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Taliban Combine Modern Weapons, Ancient Tactics To Stymie Marines
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» recoil replied on Tue Feb 2, 2010 @ 6:38am |
 Coolness: 87430 | just read this now in this morning's Globe and Mail and thought I'd post it here
[ www.theglobeandmail.com ] Taliban combine modern weapons, ancient tactics to stymie Marines An Afghan farmer watches as U.S. Marines patrol in central Helmand. AFP/Getty Images Shepherds whistle. Dogs bark. Shots ring out. But the insurgents remain mostly unseen C.J. Chivers Karardar, Afghanistan — New York Times News Service Published on Monday, Feb. 01, 2010 10:46PM EST Last updated on Monday, Feb. 01, 2010 11:04PM EST .The U.S. Marine infantry company, accompanied by a squad of Afghan soldiers, set out long before dawn. It walked silently through the dark fields with plans of arriving at a group of mud-walled compounds in Helmand province at sunrise. The company had received intelligence reports that 40 to 50 Taliban fighters had moved into this village a few days before, and the battalion had set a cordon around it. The Marines hoped to surprise any insurgents within. But as the company moved, shepherds whistled in the darkness, passing warning of the Americans' approach. Dogs barked themselves hoarse. The din rose in every direction, enveloping the column in noise. And then, as the Marines became visible in the bluish light, a minivan rumbled out of one compound. Its driver steered ahead of the company, honking the horn, spreading the alarm. Spotters appeared on roofs. Marine operations like this one in mid-January, along with interviews with dozens of Marines, reveal the insurgents' evolving means of waging an Afghan brand of war, even as more U.S. troops arrive. Mixing modern weapons with ancient signalling techniques, the Taliban have developed the habits and tactics to evade capture and to disrupt U.S. and Afghan operations, all while containing risks to their ranks. Seven months after the Marines began flowing forces into Helmand province, clearing territory and trying to establish local Afghan government, such tactics have helped the Taliban transform themselves from the primary provincial power to a canny but mostly unseen force. Until last year Helmand province had been a zone outside of government influence, where beyond the presence of a few Western outposts the Taliban enjoyed free movement and supremacy. The province served as both a fighters' haven and the centre of Afghanistan's poppy production, providing rich revenue streams for the war against the central government and the Western forces that protect it. In areas where they have built bases, the Marines have undermined the Taliban's position. But the insurgents have consolidated and adapted, and remain a persistent and cunning presence. On the morning of the sweep, made by Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, a large communications antenna that rose from one compound vanished before the Marines could reach it. The man inside insisted that he had seen nothing. And when the Marines moved within the compound's walls, people in nearby houses released white pigeons, revealing the Americans' locations to anyone watching from afar. The Taliban and their supporters use other signals besides car horns and pigeons, including kites flown near American movements and dense puffs of smoke released from chimneys near where a unit patrols. “You'll go to one place, and for some reason there will be a big plume of smoke ahead of you,” said Captain Paul Stubbs, the Weapons Company commander. “As you go to the next place, there will be another.” “Our impression,” he added, “is the people are doing it because they are getting paid to do it.” Late in the morning during the company's sweep, the insurgents fired a few bursts of automatic rifle fire from outside the cordon. Later still, they lobbed a single mortar round toward the company. It exploded harmlessly in a field. No one could tell exactly where the fire came from. This showed another side of the Taliban's local activities. Wary of engaging the Marines while they were ready and massed, fighters risked nothing more than this harassing fire. The sweep was not entirely fruitless. In several houses, Afghan soldiers found sacks of poppy seeds, which they carried outside, slashed open with knives and set on fire. In a few houses, they found processed opium and heroin. But the Taliban's fighters had proved elusive again. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Screwhead replied on Tue Feb 2, 2010 @ 6:44am |
 Coolness: 686515 | lol
The bad news: the "best trained soldiers in the world" are being outwitted by dogs, shepherds and fire. The good news: We've fucked up their stash, man! THAT 'll learn 'em! |
| I'm feeling like a drama magnet right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» crimson replied on Fri Feb 5, 2010 @ 9:04pm |
 Coolness: 67350 | ... Oh we've fucked up more than there 'stash.. sadly :( |
| I'm feeling happy ^^ right now.. | |
Taliban Combine Modern Weapons, Ancient Tactics To Stymie Marines
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