Afghanistan resurgence

[PancreasMatt]

whoa, this caught me pretty off-guard- anyone else not notice this?

Resistance Picks Up In Afghanistan
Apr 09, 2003

The only militants thus far to seize on the opportunity presented by the war in Iraq have been those in Afghanistan. Their campaign apparently began when U.S. President George W. Bush issued an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to step down within 48 hours or face war. Guerilla forces in Afghanistan have attacked U.S. and coalition forces across the country, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has virtually become a prisoner in his palace in Kabul.

The most daring attacks have come in Zabul, Paktika, Paktia and Hilmad -- where Afghan troops reportedly surrendered to Taliban forces. The Afghan troops' weapons were confiscated, and they were freed with a warning not to cooperate with coalition troops.

Reports emerging from Kabul indicate that the Taliban and Hizb e-Islami forces have recaptured much of the eastern and southeastern Afghanistan. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar reportedly is leading the resistance, although the appointed provisional governors remain nominally in charge of the areas. The situation likely will deteriorate further in the coming weeks.

[UWNM]

Let's see, what's the first thing they teach a guerilla fighter? How to shoot an AK-47 (or some cheep Chinese knock off). :machinegu
What's the second thing? Oh yeah, attack when your enemy isn't paying any attention.

So when Bush basically says, "Oh, hey, Afghanistan isn't getting front page coverage (and covering up for my economic problems)anymore, I'd better go somewhere else," and attacks another country, of course the Taliban will attack. I mean, come on, what did Bush think was going to happen when he takes attention, resourses, and troops out of the area? It's not like he didn't know that there was still a pro-Taliban resistance. Kabul was the only place the "new government" had any power. Everywhere else was controlled by the Taliban or other petty warlords.

If I'm a terrorist ass hole, it would sure seem like the perfect time to attack to me. :freedom

Nathen

[patio11]

If I'm a terrorist ass hole, it would sure seem like the perfect time to attack to me.

And they're taking your advice, too ;) The following is quoted from http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/09/1049567715079.html . I hope the blunt-spoken military man keeps his job.


Hundreds of Muslim fighters, many of them non-Iraqis, were putting up a stronger fight for Baghdad than Iraq's Republican Guard or the regular army, a top United States military officer said yesterday.

"They stand, they fight, sometimes they run when we engage them," Brigadier-General John Kelly said.

"But often they run into our machine guns and we shoot them down like the morons they are."

...

"They appear willing to die. We are trying our best to help them out in that endeavour," he said.


I know I'm supposed to find that troubling... but no, I really don't.

Patrick McKenzie

[Antigradgrind]

I'm not sure that you can chock this up to inattention by the US or new-found courage on the part of the Taliban. There have been running engagements there for the past year. I think that any shock that this story creates on the part of American observers is due to the Iraq war crowding out other news stories. In fact, the US military began a rather large (brigade or more) operation in late March in the mountains near the Pakistani border.

Further, where did this news story come from? Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is a pro-Taliban warlord, but a reversal of the type this story implies has not been reported in other media that I have seen. It is true that Karzai's government only controls the area around the capital city, but that has been the way it works in Afghanistan for a long time (remember, the mujahedeen first emerged not when the Soviets invaded, but when the government began exerting more influence outside of the area surrounding Kabul in 1978). I think that this story is _at the least_ overstating the situation.

[PancreasMatt]

storys not from a source that usually overstates- its STRATFOR.COM- been aorund for a while, and as far as i know, they get the jump on alot of the wire services.

[airassault101]

one of my soliders is in afgahn right now....there have been fire fights going on for the last....well how long have we been there now...get the point...its just that there have been some bigger than usual fights in the last week or so...but nothing so huge as to create too much concern....ours boys are fine and the rebuilding continues...well gotta run i am getting im'd by him now...happy hunting boys
k