It was reported on Tuesday that Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal will be taking over command of US forces in Afghanistan, pending Senate approval.
McChrystal is presently director of the Joint Chiefs staff, but from September 2003 to August 2008, he headed the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which oversees such elite units as the Army's Delta Force and the Navy SEALs.
Famed investigative reporter Seymour Hersh recently described the JSOC as an "executive assassination wing" controlled for many years by the office of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Speaking to a University of Minnesota audience in March, Hersh called JSOC "a special wing of our special operations community that is set up independently. ... They do not report to anybody, except in the Bush-Cheney days, they reported directly to the Cheney office. ... Congress has no oversight of it. ... It’s an executive assassination ring essentially, and it’s been going on and on and on."
Although McChrystal's efforts with JSOC were not widely reported at the time, Newsweek did run a brief article on him in June 2006:
No one would have mentioned his name at all if President George W. Bush hadn't singled him out in public. Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, West Point '76, is not someone the Army likes to talk about. He isn't even listed in the directory at Fort Bragg, N.C., his home base. That's not because McChrystal has done anything wrong—quite the contrary, he's one of the Army's rising stars—but because he runs the most secretive force in the U.S. military. That is the Joint Special Operations Command, the snake-eating, slit-their-throats "black ops" guys who captured Saddam Hussein and targeted Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.
JSOC is part of what Vice President Dick Cheney was referring to when he said America would have to "work the dark side" after 9/11. To many critics, the veep's remark back in 2001 fostered his rep as the Darth Vader of the war on terror and presaged bad things to come, like the interrogation abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay. But America also has its share of Jedi Knights who are fighting in what Cheney calls "the shadows." And McChrystal, an affable but tough Army Ranger, and the Delta Force and other elite teams he commands are among them. ...
Rumsfeld is especially enamored of McChrystal's "direct action" forces or so-called SMUs—Special Mission Units—whose job is to kill or capture bad guys, say Pentagon sources who would speak about Special Ops only if they were not identified. But critics say the Pentagon is short-shrifting the "hearts and minds" side of Special Operations that is critical to counterinsurgency—like training foreign armies and engaging with locals.
McChrystal, however, may not be quite as much of a white knight as Newsweek made him out to be. A far less flattering impression of him is given by an Esquire article which ran at the same time as the Newsweek piece. This article details revelations by a military interrogator, "Jeff," about the use of torture "at a secret camp used by Task Force 121, the ultimate Special Ops team, the elite titanium tip of Donald Rumsfeld's spear."
It was a point of pride that the Red Cross would never be allowed in the door, Jeff says. This is important because it defied the Geneva Conventions, which require that the Red Cross have access to military prisons. "Once, somebody brought it up with the colonel. 'Will they ever be allowed in here?' And he said absolutely not. He had this directly from General McChrystal and the Pentagon that there's no way that the Red Cross could get in--they won't have access and they never will. This facility was completely closed off to anybody investigating, even Army investigators."
Given Task Force 121's history, that was a remarkable promise. Formed in the summer of 2003, it quickly became notorious. By August the CIA had already ordered its officers to avoid Camp Nama. Then two Iraqi men died following encounters with Navy Seals from Task Force 121--one at Abu Ghraib and one in Mosul--and an official investigation by a retired Army colonel named Stuart Herrington, first reported in The Washington Post, found evidence of widespread beatings. "Everyone knows about it," one Task Force officer told Herrington. Six months later, two FBI agents raised concerns about suspicious burn marks and other signs of harsh treatment. Then the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency reported that his men had seen evidence of prisoners with burn marks and bruises and once saw a Task Force member "punch [the] prisoner in the face to the point the individual needed medical attention."
Fred Kaplan at Slate and Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish have already noted Task Force 121's involvement in harsh interrogations and General McChrystal's apparent protection of the abuses. Hopefully, these questions about McChrystal will not be overlooked during his confirmation hearings.
-- Muriel Kane
Tags: assassination, mcchrystal, torture
Many 'secret' operations
paid for by us
done in our names
that we must NEVER know about
because we would object...
Government is perfect.
Patrick Daniel Tillman
OBAMA IS NOT WHAT HE PURPORTS TO BE.
HE IS NOT IN CONTROL OF THE MILITARY AND AT THE MERCY OF THIS DEFACTO SHADOW GOV'T.....
WAKE UP PEOPLE.
KUCINICH 2012
Great vetting here.
I am so ashamed to be an American thanks to all of these militant/fascist right-wingers.
The Dems better do a lot more cleaning house or else nothing will change. And letting the generals create our foreign policy strategies will result in endless war.
And I'm starting to doubt that an endless war chasing down & killing religious extremists is such a great idea.
We've trained hundreds of thousands of military & police in Iraq, so we should be done there. And Afghanistan is a big empty country, impossible to police. And Pakistan has a 700,000 strong army, that should be able to handle a few thousand Taliban.
I think its time to cut our losses & concentrate on our own problems.
Right click and save this article will most likely dissapear from topic.
Just what is stopping this general from pointing that elite group at congres or the president. This is oviously a clear and present danger.
Well, we have some great reporting but to what conclusion, again. The senators will play partisan politics as the general gets his confirmation hearing. Lots of noise on the talk shows then business as usual. Along the way we choose to forget that we are the same as the enemy with the Task Force 121 tactics.
It's very problematic when it's people like Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush who decide who's a "bad guy." But is anybody surprised to find out the US government is running its own death squads?
I'm pretty much ibn agreement, Gus, but I'm afraid that "we" are "the enemy" in this and almost (if not) every other similarcase in memory. Sure, it's tough to come to terms with the fact that we're living in a fascist state, but we've got to face it and then see if we can actually do anything about it. Sad state of affairs indeed...
