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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan Army In Clash, 6 People Dead |
| 2002-11-16 |
| Source: Sada News, Translated By Jihad Unspun In a clash between the Afghan army and unknown individuals, at least 6 people have been killed while several others have been injured. According to reports, the clash took place near Helmand at the highway in which the chief security officer, Asadullah Asad, was severely injured. The spokesman for the Governor of Helmand in an interview with âVoice of Americaâ said unidentified people had blocked the highway and had started to rob the cars. As a result, when the national forces arrived on the scene the bandits started firing on the army and in a long fight developed that left 6 people dead and several more were injured. Just a few Pashtuns, making their traditional living. The new Afghan army seems to be working, assuming not all the dead were on their side. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 I haven't seen anything authoritative or professional addressing the quality of the force. My guess would be that it's still a pick-up team, simply because it hasn't been around long enough to establish real norms. These little shootouts will be their blooding period, where they decide if they're going to be a professional force or something more along the lines of the Basij. The Afghans did have a professional army, through the Najibullah regime. It wasn't up to Soviet standards, but a part of that might have been loyalty problems. I'm mostly guessing, but I'd guess they'll try and avoid the pitfalls of their neighbors - the Pak military's involvement in politix, the (current) fragmentation of the Iranian model. I think they'll make good soldiers for the most part; they have the Masood tradition to build on, which showed what can happen when you combine tactics with personal bravery. Their biggest problems will be their individual reluctance to take to discipline and their susceptibility to Old Time Religion. Warriors are by nature not a disciplined lot, and the country's still crawling with mullahs... |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-11-16 18:51:10 |