12 U.S. DELTA MEMBERS WOUNDED ON RAID OF OMAR

Drudge ^ | 11/3/01

[Diogenesis]

MAG: 12 U.S. DELTA MEMBERS WOUNDED ON RAID OF OMAR'S COMPLEX, THREE SERIOUSLY; PENTAGON RETHINKS 'SPECIAL FORCES OPERATIONS'

Seymour Hersh has filed yet another controversial report for coming editons of the NEW YORKER, publishing sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

In ESCAPE AND EVASION, Hersh claims: In the wake of a near-disaster during the assault on Mullah Omar's complex during the early morning of October 20th, the Pentagon has been rethinking future Special Forces operations inside Afghanistan.

Delta Force, which prides itself on stealth, had been counterattacked by the Taliban, and some of the Americans had had to fight their way to safety. Hersh has filed his report for the November 12, 2001 issue of the NEW YORKER, on sale Monday.

Twelve Delta members were wounded, three of them seriously.

The intensity and ferocity of the Taliban response "scared the crap out of everyone," a senior military officer tells Hersh.

The Delta team stormed Mullah Omar's complex, but found little of value, Hersh reports, and then, "as they came out of the house, the shit hit the fan," one senior officer says. "It was like an ambush. The Taliban were fighting with light arms and either [rocket-propelled grenades] or mortars." The team immediately began taking casualties and evacuated.

"The Delta team was forced to abandon one of its objectives: the insertion of an undercover team into the area and the stay-behind soldiers fled to a previously determined rendezvous point, using a contingency plan known as an E. & E., for escape and evasion," Hersh writes.

[d14truth]

Hersh-Leftist elitist, his first 'big' story---

"1969--Pacifica(radio) is the only news organization willing to break Seymour Hersh's story of the My Lai massacre. Hersh later wins the Pulitzer Prize for exposing the atrocities committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam."

I thought ABC's David Westin said something to the effect that an 'objective' journalist would not exploit the news for a personal 'agenda', only report it. Mr. Hersh is an 'exploiter', IMHO.

[rstevens]

Number one, nobody can confirm or deny this. Number two, Delta Force conducts very dangerous operations and only a fool would expect zero casualties. This is what is called war. In war, you take casualties.

That is true. However, what troubles me about this report is the wording Ambush which indicates the enemy had advance intelligence that the raid was going to take place. This being the case, we have a really serious problem with security, traitors or both. Encountering heavy resistence is one thing, but an ambush is something else, it means our troops were set up. How many Afghani's do we have in our intelligence group that planed this attack, that are spies?

[copycat]

The intensity and ferocity of the Taliban response "scared the crap out of everyone," a senior military officer tells Hersh.

did they respond as soon as they saw the raid on CNN?

[Cold Heat]

I knew I remembered that name from somewhere. What a piece of work! Now I know for certain what this guys agenda is. He and Hanoi Jane would get along great!

[Diogenesis]

It is difficult to believe Hirsch in the light of the information freely and timely released by Pentagon previously.

For example, this 18 MEG mpg video of the inclusion.

From the DoD News Briefing - the actual incursion at night (MUST SEE for FREEPERS with adequate bandwidth)

IMO, the DOD has been more open, frank, and detailed -- in contrast to Hersch in this matter.

--------------

G d bless the United States and its troops prosecuting Enduring Freedom.

[NautiNurse]

Much better story here: US Likely To Storm Osama Hideouts

[boycott]

They're special forces. They're supposed to put themselves in the face of danger. It's part of the job. There are risk and these guys know it.

[Cold Heat]

Yes, I'm saying he embellished ,made them up, or used a flaky source to make his point. That is what he does. The casualties have been reported by the military. The pentagon has not released the details because they just don't do that. That fact leaves these wind bags the leeway to do what ever.

[harpu]

First; I would like to say thanks to all the fools might give any credibility to SH's BS. And, second, to those of US who know SH is just plain - full of crap, but go ahead and join the post with our contentious replies - "geez, what's wrong with us - why can't we just let SH's crap settle to some lesser position of not even being recognized as a legitimate post!?!"

Oh yeah (almost forgot) - 'duck Frudge' and his sensationalizing CRAP!

[d14truth]

"The 1968 bugging issue revolved around a Republican initiative to undermine Johnson's Paris peace talks that could have ended the Vietnam War and brought home 500,000 American soldiers then fighting in Indochina. The Nixon-Agnew campaign, however, feared that this "October Surprise" would catapult Vice President Humphrey to victory and again deny Nixon the White House.

"According to Seymour Hersh's 1983 book, The Price of Power, Kissinger learned of Johnson's peace plans and warned the Nixon-Agnew campaign. "It is certain," Hersh wrote, "that the Nixon campaign, alerted by Kissinger to the impending success of the peace talks, was able to get a series of messages to the Thieu government making it clear that a Nixon presidency would have different views on the peace negotiations."

The chief emissary was Anna Chennault, an anti-communist Chinese leader who was working with the Nixon-Agnew campaign. Hersh quoted one former Johnson Cabinet official as stating that the U.S. intelligence "agencies had caught on that Chennault was the go-between between Nixon and his people and President [Nguyen van] Thieu in Saigon. ... The idea was to bring things to a stop in Paris and prevent any show of progress.""

[Ben Bolt]

I dont buy a word of this . Anyone who ever served in some capacity of a special forces unit knows the way the article was written does not reflect the training . I can not find any credibility in ths article .

[Bahbah]

In my HO your HO is correct. Sorry it comes out HO.

[DugwayDuke]

Hersch was also the guy who dumped the load on the 24ID for operations in the Gulf War claiming they were out to pick a fight with the defenseless Iraqi Guards Divisions fleeing Kuwait and that they fired upon these helpless military units with unjustified savagery and producing unnecessary bloodshed...yada, yada, yada. Hersch is pantload and no friend of the military.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

The whole thing sounds slanted toward Taliban. Let's see: Taliban was smarter than we were because, though we pride ourselves on stealth, we weren't as stealthy as they were... Taliban are better fighters than we are, as their intensity and ferocity scared the crap out of us...we didn't find a single thing of any value in Mullet's house, which shows how "poor" our intelligence is and/or how futile our goals are...and the Pentagon is rethinking even letting out Special Forces go back in there because it was such a failure. blablabla

[longleaf]

ChinaThreat had said something about Hersh's possible anti-Semitism. I just wanted to let him or her know that Hersh would have to be anti-himself to be an anti-Semite.