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What did Bush Accomplish in Afghanistan?
Osama Ben Laden, Mullah Omar and the majority of other leaders are alive and well and it seems impossible to find them at this moment....Washington is trying to put a good face on things. But it is not coming out too good. They are already saying in the US quite openly: goal No.1 is to withdraw from Afghanistan with as little number of losses as possible, i.e. «leave while preserving image».
«Operation Retaliation»… «Operation Enduring Freedom»… Such are the emotional names, with which the Bush Administration is calling the gross intrusion of the United States of America into Afghanistan. One full year has passed since that moment. So, what results have the Americans achieved during this time?
Originally, the plans of the US command implied assisting oppositional formations of the Northern Alliance by supplying them with military equipment. Then they planned to land US troops in the country and finally defeat the Taliban with the support from anti-Taliban forces, and arrest and eliminate the leaders of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda. Great Britain was directly assisting the US with manpower and equipment.
But out of all listed above far from all has been put to practice. The main thing is that Osama Ben Laden, Mullah Omar and the majority of other leaders are alive and well and it seems impossible to find them at this moment.
After the forces of the Northern Alliance took Afghan capital Kabul on November 13, 2001, the second phase of the operation had started. That phase implied the deployment of US troops in the country. Early in the morning on November 26 US marines landed near Kandahar. During one month both US and British troops were stationed in most of the Afghan provinces. After the combats for the fortress of Tora Bora (mid-December 2001) no active combat operations were conducted in the country. Nevertheless, the US is not telling when exactly the operation will be over. Why not?
According to some of the experts, this is because America is losing the war in the informational field. The mightiest instruments of propaganda (TV, radio, press), that the US has, have been aimed at the Western audience until recently. Such a mistake that the Americans have made will now be working against the US for quite a while: what Bush’s image-makers failed to do, was done by Ben Laden, who from the very beginning has drawn a parallel between the war against Afghanistan and the war against the Muslim World. In people’s minds America has been associated with being an aggressor, who dreams to annihilate Islam. The image of Jihad on one side and crusades on the other has been firmly established in the minds of Muslims. The US was caught by surprise, because such confrontation leads other even quite loyal Muslim countries away from the US.
Americans have made an attempt to defend themselves with a humanitarian action. But bombings with dropping food at the same time, or Bush visiting a mosque just do not work. All subsequent actions of the US on the informational front are only causing bewilderment. In the final analysis, repeated statement about catching Ben Laden very soon have led to the fact that the US has become a laughing stock and now the US prefers to drop that subject.
Repeated operations on eliminating the Taliban. How many of them there were and no results whatsoever. Unsuccessful bombings that the Americans have committed. Everybody remembers one of them when American pilots bombed a village where a wedding was going on. What kind of a positive image can the US have after that?
The losses among US servicemen are still one of the closed subjects. The number of killed and wounded American soldiers and officers is growing every month. Especially the losses in secret units of special forces, which are carrying out missions to search for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders. This is another page in the recent history of the US.
First reports about big losses among US servicemen arrived November 27, 2001, when according to the official version, 16 marines died during the battles near Kandahar. US troops suffered their largest losses during «Operation Anaconda». Again according to the official version, over 60 servicemen were killed or wounded in combat actions. The capture of American and Canadian soldiers was concealed. Only during one day on March 5, 2002, a report was received that in the vicinity of the city of Gardez (150 kilometers south of Kabul) 9 US servicemen were killed and 40 wounded during shootouts with the Taliban.
According to the official information, the US has lost at least 7 airplanes, 16 helicopters and over 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). According to unofficial information, the losses are much higher.
Although, the experts say that Washington is still ready for great losses – in one country adjacent to Afghanistan, rear services of the US Armed Forces ordered and stockpiled 2,000 zinc caskets.
Latest reports from Afghanistan speak about big problems that both Karzai’s puppet government and the peacekeeping contingent have. As it is known, only Kabul and its surroundings are guarded by over 5 thousand servicemen from different countries. In spite of all that, there is no peace in Kabul or in any other city. In February 2002 so-called «minister of aviation» of Afghanistan Haji Abdula was shot dead Kabul. «Defense minister» Kasim Fahim was also assassinated. On September 5 a car stuffed with TNT exploded. On that same day in Kandahar fire was opened at the car with Hamid Karzai in it.
Now we know that while counting on the so-called «Northern Alliance», pro-American anti-Islamic coalition has only provoked a new turn in the war in that long-suffering country. In Western Afghanistan the Pashtuns are fighting with the formations of Ismail Khan; in the North «mini-armies» of several leaders are at enmity with one another – Uzbek general Dostum, Tajik Mohammad Atta, and Hazari leader Halili. In the East Field Commander Bacha Khan Zadran has «privatized» three provinces – Khost, Paktia and Paktika. The leader of «Hezb-e-Islam» group Gulbeddin Hekmatyar has called for Jihad against foreigners once he returned to the country.
The contingent of 9,000 American troops is not getting involved in that fight and the list of victims of that internecine strife is growing day after day. New combats were reported in Western Afghanistan the other day: fierce clashes took place in Zer-e-Kla 25 kilometers south of Shinand. Ismail Khan’s militants attacked Pashtun formations of Amanulla Khan. Prior clashes between Tajiks and Pashtuns were happening near Great in August 2002; back then the losses were about 70 killed, but neither side managed to take the disputed territories under its control.
After actually missing the victory in the Afghan campaign, Washington is now preparing a new one, this time in Iraq. Broadscale destabilization in the Middle East has become the main component of the US strategy to establish the world domination.
The Washington Post reports in the worst traditions of the Soviet propaganda that the military campaign against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda now consists of digging wells, restoring schools and rebuilding bridges. This is exactly what Soviet troops were [allegedly] doing back in the ‘80s. Everybody knows how it all ended. And America is not even doing a part of what the Soviet Union was doing back then.
American soldiers are dying and missing in action in Afghanistan. Everyone is talking more often and even louder about the «Afghan Vietnam», and no censorship is able to stop it. The information about the losses of the US forces and their allies is penetrating into mass media on a daily basis, which speaks about the fact that military operations in Afghanistan are acquiring protracted and cruel nature. US servicemen and their allies become targets for the attacks not only by the Taliban, but by ordinary Afghan people embittered because Americans and their allies killed thousands of the country’s peaceful civilians over the year since the war has been going on.
Blitzkrieg in Afghanistan has not happened. The White House has been closing its eyes and kept saying that it would all be over soon. But de-facto the things are quite different in Afghanistan. And Washington is trying to put a good face on things. But it is not coming out too good. They are already saying in the US quite openly: goal No.1 is to withdraw from Afghanistan with as little number of losses as possible, i.e. «leave while preserving image».
