So much for the super-patriotic and jingoistic propaganda barrage
that the Canadian, so-called "news" media has been innundating
us us with the last few days about the "glorious" and "vital" role
Canadaian Armed Forces snipers played in this magnificent
operation!
mart
Reply-to:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date:Thu, 14 Mar 2002 09:03:54 +0000
Subject:From www.truthinmedia.org
The �Anaconda� Embarrassment
Powell in 1994: �We Don�t Do Mountains�� We
Date:Thu, 14 Mar 2002 09:03:54 +0000
Subject:From www.truthinmedia.org
The �Anaconda� Embarrassment
Powell in 1994: �We Don�t Do Mountains�� We
Still Don�t, and Shouldn�t
AFGHANISTAN, Mar. 13 - �Declare victory, and
AFGHANISTAN, Mar. 13 - �Declare victory, and
run like hell,� seems to be an apt description of
today�s Pentagon announcement about an
impending end to the embarrassing �Anaconda�
operation in eastern Afghanistan.
Named after a snake that squeezes the life out
of its victims, this American-Afghan �Anaconda�
let its most highly prized pray slip away. Again.
�They (Americans) were weakening our morale,
it was better for them to go,� commander of the
Afghan government troops, Allah Mohammed,
told the London Times
(Mar. 12).
Shah Mahood Popal, the (Afghan) deputy
(Mar. 12).
Shah Mahood Popal, the (Afghan) deputy
commander, believed it was self-preservation
that stopped the Americans from launching a
more decisive attack. �They didn't want to risk
losing lots of fighters. Afghans don't care if they
lose lots of fighters, so we are better suited for
the task. They should stick to bombing, he
told the Times.
Of course, Pentagon�s �victory� declaration was
Of course, Pentagon�s �victory� declaration was
accompanied by a bombastic claim that our
troops had killed over 800 Taliban and Al Qaeda
fighters during the two-week operation. That
sounds like a tall tale. At leas the Afghans who
have fought alongside the American troops think
so. Here�s an excerpt from the Mar. 12 London
Times report:
�Afghan commanders believe that the US has
�Afghan commanders believe that the US has
exaggerated the number of casualties in the
bombing campaign, saying that at least several
hundred al-Qaeda forces are up in mountain
caves ready to fight back.
"We have been very close to their positions and
"We have been very close to their positions and
we have seen no dead bodies," Commander
Mohammed said.�
Meanwhile, we (America) are supposed to
Meanwhile, we (America) are supposed to
have suffered no losses beyond the eight
U.S. soldiers killed at the outset in a
helicopter incident, again, according to the
Pentagon.
The only thing more embarrassing than the
The only thing more embarrassing than the
Pentagon�s �Anaconda� performance was a
lack of probing questions by our lamestream
media.
For two weeks now, hundreds of U.S. troops
For two weeks now, hundreds of U.S. troops
have been under heavy enemy fire in a
treacherous mountainous terrains.
Reinforcements kept being sent in all the time -
both U.S. and Afghan troops. Yet not a word
about additional casualties. Not a peep from our
lapdog media about them, either.
It�s all reminiscent of the �lie and deny�-style
military reporting that we all witnessed almost
three years ago now, during the NATO bombing
of Serbia.
For 78 days and nights, we fought an air war
flying tens of thousands of sorties. And when
it was all over, our the commander-in-chief
went on national TV and told the nation that
we have suffered no combat casualties (see
�NATO Losses Revisited,� May 2000).
Only a lapdog media reporter or a brain-dead
Only a lapdog media reporter or a brain-dead
citizen would have believed Bill Clinton�s
claim in June 1999. Only a lapdog reporter or
a brain-dead citizen would buy the official
Pentagon line today. Yet a poor performance
of the American troops in the mountainous
terrain of Eastern Afghanistan should surprise
no one. Least of our Secretary of State, a former
military man, who has evidently done a
turn-about-face in his new job.
