Posted on 10/22/2001 10:12:01 AM PDT by tallhappy
ISLAMABAD: Taliban commander-in-chief Jalaluddin Haqqani has claimed that the militia was "in touch" with China, which was assisting them in the war against the US.
Before leaving for Afghanistan after holding talks with Pakistani officials here, Haqqani, who is also the minister for frontier regions, told reporters "China is still assisting the Taliban in the war against the US".
He further said that the Afghan militia "continued to be in touch with Beijing." He, however, declined to divulge the nature and quantum of the assistance being provided by China.
Haqqani, whose visit to Islamabad raised eyebrows, said that China would react sharply in the longer run as the US would dig in Afghanistan.
Besides the Pakistan officials, he also met the leaders of the hardline pro-Taliban Pakistani religious leaders.
Haqqani said that China was an important neighbour to Afghanistan and had followed moderate policy towards the Taliban all along.
"It has never interfered in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and Taliban hold it in high esteem for this," he said.
Haqqani said that the US had not scored any noteworthy success in its three weeks of bombardment in Afghanistan.
"So far, the Taliban have lost around 25 fighters. Also a military helicopter and two passenger planes of Aryana Airlines have received minor damage in the US attacks," he added.
Haqqani said that the Taliban's all helicopters and planes were safe and no prominent commander had so far fallen victim to the US attacks.
He added that real war would begin when the US would land its troops on the soil of Afghanistan. "We are anxiously awaiting their entry into Afghanistan in order to make a graveyard for the US army."
"We have made all out preparations to engage Americans for a long time. We do not trust in the might of arms rather we believe in sacrificing our lives for the cause of Islam and honour of motherland," he further said.
"We ask the US to land its troops without any delay and then see as to how much dead bodies it would airlift daily," Haqqani said.
He said that the Taliban still considered Osama Bin Laden as their guest and a hero of Islam and they would never hand him over to any country come what may. ( PTI )
Time to teach China a lesson too alongwith with Afghanistan.
Those who support and harbour terrorism must be punished.
One little problem - China still does not have a blue water navy. And they can't get control of the Persian Gulf oil without one.
Yes. Even more simply -- if the U.S. were out of the big power picture, show does that leave by DEFAULT.
You're still thinking in terms of "traditional" warfare -- not to mention Aristotelian logic -- not in terms of "unlimited war" and dialectics. As to whether PRC has a blue-water Navy, ask Jeff Head what he thinks about that one. best, bb.
Har! Guess who! (And I don't mean Russia.) best, bb.
Sorry, but throughout history, empires that have failed the sea-power test also fail the longevity test. You can postulate about nontraditional warfare all you want - but until the PRC has a navy that can compete with the United States, they cannot project power outside their neighborhood. Yeah, they could cause trouble in the ditch between them and Taiwan. But they can try and grab the Persian Gulf all they want - but they cannot hold it without serious naval power. That hasn't changed since the age of tiremes, and I don't see it changing anytime soon in the future.
As to whether PRC has a blue-water Navy, ask Jeff Head what he thinks about that one. best, bb.
Well, have him post his opinions if he wishes - although Jeff is pretty busy, and he probably has better things to do. But until the Chinese get real carriers and can perfect side-by-side underway refueling, they cannot compete outside the Straits of Taiwan.
dirtboy, I'm asking you to think like a Chinese.... best, bb.
Doesn't matter if I think like a Chinese, a German (Hitler) or a Corsican (Napoleon) ... they tried empire through land power and neglected their navies. They didn't last.
This isn't about whether you or I think China can "last" without a BWN. It's whether China thinks it can.
China has never been a naval power. China may think that it doesn't need to be one, however -- in a globalized world knitted together by mass communications and riven by mortal hatreds among the "barbarians" -- which it cherishes, nurtures -- and exploits to its perceived advantage. Unlimited War is all about devising effective "workarounds" for perceived "defects" in the PRC position.
But PLA-Navy may well be in a massive build-up mode covertly as we speak. There are massive shipbuilding enterprises in China, supposedly devoted to construction for commercial purposes. China is famous for "hiding" what it does not want the world to see. But because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there.... In any event, it can always "requisition" what it needs from the West -- read: Steal the other guy's "stuff" and use it against him. Terrorists are really good at that sort of thing, as recent events well illustrate.
The point is, it's a "brave NEW world" out there -- the old rule book may no longer be current with what China needs -- and what China may be planning.
It's my "worst-case scenario" which may or may not happen. What worries me is I don't see anything going on today that refutes the hypothesis. Thanks for writing, dirtboy. best, bb.
Regards, as always dear,
Moi
Gwadar.
Hey wolfie! So nice to see you!
Well, I don't suppose dirtboy is the least bit "dense" at all. It's just he doesn't seem to appreciate the critical distinction between the "order of the anthill" and the "order of human being" in any great measure so far.
I expect he'll figure it out in due course.
all my best, bb.
China right now=same deal as back then, history repeating itself, another country, another era, same mistakes. Leopards don't change their spots.
I was just being polite...in that you enjoy people underestimating you!-)
Whoops! indeed, zog: History repeating itself ain't a pretty sight -- "caught with our pants down" one more time. :^) IMHO, the your statement above is right on the money. best, bb.
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