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2006-07-05 Afghanistan
British Bases Under Siege In Sangin
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Posted by Anonymoose 2006-07-05 20:40|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 Our best wishes for these brave soldiers.
Posted by trailing wife 2006-07-05 20:57||   2006-07-05 20:57|| Front Page Top

#2 Article: Because of their isolation, the British troops at Sangin have first call on the roving quick-reaction force.

This sounds a lot like Dien Bien Phu. Tether the goat to lure the tiger into a trap. At Dien Bien Phu, it was the French who got slaughtered. I hope our guys are ready to bail 'em out if things get out of hand - there might not be a lot of time to get ready. 200 guys is not a heck of a lot of people to put out in the middle of Indian country. They had better not let their guard down.
Posted by Zhang Fei 2006-07-05 21:48|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com]  2006-07-05 21:48|| Front Page Top

#3 Today the headlines on page one scream "Brits under siege" (implying their collective asses are getting kicked).

Tomorrow, buried on page 23A, a footnote will mention 50 AQ killed following "siege" of Brits; one Brit KIA, three wounded.

The Taliban still think they're fooking with the Russians. They wish.

Posted by Mark Z 2006-07-05 21:48||   2006-07-05 21:48|| Front Page Top

#4 I hope this doesn't turn into a clusterfunk because our forces can't communicate with eachother. The Brits have given priority to interoperability with the EU, not the U. S. I hope that doesn't bite them in the butt here.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-07-05 21:55||   2006-07-05 21:55|| Front Page Top

#5 The British brought their own air support with them : Apaches and Harriers. They have good comm systems that interoperated between the RAF and Army already in place. Now, if they need A-10s or AC-130Us, that might be a different matter, since those would require comms with American systems.
Posted by Shieldwolf 2006-07-05 22:14||   2006-07-05 22:14|| Front Page Top

#6 The Brits have been master of defense since forever. 200 men is a company of Paras with supporting elements. Right in the heart of Jihadi country. They have to attack or lose face. Think "Rourke's Drift".

I am sure the RAF and USAF have planned for this and have ready support, on-call and ready to be delivered.
Posted by Brett 2006-07-05 22:24||   2006-07-05 22:24|| Front Page Top

#7 At Dien Bien Phu, instead of the usual tactic of seizing the high ground, the French were camped in the low ground and they were outgunned as well as outnumbered. I doubt the Brits are doing anything that .. um ..'unorthodox'.
Posted by Odysseus 2006-07-05 22:35||   2006-07-05 22:35|| Front Page Top

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