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| Afghanistan |
| Diggers battle Afghan hell |
| 2006-05-15 |
| High in the arid mountains of southern Afghanistan, a small group of Australian SAS soldiers are battling a hostile population, the harsh climate and the rabid fundamentalist warriors of the Taliban. Uruzgan is considered one of Afghanistan's most dangerous provinces, a desolate, mountainous region of opium growers, Islamic fanatics and extreme poverty.John Howard announced last week that 240 more Australian troops would join the 110 SAS soldiers stationed in the lawless region, where the emboldened Taliban forces are gaining strength. Australian and Dutch troops stationed in Uruzgan would be attacked "until they vanish", Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yusuf told The Weekend Australian. "The infidel countries have started the war against Islam internationally, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we will fight them until we die, until Islam wins and the infidels are defeated, God willing." The Diggers will join an expected total of 1400 Dutch troops in the battle for Uruzgan. As the death toll approaches 400 for the coalition forces since the Afghanistan operation began, the Australian contingent in Uruzgan is being strengthened at a crucial time. Dutch forces in the province were attacked recently with rockets, machineguns and grenades. Four Canadians were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan last month, and two Italians died in a roadside blast near the capital, Kabul, in the past fortnight. And an Australian SAS soldier going to the rescue of an ambushed supply convoy was shot about a week ago, according to an Uruzgani politician. Many believe the melting snows of spring and summer will bring fiercer fighting. The Afghan army says there have been six violent clashes in Uruzgan in the past six weeks, with one Afghan soldier killed, four other soldiers wounded (perhaps including the Australian), eight enemy fighters killed and 15 arrested. "It's going to be an incredibly messy summer," says International Crisis Group senior analyst Joanna Nathan, who believes the insurgents' focus has swung to the NATO-led forces, who will replace US coalition troops in many places in the south this year. The Dutch and Australian reconstruction taskforce will be under the control of NATO, generally perceived as a softer touch than the US-led coalition forces. The attackers appear to understand the fragility of the European resolution on Afghanistan. "They are targeting the domestic constituencies back in Europe, very clearly," Ms Nathan said. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 "generally perceived as a softer touch than the US-led coalition forces." The day the Australian SAS is soft touch is the day i can trust my hound to look after the sizzlers on the barbie, mate. |
| Posted by: pihkalbadger 2006-05-15 19:27 |
| #2 How bout some good old fashioned "carpet bombing" for their little autonomous region. |
| Posted by: Whineger Javing6236 2006-05-15 10:49 |
| #1 Silly terrs, you don't intimidate diggers. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-05-15 08:57 |