#2
This has been a good week for the RDS&TP. [/understatement]
Posted by: Scott R ||
05/16/2008 8:14 Comments ||
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#3
Smokin' hot. Zowie.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
05/16/2008 8:59 Comments ||
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#4
Methinks she's a bit high maintenance for me. For some reason, I tend to like the plain beauty of "unsophisticated" women. They're a bit more adventurous and a LOT more fun!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2008 10:58 Comments ||
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American jarheads are either prudently pacifying a swath of Helmand province or kicking out the doors and ratcheting up the insurgency.
Depends on whom you ask.
From the distance of the capital, it's impossible to confirm anything firsthand. But the commander of the 24th U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit came all the way to Kabul yesterday, both to proclaim initial combat success and to quash reports of extensive hardship visited upon a fleeing populace.
According to Lt.-Col. Kent Hayes, the known scorecard reads thusly:
Marine casualties: 0.
Civilian casualties: 0.
Displaced persons: "Very, very few."
Those citizens, Hayes adds, were already on the move when Marines set out to clear key transit routes for arms and fighters crossing over the border from Pakistan, just to the south in Garmser district. "I can't even speculate as to the reason why, or where they went. I can tell you that they have not been leaving from any area that we have control over."
While Hayes wouldn't give out Taliban body counts from the past fortnight, the provincial governor puts the figure at 150, most of them allegedly foreign fighters.
Hayes merely agrees not to quibble with that. "As practice, the Marines don't use that as our way of determining success. We judge our success by what our mission was. The bottom line is, we fight them, we defeat them."
British troops, who have charge of Helmand under the International Security Assistance Force Canadians next door in Kandahar had not been able to secure that area.
The U.S. Marines, 2,400 strong and many of them battle-hardened from combat in Iraq, were recently parachuted in at the urging of NATO, desperate for fighting-capable reinforcement.
When asked by the Star, Hayes refused to specify what the Marines have done in the past two weeks to push back and apparently discombobulate Taliban forces. "I can tell you what our partners in the coalition have done. They've done very well. But we were given a mission. We've gone out there and we've succeeded. We are making great ground."
Hayes did agree that the Taliban are shoving back hard, which is a rarity since the insurgents avoid conventional confrontations, unable to counter heavy weapons and supporting air strikes. "They are consistently engaging us in small numbers. It's just continual, constant contact. And we're defeating them. What we have set out to do, we have accomplished."
No Afghan troops have been involved in this mission.
Hayes insists the effectiveness of the aggressive American approach is already evident on the ground. "We have seen that they are starting to have trouble reinforcing and getting arms."
Intelligence gathered, some of it from Afghan military authorities, indicates the Taliban are pulling in their own reinforcements from other districts, perhaps other volatile southern provinces, maybe inadvertently easing the threat in places such as Kandahar, though this remains to be seen. "Because we've seen fighters coming in from other areas, the rest of Helmand, rather than from just around Garmser, that is telling us about the success we're having, that we are affecting and disrupting them," said Hayes. "We are defeating the enemy when they oppose us and, when they reinforce, we're defeating them as well."
Garmser has long been used as a planning, staging and logistics hub by the neo-Taliban. Choking off Garmser is the Marines' mission, though some diplomatic even military observers have questioned the long-term impact of a muscular offensive that alienates the local population.
Non-verified reports have painted a picture of extensive civilian displacement, innocent casualties and aggressive Marine tactics, all of it arousing anti-American sentiment. Hayes insists these reports are untrue, saying no civilians have been killed or wounded and Marines aren't busting into households that present no threat.
But there is a ... but. "We do not enter a compound or a structure unless we are receiving fire or the enemy is using it as a haven and we have positively identified them as an enemy. We have a very disciplined targeting process that's designed to strike valid military targets and to avoid damage to civilian property and unnecessary loss of life."
UNAMA, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, has sent a team to the area to gather quantifiable data. In the present vacuum of information, the guesstimates of displaced people have ranged wildly. The Afghan Red Cross and other aid agencies claim without supporting evidence that up to 4,200 families have fled the region since the end of April, some of them living in open desert.
British officials in Helmand, meanwhile, report only two families displaced, according to sources. "The range of figures you are hearing should tell you how unreliable figures are at the moment," said Mark Laity, spokesperson for NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan.
Added Aleem Siddique, chief spokesperson for UNAMA: "In our experience, early figures are always way overinflated. But we just don't know yet."
