And here's another example: the military's contention that Operation Medusa has surrounded a group of several hundred Taliban fighters turns out to be entirely unfounded:
While NATO has claimed that 700 Taliban are trapped [around Panjwaii] , locals say there is an easy escape route to the west that has gone unguarded by Canadian and Afghan troops, allowing insurgents to resupply.
Lt.-Gen. David Richards, the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, now says:
"I wouldn't want to portray (the Taliban trap) as a complete encirclement,'' he said, speaking to reporters in Kandahar. "It's a psychological encirclement, and as we sit here things are looking very good for us.''
No wonder war supporters like Iggy have to justify out presence in Afghanistan in terms of "moral promises". When the reality on the ground sucks, the only choice is to retreat into vacuous abstractions.
1 comment:
Very GOOD thread! People here are starting to see how it was, perhaps, that the entire military might of the old USSR became bogged down in Afghanistan. Anyone who thinks our tiny little Canadian Armed Forces contingent can make a dent in an area from which the Russian 'Bear' was forced to withdraw, is out to lunch. What did Russia learn from their 1976 invasion (?) .... well they learned what Canadians are begining to comprehend, that Afghanistan is quicksand.
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