Posted on 08/09/2007 9:47:47 AM PDT by uksupport1
You are absolutely right, the Cauncks (even from my limited knowledge) appear to have been doing some great work in Afghanistan. I believe the Danes and Estonians are pullng their weight too.
I’m glad that my country has stood with yours in the fight against terrorism. I have nothing but admiration for the US. Let’s hope that we prevail!
What's going to happen is that the groups vying for power are going to throw down with each other after the Brits have left. While they're happy to take Iranian rockets to drive out the foreign invaders, being an Iranian puppet is politically untenable for an Iraqi Shia. They hate Iran, and only their slightly greater hate of a foreign presence makes taking their weapons acceptable.
Once the UK leaves, the various Shia factions will abandon the Iranians, and go nuts on each other. Some want Sharia, others want hardcore Sharia, others want semi-Sharia organized crime.
So they got that going for them. Which is nice.
Anyway, with the UK gone, those factions will kill each other until one wins. They're already starting at it, but the main event won't start until the with-drawl. I doubt it will be that bloody for those outside the factions themselves, but the whole town will wind up being ruled by whoever wins.
I believe (from the discussed article and wider reading) that the UK still has forces at Basra Palace (for a few more weeks at least). This is where the action cited in the article appearts to have taken place. Do you see indirect fire attacks becoming more intense on the airfield when the Basra Palace position is closed?
I'm not sure as to the actual status of the palace, as in if there is any presence left, but the folks I work with had recently relocated from there. It's no secret that it's being de-occupied. If there's any presence remaining, it's considerably less than before. As for the intensity of the attacks, I'd prefer not to speculate further on the details.
From what I understand, UK troops seem to prefer the war in Afghanistan to Iraq (as the UK increases its presence in Afghanistan) as fighting there is more conventional and less constrained etc. Is that the impression you recieved?
That's probably a good way of putting it. The UK troops are willing and able to fight, but (off the record) they have a universally low opinion of the wisdom of the Iraqi endeavor in general, and of President Bush/PM Blair in particular.
Afghanistan is basically a 4th world country, so I wouldn't say that anyone looks forward to going, per se. But it's safe to say that they see it as a far more worthwhile and potentially successful task than Iraq.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, mate, it is much appreciated.
Cheers, SW
Because you are posting on FR you may already be aware of these blogs but, just in case here you go.
http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/08/
Bill has been embedded in Iraq and has wonderfully thought out insights to the "Long War."
Bill is also currently expanding his operations by adding an additional personnel to the embed team. Great graphical maps and also reports on Pakistan and Afghanistan wars.
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/
Michael Yon is truly a giant of our time.
When it's all said and done he may end up greater then WWII's Ernie Pyle.
Great crisp writing and even better photographer.
Michael is on the ground with American, British and the Iraqi forces. If you are already aware of these resources then I apologize for taking up your time.
If you believe that Iran was genuine in their offers to help us, you are a fool that hasn't paid any attention to what Iran has been doing for decades.
Iran is and has for a long time been the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism.
Any offers to help "downed pilots" would have been to get a chance to see what technology the could get from downed aircraft, and what they could wrangle out of us in return for our pilots after they helped "rescue" them.
I would say that the politics in the Middle East are more dishonest than fickle. Their governments constantly say one thing and do another. Islam does not regard lying to infidels as dishonorable. Their own people are not going to take their leaders to task for blatantly lying to outsiders, it is expected of them, and it is the West that is utterly foolish to believe them.
Thanks mate, I’ll check those out!
Yeah, I apologise for my original post, I didn’t make clear what I meant! :-)
$6 million USG aid to Iran after Bam earthquake... Irony?
“Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, a spokesman for Iran’s Interior Ministry, said Saturday that Iran would accept aid from all countries of the world, aside from Israel. The announcement followed statements by foreign correspondents in Jerusalem, who reported that the Foreign Ministry had said that unofficial Israeli sources were considering sending aid to Iran. “The Islamic Republic of Iran accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organizations with the exception of the Zionist regime [Israel],” Khanjani said.”
Please read my other posts mate. My original post was badly written and I have since clarified it.
I did jump the gun. Take care.
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