Just for the record, the Europeans still can't project
power on their own in a meaningfull way, and still
should be doing much more to hold up their end of the
Transatlantic Alliance. Nobody is saying that they
accomplish absolutely nothing with their militaries -
just that they need to accomplish more to reach the
level of, as Gautam puts it, "seriousness."
JDG
COMBAT
Ambushed in Afghanistan, G.I.'s Call in Airstrikes
By CARLOTTA GALL
NY Times
ABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 11 — American Special Forces
troops ran into an ambush early Monday during a
reconnaissance mission in a remote mountain valley of
southern Afghanistan. They escaped injury after
calling in airstrikes on at least five gunmen
positioned in caves, an American military spokesman
said today.
Two Dutch F-16 planes, part of the coalition force,
dropped laser-guided bombs, and American A-10 planes
fired machine guns into the ridge and caves where the
gunmen had been seen. At least five men had opened
fire on the American soldiers with machine guns and
rocket-propelled grenades just after dawn on Monday,
the American military spokesman, Col. Roger King, said
at a briefing at Bagram Air Base. It was unclear if
the rebels had suffered any casualties.
The Dutch Defense Ministry said the attackers fled
after the F-16's bombed the area, Reuters reported.
The special forces had been sweeping a mountain valley
in Baghran, in the top corner of Helmand Province in
southern Afghanistan, in search of rebel fighters or
weapons caches. Intelligence reports had indicated
suspicious activity in the area, Colonel King said.
"We had troops that were moving through the valley,"
he said. "It was just around dawn, and the troops came
under fire from the ridge line on either side. Special
Forcers were conducting an operation in that valley,
looking for weapons caches and enemy personnel. We got
some reports that there might be enemy personnel there
and it looks like the reports were true."
The United States military was not sure who the rebels
were or whom they were aligned with, he said, adding,
"They fall under the heading of personnel who are
against the coalition and against the government of
Afghanistan."
The Baghran area, mountainous and forested, is thought
to be a principal opium-smuggling route from central
Afghanistan. But the Americans have suspected that
there may also be rebel activity around Baghran, and
in the neighboring province of Oruzgan. Over 50
Special Forces troops have been in Tirin Kot and Deh
Rawud, two towns in Oruzgan just east of Baghran, for
months because a number of senior Taliban figures are
thought to have taken refuge near there.
The former Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, is
thought to have retreated to his home province of
Oruzgan when the southern town of Kandahar fell to the
anti-Taliban alliance in December 2001. He was
reported to be moving in the remote mountains between
Deh Rawud and Baghran last year, along with some of
his closest commanders and followers. In July, just
south of Baghran, Afghan aid workers saw a long convoy
of four-wheel-drive cars with armed guards, which they
said certainly belonged to a major Taliban commander.
American military officers say they think that Mullah
Omar is now in Pakistan. But they have noticed
increased activity in the region recently, suggesting
that rebel fighters may be gathering again or setting
up bases in the area.
The increased activity comes amid a propaganda
campaign by Taliban supporters and other opponents of
the government calling for rebels to fight against the
United States presence in Afghanistan and the Kabul
government. The campaign, spread by handwritten
leaflets and announcements to the press, warns that
fighters will rise up if the United States goes to war
against Iraq.
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John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq:
Your enemy is not surrounding your country — your enemy is ruling your
country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be
the day of your liberation." -George W. Bush 1/29/03
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