Jean Tekei, Kavkaz-Center
Originally, the plans of the US command implied assisting oppositional formations of the Northern Alliance by supplying them with military equipment. Then they planned to land US troops in the country and finally defeat the Taliban with the support from anti-Taliban forces, and arrest and eliminate the leaders of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda. Great Britain was directly assisting the US with manpower and equipment.
But out of all listed above far from all has been put to practice. The main thing is that Osama Ben Laden, Mullah Omar and the majority of other leaders are alive and well and it seems impossible to find them at this moment.
After the forces of the Northern Alliance took Afghan capital Kabul on November 13, 2001, the second phase of the operation had started. That phase implied the deployment of US troops in the country. Early in the morning on November 26 US marines landed near Kandahar. During one month both US and British troops were stationed in most of the Afghan provinces. After the combats for the fortress of Tora Bora (mid-December 2001) no active combat operations were conducted in the country. Nevertheless, the US is not telling when exactly the operation will be over. Why not?
According to some of the experts, this is because America is losing the war in the informational field. The mightiest instruments of propaganda (TV, radio, press), that the US has, have been aimed at the Western audience until recently. Such a mistake that the Americans have made will now be working against the US for quite a while: what Bush’s image-makers failed to do, was done by Ben Laden, who from the very beginning has drawn a parallel between the war against Afghanistan and the war against the Muslim World. In people’s minds America has been associated with being an aggressor, who dreams to annihilate Islam. The image of Jihad on one side and crusades on the other has been firmly established in the minds of Muslims. The US was caught by surprise, because such confrontation leads other even quite loyal Muslim countries away from the US.
Americans have made an attempt to defend themselves with a humanitarian action. But bombings with dropping food at the same time, or Bush visiting a mosque just do not work. All subsequent actions of the US on the informational front are only causing bewilderment. In the final analysis, repeated statement about catching Ben Laden very soon have led to the fact that the US has become a laughing stock and now the US prefers to drop that subject.
Repeated operations on eliminating the Taliban. How many of them there were and no results whatsoever. Unsuccessful bombings that the Americans have committed. Everybody remembers one of them when American pilots bombed a village where a wedding was going on. What kind of a positive image can the US have after that?
The losses among US servicemen are still one of the closed subjects. The number of killed and wounded American soldiers and officers is growing every month. Especially the losses in secret units of special forces, which are carrying out missions to search for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders. This is another page in the recent history of the US.
First reports about big losses among US servicemen arrived November 27, 2001, when according to the official version, 16 marines died during the battles near Kandahar. US troops suffered their largest losses during «Operation Anaconda». Again according to the official version, over 60 servicemen were killed or wounded in combat actions. The capture of American and Canadian soldiers was concealed. Only during one day on March 5, 2002, a report was received that in the vicinity of the city of Gardez (150 kilometers south of Kabul) 9 US servicemen were killed and 40 wounded during shootouts with the Taliban.
According to the official information, the US has lost at least 7 airplanes, 16 helicopters and over 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). According to unofficial information, the losses are much higher.
Although, the experts say that Washington is still ready for great losses – in one country adjacent to Afghanistan, rear services of the US Armed Forces ordered and stockpiled 2,000 zinc caskets.
Latest reports from Afghanistan speak about big problems that both Karzai’s puppet government and the peacekeeping contingent have. As it is known, only Kabul and its surroundings are guarded by over 5 thousand servicemen from different countries. In spite of all that, there is no peace in Kabul or in any other city. In February 2002 so-called «minister of aviation» of Afghanistan Haji Abdula was shot dead Kabul. «Defense minister» Kasim Fahim was also assassinated. On September 5 a car stuffed with TNT exploded. On that same day in Kandahar fire was opened at the car with Hamid Karzai in it.
Now we know that while counting on the so-called «Northern Alliance», pro-American anti-Islamic coalition has only provoked a new turn in the war in that long-suffering country. In Western Afghanistan the Pashtuns are fighting with the formations of Ismail Khan; in the North «mini-armies» of several leaders are at enmity with one another – Uzbek general Dostum, Tajik Mohammad Atta, and Hazari leader Halili. In the East Field Commander Bacha Khan Zadran has «privatized» three provinces – Khost, Paktia and Paktika. The leader of «Hezb-e-Islam» group Gulbeddin Hekmatyar has called for Jihad against foreigners once he returned to the country.
The contingent of 9,000 American troops is not getting involved in that fight and the list of victims of that internecine strife is growing day after day. New combats were reported in Western Afghanistan the other day: fierce clashes took place in Zer-e-Kla 25 kilometers south of Shinand. Ismail Khan’s militants attacked Pashtun formations of Amanulla Khan. Prior clashes between Tajiks and Pashtuns were happening near Great in August 2002; back then the losses were about 70 killed, but neither side managed to take the disputed territories under its control.
After actually missing the victory in the Afghan campaign, Washington is now preparing a new one, this time in Iraq. Broadscale destabilization in the Middle East has become the main component of the US strategy to establish the world domination.
The Washington Post reports in the worst traditions of the Soviet propaganda that the military campaign against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda now consists of digging wells, restoring schools and rebuilding bridges. This is exactly what Soviet troops were [allegedly] doing back in the ‘80s. Everybody knows how it all ended. And America is not even doing a part of what the Soviet Union was doing back then.
American soldiers are dying and missing in action in Afghanistan. Everyone is talking more often and even louder about the «Afghan Vietnam», and no censorship is able to stop it. The information about the losses of the US forces and their allies is penetrating into mass media on a daily basis, which speaks about the fact that military operations in Afghanistan are acquiring protracted and cruel nature. US servicemen and their allies become targets for the attacks not only by the Taliban, but by ordinary Afghan people embittered because Americans and their allies killed thousands of the country’s peaceful civilians over the year since the war has been going on.
Blitzkrieg in Afghanistan has not happened. The White House has been closing its eyes and kept saying that it would all be over soon. But de-facto the things are quite different in Afghanistan. And Washington is trying to put a good face on things. But it is not coming out too good. They are already saying in the US quite openly: goal No.1 is to withdraw from Afghanistan with as little number of losses as possible, i.e. «leave while preserving image».
Jean Tekei, Kavkaz-Center
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Clinton's record on terrorism
Oct 13
Some things the US citizens should never forget: After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six and injured 1,000; President Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 1995 bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed five U.S. military personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 and injured 200 U.S. military personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa, which killed 224 and injured 5,000; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 and injured 39 U.S. sailors; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
Maybe if Clinton had kept his promise, an estimated 4,000 people in New York and Washington, D.C. that are now dead would be alive today.
