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Africa: Subsaharan
Gurkhas to rescue British from Ivory Coast
2004-11-16
Around 300 Gurkha troops are being sent to Ivory Coast to help take Britons fleeing the strife-torn West African country to safety. Members of the Army's Spearhead Lead Company, drawn from the Royal Gurkha Regiment, flew to the Ghanaian capital Accra last night where they were put on "immediate notice" to move into Ivory Coast. Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, announced the deployment in a written statement to the Commons. He added that the assault ship HMS Albion, which can carry up to 700 troops and 60 vehicles, had been redirected towards the region as an "additional contingency".
"Don't make us come in there. You won't like it, trust me."
Mr Hoon said about 400 Britons in Ivory Coast were entitled to protection from British forces. "We would expect the operation to last days, not weeks," he said.
Posted by:Dan Darling

#6  Hey Spot, let's go back a bit more:

In the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great fell afoul of Pashtun tribesmen in today's Malakand Agency, where he took an arrow in the leg and almost lost his life. Two millennia later the founder of the Mogul empire, Babur, described the tribesmen of the area now known as Waziristan as unmanageable...

Some things never change!
Posted by: RN   2004-11-16 11:11:46 AM  

#5  Fact is Tony Blair should pull the French out of the fire on this one, and in the process yank French West Africa out of the French sphere of influence.

The US should provide Tony Blair with any and all support we can for such a move. With those "down with the French" and "US invade us" signs in the region a year or so ago I think the British might not have to fight to hard.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2004-11-16 11:02:28 AM  

#4  I was struck by this:
There was little respite after the First World War, with fighting in the Third Afghan War in 1919 followed by numerous campaigns on the North-West Frontier, particularly in Waziristan.
Those damn wazibillies have been a pain in the ass for a long time, lol.
Posted by: Spot   2004-11-16 8:59:27 AM  

#3  No eat Gurkhas. Too bitter!
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2004-11-16 8:34:24 AM  

#2  Here is the history of the BRIGADE OF GURKHAS.
Posted by: Dragon Fly   2004-11-16 8:33:57 AM  

#1  Hmm....it sounds like the party is about to get broken up in a serious way. Don't pull the pin on the the short brown guys . . . you will never hear the end of it . . . well, not you. Once they are done redecorating with your body then we will see the end of it. These are some of the most serious soldiers on the planet, getting chosen for one of the regiments is an objective for most young men from the province and they work hard to qualify.

Look out Ivorians . . .
Posted by: Jame Retief   2004-11-16 8:27:36 AM  

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