NATO declares victory in south Afghan battle

[maddezmom]

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO and Afghan government forces have forced Taliban troops out of a southern Afghan district after a two-week operation in which NATO said hundreds of militants were killed.

"This has been a significant success and clearly shows the capability that Afghan, NATO and coalition forces have when they operate together," the British commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General David Richards told a news conference on Sunday.

The offensive, codenamed Operation Medusa, was launched on September 2 to clear well dug-in Taliban forces from a farming district about 25 km (15 miles) west of the southern city of Kandahar

link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060917/wl_nm/afghan_nato_dc

[Bonhomme Richard]

1. Makes me think this could have been said in 1776.

"This has been a significant success and clearly shows the capability that British, Hession and Loyalist forces have when they operate together," the British commander of the Kings troops in the colonies, Lieutenant General Howe told a news conference on Sunday.
They fight, they disappear to fight again. That's the problem when you are not fighting a standing army.

[liberalmike27]

2. AM I wrong

Is this the first time NATO has actually fought battles instead of just hanging around sitting in their tanks? We should let the UN and NATO take charge in these world matters, and if they don't want to get involved, we needn't either.

[seriousstan]

12. Absolutely, if the UN doesn't want to do anything about Rwanda

we shouldn't either. Or the Sudan.

[acmavm]

3. Somebody find the story from yesterday where officials (military I

believe) we worried that either there are a hell of a lot more Taliban in the country than was previously thought OR that the NATO forces killed a lot of civilians because the figures just didn't wash.

I'll try as well but I'm not good at that shit. Don't have the patience.

edit: Oh wow, I found it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2514057

[sattahipdeep]

4. Opium cultivation has soared. 59% surge in opium production

This year Afghanistan will produce more heroin than western
addicts can consume.

....
Mr Khan told the Guardian the militants have bigger guns and
more fighters. They have powerful friends. Several times he
had collared Taliban fighters only to discover days later they
had been released following a call from a powerful politician
or influential tribal leader. They also have surprising amounts
of money.

"I would be shocked if the Saudi intelligence service and the
Kuwaitis were not trying to find ways to get money to the
Taliban," said Michael Scheuer, a former CIA agent with 20
years' experience in the region.

....
Shutting down the Pakistani sanctuaries would not necessarily
end the insurgency. This year the Taliban's strength has been
nourished by a new source: heroin. After spurning the opium
trade as un-Islamic and immoral, this year the Taliban
leadership reversed its position and allied with drug
smugglers. The 59% surge in opium production to an
unprecedented 6,100 tonnes will swell the Taliban war chest.
"This is going to put a lot more money into the pockets of the
insurgency," said one drug official.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1873769,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1


On another topic, Bush rejected sending more troops to the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas to find Osama bin Laden.
"One hundred thousand troops there in Pakistan is not the answer.
It's someone saying 'Guess what' and then the kinetic action begins,"
he said, meaning an informer disclosing bin Laden's location :eyes:

http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=8420

[LTR]

5. NATO says anti-Taliban operation is done

A top NATO general said Sunday an offensive aimed at driving Taliban militants out of their safe havens in southern Afghanistan has been "successfully completed."

Meanwhile, violence persisted in parts of the country. Suicide bombers attacked Canadian and U.S. troops in separate incidents Sunday, killing two civilians and wounding six soldiers.

Lt. Gen. David Richards, head of the 20,000 NATO-led force in Afghanistan, said the insurgents had been forced to abandon their positions and reconstruction and development efforts would soon begin in the volatile former Taliban heartland, he said.

He said the insurgents had "suffered significant casualties" and "had no choice but to leave."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060917/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan

[acmavm]

6. Probably a good think. Wonder how many civilians died?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2514057

NATO's high estimate of Taliban killed stirs doubt

KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO's estimate of Taliban killed this month has created skepticism and worry in Afghanistan. Local officials say that either the militant force has grown bigger than imagined or too many innocent Afghans are being killed.

NATO says its forces, backed by the Afghan army, have killed more than 500 Taliban militants near Afghanistan's main southern city of Kandahar in Operation Medusa, a sweep launched Sept. 2.

The figures, if accurate, make it the deadliest battle since U.S. warplanes bombed the extremist militia, host of Osama bin Laden.

"If they kill that many, the Taliban must have thousands of fighters on that front," said Mohammed Arbil, a former Northern Alliance commander. Recently, Taliban units have been described in terms of dozens or hundreds at most.

more:http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/news/146899.php

[Kagemusha]

7. BWAHAHAHAHA! Oh this is a riot. This is such a riot...

This is what's called declaring victory and going home.

HELLO! Guerillas abandon positions all the time! Doesn't mean they won't be back!

[badgervan]

11. Exactly

They melt away to fight again another day ( remind you of a similar enemy guerilla force in S.E. Asia? ). There is no "victory" to be won in Afghanistan - none. These people will be there long after we are gone, as Russia and many others have found out throughout history. Let's take our 150,000 troops in Iraq and send them to the area along the Afghan/Pakistani border area, encircle the best known whereabouts of osama and friends, and tighten the noose. As of now, these troops are referees in a bloody civil war, and are being wasted.