Further, "displacement" in such circumstances often refers to a brief abandoning of homes, with residents returning after a few days.
There is no indication how long this Marine-led operation will last or how far south the Taliban will be chased. "This is the start," said Hayes. "We started in Garmser. As far as ending it, I will tell you that it's not time-driven. We will leave Garmser at the time and place of our choosing."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
the Taliban are pulling in their own reinforcements from other districts, perhaps other volatile southern provinces, maybe inadvertently easing the threat in places such as Kandahar
A key point, although the word inadvertently strikes a false note, given what I know about the U.S. Marines.
#3
for arms and fighters crossing over the border from Pakistan
Oue enemy is Pakistan backed like it or not Mr Bush!!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
05/16/2008 10:12 Comments ||
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#4
The U.S. Marines, 2,400 strong and many of them battle-hardened from combat in Iraq, were recently parachuted in....
Parachuted in? Huh?
Posted by: Matt ||
05/16/2008 10:30 Comments ||
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#5
I think the Marines will clean house, but we still have a problem of having about two brigades too few of them. I hope Congress will continue to fund and support the additional troops it authorized in the last session - we need 'em.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2008 11:06 Comments ||
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#6
Oue enemy is Pakistan backed like it or not Mr Bush!!!!!
Mr. Bush is quite aware of that fact, Paul. He's also aware that there are advantages to pretending that the central government in Pakistan is NOT on the side of the Taliban. For one thing, that gives him room to maneuver a little there. Musharif isn't a very reliable ally - even worse than Duncan Brown or some on the Continent, for instance. But Bush managed to strongarm him into allowing us to do the occasional interdiction / UAV strike across the border from Afghanistan, which would NOT have gone unprotested if others had been in power there.
More importantly, the over-land supply lines through Pakistan have been an important logistical support to our activities in Afghanistan. Don't underestimate what has been achieved WRT Pakistan since 2001. We'll miss it greatly if (probably when) it crumbles.
#10
Reminder: non-uniformed combatants aren't covered by the Geneva Convention. Summary execution would be legal.
I wonder if specialty troops are capable of simple forensics? A finding of gunpowder residue on a turbaned Pashto would do it for me. But a wallet photo of bin Laden would really cap it.
#14
Bush may be pulliing an ace out ofhis ass . BY maybe telling the pakis to start a scuffle so they have too meve their fighters and weapons alot more over rugged terrain
(Xinhua) -- Three Italian soldiers were injured in a roadside bomb attack near the Afghan capital of Kabul Thursday, according to Italian Defense Ministry. Two of the soldiers suffered only minor injuries, while the third was said to have suffered a more serious but non life-threatening wound.
The attack took place in the early hours of Thursday in the district of Mushai, some 30 km from Kabul, where similar attacks have been carried out against Italian forces. At the time of the attack, the three soldiers were on their way to Qal-et-Tanan village on a veterinary mission.
In order to combat extremist violence, Italian forces in the region have been engaged in humanitarian operations, including veterinary ones, to win over the local population and their tribal leaders.
Italy has almost 2,700 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Most of them are stationed in the western part of the country, where Italy commands the ISAF contingent. Italy, which is responsible for the ISAF force in the regions around Kabul, is the fourth-biggest contributor to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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A suicide bomber disguised in a woman's burqa has exploded in a crowded bazaar in western Afghanistan, killing 18 police and civilians.
Another 22 people were wounded by the blast, which happened near a police station in the Del Aram district of Farah province as police were inspecting vehicles on the road.
Provincial governor Rohul Amin says the bomber was wearing an all-enveloping burqa robe commonly worn by Afghan women. President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, saying it was obscene for a bomber to use such a disguise. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Again, stuff like this wouldn't happen if all Afghans dressed like extras on Baywatch. Except for the occasional exploding overfilled tatas.
Posted by: ed ||
05/16/2008 1:43 Comments ||
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#2
Except for the occasional exploding overfilled tatas.
COUNTER-terrorism police have seized documents and computer equipment in raids on two Sydney homes. Police said the co-ordinated raids took place on houses in Glebe and Riverwood, in the city's inner west and south-west respectively. The houses were searched in the early hours of the morning, a NSW Police spokesman said, and involved state police, the AFP, and "other partner agencies".
There were no arrests but documents and computer hard-drives were seized for examination, police said.
The nature of the investigation was not revealed, but a NSW police spokesman said inquiries were continuing.
