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| Afghanistan |
| Brit traitor disappointed in jihad |
| 2001-11-02 |
Abu Mindar, 26, from Londonâs East End, who deserted the Taliban, considers himself lucky to have survived with a crew of raw recruits of many nationalities, none of whom had ever fired a shot in anger. âMaybe I was naive but I was told there would be proper training and I would be joining an organised military unit and it was just chaos,â he said. The impression being given by militant Muslim groups is that volunteers are shepherded by emissaries to Pakistan and on to training camps run by the Taleban. The reality, says Abu Mindar, is different. After days of delay, discomfort and lies he was driven into the desert with about 25 others, somewhere near Kabul, and handed a Kalishnikov by the âcommanderâ of his group who gestured for him to fire at an enemy he could not see through the swirling dust. "There were other Taleban around and suddenly everyone started firing,â Abu Mindar said on the telephone from Pakistan. He laughed nervously as he described how, as he was not used to handling a gun, the ricochet nearly tore the AK47 from his grasp. âIt arced up in the air, took off the top of a tree and nearly decapitated some of the others in our group. Before I knew it the other side â whoever they were â started firing back and there was nowhere much to take cover. Everyone was shouting, some got shot, I didnât know what to do.â Abu Mindar is not sure how many casualties his group suffered in the 20-minute gunfight but he was taken back to their makeshift barracks sharing a four-wheel-drive truck with three wounded. âSome of the others were shouting victory slogans but we hadnât done anything except get ourselves shot,â he said. âIt wasnât the danger I minded because I expected shooting. It was the recklessness of the Taleban and their complete disregard for the lives of those fighting for them.â (DANIEL MCGRORY The Times of London) Well, y'know, those Taliban are tough. Us Americans should be really scared. Nobody's ever won a war in Afghanistan except for Alexander the Great. Yep. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |