KABUL, Afghanistan, July 15, 2008
Bold Afghan Raid On U.S. Base Casts Doubts
Afghans Question Whether U.S. Military Is Losing Ground Against Taliban Insurgents
-
Face covered Taliban militants pose before they execute two Afghan women in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on July 12, 2008. Taliban fighters told Associated Press Television News that the two were executed for allegedly running a prostitution ring catering to U.S. soldiers and other foreign contractors at a U.S. base in Ghazni city. (AP PHOTO)
-
Play CBS Video Video Taliban Kills U.S. Troops Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack with the distinct markings of al Qaeda. Lara Logan reports on the group's growing stronghold in Afghanistan's remote, mountain regions.
-
Video 9 Dead In Taliban Attack Nine U.S. Soldiers were killed and fifteen others wounded in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years. Kimberly Dozier reports.
-
Video Violence Flares In Afghanistan An attack by insurgents against a U.S. base in Afghanistan left nine U.S. troops dead. Since May, more U.S. and allied troops have been killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq. Thalia Assuras reports.
-
Fast Facts Afghanistan Learn about the people, economy and history.
-
Interactive Crosshairs: Taliban America's fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.
Moving in darkness before dawn Sunday, some 200 fighters surrounded the newly built base in a remote area near the Pakistan border without being spotted by the troops inside, said Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh, the provincial police chief.
He said people in the adjacent village of Wanat aided the assault. About 20 local families left their homes in anticipation of the raid, while other tribesmen stayed behind "and helped the insurgents during the fight," Jangalbagh said.
The result was the deadliest incident for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since June 2005, when 16 American soldiers were killed as a rocket-propelled grenade shot down their helicopter.
Violence has been increasing in Afghanistan, and many people are questioning whether the Taliban-led insurgency is gaining, not losing, momentum seven years after the hard-line Islamic regime was ousted by a U.S.-led invasion.
The coordinated assault at Wanat sent a strong signal to other insurgent groups that "America cannot resist them anymore," said Tamim Nuristani, who was fired as provincial governor last week by President Hamid Karzai's administration for criticizing a U.S. airstrike that Afghan officials say killed civilians July 4 in the same area as Sunday's attack.
Nuristani said the attackers at Wanat were a mix of Afghan- and Pakistan-based militants, some with al Qaeda links - a sign, he said, that cooperation is growing between what had been often fractious factions fighting the Western military presence in Afghanistan.
"The (attackers) were not only from Nuristan but from other districts," Nuristani said. "They are not only Taliban. They were (Pakistan-based) Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Hezb-i-Islami, Taliban and those people who are dissatisfied with the (Karzai) government after these recent incidents. They all came together for this one."
The attack - which U.S. and NATO officials said happened in Kunar province but which Afghan officials said was in neighboring Nuristan - reinforced recent assessments by U.S. officials that militant attacks are becoming more complex and better coordinated.
A NATO official said the attackers used houses, shops and a mosque in Wanat for cover during the hours-long battle.
The militants showered the small base - which had been established just three days earlier - with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar shells, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
Some of the militants breached the wall and got inside, killing nine American soldiers and wounding 15 others, he said.
Other American soldiers managed to drive out the attackers and called in air support. Attack helicopters swooped over the battlefield, and in hours of fighting dozens of insurgents were killed and about 40 were wounded, the NATO official said.
The official described the militant raid as "serious," but also said it was a rarity for insurgents to get inside a base.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack expressed regret that American lives were lost, but argued the attack was a sign of the pressure being put on the insurgency.
The U.S.-led coalition and NATO military mission, which together have about 60,000 soldiers, have long maintained that insurgents can now operate only in small groups and have lost every battle with the militarily superior Western forces.
Yet the insurgents' ability to assemble a large militant force to launch the attack undetected and with the apparent complicity of locals is a worrying signal for U.S. commanders.
A Western official with detailed knowledge of the area said the raid underlined questions about the military campaign against the Taliban.
