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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| U.S. Servicemember, (16+ Taliban) Die in Afghan Battle |
| 2005-08-09 |
| One U.S. service member and at least 16 suspected Taliban rebels were killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Tuesday. The American was killed when Afghan and U.S. forces came under attack during a patrol Monday in southern Zabul province's Day Chopan district, triggering a firefight, the U.S. military said in a statement. U.S. and coalition aircraft provided air support during the clash, it said. Initial estimates showed that at least 16 suspected insurgents were killed, according to the statement. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #11 Allah to martyrs: Sorry fellers, I'm fresh outa virgins... However, I do have these 72 Virginians. He's all yours, gentlemen! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-08-09 20:16 |
| #10 Moose, Thanks for the run down. Good news indeed. I share Ship's concern. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-09 18:44 |
| #9 "16 suspected Taliban rebels were killed in fighting" Allah to martyrs: Sorry fellers, I'm fresh outa virgins...What's that you say...Hell no you can't go back !..doofuss. |
| Posted by: Marine Dad 2005-08-09 17:06 |
| #8 Initial estimates showed that at least 16 suspected Now why don't we get any credit from PETA for providing native scavenging wildlife with a source of food? |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-08-09 16:26 |
| #7 Jeez I hope you're right 'moose. I worry that the whole thing is another Pervian smoke screen. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-09 14:55 |
| #6 The first set of London Tube bombers were Pakistani. Many of the Taliban are actually Pakistani. Clearing out the foreigners only makes Pakistan a slightly less dangerous place. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-08-09 14:43 |
| #5 The latter. It's a matter of psychology. Remember that the vast majority of troublemakers just can't work up the brazos to leave their own 'hood, much less their own country. However, in this case, if you take a foreigner, say a Chechen, an Uzbek, or somebody from a developed country, they have already proven that they have the intestinal fortitude to leave their nest to defile someone else's. They are 10 times more dangerous than some Paki who just makes trouble in Pakistan. On top of that, the instigator madrassas made the big money off of foreigners--this hits them in the pocketbook. On top of everything else, el Presidente must truly enjoy the prospect of reasserting government authority in the obnoxious enclaves North and South. If the really badass Waziris want to travel to the Iranian part of Waziristan and make severe trouble there again, driving the Iranians bonkers, I'm sure it would be no problem as far as the Pakis are concerned. Last but not least, the new requirement that madrassas have to be licensed much just drive them up the wall. Cockroaches and Imams just hate it when the kitchen light is turned on. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-08-09 14:32 |
| #4 However, el Presidente has come up with a marvelous solution: no foreigners allowed. That'll help with all the domestic nutjobs and whackos. I mean, Christ, do you think the foreigners are at the root of Pakistan's problems? Or are they just the mayo on a massive nutjob sandwich? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-08-09 13:49 |
| #3 Much less so. The Pakistanis are too divided to do anything about them in their country. However, el Presidente has come up with a marvelous solution: no foreigners allowed. Not as residents, and not attending madrassas. By kicking them out of Pak, they are no longer their problem, and nobody will lose face if they are exterminated. However, once kicked out, they really have no place to go. On their own or in small groups, the Afghans will eat them for lunch, or if they're lucky, turn them over to the US for a reward. In larger groups, well, let us say that we prefer them that way. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-08-09 11:23 |
| #2 I hope so, 'moose, but there is still a sanctuary to the southeast. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-08-09 10:05 |
| #1 I suspect that the remaining terrs in Afghanistan cannot operate individually or in small groups owing to a lack of support in the country. Therefore they have to band together in what I call "brigand groups". These make great targets for conventional destruction, and I think the largest of them have already been wiped out. Note that a few weeks ago, battallion sized groups were destroyed. Then a week or two ago, company-sized groups were obliterated. Now what is left are down to platoon sized and smaller. Once these are scratched, there will be a point when squad sized elements can no longer sustain themselves against irate locals and the enemy will be effectively annihilated, with little or no replenishment from outside the country. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-08-09 09:15 |