GW Bush has the balls to take action and get the job done. As Exhibit A I give you Afghanistan and Hamid Karzai.
Clinton talked a good game and did nothing. That's because he was and is a phony through and through. GW Bush is a leader and a man of his word. It's the biggest upgrade in Presidential history.
Oct 13
Some things the US citizens should never forget: After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six and injured 1,000; President Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 1995 bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed five U.S. military personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 and injured 200 U.S. military personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa, which killed 224 and injured 5,000; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
After the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 and injured 39 U.S. sailors; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.
Maybe if Clinton had kept his promise, an estimated 4,000 people in New York and Washington, D.C. that are now dead would be alive today.
GW Bush has the balls to take action and get the job done. As Exhibit A I give you Afghanistan and Hamid Karzai.
Clinton talked a good game and did nothing. That's because he was and is a phony through and through. GW Bush is a leader and a man of his word. It's the biggest upgrade in Presidential history.
Clinton had a foreign policy but he kept changing it and had no real direction. Bush has a foreign policy that is just plain stupid.
A war on terrorism is nonsensical. It’s like declaring a war on war. One would therefore assume that the "war on terrorism" is really a war on Islamic Fundamentalism, but then what the hell is the US doing with Iraq? Is it a war against those who dislike the US? If so, is the US going to go to war with France? Probably not. SO, I guess "the war on terrorism" is a war against those who dislike the US and can be overwhelmed in a US military assault.
The funny part about that definition is that attacking groups that cant fight back with conventional weapons, would lead one to believe that such a war will result in asymmetric warfare by those the US is attacking. This means that the "War on Terrorism" will probably result in MORE rather than less terrorist attacks against the US.
Of course, looking into the actual results of US policy is never really the forte of followers of the US right. Leaders of the US right have come out against a US war with Iraq, but followers tend to back the President irrespective of real logic. They use some distorted form of what they think is common sense and really have a policy that is based around confused ideas of good and evil that have no real connection with the actual beliefs of those deciding foreign policy.
The Right backed Reagan’s support for Al Qaeda in the 80s because the fundamentalists were religious freedom fighters attacking the godless Communists. Now they support Bush's policies against these same people because they are "obviously evil" and a more secular leader like Musharraf is fighting against these god crazed lunatics. Neither belief reflects the real beliefs of those deciding US foreign policy. US foreign policy is usual aimed at larger geopolitical and economic goals (during the Cold War this was containing Communism but now the larger goals of US policy are a lot less clear).
Afghanistan is an interesting example of the disconnect between right wing followers and their own leaders. While the followers of the Right wanted revenge against Bin Laden and Omar, this clearly wasn’t (and isn’t) the goal of the Bush administration which seems happy to let Bin Laden continue to direct Al Qaeda actions from Western Pakistan. Afghanistan was really just a prelude to a larger action the US wants to carry out in Iraq. It helped the Bush administration rally US support for war with what appeared to be a quick victory but which actually bears a stark resemblance to the short period when the Soviets also had a puppet in Kabul.
While Leftists signs and propaganda have a tendency to look shallow and naïve, the “tough love” beliefs espoused by right wing followers are really even more naïve since those creating these beliefs don’t even believe their own propaganda. One year Hussein is a US hero who in Reagan’s eyes could do no wrong (even after gassing the Kurds and killing US soldiers on the Stark), the next he is a reincarnation of Hitler. One year Noriega is going to parties with Bush Sr., the next he’s in jail as a drug trafficker. One year the US is flying people from Saudi jails to Afghanistan to create a fighting force of Arab Afghans, the next year the US is claiming these people are the most evil force on earth. In some cases US policies clearly backfired and the US changed track as a result, but in most cases a group changes from freedom fighter to terrorist simply due to the usefulness of the combatants in short term US policy aims.
But, what are Bush’s policy aims? The end result of Bush’s present policies seem to be more terrorism, and increase in international instability, and increased hatred for the US around the globe. There probably is some logic behind the current US policy, but if it really is just Bush…. I don’t even want to think about what that means….
A war on terrorism is nonsensical. It’s like declaring a war on war. One would therefore assume that the "war on terrorism" is really a war on Islamic Fundamentalism, but then what the hell is the US doing with Iraq? Is it a war against those who dislike the US? If so, is the US going to go to war with France? Probably not. SO, I guess "the war on terrorism" is a war against those who dislike the US and can be overwhelmed in a US military assault.
The funny part about that definition is that attacking groups that cant fight back with conventional weapons, would lead one to believe that such a war will result in asymmetric warfare by those the US is attacking. This means that the "War on Terrorism" will probably result in MORE rather than less terrorist attacks against the US.
Of course, looking into the actual results of US policy is never really the forte of followers of the US right. Leaders of the US right have come out against a US war with Iraq, but followers tend to back the President irrespective of real logic. They use some distorted form of what they think is common sense and really have a policy that is based around confused ideas of good and evil that have no real connection with the actual beliefs of those deciding foreign policy.
The Right backed Reagan’s support for Al Qaeda in the 80s because the fundamentalists were religious freedom fighters attacking the godless Communists. Now they support Bush's policies against these same people because they are "obviously evil" and a more secular leader like Musharraf is fighting against these god crazed lunatics. Neither belief reflects the real beliefs of those deciding US foreign policy. US foreign policy is usual aimed at larger geopolitical and economic goals (during the Cold War this was containing Communism but now the larger goals of US policy are a lot less clear).
Afghanistan is an interesting example of the disconnect between right wing followers and their own leaders. While the followers of the Right wanted revenge against Bin Laden and Omar, this clearly wasn’t (and isn’t) the goal of the Bush administration which seems happy to let Bin Laden continue to direct Al Qaeda actions from Western Pakistan. Afghanistan was really just a prelude to a larger action the US wants to carry out in Iraq. It helped the Bush administration rally US support for war with what appeared to be a quick victory but which actually bears a stark resemblance to the short period when the Soviets also had a puppet in Kabul.
While Leftists signs and propaganda have a tendency to look shallow and naïve, the “tough love” beliefs espoused by right wing followers are really even more naïve since those creating these beliefs don’t even believe their own propaganda. One year Hussein is a US hero who in Reagan’s eyes could do no wrong (even after gassing the Kurds and killing US soldiers on the Stark), the next he is a reincarnation of Hitler. One year Noriega is going to parties with Bush Sr., the next he’s in jail as a drug trafficker. One year the US is flying people from Saudi jails to Afghanistan to create a fighting force of Arab Afghans, the next year the US is claiming these people are the most evil force on earth. In some cases US policies clearly backfired and the US changed track as a result, but in most cases a group changes from freedom fighter to terrorist simply due to the usefulness of the combatants in short term US policy aims.