There is "overwhelming evidence that anti-coalition elements are operating effectively and that our counterinsurgency strategy is not successful ... because it has not addressed the most basic need to bring security to the people and devised a means to separate the people from the enemy," said the official, who agreed to discuss the sensitive issue only if not quoted by name.
Nuristan has been a tough nut to crack for any central authority for centuries and was a hub of resistance against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Its rough terrain - mountains with forests, deep ravines and countless caves and gorges - provides a well-protected gateway from Pakistan's lawless tribal areas where al Qaeda and Taliban fighters find haven.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More From War On Terror
The secrets of tennis legend 
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next
See all 42 CommentsJuly 15, 2008 Bush morning news conference: Everything''''s going well so far in the Caspian Basin "....
And the extermination continues:...........
February 12, 1998 John J. Maresca vp of UNOCAL oil appeared before a House sub committee. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for exploitation of oil & natural gas resources, for the rights purchased by BIG OIL in the Caspian Sea area.
In his testimony he stated, "The key question is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made available to nearby Asian markets ".
The exploitation option stated : "One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed by American companies because of U.S. sanctions (with Iran ) . The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which of course has it''s own unique challenges. " He continued saying, " the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments,lenders (world monitary fund & world bank ) ,and our company "......"
UNOCAL and other American companies are prepared to undertake the job ".
The far left news media missing a chance to deamonize Bush more and then claim McCain is the same ?
Not likely.
Judging by your name you''''re a Muslim and are probably proud of the "accomplishments" of these fellow Muslim madmen. No wonder Islam has morphed from a respectable mainstream religion into a bloody cult.
Posted by diatreme at 12:26 PM : Jul 15, 2008
Nop, not at all. I am not a Muslim. Just better read than you.
If you know how to read beyond the comics, find out for yourself. Wean yourself away from the one -liner -Reagan culture. Afghanistan is the mire US should not get into. Just suck it up, and build the country from inside- encourage good education (multiculturalism is not education).
Thanks Bushies!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by singingrick at 10:22 AM : Jul 15, 2008
Exactly! Couldn''t agree more! Afghanistan is the only war we should have been involved in since WWII and the Chump-in-Chief has to go flailing off to Iraq for no good reason while ignoring the real work to be done. Can''t wait until his January departure!
This is just one more consequence of the moronic invasion of Iraq. Our attention and resources have been diverted from the country where terrorists are based to a country that posed no threat to us. Now Al Qaeda and the Taliban are taking back Afghanistan.
Thanks Bushies!
"At the end of the fight a tombstone white
With the name of the late deceased
And this epitaph drear, a fool lies here
Who tried to hurry the East."
Way to go CBS. This happened SUNDAY! Everyone else had it one day later- Yesterday. It''''s only news to people who solely get their news here...
Posted by Impeach__W
Speaking of which, here is another story you will not see in the Corperate US media:
BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions
By Jane Corbin
BBC News
A BBC investigation estimates that around $23 billion may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
The BBC''s Panorama programme has used US and Iraqi government sources to research how much some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding.
A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.
The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.
War profiteering
While Presdient George W Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted.
To date, no major US contractor faces trial for fraud or mismanagement in Iraq.
The president''s Democratic opponents are keeping up the pressure over war profiteering in Iraq.
Henry Waxman, who chairs the House committee on oversight and government reform, said: "The money that''s gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, it''s egregious.
"It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."
(cont)
In the run-up to the invasion, one of the most senior officials in charge of procurement in the Pentagon objected to a contract potentially worth $7bn that was given to Halliburton, a Texan company which used to be run by *** Cheney before he became vice-president.
Unusually only Halliburton got to bid - and won.
Missing billions
The search for the missing billions also led the programme to a house in Acton in west London where Hazem Shalaan lived until he was appointed to the new Iraqi government as minister of defence in 2004.
He and his associates siphoned an estimated $1.2bn out of the ministry. They bought old military equipment from Poland but claimed for top-class weapons.
Meanwhile they diverted money into their own accounts.
Judge Radhi al-Radhi of Iraq''s Commission for Public Integrity investigated.
He said: "I believe these people are criminals.
