side. There are no interviews with generals; there is no moral or political analysis. It is a purely experiential film."

This, in my view, is both the strength and the weakness of the 93-minute film. On one hand, you are indeed there. Restrepo includes some great battle footage. Its directors obviously took some serious chances to take us into the fray. The downtime scenes also are instructive. One gets the sense that these soldiers – who, after all, did volunteer for this experience – sometimes missed the action, when the boredom of garrison life took hold.

But, at the same time, these men cannot escape the horrors of war. The interviews with individual soldiers, that intersperse the film, are very revealing. For instance, one enlisted man confides that he's tried four or five different sleeping pills and he still can't sleep. He adds that, actually, he no longer wants to sleep, because he relives the bad parts in his dreams.

We also see scenes in which the CO meets with village elders, assuring them that, if the Taliban are subdued, a road will be built. With it will come newfound prosperity. When the elders ask, what about the civilian dead we've endured, the CO says that happened on his predecessor's watch and they need to get past it.

No narration accompanies these powerful words and images. No experts – no talking heads – help us make sense of what we are seeing and hearing. This to some degree is also the film's greatest weakness. Junger, in an interview, indicated that the soldiers seldom discussed policy. Granting that in a Republic such as ours, this role falls to our elected civilian leaders, still some reflection on the meaning of it all would seem to be healthy.

Of course, this soldierly contemplation can't be done out loud, risk-free, in a public forum – as General Stanley McChrystal learned the hard way following his disastrous interview with Rolling Stone. All the same, McChrystal’s self-destruction may not have been a useless gesture. His doubts about the war's prospects are informative, and therefore valuable. Restrepo gives us a look at the adrenalin rush of combat, the occasional flashes of bloodlust that presumably accompany any military campaign, and the intense bonding and camaraderie of camp life.

But do the soldiers care – should they care – about the apparent futility of the 50 lives lost in taking and holding Restrepo? The outpost has since been abandoned. The promised road has never been built. The parallels to Caputo’s Vietnam, as he noted in his review of War, seem more and more compelling. Was Restrepo the Outpost another Hamburger Hill? If so, shouldn't Restrepo the Film explore that overarching issue, even if, as in McChrystal’s interview, the line between military and civilian roles is crossed?

The Hurt Locker, 2009’s Best Picture, which I also reviewed for The History Place, presents its director's point of view. When the protagonist finds it impossible to reintegrate into his former home life and returns instead to the war in Iraq, we get the message. Junger and Hetherington deliberately try to avoid interjecting a point of view. I wonder if they have been a bit too hands-off here, given that their film stands almost alone as a cinematic voice in the crucial national debate about the future of America's Afghan incursion.

Bottom line, I’d like to make three points.

One: For a taste of what the war in Afghanistan is like for the American combat troops, who experience it every day of their tours, this film can’t be beaten. We owe the filmmakers a debt of gratitude for risking their necks to take us there.

Two: If you want some help in making sense of what you will see on the screen, you should read War, either before or after you see the film. The book makes up for the deficiencies of the film that I have suggested in this review.

Three: If you want to see Restrepo on a big screen, you had better act quickly. In the whole of my hometown of Philadelphia, I was able to find it playing in only one downtown art house. I doubt it will be around for long. (However Netflix promises that it will be available soon, in case you can't find it in a theater near you.)
Rated R for language throughout including some descriptions of violence.

Jim Castagnera is the author of "Al Qaeda Goes to College: Impact of the War on Terror on American Higher Education" (Praeger 2009) and Handbook for Student Law (Peter Lang 2010). He is a Philadelphia lawyer and journalist. Visit his Webpage.

Jon Krakauer's book about Pat Tillman is my most recent armchair foray into Afghanistan and is also the best so far.