But, what are Bush’s policy aims? The end result of Bush’s present policies seem to be more terrorism, and increase in international instability, and increased hatred for the US around the globe. There probably is some logic behind the current US policy, but if it really is just Bush…. I don’t even want to think about what that means….
That's really really dumb.
How can you take an anti-Bush position on the current crisis?
Bush is trying to attack the problems head-on.
He deserves the support of all Americans.
That includes the weasels on the left.
How can you take an anti-Bush position on the current crisis?
Bush is trying to attack the problems head-on.
He deserves the support of all Americans.
That includes the weasels on the left.
"Bush is trying to attack the problems head-on. "
What the HELL does that mean. Hussein had no connection to 9/11, hes a horrible dictator but so is Bush. The only even alleged terrorist attack the Bush administration tried to pin on Hussein is Hussein's attempt to assasinate Bush Sr, and who can blame Hussein for that?
At least give an argument to support your traitorous tyrant and chief.
Bush the traitor is more of a threat to the American people than Hussein will ever be.
If you really want to libe in a country where everyone is forced to line up behind the President, I would recomend that you LEAVE the US and go live in Iraq. At least for now its legal here to point Bush out for the traitor he is.
What the HELL does that mean. Hussein had no connection to 9/11, hes a horrible dictator but so is Bush. The only even alleged terrorist attack the Bush administration tried to pin on Hussein is Hussein's attempt to assasinate Bush Sr, and who can blame Hussein for that?
At least give an argument to support your traitorous tyrant and chief.
Bush the traitor is more of a threat to the American people than Hussein will ever be.
If you really want to libe in a country where everyone is forced to line up behind the President, I would recomend that you LEAVE the US and go live in Iraq. At least for now its legal here to point Bush out for the traitor he is.
>>American soldiers are dying and missing in action in Afghanistan. Everyone is talking more often and even louder about the «Afghan Vietnam», and no censorship is able to stop it. The information about the losses of the US forces and their allies is penetrating into mass media on a daily basis, which speaks about the fact that military operations in Afghanistan are acquiring protracted and cruel nature. US servicemen and their allies become targets for the attacks not only by the Taliban, but by ordinary Afghan people embittered because Americans and their allies killed thousands of the country’s peaceful civilians over the year since the war has been going on. <<
What color do you see when you look up ??
You keep saying that 'everyone is talking...everyone is hearing..."
Sounds like the voices in your head are the only ones talking...
As far as comparing the current American mission in Afghanistan to the Soviet debacle....do you have a clue as to what is missing ??
i thought not...
the only reason that the northern Alliance had any success against the Soviet troops was due to US backing/technology/supplies...they never would have lasted without this support
So...unless someone like the PRC steps up and starts backing the taliban, they are not going to have much success...
They were pawns during the Cold war...but the game is over.....thanks for playing
What color do you see when you look up ??
You keep saying that 'everyone is talking...everyone is hearing..."
Sounds like the voices in your head are the only ones talking...
As far as comparing the current American mission in Afghanistan to the Soviet debacle....do you have a clue as to what is missing ??
i thought not...
the only reason that the northern Alliance had any success against the Soviet troops was due to US backing/technology/supplies...they never would have lasted without this support
So...unless someone like the PRC steps up and starts backing the taliban, they are not going to have much success...
They were pawns during the Cold war...but the game is over.....thanks for playing
"Everyone is talking more often and even louder about the «Afghan Vietnam"
The article was written in an Islamic part of Russia so perhaps people are talking about that even if it isnt true yet.
The point IS that the the Soviets did manage to do exactly what the US is now doing but lost Afganistan due to events that are already starting to happen with the US occupation. Russia claimed the leader in Kabul wasnt a puppet, Russia controlled most of the country, there was growing resentment about a foreign presence, groups in Pakistan started intervening in Afghan politics etc... So, talk of an easy American victory ring hollow since its way too soon to predict what will happen.
Of course Kavkaz will make it sound like Afghanistan will free itself from the US since Kavkaz is the official website of the Chechen guerillas. But while its obviuously biased, its a view worth hearing since Russia TOO claimed to have won a war in Chechnya which is FAR form over.
The article was written in an Islamic part of Russia so perhaps people are talking about that even if it isnt true yet.
The point IS that the the Soviets did manage to do exactly what the US is now doing but lost Afganistan due to events that are already starting to happen with the US occupation. Russia claimed the leader in Kabul wasnt a puppet, Russia controlled most of the country, there was growing resentment about a foreign presence, groups in Pakistan started intervening in Afghan politics etc... So, talk of an easy American victory ring hollow since its way too soon to predict what will happen.
Of course Kavkaz will make it sound like Afghanistan will free itself from the US since Kavkaz is the official website of the Chechen guerillas. But while its obviuously biased, its a view worth hearing since Russia TOO claimed to have won a war in Chechnya which is FAR form over.
And how do Chechens get enough weapons to hold off Russia? Yes the US is more powerful than Russia but the Russian military is far less restrained and Russia is still losing.
I live in a city that has one of the largest Afghani populations in the U.S.
I remember vividly, their contempt for the Soviets after the invasion in 1979...many wanted and some did go back and join the resistance...
i don't see that happening now...The locals here are upbeat that Afghanistan may finally have a future...
Open resistance flared so quickly that only two months after the soviet invasion (on the night of 23 February 1980) almost the entire population of Kabul climbed on their rooftops and chanted with one voice "God is Great".
It is still going to be a rocky road trying to get a country that has only seen turmoil for 2 decades back on its feet...especially with the added presence of religious fundamentalists, but, i do not see any comparison with the Soviets situation..
I remember vividly, their contempt for the Soviets after the invasion in 1979...many wanted and some did go back and join the resistance...
i don't see that happening now...The locals here are upbeat that Afghanistan may finally have a future...
Open resistance flared so quickly that only two months after the soviet invasion (on the night of 23 February 1980) almost the entire population of Kabul climbed on their rooftops and chanted with one voice "God is Great".
It is still going to be a rocky road trying to get a country that has only seen turmoil for 2 decades back on its feet...especially with the added presence of religious fundamentalists, but, i do not see any comparison with the Soviets situation..
I can see people from Afghanistan being positive about the Taliban being gone since they were so bad. I can also seem most Afghans in the US supporting the new government and trying to remain positive but Afghans in the US have access to the Western Press....
But, Bin Laden and Omare are still alive and directing actions from the Pakistani border. Hekmatyar (who still has hundreds of Stingers from the conflict with the USSR) has announced he will now work with the Taliban. Fundamentalists in Pakistan have made huge gains in elections (and remember they are the ones who created and supported the Taliban before 9/11). Aghans in Afghanistan seem to be starting to grow weary of US assualts and antiAmerican sentiment in Afganistan is growing (of course it was more immediate under the Soviets but that doesnt change the results) Karzai cant even walk around Afghanistan without American protection; while he started with local support, this creates the image of being a foreign puppet and probably dooms him more than anything else.
