Posted on 02/08/2010 11:09:15 AM PST by NormsRevenge
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (AFP) – Afghan men, women and children fearing imminent fighting between the Taliban and US troops, loaded up trucks on Monday and streamed out of one of the world's main sources of heroin.
Wrapped in blankets to fend off the winter chill, families packed up goats, furniture and clothes, clogging roads with taxis, cars and tractors in a major exodus to safety, dodging roadside bombs planted to kill US and NATO troops.
"We left the area because lots of aircraft were flying over and lots of forces were moving back and forth," Shir Ali Khan told AFP after reaching Lashkar Gar, the capital of southern province Helmand, with his 25 relatives.
War and battle are nothing new to the 80,000 people from Marjah, a fertile Helmand River valley in southern Afghanistan, one of the world's main sources of heroin and for eight years a major bastion of Taliban insurgents.
What the military calls "shaping operations" have been going on for weeks. Residents have described gun-battles to a beat of planes and helicopters bringing in men and supplies ahead of what is expected to be a bloody battle.
Taliban too are massing, gathering around the town and firing a constant barrage of missiles on the encamped foreign troops.
"Some people left the area six months ago, because military operations have been going on and the Taliban are so violent," said Khan, adding: "There are still lots of people left who can't leave, who have nowhere to go."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
US Marines check their gear at a company operation base in Helmand province on February 8. NATO commanders have urged the Taliban to surrender as troops dug in for a major assault on a key insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan, sending thousands of residents fleeing. (AFP/Patrick Baz)
Graphic on Afghanistan's Helmand province, ahead of a major assault against Taliban militants. NATO commanders have urged the Taliban to surrender as troops dug in for a major assault on a key insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan, sending thousands of residents fleeing. (AFP/Graphics/null)
US Marines carry their equipment during a sandstorm in Helmand province. NATO commanders have urged the Taliban to surrender as troops dug in for a major assault on a key insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan, sending thousands of residents fleeing. (AFP/Patrick Baz)
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrives at the Elysee Palace to meet with France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris February 8, 2010. The United States denied on Monday it was disappointed by France's decision to send only 80 more trainers to Afghanistan and held out hope President Nicolas Sarkozy would be able to do more later. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY)
These goatherders with AK-47’s don't have a clue what is about to hit them.
If they had a clue, they'd be scattering instead of massing.
Well, maybe they’re just imagining the offensive because of the drugs. I mean, WTH, the Massachusetts Democrat Coakley stated a month ago that there weren’t any terrorists in Afghanistan. Thanks NormsRevenge.
Nothing like a long salient with hundreds of miles of flanks to ensure a complete and total victory by the soldiers of Allah. ;’)
"McChrystal said the focus would be on an area stretching from the Helmand River valley, where more than 10,000 U.S. Marines are deployed." -- McChrystal Sees victory ahead in Afghanistan
Whatever. What a tremendous waste of blood and treasure. Afghanistan will be full af Afghani's long after we finally leave, just like the Russians, British, Persians and Greeks before us. They will still have their little book to set order to their pathetic lives. They will still prefer sex with little boys, grow opium, sell 12 year old girls to old men as 3rd wives, herd goats and whatever else their 3rd world culture takes as normal.
What does "delousing" mean to you, exactly. The idea that there is some mass of "good" Afghani's just waiting to turn Kandahar into the next Omaha or Eugene is absurd. We picked our favorite dope-dealing warlord from among a short list and are now helping him kick ass on the others. Didn't the American's just acquiese to negotiations with the Taliban recently? So this week we'll shell some hovel, drive out the impoverished Pushtans living there, and then next week Karzi will sit down with their leaders and cut a deal.
Pointless. Quagmire.
Either the Taliban/Afghanistani’s are an existential threat to the USA or they are not. If they are then we should use every available tool to kill them all. Don’t worry too much about the civilian casualties - just like we didn’t in Dresden, Berlin, Hiroshima, Tokyo and other places we were facing a real threat.
If they’re not an existential threat to us (which I believe) let’s declare victory and go home. I don’t care which goat-herding group runs the pile of rocks over there.
Whew.
I thought you were ‘channeling’ Murtha there for a minute.
Why have all these troops if you’re not gonna use them.. The question of how effectively you use them is is the tricky one.
I hear ya tho re: the entrenchment of certain ‘values’ in that area.. and how we deal with them.
This is going to be a BIG ONE —very unusual there. The afgh version of Fallujah, which went on for...like a week or so.
Hoping for a high bodycount, and lots of enemy anguish, screaming, and agony before they die.
I kind of agree with you Jack....I do think they are a threat to us. By threat I mean their ideology is ,harmful to the world in its peoples...my desire is to kill as many of these immoral cave dwellers as humanly possible before folks like you are able to pull us from that good work. Oh, and if we can (i don’t think it possible) get them to grow corn and soybeans in place of poppies, that would be good too.
The “values” seem to come from the imams who are rarely known to wear suicide belts.
Oh, and if we can (i don’t think it possible) get them to grow corn and soybeans in place of poppies, that would be good too. Ha ha ha. Good one. Like I said, it's just naive idealism that continues to fuel this war.
I don't think the life of one great US Soldier or Marine is worth losing in Afghanistan. I don't think they can harm us in any way. The world is full of people with stupid ideologies. Neo-Nazis, Communists, Moslems, Maoists, Global Warming fanatics. We can't go on exterminationist wars just because people have weird ideas, or want to organize their societies in ways that we don't understand or agree with.
Ok...what ever works for you. Me and mine will stick to killin’ while the killin’ is good. The more of them the better;o)
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