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| The Alliance |
| Germans call for caution |
| 2001-09-24 |
THE head of the German equivalent of the SAS has angered senior Nato officers by predicting a "bloodbath" if special forces from allied nations move into Afghanistan to try to hunt down Osama bin Laden. In a deliberate call for caution, Brig Gen Reinhard Gunzel, who commands the elite Kommando Spezialkrafte (KSK), said success would be "almost impossible" without severe and unacceptable losses to his special troops and those of other allied nations. Even if such a combined force did find bin Laden, this would not mean victory, he said. "Behind him stand so many fanatic followers that another one would immediately replace him." The 57-year-old brigadier general added: "Special forces would come lightly armed and unprotected. There would be a bloodbath. No special unit in the western world could agree to such an action." The Brig Gen insisted that troops with a "western philosophy" and a will not to die would have "little chance against men who are willing to give their lives in a fight". |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |