Posted on 10/09/2001 8:19:06 AM PDT by Tai_Chung
MOSCOW, Oct 09, 2001 (Kyodo via COMTEX) -- The Russian military has secretly positioned troops on the outskirts of Kabul for an assault on the Afghan capital together with the opposition Northern Alliance forces, the Russian weekly Moscow News said Tuesday.
The weekly said Russian troops are operating tanks that had been given to the Northern Alliance as part of Moscow's military aid and are awaiting orders for an offensive against Kabul.
The maneuver is aimed at beating American forces in entering Kabul not only for the sake of Russian honor, but also to secure a role for Russia in shaping the post-Taliban order in Afghanistan, the weekly said.
In addition to supplying vast amounts of weaponry to the forces fighting the Taliban government, Moscow has also sent "military experts, technicians and military advisers," the Moscow News report said.
A precedent to Russia taking this type of action was seen in June 1999 during the Yugoslavia war when Russian forces surprised the NATO-led international force and occupied the airport at the Kosovo capital.
PICTURES! PICTURES! WE WANT PICTURES!
Hmmmm...
Looks like they've been training...
"On 1 July 2001, the Swedish Bikini Team
competed in a close quarters combat scenario
handgun contest at the South Pistol League
( SWPL) range at lake Piru, California."
In a further development...
Operation "No Safe Harbor."
A: "I want SAMOA!"
Write DEBKA's interpretation of the large photo in #41.
Some techno geek on TV the other day said the newest US satellites have 40cm resolution. Wow!
This is not the same as saying that a Russian division flying the Russian flag is on its way to Kabul...yet.
Did you notice the following: "On 1 July 2001, the Swedish Bikini Team competed in a close quarters combat scenario handgun contest..."
The date was July 1, 2001 = 07/01/2001 or 0+7+0+1+2+0+0+1=11 (September 11!)
VERY spooky! Please don't tell me there are 9 members of the Swedish Bikini Team.
Afghan Leader Says Russian and French Troops Needed
By: Yelena Shishkounova
In an interview with Gazeta.Ru a leader of the Afghani community in Moscow Dr.Khamid says that Washington would only have good chances of winning the war in Afghanistan if French and Russian also take part in ground operations. Dr. Khamid also gives his assessment of the prospects for lasting peace in Afghanistan.
Dr.Khamid, what is your attitude towards the U.S operation in Afghanistan?
We are against terrorism. What happened on September 11 is terrible. However, we are against the operation led by the USA in Afghanistan.
Civilians will be killed. It is inevitable like in any other war. I assume there are alternative methods of combating international terrorism. Why did nobody address the UN High Commission?
With the support of the UN, Russia and France and the USA could deploy their troops on the country’s (Afghanistan’s) territory and that alone would be a better solution than the one proposed by the USA.
Military-political solution for the problem is needed.
Are you maintaining contacts with Kabul? What is the situation there?
Over the past days I have not slept at all. I am keeping track on what is happening, keeping in touch with Kabul. An hour ago I talked with a relative. People are scared. They are scared of bombardments, they are afraid to go outdoors.
Children cannot sleep. Afghanis today are a pitiful, miserable sight. When my son and daughter watch TV and see our people, they cannot believe that those dirty, wretched people are Afghanis. Things were different in Afghanistan before.
Do more Kabul residents intend to leave the city? Where can they go?
They very much want to leave Kabul, but there is no opportunity for them to do so. The Taliban is not letting anyone go. All borders with Iran and Pakistan are closed.
All those who had a chance, are already at the Pakistani border. Probably, many of them will go to Northern Afghanistan, but it is dangerous there too since the military operation is on.
One cannot rule out they try to get to Uzbekistan, but the situation is not calm there either. Bin Laden’s groups are everywhere; all terrorists are closely connected.
Is it possible to destroy all terrorist military bases, as the Americans plan to? How long could the operation last?
It is impossible to destroy everything. If the Americans continue to insist on the destruction of all targets, the operation will drag on for a long time. Here is an example. They said, the air bombardment would last for only three days only, but now it is unlikely that they are about to stop.
Various dates were set for the operation, but the actual dates failed to coincide with the plan.
A ground operation will not be short-term. The Taliban disposes of sufficient forces for resistance. There are 8 thousand Taliban troops concentrated near the Uzbek border.
Is it possible the Taliban might attack Uzbekistan, Tajikistan?
It is possible, but only when the Taliban regime’s own potential has been fully exhausted, only then will they go into Uzbekistan where they have support.
Why has Pakistan failed to fulfill its intent to sever diplomatic ties with the Taliban?
(Pakistani President General) Musharraff is afraid of civil war. In Pakistan there is a wide range of fundamentalist Islamic movements that support the Taliban. They receive financing from bin Laden. The religious element must be taken into consideration. Pakistan is unwilling to wage war against a regime with the same branch of the faith.
What is your estimation of the joint efforts of the Northern Alliance and supporters of former Afghan king (Mohammad) Zahir Shah? In your opinion, how effective is the creation of the National Council of Afghanistan?
The Northern Alliance is not capable of do anything on its own. And neither is the newly created council since not all interested persons have been invited to take part in its work.
It is necessary to convene a general council of all Afghanis, the one similar to Loya Jirgi, uniting Afghani intellectuals, and to work out a solution together.
In Moscow alone there are some 10 thousand Afghan refugees – lawyers, doctors, economists. In St.Petersburg there are 2 thousand. And in Tajikistan 30 thousand. In all there are about 300 thousand Afghanis living in the states of the former (Soviet) Union, 3 million living in Iran and 2 million in Pakistan. All of them are worried about the fate of their native land. I have talked with many: they are ready to return to Afghanistan, to work for the welfare of the country. They are the ones to consult. It is possible to bring them all together.
As for Zahir Shah, the Afghan people respect him. He is an old and experienced man. But on his own, all alone, he also is not capable of changing anything.
Gazeta.Ru’s note: Zaher Shah, 86, ruled Afghanistan for 40 years until he was ousted by a cousin in 1973. He has lived in exile in Rome ever since, but is still fondly remembered in Afghanistan for the relative peace and prosperity that flourished during his rule.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Afghans and outsiders have looked to Zaher Shah as the only Afghan who could be able to unify Afghanistan's many ethnic and religious groups. Last week, he and the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance agreed to convene an emergency meeting of tribal and military leaders to select a new government for Afghanistan.
A supreme council – initially including 120 people representing the northern alliance, the king and various tribal and ethnic groups - would select a government itself if ``dire'' circumstances prevented such a meeting from taking place inside Afghanistan.
Remember - Loose Lips Sink Ships. :-)
This article talks about a Russian offensive against Kabul, that is laughable.
Broken? I don't think so... Maybe it''s your browser?
I haven't had any other similar comments... Check the link in post #47.
However, if it does turn out to be true, we should pull back just enough so that they cannot enter Kabul without heavy casualties -- if that can be calibrated -- continue to hit Al Qaeda wherever we can find it, and begin our attack on Saddam.
As far as I'm concerned, let the Mujahadeen kill another 15K Russians. Maybe then they'll stop playing their silly games. I'll never trust the Russians.
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