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Taliban Information warfare

An article in the Washington Post that gives the Afghan National Army a lot more credit than you'll ever find in the Canadian media--and identifies what seems to be a silly US reduction in funding support:

"Don't Undercut the Afghan Army"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060101533.html?referrer=email

Mark
Ottawa
 
MarkOttawa said:
Unfortunately, the recent Taliban activity and Canadian casualties are working their magic on our media--see these posts at "The Torch":

'Afstan: The Globe's agenda secret no more--it's a "quagmire"'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2006/06/afstan-globes-agenda-secret-no-more.html

'Afstan: Globe reporter declares quagmire'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2006/05/afstan-globe-reporter-declares.html

Mark
Ottawa

A quagmire, how original.

I suppose it is the same Quagmiree which stopped the US advance during OIF, the Northern Alliance during "Enduring Freedom" , prevented the elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, and oh wait, that is the alternative universe. People who take time to look out the window see a very much different picture.
 
There are alternative points of view out there to be sure.  Regarding the war after the war in Iraq, Gwynne Dyer wrote the following article in February:

http://www.gwynnedyer.net/articles/Gwynne%20Dyer%20article_%20%20Iraq%20Civil%20War.txt

Dyer concludes: American troops will remain in Iraq for several years, probably
right down to the November, 2008 election, because it is impossible for the
Bush administration to pull out without admitting a ghastly blunder. Too
many people have died for "sorry" to suffice.

Then there is the case of Afghanistan and Taliban.  While not overly endowed with firepower, albeit with a lot of support from the U.S., these are the remnants of the mujaheddin fighters that blunted the invasion of the Soviet Union and not only defeated the Red Army but also contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union itself.  What they lack in firepower, the Taliban certainly lack nothing when it comes to the will and determination to expel coalition forces from the region.  Nor is the Taliban unfamiliar with how to fight an effective insurgency and they will not give up. Jihad, or holy war, is deeply embedded in the religious beliefs. 

At very least, we ought to be mindful that this is going to be a long tough fight. 
 
coachron said:
these are the remnants of the mujaheddin fighters that blunted the invasion of the Soviet Union and not only defeated the Red Army but also contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union itself.

The Taliban is NOT the remnants of the mujaheddin organizations that fought against the Soviets - the Taliban rose up as a resistance movement against the remnants of the mujaheddin who descended into Civil War once the Soviets left.

coachron said:
At very least, we ought to be mindful that this is going to be a long tough fight.

I don't think anyone here has ever said that it wouldn't be.
 
coachron said:
While not overly endowed with firepower, albeit with a lot of support from the U.S., these are the remnants of the mujaheddin fighters that blunted the invasion of the Soviet Union and not only defeated the Red Army but also contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union itself.  
ahh, No. Before you spout off, you should do some checking. The majority of the muj who actually fought the Soviets were found in what became known as the Northern Alliance. The Taliban are a creation of the Pakistani ISI who found that their previous choice for control of Afghanistan, Hekmatyar Gullbeddin, wouldn't fight Soviets, but would happily murder Afghans. They sprang up from Pakistan well after the Soviets had retreated to quell the on-going civil war and attendant lawlessness.

What they lack in firepower, the Taliban certainly lack nothing when it comes to the will and determination to expel coalition forces from the region.
they lack the means and the popular support. Let me say that again so you get it: the popular support. These morons have never read Mao because they're fish without an ocean. The muj won against the Soviets because they had the unquestioned support of the majority of the populace. The Talib, quite the opposite. They gain compliance through intimidation. That never workds for long.

Nor is the Taliban unfamiliar with how to fight an effective insurgency
actually, yes they are, since they were never an effective guerilla movement. They were a clever manipulation of a grassroots movement by the ISI, that became a police state allowing the Pakistanis to loot the nation of all ordnance.

Jihad, or holy war, is deeply embedded in the religious beliefs.
we have pages upon pages explaining this very concept, and going into greater detail on how Jihad is not truly Holy War except in the minds of certain individuals with agendas, but thanks for perpetuating the fallacy and further promoting stereotypes.
At very least, we ought to be mindful that this is going to be a long tough fight.
thank you Capt Obvious. Where are you and Tips, the Boy Wonder off to now?

::)

You are trying to argue with men who have been to this country, have spent years researching this country, and you are doing it with the same half-assed crap that the media spews out. I strongly suggest you do a lot more reading on these boards, and a lot less babbling. It would do wonders for your legitimacy, as well as your education. There are entire pages full of reccommended books to help people understand Islam, Islamic Radicals, terrorism in general, Afghanistan, the Middle East, ad nauseum.
 
The Taliban are trying to talk Canadian troops out, because attempts at ambush and assault have got their @$$ handed to them.  As far as terrorist attacks in Canada, if/when those occur it will be because they had supporters here who struck at targets of opportunity within reach, not because they were cleverly aimed by Taliban leaders in Afghanistan or Pakistan.  They will hit us if/when they have a chance because they are fundamentally opposed to the ideals of western democracy, supporting instead a religious based totalitarian regime.  With our support, the Afghans will be able to rebuild their nation, and eventually be able to keep the scum out of their villages, until then we will hold the line, and the Taliban can keep crying. :cdn:
 
Infanteer said:
Here is the MEMRI translation of the Al-Jiz interview, along with the video clip.

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD118006

(It's actually a pretty good interview - roughly 10min - in which the Taliban commander delves into organization, contacts and what-not)

What a load of rubbish. It sounds like the same ranting nonsense that they were spitting out when I was there in 04/05. Exaggerate everything and see what sticks. ANA commanders begging Taleban forgiveness, and US ready to leave Afgh as soon as they can have a chat with the Taleban leadership? 12,000 fighters taking part in attacks? Taleban "controlling most of Afghanistan"? This is neatly calculated for consumption by gullible masses everywhere, especially here in Canada where, because it opposes what the military and the Govt say, it will automatically be accepted as "truth".

Cheers
 
Lol, well I thought that was obvious pbi. :)

I think the value in the video lies in his various descriptions of the command structure and how he relates to Al Qa'ida, Iraq, etc, etc.  Probably stuff our guys already know, but interesting none-the-less....
 
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