Afghanistan

Spirit of America is a fantastic charity that raises money to help provide whatever American troops overseas need to complete their mission. Recently, they raised the funds necessary to pay for the cleft palate surgeries of two Afghan children at the request of U.S. special operations soldiers.

Now Spirit of America is requesting donations to buy two dirt bikes for Afghan police working with U.S.troops:

A few months ago, Spirit of America field reps delivered motorbikes to Afghan police working with US Army units and US Special Operations forces in southern Afghanistan. Those motorbikes proved to a great asset for the Afghan local police working the Special Operations forces. Army Master Sergeant Chuck Ross is an advisor to a US Army special forces team in Zabul province. He and his team received two motorbikes. Here's what he told Spirit of America: "The first one we issued was a hit! These bikes are a great asset to the ALP [Afghan local police] and our efforts to recruit more." MSG Ross told our field rep, Chrissy Burbach, they needed two dirt bikes for the commanders going through training by the special forces team:

"The elders from the villages that will offer recruits are located in some remote areas where the terrain is slow-go for most vehicles, including the ALP's Ford Rangers. These villages are more accessible to dirt bikes than trucks, and we would prefer to use the bikes in these areas while utilizing the Ford Rangers in areas at lower elevations in the river valley.... The ALP will have a considerable tactical advantage over anyone else in their areas with the dirt bikes. We intend to train the ALP on the operation of the bikes and give tactical instruction on the employment of motorcycles for reconnaissance and early warning. We as a whole thank Spirit of America for making our job easier in promoting security to Afghans."

Further, the Army Captain who leads the Special Operations team told Spirit of America, "the dirt bikes drive the insurgents crazy." Spirit of America hopes to raise $2,630 to cover the cost of two dirt bikes. Gifts are tax-deductible. You can donate here.

Here are the prepared remarks of President Obama's Afghanistan speech, as prepared for delivery: 

Remarks of President Barack Obama On the War in Afghanistan – As Prepared for Delivery
Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
May 2, 2012 AFT 

On Sunday, insurgents launched a series of coordinated attacks on Western embassies in Kabul, as well as other targets throughout Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s interior minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, said that at least two detained terrorists – one captured in Kabul, the other in Jalalabad – have told authorities that the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network is responsible.