�We don�t do mountains, we only do deserts,� a
�We don�t do mountains, we only do deserts,� a
younger and wiser Gen. Colin Powell rebuffed
Madeleine Albright, Clinton�s Secretary of State,
back in 1994, when Powell was still the Chief of
General Staff, and she was the U.S. ambassador
at the U.N. (see �Mountains Ground U.S. Apaches,�
S99-86, Day 60, May 22, 1999).
Albright, whom this writer (among others) had
Albright, whom this writer (among others) had
dubbed �Madam Halfbright� long before she
amply justified that epithet during the 1999
NATO bombing, chided Powell over his reticence
to commit U.S. troops to Bosnia:
�What good is having the world�s most powerful
�What good is having the world�s most powerful
military if you don�t use it (to weigh in on the
side of the Bosnian Muslims and Croats and
against the Serbs). The preceding was the
extent of Madam Halfbright�s �military doctrine,
on the basis of which she would have sent the
American troops into harms way.
Eight years ago, Albright�s arrogant and ignorant
Eight years ago, Albright�s arrogant and ignorant
attitude was shocking. Today, such attitudes are
banal. They are the norm, not an exception, in
today�s Washington. Eight years ago, Clinton�s
today�s Washington. Eight years ago, Clinton�s
New World Order hawks were silenced by a
saner majority in our government. Today, the Bush
saner majority in our government. Today, the Bush
league hawks roam, reign and rain terror freely. Now,
the truth and the American people are silenced, not
just the peace doves.
Here�s a case in point. While the Washington brass
Here�s a case in point. While the Washington brass
was making its �Anaconda �victory proclamations,� the
public in Britain and France, for example, was able to
get an entirely different picture of what actually went on
in Eastern Afghanistan during the last two weeks.
As you read the following excerpts from the European
As you read the following excerpts from the European
media, keep in mind that both the British and the French
have their own troops deployed in Afghanistan. Which
means their own military intelligence and their own war
reporters. The only difference seems to be that their
reporters. The only difference seems to be that their
media aren�t as subservient to and gagged by the military.
Here�s, for example, an excerpt from a Mar. 12 report
Here�s, for example, an excerpt from a Mar. 12 report
by the London Times, filed from Afghanistan:
'Inadequate' US troops pulled out of battleground;
'Inadequate' US troops pulled out of battleground;
War on terror
CATHERINE PHILP IN LEG DIWAWL, AFGHANISTAN
CATHERINE PHILP IN LEG DIWAWL, AFGHANISTAN
OVERSEAS NEWS
HUNDREDS of American troops were pulled out of the
HUNDREDS of American troops were pulled out of the
ground battle with al-Qaeda forces because they failed
to adapt to the guerrilla tactics required for fighting
in the mountains, according to their Afghan allies.
More than 1,000 Afghan troops rushed to the front
in the mountains, according to their Afghan allies.
More than 1,000 Afghan troops rushed to the front
line yesterday to take up the slack after the
withdrawal of 400 US troops from the mountains of
eastern Afghanistan.
The American military has described the withdrawal
The American military has described the withdrawal
as a tactical reappraisal of their battleplan, but
Afghan commanders told a different story of
inexperienced American soldiers unable to advance
inexperienced American soldiers unable to advance
through the unfamiliar mountains to track down
al-Qaeda and Taleban foes. [�]
Afghan leaders say the many pathways through the
Afghan leaders say the many pathways through the
mountains are providing not only escape routes for
the fighters but a means of replenishing their ranks.
Shahi-Kot has been called the last bastion of al-Qaeda
Shahi-Kot has been called the last bastion of al-Qaeda
in Afghanistan, but there is evidence that other pockets
of resistance still exist in provinces to the south.
Commanders say that before Operation Anaconda began,
there had been only a small number of al-Qaeda in the
mountains.
They were attempting to negotiate a surrender when
They were attempting to negotiate a surrender when
the offensive began, bringing al-Qaeda forces from
all over the south running to Shahi Kot to help in the
battle. "We were communicating with them, but the
battle. "We were communicating with them, but the
Americans would not allow us to negotiate,"
Commander Mohammed said. "This paved the way
for the other Arabs to join them."
