Steven den Beste has a few words to say about the support our forces received from the French at Shah-i-Kot. Quoting Beebs:
The newspaper, Le Monde, quotes unnamed French military officials, as saying that the French and Americans had a difference of opinion over some bombing missions because of the risk to the civilian population.
That means they didn't show up when they were expected - and needed.
Willie, the janitor on "The Simpsons," said it best and most economically: The French are cheese-eating surrender monkeys. Posted by Anonymous 3/11/2002 12:26:52 AM
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Running low on ammunition, hundreds of al-Qaida fighters are concentrated near two cave complexes in the eastern Afghan mountains but land mines are proving a major problem in routing them. As Operation Anaconda entered its second week, U.S. troops and their Afghan allies scoured the mountains, pursuing a surrender-or-die policy against enemy forces. Afghan fighters said about 400 al-Qaida and Taliban troops were holed up around one cave complex and about 100 more were believed around another. American mine-clearing teams were trying to remove the mines but progress was slow. That's what's supposed to happen. There's no need to rush it now, assuming their supply and reinforcement routes are cut.
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An Afghan commander said at least 25 Chechens had been killed in his sector. He also said the bodies of 40 Afghan Taliban were handed over to their families to win support among local residents. No major al-Qaida figures were believed among the holdouts, although an Egyptian, identified only as Sheikh Saleh, was believed among them. A former Taliban commander, Saif Rahman, however, is believed to be heading the troops in the mountains. At Bagram air base a spokesman for the 10th Mountain Division said at least one "high value target" was among the holdouts but he refused to elaborate.
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As the offensive ground on, with coalition forces conducting supply, search and attack missions through the snow, a new feud between America's Afghan allies emerged and threatened to explode into violence. The trouble began when the interim administration of Hamid Karzai dispatched convoys of new Afghan fighters into the battle area. The troops were ethnic Tajiks from the north, however, and their presence exacerbated ethnic tensions in the largely Pashtun area around Gardez. Many Pashtuns see the Tajiks as interlopers on their land, and widely suspect that Tajiks in the Defense Ministry simply want to use the offensive to move their fighters into Paktia. "We don't need them," front-line commander Abdul Matin Hasankhiel said. "We can fight the al-Qaida ourselves. I don't know why they came. It's between them and the Defense Ministry."
"We propose to Mr. Hamid Karzai to instruct the new coming troops to go back to their places of origin," local Commander Mohammad Ismail told a news conference. "I can assure you we obey and support the interim administration. The point is if the issue of Shahi Kot is resolved, (Northern Commander) Gul Haider's troops might claim it, which is what we oppose. We take this opportunity that the issue of Paktia be purely left to the people of Paktia." Now, I ain't sayin' we should pack it up and go home, but these hemorrhoids lend new meaning to the word "ally." If they'd been doing the best of all possible jobs in controlling the International Thug Brigades, and just needed a little help for the US and allies to put them over the top, they might have a point. But they weren't, so they don't. They're no friends of Karzai, nor of the US.
The cunning verbal evasion of the local Commander Mohammed Ismail can be better understood if one substitutes "Taliban" for "Paktia". Posted by Anonymous 3/10/2002 2:43:03 PM
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In a series of dramatic, rapid-fire developments in the biggest battle of the five-month-old Afghan campaign, 400 of 1,200 troops in the area were being withdrawn as part of a repositioning exercise. "We are repositioning," said Major Brian Hilferty. "Operation Anaconda continues," he said, referring to the code name for the eight-day-old offensive that has cost eight U.S. lives since it began just over a week ago. That means they're getting our guys out of the way of the Pashtun "allied" forces. It may also mean they're going to "modify targeting" a little, especially if they have indications the faithless bastards are about to change sides again.
