CNN's Nic Roberston who is in Kabul has been sending reports to the U.S. and his current one "Tensions high in Afghanistan" is very informative. Nic's video can bee seen on CNN's homepage at the bottom under the VIDEO section. Nic has reported the many tribal groups that border Pakistan in Northern Afghanistan would side with the Taliban and fight against Pakistan if the U.S. invaded.... I hope dubya really, really, really, thinks about what he is implying he is going to do.... This could be very messy... rH
It will be messy. Americans are going to die over it. That's war. Virtually all of the mujahadeen will side with the Taliban and Osama. They will resist us in Afghanistan. They will attack our troops in Pakistan (the troops we are about to send there). They will fight against us in Iraq when we invade again. They will try to attack any troops we send to former Russian republics. They will infiltrate NATO countries and try to attack us there. They will infiltrate the USA and attempt to attack us at home again. They are not going to stop attacking us until we are dead, and we cannot afford to stop trying to attack them until they are all dead. That's war, rockHEAD. Some Americans will die. I hope you are prepared for that.
treeman -- I saw a report last night where they were saying that once Americans saw that American troops were actually dying, it would be hard to prosecute a war with the support of the country. HUH???? I can't begin to understand this!! War involves death....these men and women have already made the active choice to put themselves in a situation where they defend the country with their lives. We have to be the softest society in the history of the world if that's the case. When a nation loses its desire to prosecute a war because there will be casualities it's time to fold up shop. Quite frankly, this leads to a Vietnam-type war where we put limits on ourselves, thus keeping ourselves from reaching the actual objective: TO WIN THE FREAKING WAR!!! Have we become that soft that we would roll over when we experience casualites while working to eradicate those who would cause us the kind of death and suffering they did on Tuesday?? If I end up dying for our country in Afghanistan or anywhere else for that matter, take care of my family, pray for my soul, make sure my son grows up knowing what I died for....but never...never ...never feel guilty for it. I'd give two lives for the liberties of my son and this country if I had them to give.
There's also rebel groups in Afghanistan, led by a guy named Moussaud (sp?). A few days before the attacks on WTC, he was in an accident involving an explosive in a television camera, he later died of injuries. I heard that these rebels would side with the US. Aren't these the same rebels who bombed Kabul the very same night? Also, here's something I'm surprised the news hasn't made a big deal about. I forget her name, but a group of Christians from America are in custody by the Taliban, charged with trying to convert some of the Muslims to Christianity. Anyway, I think there's support for the US by rebel groups there. They've been fighting the Taliban for 5 years now, and could prove very useful to the US for information on camps, posts, military positions, etc..
there is a difference between the rebels and the tribal groups. I don't believe they are the same. The tribal groups are those that live along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border... I'm not sure where the rebels are holed up. rH
Tribal groups I guess we should be shaking in our boots. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/4321512
I just want to remind everyone that the Soviet Union lost a 10 year war with Afghanistan (1979 - 1989). It had much of the same effect on them as Vietnam did on the United States. It is widely accepted that the Soviets lost that war because they were unwilling to commit the amount of infintry necessary to achieve victory necessary because they were concerned about the overwhelming loss of life that would have resulted. Instead they tried to win with tanks and helecopters which were largely ineffective against highly moble guerrila fighters. The point is this: The Soviet Union in Afghanastan could be likened to a power-punching boxer with a glass chin. They could really dish it out, but when they Afghans got a few counterpunches the Soviets fell like a tree. Assume the following: Based on recent history, attempting to obtain complete control of Afghanastan with anything less than a full infintry comitment is unrealistic. If we commit ground troops, we could 'take one on the chin' and suffer many casualties. This will not be Iraq. The Afghans fight a different type of war and the goal will be different. Would you be willing to deal with potentaly thousands of American casualties? For me, the answer is yes, but when you think of it in this way, 'exacting revenge' becomes less and less important, and protection from terrorsits, more the goal. If you are all out willing to go to war, understand the concequences. If you're willing to throw a punch, you have to accept that you may get hit back. Think about this. Desert Storm gave us lots of confidence in the superiority of our nations military. I hope that those who are so willing to dish it out right now, wont change their tack if the casualties mount.