The US does seem to be pulling out of Afghanistan and trying to pretend it was a great victory, but people fail to remember the initial goal of Bush was capturing Bin Laden and the attack on the Taliban was mainly because they wouldnt turn him over. In that battle the US has clearly lost.
As for getting rid of "terrorist training camps" (Which was also claimed to be a goal), fundamentalists seem to have gotten a boost from US actions (see Pakistan, Turkey and Morocco's election results) so the US loss there is even more extreme.
But, Bin Laden and Omare are still alive and directing actions from the Pakistani border. Hekmatyar (who still has hundreds of Stingers from the conflict with the USSR) has announced he will now work with the Taliban. Fundamentalists in Pakistan have made huge gains in elections (and remember they are the ones who created and supported the Taliban before 9/11). Aghans in Afghanistan seem to be starting to grow weary of US assualts and antiAmerican sentiment in Afganistan is growing (of course it was more immediate under the Soviets but that doesnt change the results) Karzai cant even walk around Afghanistan without American protection; while he started with local support, this creates the image of being a foreign puppet and probably dooms him more than anything else.
The US does seem to be pulling out of Afghanistan and trying to pretend it was a great victory, but people fail to remember the initial goal of Bush was capturing Bin Laden and the attack on the Taliban was mainly because they wouldnt turn him over. In that battle the US has clearly lost.
As for getting rid of "terrorist training camps" (Which was also claimed to be a goal), fundamentalists seem to have gotten a boost from US actions (see Pakistan, Turkey and Morocco's election results) so the US loss there is even more extreme.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/14/MN105280.DTL
Widespread abuse, restrictions on freedom continue almost year after fall of Taliban.
Anna Badkhen, Chronicle Staff Writer
Imam Sahib, Afghanistan -- Some said Kurga was 25 when she died, others said she was 35. One neighbor said she died of a heart attack caused by a long-standing blood- pressure problem. Everyone else said that on a hot, starry night in late September, Kurga's husband killed her out of jealousy.
But in the end, none of this mattered.
Kurga's death was inevitable -- just a matter of time -- reasoned Abdul Kayum, the police chief of Imam Sahib. The whole town knew that Kurga had an affair with a Taliban soldier last year. And while Abdul Kayum conceded that it was wrong of Kurga's husband of 15 years to take justice into his own hands,
the man would not be punished. Under Shariah, the strict Islamic code of law, there has to be four male witnesses to prove the husband's guilt in court, Abdul Kayum explained. There were no witnesses to Kurga's killing. And besides,
if her husband hadn't killed her, the state might have: under Shariah law, adultery is a crime punishable by stoning.
Kurga's death and the police chief's indifference to it are emblematic of the largely dashed hopes the overthrow of the extremist Taliban regime had raised for women in this war-ravaged country. Repression, not freedom, is still their reality.
SCHOOLS REOPENED
Of course, there have been changes since a new government took over last December. Schools for girls have reopened, re-education classes for adult women have sprung up, many women have returned to work, and some have been seen in public without the burqa -- the traditional cloak that covers a woman from head to toe.
But most women remain pale-blue silhouettes locked away in the dusty mud- brick compounds of their husbands and fathers, housewives who live in fear under strict rules in a country that still calls itself an Islamic state.
Outside the capital, Kabul, and large, once-cosmopolitan cities like Mazar- e-Sharif, parents continue to sell their daughters to future husbands, women are not allowed to run shops, and when they go to a restaurant, they must eat separately from men. Even in Kabul, where women travel by car more than by donkey, they are more likely to squat in the trunk than to sit comfortably inside the car like men.
"This is the life we are used to," said Nargiz, 30, an Imam Sahib native who has been living in the town of Dasht-e-Qaleh, in northern Takhar province, since 1999.
SOLD BY HER PARENTS
Nargiz came to Dasht-e-Qaleh after her husband, Mahbuhbullah, bought her from her parents for $12,000. Here, the former urban schoolteacher has learned not to work, to share a house with Mahbuhbullah's other wife, Najiba, to shun male strangers, and to hide her beautiful face under a burqa whenever she leaves her husband's compound.
In some ways, Nargiz had more spirit when war was raging. First interviewed by The Chronicle a year ago, when the Taliban were under U.S. attack, she related how she would often argue with her husband, and sometimes contemplated creeping into the quarters of his other wife in the middle of the night and slashing her throat.
Now, in the new, liberated Afghanistan, Nargiz speaks more timidly. "Life is good," she says, looking shyly at the carpet on the floor. "I am used to my burqa now."
For others, the burqa is worn out of fear. Human Rights Watch reported recently that the Taliban's Police for the Protection of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice continues to patrol some remote districts of southern Afghanistan, beating and threatening women who show their faces in public.
RAMPANT ABUSE
In many cases, the new government is no better. Soldiers loyal to the powerful northern warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum are alleged to have repeatedly raped women and girls in northern Afghanistan. "Afghan women . . . have been compelled to restrict their participation in public life to avoid being targets of violence by armed factions and by those seeking to enforce repressive Taliban-era edicts," Human Rights Watch wrote in its recent report. "Afghan women, especially outside Kabul, continue to face serious threats to their physical safety."
Afghanistan's nascent, underpaid police force has few means to protect women from violence in the streets or at home. Abdul Kayum, for example, commands a police force of 123 men and one car in a city of 400,000 people. The day Kurga died, Abdul Kayum dispatched his only car and four of his police officers to fetch Nasri, a doctor, to perform an autopsy on the woman's body --
largely a formality because, in the absence of male witnesses, an autopsy is not considered evidence in Shariah court, he noted.
Even if Abdul Kayum had more police officers under his command, it is unclear whether Kurga would have been better off.
"That woman committed a crime," Abdul Kayum said. "Her death was her punishment."
Widespread abuse, restrictions on freedom continue almost year after fall of Taliban.
Anna Badkhen, Chronicle Staff Writer
Imam Sahib, Afghanistan -- Some said Kurga was 25 when she died, others said she was 35. One neighbor said she died of a heart attack caused by a long-standing blood- pressure problem. Everyone else said that on a hot, starry night in late September, Kurga's husband killed her out of jealousy.
But in the end, none of this mattered.
