Comments on: The war in Afghanistan http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/ Incisive and topical campaigns and commentary on today's issues and tomorrow's problems Thu, 24 May 2012 20:42:09 +0000 hourly 1 By: Stuart Fairney http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19140 Stuart Fairney Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:16:48 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19140 Quite so, my good lady, an Iranian by birth, has a few choice words (so as not to be moderated out, suffice to say they would make a merchant seaman blush!) to say about the Taliban Quite so, my good lady, an Iranian by birth, has a few choice words (so as not to be moderated out, suffice to say they would make a merchant seaman blush!) to say about the Taliban

]]> By: SJB http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19139 SJB Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:08:40 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19139 When Mazari Sharif fell to the Taliban in 1998 they laid siege to the Iranian consulate and killed some of their diplomats. http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9809/15/iran.afghan.tensions.02/index.html Confirmation of Stuart's point about religious differences between the Sunni and Shi'a can be seen in the Taliban governor's reported remarks: “Hazaras are not Muslim, they are Shi’a. They are kofr [infidels]. The Hazaras killed our force here, and now we have to kill Hazaras.” http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-03.htm#P186_38364 When Mazari Sharif fell to the Taliban in 1998 they laid siege to the Iranian consulate and killed some of their diplomats.
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9809/15/iran.afghan.tensions.02/index.html

Confirmation of Stuart’s point about religious differences between the Sunni and Shi’a can be seen in the Taliban governor’s reported remarks: “Hazaras are not Muslim, they are Shi’a. They are kofr [infidels]. The Hazaras killed our force here, and now we have to kill Hazaras.”
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-03.htm#P186_38364

]]> By: Adrian Peirson http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19138 Adrian Peirson Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:21:52 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19138 Kick the door in Generals, I reckon you'd have the support of AT LEAST 2 Million able bodied. Kick the door in Generals, I reckon you’d have the support of AT LEAST 2 Million able bodied.

]]> By: Neil Craig http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19137 Neil Craig Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:19:02 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19137 There is a fair argument for admiting being beaten in Afghanistan. There is no possible honourable argument for anybody who has not been far louder in opposing our wars against Yugoslavia to ever claim any morality in saying we should leave. The war against the taliban is perfectly legal defenceive action in which we probably are actually improving people's lives. It can never, under any circumstances be compared to wars fought purely to assist people with a record as drug dealers, sex slavers & unrepentent supporters of Hitler to carry out atrocities which, though unreported by our "free" media match & in al least 1 way exceed those of Hitler. There is a fair argument for admiting being beaten in Afghanistan. There is no possible honourable argument for anybody who has not been far louder in opposing our wars against Yugoslavia to ever claim any morality in saying we should leave. The war against the taliban is perfectly legal defenceive action in which we probably are actually improving people’s lives. It can never, under any circumstances be compared to wars fought purely to assist people with a record as drug dealers, sex slavers & unrepentent supporters of Hitler to carry out atrocities which, though unreported by our “free” media match & in al least 1 way exceed those of Hitler.

]]> By: Stuart Fairney http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19136 Stuart Fairney Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:19:53 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19136 The Iranians are no friends of the Americans for sure, but don't imagine the Shia dominated Irainians will have any truck with the Sunni Taliban, especially the Saudi Wahhabi strain. The Iranians are no friends of the Americans for sure, but don’t imagine the Shia dominated Irainians will have any truck with the Sunni Taliban, especially the Saudi Wahhabi strain.

]]> By: Stewart Knight http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19135 Stewart Knight Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:18:45 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19135 The road transport issue is a true red herring; most real soldiers will tell you that. There was once a wonderful, but expensive piece of equipment designated ECM, Electronic Counter Measure. If you have a command wire to a roadside bomb it needs an electric source, so therefore gives off a radio signal, and this signal can be detected by ECM equipment. The same for a bomb which is detonated by radio control; there needs to be a receiver. This ECM kit is decades old and is now sophisticated. The problem is that it is not effective while in vehicles, so why are we in vehicles? Simple, because we have too few men on the ground. So we don't have enough ECM equipment for the patrols on foot that may keep them safe, and we don't have enough men to patrol on foot to make use of the ECM equipment we don't have, and we have no vehicles that are effective while we swan about kidding ourselves that we are fighting a winnable battle. We need more men, more air support, and more equipment. NOT more vehicles. The Government WANT you to think we need more vehicles and that is the answer because they can be sourced easily and cheaply, relatively speaking, but it is a false promise made by people incapable of understanding the situation. Why do you think they got rid of Dannat and Jackson? The road transport issue is a true red herring; most real soldiers will tell you that.

