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US Is Just Playing Around, Says Northern Alliance
London Daily Telegraph
| October 18, 2001
| Marcus Warren in Bagram, northern Afghanistan
Posted on 10/18/2001 7:10:36 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
THE first American strikes against front-line targets north of Kabul left anti-Taliban commanders distinctly unimpressed yesterday. Some military chiefs even complained that their enemy's morale was higher now than before the air campaign began.
The negligible scale of the allied air raids on the military outside the Afghanistan capital had convinced the Taliban that America was "just playing around", one senior commander of the Northern Alliance forces said, citing reports from spies and "connections" in Kabul.
An unidentified plane was seen banking away over the mountains soon after two explosions a few miles south of the front line yesterday afternoon in what appeared to be the first daylight raid in the area.
Three bombs were dropped on Taliban positions six miles from Bagram, Afghanistan's largest air base, from early evening on Tuesday until dawn yesterday, the general in charge of the ruined airport confirmed.
All the overnight bombs hit their target and one destroyed a small convoy of cars near a Taliban post, Gen Babajan said. Before the attack, the cars had their lights on but afterwards there was only darkness and the vehicles had been "smashed to bits", he said.
The strikes made good a threat earlier this week by Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, that the front line would not "be a very safe place to be".
Since the bombing began 10 days ago, Taliban fighters have sought shelter from the raids on Kabul by commuting by car to their positions near the Northern Alliance forces to the north of the capital. The Taliban's vehicle lights can easily be seen across the plains.
However, Gen Babajan, who voiced the fears of many commanders of opposition forces at the weekend when he accused America and Pakistan of a plot to thwart any Northern Alliance advance on Kabul, was unenthusiastic about the attacks.
"Do you think three bombs will make much of a difference?" he asked, sitting in the shade at his command post behind the bombed out airbase buildings.
To observers on the Shamali plains, America appears to be doing the bare minimum to keep its allies fighting the Taliban happy but is determined not to encourage them to move on and to capture Kabul.
There was even speculation that the bombs dropped overnight had been left over from other sorties and expended in an attack on B-list targets.
One senior Northern Alliance commander expressed the fear that the minimal intensity of the bombing was strengthening the Taliban's resolve to resist America.
Jan Akhamat, deputy military chief of Parvan province said: "Before the bombing, the Taliban were worried about what sort of attacks would happen. Now the attacks are like this and their morale is better."
He added: "They think the Americans are just playing around. These three bombs are not enough. In fact they will mobilise the Taliban and make them stronger."
Confidence in America, never high among anti-Taliban commanders, and faith in the likelihood of any significant military alliance with Washington, are evaporating rapidly.
"The United States is doing its own thing for its own benefit here," said Commander Akhamat, a sentiment shared by most of the anti-Taliban military leadership as well as many ordinary people.
Washington's close co-operation with Pakistan, long an ally of the Taliban's extremist regime and hostile to the Northern Alliance, has only confirmed the suspicions of those fighting the Taliban on the ground that they are being used as cannon fodder by the West.
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
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To: Stand Watch Listen
Yes we will not do all the killing for you NA to have you guys pour into Kabul and two years from now invade Pakistan. Nope, if you want to hang out in Kabul you are going to have to do some work to get there.
2
posted on
10/18/2001 7:32:58 AM PDT
by
corkoman
To: Stand Watch Listen
To: corkoman
Ok, you obviously don't know jack about the local politics...so do some reading and educate yourself.
As for anyone else reading this: What happened to Powell's doctorine of overwhelming force? If the US was this vigorous with Saddam, he'd be in charge of most of the middle east by now. 100 planes? Christ, they used three times as many to try and murder Christians...but when it comes to those precious little Islamics...oh, we wouldn't want to hurt them, would we? Remember America, your motto: Kill Christians GOOD, kill Musli BAD, Very BAD, Very Very BAD...for business.
America's war on Terrorism is turning into the very Joke all the critics said it would be.
4
posted on
10/18/2001 8:18:24 AM PDT
by
Stavka2
To: Stavka2
I'm sensing some negative vibes coming from you sparky. Lets work on some breathing techniques, in with the good, out with the bad, come on lets do it together now.
To: Stavka2
Rule number one: Don't believe everything you read.
To: Stand Watch Listen
Apparently they want the silver platter so we can serve them up for them. They gotta do at least some fighting.
To: Stand Watch Listen
Sounds like these guys think the US mil is some sort of volunteer force for their cause.
8
posted on
10/18/2001 8:43:04 AM PDT
by
spunkets
To: Stand Watch Listen
This has also been written in Russian language news at Voina.ru.
They say that the Northern Alliance is considering switching sides and fighting against NATO. They are fed up with the campaign at Mazar i Sharif. The word is that NATO expects the NA to do all the ground fighting to capture the cities, while they just help with a few special forces and air strikes.
Voina.ru has been pretty reliable, and this fits in with what we have seen from NATO over the last few years. They are free and easy with the air strikes, but sending troops in to take cities hasn't been done by America since Kuwait City, and that was only after the enemy fled.
9
posted on
10/18/2001 8:46:48 AM PDT
by
OK
To: Stand Watch Listen
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- None shall pass.
- ARTHUR:
- What?
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- None shall pass.
- ARTHUR:
- I have no quarrel with you, good Sir Knight, but I must cross this bridge.
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Then you shall die.
- ARTHUR:
- I command you, as King of the Britons, to stand aside
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- I move for no man.
- ARTHUR:
- So be it!
- ARTHUR and BLACK KNIGHT:
- Aaah!, hiyaah!, etc.
- [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's left arm off]
- ARTHUR:
- Now stand aside, worthy adversary.
