Joint al Qaeda and Taliban force behind Kunar base attack ( Attack killed Nine US Soldiers )

Long War Journal ^ | July 14, 2008 9:03 PM | Bill Roggio

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

TANKS,Ernest,,,

Time for F-16s not M-16s...

[Alia]

some of the troop casualties could have been combat engineers who were there to beef things up.

My thoughts, too.

[Chgogal]

Yes, they were from the 173rd.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now we have this:

Pakistan Tribesmen Say NATO Forces Massing On Afghan Border

[Chgogal]

Well, Brigade 055 just got their arses handed to them. And my guess is we have a few drones in the air following the fleeing terrorists to their lairs. Wouldn't it be nice if they met up with some hellfire in the near future?

[Chgogal]

“Al Qaeda has also reformed Brigade 055, the infamous military arm of the terror group made up of Arab recruits. The unit is thought to be commanded by Shaikh Khalid Habib al Shami. Brigade 055 fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance and was decimated during the US invasion of Afghanistan. Several other Arab brigades have been formed, some consisting of former members of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards, an intelligence official told The Long War Journal.

Al Qaeda’s elite forces were likely involved in the planning and execution of Sunday's sophisticated attack in Kunar.”

I did read that Arabs and Chechens were involved. Now I have to track down that article....

[Dog]

This brigade are the shock troops...they usually lead from the front....they fought a rear action out of Tora Bora in 2001 allowing the leadership to escape. These guys are good.

[Chgogal]

Hmmmm, 300-500 attack a small FOB of 70 (45 Airborne and 25 Afghans) and they could not complete their mission. Are we supposed to be impressed? What am I missing?

[Chgogal]

Also, this might give the SFs to track these vermin to their masters’ lairs.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

Mite be a blocking force,,,

as of
July 14, 2008 ~~~Navy.mil.~~~

Ships and Submarines
Deployable Battle Force Ships: 280

Ships Underway (away from homeport): 134 ships (48% of total)

On deployment: 101ships (36% of total)

Attack submarines underway (away from homeport): 28 submarines (51%)

On deployment: 20 submarines (37%)
Ships Underway

Carriers:
USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) - Pacific Ocean
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - 5th Fleet
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - Atlantic Ocean

Amphibious Warfare Ships:
USS Peleliu (LHA 5) - 5th Fleet
USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Boxer (LHD 4) - Pacific Ocean
USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) - Pacific Ocean
USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) - Atlantic Ocean
~~~

I raise 1 MEU...

[neverdem]

1) Why did we move troops in before fortifications were complete?

The infantry usually isn't able to call ahead for reservations. When an infantry platoon, the 45 U.S. soldiers, decides to occupy a location, they dig their own fighting positions with an entrenching tool, aka an E-tool, along a perimeter with respect to the terrain.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=entrenching+tool&ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-adbe&xargs=0&pstart=1&b=21&ni=20

Go to the link. You'll see a variety of them.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Mentioned in this book:

An Introduction to Islam By David Waines

[maine-iac7]

freep mailing you

[maine-iac7]

no

[maine-iac7]

Yes, he is one of the 9

[maine-iac7]

Arabs and Chechens were involved

yes

[Chgogal]

LOL, you are funny......I mean....SO THERE! That will teach him to type what he thinks.

[Marine_Uncle]

Well as we are aware. CVN72 Carrier Battle Group is steaming toward Karachi. Things may soon change.

[singfreedom]

My husband was thinking the same thing after he heard the fortifications were incomplete. He also wondered if that wasn’t an awfully small group to be left in such a precarious area and under such circumstances.

[Tallguy]

The Dems have been telling us for years that Iraq is the ‘wrong war’ & that it is a ‘distraction’ from Afghanistan & the “Hunt for Osama.” Well, this could backfire on Obama & the kids over at the DNC. Isolated platoons taking casualties under desperate close-combat conditions high in the mountains sounds an awful lot like the Korean War. The Dems have no historical perspective, but if Harry Truman were around he’d tell them how that turned out (for the Democrats).