Deadly raid on U.S. military base raises doubts

[Contrary1]

Attack highlights uncertainty about U.S. ability to turn back Taliban
Gee, ya think? :think:

KABUL, Afghanistan - An insurgent raid that penetrated an American outpost in eastern Afghanistan, killing nine soldiers, has deepened doubts about the U.S. military's effort to contain Islamic militants and keep locals on its side.

Moving in darkness before dawn Sunday, some 200 fighters surrounded the newly built base in a remote area near the Pakistan border without being spotted by the troops inside, said Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh, the provincial police chief.

He said people in the adjacent village of Wanat aided the assault. About 20 local families left their homes in anticipation of the raid, while other tribesmen stayed behind "and helped the insurgents during the fight," Jangalbagh said.

<snip>

Violence has been increasing in Afghanistan, and many people are questioning whether the Taliban-led insurgency is gaining, not losing, momentum seven years after the hard-line Islamic regime was ousted by a U.S.-led invasion..."


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25678644/

[Breeze54]

1. Well, with that $43M, heroin and time on their hands....

and idiot military commanders putting bases in remote places like that and no reinforcements...

Reminds me of that movie about the British at a remote base and the Zulu surround them.

If you get a chance, watch it. It's a good movie. It sucks all those guys got killed too. :(

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. The film is "Zulu"...about the Battle of Rourke's Drift

Also good is Zulu Dawn, the battle of Isandlwana

[Breeze54]

7. Hey, thanks for the background and the titles!

Maybe I'll see if I can rent it this weekend. :hi:

[Bandit]

5. With modern day helicopters and jets there is not much remote anymore

It only takes a few minutes to get air cavalry on the location and support from gun ships.

[Squatch]

6. Yeah, right.

Average time for a urgent medevac is well over 1 hr. Unless preplanned, average time for CAS is about 1 hr.

[Bandit]

10. Well we actually did much better during Vietnam

But even so an hour or two is pretty damn quick. Most units, even small ones can hold out for a few hours. It is amazing the amount of firepower even a small infantry unit can bring to bear.

[Breeze54]

8. Our soldiers in Afghanistan are crying for HELP!!!!!!

Where have you been? It's been all over the news..

..... and blogs... and gheesh!

Try reading about it!! Use a search engine!!

[tanyev]

3. Can anyone tell me what kind of coverage this incident got on national television news?

I can't stand to watch network news and we don't have cable. Did it get the attention it should have, or was it barely mentioned?

[Breeze54]

9. I found an AP article about it yesterday and it had ONE sentence!!!!

:grr:

[Squatch]

4. "About 20 local families left their homes in anticipation of the raid..."

This is the mark of failure at the tactical level. Where the hell was the S-2 or CA on this?

[mmonk]

11. We won't hold there as long as we're trying to hold onto Iraq

and it's oil reserves and contracts. What do we want more, the contracts there or the pipeline in Afghanistan? Looks increasingly we can't have both and forget Iran.