Local Taliban leader Nawab Khan was killed here in Baghzai village on Thursday, local administration officials have said. Khan was killed by his friends after a disagreement amongst them. He served in the Afghan National Army and held important posts. Later he joined the Taliban and was very active in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
*snicker* An appropriate way for him to die: killed by friends because they disagreed, probably over where to eat dinner or which mosque to pray at on Friday.
Three young men suspected of links with militants, picked up by Swat police on Thursday, claimed they were journalists but the organisations they said they worked for had not owned them, Swat police said on Thursday.
"We are probing the three young men who said they were journalists, but when their offices were contacted they were not owned," a police official, who requested anonymity, told Daily Times.
Police picked up the suspects Attaur Rehman and Khurram Shehzad from Karachi, and Muhammad Abdur Rehman from Islamabad -- from a market in Mingora on Wednesday, after their movement was deemed suspicious. The suspects are aged between 20 and 25. "Two of the three suspects said they work for Al Jazeera TV and had come here for professional work. However, when we contacted the Arabic-language TV channels bureau in Islamabad, they did not own the young suspects," said the police official.
He said Swat Police received a tip off from a security agency in Islamabad that three suspects had left the capital for Swat district.
He also said two of the suspects were carrying madrassa ID cards, while the third was in possession of an 'Islam' newspaper ID card. Police say they are investigating whether the suspects have links to militant groups and if they were on special mission. We are quizzing the suspects from different perspectives to make sure they are not terrorists," the police official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Had they said "We are property, we write what our editor tells us to write", they would have known they were reporters, probably for AP or Rooters.
#2
I guess when they found they couldn't read or write, they figured they weren't journalists. Of course they still might have been employed by the NYTs.
#3
Waitaminit... when they found they couldn't read or write, they figured they weren't journalists
Does not strike you something odd in that phrase?
Since when was that a detriment for the journo job?
[answer: before 1979, when Newsweek declared that they are not in news business but in business to mold opinions, after that the only requirement was to toe "party" line]
Three bodies of unidentified men were found in Orakzai Agency, political administration officials said on Thursday. The bodies were mutilated beyond recognition and were buried later by the officials, they said.
Blast: Separately, six shops were severely destroyed in a bomb blast in Hangu bazaar early morning, officials reported on Thursday. No loss of life was reported, they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Blast: Separately, six shops were severely destroyed in a bomb blast in Hangu bazaar early morning
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2008 11:39 Comments ||
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#2
Hit "Enter" too soon. Arrgh!
Guess these were either music shops or cell phone shops, since that's what the Taliban seem to target. The article, of course, doesn't mention that...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2008 11:40 Comments ||
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#3
Reminder: we are turning dead Taliban over to their families at the earliest opportunity. Yet those savages chose to mutilate corpses.
(Xinhua) -- Five rockets were fired at a police checkpoint in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, state media reported on Thursday. The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said no damage has been reported yet. According to police, some miscreants fired five rockets at the police checkpost, and one of the rockets hit the checkpost. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Five rockets were fired at a police checkpoint in Peshawar,
no damage has been reported yet.
Lt Roberts been reassigned?
(Bounced off his chest, remember?)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/16/2008 13:21 Comments ||
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#1
What's long overdue is a cultural change to the peacetime business as usual promotion system embodied in the bureaucracy and the implementation of a battlefield determinate on promotions. An Army exists to fight. You pick fighters not managers when the environment allows you to see the difference.
Several of the colonels widely expected to appear on the resulting promotion list, which has not yet been released, are considered unconventional thinkers who were effective in the Iraq campaign, in many cases because they embraced a counterinsurgency doctrine that Petraeus helped craft, the officials said.
They include Special Forces Col. Ken Tovo, a veteran of multiple Iraq tours who recently led a Special Operations task force there; Col. H.R. McMaster, a senior Petraeus adviser known for leading a successful counterinsurgency effort in the Iraqi city of Tall Afar, and Col. Sean MacFarland, who created a network of patrol bases in Ramadi that helped curb violence in the capital of Anbar Province, according to the officers.
#3
If Col McMaster pins on his star, then they have thier heads outof their asses - the guy was passed over twice for bucking the pentagon and coming up with the "feet on the street" tactics that Petraeus uses.
#4
In an article published this year on the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan, McMaster challenged what he called the military's preoccupation in the 1990s with technology, to the neglect of the political and cultural dimensions of war. Military leaders must end the "self-delusion" that high-tech weapons and a "minimalist" commitment of forces can solve conflicts, he wrote.