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- 'Tis but a scratch.
- ARTHUR:
- A scratch? Your arm's off!
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- No, it isn't.
- ARTHUR:
- Well, what's that, then?
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- I've had worse.
- ARTHUR:
- You liar!
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Come on, you pansy!
- [clang]
- Huyah!
- [clang]
- Hiyaah!
- [clang]
- Aaaaaaaah!
- [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's right arm off]
-
- ARTHUR:
- Victory is mine!
- [kneeling]
- We thank Thee Lord, that in Thy mer--
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Hah!
- [kick]
- Come on, then.
- ARTHUR:
- What?
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Have at you!
- [kick]
- ARTHUR:
- Eh. You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine.
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Oh, had enough, eh?
- ARTHUR:
- Look, you stupid bastard. You've got no arms left.
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Yes, I have.
- ARTHUR:
- Look!
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Just a flesh wound.
- [kick]
- ARTHUR:
- Look, stop that.
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Chicken!
- [kick]
- Chickennn!
- ARTHUR:
- Look, I'll have your leg.
- [kick]
- Right!
- [whop]
- [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's right leg off]
-
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Right. I'll do you for that!
- ARTHUR:
- You'll what?
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Come here!
- ARTHUR:
- What are you going to do, bleed on me?
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- I'm invincible!
- ARTHUR:
- You're a looney.
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- The Black Knight always triumphs! Have at you! Come on, then.
- [whop]
- [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's last leg off]
-
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Oh? All right, we'll call it a draw.
- ARTHUR:
- Come, Patsy.
- BLACK KNIGHT:
- Oh. Oh, I see. Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!
In addition to what I said above, I would add that the Northern Alliance is freaked out that Colin Powell went to Pakistan and said that the Taliban would be a part of any new government in Afghanistan.
That is what makes the claim that they are turning against us credible.
11
posted on
10/18/2001 9:14:02 AM PDT
by
OK
To: Stand Watch Listen; corkoman; SMEDLEYBUTLER; Stavka2; SamAdams76; gulfcoast6; spunkets; OK
I find it kind of annoying that the Taliban
can launch offensives (failed or not) during American bombing runs.
12
posted on
10/18/2001 9:14:33 AM PDT
by
Pericles
To: Pericles
America never did figure out how to keep people on its side..because it constantly tries (just like the British used to) playing off each other, until all parties are sick and tired of it and turn on them. Just like the Montinards were abandoned to the tender mericies of the Vietcong and as the Christian Chinese mercs that surved the US in Vietnam were equally dropped and the Afghans after the Cold War were abandoned...do you think anyone has ever forgotten...well with the exceptions of Americans themselves. Problem is, America believes that no matter what it does to whom, it can always buy their loyalty with money and empty gestures. Maybe they'll learn one day...I doubt it.
13
posted on
10/18/2001 9:21:56 AM PDT
by
Stavka2
To: Stavka2
Our war on terrorism will not be a joke but we still suffer from our puritan mentality as to mowing down vast columns of personnel. We would rather bomb empty buildings, empty aircraft, etc. Make no mistake, we could send the Spooky gunships in there and those 8,000 Taliban frontline troops would think they were in a Cuisinart for about 5 minutes until nothing was left alive. But that would be bad P.R. for Colin Powell's "we love Muslims" approach. We are going to have to by God "use what we got" and over-fricking-whelm these people, to Hell with the P.R. implications. Now is the killing time.
14
posted on
10/18/2001 9:24:13 AM PDT
by
Sender
To: Sender
Now is the killing time. I am afraid (and I hope I am wrong)it is not. We are doing nothing (yet) to break the Taliban or Osama's group. With these animals the first impression is everything. They are emerging from a week of this and saying "is that all?". I so hope I am wrong.
15
posted on
10/18/2001 9:33:43 AM PDT
by
Pericles
To: Stand Watch Listen
"Do you think three bombs will make much of a difference?" Yes, if they are large Nukes applied to the correct capital cities.
16
posted on
10/18/2001 9:43:31 AM PDT
by
ASA Vet
To: Stand Watch Listen
London Daily Telegraph
Oh, these guys. I think these guys were saying two days ago that "top american officials" were becoming alarmed because the war was dragging on so long, after 7 days!
Ignore them. They are just propaganda.
To: Sender
America will do no such thing: to hit the Taliban hard would mean the N. Alliance would win, that would upset Pakistan and thus upset their backers the Saudies...and to many crooked American politicians (I think that's about the vast majority) would loose too much money. So in 5 years another set of American buildings will go boom and all the American pyscho talkers will discuss how this could again happen. Nothing changes in the US, only money matters...to bad, that's how Rome stayed the world power it is today.
18
posted on
10/18/2001 9:49:59 AM PDT
by
Stavka2
To: Pericles
Re: launching an offensive.
It's Afghanistan. All those that don't want to fight have fled to the surrounding countries. Those that are left are warriors that are not impressed by massive and superior firepower.
Also the US isn't a volunteer detachment to the N. Alliance. The US mil mission in Afghanistan is to obtain justice, shut down the terrorist training centers and render humanitarian assistance to whatever parties remain after the terrorists are brought to justice and the camps are shut down. This is not the arts and croissant crowds op to emplace their own favored govm't.
19
posted on
10/18/2001 10:08:50 AM PDT
by
spunkets
To: Stavka2
Powell's doctrine of overwhelming force is nothing but a cruel joke on us all. It's Powell's version of an infinite stall tactic to avoid ever having to do anything. How anyone thinks this guy is Presidential material is beyond me. Just another Clinton type who likes to hear himself talk, IMHO.
20
posted on
10/18/2001 10:26:27 AM PDT
by
afz400
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