There was once a wonderful, but expensive piece of equipment designated ECM, Electronic Counter Measure. If you have a command wire to a roadside bomb it needs an electric source, so therefore gives off a radio signal, and this signal can be detected by ECM equipment. The same for a bomb which is detonated by radio control; there needs to be a receiver. This ECM kit is decades old and is now sophisticated. The problem is that it is not effective while in vehicles, so why are we in vehicles? Simple, because we have too few men on the ground.

So we don’t have enough ECM equipment for the patrols on foot that may keep them safe, and we don’t have enough men to patrol on foot to make use of the ECM equipment we don’t have, and we have no vehicles that are effective while we swan about kidding ourselves that we are fighting a winnable battle.

We need more men, more air support, and more equipment. NOT more vehicles. The Government WANT you to think we need more vehicles and that is the answer because they can be sourced easily and cheaply, relatively speaking, but it is a false promise made by people incapable of understanding the situation.

Why do you think they got rid of Dannat and Jackson?

]]> By: figurewizard http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19134 figurewizard Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:01:09 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19134 There is no such thing as an exit route in war without victory but as the news tonight that eight more of our brave young soldiers have been killed in a single day emphasises, this requires all of the tools to do the job. An example of how this was done in the past was during D Day and beyond. Then our troops had constant support from the 'cab rank' system supplied by Mustangs and Typhoons. These linked to air support officers on the ground accompanying our troops advancing on the enemy. A squadron was always above; ready to both report enemy positions and engage. As they needed to refuel they were immediately replaced by another. These days this role should be performed by helicopter gunships but for our troops in Afghanistan they are in pitifully short supply. Mike Stallard rightly points out that we are broke today but we were just as broke in 1944. There is no such thing as an exit route in war without victory but as the news tonight that eight more of our brave young soldiers have been killed in a single day emphasises, this requires all of the tools to do the job.

An example of how this was done in the past was during D Day and beyond. Then our troops had constant support from the ‘cab rank’ system supplied by Mustangs and Typhoons. These linked to air support officers on the ground accompanying our troops advancing on the enemy. A squadron was always above; ready to both report enemy positions and engage. As they needed to refuel they were immediately replaced by another.

These days this role should be performed by helicopter gunships but for our troops in Afghanistan they are in pitifully short supply. Mike Stallard rightly points out that we are broke today but we were just as broke in 1944.

]]> By: Stuart Fairney http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19133 Stuart Fairney Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:19:53 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19133 To say nothing of our own 1842 exit, our 1880 exit, our our 1919 exit from the God-forsaken place. From the comfort of middle age and no likelihood of a call-up of men my age, I can say, how much more folly must out young men suffer. To say nothing of our own 1842 exit, our 1880 exit, our our 1919 exit from the God-forsaken place.

From the comfort of middle age and no likelihood of a call-up of men my age, I can say, how much more folly must out young men suffer.

]]> By: backofanenvelope http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19132 backofanenvelope Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:13:03 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19132 You really shouldn't worry about the Russians buzzing our airspace. They have a couple of dozen long range aircraft that were clapped out 20 years ago. Rgds Michael ex-DIS You really shouldn’t worry about the Russians buzzing our airspace. They have a couple of dozen long range aircraft that were clapped out 20 years ago.

Rgds

Michael
ex-DIS

]]> By: Stuart Fairney http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2009/07/10/the-war-in-afghanistan/#comment-19131 Stuart Fairney Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:11:04 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=4027#comment-19131 Speaking as an ordinary person from an odious, useless, utterly failed comprehensive, I will sell my organs before I send my son to one. Unlike most of the Nu-Labour elite, I saw this nonsense first hand and can honestly say, my formal education ceased at 12 and only re-started at 17 when I started reading independently. I was taught to be a good little drone and how the Tennessee valley authority and the New Deal saved America so yay for socialism etc Anyone care to buy a kidney… Speaking as an ordinary person from an odious, useless, utterly failed comprehensive, I will sell my organs before I send my son to one.

Unlike most of the Nu-Labour elite, I saw this nonsense first hand and can honestly say, my formal education ceased at 12 and only re-started at 17 when I started reading independently. I was taught to be a good little drone and how the Tennessee valley authority and the New Deal saved America so yay for socialism etc

Anyone care to buy a kidney…

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