Article

2003-12-09 Afghanistan

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Posted by Dan Darling 2003-12-09 12:14:56 AM|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

Hilferty acknowledged the incident risked turning Afghans against the US-led coalition.

Like the way they rose up in opposition to the far more heinous crimes against humanity perpetrated daily by the Taliban?

While a tragedy like this is awful, the success of the war does not hinge on it. Implying that it does just sounds like more leftist pessimism/panic.

Posted by Islam Sucks 2003-12-9 1:25:58 AM|| 2003-12-9 1:25:58 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Hilferty acknowledged the incident risked turning Afghans against the US-led coalition.

"Such mistakes could make the Afghan people think ill of the coalition," he said.

Ya think?

Unfortunately such damage is sometimes unavoidable when the enemy hides behind civilians (and children).

Posted by CrazyFool 2003-12-9 1:40:12 AM|| 2003-12-9 1:40:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 American news agencies are presented with a quandry. Will be interesting to see whether total apathy toward events in Afghanistan outweighs a general predisposition towards running with stories that make the US look evil.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-12-9 4:45:17 AM|| 2003-12-9 4:45:17 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 I wonder, where did US intelligence get the information on the location of this Taliban operative. Is it just chance that the US is tipped off to the location of Mullah Wazir and attack while children are âplayingâ nearby?

Posted by Dan Canaveral 2003-12-9 6:58:58 AM|| 2003-12-9 6:58:58 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 "US swoops on al Qaeda" -- swoops? Yeah, right. I saw some footage on TV last night. US soldiers struggling to cross a stream, waddling into helicopters with 80 lbs. of equipment on their backs. I can not understand why our infantry humps all that crap in the field. They can make about 2km per hour.

Posted by Pete Stanley 2003-12-9 12:29:21 PM|| 2003-12-9 12:29:21 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 More on Operation Avalanche: Soldiers from the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment stormed into an area east of Khost, a restive town along the border with Pakistan that has seen several recent attacks on coalition personnel, said Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a U.S. military spokesman. "We came in with helicopters," he said of the maneuver, part of the newly launched Operation Avalanche. "We're trying to interdict along the border." U.S. and Afghan officials have long charged that Taliban rebels and their al-Qaida allies flee back across the mountainous border into Pakistan after launching attacks. Hilferty said the operation was designed to root out insurgents before the brutally cold winter months. "We're trying to get them before the winter sets in," he said. The 501st, based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, was on its first major deployment since arriving about two months ago.
"They are well-suited to working with the 10th Mountain Division here in the high mountains of Afghanistan," Hilferty said.
Ah, yes, the brutal Afghan winter. Let's check today's weather:
Kabul, Afghanistan - High 51, Low 29.
Ft. Richardson, Alaska - High 35, Low 25.
Buffalo, NY - High 44, Low 37.

Posted by Steve 2003-12-9 12:35:38 PM|| 2003-12-9 12:35:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Steve, the Canadians would point to the harsh Buffalo weather as the reason the invasion of Lower Canada failed in the War of 1812. Well, not really.

Posted by Chuck Simmins 2003-12-9 1:21:25 PM|| [http://blog.simmins.org] 2003-12-9 1:21:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 "I can not understand why our infantry humps all that crap in the field. "

I don't know infantry, but I understand that some of the troops on the "snatch and grab" in Mogadishu treated the trip lightly and left their canteens and body armour at home.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-12-9 2:17:32 PM|| 2003-12-9 2:17:32 PM|| Front Page Top

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