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2010-02-11 Afghanistan

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Posted by gorb 2010-02-11 01:55|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top

#1 Sounds to me like we are building on the lessons we learned at Fallujah. Sort of a modern day siege. We are learning and getting better at it.

Posted by crosspatch 2010-02-11 03:10|| 2010-02-11 03:10|| Front Page Top

#2 the tried and tested "find, fix, strike" method to locate and destroy their prey

So Sol Alinsky is being used by the SAS. But without getting personal. Works for me.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-02-11 04:42|| 2010-02-11 04:42|| Front Page Top

#3 It occurs to me that this may be the real point of the operation. By loudly publicizing that we were investing Marjah, we forced the Taliban/AlQ leadership to start cackling on their comms. "Operators were standing by." SAS/USNS were ready to make house calls.
Now the body of the snake (the schtoopid jihadi cannon-fodder) is coiled inside Marjah, but the head has been beaten to a pulp.

Posted by Free Radical 2010-02-11 06:35|| 2010-02-11 06:35|| Front Page Top

#4 Shades of "The Dirty Dozen".

Posted by Anonymoose 2010-02-11 07:29|| 2010-02-11 07:29|| Front Page Top

#5 Forwarded from a colleague:

February ARMY (pg 9) "Afghanistan Ops" says MG Flynn Dir/ISAF has ordered an overhaul in how intel is gathered and analyzed there. ('bout time...)
Article continues: US Mil is increasing the missions of clandestine SOF in afghan. and these teams are focusing more on l
As one aspect of intel gathering, above is a step in the right direction. An equally if not more important aspect in the equation is intel gathering by recruiting agents. How is this being done and by whom? Is the cia worl It seems to this unopinionated observer that instead of throwing billions of u.s.dollars at a corrupt govt (a la veetnam) we shave off a good deal of that money and devote it to finding out the "who, what, when, where and whys" of the religious fanatics who are l
A final thought. History, even a lot of tall snowed-in sage

Posted by Besoeker 2010-02-11 08:25|| 2010-02-11 08:25|| Front Page Top

#6 Good thing this was the British, because it sounds an awful lot like assassinations, and I thought we said those are bad things.
Of course in a couple of days we will learn that most of these so called commanders were just innocent wedding musicians and male nurses.

Posted by Glenmore 2010-02-11 08:45|| 2010-02-11 08:45|| Front Page Top

#7 #3

It was well publicized that we (your sf and ours, under your command and with german assistance) had all the major players holed up in Tora Bora and the Spin Ghar mountains , confirmed by their unencrypted chatter (they just cant shut up) . Dont forget , the cia helped build the complex and knew its layout . We had blanket recon on the joint . Yet bigtime politics came in to play and some/most supposedly escaped in to Pakistan . There were other tribal dynamics which came in to play , but in essence , here like back there , was a case of fish in a barrel , just need the nod to let the training do the work. At the moment, from this snippet and other sources being fed out , it does seem there is a shift in ROE , along the lines that before , the politicians wanted an untrained , under equiped uneductaed , scared ANA force to lead , no "crusaders" et al priciples .. This time they assist . Major difference this time being we lead , they follow .

Sounds exciting stuff but operations like this take months to plan and can often get blown out the water as the winds of change do their thing.

"The Sun" gets these scoops because its the most read 'newspaper' in the UK . Generally it isnt fit to wipe your a$$ with , but can take down governments in the Uk with its 'shifts' in allegiance, large readership base and rather opinionated views.

Posted by Oscar 2010-02-11 08:48|| 2010-02-11 08:48|| Front Page Top

#8 Hat tip to 22. Helping the problem of overcrowding at GITMO.

Posted by Besoeker 2010-02-11 09:23|| 2010-02-11 09:23|| Front Page Top

#9 This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

(Shakespeare, Henry V, St. Crispins Day Speech, just before Agincourt.)

Posted by Besoeker 2010-02-11 09:31|| 2010-02-11 09:31|| Front Page Top

#10 Nothing like another heartwarming story on a cold morning...

Posted by 3dc 2010-02-11 09:43|| 2010-02-11 09:43|| Front Page Top

#11 "phoenix"

Posted by bman 2010-02-11 11:06|| 2010-02-11 11:06|| Front Page Top

#12 Napoleon said that in battle, the moral is to the physical as three is to one, so we shall see how they apply this doctrine.

Posted by tipper 2010-02-11 11:06|| 2010-02-11 11:06|| Front Page Top

#13 As Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying: Follow the money. And in this case, kill the person writing the checks.

Posted by Beldar Threreling9726 2010-02-11 14:14|| 2010-02-11 14:14|| Front Page Top

#14 Hey Oscar, have you ever read page three of "The Sun" ?

Posted by Dave UK 2010-02-11 16:52|| 2010-02-11 16:52|| Front Page Top

#15 Are there words on Page 3? I never noticed.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-02-11 17:08|| 2010-02-11 17:08|| Front Page Top

#16 No good! Your quota was 500; make up for the shortfall.

Posted by Flomose Prince of the Geats1134 2010-02-11 19:43|| 2010-02-11 19:43|| Front Page Top

#17 awesome, stay strong and safe.

Posted by Jan 2010-02-11 22:20|| 2010-02-11 22:20|| Front Page Top

#18 Thank you for sharing that forward, Besoeker. One of the pleasures of Rantburg is exactly the shared thoughts of those who know, unlike little civilians like me who must just imagine.

Posted by trailing wife 2010-02-11 22:42|| 2010-02-11 22:42|| Front Page Top

23:48 Skidmark
23:44 Skidmark
23:40 Skidmark
23:39 tu3031
23:38 Skidmark
23:38 darrylq
23:34 3dc
23:33 Skidmark
23:29 gorb
23:26 gorb
23:25 tipper
23:19 Skidmark
23:17 Skidmark
23:16 texhooey
23:16 crosspatch
23:14 Frank Drebbin
23:13 crosspatch
23:00 Grunter
22:57 gorb
22:57 Frank G
22:51 IG-88
22:50 SteveS
22:50 trailing wife
22:47 tu3031
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