-Caveat Lector- THE TIMES 19 SEPT. 2001 Geography is Taliban's best defence Afghanistan's harsh terrain and guerrilla fighters have thwarted attempts by superpowers, both ancient and modern, to seize control. Afghanistan's jagged mountains and deep caves are perfect territory in which to fight a partisan war. Genghis Khan led his army in during the 13th century only to suffer a humiliating defeat. More recently, the British Empire and the Soviet Union were both humbled by forces that were hard to locate, let alone fight. Capturing the capital Kabul is the easy part. Soviet forces managed it in just two days at the start of the 1979 campaign. It turned out to be the start of a protracted war that left them humiliated. Veterans of Soviet invasion warn that conventional warfare is impossible in Afghanistan. Superior fire power is redundant as there is little to shoot at in the barren wastelands, and most shots fired are easily absorbed by the mountains. The British were unable to clear out countless pockets of resistance during three wars against Afghanistan between 1839 and 1919, and finally granted it independence in 1921. And even today's crack SAS teams would struggle to fight in arid terrain with little cover against those occupying the high ground. The weather is another crucial weapon in the Taliban arsenal. From next month the rains will start which soon turn into snowdrifts and ice which make it almost impossible for troop carriers and tanks. The irony is that in the 1980s America was on the same side as Bin Laden and the Islamic fundamentalists when they battled against Soviet invaders. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
