Fierce Fighting Reported in Afghanistan (1 US death- "accidental fall")

[DuctapeFatwa]

Afghan soldiers were waging a fierce battle with entrenched Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan after a night of heavy U.S. bombing that left many Taliban fighters dead, an Afghan intelligence chief said Friday.

The U.S. military said a special operations soldier died in an accidental fall during the fighting, some of the fiercest in recent months. The soldier's name was not immediately released.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030903_1001.html

[ixion]

1. ask yourself this...

would the soldier have 'accidentally fallen' if they had not been in combat?

Accidental. And people buy that load. How very sad.

[DuctapeFatwa]

2. I assume "accidental fall" means they hurl themselves off something

rather than commit some atrocity that they are ordered to do.

[htuttle]

3. There was a report in Aljazeera yesterday...

...that at least one Special Forces soldier died in Afghanistan when his parachute failed to open.

I suppose that would qualify as a 'fall'.

[The Stranger]

4. Special Forces are often non-uniformed former military or para-military

CIA agents, according to press reports. Their operations are outside the normal military command structure and are usually funded secretly; they are almost mercenaries.

Special Forces were subject to strict control until Bush and September 11, 2001 changed all of that.

Come to think of it, they resemble the mercenary fighters they are supposed to be fighting in Afghanistan.

[MGKrebs]

5. "Accidental fall"

Accidentally got in the way of a bullet, causing fall?