Article

2006-10-22 Home Front: WoT

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Fred 2006-10-22 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Oh dear.

This really is the heart of the matter.

We really need to win the media war: we have unparallelled military might but what good is that when you can't use it because the PR battle is lost.

I hope the Pentagon starts discussing this properly!

Posted by anon1 2006-10-22 01:30|| 2006-10-22 01:30|| Front Page Top

#2 I've come to trust Mr. Yon as a serious commentator on the war. What I found most disturbing in this artilce is Mr. Yon's prediction of a NATO bloodbath in the spring of 2007. Chilling.

Posted by Mark Z 2006-10-22 09:05|| 2006-10-22 09:05|| Front Page Top

#3 To clarify my post above, Mr. Yon is predicting a NATO bloodbath in Afghanistan in the srping of 2007.

Posted by Mark Z 2006-10-22 09:17|| 2006-10-22 09:17|| Front Page Top

#4 While the whole article was interesting, I read it for Yon's bloodbath prediction:

Early this spring, when I reported from Afghan farms about this year's bumper opium crop, people thought I was using that opium. Now it is common knowledge that the opium trade is fueling a Taliban comeback. Mark this on your calendar: Spring of 2007 will be a bloodbath in Afghanistan for NATO forces. Our British, Canadian, Australian, Dutch, and other allies will be slaughtered in Afghanistan if they dare step off base in the southern provinces, and nobody is screaming at the tops of their media-lungs about the impending disaster. I would not be surprised to see a NATO base overrun in Afghanistan in 2007 with all the soldiers killed or captured. And when it happens, how many will claim they had no idea it was so bad and blame the media for failing to raise the alarm? Here it is: WARNING! Troops in Afghanistan are facing slaughter in 2007!

Obviously this is serious stuff. Does anyone know why Yon believes this to be the case? He warns but does not elaborate on his reasons for believing the situation is going to be so dire in spring 2007.

Posted by Flea 2006-10-22 11:02|| 2006-10-22 11:02|| Front Page Top

#5 Well, thanks to Pervy, it seems they have the fodder, a perfectly safe haven to plan it, Spring gives them time to accumulate sufficient numbers, and an open border. So a mass attack on some small base should be workable. If they don't care about casualties (why start now), then they could pull it off.

Posted by .com 2006-10-22 11:22|| 2006-10-22 11:22|| Front Page Top

#6 Dien Bien Phu... Khe San... Big PR magik.

This would probably dissolve the tenuous commitment to NATO by most everyone, if it isn't a US base.

Posted by .com 2006-10-22 11:25|| 2006-10-22 11:25|| Front Page Top

#7 Especially if the base is manned primarily by Europeans who are unwilling to really engage in combat.

Posted by lotp 2006-10-22 11:26|| 2006-10-22 11:26|| Front Page Top

#8 Yes, indeed, those with a higher calling and infinitely more sophistication... "We're here to rebuild this country for the poor little brown people... They will love us for it, of course."

Posted by .com 2006-10-22 11:36|| 2006-10-22 11:36|| Front Page Top

#9 This shit-for-brains has undoubtedly been talking to village "elders." The conspirants. Over the winter months, when they hole up, they round up a whole new mob of simpletons willing to venture forth in "mass attacks " in the springtime. This may have worked a couple hundred years ago. With airpower and abundant firepower on call this ain't gonna happen. Just have to wipe out the entire village, along with conspirants. It's really time to start taking the gloves off. Who better to use as an example than these dupes ?

Posted by SpecOp35 2006-10-22 13:28|| 2006-10-22 13:28|| Front Page Top

#10 I've followed Yon's reporting. He seems to be a credible guy. He wants more access to the military and isn't getting it. He says censorship exists and that is not good. However...

The military has been burned by the press too many times. The reporting by the press (MSM) is very slanted and often untruthful, e.g. New York Times, Associated Press, etc.

Moreover, where does Yon get the idea that the news coming from a hot zone isn't censored? During WW II, the news was screened and censored. It has only been recently that censorship has been lessened. That has been a disaster. Cronkite torpedoed American efforts in Vietnam to support the agenda of a leftish press. Recently, CNN published "snuff" videos of an American soldier being killed by terrorist snipers and for what purpose other than attract viewers and to support an agenda? Yon should not be so naive. What does he want to report that he isn't reporting now?

Posted by JohnQC 2006-10-22 23:20|| 2006-10-22 23:20|| Front Page Top

23:56 Zenster
23:56 djh_usmc
23:54 trailing wife
23:53 Zenster
23:51 gromky
23:50 Slutch Thraviper4354
23:46 Zenster
23:45 anon
23:44 facta non verba
23:44 anonymous2u
23:42 anon
23:41 JohnQC
23:37 Hyper
23:34 Zenster
23:32 anon
23:31 SwissTex
23:31 facta non verba
23:30 gorb
23:24 Zenster
23:24 facta non verba
23:20 JohnQC
23:17 trailing wife
23:14 anon
23:09 facta non verba