Oh, Beautiful

From an article in the Seattle Times, published by the New York Times on October 23, 2017
The song lyrics were added by me.  The concept was introduced by Paul Simon.

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,

Two unnamed Senior Officials said today that the CIA is expanding its covert operations in Afghanistan,

For amber waves of grain,

sending small teams of highly experienced officers and contractors alongside Afghan forces

For purple mountain majesties

to hunt and kill Taliban militants across the country.

Above the fruited plain!

Who are these contractors, and how much are they being paid?  Is this the new career path for Army and Marine veterans?  Serve one or two tours in country, then retire, then come back as a member of a kill team?  Do they also hire mercenaries from other countries, like Russia?

America! America!

How do our troops feel about these mercenaries?  What do the Afghan soldiers think about it?  How does their pay compare?

God shed his grace on thee,

Since 2001, at least 18 CIA personnel have died in Afghanistan.  In recent months, 1,662 civilians have died, with 3,581 wounded, as a result of increased violence in Afghanistan.

And crown thy good with brotherhood

The CIA’s expanded role will augment missions carried out by military units, meaning more of the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan will be hidden from public view.

From sea to shining sea.

The CIA declined to comment on its expanded role in Afghanistan… :-{)}

Open Borders

This latest in a series of reports on documents issued by the Government Accountability Office is about Border Patrol agent assignments in the Southwest, and it’s an eye-opener.  The link is: http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/688200.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

I read this stuff so you don’t have to, and most of it is forgotten immediately, but this one is interesting:  As of May 2017, nationwide, Border Patrol had about 1,900 fewer agents than authorized, which officials cited as a key challenge for optimal agent deployment. In recent years, attrition has exceeded hiring (an average of 904 agents compared to 523 agents) according to officials.

It goes on to note that some 42% of individuals apprehended while trying to cross the border were caught within a mile of the border itself in 2016, while in 2012 that figure was 24%.  It also notes that part of the reason for that is the kids who are sent across the border and told to surrender immediately, but it’s pretty obvious that the main reason is the lack of agents.  If you’re running the border, your chances go way up if you make it the first mile.  Anybody want to ask if the people who make money running the border pay attention to these reports?

So what the hell is going on in the ranks of the Border Patrol that damn near double the number of agents they were able to hire quit over the same period of time?  Is this why the idea of a wall is sounding good to some folks?  Is it just the Southwest division, or is this happening all over?

Personally, I think people ought to be able to go anywhere they damn well please any time they want, and that borders are a particularly vicious invention designed to keep the people of the world at each others’ throats, and not those of the ones who really run things, and make all the profit.  But I realize that the concept of Open Borders is a futility until we solve the problem of why some people are so desperate to get the hell away from where they were born at any cost.

That problem has proven to be a thorny one, indeed.  Ah, but when we do solve it, when the entire world is open to our visitation and exploration, when all the people who live there are happy and comfortable and glad to see us, just like we are glad to see them when they come to our town, wouldn’t that be wonderful indeed?  What’s it going to take to make that happen? :-{)}