The Arabs are thought to have made their way here
The Arabs are thought to have made their way here
from a number of locations in southern Pakistan and
Afghanistan, in particular, a secret Taleban base in
Zabul Province, north of Kandahar. Former Taleban
Zabul Province, north of Kandahar. Former Taleban
sources predict that the base could be the scene of
the next operation against al-Qaeda. "This battle
will not be the last," one former official said. "The
will not be the last," one former official said. "The
network is far from dead."
For the full London Times story, click here (you
For the full London Times story, click here (you
have to be a subscriber to read it.
---
TiM Ed.: In other words, the U.S. military and its
---
TiM Ed.: In other words, the U.S. military and its
�Anaconda� operation only made matters worse
for our local allies. What else is new� (any
South Vietnamese among our readers?).
Nor are the Afghans the only American allies who
Nor are the Afghans the only American allies who
have a bone to pick with Washington s military
strategy and tactics. Consider the excerpts from
this French report,filed from Afghanistan, and also
published in Britain:
US making tall claims on fighting: French MLY
By Paul Michaud
PARIS, March 11: French defence sources say
US making tall claims on fighting: French MLY
By Paul Michaud
PARIS, March 11: French defence sources say
that the allied bombing of Gardez has proved to
be much less successful than official Washington
sources have heretofore admitted.
The "pockets of resistance" that the Pentagon
The "pockets of resistance" that the Pentagon
says it's destroyed in recent days "continue to
exist," according to French military sources,
indeed the resistance being put up by the
Taliban and their allies "is so formidable that
the number of points of resistance has multiplied
in recent days, instead of decrease," says one
of the sources�
In fact, says the French source, the problem
In fact, says the French source, the problem
with the allied attack on Gardez and its region
is one of reliable intelligence, with Washington,
he says, making claims "that, in our eyes, don't
hold up".
Firstly, he says, the surveillance of the pockets of
Firstly, he says, the surveillance of the pockets of
resistance in and about Gardez,"has not been as
effective as Washington would have it." Then too,
he adds, "when night falls, the surveillance is so
ineffective that the combatants manage to regroup
or indeed create new pockets of resistance".
Secondly, he adds, the allied forces have
Secondly, he adds, the allied forces have
discovered that the combatants in and around
Gardez, when allied ground forces have been
able to make their way into some of the
grottoes and underground passages where
they've been, have been surprised by the
"enormity," he says, of the stocks of
armaments and reserves of food and water.
Given the lack of adequate intelligence on the
true situation of the Taliban combatants, and
their allies, on the ground, says another French
defence source,Washington has been ordering
defence source,Washington has been ordering
strikes "whose final goal is not to destroy forces
that have been localised in a given area, as
that have been localised in a given area, as
Washington pretends, but rather 'cosmetic
strikes,' intended to give the impression that the
allied action is making progress when in fact we
often don't know with sufficient precision where
the Taliban are located."
Which is why, he notes, "we've had to refuse on
the Taliban are located."
Which is why, he notes, "we've had to refuse on
more than one occasion to heed Washington's
instructions and refuse to take part in missions
that we know to be purely cosmetic." The source
said that such decisions were recommended by
local French forces on the ground in Afghanistan,
local French forces on the ground in Afghanistan,
but that the final decision to refuse to take part
in the Allied missions were taken in Paris, jointly
by President Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel
Jospin. [emphasis added by
TiM].
Still, notes the French defence source, "we have
TiM].
Still, notes the French defence source, "we have
taken part in more than twenty missions, and have
dropped a dozen laser-guided 230-kg bombs, but only
when we were pretty certain of our objective". [�]
In the light of criticism levelled against France in
when we were pretty certain of our objective". [�]
In the light of criticism levelled against France in
recent days, both President Chirac and Prime
Minister Jospin have found it necessary to affirm
France's commitment to the allied effort, with
France's commitment to the allied effort, with
Prime Minister Jospin saying that France was
"totally determined to break what remains of Al
Qaeda in Afghanistan."
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