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Archive for June, 2011

Jun 30th, 2011

Summary: Shiite militias backed by Iran have ramped up attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, making June 2011 the deadliest month in two years for American forces. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 30, 2010, Aubrey Immelman observed that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s paranoid “One-World” delusion had reared its head yet again. While lunacy has traditionally been associated with the phases of the moon, this particular figment of Bachmann’s paranoia seems to wax and wane on an annual cyle coinciding with the yearly G-20 summit.



Summary: The final bill for the post 9/11 U.S. wars in Iraq and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region will reach at least $3.7 trillion and could be as high as $4.4 trillion, according to the research project “Costs of War” by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 29, 2010, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.


Jun 28th, 2011

Summary: Taliban attackers armed with machine guns, anti-aircraft weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades, and grenade launchers stormed the heavily guarded Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, before NATO helicopters killed the remaining insurgents in a final rooftop battle that ended a siege lasting more than five hours. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 28, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that an independent report by the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction found that the U.S. had often overestimated the ability of Afghan military and police units to fight on their own, calling into question the strategy to win the war and bring troops home.


Jun 27th, 2011

Summary: America’s chapter in Afghanistan’s struggle is drawing to a close. Few experts believe Afghanistan will enjoy peace anytime soon. Optimists hope the level of violence can be reduced and the fighting limited to small areas around the country. Pessimists, including many Afghans, fear that once the foreign troops leave, the country will descend into a new civil war. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 27, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported allegations by Iran that Saudi Arabia was allowing Israel to use its territory in preparation for attacking Iran nuclear sites.


Jun 26th, 2011

Summary: Rep. Michele Bachmann is statistically tied with Gov. Mitt Romney at the top of the first Iowa poll of the 2012 Republican presidential primary campaign season, conducted by the Des Moines Register. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 26, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that central Minnesota voters had the opportunity to meet gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner’s running mate, lieutenant-governor candidate Jim Mulder at the Granite City Days parade in St. Cloud.



Summary: President Barack Obama’s June 22, 2011 speech to the nation made it abundantly clear that the commander-in-chief is determined to end the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan, irrespective of “conditions on the ground” and without “benchmarks of success” or the other classical wartime caveats and equivocations. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 25, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that legislators or candidates in nearly 20 states were pushing for tougher anti-illegal immigration measures similar to Arizona’s sweeping new immigration law.


Jun 24th, 2011

Summary: Weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, compiled from U.S. Department of Defense news releases and iCasualties.org. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 24, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that President Barack Obama said his ouster of the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, would not disrupt his war strategy or timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan.



Summary: Four bombs ripped through Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 40 people and wounding nearly 100 in the worst violence the Iraqi capital has seen in months. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 23, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that President Barack Obama relieved Gen. Stanley McChrystal of command in the Afghanistan war, naming Gen. David Petraeus as his replacement.


Jun 22nd, 2011

Summary: On September 30, 1982, 3-year-old Kevin Jay Ayotte went missing from his family’s summer home in Sugar Bush Township, located in eastern Beltrami County, Minnesota. An exhaustive search and investigation by the Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from state and federal agencies, did not succeed in finding Kevin or even determining the exact nature of his disappearance. … New developments. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 22, 2010, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.



Summary: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann will officially launch her campaign for president on Monday, June 27, 2011 in Waterloo, Iowa. … Michele Bachmann’s political resume. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 21, 2010, Aubrey Immelman featured a prophetic view of BP’s Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil drilling catastrophe from a Christian fundamentalist, conspiracy-theorist perspective.