Kurga's death was inevitable -- just a matter of time -- reasoned Abdul Kayum, the police chief of Imam Sahib. The whole town knew that Kurga had an affair with a Taliban soldier last year. And while Abdul Kayum conceded that it was wrong of Kurga's husband of 15 years to take justice into his own hands,
the man would not be punished. Under Shariah, the strict Islamic code of law, there has to be four male witnesses to prove the husband's guilt in court, Abdul Kayum explained. There were no witnesses to Kurga's killing. And besides,
if her husband hadn't killed her, the state might have: under Shariah law, adultery is a crime punishable by stoning.
Kurga's death and the police chief's indifference to it are emblematic of the largely dashed hopes the overthrow of the extremist Taliban regime had raised for women in this war-ravaged country. Repression, not freedom, is still their reality.
SCHOOLS REOPENED
Of course, there have been changes since a new government took over last December. Schools for girls have reopened, re-education classes for adult women have sprung up, many women have returned to work, and some have been seen in public without the burqa -- the traditional cloak that covers a woman from head to toe.
But most women remain pale-blue silhouettes locked away in the dusty mud- brick compounds of their husbands and fathers, housewives who live in fear under strict rules in a country that still calls itself an Islamic state.
Outside the capital, Kabul, and large, once-cosmopolitan cities like Mazar- e-Sharif, parents continue to sell their daughters to future husbands, women are not allowed to run shops, and when they go to a restaurant, they must eat separately from men. Even in Kabul, where women travel by car more than by donkey, they are more likely to squat in the trunk than to sit comfortably inside the car like men.
"This is the life we are used to," said Nargiz, 30, an Imam Sahib native who has been living in the town of Dasht-e-Qaleh, in northern Takhar province, since 1999.
SOLD BY HER PARENTS
Nargiz came to Dasht-e-Qaleh after her husband, Mahbuhbullah, bought her from her parents for $12,000. Here, the former urban schoolteacher has learned not to work, to share a house with Mahbuhbullah's other wife, Najiba, to shun male strangers, and to hide her beautiful face under a burqa whenever she leaves her husband's compound.
In some ways, Nargiz had more spirit when war was raging. First interviewed by The Chronicle a year ago, when the Taliban were under U.S. attack, she related how she would often argue with her husband, and sometimes contemplated creeping into the quarters of his other wife in the middle of the night and slashing her throat.
Now, in the new, liberated Afghanistan, Nargiz speaks more timidly. "Life is good," she says, looking shyly at the carpet on the floor. "I am used to my burqa now."
For others, the burqa is worn out of fear. Human Rights Watch reported recently that the Taliban's Police for the Protection of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice continues to patrol some remote districts of southern Afghanistan, beating and threatening women who show their faces in public.
RAMPANT ABUSE
In many cases, the new government is no better. Soldiers loyal to the powerful northern warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum are alleged to have repeatedly raped women and girls in northern Afghanistan. "Afghan women . . . have been compelled to restrict their participation in public life to avoid being targets of violence by armed factions and by those seeking to enforce repressive Taliban-era edicts," Human Rights Watch wrote in its recent report. "Afghan women, especially outside Kabul, continue to face serious threats to their physical safety."
Afghanistan's nascent, underpaid police force has few means to protect women from violence in the streets or at home. Abdul Kayum, for example, commands a police force of 123 men and one car in a city of 400,000 people. The day Kurga died, Abdul Kayum dispatched his only car and four of his police officers to fetch Nasri, a doctor, to perform an autopsy on the woman's body --
largely a formality because, in the absence of male witnesses, an autopsy is not considered evidence in Shariah court, he noted.
Even if Abdul Kayum had more police officers under his command, it is unclear whether Kurga would have been better off.
"That woman committed a crime," Abdul Kayum said. "Her death was her punishment."
Homeland Insecurity
With his home in Fremont but his heart in Kabul, Waheed Momand wants to help rebuild Afghanistan. Why don’t some of his neighbors trust his motives?
BY NED RANDOLPH
...To Waheed, Karzai needs all the support he can get, especially from educated Afghans who now live in the relative luxury of developed countries. "It's a critical moment in the history of Afghanistan. Do we have to go back to traditional tribal living? I say no, we have a golden chance."
Waheed sees Karzai's critics in Fremont and Frankfurt as selfish power- mongers rather than constructive planners. He feels that critics concerned about who, ethnically speaking, is holding power have been a major stumbling block to peace. "One big problem that Afghans have is that they have to forgive," he says. "I know there have been so many atrocities between ethnic groups, but we have to remember the circumstances, otherwise we'll never have a unified country." And he saw few selfless leaders among the intellectual critics outside of Afghanistan.
"Durrani, the founder of modern Afghanistan, was a Pashtun from Kandahar. He had a chance to name the country Pashtunistan, but he had a vision that people with ethnic differences had to live together," Waheed says. Now, he claims, former Taliban supporters are trying to reassert themselves as leaders simply because of the Pashtun line. "They don't have any support inside Afghanistan. Ordinary people just want to have a place to live. We here have all this luxury -- homes, cars for my daughter and son, a wedding with six hundred people. In Afghanistan, people have to dig a hole in the ground and cover themselves with a plastic sheet to stay warm."
Waheed knows that much firsthand. On a break from his participation in the loya jirga he explored Kabul, recording block by block with a video recorder to show to his friends and family back in Fremont. Although the excitement of finding certain neighborhoods still intact was fun, the work of rebuilding Afghanistan is only beginning. While the capital is again bustling -- the shops have opened, and music plays in cafes -- there is still no running water and the east side of the city is darkened at night, wasted in rubble from the battles of the early '90s. "Life is still difficult," he says.
With his home in Fremont but his heart in Kabul, Waheed Momand wants to help rebuild Afghanistan. Why don’t some of his neighbors trust his motives?
BY NED RANDOLPH
...To Waheed, Karzai needs all the support he can get, especially from educated Afghans who now live in the relative luxury of developed countries. "It's a critical moment in the history of Afghanistan. Do we have to go back to traditional tribal living? I say no, we have a golden chance."
Waheed sees Karzai's critics in Fremont and Frankfurt as selfish power- mongers rather than constructive planners. He feels that critics concerned about who, ethnically speaking, is holding power have been a major stumbling block to peace. "One big problem that Afghans have is that they have to forgive," he says. "I know there have been so many atrocities between ethnic groups, but we have to remember the circumstances, otherwise we'll never have a unified country." And he saw few selfless leaders among the intellectual critics outside of Afghanistan.
"Durrani, the founder of modern Afghanistan, was a Pashtun from Kandahar. He had a chance to name the country Pashtunistan, but he had a vision that people with ethnic differences had to live together," Waheed says. Now, he claims, former Taliban supporters are trying to reassert themselves as leaders simply because of the Pashtun line. "They don't have any support inside Afghanistan. Ordinary people just want to have a place to live. We here have all this luxury -- homes, cars for my daughter and son, a wedding with six hundred people. In Afghanistan, people have to dig a hole in the ground and cover themselves with a plastic sheet to stay warm."
