Article

2007-12-13 Afghanistan

Afghans say hundreds of Taliban killed in Musa Qala

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Posted by Fred 2007-12-13 11:01|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top
File under: Taliban

#1 Hey. Why are all those Afghan Talibs being laid to rest under Pak flags? What? Oh.

Posted by Seafarious 2007-12-13 11:39|| 2007-12-13 11:39|| Front Page Top

#2 Has wazdan gone awol, or is he just off somewhere crying to himself?

Posted by M. Murcek">M. Murcek 2007-12-13 12:44|| 2007-12-13 12:44|| Front Page Top

#3 StrategyPage sez:
Over a hundred Taliban were killed or wounded as they fled the town on vehicles. Before they left, they killed several dozen civilians, most of them executed, often in grisly fashion, as spies. One recent murder was particularly gruesome, a teenage boy roasted to death.

Michael Moore's Minutemen in action. No doubt Moore sends them naked picture of himself to keep up morale, though that alone should be considered a war crime.

Let's hope the gunships and ambushes caught a lot more fleeing. Christmas wish for a bumper crop of gun camera vids on YouTube.

Posted by ed 2007-12-13 13:17|| 2007-12-13 13:17|| Front Page Top

#4 Well, this is encouraging. Two days ago reports said that the "2,000 Taliban" had simply moved out of Musa Qala. At that time the Talibunny casualty numbers were reported as 10-12, with one British soldier killed. I have no military background but I couldn't understand how an attack "on three sides of Musa Qala" could have ended with 2,000 people simply walking - - or driving - - away. Presumably we had the power to observe the "fourth side" using attack helicopters and other aerial assets? Anyway, this report seems to say that things were a good bit more decisive. I guess we'll still have to wait for the book, though.

Posted by Peter Carroll 2007-12-13 13:21|| 2007-12-13 13:21|| Front Page Top

#5 Right, ed, the book - - or You Tube!!

Posted by Peter Carroll 2007-12-13 13:22|| 2007-12-13 13:22|| Front Page Top

#6 Do the Afghans count like the Arabs do? "I see one, I claim ten; I see three, I claim fifty"? I'm going to worry about results, not try to remember disputed numbers. So if this breaks the Taliban hold on that part of Afghanistan, freeing them to fight the Army of the Pure in the Tribal Territories and the Frontier Provinces, I'll be well satisfied, regardless the number of bodies seen, hidden, or captured for questioning.

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2007-12-13 14:03|| 2007-12-13 14:03|| Front Page Top

#7 The original article's comments feature has been disabled : too many unhappy "british" pakistanese venting their impotent fury and seething?

Posted by anonymous5089 2007-12-13 14:05|| 2007-12-13 14:05|| Front Page Top

#8 TW = I think we can assume any number coming from the Afghan National Army is exagerrated, though I wouldnt entirely discount the value of attrition - of course you dont win a counterinsurgency (at least usually) purely by attrition, but you dont win it by taking towns either, though each can play some role, IIUC.

Posted by Liberalhawk 2007-12-13 15:46|| 2007-12-13 15:46|| Front Page Top

Posted by gorb 2007-12-13 20:22|| 2007-12-13 20:22|| Front Page Top

#10 Chuck better get the abacus out.

This gives me an idea, I think I should do a competing site, virgincount.com where I just take chuck's numbers and multiply by 72. I will be rich, yay!!!

Posted by Ol Dirty American 2007-12-13 23:46|| 2007-12-13 23:46|| Front Page Top

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