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| Afghanistan |
| Militias Transfer Heavy Arms |
| 2003-12-11 |
| EFL. I’m posting this because of the weapon mentioned in the first paragraph. The huge green military truck rumbled and belched as its driver waited for the signal. The snub nose of a Soviet Scud missile poked above the cab. A soldier slowly lifted the striped pole blocking the road, and a small arsenal began a historic journey from the militia lairs of the Panjshir Valley to the safekeeping of the Afghan government. The convoy of loaded missile launchers, tanks and artillery pieces left Panjshir Wednesday morning en route to an Afghan army compound in Kabul, 70 miles to the south. There, they would be turned over to central authorities, 15 years after ethnic Tajik insurgents seized them from the Afghan government during the insurgents’ long fight against Soviet occupation. Although some weapons remained behind in the valley and some militia commanders reportedly resisted the move, officials said the political significance of the transfer was enormous, given the deep rivalries and mistrust between the Tajiks of the Panjshir and the two-year-old government headed by President Hamid Karzai, who is from the Pashtun ethnic group. "We kept these weapons as the pride of our holy war, but we have peace and security now. Today they are the property of the Afghan people, not of any one faction," Gen. Bismullah Khan, the army chief of staff and a former Panjshiri commander, told reporters gathered beside a river that rushed through the rocky Panjshir gorge. "This shows our sincere and honest support for the government." |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #1 Does this mean I'm going to have to give up my six SS-12s and chances to buy two "pre-owned" Minutemen missiles? Dang! The Afghanis captured some heavy stuff from the Soviets and their Afghan puppets. Glad to see some of this come out of wherever it's been kept hidden. Of course, I wonder how much of it is actually still usable after twelve-fifteen years of minimal care. It's not a big sacrifice if it doesn't work anyway. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-12-11 8:29:47 PM |