[LynnTheDem]

8. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Not.

[IndianaGreen]

9. Winning the battles but losing the war

As we have seen in Iraq, and are beginning to see with the increase of suicide bombers and IEDs in Afghanistan, that as soon as the troops leave they are replaced by the insurgents.

We don't have enough troops to succeed at anything in either Iraq or Afghanistan. This is more troubling for the reason we went into Afghanistan was to go after those behind the 9-11 attack, and that our failure to stick to that mission is why the Taleban are resurgent.

The only way to salvage Afghanistan is by pulling all of our troops out of Iraq and redeploy them to that country. Iraq is already lost for good.

[maddezmom]

10. AFP Headline: NATO forces claim success as two suicide blasts hit Afghanis

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Afghan and NATO forces declared success in a major anti-Taliban drive in southern Afghanistan while insurgents kept up their vicious guerrilla-style campaign with two suicide blasts.

The commander of the NATO-led force, Lieutenant General David Richards said meanwhile he was confident of getting the troops reinforcements needed to make a "real difference" in the counterinsurgency campaign he said was being won.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060917/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanunrest_060917183229

[daleo]

13. That's the way it's done

Just declare victory and leave.

On edit - I guess they still have to figure out the leaving bit, though.

[teryang]

14. Victory in Afghanistan!

It isn't going to happen. What is amazing is that there are Nato countries stupid enough to pursue this.

[Solly Mack]

15. Famous last words and all that

[rodeodance]

16. NATO: Afghan operation successful (400 insurgents had been killed)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/17/afghanistan.reut/index.html

NATO: Afghan operation successful
POSTED: 10:07 a.m. EDT, September 17, 2006


KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- NATO and Afghan government troops have forced Taliban insurgents out of a southern Afghan district after a two-week operation in which NATO said hundreds of militants were killed.

The Taliban and their militant allies have unleashed a wave of attacks on government and foreign troops this year. Security forces have responded with a series of offensives in the south and east.

The British commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General David Richards, said on Sunday the offensive codenamed Operation Medusa had cleared well dug-in Taliban forces from a farming district about 25 km (15 miles) west of the southern city of Kandahar.

"This has been a significant success and clearly shows the capability that Afghan, NATO and coalition forces have when they operate together," Richards told a news conference in Kabul.

The level of violence in Afghanistan -- the most intense since the Taliban were ousted five years ago -- has surprised the government and its Western allies and raised concern about the prospects for a country that had been seen as a success in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. (Watch why NATO's appeal for troops in Afghanistan is so challenging - 2:41)

About 130 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year, most of them Americans, British and Canadians.

[pinerow]

17. Nato will then declare victory and leave...

sheesh...

[DemonFighterLives]

18. High Death Tolls= Success - Oh, I get it now

What kind of mess has the dubya regime left for the world?
:argh:

[jellybeancurse]

19. I wonder if reporters were allowed

that were not "embedded". It is my understanding that anytime that that many people are killed in a military engagement it is never just "400 insurgents". Especially in Iraq when brave journalists show up it tends to be a men, women, and children.

[Copperred]

20. I'd bet 75% are just locals pissed off......Taliban my arse.....

[razors edge]

21. pissed of or not

they were probably all locals, and a couple of six year olds will fill a body bag just fine for the cameras.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: kinda

[CHIMO]

22. Anti-Taliban operation 'successfully completed'

KABUL, Afghanistan — Pro-government commanders in southern Afghanistan say they have crushed Taliban resistance in capturing a small patch of farmland just west of the provincial capital.

Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid and Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian and NATO commander in southern Afghanistan, gathered in the garden of the governor's residence to declare victory in Panjwaii after a two-week offensive.

The declaration of victory was eerily similar to another bold statement four months ago when Canadians took the traditional stronghold from Afghan guerrillas.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060917.waf0917/BNStory/International/home

[LynnTheDem]

23. Meaning another 398 innocent men, women & babies dead.

And another bunch of terrorists are made.

[bhikkhu]

24. 400 dead in a small patch of farmland

is anyone celebrating? A bunch of generals patting themselves on the back at the efficiency of their ordinance isn't a good sign.

[Iceburg]

25. 4 NATO troops killed in Afghanistan (sep 18)...

ANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked Canadian troops handing out candy to children in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing four NATO soldiers and wounding many others, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.

The attack in Kandahar province's Panjwayi district came a day after NATO declared an end to a two-week offensive aimed at driving Taliban militants out of safe havens in the same area. More than 500 insurgents were reported killed in the Canadian-led operation, which NATO described as a success despite continuing violence in the south.
...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan_11

I am assuming these NATO soldiers are Canadian...I hope Harper has some comforting words for the families of these soldiers ---"..a noble cause...killed in action while doling out candy and democracy"
:-(

[enigma000]

26. Well considering the accepted view is these soldiers

just murdered hundreds of innocent civilians, why should we mourn for them?