I’m no sojer, but I understand it to be pretty much axiomatic that massing lightly armed infantry forces during daylight hours in open terrain when your adversary has access to both artillery fires and air support is a pretty good way to find yourself flatfooted in the beaten zone.
And yet, on both sides of the Afghan/Pakistani border, “militants” seem to have a hard time grasping the concept:
U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed nearly a dozen Islamist Taliban fighters in the southern province of Zabul overnight, the U.S. military said, as the bloodiest period since the militants’ 2001 ouster grinds on.
And:
40 militants reported slain in airstrikes Army helicopter gunships pounded militant positions in a tribal region in the northwest, killing an estimated 40 fighters, Pakistani officials said.
The Taliban have been getting their butts kicked six ways from Sunday this year, and yet they still seem to feel as though they can negotiate from a position of strength:
The Taliban’s demands include an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops and a rewrite of the Afghan constitution, according to interviews The Globe and Mail has conducted with key figures who would be integral to any political settlement…
Both (Hisb-i-Islami militant leader Gulbuddin) Hekmatyar and (Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi) remain in hiding.
I have to admit – and maybe it’s that whole “Western philosophy/rational actor” thing – but I just don’t get it. Nor do I understand the apparent willingness of Hamid Karzai’s government to even entertain the notion of negotiating with the Taliban “as the violence rises,” considering the fact that the very great majority of those doing the dying are the Taliban themselves.
This may sound hard hearted, but after all, these are vicious, murderous thugs.
By all means, play on.
lol, si.
Kick ass.
Forget the names.
If they are stupid enough to think we can’t see them hiding in plain sight in the daytime, the deserve what they get.
So there.
Their calculus may be that there will always be 40 or a hundred more where those guys came from. Taking casualties is just not that big a deal to them.
Where’s their center of gravity? Judging by the reaction to the Red Mosque, that’s getting warmer.
If this doesn’t stop, next they’ll be demanding Green cards…
“Must not think about incandescent lithium deuteride on Ka’aba, Must not think about incandescent lithium deuteride on Ka’aba,… n” thinks Jtg.
Jtg thinks about development of robots running vacuum-tube computers to operate Arabian oilfields which are ‘way radioactive.
Jtg thinks most humans are goodfernuthin anyway, but prefers those who most resemble hisself, though he doesn’t get along with them any better than they do with him.
Hey, at least we speak the same language and have a common cultural experience, along with some genetic similiarity!
The Middle East suffers from disproportionate mineral abundancy:
Too much petroleum, not enough trinitite
The Taliban start negotiations with demands, as if they’re in a position of strength? Read your Koran, folks. Negotiations are entered into while in a position of weakness, and bluff is a time-honored start to negotiations in the lands where barter has been the staple for centuries. If the Taliban had strength, they wouldn’t barter. They’re using this to buy time and build strength. It will be most interesting to see how the Afghani government handles it, and if a cease-fire will be stipulated by either side.
– Max
Web Reconnaissance for 09/14/2007…
A short recon of whats out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often….
[...] post above, the Taliban seem to be racking up impressive body counts of ther own dead lately. Neptunus Lex has a description of their “brilliant” tactical [...]