Deadliest attack in 3 years, 9 US dead, 15 wounded
Remember Afghanistan? This will go down as one of the worse days yet in the war there...it seems the Taliban have tried to overrun -- and may have succeeded -- a US combat outpost.
Yes, it looks like the Taliban is attacking from Pakistani bases. Also, this was a pitched battle, not a car bomb or some other terrorist attack. They're trying to beat us at our own game, and 9 dead and 15 wounded says they're getting close.
"By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer, Sun Jul 13, 5:21 PM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - A multi-pronged militant assault on a small, remote U.S. base close to the Pakistan border killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15 Sunday in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years, officials said.
....U.S. officials say militant attacks in Afghanistan are becoming more complex, intense and better coordinated than a year ago. Monthly death tolls of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan surpassed U.S. military deaths in Iraq in May and June. And last Monday, a suicide bomber attacked the Indian Embassy in Kabul, killing 58 people in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001. [..]"
Things sure are falling apart there...the place has spiraled downhill. The corrupt warlords have taken over...and forget about women's rights.
It's very sad because if it had been done right, we could have brought real hope to the Afghan people...if we had done it right, we'd be home by now.
This certainly doesn't help:
"A US air strike killed 47 civilians, including 39 women and children, as they were travelling to a wedding in Afghanistan, an official inquiry found today. The bride was among the dead."
"A US air strike killed 47 civilians, including 39 women and children, as they were travelling to a wedding in Afghanistan, an official inquiry found today. The bride was among the dead."
Meanwhile, Sen. Obama wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed piece that the US needs to deploy about 10,000 more troops to battle resurgent forces in Afghanistan...he wants to shift focus from the Iraq war to the rise in violence from the Taliban. He says we need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there.
The warlords and thugs, not Karzai, are running the show now. So basically we're right back where we started.
We'll almost have to start from scratch...think of all the precious US lives that were lost. And given our reputation in that area, don't be surprised if the natives aren't quick to hop back on the bandwagon.
Just think, if Bush and Rummy had actually been serious about winning in Afghanistan, instead of using 9/11 as their "Pearl Harbor moment" as an excuse to go after all that lovely Iraqi oil, 140,000 troops in Afghanistan and a generous helping of cruise missiles into Pakistan's nether regions would have already won this war.
But Bush didn't care about Afghanistan. The oil was in Iraq. We never had enough troops in Afghanistan. We went in and destroyed the existing structure, then rushed out and handed it off to the UN so we could do the Shock and Awe thing in Iraq.
Al Queda and the Taliban have always been the LEGITIMATE targets of our war with the 9/11 attackers....not Iraq.
