Mike Mullen Visits Front Line of Afghan War

KABUL: Mike Mullen Visits Front Line of Afghan War, The top U.S. military officer on Thursday visited the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, where he advised troops to “focus on the people of this country.”

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made his first stop at a small base where U.S. forces have taken heavy losses since arriving in August. The Army’s 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry has suffered 21 killed and 40 wounded — out of a group of roughly 800 — in the short time it has been deployed.

But troops have also made inroads against Taliban supply lines in the critical Kandahar province.

Mullen told the troops that the way to win is to focus on protecting major population areas and ensuring that Afghans can move freely in their own country.

“We can tactically win, but if we’re killing local civilians were going to strategically lose,” he warned. “I hope more than anything you will be able to focus on the people of this country. That’s what this is all about.”

Mullen said the southern region of Afghanistan, a traditional Taliban stronghold, “is absolutely vital to our national interests because of the risk that still exists here.”

The brigade commander, Col. Jonathan Neumann, said his soldiers have begun to get better tips from the locals and are learning how to find and avoid deadly roadside bombs.

In the brigade’s first 100 days on the ground, Neumann said, it counted more than 300 “enemy engagements,” including improvised explosive devices and direct and indirect weapons fire. But the brigade has not hit a roadside bomb in about a month, he said.

Morale in his unit remains high, Neumann said: “There hasn’t been a necessity to call a time-out.”

Mullen was making several stops at smaller Army and Marine bases in southern Afghanistan Thursday, asking troops on the front line what they need as the U.S. begins sending 30,000 more troops into the country.

---

Mike Mullen Visits Front Line of Afghan War was first posted on December 17, 2009 at 3:35 pm.

Ranbir Kapoor All Set To Join The Bollywood Brawn Brigade!

MUMBAI : With hits like ‘Wake Up Sid’, ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’and ‘Rocket Singh’, Ranbir Kapoor has arrived with a bang as the dashing actor gets catapulted into the league of B-town superstars!

Done with playing the boy-next-door roles, this mushy actor has finally set his eyes on ‘coming of age’ roles and will be leaving his scrawny image for a brawny one. It is believed that the actor is contemplating developing a sinewy physique for upcoming projects. Ranbir wants to go for mature roles and therefore wants to flaunt a well sculpted hot body, much like his contemporaries.

Grapevine has that Siddharth Anand’s ‘Anjana Anjani’ and Imtiaz Ali’snext flick requires a strong image.

Talking to a news daily, a source said, “Both the characters require Ranbirto play a man and not a boy. In all his films so far he has played a boy just stepping into maturity and facing the hardships of life. In ‘Anjana Anjani’he plays a man on the move and must match his physical appearance withPriyanka Chopra who’s chronologically older than Ranbir and therefore automatically perceived to be older than him by the audience.”

As for Imtiaz Ali’s flick, for the first time Ranbir will portray the character of an intense lover.

Of late, the actor is busy pumping iron to build a fantabulous body as Ranbirhimself confirms, “Yes I am beefing up my physique for next year. Change is good, don’t you think?”

---

Ranbir Kapoor All Set To Join The Bollywood Brawn Brigade! was first posted on December 14, 2009 at 1:31 pm.
©2009 “India News“.

Obama, Hu Jintao Press Conference Held In China (VIDEO): Leaders Talk Economy, Iran, North Korea, Tibet, And Taiwan

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com BEIJING — President Barack Obama says that China’s partnership has helped the United States pull out of the worst recession in a generation. Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao appeared together and spoke to reporters after a pair of meetings on Tuesday

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com BEIJING — President Barack Obama says that China’s partnership has helped the United States pull out of the worst recession in a generation.
Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao appeared together and spoke to reporters after a pair of meetings on Tuesday. Obama says a revised economic approach will help increase U.S. [...]

Dirk Nowitzki’s Game-Winning Shot (VIDEO)

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Dirk Nowitzki’s Game-Winning Shot (VIDEO):With the game tied at 113 and just 3.1 seconds remaining in overtime, it appeared that the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks were headed to double OT. Dirk Nowitzki had other plans, however, and tossed up a fallaway shot from 18 feet out.

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Dirk Nowitzki’s Game-Winning Shot (VIDEO):With the game tied at 113 and just 3.1 seconds remaining in overtime, it appeared that the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks were headed to double OT. Dirk Nowitzki had other plans, however, and tossed up a fallaway shot from 18 feet out. The ball bounced off [...]

Josh Cribbs Injury: Injured Cribbs Hurt On Final Play

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Josh Cribbs Injury: Injured Cribbs Hurt On Final Play: Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs was taken to a hospital for further tests after being injured on a hard hit on the final play of Baltimore’s 16-0 win over Cleveland on Monday night.

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Josh Cribbs Injury: Injured Cribbs Hurt On Final Play: Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs was taken to a hospital for further tests after being injured on a hard hit on the final play of Baltimore’s 16-0 win over Cleveland on Monday night.
Cribbs caught a pass from Brady Quinn on the final [...]

Barack Obama and Hu Jintao Yield Few Agreements

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Barack Obama and Hu Jintao Yield Few Agreements:America and China have been forced to agree to disagree on a wide range of issues following several hours of talks between US president Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing. Despite reaffirming the importance of deeper US-China co-operation to world peace

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Barack Obama and Hu Jintao Yield Few Agreements:America and China have been forced to agree to disagree on a wide range of issues following several hours of talks between US president Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Despite reaffirming the importance of deeper US-China co-operation to world peace [...]

Cricket-Dilshan Gives Sri Lanka Solid Start To Reply Updated

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Cricket-Dilshan Gives Sri Lanka Solid Start To Reply Updated:Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan helped Sri Lanka make a strong start in reply to India’s first-innings total of 426 with a sparkling half-century on the second day of the first test at the Motera on Tuesday.

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com Cricket-Dilshan Gives Sri Lanka Solid Start To Reply Updated:Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan helped Sri Lanka make a strong start in reply to India’s first-innings total of 426 with a sparkling half-century on the second day of the first test at the Motera on Tuesday.
Dilshan struck 88 not out and shared in [...]

180 Killed Terrorists By Security Forces In Sararogha

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com 180 Killed Terrorists By Security Forces:WANA: Pakistan Army has taken full control of Sararogha amid ongoing operation in Southern Waziristan killing a large number of Uzbek militants there Tuesday.

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com 180 Killed Terrorists By Security Forces:WANA: Pakistan Army has taken full control of Sararogha amid ongoing operation in Southern Waziristan killing a large number of Uzbek militants there Tuesday.
During a press briefing in recently cleared area Pak Army Brigade Commander in Sararogha Brigadier Shafiq told newsmen that 70 landmines and [...]