"They failed to rebuild the Ministry of Defence, and as a result the violence and the bloodshed went on and on - the murder of Iraqis and foreigners continues and they bear responsibility."
Mr Shalaan was sentenced to two jail terms but he fled the country.
He said he was innocent and that it was all a plot against him by pro-Iranian MPs in the government.
There is an Interpol arrest warrant out for him but he is on the run - using a private jet to move around the globe.
He stills owns commercial properties in the Marble Arch area of London.
Afghanistan and the exploding or
imploding or whatever of his
U.S. economy the end of Bushdung''s
presidency is beginning to look a lot
like the final fireworks show at your
favorite ballpark stadium.
All that Bush and his repubs need now is
footage of General Petraeous running for
his life knocking over pigeon displays
and diving under a pomegranite stand to
excape a woman would-be suicide bomber.
The last time I checked Israel could take care of its self. I lived there when they conducted the air strike on Iraq%u2019s nuclear facility. Once again which is the greatest threat to the United States a terrorist network that has already attacked the US and killed 2,700 Americans, Iraq or Iran?
As long as we blindly support Israel there will never be peace in that region. Consider the parable that was used to explain the situation to me. A desperate man jumps from a burning building to save himself. He lands on his neighbor, breaking the neighbors back. How do you treat the neighbor? Do you say, %u201CYou should not have been walking where you were.%u201D Or do you embrace the neighbor and try to seek help for him? Much of Israel%u2019s problems have been a result of their own actions.
In addition to the terrible toll of Americans and Iraqis killed and wounded, the war in Iraq has diverted attention and resources from critical problems here in the U.S., where the housing market has been crippled, the stock market has tanked, gasoline has soared past $4 per gallon, unemployment is increasing and an extraordinary number of debt-ridden working families are staring into a financial abyss.
Even as oil companies are enjoying staggering profits, many Americans - in July - are already worried sick about the potentially ruinous cost of heating their homes next winter.
And then there%u2019s the so-called war on terror.
The latest news is that Al Qaeda, the terror network that actually did attack the U.S., has successfully regrouped in the tribal areas of Pakistan and has reconstituted its ability to institute terror attacks from the region.
For an administration joined at the hip to the oil industry, the lure of Iraq%u2019s enormous reserves was stronger even than the impulse to conquer an enemy that murdered more than 2,700 civilians on Sept. 11, a toll greater than the number of Americans killed by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.
(cont)
Referring to Al Qaeda members who regrouped in Pakistan, The Times reported:
%u201CCurrent and former military and intelligence officials said that the war in Iraq consistently diverted resources and high-level attention from the tribal areas. When American military and intelligence officials requested additional Predator drones to survey the tribal areas, they were told no drones were available because they had been sent to Iraq.%u201D
Who knows how long it will be before the U.S. disengages in any significant way from Iraq. What you can take to the bank is that this country will not make any major advances in energy policy, in health coverage, in rebuilding its infrastructure, in improving its public schools or in curtailing runaway public and private debt until our open-ended commitment to this catastrophic multitrillion-dollar war comes to an end.
How long will it take before that finally sinks in?
New York Times Bob Herbert
They want to take on all the worlds 1.2 billion Muslims, I would prefer to deal with bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
Look at where their strategy has gotten us today. Bogged down in Iraq at $177 million a day, threatening Iran with bin Laden safe in Pakistan running his mouth. He is using our invasion of Iraq as a recruiting tool. People do not blow themselves up because they hate our freedom, they do it because they have become radicalized and want us out of Islams second most sacred country.
If you say leaving Iraq is ''cutting and running.'' Just remember this, bin Ladens rational for 911 was our bases in Saudi Arabia, Islam''s most sacred country, we no longer have bases in Saudi Arabia.
Also cutting and running from who in Iraq? The Defense Departments own study says that Al Qaeda''s pre-Surge presence in Iraq represented less than 2% of the total insurgency!
These wing-nuts refuse to acknowledge any other religion or culture, all others are corrupt. So they remain completely ignorant of the culture and dynamics of the region; that''s how you end up invading the wrong country.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next
See all 42 Comments