Posted on 12/12/2010 11:25:38 AM PST by Justaham
Six American soldiers were killed and more than a dozen American and Afghan soldiers were wounded on Sunday morning when a van packed with explosives detonated beside a small joint outpost in southern Afghanistan.
The soldiers were at a new strong point in a small mud-walled building near the village of Sangsar, north of the Arghandab River, when the bomber drove up to one of the buildings walls and exploded his charge at about 9 a.m.
The blast was easily audible roughly 8 miles away, and sent a dusty mushroom cloud towering over the farmland.
The explosion blasted a large hole in the thick wall, causing the roof to collapse on soldiers inside. Other soldiers quickly arrived and clawed and pulled at the waist-deep rubble to free the buried troops.
The building had been occupied by American and Afghan troops for only a few days, an American official said, and was beside a narrow road. It was not immediately clear how the vehicle managed to approach as closely as it did without being challenged or stopped.
General Abdul-Hameed, a commander in the Afghan National Army, said by telephone that his soldiers had tried to stop the van but that its driver ignored them, drove toward the building and rammed the vehicle against its exterior wall.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Thank you. You are the best of us. You always will be.
(((((((Hugs))))))
DEAR GOD PLEASE BRING OUR SOLDIERS HOME! PLEASE GOD.
Well, we would have to include Pakistan as well. Which I wouldn't really have a problem with. They all hide in the mountainous regions on the Afghan/ Paki border. Pakistan does nothing.
Personally, I favor cultivating a friendship with India.
That’s a good answer, and I agree with most of what you say. I think your take will explain 30-50% of the problem. I don’t think it can cover the vast difference in competency. If an expert makes the bomb, any fool can push the detonator, it’s the construction that is failing.
If you go all the way back to Richard Reed, there has been an amazing run of failure. Hmmmm. Perhaps your idea about high quality fixers located in country explains more than I first thought.
Thanks for food for thought.
This was a vulnerable, remote base and hardly the place for what you call “building a puppet army.” I know we’re bending over backwards trying to prove that we’re not there to disrupt their miserable way of life, but personally, I’d suspect they don’t fear us enough.
Nephew here. I haven’t heard that he received his last package, although he is “out” a lot. Prayers.
It's called "conditioning"
Soon, it won't piss you off...if you know what's good for you.
For what ?
Thanks. He’s pretty indestructible (his teenage adventures would curl your hair and he survived them all, almost without a scratch) but I still worry.
Amen.
Of course you worry.It’s like you hold your breath until they are home.
(((((Hugs))))))
Damn! Just damn...Prayers for all. God give the brokenhearted strength and comfort.
Damn! Just damn...Prayers for all. God give the brokenhearted strength and comfort.
You should make this a thread by itself.
If a foreign army setup a strong point in your neighborhood, would you ‘fear them’, or pull a copy of TM 31-210 and head to the hardware store?
Seriously, I worried about him when he was home, too. He's a risk taker, and I really prefer that he be taking risks under the knowledgeable supervision of a platoon sergeant than with three buddies, a fast car, and a six-pack. Even with jihadis on the loose, he's probably statistically safer there.
But I still worry anyhow. Worrying is in my genes, I got it from my maternal grandmother. :-D
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