Knee-deep in the big muddy - Christmas Day battle in Afghanistan

[bigtree]

55 minutes ago

Details have emerged of a massive operation by British, Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan in which troops fought at close quarters, in knee-deep mud and in fierce trench battles reminiscent of the First World War.

The operation, which culminated in a battle on Christmas Day, claimed the lives of five British servicemen and wounded scores of others. About 100 Taliban fighters were killed, including a senior commander.

Operation Sond Chara - Pashto for Red Dagger - was named after 3 Commando Brigade's shoulder badge.

Describing Sond Chara, Captain Dave Glendenning, commander of the marines' artillery support team, said: "Almost every day we were involved in intense fire-fights ranging from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms 'shoot-and-scoots' to four-hour battles with the enemy forces as close as 30 metres."

A Lance Corporal, signaler with the 77th Armoured Engineer Squadron, said: "I was in Nad-e-Ali for just over two weeks ... Some of the places we stayed in were a nightmare - sleeping in the mud was the worst.

The operation aimed to provide better security in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah following Taliban attacks in October, and to pave the way for a voter registration programme due to start early this year.


read: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5h4ui7jWTwIE7p070Lv5W4J0ZKJ_A

[LynnTheDem]

1. "to pave the way for a voter registration programme"

:wow:

Definition of "insane".

[Alamuti Lotus]

2. Nonsense!

Kill anyone who disagrees, and your guy is bound to win.. That's just how an effective democracy is run (please overlook that pesky dictionary definition).

[LynnTheDem]

4. There is that way of looking at it.

Or you force "democratic elections" and then when someone you don't like is elected democratically, you either kill the elected leader or you starve the people with blockades and sanctions to force them to kill their elected leader.

Or you invade and slaughter indiscriminatly, whilst catapulting the propaganda that you're only slaughtering "terrorists".

The USA is experienced with all 3 methods.

[Alamuti Lotus]

5. And all 3..

are perfectly acceptable methods of 'defending freedom'. Or so sayeth the almighty experts.

[LynnTheDem]

6. As long as only the US or Israel do it, of course.

Anyone else "defending freedom" are of course "terrorists".


And they hate us for our freedoms. (that truly is the dumbest crap ever spewed in a very long list of dumbest shit spewed!)

[Alamuti Lotus]

7. Well, yes

Defending freedom is a task for a select few only. Add UK and occasionally NATO to the roster, with the latter only having an allowable opinion when it is in league of the chief.

[bigtree]

8. The increased occupation is the same as in Iraq

. . . where they offered the same sort of 'with us or against us' choice between our invading and occupying forces and the resistance.

Opposition communities will be occupied and intimidated by our forces while supportive communities will be protected and enabled in the run-up to the balloting. The outcome of the vote will likely resemble whatever minority composition of the Afghan population feels unencumbered by the regime's heavy-hand to cast their ballot in their favor.

The result, however, may well bolster whatever legitimacy the West wants to place on their enabled rule in Kabul, but the effect of the increased military activity will have a predictable effect of aligning the myriads of Afghans who are now being led to oppose one another, to band together in resistance against their country's foreign invaders.

[izzie]

3. I do not think this is a war the West should be in

Course I do not think we should be feeding the world weapons for these endless wars every place but then what would our weapon mills and workers do with out these endless wars? Make windmills or some thing? What we need is an 'international windmill dealer' business. Lets vote for some slimy 'windmill dealers'. I wonder if the every day people in these places feel like the every day people of Spain in the 30's felt. Life hardly changes for the people on the street. :thumbsdown:

[bigtree]

9. we can't possibly gauge which faction deserves support

. . . much less which deserves the brunt of the destructive and deadly force of our military. And, as they proceed in their offensives, they are creating opposition to the very democracy their leaders are promoting as justification for the aggression.

I imagine the people feel under siege from all sides. There will be a blurring of differences, though, between the tribes as they band together to oppose the increasing force of foreign invaders.

[Fire1]

11. Oh, yes there is. The faction the U.S. gave the money to is the one

they will support. Very simple.

[bigtree]

12. there is a tendency for power to attract support, at least initially

. . . but the moment passes and that sort of support fades when the seed money disappears.

The question is, which faction actually deserves that support? Propping up the regime in power with U.S. bribes to the locals is not an indefinite proposition. There will always be the effect of alienating those groups outside of that privileged influence and support, deepening opposition to whatever regime we hope to construct there.

[Fire1]

13. Agreed, and just what do you think has been going on the last

eight years, but widening alienation. Profiteers couldn't give a rat's ass about deepening opposition and we are now seeing the 'effects of alienation.'

[bertman]

10. Has ANY colonial power ACTUALLY RULED THIS PLACE? Just wonderin'.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. "Spreading democracy" again. It worked so well in Vietnam, Iraq, Chile, ....

Guatemala, Laos, Cambodia, Congo, Honduras, etc, etc, etc. And, of course the great threat, mighty Grenada!