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Afghanistan/South Asia
Taleban says has anti-aircraft weapons: Al Jizz
2005-07-15
DUBAI - Afghanistan’s Taleban insurgents possess anti-aircraft weapons and are seeking to obtain even more powerful arms, a commander with the rebel movement told Al Jazeera television. “We cannot reveal our military secrets but, by the will of God, we will obtain weapons more powerful than what we have,” the commander, identified as Dadallah, told the Arabic satellite television station in an interview broadcast on Thursday. “We have weapons that can down aircraft but we cannot reveal what they are,” he added without elaborating.
What they have is a new set of targets for our air guys.
Last month, Taleban insurgents shot down a US helicopter, killing all 16 troops on board, in the biggest single combat blow to US forces since they overthrew the Taleban in 2001. Taleban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi had said the guerrillas shot down the helicopter with a “new type of weapon”. US military officials, however, said the aircraft had probably been shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade and there was no indication that a more sophisticated ground-to-air system was involved.
Posted by:Steve White

#16  Except for overflight rights and a damn minor LOC what has the Paki come up with? Not a damn thing. Try to improve the LOC through the other 'stans, stop all armaments, drop aid to a couple of milkshakes and see what happens. India? Anythhing they want this side of a D-5.... which reminds me... we have some surplus Minutemen III floating around.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-07-15 16:27  

#15  Unfortunately, I'm beginning to see the same pattern emerging in Afghanistan/Pakistan that was present in Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos - the bad guys have a sanctuary across the border, and the US isn't doing anything about it. I also think we're trying to fight a war with both feet tied together and our right arm tied to our left shoe. I want to see the reintroduction of napalm for close-in mountain work (fill a "high mountain canyon" with the stuff, and go in and eat the roast goats and count heads), and screw the UN, the Geneva conventions, and Eurabia for disagreeing. We also need to do some HEAVY bombing close to an Afghani village, so they know the true awesomeness that we COULD unleash upon them if they keep playing both sides. The Islamic mind treats everyone else with contempt unless shown that the world will end around them if they don't behave the way we want. We haven't demonstrated that yet, anywhere. North Waziristan may be a good start.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2005-07-15 16:06  

#14  Yah gotta assume that the admin knows more than even Dan and Paul (and now john, too)

But not by much, I'll bet! ;-)

Posted by: trailing wife   2005-07-15 15:47  

#13  seems to me the headline here is that US GIs did hot pursuit into Paki territory, and the Pakis didnt object, but instead just did a "we werent involved" Seems to me thats a step FORWARD.

How valuable the things the Pakis have done in LE, in Waziristan, etc is really hard to sum up based on public sources alone. Yah gotta assume that the admin knows more than even Dan and Paul do about the value of the prisoners theyve taken, how many persons of interest there are we have asked for whose locations they know whom they HAVENT taken, etc. Their failures in Waziristan seem to have more to do with incompetence than reluctance. And the political situation between Perv, the MMA, and the secular opposition is byzantine.

I would be wary of Pakistan, but I wouldnt right it off yet.

Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-07-15 12:41  

#12  The way Perv is going, we may see images like these over Pakistan



Those Su-30s, F-15s and Mirage 2000s look good flying together.
Bombing runs would be even better.
Posted by: john   2005-07-15 10:56  

#11  not just you. Where are the FAE tools we were oohing and aahhhing over? Why not light these fleeing Taleban up as they scamper up the mountainside to Pakland? Better yet, send a message, and do it in Pakland
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-15 10:29  

#10  Troop transport helicopters count if you're inside one of them, as 16 of our brave lads found out the hard way.

I wouldn't joke about this too much -- the Taliban refuses to go away, and they're not completely stupid. They look like they're trying to learn from their obvious mistakes. They recognize that they need better hardware, and they're looking to get it. I think we need to whack them all, but that's just me.
Posted by: Steve White   2005-07-15 10:27  

#9  Afghanistan’s Taleban insurgents possess anti-aircraft weapons and are seeking to obtain even more powerful arms, a commander with the rebel movement told Al Jazeera television.

It's one thing to possess AA weapons, and another thing entirely to shoot down U.S. aircraft with them. Troop transport helicopters don't count.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-07-15 10:14  

#8  Spicy Indian Ketchup, movies, democracy. Ima learn to make a curry next. Here's something else we could use to cut the deficit. I'd offer a dozen of these for 1 thousand American dollars each. Verry Handy to have. Very.
ef111a-2
Posted by: Shipman   2005-07-15 10:04  

#7  It's possible they received some SA-18s smuggled from Chechnya or Iraq, or on the low end, proximity fused rockets.
Posted by: ed   2005-07-15 09:43  

#6  Look for Pak ISI supplied Chinese made MANPADS in Taliban hands.

The mistake the Paks make is that they think they are too clever. This plausible deniability thing was accepted during the Soviet Afghan war. While India squealed and made noises, it was limited in what actions it could take against Pakistan.

The USA is under no such restrictions. It can inflict enormous pain, nation-state-ending pain upon those who provoke it.

Posted by: john   2005-07-15 09:39  

#5  Um...sling shots are NOT anti-aircraft weapons, unless you are trying to hit the birds pooping on you.
Posted by: mmurray821   2005-07-15 09:33  

#4  Do these new weapons come in the wind-up propellar variety?
Posted by: Captain America   2005-07-15 01:54  

#3  Certainly less than demanded for membership in the Order of the Garter. Sigh. I was upbraided recently for saying we should be allowing no further free passes or arms or debt relief or anything else for Pervy - cuz he's not running anything, the ISI is. I still believe we should get everything out in the open, above board, and tolerate no more of these corrupting cozy State Dept style nuanced accomodation deals. They not only come back to haunt you later, but in the case of Muzzies, well, as you said - they fuck you over in the here and now. The "Talibanisation" thingy in another article today certainly clarifies why, IMHO.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-15 01:07  

#2  Well PD, it makes you miss the Western way of war, where the diplomats go home and you don't have bases in the same country that's trying to kill you, doesn't it? If a good analogy for western warfare is a boxing match or a football game, then muslim war is anal rape with a half-hearted reach-around.
Posted by: 11A5S   2005-07-15 00:11  

#1  The ISI has been very busy.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-15 00:03  

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