#7
IIRC, UPI.com > US ARMY's NEW CROP OF GENERALS POISED/SCHOOLED FOR [Global] COUNTER-INSURGENCIES. The "1000-Flag/Nation" GLOBAL ARMORED/AIR-GROUND TASK FORCE, for sectarian "police actions" + humanitarian assistance ala US Navy - GLOBAL-PROMPT STRIKE GOES GLOBAL-PROMPT RELIEF/AID, BATTLESPACE = AID/HUMANSPACE???
=BAGHDAD, Iraq The Iraqi Army discovered four wounded Iranian nationals in a vehicle driven by an Iraqi national near Baghdad yesterday. Ambassadors for Peace? Businessmen? Tourists? Possible, but possibly not.
All four wounded were taken to a local hospital for treatment according to Iraqi army reports.
There have been numerous press reports indicating U.S. forces were involved in this unfortunate (sic) incident. "We want to make it clear that the U.S. was in no way involved in this attack, said COL Jerry O'Hara, U.S. military spokesman.
#1
When I was in Iraq in 2004, I was told by a U S Army Colonel that the US forces were killing many many more Iranians than Iraqis in fighting in and around Baghdad and Fallujah.
In fact, the second highest body count demographic was Chechnians and then Syrians and the Iraqis were bringing up the rear on the stats.
This comes as no surprise.
Too bad they were just wounded.
Knowing how Iraqis feel about Iranians, their treatment at the ER might be right up there with Young Frankenstein.
Posted by: Ming Master of the Universe ||
05/16/2008 10:46 Comments ||
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#2
2004, US forces were killing many many more Iranians than Iraqis in fighting in and around Baghdad and Fallujah.
In fact, the second highest body count demographic was Chechnians and then Syrians and the Iraqis
#11
Joe, that's what them mullahs think. But would their Ahm-Mahdi-Jihad succeed? Ima predicting a 25 ft deep hole in his respective whereabouts, in due time.
#12
ION TOPIX > INDIA: NEW CHINESE MISSLE BASES Mobile?]CAN TARGET SOUTHERN RUSSIA, NORTHERN INDIA, but NOT JAPAN, TAIWAN, or GUAM. By definition, also targets that future Chinese territory presently known as PAKISTAN [Chin bloggers].
HMMMMMM, is CHINA protecting its interests agz FUTURE NUCLEAR IRAN, and of course agz SCO Leadership-competitor RUSSIA; or protecting future Nuclear Iran from the US-West as per OSAMA???
(AKI) - A total of 833 people have been detained following the Iraqi military offensive in the southern [sic!] city of Mosul targeting al-Qaeda militants.
A spokesperson for the Iraqi interior minister Abdel Karim Khlaf told the Arab satellite television network Al-Arabiya that out of the 833 people detained, only 51 of them have been released while all the others are waiting for the results of investigations.
The Iraqi military offensive was divided into two parts. The first part ended on Wednesday and led to the arrest of 560 people while the second part, an offensive codenamed "Mother of Two Springs", began soon after and up until Thursday had led to the arrest of over 270 people. The US military said it was providing logistics and intelligence support for the Iraqi-led offensive.
There have so far been no clashes because the militants are hiding inside safe neighbourhoods and are avoiding open confrontation with the army. In order to drive them out, the soldiers are searching all the buildings and going house to house looking for the militants. The military chiefs have also not ruled out conducting searches outside the city.
On Wednesday, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, was in Mosul to meet army officials and local politicians involved in this new military offensive.
Meanwhile the army has ended the curfew during the day while it remains in place during the night. Due to the efforts of Sunni tribal militias, al-Qaeda militants have left the province of al-Anbar and part of Diyala province, moving for some months to the area of Mosul where the number of attacks have recently increased.
This article starring:
Abdel Karim Khlaf
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Iraqi security forces carried out mass arrests in the main northern city of Mosul on Thursday as a major crackdown against Al-Qaeda entered its second day, officials said.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who travelled to Mosul on Wednesday to spearhead Operation Mother of Two Springs, spent the night there and vowed to rid the province of Al-Qaeda operatives, the interior ministry said. A statement said the premier declared that the "operations will be short and specific" in targeting "terrorists and gunmen," and security forces will not allow a free reign to militants.