Waheed knows that much firsthand. On a break from his participation in the loya jirga he explored Kabul, recording block by block with a video recorder to show to his friends and family back in Fremont. Although the excitement of finding certain neighborhoods still intact was fun, the work of rebuilding Afghanistan is only beginning. While the capital is again bustling -- the shops have opened, and music plays in cafes -- there is still no running water and the east side of the city is darkened at night, wasted in rubble from the battles of the early '90s. "Life is still difficult," he says.
For more information:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/2002-...
"We suppress our tears": an interview with Afghan-American Daud Razawi
By Joyce Lynn, Contributing Writer
...These people have suffered under the Pashtuns' dominance for over 200 years. They cannot be blamed for being irrational. If revenge were an approved action, we would justify the Taliban's ethnic cleansing after they took over. This will justify any future atrocities. When are we going to break this cycle of violence? Rejecting all three sides, where else can we turn? Unfortunately, nearly only these three. It is quite a bleak picture. It is enough to drive you to a severe psychological depression.
There is no easy way out of this terrible, terrible situation I think that a state established upon flexible idealistic virtues (we have to shoot for stars while standing with both feet on the ground) and run by these three forces with plenty of intellectuals and educated people in the background have some grim chances of succeeding. We have to realize our miserable situation, understand the limitations we have, yet pursue achieving a highly humane society as our ideal. We have to realize the importance of the current desperate situation, yet visualize a future that is not solely based on current conditions. Some prerequisites, however, need to be met first:
America must keep an eye on the situation without being directly involved. America must keep putting pressure on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran not to interfere. Pakistan should have learned by now that they cannot have a hell burning in Afghanistan without its flames burning some part of Pakistan itself.
The Afghans have to taste some pleasures of peace and prosperity before wanting more. There must be a better alternative to war. There must be a trust in government providing civil services. Oh, yes, and how/who should do that? This is the million-dollar question.
By Joyce Lynn, Contributing Writer
...These people have suffered under the Pashtuns' dominance for over 200 years. They cannot be blamed for being irrational. If revenge were an approved action, we would justify the Taliban's ethnic cleansing after they took over. This will justify any future atrocities. When are we going to break this cycle of violence? Rejecting all three sides, where else can we turn? Unfortunately, nearly only these three. It is quite a bleak picture. It is enough to drive you to a severe psychological depression.
There is no easy way out of this terrible, terrible situation I think that a state established upon flexible idealistic virtues (we have to shoot for stars while standing with both feet on the ground) and run by these three forces with plenty of intellectuals and educated people in the background have some grim chances of succeeding. We have to realize our miserable situation, understand the limitations we have, yet pursue achieving a highly humane society as our ideal. We have to realize the importance of the current desperate situation, yet visualize a future that is not solely based on current conditions. Some prerequisites, however, need to be met first:
America must keep an eye on the situation without being directly involved. America must keep putting pressure on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran not to interfere. Pakistan should have learned by now that they cannot have a hell burning in Afghanistan without its flames burning some part of Pakistan itself.
The Afghans have to taste some pleasures of peace and prosperity before wanting more. There must be a better alternative to war. There must be a trust in government providing civil services. Oh, yes, and how/who should do that? This is the million-dollar question.
For more information:
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Repor...
Source: Daily Ausaf, Translated by Jihad Unspun
The American military is witnessing stiff resistance and an increasing number of attacks on its soldiers in Afghanistan. Hidden from news media, body bags counts are rising day by day.
Last night the new Khost airport, built by the Americans, came under heavy attack, with missiles coming from all directions. A monitoring team has been in the area to monitor infighting between factions and at least two of the soldiers died instantly. The missile attacks continued in short succession between 1 and 3 am. Later on eyewitness told newsmen that in rocket attacks many soldiers were killed, at least 10 soldiers. The attacks were blamed on one of the break away factions.
The Khost airport is now almost constantly under attack by Mujahideen. Saturday night, the airport was also hit by missiles, with four hitting targets at the new airport and four hitting targets at the old part of the airport. No casualties have yet been reported. American and coalition planes circled the area all night looking for the Mujahideen however they were unable to locate them and refrained from bombing.
In other news, Mujahideen firing Kalashnikovs have killed one US soldier and severely injured another in ambush on coalition troops who were on routine patrol in the area of Balahasar in the Gardez-Paktia province of Afghanistan. The Mujahideen managed to escape however American and coalition troops retaliated by seizing virtually the whole city.
It has also been learned that heavy fighting has shifted from the old and famous Takhta Baika fortress to the plains.
The Afghan Mujahideen have dramatically escalated the number of daily attacks as resistance groups are now united under a common goal in a concentrated effort to expel the Americans and its allies from the country.
Source: Azzam - 373 days have passed since America launched its latest Crusade against Islam and its people. A number of Muslim prisoners were captured in this Crusade and taken to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where their beards were forcibly shaved and they are being held in cages subject to Malaria, heatstroke and other tropical diseases. One of these prisoners is Khalid bin Hasan bin Hussain Al-Barakaati Al-Shareef (Abu Faisal) from Makkah, Arabian Peninsula. He is from the same family as the Shaheed, Abul-Mundhir Ash-Shareef (Mansoor Al-Barakaati) from Makkah, martyred in Afghanistan in 1990.
KANDAHAR (AZZAM):Two seperate operations by the Mujahideen caused the death of seven US troops and destroyed two US military vehicles. The first operation occurred near Kandahar Airbase in which a bomb was placed inside a cart and then remotely detonated precisely when US military vehicles were passing inflicting maximum damage.
The military vehicle was taking its usual route when the bomb detonated destroying it completely and killing three and seriously injuring two other US soldiers.
The other operation was carried out in Khushab village in which a bomb was once again remotely detonated killing four and injuring two more US soldiers. This bomb was set inside a donkey cart which was beside the road. As soon as the US APC approached, the Mujahideen detonated the bomb killing four US troops whilst two more received life threatening injuries. The APC was turned to rubble. In response, that night US troops without the help of local militia arrested the Commissioner of Meesh together with some of his aides. No details of his arrest have been issued.
Five US Commandos Killed in Missile Attack in Khost
KHOST (AZZAM):The US military base in Tanaee region of Khost was the target of a sustained missile attacks. Three missiles were fired at the airport complex, resulting in 5 US commando fatalities, seven other military personnel were seriously injured.
The US military, immediately after the attack, commenced operations in response in order to avenge the attack. These operations were, however, unsuccesful.
