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| Afghanistan |
| U.S. Army Launches Attack on Taliban Stronghold in Afghanistan |
| 2010-02-09 |
| U.S. Army soldiers launched a major operation Tuesday in support of a planned U.S.-Afghan attack on the largest Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan. NATO and Afghan officials, meanwhile, urged militants holding Marjah, where an offensive is expected, to lay down their arms and warned civilians there to "keep your heads down." About 400 U.S. troops from the 5th Stryker Brigade as well as 250 Afghan soldiers and their 30 Canadian trainers moved into positions northeast of the town. No casualties were reported. Large plumes of smoke could be seen in the area, and reporters traveling with the U.S. unit could hear the distant rattle of 50-caliber machine gun fire and detonations from MK-19s, which fire 40 millimeter grenades from Stryker vehicles. U.S. officials have not said when the main attack on the town of some 80,000 people will take place but have nonetheless heavily publicized plans to attack, causing hundreds of people to flee the opium-producing center in advance of the fighting. On Tuesday, however, Taliban militants prevented townspeople from leaving Marjah, as families huddled inside their homes, witnesses said. |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #6 Don't the revised ROEs say that we can't fire back if there are civilians present? Of course, since the Taliban don't wear uniforms, they are by (leftist) definition civilians. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-02-09 20:05 |
| #5 WORLD NEWS > US MAY SEND TROOPS TO NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN [boost GERMANY's forces]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-02-09 20:04 |
| #4 And given the turnstile ROEs we have, let's hope the bad guys fight to the last man, according to all the witnesses. Do we have enough veterans from Fallujah there who know what to watch for as far as enemy tactics go here? I'd like to see Amnesia International proactively start blasting the Taliban for this gross violation of the "rules" of war. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-02-09 16:43 |
| #3 Finally the light dawns. This is an effort to create a "Fallujah, part 2". As you may recall, Fallujah was a masterful scheme to concentrate a dispersed enemy and annihilate them. Fallujah was a "roach motel" of the enemies most dedicated fighters, and was a terrible disaster for them. First of all, the local population was completely hostile, yet give time to evacuate, and the enemy given time to prepare static defenses of little value on the modern battlefield. The battle itself was arranged first with a major kill zone in a railroad yard and industrial park, into which the enthusiastic enemy would flow, only to be massacred in the absence of civilians. This was where the enemy met the "drug crazed, laughing Marines", who in fact were laughing at the ease by which they slaughtered enemy fighters. Shooting fish in a barrel. Once these enemy had finally learned not to advance into a KZ, then the Marines began a methodical, around the clock clearing action, rotating fresh Marines forward every few hours, with a steamroller effect. The enemy were rapidly degraded with fatigue, heat exhaustion, hunger, lack of supply, and lack of any medical support. The end result was half of the enemy killed, and the other half captured. A crushing defeat. 3,000 of their best gone. The US lost 95 killed, 560 wounded. Hopefully, if this is a repeat, the US will suffer even fewer casualties. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-02-09 15:31 |
| #2 Yup, once the Talibs prevent people leaving, it is time to go in. At that point you have done all you are going to do by rattling that sabre. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-02-09 12:34 |
| #1 Godspeed, valiant warriors. May your superior skills and wise leadership lead you to victory. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2010-02-09 11:51 |