Comments

You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name

Your e-mail (optional)

Website (optional)

	My Original Nic Pic-a-Nic Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Foto

Submit your comments on this article

Afghanistan

19 Insurgents Chieu Hoi in Helmand

2011-01-04

[Tolo News] Nineteen Taliban Death Eaters have laid down their arms and surrendered to authorities in southern Helmand province in the past two days, provincial officials said.

An eight- member beturbanned goon group under Mullah Adbdul Bari joined the Afghan grinding of the peace processor on Saturday in Sangeen district of Helmand and laid down their guns, Helmand governor's media office said in a statement.

Eleven more Talibs also handed over their guns and surrendered to government in Musa Qala district, added the statement.

Taliban Death Eaters have yet to comment.

Six Taliban fighters had also surrendered to government on 30 December 2010 in Helmand.

Posted by:Fred

#2 I am not sure if this is a veiled reference to the failure of the South Vietnamese govt and the likely failure of the Afghanistan govt.

No, it's a veiled reference to the Vietnamese program offering amnesty and goodies to insurgents if they surrendered. Which failed.

Given that a) it's the "dreaded Afghan winter", to cite a formerly-overused phrase by the media and b) insurgents in Afghanistan tend to lay up during that "dreaded Afghan winter" and pick up their weapons in the Spring, I'd say the comparison is rather apt.

Better to just let the facts speak for themselves rather than casting aspersions where they may not be deserved.

It's called 'sarcasm' or as the internet-savvy like to call it, 'snark'.

Then again, some of us have been around the block a few times and are pretty good at recognising failure dressed in a new wardrobe.

Posted by: Pappy 2011-01-04 21:28

#1 I have noticed that any reference to Taliban coming over to the govt. are always compared to how things went in Vietnam. I am not sure if this is a veiled reference to the failure of the South Vietnamese govt and the likely failure of the Afghanistan govt. But the same thing happened in the Philippines with far different results. Better to just let the facts speak for themselves rather than casting aspersions where they may not be deserved.

Posted by: killjoy 2011-01-04 17:31

00:00