Shorter Question Everything

Afghanistan
* The people of Afghanistan don’t want to be saved by us. They want to be saved from us. ~ Dennis Kucinich

* President Barack Obama announced Tuesday he was dispatching 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, accelerating a risky and expensive war buildup, even as he assured the nation that U.S. forces will begin coming home in July 2011. The first new Marines will join the fight by Christmas.

US: Haditha
A Camp Pendleton Marine officer whose criminal charges of failing to investigate the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians were dismissed must clear one final hurdle before retirement. An administrative military panel will begin an inquiry Wednesday to determine if Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., should be demoted in retirement – something his attorney says could cost Chessani millions of dollars in lost pension, health and retirement benefits. Chessani was originally charged with dereliction of duty for failing to investigate the 2005 killings of men, women and children by Marines in Haditha but a judge at Camp Pendleton dismissed the charges because of improper contact between a general overseeing the case and an investigator. The Marines announced in April they would not pursue further criminal charges. Chessani faces demotion to major.