Posted on 07/31/2006 5:02:44 PM PDT by blam
British general takes command and promises ruthless strikes on Taliban
· 18,000-strong force ready for first land operations
· Nato troops take charge of most of Afghanistan
Richard Norton-Taylor
Tuesday August 1, 2006
The Guardian (UK)
A British general yesterday took command of an expanded Nato force in Afghanistan, vowing to "strike ruthlessly" against the Taliban as the west's military alliance prepared to conduct land combat operations for the first time in its 57-year history. Lieutenant General David Richards, commander of Nato's international security assistance force, Isaf, based in Kabul, took over a multinational force in southern Afghanistan where British, US, Canadian, Dutch, and other troops face a dangerous mix of Taliban fighters, corrupt officials, opium farmers and drug dealers.
Over recent weeks US and British troops, mainly from Third Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, have confronted Taliban fighters and their supporters in a surge of violence that has killed an estimated 700 militants and 19 western troops, including six British soldiers. British commanders have been surprised by what they refer to as the "virulence" of Taliban fighters. They have also expressed concern about their soldiers being overextended in forward bases.
Gen Richards, a veteran of successful peacemaking missions in Sierra Leone and East Timor, is the first British officer to command American troops in ground operations since the second world war. Nato officials have described his task as a vital test, to demonstrate the continuing relevance of an organisation set up in 1949 to fight the cold war.
"We will retain the capability and will to strike ruthlessly at the enemies of Afghanistan when required," the British general said.
Nato forces are now deployed in northern, western, and southern Afghanistan. By the end of the year, the US wants Nato troops to take over from American ground forces now...
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Lief says this is "not good".
http://www.myspace.com/hippy100
What a horrible, worthless, POS this Lief person is! Why is he living in this country?
I saw this Lief post a couple of days ago. Looking at it again today, I think we've been had. This has GOT to be a joke!
I think, as someone on FR pointed out recently, that US Marines served under a British commander in the South earlier in the Iraq war.
"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.”George S. Patton
Who the heck is Ruth? Why is she not commited to striking the Taliban?
I'll be darned. I was sure no-one else in the world had a mind that thought like mine. I had the same thought when I typed the title, lol.
I hit a bump at 55, and rove on Ruthlessly....
My bump was at 51, quit work and moved into the woods...doing just fine 11 years later.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.