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| Afghanistan |
| Taliban kidnaps seven in Afghanistan, one dead |
| 2008-12-15 |
| Armed Taliban militants abducted six musicians and an election worker in eastern Afghanistan, one of whom was later found dead, a local official said. The body of one musician was found today, one day after the group was kidnapped in Paktika province, provincial spokesman Hameedullah Jowak said. "One of the six musicians abducted on Saturday by Taliban was found dead in the district. We have no information on the fate of the other five," he said. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the hostages had flouted a ban on music, but denied killing the victim. "We abducted them after they continued to sing and play music despite a recent ban on music announced by Taliban. One of them died of a heart attack," said Abdul Wakil Mubariz, who claims to be the provincial Taliban commander. Jowak said armed militants had snatched the election worker from his house in the same province on Thursday. On Sunday, militants attacked a convoy en route to a coalition base in southern Ghazni province, sparking a gun battle in which three Taliban were killed, provincial spokesman Ismail Jahangir said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Into the Land of Bones 2300 years ago Alexander faced the same problems in Afghanistan as NATO. So there are meaningful patterns, and lessons can be learned from Alexander's experiences. Holt writes that the war in Bactria and Sogdia is typified by "charismatic leadership, fierce local loyalties, shifting alliances, guerilla tactics, gritty endurance, and inborn xenophobia", and he states that the strategy and tactics of Alexander's enemy Spitamenes "anticipated those that have distinguished the campaigns of modern Afghan militants: the element of surprise, the avoidance of warfare waged from a fixed position, the use of terror, the exploitation of weather and terrain, the application of primitive technologies to achieve unexpected results" (pages 81-82). The implied lesson is that the Coalition troops in Afghanistan today can be the master of any battlefield, and still lose the war. A tactical victory can be a strategic defeat. The soldiers who invaded Afghanistan to liberate it from the Taliban do not have history on their side |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-12-15 11:17 |
| #3 Afghan tribesmaen in 1878. The only thing that has changed in 130 years is the weapons. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-12-15 11:13 |
| #2 Jews, gays, artists... those are the first the fascists come for. It doesn't help that islam has this coded into their religion. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2008-12-15 07:12 |
| #1 Don't shoot the piano player, he's doing the best he... blam. |
| Posted by: Muggsy Glink 2008-12-15 00:51 |