Posted on 10/09/2009 2:25:53 PM PDT by WeatherGuy
American troops have abandoned an isolated firebase where eight U.S. soldiers were killed in a fierce assault by insurgents last weekend, military officials said today.
The departure from the base in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan province, in northeastern Afghanistan, was part of a previously planned "repositioning" of troops, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
The Taliban, in its own statement, alleged it had driven the Americans out.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
*sigh*
Sounds like the First Anglo-Afghan War all over again. Elphinstone lost a whole army!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Afghan_War
Peace Prize
Yeah, "previously" planned in the immediate wake of this tragedy
The “ragheads” will move in. We should turn it into GLASS a day after thy show up!
Does anyone know how many of the bad guys were killed?
An article yesterday said about 100. It also said this base was never meant for engagements with the enemy and was there to keep a road open from the Nuristan province to Kabul. Our troops complained from the beginning that it was indefensible ground.
Thanks.
In Viet Nam, out troops were told they had to take this or that hill today. Tomorrow they were told to fall back and the next day they had to retake that same hill many of their comrades in arms were killed trying to take.
After this happened a few times the men simply shot their officers in the back of the head.
Misdirected as they should have shot the politicians in their heads instead.
More a case of piss poor leadership than anything. The united states army, with more remote cameras and sensor than the whole world lets bunch of camel riders slip in and attack them. Just damn!!!
here’s pictures of kamdesh
http://www.registan.net/index.php/2009/10/05/photos-of-kamdesh/
The moron who thought this would be a good place to hold should be adiosed.
The base was totally destroyed - burned - etc. on Saturday.
After the battle, and the KIA and WIA were finally medivaced out - there were 56 survivors left - and I mean LEFT - with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the guns in their hands -
It's bad enough the firebase was ever there in the first place, a handful of soldiers dumped in the bottom of a fishbowl, surrounded 360 by close by steep, wooded hills, hours away from help...
War 101 from time immemorial says you put your troops on the high ground - that he who holds the high ground wins the day. The Taliban had a field day - like shooting fish in a barrel. (Question: the “new’ tactic were supposed to be relying heavily on our wonderful, all seeing drones. Why did not these drones see some 300 taliban masses on that base)
Now, not surprisingly, they were attracted, they suffered catastrophic losses...and they were left in a destroyed base...I suspicion because of 2 things - no more available helos and daylight came again- and no helos would come in daylight...
Then they should have put the road in first - they were totally isolated = the only way in was choppers -
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