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Asked if the Americans agreed that Gul Haider's reinforcements should go home, Mohammad Ismail said through a translator: "The Americans are not involved in the internal affairs of our country. They are promoting a policy of anti al-Qaeda activity. They have not occupied us and are not our bosses. They are supporting us in restoring stability. I stress they are not our bosses. This is an issue decided by our government." The sudden turnarounds happened on a day when it appeared that after bad weather, U.S.-led forces were poised for a final assault on what Afghan leader Karzai has described as the last major al Qaeda base in Afghanistan. However there had been rumblings among some Afghan commanders that they would prefer to give the several hundred al Qaeda fighters a last chance to negotiate a surrender before a dangerous advance across land mine-littered landscape leading up to bunkers and cave entrances. That means success was in sight and they don't want to see Cousin Mahmud, on the other side, get waxed in the final assault. If they sit down and negotiate for a couple weeks then most of the Bad Guys'll be able to make it to Pakistan or somewhere else in Afghanistan where they're not under the gun. Nothing will be accomplished, but at least the Tadjiks won't get the credit. I'm for reconstituting the Northern Alliance and pacifying the whole goddamned country.
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Twenty-three people praying for the release of an al-Qaeda supporter were killed in US raids in rural Afghanistan. Holy men had told the Kharoti tribesmen to sacrifice animals at the shrine of a âsufiâ to secure the release of Macha Dad, a tribal leader in Landai Doog village of Paktika province. Thirty tribesmen headed for the shrine in two pick-up trucks, one of which was attacked by a warplane. All 15 passengers, 10 of them women and children, and the driver were killed by the bombing. The other pick-up truck was not hit, but later a warplane attacked the shrine, killing another seven people. US commandos then parachuted into the area by helicopter and left after inspecting it.
Macha Dad, who was known to support al-Qaeda network, was snatched last month by US forces who arrived in helicopters and also seized his satellite telephone and power generator. 'Macha Dad was a very rich man in the area and lots of Arabs and Pakistanis used to visit him and stay with him,' a local elder said. The elder said US forces suspected Macha Dad of providing refuge to al-Qaeda members or possibly Mullah Mohammad Omar. Hmmm... Just guessing off the top of my head, I'd say somebody didn't like them. 30 people in two pickups? That kind of raid doesn't happen without some intel to target it, but when you see that kind of load from the air, what does it look like?
I wish the author would add sources to these articles. The coverage of events in Afghanistan is p-poor in the US media, and I rely (believe or not) on weblogs for significant details like this on the war. Posted by Anonymous 3/10/2002 2:40:01 PM
The bold text is the link to the original article. All of them are sourced. Posted by Fred 3/10/2002 2:45:39 PM
Wait a minute. "Holy men had told the Kharoti tribesmen to sacrifice animals at the shrine of a âsufiâ". Granted the survival of pre-Islamic practices, this doesn't sound particularly orthodox to me. If Macha Dad had been sprung, would he have thanked them for their prayers before ordering them killed as not worthy of living in the Dar al-Islam? Posted by John "Akatsukami" Braue [www.win.net/ratsnest/log.htm] 3/11/2002 12:27:49 AM
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Time has a wrap-up on the Battle of Shah-i-Kot. Excerpts:
Before Christmas, in the ridges and caves of Tora Bora, the Americans had let their Afghan proxies do most of the fighting on the ground. As a result, hundredsâperhaps thousandsâof al-Qaeda fighters escaped to fight another day. In Shah-i-Kot the brunt of the dirty work has been borne by Americans. After a week of fighting, a military source estimated that 800 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters had been killed. Total confirmed casualties on the allied side: 11 dead, of whom eight were American and three Afghan, and 88 wounded, 18 of them Afghan.
One other thing about the Taliban and al-Qaeda warriors at Shah-i-Kot: they fought to the death. That may be because the Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks among them have nowhere to go, save Guantanamo Bay.
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In the biggest action involving Australian soldiers since the Vietnam War, six Americans died and 11 were wounded, but 36 made it out alive thanks largely to two SAS patrols out of sight in observation posts on ridges high above the battlefield.
The troops were observing Monday's battle and relaying information to their commanders when an inbound US Chinook helicopter carrying US troops came under attack. One soldier fell from the fleeing machine and the Aussies watched in horror as he was dragged off by Al-Qaeda fighters and shot. Soon after, a second chopper, sent in to rescue the man, was forced down by enemy fire and a heavy gun battle broke out.
