"US deploying armored tanks in effort to weed out Taliban; Vehicles will give troops greater targeting range" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post / November 19, 2010
Tanks in the mountains? We must be losing big time for them to consider this idea.
WASHINGTON — The US military is sending a contingent of heavily armored battle tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, military officials said, a shift that signals a further escalation in the aggressive tactics that have been employed by American forces this fall to attack the Taliban.
I'm sure they will be very maneuverable in those mountain passes.
The deployment of a company of M1 Abrams tanks, which will be fielded by the Marines in the country’s southwest, will allow ground forces to target insurgents from a greater distance — and with more of a lethal punch — than is possible from any other US military vehicle. The 68-ton tanks are propelled by a jet engine and equipped with a 120mm gun that can destroy a house more than a mile away....
Translation: We are going to start shelling villages with tank fire the way Israel shells Gaza.
The pace of Special Operations missions to kill or capture Taliban leaders has more than tripled over the past three months. US and NATO aircraft unleashed more bombs and missiles in October — 1,000 total — than in any single month since 2001....
Yeah, I can see why the Globe didn't put this in the paper.
So OBAMA REALLY IS WORE than GEORGE BUSH!!
In the districts around the southern city of Kandahar, soldiers from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division have demolished dozens of homes....
A US officer familiar with the decision said “The tanks bring awe, shock, and firepower.’’
And WHERE have we heard that NASTY PHRASE before, huh?
*********
Although the officer acknowledged that the use of tanks this many years into the war could be seen as a sign of desperation by some Afghans and Americans, he said they will provide the Marines with an important new tool in missions to flush out pockets of insurgent fighters. A tank round is far more accurate than firing artillery, and it can be launched much faster than having to wait for a fighter jet or a helicopter to shoot a missile or drop a satellite-guided bomb.
Then no more excuses for the butchery of innocent men, women and children, right?
--more--"
So how goes the battle?
"Blasts kill 12 Afghan officers; Suicide bombers targeted police headquarters" by Elizabeth A. Kennedy, Associated Press / November 28, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at an Afghan police headquarters yesterday, killing 12 officers in an area along the Pakistan border that still sees heavy Taliban attacks even as NATO pours in more troops and resources.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in eastern Paktika Province, which has long been a refuge for Islamic extremists from around the world. It is one of the most violent areas of Afghanistan, where NATO and Afghan forces fight daily against the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based Taliban faction closely tied to Al Qaeda.
Ah, the HAQQANI NETWORK!
"Haqqani.... credited with introducing suicide bombing to the region.... cultivated as a "unilateral" asset of the CIA and received tens of thousands of dollars in cash for his work.... He may have had a role in expediting the escape of Osama Bin Laden.... In July 2008, CIA officials confronted Pakistan officials with evidence of ties between Inter-Services Intelligence and Haqqani. Haqqani has been accused of involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul.... The Haqqani Network is based in Pakistan and is believed to have links to Al Qaeda."
Links to who?
The attackers, who were disguised in police uniforms, made it through three security gates, said Nawab Waziry, the head of Paktika’s provincial council....
A NATO service member also was killed in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, but it was unclear whether there was any connection to the Paktika bombing.
Although NATO forces have poured troops into the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand and have been making progress in rolling back the Taliban, fighting has continued in the eastern provinces where the Haqqani network holds sway.
Ah, the HAQQANI NETWORK!
"Haqqani.... credited with introducing suicide bombing to the region.... cultivated as a "unilateral" asset of the CIA and received tens of thousands of dollars in cash for his work.... He may have had a role in expediting the escape of Osama Bin Laden.... In July 2008, CIA officials confronted Pakistan officials with evidence of ties between Inter-Services Intelligence and Haqqani. Haqqani has been accused of involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul.... The Haqqani Network is based in Pakistan and is believed to have links to Al Qaeda."
Links to who?
The area borders the Pakistani region of North Waziristan and has been the target of numerous drone strikes against the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the forces of the Haqqani network.
Ah, the HAQQANI NETWORK!
"Haqqani.... credited with introducing suicide bombing to the region.... cultivated as a "unilateral" asset of the CIA and received tens of thousands of dollars in cash for his work.... He may have had a role in expediting the escape of Osama Bin Laden.... In July 2008, CIA officials confronted Pakistan officials with evidence of ties between Inter-Services Intelligence and Haqqani. Haqqani has been accused of involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul.... The Haqqani Network is based in Pakistan and is believed to have links to Al Qaeda."
Links to who?
Talk about FLOGGING a DEAD HORSE!
Yesterday’s attacks come amid a series of setbacks in efforts to negotiate an end to the nine-year war. The ongoing violence and intransigence of Taliban militants has led Western officials to advocate more strongly this year for a negotiated solution that would allow insurgents to have some role in the government.
That is the ONLY WAY THIS ENDS!
But in an embarrassing turn of events, a man initially believed to be a high-ranking Taliban representative was exposed last week as an impostor....
See: Talking to the Wrong Man in Afghanistan
Also yesterday, NATO said Afghan and coalition forces killed at least 15 insurgents during an overnight search for a senior Taliban leader in remote eastern Afghanistan. Security forces came under attack near a compound in Sherzad district of Nangarhar Province on Friday night, sparking a battle that killed the insurgents.
Oh, right, we are winning.
--more--"
Also see: Taliban Has Spirit
One whose has gone:
"First Lieutenant Scott Milley of Sudbury was captain of his high school ice hockey team and a cum laude graduate from college.... [and] was the first person from Sudbury to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Sudbury’s director of veterans services, Brian Stearns. News of Milley’s death rocked the community....
Why? You always expect it to happen to the other guy you don't know?
Milley’s father, Steve, said yesterday that the family was devastated....
All because of lies.
--more--"
Also see: Sweeping Up the AmeriKan War Dead in Afghanistan
Dustpan is getting full.
:-(
