In the autumn of last year, Hamid Karzai personally ordered the release of one Maulavi Ghulam Dastagir, a Taliban leader in the Afghan northwest. Two months later Dastagir pulled off an ambush that killed 13 ANA forces, an assault that was only repulsed helicopter gunships came to the rescue. The incident horribly embarrassed the Karzai government, but Dastagir was unrepentant:
“I am a jihadist, I will continue my jihad,” he said in a telephone interview soon after the November ambush. Reveling in his good luck, he laughed and added, “My morale is very high.”
On Sunday night, five bombs fell on a compound in Badghis Province near the Turkmenistan border where Mr. Dastagir and a half-dozen fellow Taliban commanders were meeting, one of his other commanders said in a telephone interview on Monday.
His men rushed to the scene about 10:30 p.m. But all they found were mangled bodies — “martyrs,” the commander said — buried beneath rubble.
Enjoy your raisins.
They found bodies?
The bombs weren’t big enough.
re, “Reveling in his good luck, he laughed and added, “My morale is very high.”
Per immortal words heard long ago, “yuck it up, buttercup”.
Hah hah!
/Nelson Muntz
“My morale is very high.”
Apparently, so was the dust cloud floating over the pile of rubble he was mingled in with.
Greetings:
Once again, the POW calculus:
1) You don’t ever want to fight anyone twice;
2) Some POWs may have useful information;
3) Capture, relocation and detention of POWs
requires the use of scarce resources.
I’ll do the math.
Who was that Union General at what battle (Civil War/War Between the States Buffs back me up here) that, upon being advised by his aids to seek cover as he was viewing the battle totally exposed and at risk from Rebel sharpshooters who ignored them, replying: “Hell, from this distance they couldn’t hit the broadside of an Elepha—-
Virgil,
That is supposed to have been General John Sedgwick at the Battle of Gettysburg.
VX,
It was indeed John Sedgwick, but at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, on 9 May, 1864. He was admonishing members of his staff as well as some artillerymen who were dodging about as shots from a few Confederate marksmen, about 1000 yards distant, zipped by every now and then. He was quoted as having said: “What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Even as he chastised them, the men kept on, and so he continued, “I’m ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Less than a minute later, he pitched forward, struck slightly below his left eye.
The aide into whose arms the general fell was Thomas Hyde, from Bath, Maine, a major in the 7th Maine, about whom I wrote here:
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/006902.html#more-6902
Hyde named his son after the general, and the GAR post in Bath was also named for Sedgwick.
respects,
AW1 is correct, good history lesson Tim, and thanks for the plug for them rebel sharpshooters!
WRT drone attacks, does it seem the ordnance load is getting a little bigger these days? Hard to keep them all straight these days, but thought I saw one with LGBs on the pylons.
But were they read their rights?
sucks to be him.
note for Lessons Learned file: after every such strike, schedule a Time On Target repeat for 10:30pm.
(btw: Sedwick’s spurs got me thru many a final exam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sedgwick%27s_Spurs.JPG)
While we’re down one baddy in AfPak, we’re now seeing Yemen free up to 400 jailed Al Qaeda to take his place and join the fight. Paki giving up the tribal areas to Sharia law, Yemen freeing known terrorists, Iran openly supporting the Palestinians. Me thinks we needs a lots more Hellfire equipped drones than we gots now. Drone manufacturers – maybe that is the place to move the shrinking 401K funds?
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/02/yemens_multifaceted.php
Isn’t that the way to get rid of roaches?
Let one go so he will bring his buddies back to a convenient, out of the way place for extermination?
You can’t kill them in jail, can you?
Barco Sin Vella II/
Why not?