Operation Snipe: To rescue 76 US hostages? "Joined by the US and Canadian troops, more than 2000 British-led Special Commando forces under "Operation Snipe" are gearing up efforts to launch a major attack to rescue around 76 soldiers who were arrested by the Taliban and Al Qaida forces during the battle in the snow covered Arma Peaks of Paktia Province in March this year, highly credible sources have confided to PNS."
posted by crasspastor
on May 6, 2002 -
5 comments
They just wont let it lie. What posses these people to keep fighting against overwhelming odds.I can see what they are against but for the life of me I cannot see what they are for.Couple of points near the bottom of the piece are interesting.IHave I been asleep or has the killing of innocents on 23 January been underreported.Does the fact that small raids have led to arrest interrogation and subsequent
release answer my own question?
I am perplexed,are there any good guys?
posted by Fat Buddha
on Mar 2, 2002 -
10 comments
"Unholy War" from director Saira Shah of
Beneath the Veil fame is appearing several times this weekend. I am very much looking forward to this as I found the first film insightful, thought-provoking and observant. It all leads me to wonder how does one help dimilitarize and rebuild a country where an entire generation knows nothing but war, insecurity and guile?
posted by dness2
on Nov 17, 2001 -
0 comments
The Taliban withdrawal is a strategic move, not a sign of retreat. By strategically handing over key Afghan cities to the Northern Alliance before melting into the mountainsides, the Taliban tossed political hand grenades at the United States.
On the surface, it appears the Taliban were dealt a crushing defeat. Thousands of Taliban fighters switched sides or were captured during the Northern Alliance’s advance, and the remainder melted into the hills having put up almost no fight. However, the Taliban withdrawal was far from a rout. Rather, it reflects abandonment of a strategy that could have led to their destruction, in preparation for a more traditional and effective strategy for combat in Afghanistan — guerrilla warfare.
posted by Davezilla
on Nov 15, 2001 -
23 comments
Berkeley does it again... The Berkeley City Council is considering condemning the US attacks on Afganistan as acts of terrorism. The best quote:
"Berkeley has always been an island of sanity in terms of the war madness that has prevailed in this country," Spring said. "The U.S. is now a terrorist. According to the Taliban these are terrorist attacks." (Via the
WSJ Opinion Page)
posted by madreblu
on Oct 10, 2001 -
30 comments
Taliban miraculously finds bin Laden! Afghan authorities have delivered a message to Osama bin Laden advising him of a decision by the country's clerics recommending that he leave Afghanistan voluntarily, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan said Thursday.
posted by madreblu
on Sep 27, 2001 -
14 comments
Here's a
New Republic article that provides some background on Afghani politics and an interesting argument on the Taliban's weakness. Here's a provocative quote:
In 1999, when the United States devastated Belgrade and humiliated Milosevic, the Serbs eventually ousted him. In 1991, when the United States devastated Baghdad and humiliated Saddam, the Kurds and Shiites rose up, and might have toppled the regime had the United States not abandoned them. Historical parallels, of course, are never perfect. But the Taliban are no stronger than those two previous U.S. foes; in fact, they are probably weaker. Comments?
posted by estopped
on Sep 22, 2001 -
19 comments
Pakistan, Taliban forces take up positions: Tension mounts at border This is what I feared the first time I heard of Taleban. People trained to be fighters in their teenage, do not know of any thing else to do.
I was in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion. I noticed the same fact. Teenagers, taught to fight and no other skill.
Maybe Pakistan
will have to use its own military in what is turning out to be very disturbing times for an already disturbed nation.
posted by adnanbwp
on Sep 16, 2001 -
1 comment
Preface? "The leader of Afghanistan's anti-Taliban opposition, Ahmadshah Massoud, was mortally wounded by suicide bombers on 9 September, dying within minutes of the blast [...]. The assassins are understood to have been Algerians affiliated to the al-Qaeda organisation of indicted Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden [...]"
posted by dagny
on Sep 12, 2001 -
0 comments
Taliban Bans Neckties, Lipstick, Chess
The radio quoted the leader's order as telling border guards and security agencies to seize the banned items and hand them over to the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which acts as the Taliban's religious police.
oh yeah, it has long been known that chess is an evil, evil game...
posted by bwg
on Jul 19, 2001 -
23 comments
