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Romanians quietly in Afghanistan conflict
canada.com ^ | Matthew Fisher

Posted on 10/14/2007 5:06:07 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe

The Canadians and the Dutch may be anguishing over their combat commitments in southern Afghanistan, but the Romanians at this lonely outpost near a major Taliban infiltration route through the mountains from Pakistan have no such worries.

The men of Romania's elite 33rd Mountain Battalion joke that almost nobody at home is even aware that their military, which is one of NATO's newest members, has been fighting alongside the Canadians, Dutch, British and Americans in southern Afghanistan.

"Honestly, I don't think our people know what we do," said Lieut. Ganea Alin, who leads a platoon overseeing checkpoints on a road frequented by the Taliban.

"I know there has been great surprise whenever a Romanian dies on a patrol. But nobody in Romania is asking the question: 'Why are we here?'"

Brig.-Gen. Marquis Hainse, the Canadian who is NATO's second-in-command for Afghanistan's six southern provinces, tried to answer that question in a rousing pep talk at Forward Operating Base Dracula. The base, a ramshackle former school that had been called Vander by the Americans, was slyly renamed by the Romanians in honour of their notorious countryman, the fictional Transylvanian Count Dracula.

"Some countries have decided to watch the parade in Afghanistan. Some countries have decided to be in the parade," Hainse said during a tour of the outpost. "Canada, Holland, Britain, the U.S. and Romania, to name a few, are in the parade.

"You might not see this on a day-to-day basis, but you are making progress. What you are doing is key to the future of this country. I respect you. I know you are not afraid of the Taliban. Keep pushing and make the Taliban afraid of you."

Most of the 700 Romanians in Afghanistan are posted at several places in Zabul province, which abuts Pakistan and, further south, Kandahar province, where Canada's battle group is stationed. Four Romanians have been killed since the unit headed into the dazzling mountains and high desert valleys and plateaus of the area late last year.

As well as having troops here, 220 kilometres northeast of Kandahar City, the Romanians have a slightly smaller force fighting in Iraq. The two operations are the first time in more than 60 years that Romanians have been in combat. And they are mostly doing it with Soviet equipment from the 1970s.

"The Romanians have proven their commitment. They have not hesitated to support U.S. and coalition forces," said Lt.-Col. Bruce Bamble, a civil affairs officer who works out of another base in Zabul that is shared by Romanian and U.S. forces.

"Just the other week, when an American soldier was killed and another was wounded by an IED (improvised explosive device), their quick reaction force came out immediately and one of their soldiers, a lieutenant, was killed by a second IED."

The Romanians snatched four suspected Taliban guerrillas in a recent night operation but have not been in a firefight since being ambushed nearly two months ago. The Canadians have gone long periods without firefights, too. But, like the Romanians, they have been hit hard by IEDs.

"The biggest problem for everyone in Afghanistan is IEDs," said Lt. Gabriel Stefanescu, speaking in the good English that all Romanian officers are obliged to have. "The Taliban are getting better and better at this."

Alin, the platoon commander, shakes his head ruefully and adds: "Our armoured personnel carriers are good for stopping bullets and explosive RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) cannot pierce our armour. But IEDs are something else."

Like the Canadians in Kandahar, the Romanians have been fascinated and sometimes confused by Afghanistan's complex political and tribal arrangements and how different the Afghans' deeply conservative Pashtun culture is from their own.

"We don't know who or what to believe here," Alin said. "You find a police chief smoking hashish or opium. A policeman offered me some the other day at a checkpoint.

"Yet the Taliban rulers used religion to get access here. Their most powerful weapon is their religion."

While out on patrol, Alin recently spotted an Afghan woman riding in the back seat of a car. Her face was not covered.

"I was so shocked to actually see a woman here after three months that I dropped my GPS [navigation device] and the vehicle driving behind mine crushed it," he said as several other Romanian soldiers laughed. "That has been the high point of my time here so far."

One of the daily dramas at the Dracula base was that Afghan boys were pelting the Romanian guard posts with stones. One such barrage occurred as Hainse, the Canadian general, was touring the outpost.

"They throw rocks and break the windows of our guard posts all the time," said Lt. Ciprian Caltosu, adding, "Yet the same boys are at our gate every day, looking for food, water and medical care."

"I compare Afghans to us during the Ceausescu era," Alin said. "We didn't know much about the outside world then and Afghans don't know much about the outside world now."

As one who enjoys the mountain vistas, Alin concludes: "I'd like to come back again, but maybe not for another 20 years. That may be how long it takes before there is peace."


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: allyromania

1 posted on 10/14/2007 5:06:15 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
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To: Tailgunner Joe

Whatever else, the Romanians sure know how to give a retirement party!

Just ask the Ceaucescus!


2 posted on 10/14/2007 5:15:40 PM PDT by headsonpikes (Genocide is the highest sacrament of socialism.)
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To: Tailgunner Joe

Dracula...

famous for killing Muslims (Turks). Fitting.


3 posted on 10/14/2007 5:48:25 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. St. Jerome)
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To: Tailgunner Joe

When I was at KAF the Romanians were the Base Defense Force. They manned the towers and kept the rest of us from getting our throats slit at night. They’re different, but they’re alright.


4 posted on 10/14/2007 5:56:12 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (Civilian Irregular Information Defense Group http://cannoneerno4.wordpress.com)
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To: Tailgunner Joe

Worked on the lst nato execise with Romania. \great people.


5 posted on 10/14/2007 8:28:24 PM PDT by CPT Clay (Drill ANWR, Personal Accounts NOW , Vote Hunter in the Primary)
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To: Tailgunner Joe
"Some countries have decided to watch the parade in Afghanistan. Some countries have decided to be in the parade," Hainse said during a tour of the outpost. "Canada, Holland, Britain, the U.S. and Romania, to name a few, are in the parade.

That's because some mothers let their children march and some don't. Shame on those that don't.
6 posted on 10/14/2007 8:35:59 PM PDT by steel_resolve (Think pitch forks.)
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