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| Afghanistan |
| Commander: Media Reports On Afghanistan Outpost Battle Were Exaggerated |
| 2008-07-20 |
| A snippet of Col. Charles "Chip" Preysler, commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team report The Army did not "abandon" the base after the attack, as many media reporters have suggested, Preysler said. He said the decision to move from the location following the attack was to reposition, which his men have done countless times throughout their tour, and to move closer to the local seat of government. "If there’s no combat outpost to abandon, there’s no position to abandon," he said. "It’s a bunch of vehicles like we do on patrol anywhere and we hold up for a night and pick up any tactical positions that we have with vehicle patrol bases. "We do that routinely.... We’re always doing that when go out and stay in an area for longer then a few hours, and that’s what it is. So there is nothing to abandon. There was no structures, there was no COP or FOB or anything like that to even abandon. So, from the get-go, that is just [expletive], and it’s not right." He also didn’t like the media’s characterization that his men were "overrun." "As far as I know, and I know a lot, it was not overrun in any shape, manner or form," an emotional Preysler said. "It was close combat to be sure — hand grenade range. The enemy never got into the main position. As a matter of fact, it was, I think, the bravery of our soldiers reinforcing the hard-pressed observation post, or OP, that turned the tide to defeat the enemy attack." Though Preysler and his staff have seen several reports on the fight and numbers of enemy, he said true specifics still remain unclear. "I do not know the exact numbers. But I know they had much greater strength than one U.S. platoon," he said. "I believe the enemy to number over 100 in that area when he attacked. I don’t know the casualties that he took, but I know that it’s got to be substantial based on the different reports I’m getting. We may not know the true damage we inflicted on the enemy, but we certainly defeated his attack and repulsed his attack and he never got into our position." Preysler and his staff also object to media reports that because of the size of the attack, it could be a harbinger of change in the way militants fight in eastern Afghanistan. "I think people are taking license and just misusing statistics, and I refuse to do that," he said. "We’re in the middle of the fighting season. When we first got here last summer and started fighting here in June, we were only seeing the enemy and engaging him first about 5 percent of the time. Now we’re between 25 and 40 percent. We see the enemy, and we’re engaging him first." |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #9 I do appreciate it, ladies and gents. He will returning from his first tour really soon. Anymouse's wife does not know about the steel re-enforced coffin her only son lived in at the FOB because of the mortars. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2008-07-20 19:40 |
| #8 The false premise that the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Iraq have the upper hand over our forces is being pushed by Barak Obama. Obama says Afghanistan 'precarious and urgent' Of course he will not talk to the Commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, a Commander on the ground. Obama then trys to use that false report to demand troops leave ... Iraq, to join with Afghanistan troops. If the commanders on the ground, who are much more knowledgeable than the junior Senator, would have done so already. They have done so to the extent necessary. |
| Posted by: a yankee 2008-07-20 18:08 |
| #7 That's why you come to Rantburg, anymouse, where the few grains of wheat have been separated from the tons of chaff. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-07-20 17:51 |
| #6 Good luck anymouse. Prayers and gratitude for you, your family and your son. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-07-20 16:48 |
| #5 With a son still in Iraq, I am really, really close to a "F**k the MSM" attitude. Pretty darn sad. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2008-07-20 16:41 |
| #4 The MSM has a wet dream whenever they can use the words, "lose, abandon, retreat, capitulate, or withdraw." Go figure. There are a few good, real journalists reporting on this war--most of them are referenced or posted at Rantburg. You don't see much of them in the MSM. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-07-20 16:19 |
| #3 When you are as invested in defeat of any American war, business, democracy advocacy or exports then you will damn well make up the stories to fit the agenda. The legacy media needs to put more emphasis on legacy and get lost. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-07-20 16:10 |
| #2 Sarge, the MSM has been looking for THE Afghan TET offensive or a battle they could fit to that narrative for a long time. At this time, they also have another incentive - that is to support the Obama presidential bid by bolstering his calls for more troops for Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: Omagum Bonaparte8537 2008-07-20 14:55 |
| #1 Only our bright and honest media could look at a battle were we kiled 100 and lost ?10? and call it a defeat. Well I guess they enemy would call this a victory? Yep sure they would. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2008-07-20 12:48 |