On Thursday, Maliki held talks with tribal leaders on the security situation in what US commanders say is Al-Qaeda's last urban bastion in the country.
About 275 people were detained overnight on top of 560 people seized since Tuesday, defence and interior ministry officials said. Fifty of those arrested have since been released. "The terrorists are hiding in residential districts of the city to avoid (confronting) security forces," interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdul Kareem Khalaf said.
The US military said it was providing logistical and intelligence support for the Iraqi-led offensive.
A curfew was in force overnight but was relaxed at daybreak and reimposed again at dusk.
Defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed Al-Askari said the government was keen to ensure essential supplies get in to the city. But the security forces continued to restrict access by car, Askari said. The city has seen a string of car bombings by insurgents loyal to Al-Qaeda.
The latest crackdown was launched following the completion of a preparatory stage code-named Lion's Roar which was launched at the weekend, Askari said. Residents said the city centre was calm on Thursday morning with large numbers of Iraqi and US troops on the streets.
Shortly after the new offensive in Mosul was announced on Wednesday, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a wake in the overwhelmingly province of Anbar, west of the capital, killing 20 people and wounding 45.
Anbar, the largest of Iraq's 18 provinces, was once a stronghold of Al-Qaeda. But for the past two years, tribesmen and former insurgents in the province have joined US troops in the fight against the jihadists, leading to a sharp decline in violence there.
The prime minister had announced plans in February for a decisive battle against Al-Qaeda and called on the population to support the security forces to get rid of "terrorists." He said he wanted to replicate in Mosul the success his aides have boasted in the main southern city of Basra where he ordered a major crackdown against Shiite militia in the last week of March.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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IDF troops were firing in the air and using tear gas to disperse dozens of Palestinian stone-throwers in a confrontation at a Gaza border crossing. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The rioters broke away from a protest march of Hamas supporters on Thursday, then approached Erez Crossing.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The rioters broke away from a protest march of Hamas supporters on Thursday, then approached Erez Crossing.
Sri Lankan troops smashed rebel bunkers and traded fire with guerrillas across the island's north, leaving at least 25 people dead in total, the defence ministry said yesterday.
The ministry said security forces carried out "limited operations" in the regions of Mannar, Weli Oya, Vavuniya and Janakapura on Wednesday, as troops tried to advance further into rebel territories in the north.
Elsewhere, unidentified gunmen shot dead two civilians in the eastern seaport district of Trincomalee on Wednesday, the military said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did not comment on the ministry's latest casualty claims. Since January, government troops claim to have killed 3,663 rebels while 274 security forces personnel died in combat during the same period.
Colombo has poured a record 1.5 billion dollars into the war effort this year, hoping for a quick end to a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead since 1972. Earlier Sri Lanka pressed ahead with air and ground attacks Wednesday against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north, the defence ministry said, as the prime minister ruled out any ceasefire.
Fighter planes gave air support to ground troops advancing toward rebel-held areas in Mannar district and bombed a suspected guerrilla training facility in the area, the ministry said. Troops killed at least nine rebels during sporadic clashes in the tense northeastern Wanni region on Tuesday, according to the ministry, which placed its government losses at five soldiers wounded.
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake late Tuesday vowed to press ahead with the military campaign in the north and ruled out a peace accord. "We are not going to have any type of ceasefire agreement in Sri Lanka in future and will also continue with our goal to eliminate terrorism from this country," he said at a ceremony to honour soldiers who died in combat.
Wickremanayake said Tiger rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's days were numbered. "Prabhakaran, your days are numbered, your end is not far away. Now victory is within the grasp of our heroic security forces," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2008 00:00 ||
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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.
American jarheads are either prudently pacifying a swath of Helmand province or kicking out the doors and ratcheting up the insurgency.
(Xinhua) -- Three Italian soldiers were injured in a roadside bomb attack near the Afghan capital of Kabul Thursday, according to Italian Defense Ministry. Two of the soldiers suffered only minor injuries, while the third was said to have suffered a more serious but non life-threatening wound. 
A suicide bomber disguised in a woman's burqa has exploded in a crowded bazaar in western Afghanistan, killing 18 police and civilians.
Iraqi security forces carried out mass arrests in the main northern city of Mosul on Thursday as a major crackdown against Al-Qaeda entered its second day, officials said.
Sri Lankan troops smashed rebel bunkers and traded fire with guerrillas across the island's north, leaving at least 25 people dead in total, the defence ministry said yesterday. 