We, UK, and Australia have become the New Reich! Evil prevails in our Government and no one is held accountable!
[...] here comes the Death Squad commander with a liking for torture- Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal will be taking over command of US forces in Afghanistan, pending Senate [...]
One of my good friends is a Navy Seal Master Chief. I know for a fact that his team ran assassination squads in Afghanistan. They were given names of top Taliban leaders and recruiters, given itelligence on where to find them, then sent out to kill them. I don't know if his team was part of Task Force 121, but I wouldn't be surprised. His team was the team that captured or killed more Taliban leaders than any other.
[...] via The Raw Story » Did newly announced top Afghan general run Cheney’s assassination wing?. [...]
[...] leave a comment » 12 May 09 | Raw Story [...]
We can only hope General McChrystal did work closely with Vice President Cheney, because if so, his appointment and elevation by the Community Activist speaks volumes about how that person has final awoken to the fact that his liberal appointees are only making things worse, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and most of all in the USA, and he probably needs to bring capable people into his orbit. Let's hope McChrystal is only the first step. John Bolton next, perhaps?
I am not knowledgeable enough to condemn or vindicate McChrystal, but it seems as if this article glosses over the most important reason that he's being brought in - because he is an effective general in dealing with counterinsurgency efforts. He was responsible for operations that hunted down and killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and supports the "neighborhood policing" efforts by the U.S. military that have been successful in reducing civilian casualties in Iraq.
The unfortunate fact seems to be that the people who may be best equipped to fight Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan may be people who did work on the "dark side" under Cheney. That doesn't excuse the evil that Cheney begat, but realistically the Vietnam-style tactics being used in Afghanistan aren't cutting the mustard. This is an overdue change in command, and if it means that we're injuring fewer civilians in Afghanistan and getting more of the "bad guys," then perhaps this is a change for the better.
Don't give U. S. military too much credit for reducing civilian casualties. They killed more civilians than terrorists or soldiers. The reason civilian casualties dropped was because ethnic cleansing worked and because the Army bribed the Sunni tribal leaders to support the Shiite government.
To dream that we are going to define success in the region in our own terms is to display arrogance and ignorance. The militarists, civilian and military, that have implement foreign policy are war criminals pure and simple. They don't belong with their families.
Note the topics & threads that the paid 'opposition' fear the most.
[...] McChrystal will be taking over command of US forces in Afghanistan, pending Senate approval. full story (No Ratings Yet) Related posts:Hersh: ‘Executive assassination ring’ reported [...]
You mean like how they assassinated Pat Tillman?
This is a perfect choice for a "new direction" (According to Obama) as well as "new ideas" (Also according to Obama). His methods, and those under his command, worked so well, he got promoted and will be taking his show on the road to Afghanistan. Guess that means he will "disappear" the entire Taliban threat. I agree that Obama is not in charge of the military, but would go far as to state he is not in charge of anything. He is charismatic, smart (everyone keeps saying that) but he is still a puppet. He put a sadist in charge and that man will be bringing his minions with him.
[...] Did newly announced top Afghan general run Cheney’s assassination wing? By codheadiom It was reported on Tuesday that Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal will be taking over command of... [...]
Look at the picture of General Psycho McChrystal.
It figures that he shot Tillman in the face three times and then pissed on his corpse.
To John Turd Blossom :^(
Dear Moron, 911 attacks were not planned, authorized or carried out by arabs.
If your that dumb,here it is--America allowed and did it to ITSELF.
So,the Invasions, killings and TORTURE were done on innocent folks.How would you like it,if your children or mother is tortured by pirates? Huh?
Thanks for the heads up! For a quick reference to over 1000 organized document and source links on the corrupt war on terror, please check out and collaborate with
http://infowardocs.org
George in Toronto,
While I agree with you completely that Arabs had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, you do nothing to advance the spread of truth when you insult people. Frustrating though it may be, your viewpoints will be much better served by focusing on the issues, rather than the people talking about them. Furthermore, if you must resort to name calling, may I suggest that before calling somebody "dumb" you acquaint yourself with the differences between the words "your" and "you're".
Pot Kettle Please check out this video posted on this site-it hits a normal person in the gut.
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Find-Freedom.htm?At=0056883&From=News
So we agree, that no Arabs did 911 attacks and you want me to leave the Israel Firsters alone. How many times does Israel have to Kick America's ass before she wakes up?
FYI: There is only one religious group that is well known to be-Pathological liars.They own the media,Banks,Government, Industry,country and you POTS :^(
[...] via The Raw Story » Did newly announced top Afghan general run Cheney’s assassination wing? [...]
[...] McChrystal is presently director of the Joint Chiefs staff, but from Septembe... [...]
[...] http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/05/did-newly-announced-top-afghan-general-run-cheneys-assassination-wi... [...]
[...] Did Newly Announced Top Afghan General Run Cheney’s Assassination Wing? [...]
[...] efforts and mass bombing innocent children and women and nominating Cheney’s attack dog and assassination squad leader to run the Afghan war efforts rather than stop them as he promised, calling the NZ [...]
[...] by Muriel Kane, from Raw Story [...]
[...] More treason. The Raw Story
[...] Originally Posted by Disley More treason. The Raw Story
[...] by Muriel Kane, from Raw Story [...]
[...] Kane [Raw Story / Luftpost KL] … Hat der neu ernannte kommandierende General für Afghanistan Cheneys [...]
[...] but tough Army Ranger, and the Delta Force and other elite teams he commands are among them. ... The Raw Story Did newly announced top Afghan general run Cheney