Posted on 09/10/2009 3:32:58 PM PDT by tencole
GANJGAL, Afghanistan — We walked into a trap, a killing zone of relentless gunfire and rocket barrages from Afghan insurgents hidden in the mountainsides and in a fortress-like village where women and children were replenishing their ammunition.
"We will do to you what we did to the Russians," the insurgent's leader boasted over the radio, referring to the failure of Soviet troops to capture Ganjgal during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation.
Dashing from boulder to boulder, diving into trenches and ducking behind stone walls as the insurgents maneuvered to outflank us, we waited more than an hour for U.S. helicopters to arrive, despite earlier assurances that air cover would be five minutes away.
U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren't near the village.
"We are pinned down. We are running low on ammo. We have no air. We've lost today," Marine Maj. Kevin Williams, 37, said through his translator to his Afghan counterpart, responding to the latter's repeated demands for helicopters.
Four U.S. Marines were killed Tuesday, the most U.S. service members assigned as trainers to the Afghan National Army to be lost in a single incident since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Eight Afghan troops and police and the Marine commander's Afghan interpreter also died in the ambush and the subsequent battle that raged from dawn until 2 p.m. around this remote hamlet in eastern Kunar province, close to the Pakistan border.
Three Americans and 19 Afghans were wounded, and U.S. forces later recovered the bodies of two insurgents, although they believe more were killed.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335142/posts
(P.S. I'm not a “this has already posted” cop. This type of story is important and goes a long way in exposing the flat out negligence on the part of Obama and his handling of the war in Afghanistan. People should be losing careers and ranks over this incident.
The above thread is just really good.)
One of these 4 lads was from my hometown.
God Bless them all.
Of the 13 Americans with the (about)80 Afghans some were U.S. Army, some U.S. Marines and at least one man from the U. S. Navy.
Three marines were killed and one sailor was killed along with 8 Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter.
I agree and this whole story makes me rage. These guys depend on close air support. What in the hell do you tell the families of these fallen Marines?
A failure of command. Prayers for the Marines’ loved ones.
I really don’t know what to say. Our boys are getting hung out to dry.
I have Marine relatives in Afghanistan.
Officers to enlisted
They are not the cut and run people.
This isn’t WWII when it would take the enemy weeks or months to hit the U.S.
It only takes mins.
The IslamOfascists who flew the plane into the Pentagon
lived 6 miles from me here in San Diego.
What better way to destroy the morale of our military: Dangerously restrictive ROEs & lack of air support.
Vietnam II began years ago in Afghanistan....or should we call it Vietnam III since Obama has also increased the numbers of troops in Iraq?
And the sailor.
Yes, but it sounds like this was one of those joint operations. Arty was to be provided by the 10th Mountain Division. They didn’t even have the right shells on hand. Will the Commandant make a stand and say “no more,” Marines will support Marines?
Thank you for catching that; absolutely yes “and the sailor.”
Don't feel bad, it is an update, this thread article is two days old.
“I don’t care what the Rules of Engagement are, you aren’t fit to wear the title - United States Marine, if you don’t say my career be damned, I’m not letting a fellow Marine die.”
You are right. Iraq and Afghanistan has taught a whole generation of soldiers that the enemy should be given every opportunity to kill you before you are allowed to kill them.
The entire command structure that allowed this to happen needs to be removed - since they didn’t have the good sense to resign in the face of this inevitable result.
Politics in the military is the enemy’s greatest ally.
Thanks for the note on the sailor Ansell. Was he a Corpsman?
We don't know anything yet, although the pentagon has already challenged this one reporters account.
The 13 Americans accompanying the 80 Afghanistan soldiers, were a mix of American Army, Navy and Marines.
Yes, the sailor was a corpsman.
“KABUL — Navy medical corpsman James Layton, who was identified Thursday as one of those killed in an ambush in eastern Afghanistan, had been ministering to a wounded U.S. Marine on Tuesday when they came under a volley of insurgent bullets, killing them both and two more Marines, according to their comrades.”
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