The US fatalities and injured were moved to the Bagram airbase medical and morgue facilities.
The American military is witnessing stiff resistance and an increasing number of attacks on its soldiers in Afghanistan. Hidden from news media, body bags counts are rising day by day.
Last night the new Khost airport, built by the Americans, came under heavy attack, with missiles coming from all directions. A monitoring team has been in the area to monitor infighting between factions and at least two of the soldiers died instantly. The missile attacks continued in short succession between 1 and 3 am. Later on eyewitness told newsmen that in rocket attacks many soldiers were killed, at least 10 soldiers. The attacks were blamed on one of the break away factions.
The Khost airport is now almost constantly under attack by Mujahideen. Saturday night, the airport was also hit by missiles, with four hitting targets at the new airport and four hitting targets at the old part of the airport. No casualties have yet been reported. American and coalition planes circled the area all night looking for the Mujahideen however they were unable to locate them and refrained from bombing.
In other news, Mujahideen firing Kalashnikovs have killed one US soldier and severely injured another in ambush on coalition troops who were on routine patrol in the area of Balahasar in the Gardez-Paktia province of Afghanistan. The Mujahideen managed to escape however American and coalition troops retaliated by seizing virtually the whole city.
It has also been learned that heavy fighting has shifted from the old and famous Takhta Baika fortress to the plains.
The Afghan Mujahideen have dramatically escalated the number of daily attacks as resistance groups are now united under a common goal in a concentrated effort to expel the Americans and its allies from the country.
Source: Azzam - 373 days have passed since America launched its latest Crusade against Islam and its people. A number of Muslim prisoners were captured in this Crusade and taken to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where their beards were forcibly shaved and they are being held in cages subject to Malaria, heatstroke and other tropical diseases. One of these prisoners is Khalid bin Hasan bin Hussain Al-Barakaati Al-Shareef (Abu Faisal) from Makkah, Arabian Peninsula. He is from the same family as the Shaheed, Abul-Mundhir Ash-Shareef (Mansoor Al-Barakaati) from Makkah, martyred in Afghanistan in 1990.
KANDAHAR (AZZAM):Two seperate operations by the Mujahideen caused the death of seven US troops and destroyed two US military vehicles. The first operation occurred near Kandahar Airbase in which a bomb was placed inside a cart and then remotely detonated precisely when US military vehicles were passing inflicting maximum damage.
The military vehicle was taking its usual route when the bomb detonated destroying it completely and killing three and seriously injuring two other US soldiers.
The other operation was carried out in Khushab village in which a bomb was once again remotely detonated killing four and injuring two more US soldiers. This bomb was set inside a donkey cart which was beside the road. As soon as the US APC approached, the Mujahideen detonated the bomb killing four US troops whilst two more received life threatening injuries. The APC was turned to rubble. In response, that night US troops without the help of local militia arrested the Commissioner of Meesh together with some of his aides. No details of his arrest have been issued.
Five US Commandos Killed in Missile Attack in Khost
KHOST (AZZAM):The US military base in Tanaee region of Khost was the target of a sustained missile attacks. Three missiles were fired at the airport complex, resulting in 5 US commando fatalities, seven other military personnel were seriously injured.
The US military, immediately after the attack, commenced operations in response in order to avenge the attack. These operations were, however, unsuccesful.
The US fatalities and injured were moved to the Bagram airbase medical and morgue facilities.
After missile attacks on the US camp in the Urgoon area of Afghanistan, the US bombers retaliated to target Pakistani tribal areas of Damasar and Lowar Mandi in North Waziristan Agency.
Reliable sources told The News that on Wednesday night, unknown assailants targeted the US air base of Urgoon with five missiles, which caused huge losses to US troops present in the camp. According to tribal and official sources, after the missile attacks on the US camp at 2 am, two US helicopters arrived the area and taken the injured and alleged slain troops to some unknown place. However, it was not confirmed that how many troops were died and injured in the missile attack.
Later, US fighter planes B-52 were seen while heavily bombarding the area bordering Damasar situated at distance of 45 kilometres from Miran Shah, headquarters, North Waziristan Agency.
The area, occupied by paramilitary troops, known as Tuchi Scouts while for the first time in the half century old history of the country, Pakistan's regular army has also been deployed there recently after the Bush administration asked its ally to do so.
Instead of targeting their desired areas in Afghanistan, the US B-52 planes targeted Pakistan's Damasar and Lowara Mandi areas with five missiles. According to official sources in Miran Shah, these attacks on Pakistan's tribal areas, have sent a wave of shock among the already charged tribesmen against US and its allies engaged in their so called war against terrorism in Afghanistan.
Official sources also told The News that Major Izhar Ahmad Bajwa of Pakistan Army has collected devices, which were dropped by the US fighter planes in night. Bajwa was reported to have visited the affected area and met people.
However, no loss of life was reported due to these missile attacks as four missile were said to have fell on the area at the distance of 100 meters of Tuchi Scouts camp while the remaining two were fell about 800 meters of the camp.
Despite several attempts by this scribe, none of the officials of political administration North Waziristan Agency were available for their official version.
Balochistan Post
Reliable sources told The News that on Wednesday night, unknown assailants targeted the US air base of Urgoon with five missiles, which caused huge losses to US troops present in the camp. According to tribal and official sources, after the missile attacks on the US camp at 2 am, two US helicopters arrived the area and taken the injured and alleged slain troops to some unknown place. However, it was not confirmed that how many troops were died and injured in the missile attack.
Later, US fighter planes B-52 were seen while heavily bombarding the area bordering Damasar situated at distance of 45 kilometres from Miran Shah, headquarters, North Waziristan Agency.
The area, occupied by paramilitary troops, known as Tuchi Scouts while for the first time in the half century old history of the country, Pakistan's regular army has also been deployed there recently after the Bush administration asked its ally to do so.
Instead of targeting their desired areas in Afghanistan, the US B-52 planes targeted Pakistan's Damasar and Lowara Mandi areas with five missiles. According to official sources in Miran Shah, these attacks on Pakistan's tribal areas, have sent a wave of shock among the already charged tribesmen against US and its allies engaged in their so called war against terrorism in Afghanistan.
Official sources also told The News that Major Izhar Ahmad Bajwa of Pakistan Army has collected devices, which were dropped by the US fighter planes in night. Bajwa was reported to have visited the affected area and met people.
However, no loss of life was reported due to these missile attacks as four missile were said to have fell on the area at the distance of 100 meters of Tuchi Scouts camp while the remaining two were fell about 800 meters of the camp.
Despite several attempts by this scribe, none of the officials of political administration North Waziristan Agency were available for their official version.
Balochistan Post
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