For the 36 American survivors, including 11 seriously wounded, the only hope was air strikes and the only people in a position to call them in were the SAS soldiers. For hours the highly trained troops, who endured altitude sickness, hypothermia and temperatures of minus 19 degrees identified groups of Al-Qaeda fighters. Using GPS satellite navigation systems and range finders, they radioed fighter jets directly with deadly accurate targeting information on the enemy's location. Later that evening more SAS troops joined a rescue mission and flew in the dark in helicopters under sustained enemy fire to rescue the 36 survivors and take out the dead.
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Hard-line Hindus vowed to hold a prayer ceremony at the Indian holy site of Ayodhya after Muslim leaders rejected proposals to try to halt violence in which more than 700 have died. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said it would hold the ceremony in the northern town on March 15 and wanted Hindus across the country to join similar ceremonies. "The entire country will become Ayodhya," VHP leader Praveen Togadia told a news conference. Hard-line Hindus believe the 16th-century Babri mosque was built by Muslim Moghul invaders on the birthplace of the Hindu god-king Ram, and want to build a temple there to set right the insult they believe their religion suffered at the time.
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About 600 Islamic militants detained for membership in banned extremist groups are to be released as part of a government amnesty. The number is about a third of the estimated 2,000 people detained in the two months since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf announced a crackdown on extremists and banned five Islamic militant groups. The militants to be freed must post bonds guaranteeing they will disassociate themselves from the outlawed groups and will cooperate with authorities trying to combat terrorism. The amnesty offer doesn't apply to people suspected of terrorism, murder or other heinous crimes -- or people suspected of having trained in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan, officials said. Yup. That oughta teach 'em a lesson. Luckily, nobody ever jumps bail in Pakland. Careful! Don't step in the sincerity!
Doesn't the U.S. have any Double-O agents in Pakistan? Posted by Anonymous 3/10/2002 2:46:28 PM
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After spending the night outside polling stations, thousands of Zimbabweans resumed voting Sunday in what amounts to a referendum on the 22-year rule of President Robert Mugabe. The wait appeared more orderly Sunday after police ordered voters to stand in single-file lines, with men and women standing separately. The order came after Saturday's jostling and pushing in many of the long lines that stretched for hundreds of yards along city blocks and through fields. The voting also appeared to be going more quickly. . The government reduced the number of stations in urban areas -- where the opposition is strong -- and increased them in the countryside, where Mugabe is more popular. Ruling party militants took over two polling stations and stole voting materials from a third. At another station, ballots arrived already marked in favor of Mugabe, observers and opposition supporters said Saturday. Now, who sez Mugabe's guys aren't helpful?
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Israel retaliated for a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 11 Israelis in a Jerusalem cafe by destroying the Gaza headquarters that Yasser Arafat used as a showcase for Palestinian sovereignty. The Jerusalem blast came just down the street from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's official residence, hard on the heels of a Palestinian shooting that killed two people, including a nine-month-old baby, in the Israeli city of Netanya.
Sharon, at his ranch in southern Israel, and Arafat, confined by Israel to the West Bank city of Ramallah, were far from the attacks which the United States said underlined the importance of a new truce mission by its Middle East envoy.
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A court in Rome refused to free eight Moroccans jailed on suspicion of plotting a chemical attack on the U.S. Embassy. The suspects were arrested last month in raids on two apartments on Rome's outskirts. Police said they found more than eight pounds of a cyanide-based compound as well as firecrackers and maps marking the Embassy and its water-supply lines. Defense lawyer Domenico Martelli told the Judge Riccardo Mineo that the compound -- potassium ferrocyanide -- is a harmless substance that can be used for gardening. The arrests led to the discovery of a hole large enough to crawl through in a utility tunnel adjacent to the embassy. At an initial court appearance last month, the suspects said they did not know how the chemical compound got into the apartment. In legal circles, this is known as the "It ain't mine. Somebody left it here." defense.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
