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Russia working with Taliban in Afghanistan complicates US' longest war
Stars & Stripes ^ | 10 Apr 17 | MAIJA LIUHTO AND SHASHANK BENGALI

Posted on 04/11/2017 5:09:52 AM PDT by elhombrelibre

Late one night in February, villagers in the Dasht-e-Archi district of northern Afghanistan heard strange sounds from the nearby Panj river, which marks the border with Tajikistan.

One farmer said he saw the bright lights of planes landing close to the riverbank, just inside Afghan territory in an area controlled by Taliban militants.

Word of American airstrikes or raids against insurgents travels fast in Kunduz province, but the next morning no one had any information about such an operation. The villagers concluded that the planes belonged to another powerful country seeking to press its influence in Afghanistan.

“It would have had to be the Russians,” said the farmer, who asked to be identified as Gul Agha. “These areas are outside government control so the question is raised, why were the planes landing there?”

(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...


TOPICS: Russia
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 04/11/2017 5:09:52 AM PDT by elhombrelibre
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To: elhombrelibre

“Reports have swirled for months across northern Afghanistan that Russia is increasing its support for the Taliban, providing weapons and financing to the militant group that has battled U.S. and international forces since 2001.”


2 posted on 04/11/2017 5:10:15 AM PDT by elhombrelibre (Cogito ergo sum a conservative pro-American.)
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To: elhombrelibre

We supported the Taliban when the Russians occupied Afghanistan.


3 posted on 04/11/2017 5:15:25 AM PDT by PeteB570 ( Islam is the sea in which the Terrorist Shark swims. The deeper the sea the larger the shark.)
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To: elhombrelibre

I have doubts about this.


4 posted on 04/11/2017 5:18:50 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: PeteB570

The Russians are working with the Taliban against ISIS
The Pakistanis are also involved
If the US is left out of this emerging arrangement it is because of our inept screwed up policy ( lots of targeting screw ups ) and now, anti Russian policy


5 posted on 04/11/2017 5:21:03 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Sacajaweau

6 posted on 04/11/2017 5:27:12 AM PDT by mac_truck (aide toi et dieu t'aidera)
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To: elhombrelibre

A Chinese general was selling knock off SA-7s to the Afghan goat pokers so they could sell them to the American MANPAD buyback program, everyone made out except us taxpayers.


7 posted on 04/11/2017 5:39:39 AM PDT by junta ("Peace is a racket", testimony from crime boss Barrack Hussein Obama.)
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To: Sacajaweau

http://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-reportedly-seeking-russian-aid-to-take-in-islamic-state/3789844.html


8 posted on 04/11/2017 5:48:32 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: elhombrelibre

It’s not just the Taliban
Afghanistan has turned to Russia to fill the vacuum left by obama’s policy

http://www.defenseworld.net/news/14405/Afghanistan_Seeks_Russian_Artillery_And_Mi_35_Helicopters_To_Fight_Insurgency#.WOzRGYb3arU


9 posted on 04/11/2017 5:51:28 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Sacajaweau

There isn’t much to doubt. Why could there possibly be mysterious flights running in and out of the worlds largest opiate producing country? That’s just crazy talk!


10 posted on 04/11/2017 6:07:38 AM PDT by The Toll
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To: PeteB570

Mujahadeen; but clearly, when one works with all of these groups, one will get radicals in the ranks. Pakistan has a lot of that.


11 posted on 04/11/2017 7:40:21 AM PDT by BeadCounter
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To: elhombrelibre

Insane. We should have let Russian keep Afghanistan.


12 posted on 04/11/2017 8:20:20 AM PDT by Theoria (I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive)
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To: Theoria

It wasn’t Russia then.


13 posted on 04/11/2017 8:41:56 AM PDT by elhombrelibre (Cogito ergo sum a conservative pro-American.)
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To: Theoria
We should have let Russian keep Afghanistan.

There was something called the Cold War going on back then and a nation called the Soviet Union was in Afghanistan, not Russia.

Google or Bing both. That was more of concern than Islamists back then.

14 posted on 04/11/2017 9:11:27 AM PDT by Kazan
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To: Kazan; elhombrelibre
You know my point. Having them stay there getting the slings and arrows more over time would have been more valuable.

In the long run we were wrong to put the effort into supporting the Mujahideen, and we go in and repeat a similar bear trap.

15 posted on 04/11/2017 11:25:41 AM PDT by Theoria (I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive)
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